North by North-East October/November 2016 by North by North-East

VOL 6 EDITION 5

OCT/NOV 2016

North by NORTH-EAST COUNTRY LIFE IN NORTH-EAST VICTORIA

King Valley Destination with the lot

Rural romance Blueberries to author

Bookshops

North-east defies trend

$5.95 incl GST

Local shows are shear fun

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Take in the views of Eildon and the surrounding valleys from our spectacular deck as you relax and unwind, with live music throughout the evening. Dinner includes six decadent courses featuring local spring produce, designed and prepared by our chefs. A specially selected wine list featuring local wines to match each course has been created, with wines available for purchase by the glass or bottle.

Come and celebrate the festive season with us! Bring your family, friends or work colleagues for a night of tradition with all the trimmings, including live music. Enjoy spectacular views with a traditional three course Christmas feast and dance the night away until midnight! Book your table now as numbers are limited!

Celebrate Christmas Day at Holmesglen at Eildon as we showcase some of the best seasonal produce the region has to offer with a traditional Christmas lunch. This will be a truly magical event with even a visit from Santa! Reservations are essential so book now!

Saturday 29 October from 7pm

Saturday 3 December 6.30pm

Sunday 25 December from 12noon

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• $60 per adult - 3 courses inc. a welcome drink • $30 per child (12 yrs & under) inc. gift from Santa • Venue available for private Christmas parties

• $95 per adult - 3 courses inc. a welcome drink • $30 per child (12 yrs & under) including a gift from Santa

Accommodation options (all with ensuite facilities). Price includes full buffet breakfast Sunday morning. • Sole Use Room (1 person only): $175 • 3 Share (single beds): $210 • Double/Twin Share (2 persons): $195 • 4 Share (single beds): $240

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Fish For dinner... Guaranteed! Recreational fishing for beginners to the expert fly fisher Located in the picturesque Goulburn Valley, Eildon Trout Farm has fishing for everyone. You can choose from five ponds, with different challenge levels and sized fish in each pond. A great day out and an excellent opportunity for team building, celebrations, birthdays and more. A natural relaxing atmosphere to catch a couple of fish, you can also take home some gourmet goodies from the excellent selection of regional foods, wine, cheese, smoked trout and salmon, including famous Smoked Trout PĂ˘tĂŠ. With prior notice a sample platter for groups visiting the farm can be arranged for your enjoyment. Contact us for competitively priced wholesale and bulk ordering. P: 03 5773 2377 460 Back Eildon Road, Thornton (Look for the green flags and the big trout!) E: eildontroutfarm@activ8.net.au Check our website for specials and fresh recipes www.eildontroutfarm.com.au

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BENALLA FESTIVAL SAT 29 OCTOBER SUN 6 NOVEMBER

BENALLA FESTIVAL SAT 29 OCTOBER SUN 6 NOVEMBER live music hot air balloons farm art trail art show

fishing competition party in the street markets AVIATION open gardens a celebration of

in Benalla

www.benallafestival.com 2016 Benalla Festival Program.indd 1

20/09/2016 10:59 pm

North

by NORTH-EAST

Contents 12 16

Editor: Glen Rohan Art Director: Lynnda Heard Designer: Nicola Tilbury Contributors: Pat O’Bryan, Louise Munro, Joe Blake, Lynnda Heard, Ian Dunn, Colette Geier, Cass Jasper, Julia Foletta, Dr Doug Norman, Lindy Sloan, Elaine White, Natasha Lobban, Heather Zubek, Cathy Olive, Adam Dennis, Kelly Timms

Country racing As the weather warms up and the grass looks magnificent, the horses are prepared for the picnic meetings around the area.

Local bookshops By now, many would have thought shops dealing in hardcopy books would be a thing of the past, yet in the north-east, some towns have more than one. Heather Zubek reports

Photographers: Lynnda Heard, Nicola Tilbury ADVERTISING Kelly Timms - Advertising Manager 0417 869 608 | kelly@northbynortheast.com.au Property: Glen Rohan 0407 200 031 | glen@northbynortheast.com.au Distribution, Subscriptions, Events: (03) 5779 1290 | admin@northbynortheast.com.au Contact NNE: (03) 5779 1290 | 3 Eisners Lane, Mansfield Lynnda Heard 0407 103 035 | lynnda@northbynortheast.com.au

Published by Glen Rohan for RL Media Pty Ltd, ACN 081 735 891, of Mansfield Euroa Road, Merton 3715 Tel: (03) 5779 1290 All material appearing in North by North-East is protected by Australian copyright laws. Any reproduction or adaption of any material in whole or part is not permitted without prior authorisation from the publisher. The publisher does not take responsibility for any statements or errors and omissions made by any editorial or advertising material published in this magazine. North by North-East invites contributions on subjects of interest to residents, businesses and visitors of the Murrindindi, Strathbogie, Mansfield, Wangaratta, Benalla, Indigo and Alpine districts. Please forward to edit@northbynortheast.com.au. Please be aware that North by North-East is unable to accept responsibility for the safe custody or return of any material whether typescripts, photographs, transparencies, artwork or computer discs.

26 32

ON THE COVER The Annual Euroa Agricultural Show features our shearers competing and displaying their formidable skills. Picture: LYNNDA HEARD

Polish and chrome Buildings in the historic town of Jamieson shook a little when the hotrods roared into the area in September. Lynnda Heard was there to photograph the beasts.

Plucking at strings Meet the remarkable Joe Talia of Alexandra. Guitarist, audio engineer and electronics wiz. One of many playing at Marysville’s Jazz Weekend.

Mansfield’s arty season The artists come out to play in Mansfield over the next few months. Exhibitions, music and much food and wine combine to make for an exciting season.

Author’s berry good start Moving to the Strathbogie area with her husband was one thing; raising cattle and later running a blueberry farm was another. Now Colette Geier reports that Glenda Thompson has taken a different road; she’s now an author.

October&November 2016

40 42 52

Our local shows

Our local hubs We continue looking at some of the north-east’s general stores, the meeting places of many of our communities. This issue we visit Oxley, Buxton and Goughs Bay.

Children – natural learners Cathy Olive reports on the special day ‘Kids teaching kids’ in September where young students work on an environmental topic of their choosing.

King Valley treasures

Hitched

Spring is the time of year where we country people like to show off a little. It’s time for the agricultural shows to strut their stuff and proudly show local produce.

The beautiful King Valley is well known for its wine, but there is so much to this fabulous part of the north-east.

We look at some gorgeous weddings in the region and learn of some funny incidents at weddings with a difference.

Joys of the NBN Columnist Louise Munro writes of the joy of finally being able to access NBN where she lives. Unlike many of us, she boasts she now has outstanding reception.

80 82 90 96

Frisky pets Resident vet Dr Doug Norman writes of desexing our cats and dogs come this spring.

Chrismont lunch Pat O’Bryan boasts of sharing a great lunch with friends at Chrismont’s restaurant in Cheshunt. Italian food and Chrismont wine.

Italian varietals Wine writer Ian Dunn and friends taste a varied range of Italian wines from the King Valley in preparation for La Dolce Vita celebrations.

What to do today Check out the markets, galleries and events scheduled for October and November in the North-East

Farm with a view We look at a farm at Caveat that boasts a top family home and three separate allotments. A Cape Cod style home at Mansfield catches our eye and we find a brilliant building block of 14 acres beside the Goulburn River at Kevington. All this and more in the property pages.

Open gardens It’s that time when our gardens are hitting the peak. We look at some of the marvellous gardens in the region that will be open for inspection.

NORTH BY NORTH-EAST

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Gardens, ag shows and the King Valley

pring. At last we can miss out on their share of rely on having some publicity. We explore these sunlight and watching on page 54. the grass grow tall in In the Hitched section we the paddocks after months cover two weddings recently of the best rain the region conducted in our region and has seen for years. The rain have a gentle look at some has been incredible and of the funny things that can welcomed by farmers and happen. See page 62. home gardeners alike. Colette Geier shares a The water has given most blueberry recipe with us gardens a terrific growth starting on page 80 and Pat spurt and we can all see the O’Bryan welcomes a new delightful results around our addition to the King Valley region when a host of gardens – the restaurant and tasting will be open for inspection areas at Chrismont. this season. See our feature In property we visit a Devonshire tea volunteers Amanda Hard (left), Ron Litjens, on open gardens starting on delightful farm at a place Val Redpath and Millicent (in front) are all from Yea and page 74 this issue. most people have not volunteered to be on duty at the Yea Flower Expo held in We could also catch up heard of – Caveat. There September. Luckily someone thought of them and left vases with how our farmers are is also a grand Cape Cod of flowers to enjoyed while they worked. We trust they also faring when we visit out local style house in Mansfield had a cup of tea – or two. Picture: LYNNDA HEARD agricultural shows that will and an exceptional block start soon across our region. at Kevington where you bookshops found in the towns across See story starting on page 40. could build your dream home beside the the region. Heather Zubek stopped to One of our more unusual farming Goulburn River. Property starts on page explore a few of these treasures as she producers is Glenda Thompson of 96. wound her way through the north-east. Strathbogie. Like many of us in recent All this and more in the October/ Her story starts on page 16. times, Glenda made the tree change November issue of North by North-East. Also in this edition we continue with from a busy corporate life in Melbourne We hope you enjoy it. the series on the important role our to take up the life of farming some years general stores play in our communities. back. Along the way, she and husband We visit the stores at Oxley, Goughs Bay Alistair acquired a blueberry farm to go and Buxton in a feature starting on page with their cattle enterprise. However, 42. Glenda has now branched out into a Wine writer Ian Dun samples some separate business, that of being an of the offerings from the wineries in the author. Glenda tells her story to Colette King Valley in this issue and we take Geier starting on page 34. a broader look at some of the rarer No doubt some of Glenda’s books Glen Rohan businesses in the valley that sometimes will soon be available in our many Publisher and Editor

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Hedgers’ quality wins awards

he team at Hedger Constructions swear that they don’t, but they must get just a little used to winning so many awards. Steven and Sharon Hedger have developed a great team around them, all working from their premises in Alexandra. The As Hedger’s team NNE reported last issue, Sharon Hedger says there are real advantages in working from Alexandra. “We work with the long-time locals, with people new to the area and retirees; there’s a diverse range of jobs from holiday shacks to milliondollar residences.” Up against the best in the state, Hedgers recently received four more awards from the Master Builders Association of Victoria. The awards were for: Best renovation under $200,000; Best custom home $800,000 to $1,000,000; Best custom home $1,000,000 to $3,000,000; and acknowledgment as the North-East Regional Builder of the Year 2016. When you look at examples of the company’s work as pictured here, you can why Hedgers keep on winning. NNE

Subscribe and win

aphne Connors from Euroa is the winner of this September’s subscribers’ draw, which was open to all subscribers to the magazine. The prize was the Saladin Lodge ‘dine and stay’ package. Mrs Connors is passing on the gift – with a value of $400 – to her dear friend Leanne Barker, also from Euroa. Leanne is photographed on the right with Daphne on the left. Courtesy of Daphne, Leanne and her guest will enjoy a dinner for two, followed by an overnight stay in the Deluxe Room of the beautiful Saladin Lodge in Narbethong. In the morning a full breakfast will be on offer. When it comes time to leave, Saladin Lodge owner Kim Rycroft will have packed a lovely hamper of hand-picked produce for Leanne to take with her. Every two months, all of our subscribers’ names go automatically into the draw for our subscription prize. With this October/November issue, the prize is six of the finest Sedona reserve wines selected by Sonja and Paul from Sedona. Along with the wines, there’s a winery tour and lunch, all to the value of approximately $500. To be eligible to win this prize, readers will need to be a subscriber by 5pm on Friday, November 11, 2016. NNE thanks Kim Rycroft of Saladin Lodge for her generosity for providing the prize for the August/September promotion. NNE

NORTH BY NORTH-EAST

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Better than the Melbourne Cup For the spectacle of horse-racing and an enjoyable day out, head down to a local track. Story and pictures by LYNNDA HEARD

Teleah Hopgood from Mansfield

If you like dressing up, or just watching those who do, there is always a Fashions on the Field event”

nyone who’s seen the film ‘Kenny’ probably won’t want to go to the Melbourne Cup. At country and picnic race meetings, none of those problems ever occur. No need to battle huge crowds attending the city meetings; for these races you just pack your own beautiful lunch or take advantage of the food and drink options available on course. Unlike in the city, you don’t have to be a member to enjoy all that the races have to offer. You’re free to range over the whole area, check out the horses in the mounting yard and overhear whispered conferences between owners, trainers and jockeys. You’re still able to have a bet at the picnic races. The bookmakers are there in their ring, spruiking the odds to entice you to step up and take a modest chance; there’s no pressure to gamble the house away. If you like dressing up, or just watching those who do, there is always a Fashions on the Field event at each race meeting. Women, men, children and even entire families can dress to the nines and take part in the big parade; they not only have a great time but they can also win some fantastic prizes. Often there are special kids’ activities like jumping castles and running races to keep the littlies occupied and entertained. So if you are after smaller, friendly crowds of people with easy parking and loads of fun, head to the local tracks for a great family day. Check the websites of the different racing clubs below to find out what they are offering. NNE

October

Saturday 22 Run for the Roses Picnic Races - Alexandra Monday 24 Monday Racing - Benalla

November

Tuesday 1 Melbourne Cup Picnic Races - Mansfield Sunday 6 Euroa Cup Race Day - Benalla Saturday 12 Spring Celebration - Yea

Mandy Catanach presenting a necklace to Miss Mansfield 2015, Jodie from Eisners Pharmacy, with Greg Evans hosting.

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

Sponsors of Mansfield District Racing Club’s Annual Melbourne Cup Picnic Race Meet

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Old Time Country Music Country music is alive and well in Benalla. Report and pictures by LYNNDA HEARD Buffi Grace from Benalla

Geoff McClure from Benalla

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

Jenny Johnston from Devinish tuning her mandoline

t’s Sunday afternoon and perfect for some country music and dancing. The unspoken uniform for the day is country and western, complete with 10 gallon hats, swirling skirts and cowboy and cowgirl boots. It’s the regular meeting of the Rose City Country Music Club in Benalla, it’s the third Sunday of the month and they’re gathering in the Benalla Football/Netball Club rooms. The afternoon commences with a BBQ lunch and then it’s straight into the music accompanied by line dancing and a bracket of old time stepping out. The Club welcomes everyone to their dance afternoons at a cost of $6 for members. For non-members, $7 gives you entry on the day as well as club membership. Geoff McClure is the Secretary of the club and has been a member for the past 20 years. “We want to promote Country Music in the area,” says Geoff, himself a musician. If you are a musician and/or singer you can be part of the entertainment. Just list your name as an individual or band with organiser Buffi Grace and you are given the opportunity to play up to four songs; if you are their guest artist for the day, eight songs are required from you. Buffi assures us that there is a bit of rock and roll thrown every time. “It’s all about having fun,” says Buffi. Rose City Country Music Club. For information call Geoff on 0421 050 843. NNE

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In search of a good read It could be considered madness to be in the book trade today but HEATHER ZUBEK reports that the bookstores in the north-east have their doors wide open and business is looking good.

n 2011, Federal Minister for Small Business Nick Sherry declared that bookshops would ‘cease to exist’ by 2016. Well, Mr Sherry hasn’t been in the north-east lately. There are bookshops in nearly every major town and some of the smaller ones on both sides of the Hume. And they are doing rather well, thank you very much. For years, like an elephants’ graveyard, old books from the Alexandra library found their way to the Friends of the Library Bookshop. Housed in a former Garden Nursery next to the library, the building was cold, dark and derelict, with a family of possums living in the roof. Every so often the doors would open and visitors were able to buy second hand books for 50 cents each. “We took around $1,700 a year back then,” says Ron Cooper, volunteer and Volunteer Coordinator of Goulburn River Books. “Today we take around $50,000 a year.” There are no possums living in the roof of Goulburn River Books (formerly the new Friends of the Library Bookshop). The shop is bright and airy with Elvis crooning about a broken heart in the back. According to Ron, it has the best location in town. There is a constant stream of locals coming in and Ron knows them all. Not only does he run the bookshop, he seems to be the advice bureau for the town. Ron took over as Volunteer Coordinator in 2005. Once a warehouse foreman, he knows how to organise. When Ron found the larger paperbacks weren’t selling he decided to display them a different way. “People would come in and look at all the books displayed vertically,” he says. “After a few minutes they’d get a cricked neck and give up.” The handyman set about building new bookshelves to

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

display the paperbacks horizontally. It took him three weeks. “While I was making them, people were coming in and buying the books as I placed them back on the shelves. Once they were displayed properly the large paperbacks became one of our top sellers.” Everyone who works at Goulburn River Books is a volunteer. Now open seven days a week, the eight volunteers are kept busy. “Some of our customers come from Melbourne just for the bookshop. Business drops off in the cold weather. People going to the snow don’t really want to stop and on the way home they’re too tired.” Ron is heartened to see that kids are getting back into reading books but the biggest sellers are comic strip westerns. Ron goes to great lengths to showcase his books, however a bookshelf in the centre of the shop nearly cost him his life. “I bought this bookshelf online and was bringing it back from Melbourne on the back of the truck. I was driving through Black Spur when all of a sudden these trees were falling over the road. It was on the news and everything; it was known as the Black Spur Treefall. If I’d been seconds faster I would have been under them. Gone.” With so many books around him, what is his favourite? “I don’t read books myself,” says Ron. “It would slow me down in my job.”

ou know you’re in a special place when there are not one but two bookshops in the main street. Euroa, a township just off the Hume Highway, is home to Already Read Bookshop and Euroa Fine Books. Housed in an old pharmacist’s shop

built in the 1890s, Euroa Fine Books is owned by perhaps the longest-running bookseller in Australia. At 90 years of age, Kenneth Hince has been in the book trade for well over 50 years, and is now taking a more back-seat role, with his family taking up the reins. “It’s a long time for anyone to be in the business,” says Kenneth, sitting in a sunny corner of the store. Born in Ivanhoe Victoria, Kenneth became interested in the book trade as a schoolboy. “I started earning pocket money by becoming a book runner, which was a common thing in England but not so much here,” he explains. “Book runners buy books from one trader and sell to another. They get to understand the specialty of each bookshop.” During these early years booksellers rarely visited each other and if they did they would dislike each other, according to Kenneth. “As a schoolboy I used the bicycle I got as a birthday present and spent my spare time riding from one bookshop to another buying a book here and selling it there,” he says. “I made quite good pocket money.” After graduating from school Kenneth studied Medicine and Arts at the University of Melbourne and served in the Royal Australian Air Force. He later taught languages at Xavier College before opening his first bookshop in Melbourne in 1962. The name Kenneth Hince is spoken with awe in the rare and antique book trade. Collectors still seek out his shop as they travel between Melbourne and Sydney. “As a whole the trade has not changed much in my time,” he says. “Although it has become more integrated and cooperative, partly due to the internet.

Booksellers are more friendly towards each other now and visit each other a lot.” “I was more or less a pioneer in that my first trip overseas buying books lasted for four months.” He was also a pioneer when it came to music. When Kenneth wasn’t selling or buying books he was a music critic, writing for the Bulletin, The Australian and The Age. Books and music fitted in very well because he could sell books during the day and listen to music at night. “I still see a future for bookshops,” he says. “Some people think that electronic books will take over but I think that is ridiculous. There will always be books.”

n hour’s drive away lies the township of Mansfield. Along the main stretch visitors cannot help but see the luminous sign that is Country Tales. Bright green and purple entice bookworms into a cavernous space filled with new books on every subject. Owners Patricia and Bill Taylor opened Country Tales in December 2007 and business is good.

Patricia and Bill Taylor at the Mansfield Country Tales bookshop

“We used to visit our daughter’s place in Merrijig and just love the area,” says Patricia. “And we found that Mansfield didn’t have a bookshop so we started one.” Not having any book trade experience didn’t deter the Melbourne couple. Bill was in IT and Patricia was in accounts before selling up and moving to the north-east. “We basically sell current books, all new books, no second hand,” says Bill. Country Tales has a regular clientele from Melbourne of around three to four hundred people. “Because they are coming through here they use this as their bookshop,”

Bill explains. “We have a lot of lifestyle people come here as well. People from Melbourne might own a property up here and they ask us to get books for them.” Whilst many independent bookstores are closing their doors, Country Tales is still going strong. “It is because we’re independent that we can choose our own books,” says Patricia. “We are guided by new releases and such but that doesn’t stop us from putting books on the shelf that we like.” Many of the bookshelves seem to be given over to books for the younger u reader.

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“Children’s books sell really well, young adult through to children’s and picture books,” says Patricia. “Grandparents come in and buy three or four books at a time. Children will come in and we’ll spend time with them and talk to them about what they like to read.” Series also do well, but occasionally a one-off is a great seller. “We sold about 280 copies of ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ when it came out but many of the customers were from Melbourne. We sold 40 copies in three days once. We haven’t had a book like that since,” says Bill. The Taylors put their success down to good service. “If we can’t get books locally for our customers, we will try and get them. We have time to do that. Mansfield is full of avid readers.”

ne of three bookshops in the rural township of Benalla, Good Reading is owned by long-time local Delfina Manor. “Good Reading has been going for 25 years,” says Delfina, standing amongst the shelves of her eclectic collection. “I couldn’t get a job so I started a shop using my own library.” Her first shop was in the main street of Benalla but after it became too much, Delfina made the decision to close in 2013 and move everything to her present location just off the main drag. “This is a totally different bookshop to the one I had down the road,” she says. “The original Good

Delfina Manor at the Good Reading Bookshop in Benalla

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Some of our customers come from Melbourne just for the bookshop.” Reading was massive, a lot of through traffic. We had over 150,000 books, a combination of more serious stuff and the ‘whodunits’, best sellers, cookery and gardening. The shop just thrived.” Delfina was a librarian before she found herself in a bookshop, a job she thinks gave her the best grounding for the role. “I don’t think I could have done Good Reading without having been a librarian; it gives you such a broad knowledge about authors and what people like to read.” The current Good Reading Bookshop is more Internet-based and specialist. “I want to start specialising as that seems to be working for me at the moment,” she says. “I want to sell the sort of books where there are only about ten customers in the world who would want them but I am the only one stupid enough to list them.” Books are a ‘family disease’ according to Delfina. She inherited many books from her mother, Cordelia Gundolf, once an academic at the University of Melbourne. “I inherited my mother’s German books, many of which she inherited from my grandmother,” says Delfina. “My family’s history is the history of Europe,” she says. “From Germany to

Italy, from Italy to Australia.” Cordelia taught Italian at the University of Melbourne and was very protective of her Italian books. “I could sell my mother’s German books but not the Italian ones,” she explains. “I have an image of my mother sitting in a corner with a cigarette just glowering at me saying ‘Put them back! They’re not yours!’” Even though she has been in the business for many years, Delfina is still fascinated by what people buy. “My grandmother was a beekeeper, so I sold a heap of 1840s beekeeping books to a German buyer. I sell theology books to America, German books to Germany and just recently I sold a book about Australian mammal scats to South Africa. To be successful I think you have to go off-centre a little.”

or a township that you just ‘drive through on the way to the mountains’, Myrtleford has a lot going for it: colourful autumnal foliage, dramatic scenery and the Bibliomania Bookshop. Operating for well over 20 years, the Bibliomania Bookshop has been run by its current owner, Margery Wiltshire for just on 12 years.

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“I’ve always loved books,” says Margery, sitting with her constant companion Cooper the dog. “I went to Deakin University as a mature age student to study literature and writing,” she explains. “I got my honours there so books and literature have always been a part of me.” Upon moving to Myrtleford Margery had to take up care work to make a living. “I had long-term care work with the same people but I didn’t have the qualifications so I ended up just vacuuming people’s floors; it was a bit soul-destroying really,” she says. One day Margery just happened to walk past the Bibliomania Bookshop and there was a sign ‘Wanted: Partner for Bookshop’. “There was an older lady and a younger lady running the store,” says Margery. “The younger lady wanted to pursue her art so I took over her position.” The bookshop was just starting to thrive when Margery had a car accident in 2008 requiring hospital stays for nearly two years. “I crashed into a tree,” she says. “I was in a wheelchair for a while then crutches. At the beginning I would just u

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come into the store for a few hours then have to go home. Even now I’m not full time because of the pain levels.” Myrtleford is slowly changing from a drive-through town to one that has gourmet food in lively cafes. “My customers are a combination of locals and tourists,” says Margery. “I sell a bit of everything really. When I first came here I couldn’t have enough of Stephen King or James Patterson but you can never predict what people want.” Margery encourages her customers to read Australian authors. “I am very pro Australian literature,” she says. “I have all the Australiana out the front and that has been very successful.” Like many of the second hand bookstores visited in the north-east Bibliomania is a little cluttered. Piles of books lay on the floor with poor little Cooper being dwarfed by the literary towers. “I am way overstocked but that doesn’t worry me at all,” says Margery.

ne of the prettiest bookshops in the north-east is the Quercus Community Bookshop in Beechworth. Housed in a quaint old Methodist Church building, visitors and locals lose themselves amongst the wooden shelves. Named after the species of giant oak trees that guard the entrance, the

Quercus Community Bookshop was opened nearly 10 years ago to help fund the then Beechworth Neighbourhood Centre. Jan Ryan is the manager of the bookshop that opens seven days a week and is run by volunteers. Born in Beechworth, Jan lived most of her life in Melbourne until returning for a threemonth break. That was about 10 years ago and she is still there. “All our books are donated by the community,” says Jan. “The proceeds go back into the programs for Quercus Beechworth as it is now known.” Ten years ago the old church building housed playgroups, dancing and other events. When the second hand bookshop in town closed down the manager of the neighbourhood

Above: Quercus Bookshop in Beechworth Middle: Bibliomania Bookshop’s Margery Wiltshire in Myrtleford

Kenneth Hince from Euroa Fine Books

centre saw an opportunity. “They saw an opening for a business that would generate funds for social impact,” says Jan. “We had prisoners from the Beechworth Correctional Centre come up and paint the hall as well as install all the shelves that were donated. We are seen as a model for a really good social enterprise but it is all in context. This bookshop in its present state would not be viable if we were not a tourist town. I think when visitors come to Beechworth, they like to do the holiday thing and come and browse

amongst the shelves.” There is another bookshop in town, Beechworth Books, and both are seen as the literary hubs of the town. There are three formal book clubs that meet monthly as well as a monthly book conversation group. “We cater for people who don’t have the time or the capacity to devote to a formal book club but want to just chat about books in general,” says Jan. “People can come and go as they please. It has been going for three months.” One of the volunteers, Barbara, is busy cleaning a box of newly donated books. She has been coming in one afternoon a week for the last three years. “I’m retired now and being on my own I wanted to get out and meet people,” she says. “I love coming here where I get to work with such nice people.”

“

Some people think that electronic books will take over but I think that is ridiculous.”

Every book has its place in the Quercus Community Bookshop. Any old book that is donated is researched and if not of any value it is bundled up with others and used as decorations. “We make Christmas decorations out of old books as well as photo holders and business card holders,” says Jan. Jan believes that the success in the bookshop lies with the people of Beechworth. “Beechworth is a fascinating town,” she says. “If you look at the demographics it is mainly professional people, which is reflected in the diversity of the books we have here. We keep really good quality books and they are in really good condition. People always comment on how lovely the shop is. We are really proud of it.”

he local bookshop is the heart of the rural community, an integral part of people’s lives. Good bookshops work alongside local schools, helping to create lifelong readers. They are the human connection when families are searching for that special gift. The secret to their success is their love of what they do. Bookshops of the north-east are looking pretty good Mr Sherry. Because of limitations of space and time, we haven’t been able to visit all of the many wonderful bookshops in our region. Make sure you ferret them out for yourself. You’ll be well rewarded. NNE

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The icing on the cake For some itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about the food. From left to right: Abby, Makhela and Kendall

n September the streets of Jamieson were filled with the sounds and colours of hot rods. Enthusiasts from everywhere head for Jamieson to not only display their many and varied forms of hot rods but also to enjoy the tranquil picturesque township. Jamieson welcomes the Hot Rodders and turns on a feed for them every year. This year was no different. After a wander around the cars everyone heads to the marquees for nourishment. The line to the hamburgers and hot foods wound through the park. From out of nowhere came an army of volunteers each bearing arms full of sweets. Cakes, tarts, cupcakes, slices you name it, plate after plate of mouth watering sweets were being placed on the trestles. The conger line of people hungering for the hot food suddenly changed their minds and turned about face to the sweets table. Some lingered, some swooped, but all had eyes only for the tasty morsels on display. At least it gave the hot food cooks a chance for a break and to restock. Well done Jamieson and your team of volunteers. NNE

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From Yea to Broadway The excesses and subsequent crash of the 1920s are explored in an original play by Yea’s Deb Robinson and to be performed by the YAPPERS at the Yea Butter Factory. ADAM DENNIS reports

Photographs of some of the talented actors who are part of the YAPPERS in earlier productions

APPERS, Yea’s Finest Thespians, are striving for new heights in 2016; performing an original musical ‘Quaff’, written by Deb Robinson from Yea, one of the theatre group’s founding members. ‘Quaff’ is to be performed at the Yea Butter Factory and tells the story of a well-do-to Melbourne family in the late 1920s facing the unsettling period of the Depression and the Wall Street Crash. But like all good toe tapping musicals, it also enjoys its fair share of hilarity and silliness, love and tears. This year’s production will see the largest cast ever of more than twenty actors including five or so children, as orphans. YAPPERS (the Yea Artistic Performing Persons Entertaining Rural Society) was born early in 2013, when a handful of like-minded locals came together to create a community theatre group. Fortunately one of those was Deb Leslie, relatively new to Yea but bringing extensive experience as a producer at

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

the Golden Rivers Theatre Group in Barham, NSW. The presence of Deb Leslie has been integral to the growth and journey of the group. YAPPERS’ first production in late 2013 was ‘Farmer Will Swap Combine Harvester For Wife’ and was staged

at Yea’s Community House and was extremely well received. Productions since then have included ‘Nunsense’, a toe tapping musical about five nuns. ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ and ‘War of the Worlds’. YAPPERS have their very own Patron Saint in life member Mrs Val Borrie. Val

Patron of the YAPPERS, Val Borrie

has attended every show and has been influential in encouraging more bums-on-seats among her peers. Val is a long-time resident, a member of Yea’s Historical society and recalls other local theatre groups in decades past. Performances of ‘Quaff’ are on October 29 and 30 and November 1 and 2. Tickets are available online at www.yappers.org.au, or over the counter at 84 High Street, Yea, during business hours. Prices are $25 for adults, $20 concession, $10 children and $60 for a family of two adults and two children. Phone enquiries to 0427 298 123. NNE

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Alexandra guitarist Joe Talia has had a long and interesting career, not all of it musical. JULIA FOLETTA reports. Pictures: LYNNDA HEARD

oe Talia is an incredibly talented guitarist who just loves to play. You may have seen and heard him around; maybe in a local café, at the Yea market, the Alexandra library’s Acoustica events, at the Alexandra Hotel and Cafe, in Marysville at the art show, and maybe at last year’s Marysville Jazz and Blues weekend. Joe’s usually propped on a stool, one guitar in hand, two more and an amplifier beside him. Nearby will be devoted fan, his wife of 47 years, Pamela. Seemingly entranced, Joe plays the blues, Piedmont blues, ragtime, boogie woogie, swing, some cowboy Jazz, some bluegrass and his own interpretations of early pre-war tunes. When Joe was into rock’n’roll in the 60s you might even have jived to one of his rock music bands, Madrigal, at Q Club, or Powerhouse in Melbourne. Then again, the go-go girls with their mini skirts and knee high boots might have had more attraction. But there’s yet another side to Joe; he knows all about industrial electronics. His design projects have revolutionised the audio-visual operations of the television and advertising industry. In June this year Joe and Pamela’s interesting life road led them to Alexandra to live. They’d previously bought a little weekender in Taggerty in 1989 as a getaway from running their Melbourne businesses. “We chose Taggerty then as it was still close to Melbourne where we worked, and our family. Then in 2003 we bought the property behind on 12 acres. It had a barn – perfect for a music studio – a lovely home, deck and views. We retired there in 2005. After a 27-year detour, I started playing guitar again and taught myself banjo and Dobro lap slide,” Joe explains. “Our property was surrounded by bush. We made it though the 2009 fires but last summer decided that we’d had enough. We began looking around Alexandra. There were blocks of land, 26

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then an old weatherboard house came up for sale. Have you ever had the experience where something found you? All of a sudden this house in the town on a three quarter acre block in Alexandra just looked perfect. “Our daughter Karen used to say: ‘Haven’t you had enough of that country stuff now? When are you coming back to Melbourne?’ but she highly approves of this place. We think Alexandra is great. We’re close to services and can walk everywhere, including to the cafes.” And they are close to Pamela’s brother Ron Sinclair, who moved into Alex after house-sitting for them a few times. “Ron’s now a radio presenter on UGFM. ‘Uncle Grubby’ we call him,” says Pamela. The house has now been transformed and extended, the kitchen remodelled and the sloping garden extensively landscaped. For Joe the little chapel-like outhouse now has three rooms: two for music and one a workshop. Joe is most likely to be found in here along with his guitars and equipment too big and messy for the house: his woodworking and electronics gear, his big Tannoy speakers and a huge sound mixer and multi-track tape recorders used by Armstrong’s recording studio in South Melbourne. “I’d recorded a single with the George Brothers on that mixer in 1975. I photographed it in my memory. I could always picture the knobs, their colours and how it worked. It was built in Memphis Tennessee in 1973. Years and years later I acquired it! It’s a big daddy and weighs a ton!” Joe says. “When I’m not digging holes for Pamela’s garden I’m learning new songs, practising, building something for my studio, digging up old songs, finding several versions so I get different takes, then make my interpretation of it. I’ve always loved American roots music.”

oe didn’t come from a musical background. His father migrated from Reggio Calabria, Italy in 1952; five-yearold Joe and his mother followed in 1956. “Mum never really took on the Aussie thing. She always lived in the 50s. The whole back garden was stakes, tomato vines, beans. She was a really good gardener and amazing cook. We made tomato paste, built our own grape press to make wine. I wanted to be an Aussie; the kids at school mocked me for my oily sandwiches. I wanted peanut butter or those square sandwiches with all those coloured things on them!” he says ruefully. How did he get into music? “Well,” explains Joe, “I spent my summers helping out in my uncle’s hamburger shop. There was a jukebox in there and music got to me. I got to know the songs, got to like rock’n’roll, all those early songs of that era, the top 40 hits. My first music book had all the early Rolling Stones songs: ‘Satisfaction’, u

Multi-Talented Muso

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“

There was a jukebox in there and music got to me. I got to know the songs, got to like rock’n’roll, all those early songs of that era, the top 40 hits.”

Above and below: Joe with band members in the late 60’s. Pictures courtesy JOE TALIA

‘Paint it Black’, ‘The Last Time’. I was more a fan of the Rolling Stones and Animals than the Beatles. “I just developed passion for guitar and was inspired to play. I made a guitar out of a cardboard box, a long piece of wood, strings and stuff. Then I bought a really cheap second-hand Japanese guitar, just an acoustic arch top; it was hard to play. “My interest in electronics had also surfaced and I had a thing with wires and radio valves and somehow instinctively knew how to wire up an amplifier.” So, with the aid of an old mantel radio found at the tip, Joe worked out how to make a microphone, wire it up to the guitar and plug it into the radio: now he had an amplifier and, better still, an electric guitar. Soon he was in a little local band, playing Shadows and Rolling Stones 28

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

numbers. They were good enough to get three gongs at the 3UZ radio station talent quest. It was time to trade in the old amp and guitar and get more serious. “My uncle bought me a beautiful new Goldentone amp and a Canora electric guitar, better than the one I’d had,” he remembers. “With the guys from the band we got better and better and were playing all around town, at church halls and suburban dances. I don’t think we ever got paid, but it was great! Between gigs we practised in a garage.” Joe left school, grew his hair long and took on a cadetship with the PMG (later Telstra); this gave him a sound education in his other love, electronics. During his PMG training, Joe teamed up with some older experienced musicians and travelled to country towns all over Victoria on weekends, doing support gigs for all the big name bands. By then Joe had a much better guitar, a Fender Telecaster, which he still has today. It was very expensive: $360 in Lou Toppano’s music shop, a lot of money in the late 1960s. That and his developing talents made him guitarist for a new band called ‘Madrigal’. It had a manager and a fan club, and rehearsed in a share house. Very upmarket! “We were cutting edge, playing at places like Q Club, Opus, Powerhouse, 431; we did gigs all around town and were interviewed by ‘Go-Set’ magazine,” says Joe. “Then they wanted to be big and go touring. I wouldn’t go. They got a

new guitarist, went to Sydney and broke up!” Joe had bucked the family tradition by marrying Pamela, an Australian. They had their first child and wages at the PMG were not great. Through a music contact, Joe got a job with a company that made transistor parts. It was shortlived – the company was bought out a few months later – but Joe learned a lot about electronics, enough to get him a job in the field. Between jobs, though, he made a living from music. “I finally got a job at Philips,” says Joe. “They gave me a car. I didn’t have a licence so they taught me to drive, got a panel van with Philips on the side and a toolbox. I was driving around daily fixing their public address systems in churches, schools, at the fish market, buildings in the middle of town, with my long hair; long hair was OK by then. Fixing all sorts of things.” Working alongside some great audio engineers, Joe gained a firm grounding in audio engineering, working on auditorium sound installations including the sound system at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. At that time, the early 70s, he also hooked up with the former ‘Vibrants’ bass player, Phil Parli, and formed a popular pub band: Memphis. Colour TV was arriving in Australia and Philips, being a leader in the technology, had the patent for colour TV studio cameras. At about $100,000 each, (at least half a million in today’s money) the cameras were totally unaffordable for most Australian regional TV stations. Joe was soon promoted to camera specialist and, with his small team, designed a lower cost studio camera that, at around $20,000 was much more affordable and popular. Joe then travelled all around the country and to New Zealand installing them in TV studios. By the late ‘70s the colour boom was over, and Philips moved sales and service to Sydney. Joe didn’t go, but instead set up his own business, a ready-made job of servicing studio cameras and other TV gear he had installed while at Philips. u u

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Joe also repaired and built custom equipment for studios and built and repaired guitar amps and stuff. Joe’s first big break came when the big advertising agency George Patterson commissioned him to refine their unwieldy video presentation gear that consisted of many VCRs on trolleys in 14 client presentation rooms. Joe’s solution was to design and handbuild a remote-controlled audio/video routing switcher. This enabled a smaller number of the unsightly trolleys to be housed in a central room (out of the client’s sight), and switch the signals via cables to each of the 14 rooms. It worked brilliantly, and more customers wanted one too. “Pamela worked with me all the time, ran the business and helped me solder all the wires, says Joe. “Word got out, orders began to flow in. We employed extra staff and moved to a new factory.” 30

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Soon the routing switcher design evolved into a family of standard products. Joe had also invented a visual reading aid for the sight impaired. He sold the rights to OPSM. “Australian-made products were not popular with broadcasters during this period, he says. “We only got orders for back-room equipment; the big gear was bought from overseas manufacturers.” Having identified the special needs of the Australian broadcast market, Joe set out to refine the routing switcher. He presented his ideas at a trade show where the Seven network loved the concept and ordered a large system (before the finished product existed) for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, only a few months away. “We worked like crazy that Christmas, around the clock to get it built; it was due to leave for Barcelona in February,” says Joe. “This was the second big break. A local manufacturer supplying the big stuff to a major network didn’t go unnoticed. Soon the other major TV networks placed orders for this new innovative router, even the new Crown Casino bought one!” Work started before first light and finished with the burning of the midnight oil, leaving very little time for guitar playing. The router began to evolve further with the coming of digital TV and HDTV. After another factory move, daughter Melanie was co-coordinating production like a whiz and the router had gone through ten generations of refinement, and was being exported to North America and Canada. “We designed, built and tested hundreds of these things and they’re still being used today,” he says. “Going digital was a whole new exercise involving specialist design engineers, robotics and sometimes up to 25 assembly workers and engineering staff.” Their company, Talia Sound and Vision, had designed and manufactured a large product range of broadcast equipment and managed to capture a major slice of the routing switcher market. After 27 years, and many overseas trade shows, Talia was sold to Codan (in Adelaide), then later sold again to Ross Video in Canada.

hile living in Melbourne through the 90s, Joe got together in his home studio with some of the music staff from his son Joseph’s school. Once a month they’d create a new song from start to finish and record it live to analogue tape. “We were sort of rootsy rock/blues. Our vocalist Steve Dillon had an amazing voice and a huge inspiration to make music. Joseph wasn’t in the band; he did his own thing with jazz. In our soundproofed studio he learnt

“

We designed, built and tested hundreds of these things and they’re still being used today …”

how to control a mixer and record. He’d sit there all day practising his drum patterns. “He’s done very well, studied at VCA, worked with many top jazz bands, and studied improvisation. He has become well known for his experimental music, and does many concerts overseas. He’s presently living in Japan with his Japanese wife. He’s also doing some studio work by remote control. It’s amazing. People send him files and he can mix them down; the musician doesn’t even have to be there!”

hen you see Joe playing it’s more than likely he’ll be playing one of his National Resophonic guitars. Joe delights in sharing his knowledge of the development of these unusual guitars and the music played on them, particularly the Piedmont blues style. Very briefly the first Resophonic guitar was designed in about 1927 for a steel guitarist who wanted a guitar that could be heard over other competing instruments in a dance orchestra. Before the advent of the amplified electric guitar, resophonic guitars employed a spun aluminium cone in place of the traditional wooden soundboard for amplification. Joe likes to dig up and study gems recorded in the early part of the 20th century. “Then along came this amazing guitarist called Blind Blake,” he enthuses. “He played guitar like a ragtime piano, alternating bass lines with the thumb; the index finger picked out the melody. So he developed what later became known as the Piedmont Blues style, from that Piedmont area from Virginia down to Georgia on America’s east coast. Many of the Piedmont musicians travelled north to New York, and taught someone else how to do it.” “To play with expression like they played back in the 30s is really difficult because you can’t put yourself in their time, says Joe. “Their timing was sloppy but full of energy. From the Piedmont

BOOK FOR CHRISTMAS NOW area there’s ragtime piano, dance music, gospel; it’s a mix of all those things rolled into one. There were a lot of trading posts there. It was an affluent area where most people had a piano in the home and the venues used to play a lot of ragtime piano. I like to get the feel that they had.” Joe has studied the essence of Piedmont Blues along with music from the Appalachian mountains and country Blues by artists such as Doc Watson, Merle Travis and Chet Atkins, and also the amazing music of Jazz guitarist Bill Frisell. When you see Joe play, each of his three guitars has a different tuning. Open D, Open G and standard tuning are the main ones, with variations such as G6, G minor and D minor on some tunes. “Some people use the one guitar and tune it for different tunings. I prefer not to slacken the strings then tighten them to avoid breaking a string,” Joe explains. “Also I like to use the guitar that sounds best for each tuning. “I now mainly play resophonic guitars, I usually finger pick with my bare fingers without finger picks, which means you don’t hear the subtleties at a distance, so I usually have an amplifier. This also means I don’t have to thrash the guitar to get the volume out of it.” Every few years Joe and Pamela travel to Wyoming for some guitar time with his guitar mentor, Mike Dowling. “He’s a wonderful player,” says Joe. “A master of the early ‘30s music that I love. He is a great swing player too. I like to play local gigs in the district to pay for strings and the upkeep of my instruments, and also like to donate my time doing my share of community gigs.” Joe Talia is just one of the fabulous artists and groups playing at the 2016 Marysville Jazz and Blues Weekend, Friday October 14 to Sunday October 16. You’ll find Joe outside Fraga’s Café between one and four pm on the Saturday and Sunday. NNE

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One of Nicola Beautymanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s photographs to be exhibited at the Produce Store Mansfield as part of the Mansfield 2016 Spring Arts Festival 32

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

Nicola’s debut

ansfield is filled to the brim with events during October and November which is only natural as Mansfield is filled to the brim with talented people. One such person is Nicola Beautyman, a first time exhibitionist in the art being displayed at various venues in the High Street of Mansfield as part of the 2016 Mansfield Spring Arts Festival. Photography is Nicola’s artistic medium of choice. “I started taking photos with my phone a couple of years ago and posting them on Instagram” said Nicola, “since then my skills have improved and I have advanced to a big girl’s camera.” Nicola’s inspiration for her photos comes from her love of the region “I love the outdoors and hike, ski, and snow camp and as a result I find myself in some beautiful places.” The exhibition of Nicola’s photographs is a joint display of works with local international potter and artist, Wendy Jagger. The exhibition is of photos by Nicola accompanied by Wendy’s interpretation of the photos as paintings. There will be 20 pieces in all, 10 from each artist. “I am excited that our display is in the Mansfield Produce Store, it was the venue I was hoping the instillation would be dispalyed in” said Nicola. When asked were the pieces for sale Nicola quickly replied “you bet-ya”. Nicola is also the Director of the local Mansfield kindergarten. “Consequently I love my school holidays for time to take photos.” “I try and get out each day and take photos first thing in the morning on my way to work” said Nicola “I am often running to be on time as I have stopped to take a photo.” Nicola also admits that it is not uncommon for dinner to be late as the sunsets are just too beautiful not to take a photo of. “My family groan quiet a bit when we are travelling as I am always yelling out stop to Derek (Nicola’s husband) so as not to miss an opportunity of a shot” admits Nicola. The Beautyman’s bought a holiday home at Merrijig in 1994 to take advantage of the skiing and never went back to Melbourne. “I adore Merrijig” said Nicola “it’s close to Mansfield and close to the mountains. “The Mansfield Spring Arts Festival is a wonderful celebration of the talent we have in Mansfield” explained Nicola. “I look forward to the walk on the opening night where you wander from venue to venue enjoying the art on display” said Nicola, “every year you see incredible art in each of the establishments. As a family we also love the fireworks at the High Country Festival.” The Spring Arts is just one of the festivals in Mansfield over Spring, there is the High Counry Festival, the Melbourne International Film Festival, the Targa High Country, the Australian Four Day Enduro, the Living Pantry Lunch, the Talk Wild Trout and Mansfield Annual Agricultural Show and the Lake Eildon Festival. Be assured that you will find something to keep you, your family, your friends and who ever else visits the region entertained. NNE

Nicola Beautyman at the Produce Store Mansfield

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From the berry to the book How orcharding in the Strathbogies made Glenda Thomson a literary success. Report and pictures by COLETTE GEIER

here’s a buzz amongst local literature enthusiasts about a book that’s due to hit the shelves this coming January. ‘Blueberry’ is the debut novel by Glenda Thomson and tells the story of a young single mother with a corporate career making a treechange to the hills of north east Victoria to become a blueberry orchardist. Our region is no stranger to writers; there’s plenty of great literary work produced around here but Penguin Random House have big plans for ‘Blueberry’ and its author. Already available for pre-order in paperback or eBook, ‘Blueberry’ will be stocked everywhere from bookshops to department stores and will no doubt be packed along with the beach towels on many summer getaways next January. For those on a car trip over the summer or who prefer to listen to their novels rather than read them, ‘Blueberry’ will be available as an audio-book from early 2017. So who is Glenda Thomson? Here lies the author’s most tangible lesson in publishing. Penguin Random House were extremely happy to get their hands on this book; in fact they have commissioned her next book sight unseen, but there was just one small catch: her name just didn’t cut it. In the cut-throat world of modern publishing, first impressions are everything and Penguin Random House’s marketing team deemed ‘Glenda’ just a tad too old-fashioned. u 34

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Glenda Thomson at home

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(Note to any Sheilas or Joyces out there: you might want to choose a pen name before taking a career change into literature.) Glen was deemed too masculine and she wasn’t keen on a pen name so her husband Alistair saved the day by researching the Gaelic feminine of Glen, which was found to be Glenna. Glenna proved memorable and timeless and with just one letter difference, it kept everyone happy. “I like the name Glenna, and wish Mum and Dad thought of it sixty years ago!” Glenda says. Both former executives from Melbourne, the couple’s road to the Strathbogies was one of chance. Glenda found an advertisement for a farming property on the internet one weekend on a visit to Beechworth in 2003. They rang the agent, and visited it on their way back to Melbourne. “We fell in love with the hills, granite outcrops and views, and put an offer on it almost straight away,” Glenda says. The plan was a weekender but after 36

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a year of weekends, Glenda and Alistair ran out of reasons to go back to the city on a Sunday and decided to make Strathbogie their home. A dream to run cattle led the couple to a local cattle group called Beefcheque and not only did they learn the cattle skills they needed but they found a readymade community of like-minded people. In 2006, the neighbouring property came up for sale but there was just one catch: it came with a ten-acre blueberry orchard. Intensive horticulture wasn’t on the couple’s ‘to do’ list but they thought: “Why not? Let’s give it a go.” Alistair found a TAFE course on blueberry growing in Melbourne and before they knew it they were commercial blueberry orchardists. “We made a good team,” says Glenda. “We’d prune together and come harvest, I’d look after the packing shed and Alistair took charge of labour and the books.” The eight to ten weeks of harvest, “… was like whitewater rafting; there were blueberries coming at us from every

direction,” explains Glenda. Picking blueberries is all done by hand and the whole bush can’t be harvested at once. Over the harvest period each bush will be picked up to six times and it can be back-breaking work. The Thomsons’ blueberries ended up on the shelves of every major supermarket and for several years they made a good profit. But then came a change that pealed the death knell to many small berry producers. To meet year-round consumer demand, blueberries are grown all over the country. Large foreign-owned companies have invested heavily in Australia over the last few years, making it much harder for small producers to compete. Blueberry farms two hundred times the size of the Thomson’s have now been established in Tasmania, the fruit of which coincide with harvest in the Strathbogies and suddenly they just couldn’t compete. “It wasn’t economical for us to continue,” Glenda explained. Glenda and Alistair knew selling the orchard off as a going concern would ensure financial failure for the next owner and they couldn’t bear to see all their hard work fall into disarray. In 2015, with very heavy hearts, the Thomsons pulled out their thirty-year-old blueberry bushes, transplanting 100 of them to their home garden to keep the memory alive. The blueberry orchard may be gone, but the wealth of knowledge it gave Glenda was just what she needed to realise a long-held dream of becoming a published author. Before all of this and before meeting her husband Alistair, Glenda spent 24 years in corporate communications. Raised on an apple orchard, now long buried under the urban sprawl of Wantirna South in Melbourne’s east, u

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Glenda was busy raising a young family when her circumstances changed and she needed to return to the workforce. With three children under ten years she found a way to manage work and family and set off on a whirlwind ride into the corporate stratosphere complete with world travel and charge accounts. On setting out, Glenda had no idea where her career would take her but as she says: “It’s sometimes good to be naïve because if I’d known the barriers, I mightn’t have had the courage.”

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“

“People will say I’ve been lucky but interestingly, the harder you work, the luckier you get and most of all I just loved my job.” After twelve years working for an international aid agency, in the second half of her business career Glenda headed corporate affairs and crisis management in Asia-Pacific for a global food company. It was a busy time in her life and although she describes it as ‘a brilliant ride’ she also admits to ‘living on adrenalin’ and there was no time for her to express her creative self. It was during these “cerebral years” that Glenda met Alistair who worked for the same company but previously in London and New York. After quitting corporate life and taking time to smell the roses, Glenda took a creative writing course and a casual interest quickly became an obsession. “I got really addicted and that’s not like me,” she explains. “I was used to going from one thing to the next but writing just held my attention”. Every afternoon at two pm Glenda retires to her study with an inspiring view out over the Strathbogie hills to write. Her first attempt at a novel took her seven years and a lot of soul-searching. Much had changed over that time and although the first book remains unpublished, it served as a thorough literary apprenticeship.

Glenda is the new face of country women; she’s well dressed and worldly with a quiet sophistication that enables her to move freely between the paddock and the board room.”

Glenda explains the vast schism between the worlds of highbrow literary fiction and commercial fiction and her realisation that she had a much better chance of being successful by bridging the two. By making her work more commercial, she wasn’t selling out; she was increasing her chances of being published and ultimately increasing her potential readership. The second book, ‘Blueberry’, took four years and Glenda heeded the saying ‘write what you know’ very literally. Whist the characters are all fictional, they draw on Glenda’s own experiences both practically and emotionally. Most poignantly, the blueberry orchard they lost has been immortalised into the pages of the book. ‘Blueberry’ spans a year in the life of a small horticultural operation and with a slightly melancholic smile she admits: “You’ll know how to run a blueberry orchard after reading it.” The publishing success has not only given Glenda the professional acknowledgement she sought; Penguin Random House’s enthusiasm for her writing style has given her a new motivation and her next book is nearly complete after less than a year. Her current work also draws on

Glenda and Alistair Thomson

her knowledge of country life but this time Glenda is focussing on the multi-generational dynamics often experienced in modern families. Glenda has recently welcomed her fifth grandchild to the world and also has constant contact with her elderly parents who are 85 and 90 years old. Not only is her writing style part of a new contemporary genre, so is her life. “I had this moment when I was taking mum’s walker out of the car boot so I could buckle my grandson’s car seat in, and I fully grasped the demanding

lives women of my generation now experience. It’s a theme I like writing about.” Once upon a time people had one career, retired, helped out with the grandkids for a bit and promptly fell off the shelf, but things have changed and Glenda finds herself not facing impending infirmity but at the beginning of a new incarnation. “It’s very exciting to have a new career at my point in life,” she says with humbleness but at the same time a sense of ownership that inspires confidence.

Glenda is the new face of country women; she’s well dressed and worldly with a quiet sophistication that enables her to move freely between the paddock and the board room. Starting a new career at any stage in life takes guts. “You’d never take on any of these things if you knew what was really involved,” admits Glenda, but she’s done it and the world is forever just that little sweeter for her labours. NNE

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Showtime in the north-east Country shows are here again, with all their famous flair. Pictures: LYNNDA HEARD

pring is in the air, so it must be time for those most wonderful events, local agricultural shows. Once a year our local producers, big and small, old and young, have the opportunity to show off. Horses are being groomed within a inch of their lives, cattle are being trained to walk in the ring, chooks are being washed and blow-dried, tried and tested recipes are being tried and tested yet again, growers of flowers and vegies are tenderly tending to their gardens and artisans with cameras, pieces of paper, knitting needles are putting them to good use and creating works of art. Shearers, meanwhile, are sharpening their blades and dogs are being whistled into obedience. Toddlers are getting on their finery and learning how to strut the catwalk for the Miss and Master Tiny Tot competitions.

uroa always has a wonderfully traditional country show that we love and enjoy. This year it will be opened by local politician Stephany Ryan at 11.45am Saturday 22 October, but the

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action starts from 7.45am that morning until late Sunday 23 October afternoon. A variety of events will be on Saturday, with Sunday being the big day for horses. The local children in Euroa have been busy creating a mad array of scarecrows over the past few months to enter into the Scarecrow competition. It’s open to schools, clubs and individuals, and should be loads of fun. Scarecrows will be displayed in Binney Street shops and businesses for the 3 weeks prior to the show. Other attractions will be running over the whole weekend, including sideshows, trade exhibits, food vans, a snake and reptile display and a horsemanship display.

ea’s show will be back after its centenary two years ago and it promises to be bigger and better than ever. Opening night will be Friday November 25 with an evening program of family-oriented music and entertainment together with all the traditional sideshow attractions.

The key live music performers for Friday evening will be country rock band Wild Honey from Melbourne and the acclaimed Pans on Fire steel band from Marysville. On Saturday there will be the true country events where the real competition takes place with horse events, the cattle and sheep are judged and the fleeces are scrutinized. There will also be an enormous diversity of crafts, homewares, horticultural and garden sections, with many opportunities for the children to be part of the show. Amongst the groups participating on Saturday will be local members of the CWA while the Cittaslow group in Yea is planning to present a traditional country trades fair. If you get half a chance, make sure you get to one of the many local shows in our region. Better still, why not go to their websites and enter your skills in one of the many competitions? You’ll be so glad you did. NNE

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Also open for business

“

… the enjoyment they all find in being with people, these owners keep a smile on their faces seven days a week.”

n this issue we continue with our feature on the much-valued general stores in the region. This time we speak with Susan and Eric from Goughs Bay, Shelly and Jason from Oxley and Margaret and Chris Bridgman from Buxton. With a love of their community and the enjoyment they all find in being with people, these owners keep a smile on their faces seven days a week. Be you a resident, weekender or a visitor travelling through, the general store is often the only establishment in town and, as we are finding out, an invaluable provider of the lot, including boundless local knowledge, a good chat and, yes, hamburgers. Next time you are out and about, keep an eye open for the general store and take the time to stop and wander in. You will be assured of a friendly greeting and finding that stamp, that tank of petrol, that sandwich or container of milk and sometimes an egg and bacon roll. And, of course, a copy of the North by North-East magazine to go with it. LYNNDA HEARD took the pictures. 42

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Beauty and tradition The General Store at Goughs Bay is set in one of the most idyllic spots imaginable, report and pictures by LYNNDA HEARD

rand gums grace the entrance to the Goughs Bay General Store, and magpies perch in the branches and warble their songs. “Eric’s father owned the store and we purchased it from him” says Susan Maxfield. “In fact there were three Erics who have owned the store: my husband Eric, his dad Eric Maxfield, and he bought it from Eric Wellwood.” Susan and Eric bought the store from Eric’s dad 31 years ago. “Eric has worked in the store for over 50 years, since he was a boy,” says Susan. Goughs Bay is a secluded village comprising the General Store, the Boat Club, holiday accommodation, full-timers and weekenders all wrapped around the water of Lake Eildon with the mountains at its back. All with views to kill for. With magnificent walks and all things water, it is a beautiful spot. “Taking on the store was a lifestyle choice,” says Susan, who met Eric when she was a girl holidaying at Goughs bay with her

parents. “Eric used to make deliveries from the store to the campers,” tells Vera Dahms, Susan’s mum. The General Store is the lifeblood of the local community, providing it with petrol, home-delivered gas, a post office and newsagency, licensed store, deli and essentials, ice; the list goes on. They also have an extensive takeaway food menu in holiday periods, including roast chicken and a different homemade salad every day of the week. One favourite is Vera’s famous coleslaw. “We make sure our fuel prices are the same as Mansfield. You don’t want to drive all the way to Mansfield for fuel.” Susan says, recalling the summers when her dad used to help out and man the pump, putting fuel into cars and boats. “Dad would be standing there filling up tanks with an umbrella to shade his bald head. Christmas would be so busy that we needed someone to man the pumps all day and Dad was it.” Susan and Vera smile as they look at each other, remembering. Vera is from Berlin, where it was hard to find somewhere to live after the war.

E&S Maxfield General Store Licensensed Bottle-shop and Post Office 4 Main St, Goughs Bay 03 5777 3558. Open 7 days a week Goughs Bay is a tiny village on the shores of beautiful Lake Eildon, about 20 kilometres from Mansfield.

Left to right: Vera, Ingrid Norris, Indi (the blue heeler) and Susan

With family already in Australia, they moved to this country in 1956. According to Vera, Heinze (Vera’s husband) decided early on that if he couldn’t retire to Goughs Bay he would go back to Berlin. He loved fishing and the freedom of living here. “Life hasn’t always been cruisey for the general store; during the droughts there was no water and no holiday makers,” says Susan. “We survived with Eric working as an antenna installer for the last forty years.” Susan, Eric and their three boys, now grown up, live in the house attached to the store. “Jason is an electrician and now lives in Melbourne, the twins Travis and Aaron are still at home. Travis is a builder and Aaron works at Buller Sports Camp Howqua,” says Susan. Swimming, fishing, snow boarding and horse riding kept the family of boys busy in Goughs Bay. Throughout the day, weekenders and visitors pull up to the store for a regular parcel pick-up, petrol, half a dozen tinnies, the local magazine and newspapers. “It’s funny, some of the older residents still think I close between one and four pm as I did when the kids were little. These days we’re open seven days a week,” says Susan. Vera has been there to help in the store since they bought it. “Goughs Bay has been part of our lives for well over

fifty years since Heinze and I came to Australia,” she says. Susan explains: “Mum and Dad have helped in the store since we bought it.” In addition to the store, Eric would deliver to campsites on the Delatite Arm of Lake Eildon; he would leave at 7am and not finish until 10pm. The need for ice was huge in summer and Eric senior built an ice works next to the store. “The blocks of ice had to be crushed and Dad always helped with that. It meant that the locals and visitors always had fresh ice available to them here,” says Susan. Susan and Eric’s home above the store was once a boarding house. “The lounge room used to be the dance floor.

Lee Psaila picks up the local magazine

We renovated one room a year as we could afford it,” she explains. Goughs Bay General Store has changed to suit the changing demands in the village, especially as the population has grown. Like all the general stores in our region it is precious; if they close, all too often they never reopen and an invaluable resource and service is lost to that community. The post office is busy, especially with parcels and now with Christmas stamps that are in stock already,” says Susan. “Having the Post Office here gives the community the ease and convenience of being able to collect parcels here and not having to travel to Mansfield.” Former paper boy Shane Pegg stops for some fuel. “Shane’s younger brother Jordie now delivers the papers. There have been so many local kids who have worked with us over the years,” says Susan. Susan will always stay in Goughs Bay and plans to build a new home one day, and Eric would love to go horse riding again. “Eric rode his horse to the school bus; he could ride before he could walk. His dad had stables with a stallion and Eric went to Mansfield Pony Club,” tells Susan. “I remember to this day one of the ponies, Goldie, having to be put down by teh vet Rob Manning. It really u affected me.” NORTH BY NORTH-EAST

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Tasty Toastie The Ryan family, Baden, Shelley and Jason Picture: LIN

DA SAYERS

Baden raiding the lolly jar

The Oxley Pantry and Post Office 1157 Snow Rd, Oxley 03 5727 3300 Open: Monday – Thursday 7am-5pm, Friday 7am-8pm and weekends 8am-4pm. The village of Oxley lies on the Snow Road, approximately 13 kilometres south-east of Wangaratta. 42

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Despite health challenges, the Ryan family has made The Oxley Pantry a must-stop for locals and people heading to the snow. Story and pictures by NATASHA LOBBAN he Oxley Pantry draws tourists in off the Great Alpine Way as they head to and from the snowfields. And it keeps the locals happy too. The building is about 150 years old and in the past three years the Ryan family has put its own special touches on it. Walking through the entrance, the first thing that catches the eye is a new and colourful hopscotch design. But the store itself is more than a hop, skip and a jump from the metropolitan Melbourne life they were living three years ago. The general store has been the perfect way for the Ryan family – Jason and Shelley, together with Baden, 13, and Stella, 4 - to get to know and become a part of the local community. It’s also drawn the attention of three of the country’s most discerning tastebuds. MasterChef judges Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston called into the Oxley Pantry in February 2015 for an egg and bacon toastie. A photograph of the trio sits proudly on the counter of the store. They’ve been back, so the toastie must be pretty special. “Gary came back with his wife last year,” Mrs Ryan says. “Then Matt returned with his whole family on the way to the snow too.” Baden says the secret ingredient is that the perennial favourite is “made with family love”. So why the move from the big smoke to North East Victoria? Shelley was almost 40, pregnant and had been diagnosed with a lump in her throat. Jason suffers from VHL, a condition which means he is having ongoing treatment for brain tumours. Together they decided to move out of Melbourne for a quieter life. “We had always liked Oxley and had friends here,” Shelley says. “It’s a great community and a wonderful place to raise the kids.” They came up to buy a block of land and while there heard the general store was for sale. “We looked at each other and thought it was a great idea,” she says. “It’s been a great way to get to know everyone.” They’ve also been pleasantly surprised with the level of community support on offer when times are tough. Jason had two brain tumours removed in April, a time

when they particularly felt Oxley’s love and support. “When something happens in Oxley everyone rallies around but they don’t get in your face every day,” Shelley says. “It feels like we’ve been here forever.” It was an opportunity that fell into their lap, but it was only after they had moved to Oxley that a historic family connection was discovered. It turns out Mr Ryan’s great aunt used to live in the building. “Some of the older locals remember her as Dolly,” Shelley says. It’s been a house, pub and a shop, and Baden thinks it’s the type of place Ned Kelly would have loved; it has a cellar that would be perfect to hide in. Photographs found hidden behind old shelving didn’t reveal any bushranger history but they have been framed and proudly displayed to acknowledge the history of the building and the town. When the Ryans took over, they renamed it The Oxley Pantry. Being open seven days is a big job and they say they couldn’t do it without help from some junior staff members. “It’s become a real little hub,” says Shelley. She says the “good vibe” can be felt as locals come in, not just to get their papers but to have a chat to the Ryans and other residents. “I’ve met so many amazing people,” she says. “I don’t regret ever doing this. You wouldn’t know Jason’s had two brain tumours out, he’s amazing.” Jason continues ongoing treatment for VHL, a condition that Stella also has. Their eldest son Flynn passed away as a baby in 2001. Together the five Ryan family members have The Oxley Pantry’s unique coffee named after them: the R5 blend. It’s blended by Blynzz Coffee Roaster, Beechworth, and is just how they like it. “It can’t be purchased anywhere else,” Shelley says. “It’s been really popular.” Locals pop in for regular coffees, and tourists call in for their twice-yearly cup: once on the way to the snow and again on the way home. The store has a focus on local produce, stocking the shelves with take-home goodies and their own kitchen with local produce like eggs and bread to be used in the food they serve. “We try to stay as local as we can,” says Shelley. “We’re not gourmet but we keep it fresh; If we wouldn’t eat it we wouldn’t serve it.” Local favourites like hamburgers and fish and chips remain on the menu, as do home-cooked cakes. The Ryans have been through so much and yet remain positive and exude warmth and happiness to all who pass through the door. “When people come in they are looking for a conversation,” Shelley says. “Once they’ve been here we find they keep coming back.” u

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NNECOUNTRY Buxton General Store and Post Office 2187 Maroondah Hwy, Buxton 03 5774 7028 Open: Monday-Friday 7-5, Weekends 8-5 Buxton is a small town 104 kilometres north-east of Melbourne, 30 km south of Alexandra. At the 2011 Census, Buxton had a population of 257. Source: Wikipedia.

Buzzing Buxton If you’re heading through Buxton, make sure you add to the Dozer’s Pie count at the General store. Story by JULIA FOLETTA Pictures: LYNNDA HEARD

he signs outside the Buxton General Store and Post Office announce: Dozer’s Pie count since October 2015; ‘Cash out, no fees’; and the availability of tempting chocolate-covered, carameldripping ice creams. Community announcements adorn the glass door and a couple of notice boards. A glass display cabinet is updated regularly by a local real estate agent. There’s a Telstra phone box, a red Australia Post letterbox; potted camellias and the Great Divide Coffee banners define the outdoor table and chairs area. A couch outside is presently unoccupied but later in the day school children or a visitor may find it a comfy spot to eat their ice cream or pie. Bells jingle as you enter the store; it can be a guess as to which smiling face will greet you. It might be Chris Bridgman the owner and postmaster or his wife Margaret, out of the kitchen carrying a fresh cake to sample and a telltale sign of where the appetising smell has come from. Later it may be another willing helper, David. It’s a bit of an extended family affair. It’s 10 am and a bit of a dreary day outside. Two locals roll up. They’ve finished their farm chores and are now heading off to ‘real’ work. Coffee mugs in hand, they’re ready for a fresh fill 46

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from the espresso machine, ably staffed by Amanda Silcock, now a regular, enthusiastic part of the Buxton Store experience. The brew is freshly-ground Great Divide Coffee, roasted in Buxton and personally delivered by the roaster himself, Andrew Hall. There are many freshly made pies to choose from, including the special Dozer’s pie: rump steak, bacon, onion and mini baked potatoes. Margaret began making her hearty pies in October 2105. They have become extremely popular and she’s been counting. The count is updated on the Dozer’s blackboard outside; at the time of writing it was 8872. The store’s function and façade have changed over time and with many owners since it was built in the late 1920s. In those days it was a real general store selling everything needed for a remote town of timber mill settlements, dairy farms and guest houses. Just prior to Margaret and Chris’s arrival in September 2015 the store was operating in a limited capacity, but was a fully operational Post Office. Now it stocks a good selection of daily and weekly papers, milk, drinks, maps, magazines, a rack of sunglasses, some grocery essentials, a bit of pottery, local artwork, packets of chips and the

inevitable selection of sweets. On the counter are wrapped portions of fresh cakes; today it’s mud cake, butter cake and brownies. Having lived in the area for nearly 30 years, Margaret, previously Margaret Fiddler, is a ‘local’. Chris is doing well as a relative newcomer. Margaret comes out to the shop fridge to get some bacon. An alarm rings and she hurries back out to the kitchen; her banana cake is ready. Each day begins early. The daily papers have been delivered; the tradies might drop by for their first coffee for the day or breakfast: egg and bacon roll and a mug of coffee for $8 or a Dozer’s pie. Locals pull up for the morning papers. They’ll be back later for their mail. Buxton’s out of towners were offered roadside mail delivery but most opted to collect their mail – for some it breaks the daily isolation; and you never know who you might run into when you stop at the store! Around 10am on Tuesdays the ladies from the Buxton Walking Group arrive after completing their walk around Buxton’s delightful 4.6 kilometre walking trail. They chat, laugh, enjoy a tea or coffee and maybe a cake and share the camaraderie so prevalent in a country town. “We developed the unused restaurant space and named it Dozer’s Café and Wine bar. It has a licence to serve meals and alcohol. Last summer we held a few successful karaoke nights, but now we’re having music in the daytime,” Margaret explains. “We enjoy Buxton and love the locals. It really suits us to be here and see the business developing at such a rate.” NNE

Saturday October 8th Jamieson Memorial Hall 8 p.m. start $35 including tasting glass

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Mansfield High Country Festival Grand Parade

A festive spring O

ur country spring festivals in north-east Victoria encompass all that is festive in our wonderful region. They manage to find the best of all the arts. It is a time to celebrate Spring and feast on the fresh produce we produce and to feed our imaginations and gladden our hearts. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a celebration of the year gone and the year to come.

Mansfield

has events and festivals packed into October and November that cover the mountains, the lakes, the rivers and the towns of Mansfield. They start with the Annual Wildflower Walk in October then there is the Art of Opera on October 22 and the Spring Arts from 21-28 October. Following is the MIFF Travelling Showcase on 22 and 23 October. The Mansfield High Country Festival from 28 October to 1 November 48

OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2016

Alexandra is cool and relaxed

Benalla’s Grand Parade

leads into Targa High Country, the Mansfield Show and the Lake Eildon Festival all in November. Best you check the website for all the details www.eventsmansfield.com.au.

Alexandra always remembers Spring and fills the Rotary Park in the center of town with live music that is accompanied with food, wine, stalls, rides and family fun. It is a chance to sit and relax and let the kids do the running and dancing. Under the shade of the majestic trees all who visit can just stop for a moment and be entertained. Visit www.alexandratourism.com for all the information.

Bright’s Spring Festival Grand Parade

In Benalla ‘The Sky is the Limit!’ the 2016 Benalla Festival is happening from 29 October to 6 November. Visit benallafestival.com The Bright Spring Festival for 2016 is titled ‘Dazzling, Delightful, Delicious!’ and will be from 15 October to 1 November. Visit www.brightspringfestival.com.au. The Oktoberfest happens in Beechworth on 10 and 11 October and the Celtic Festival on November 6 to 8. www.beechworth.com has the details. NORTH BY NORTH-EAST

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Ruffy Artfest

igh atop the plateau between the Hume and Maroondah Highways is the area of Ruffy. The small village boasts a hall, an excellent restaurant/produce store, a community centre, a CFA and an active arts community. Over three days in November â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Friday 11, Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ruffy will hold its annual Artfest in the village and surrounding properties. The Artfest opens with an art show on Friday, November 11, in the community

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

hall in Nolans Road, Ruffy. Here you can meet with the artists and preview their works from 7.30pm onwards. Being good country folk, the $20 entry fee will include supper, drinks and music. On Saturday and Sunday the art exhibition is open to all, and the sale begins. Being early is definitely an advantage. On Saturday and Sunday, gardeners in the area will be opening their gates and letting in the public to marvel at their displays of flora. To keep things interesting there will be workshops held

at some of the locations. This year it is thank you to Brooklands Farm Country Retreat for sponsoring the first prize of $500. The winner of this generous prize will be selected from across all of the mediums. For first timers heading to Ruffy the drive from either highway is just as glorious as Ruffy itself, so you can be sure to enjoy every aspect of the journey. For more information, contact Robyn Sheehan on 03 5790 3275 or www. ruffycommunity.com.au NNE

Jamieson wine, cheese and beer night If you’re into tastes, you won’t get better than at this Jamieson Primary School fundraiser.

“

Make sure you snap up a bargain”

amieson Memorial Hall will be the setting for a fabulous night of tasting on the second Saturday in October. The focus will be on wines from South Australia’s Limestone coast (wineries from Coonawarra, Mount Benson, Mount Gambier, Padthaway, Robe and Wrattonbully), but there will also be wines from other parts of Australia and the world. Local craft beers from Mansfield’s own Social Bandit will be available for tasting. Brian ‘Prof’ Lynn, described as ‘the effusive, yet selfdeprecating voice’ of Majella Wines, Coonawarra is our special guest winemaker for this year, providing insight into the wonderfully distinctive taste of wines from that region, and the ‘terra rossa’ soil that makes it happen. Majella was recently named by James Halliday as that area’s best winery. Other local and interstate winemakers will be mingling in the crowd, keen to chat and share their knowledge. One of the night’s many highlights will be a charity auction of unique and award-winning wines. Make sure you snap up a bargain! All funds raised will be gratefully received by Jamieson Primary School. If you want to go, it’s best to get in quick; this is a popular event and will sell out before you can blink. Head into Jamieson General Store and Post Office, or phone 03 5777 0535. NNE Date: Saturday October 8th Time: 8pm Place: Jamieson Memorial Hall Cost: $35 including tasting glass

YOUR HOSTS CARMEL and BRIAN DIXON

Relax with nature

Welcome to Jamieson Valley Retreat, located in the NE of the Victorian Alpine Region. Set on 25 acres, it offers 4 fully self-contained chalets. The retreat boasts breathtaking scenery of the Australian Alps, with Jamieson River frontage and a natural spring fed lake to swim or fish in. This is a peaceful and secluded retreat for those looking to unwind.

Jamieson Valley Retreat 36 Jamieson Valley Lane (Off Licola Road) Jamieson P: 5777 0510 info@jamiesonretreat.com www.jamiesonretreat.com M: 0400 599 546

Invite you to a gourmet stay at

JAMIESON B and B 38 Nash Street, JAMIESON t (03) 5777 0601 m 0400 570 600 e brian@lifebeinit.org

www.jamiesonbandb.com.au

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The Environment of Childhood

Kids can be eager beavers when it comes to discovering facts and teaching others. CATHY OLIVE from Upper Goulburn Landcare Network reports on a wonderful program. Pictures: Steve Prothero

o who does have the best beak in Buxton? Spoonbill is very happy with his; it’s perfect for sieving crustaceans and small fish. Ibis finds his curved beak perfect for stabbing in the mud and finding grubs, not to mention pinching lunches at Healesville Sanctuary. Kookaburra thinks his is a real hoot and good for catching lizards and snakes too. But Buxton kids know it’s not all about the birds with the biggest beaks! They know the delicate, curved beaks of the honeyeaters are very tidy for sipping nectar, and Willy Wagtail’s beak works just fine for flying insects. Buxton Primary students have been studying birds for the winter and have found that beak shape and claws can tell a lot about what a bird might eat. They have put all of that great learning into a fabulous play (and also used it to inform on what habitat was missing in their school grounds); perfect for ‘Kids Teaching Kids’ this year. Murrindindi Shire and Avenel Primary schools celebrated Kids Teaching Kids on September 5 in the Yea Wetlands. This is the fourth year Upper Goulburn Landcare Network has coordinated the event, and it just gets better every year. It’s part of a national program, involving 10,000 kids over Australia during ‘Kids Teaching Kids’ week. Kids work on an environmental topic of their choice; they look at the issues, but also look at and act on ways they can make a difference to that issue. Being proactive is an important component; every little bit

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“

Our kids are a great inspiration; don’t ever forget to listen and learn from them!”

helps, and being little doesn’t stop your contribution being significant. Some of the highlights from the day include a study of platypus, bees, insects (including insects that help decay, with some very scary skull exhibits) recycling and how climate change is affecting the wine industry. Yes, you did read that correctly. Avenel Primary School kids wanted to study the effects of climate change on the wine industry! Some Avenel families are intimately involved with the wine industry, and the kids were keen to know how their local industry was coping

with increased temperatures and low rainfall. What they found was there are some potential advantages with grapes ripening early and being small, but sweet. They were also really impressed with a visit to Tahbilk Winery and its approach to being carbon neutral, one of only two wineries in Australia, and one of six worldwide. However, in terms of what they can do as students, well that was a challenge! The kids studied an individual carbon footprint; what impact does our lifestyle have on how much carbon we produce? They learnt a whole lot of great things that can reduce their impact,

and things that increase their impact. One lesson I learnt was not to use black plastic bags as opposed to green or orange ones. Our kids are a great inspiration; don’t ever forget to listen and learn from them! We have been very lucky each year to have funding support from the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority and this year, we have additional funding support from Bendigo Community Bank. I step away each year feeling heartened by the wonderful community I live in. Let’s not lose sight that every little bit counts. NNE

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NNETHE RICH KING VALLEY An NNE promotional feature

The King Valley with the lot

s you meander through the King Valley in North-East Victoria you could be easily misled into believing that there are only a lot of wonderful wineries and cows. And there are. But there is so much more to this treasure of a valley. Wander off the main road and discover a plethora of amazing men and women accomplishing awesome things. Surrounded by mountains with abundant rivers and creeks the area abounds in beauty and rich fertile land which these industrious people from all walks of life have made their home and a way of life. Accommodation for all tastes is everywhere; you can stay in a Yurt (traditional Mongolian tent) with all of the trimmings to a camp site beside the King River in Whitfield. Clever people have seen the potential of the land and the scenery and have run with it. The Brookfield Maze in Myrrhee is one of the largest mazes in Australia and again offers all of the trimmings with accommodation, a café and enough fun to fill a weekend with family events. Further up the road, award winning freshly grown walnuts can be purchased from a roadside stall or by appointment you can discover their wholesale business. An average country property outside of Milawa hides a distillery where mighty fine gin is being brewed. There’s also some mighty fine, awardwinning food being packaged and sent all over Australia from the small town of Whitfield. Overlooking the valley at the Cheshunt end is the impressive newly built restaurant at Chrismont wines where they serve impressive food and wine nearly every day of the year. The King Valley is open all year round, but there is one weekend when the wineries pull out all the stops and embrace their Italian heritage for La Dolce Vita – or the ‘sweet life’ for we non-Italians. Over two days, food, wine and music is generously shared out and enhanced with music and frivolity. Explore the King Valley; you will not be disappointed. NNE

Eryl Neil

A-maze-ing

he word maze comes from the 12th Century English phrase ‘to amaze’, which is precisely what the Brookfield Maze does. Situated in Myrrhee near the King Valley, it truly is amazing. Eryl and Jeff Neil purposely created the maze in 2010 and opened it to the public in 2014. “I can’t tell you how many trees we planted; you have to guess. There are clues in the maze for adults and kids to find,” says Eryl with a sneaky smile on her face. “I’m a gardener and the maze is an extension of the garden. I wanted something formal in the garden and Jeff and I have always loved mazes. We decided to make it a decent size,” explains Eryl. “When people come to the maze we want it to be a worthwhile experience and Brookfield is definitely that.” True to their word, the maze is huge. Eryl and Jeff didn’t stop at constructing the maze; they also purpose built a café and luxury guest house, giant games boards incorporated into the garden, and a walking path along the creek. Included in the boards are boccé, petanque piste, giant chess and checkers. The guesthouse is set in the gardens and sleeps up to six adults; it is self-contained and totally delightful. While the café also works beautifully as a relaxed meal spot, it is also popular as a function venue where Eryl and Jeff host weddings, team building groups, Christmas parties, school groups, birthdays and any special occasion. The café comfortably seats up to 60 and is modern, bright and overlooks the superb garden. “Recently we held a 50th birthday party with a group from Benalla. They had to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ 50 times,” says Eryl. “It was dark and the guests were in the maze with torches singing their lungs out. It was wonderful fun.” “I really love the café when it is full,” says Eryl. “With the noise and the buzz it is great.” Her time is mainly spent in the café kitchen (she bakes the best cookies) and in the garden. “Gardening and cooking are my passions,” she says. The Neils are extending the venue options again and expanding the grassed area of the garden to accommodate a grand marquee next to the creek for functions. Brookfield Maze is so many things: a perfect venue for families, a romantic retreat, a fun day out with friends and endless occupation for those restless little ones and big ones looking for adventure. It is an alternative to spending time at the wineries and other attractions in the King Valley. The café, maze and gardens are open 10am to 5pm Saturday, Sunday and public holidays, Wednesday during school holidays, and for functions during the week. The luxury guesthouse accommodation features a spa, wood heater and all the mod cons; it’s just waiting for your booking. www.brookfieldmaze.com.au

Stay in grand style I

f you are looking for a unique holiday, go no further than The Yurt Alpine Retreat, set on 345 acres of rural farmland with cows, alpacas, sheep and goats. Drive along a steep bush track until you arrive on a plateau overlooking the King Valley with some of the best views in Australia. The owners describe it as a taste of Mongolia with an Aussie twist. Sharon and John Jarrott have a genuine Mongolian yurt that they rent out as a B&B. In winter you can sit inside by the lovely little wood stove looking out the glass doors at the beautiful mountain scenery. In summer the yurt is kept cool by the very thick lambswool felt liner and a battery operated large fan. It has a glass dome to see the stars through. In Mongolia the nomads use yurts in 40 degree below temperatures. They just increase the number of felt underlays and are very warm in the coldest months. The yurt is in a completely isolated location, no nosy neighbours here. Kick

back in the hammocks and enjoy the sounds of silence with a glass of local wine while watching the sunset over the mountains, or visit the many local wineries in the area. Beautiful panoramic walks along the plateau or go for a walk in the adjoining natural bushland that teems with kangaroos, deer and wombats etc. Enjoy a great camping experience without having to pack anything apart from your clothes and food, sit by an open fire while enjoying the views and at the same time enjoy a few comforts like a comfortable

bed and a hot shower while staying in uniquely beautiful accommodation. Sharon has formed a partnership with Adriana Costa to import yurts, with their first shipment arriving late September. If you are interested in a yoga retreat, art studio, extra bedroom, B&B or festival tent, go no further than a yurt. They are great as an extra source of income on a farm or bush block. Completely collapsible, they can be set up in around five hours and pulled down in four. www.theyurtalpineretreat.com

Nestled in the King Valley of Victoria’s majestic High Country, Chrismont is an inspiring destination for lovers of contemporary wines, Italian food and breathtaking scenery Cellar Door

taste a diverse collection of modern Mediterranean and classic European varietal wines

Restaurant

serving up the flavours and inspirations of Sicily and Italy’s north using local, seasonal produce

Larder

offering housemade flavours to create your own antipasti and dessert plates at home

PRODUCERS OF LA ZONA K I N G VA L L E Y

Functions

create lasting memories with your own private event, group gathering or wedding celebration

Conferencing

state-of-the-art facilities with custom designed spaces for hosting corporate events and meetings

Guest House

contemporary accommodation set amongst the vines – an ideal retreat to relax and unwind

Restaurant & Larder: Daily from 12 noon (daytime only) Cellar Door: 10am-5pm, seven days a week (Closed Christmas Day) 251 Upper King River Rd, Cheshunt, King Valley, VIC (03) 5729 8220 reservations@chrismont.com.au visit www.chrismont.com.au

NNETHE RICH KING VALLEY An NNE promotional feature

“S

omewhere in the world it’s gin time,” according to Wendy Williams, Simon Brooke-Taylor and Alex Williams from the Hurdle Creek Still, a small-batch distillery and gin maker. “When Simon saw the shed he said it was too good to just store hay and horses,” says Wendy. The pair decided to turn it into a distillery and make gin. “The best part about gin is that you don’t have to wait to drink it,” says Simon. “Once it is distilled and you put the botanicals through it’s only a matter of weeks before you can drink it. It doesn’t need to be aged.” So the gin distillery was born. The appearance of the old tin shed belies what is inside. It’s still a tin shed, but with loads of atmosphere including the gin, the distillery and a tasting bar. There is nothing fussy about Hurdle Creek Still and even the gin bottles are no fuss, a good solid strong shape; it is the gin that is special. The team is a great combination. Wendy had the shed and loads of energy, Simon is a brewer and biochemist and Alex is good with his hands and great with social media and they all enjoy gin. “The inspiration for the flavours comes by trial and error,” says Wendy. One drink recipe is a mix of their

Gently rustic T

here is a wistful legend behind the name Gentle Annie from a Scottish myth. Gentle Annie was a fairy of the south-west wind. In some way the myth lingers on as the gentleness of the King River flowing through the King Valley. Being able to camp beside the King River in this rural setting is a pleasure and a treat. The small town of Whitfield is only around the corner and the King Valley provides a wealth of activities for those not looking for a tranquil holiday. Delia and Russell have been the managers of Gentle Annie for the past 56

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

That’s the spirit Alex Williams

brand, Evolution, soda water, ginger cordial and a wedge of lime in a long glass. Simon enjoys a dry martini made with another of their brands, Yardarm. Alex likes everything and enjoys trying out different combinations. “We created a lovely combination of the sparkling red from Chrismont, our Yardarm and a little bit of Pimms and garnish,” Wendy says. “Any of the Brown Brothers Proseccos work beautifully; it’s a personal thing.” The Hurdle Creek Still makes it own base spirit. “It’s quite a lot more involved when you are creating your own base

with barley and oats. It gives us total control over the flavour of the spirit,” Wendy explains. Future plans include the development of more products, one of them a Dutch gin, for the Gin Expo, Junipalooza, to be held in Melbourne in 2017. “We are also looking at doing gift type products; it all takes time,” says Wendy. Visit Hurdle Creek Still; it’s great. Classic Gin & Tonic: 1 part Yardarm Distilled Gin poured over ice, tonic water a slice of lime or lemon. Enjoy. www.hurdlecreekstill.com.au

four years and, proverbially, know the region better than the backs of their hands. “Russell had been coming to camp at Gentle Annie for years” said Delia. “He knew every inch of the park before we took on the great job of managing it.” When asked what Russell enjoys most about the campground he quickly replies: “It’s the joy of offering freerange sites to the campers. There are no concrete slabs indicating that you have to camp here.” Russell adds: “We are also dog-friendly. There are no keys to the toilets and no boom gates to pass through. You select the spot and then you can free-range across the reserve.” “We love living in the King Valley, it’s a hidden gem full of great people, great food and wine and wonderful

experiences,” Russell imparts. The park is exactly that: open grassed areas with a smattering of maturing trees. What is great is that Gentle Annie offers both powered and unpowered sites and they are nearly all located on the river or just back from the river. It is that true experience of camping, finding the perfect spot and pitching the tent. Gentle Annie is ideally placed to have fun once you have established your campsite. You can spend the day at Brookfield Maze, grab some brilliant walnut oil, taste wine after wine after wine, dine at any of the numerous eateries, all just a short drive away. Head to Lake William Hovell or Paradise Falls, ride bikes for kilometres, walk the numerous bush tracks, swim in the river or throw in a fishing line, visit a goat farm, attend the mandatory market at Moyhu or try the local produce. The amenities include hot showers, free gas barbeques and portable campfires and laundry facilities. Cleverly, the people at Gentle Annie have provided an outdoor kitchen for campers to use. Simple camping made wonderful. www.gentleanniecaravanpark.com.au

Theperfect perfectweekend, weekend,Italian Italianstyle. style. The Newrelease releasewines wines • • Italian Italianinspired inspiredfood food New Kid’sactivities activities Livemusic music • • Kid’s Live PARTICIPATINGWINERIES WINERIES PARTICIPATING BROWNBROTHERS BROTHERS • • CHRISMONT CHRISMONT • • DAL DALZOTTO ZOTTO BROWN DARLINGESTATE ESTATE • • FRANCESCO FRANCESCOWINES WINES • • LA LACANTINA CANTINA • • MERKEL MERKEL DARLING PIZZINI • • POLITINI POLITINI • • SAM SAMMIRANDA MIRANDA • • SYMPHONIA SYMPHONIA PIZZINI

TheKing KingValley, Valley,Australia’s Australia’slittle littleItaly, Italy, The whereheritage heritageand andpassion passionfuses fuseswith witha a where landscapeand andclimate climatethat thatmimics mimicsthe thegreat great landscape regionsofofnorthern northernItaly. Italy.Approximately Approximatelya a regions 3hrdrive drivefrom fromMelbourne. Melbourne. 3hr

www.winesofthekingvalley.com.au www.winesofthekingvalley.com.au

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NNETHE RICH KING VALLEY An NNE promotional feature

An experience and a destination C

hrismont has expanded from an excellent wine maker to include in their impressive stable at Chrismont the cellar door, a restaurant perfect for conferences and events as well as an intimate lunch for two, a larder and a guest house – and all at their home in Cheshunt. The stunning contemporary building sits stately above the vines and with its wide verandah looks across the end of the King Valley. Arnie and Jo Chrismont admit that the siting of the new complex was not difficult as it was a favoured spot to walk to after a long day’s work. Working with the wonderful fresh produce in the region has inspired Chrismont not only in their menu but also in the creation of produce for the larder which forms part of the new bulding. It is with passion that Jo and Arnie have created their wines and embarked on establishing Chrismont as a must destination on everyone’s lists. In fact it is to be a regular foodie experience, be it for a short stop or the entire day. www.chrismont.com.au

Award winning

Wholesale and commercial sales by appointment

Phone: 03 5729 7527 9 - 5 pm Monday to Friday 1452 Benalla-Whitfield Rd, Myrrhee

sales@kingvalleywalnuts.com.au | SHOP ONLINE - www.kingvalleywalnuts.com.au 58

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

AN AMAZEING TIME! TOTALLY GLUTEN FREE Also available are dairy free & vegan choices Factory outlet sales Takeaway Meals HOT & COLD Coffee

Proudly producing top quality condiments & foods for 22 years 4 Gold Awards in the 2016 Great Aussie Pie Competition Recognising the help of King Valley Spices

Traditional Hedge Maze Tranquil Gardens Labyrinth Giant Chess/Checkers Bocce

LICENCED CAFE

Great homemade food using local produce!

LUXURY ACCOMMODATION

Mark & Rosemarie Thompson Ph (03) 5729 8276 Fax (03) 5729 8012 kingvalleyff@hotmail.com

EPICUREAN LARDER

6193 Mansfield Whitfield Rd, Whitfield Wednesday to Sunday 8am to 3:30pm

KINGVALLEYFINEFOODS.COM.AU

OPEN

ORDERS & ENQUIRIES

Every Sat & Sun 10am - 5pm Wednesdays (during Victorian school holidays) 10am-5pm

1121 Benalla-Whitfield Rd, Myrrhee

5729 7507

info@brookfieldmaze.com.au www.brookfieldmaze.com.au

Camp beside the tranquil King River in the beautiful King Valley

Yurt Alpine Retreat The

Powered and unpowered sites perfect for your caravan or tent and your family dog is most welcome Cabin and mancave onsite accommodation Really great hot showers Enjoy the King Valley’s best food, wine, local produce, farmgates and scenic experiences

Experience the ultimate in unique luxury camping

Stay in a genuine Mongolian Yurt in one of the most beautiful rural settings Genuine imported Mongolian Yurts for sale in Australia. Please call and visit us, we know we will convince you of the joy of owning your own Yurt. What ever the reason.

03 5729 7579 | 234 Evans Ln, Myrrhee www.artisanyurts.com | www.theyurtalpineretreat.com Book on

- King Valley Accommodation

Find us on

- Artisan Yurts

Russell & Delia (Managers) 98 Gentle Annie Lane Whitfield, King Valley 03 5729 8205

enquiry@gentleanniecaravanpark.com.au www.gentleanniecaravanpark.com.au

http://www.gentleanniecaravanpark.com.au

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NNETHE RICH KING VALLEY An NNE promotional feature

The sweet life in the King Valley

“T

he wine, the food, the festival, the perfect weekend Italian style” is the opening line on the La Dolce Vita website, words that beautifully sum up the two days, Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 November, of sheer celebration. Starting with the wineries, they are Brown Brothers, Chrismont, Dal Zotto, Darling Estate, Francesco Wines, La Cantina, Merkel, Politini, Pizzini, Sam Miranda and Symphonia, all in the King Valley and all providing festivities at La Dolce Vita weekend. Then there is the food – basically take a winery and add Italian cuisine. Over the two days food will be served with 60

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

the wines to suit taste and expectation. Plates full of delicious morsels will be on offer as will hearty dishes of pasta and for those wanting that extra experience there are the sit down lunches, but please book. Next, the additional festive part of La Dolce Vita which includes bands of wandering minstrels to singers of renown. Not content with food, wine and song, the weekend in the King Valley will also offer local producers and hand-craft makers’ markets. This is one of the King Valleys feature weekends for the year and after year

of practice they have made sure that nothing is left to chance. Buses have been booked, accommodation found, lunch bookings made and day trippers plans organised. Start at Milawa, then go through Oxley, Moyhu, King Valley, Edi, Whitfield and Cheshunt, all while staying on the King Valley-Wangaratta Road and you will find it all there. So much to do, so much to enjoy; be part of this weekend promoting the sweet life – La Dolce Vita. www.winesofthekingvalley.com.au

Prize winning fine foods

King of nuts

“I

arol Kunert and Mike Burston sit in their very comfortable home in Myrrhee and talk of walnuts, specifically their successful King Valley Walnuts business. They make it seem easy but there are years and years of hard slog behind creating King Valley Walnuts. “There is one frantic season for walnuts,” explains Carol. “In April. Once we have collected the walnuts they are taken down to the shed, washed, dried, sorted and graded for consistency.” Carol and Mike have value-added to their walnuts. “The pickled walnuts are a great product for us,” Carol explains. “They are pickled when they’re green, before they are fully ripened and it’s a real labor of love.” They must be doing something right; the couple has just won a gold award for their pickled walnuts at the 2016 Australian Food Awards by the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria and bronze for their King Valley Walnuts Kernels. “We are also finalists for the 2016 Regional Development Victorian Business Achievement Award,” says Carol. Most of the walnuts are sold wholesale but Mike and Carol also sell their products at Farmers’ Markets in Wangaratta, Wodonga, Mansfield, Moyhu and in Melbourne. “We also sell online where we deliver fresh walnuts to you,” says Carol. “We have just started making walnut oil and it’s beautiful,” says Carol. “I am exploring the many ways I can use it in cooking.” The health message for using walnut oil is that it is good for heart, brain, motor-skills, learning and more. Mike and Carol have enjoyed their walnut journey. “ Their favorite ways of using walnuts are: steamed vegies on a platter with toasted walnuts sprinkled on top; or a vinaigrette of walnut oil with a squeeze of lime juice. A quick lunch for Mike is Promite on bread and butter with fresh walnuts, of course using local sourdough bread. Mike and Carol definitely see a future here and if you’re passing through Myrrhee, they have a roadside stall. King Valley Walnuts www.kingvalleywalnuts.com.au

E CR

remember always loving to cook,” says Rosemarie from King Valley Fine Foods in Whitfield. King Valley Fine Foods entered a range of gluten-free pies into the Great Aussie Pie Competition of 2016. Over the years King Valley Fine Foods has won a swathe of awards for their pies and produce. This year they have entered a pepper beef curry pie which won Gold, a lamb shank and veal pie which won Silver, a chicken artichoke and green peppercorn pie which won Gold, and a vegan pie which won Gold, all gluten-free. “I especially like the lamb shank pie with its tiny veal balls and thyme,” says Rosemarie as she places another batch of pies in the oven. Mark, her husband and business partner is busy packing boxes of their preserves and condiments (also gluten-free) and labelling them for delivery to their many outlets. “Winning these awards now makes us the 2nd best gluten free bakery in Australia,” said Mark. Mark and Rosemarie Thompson moved all of their operations under the one roof to Whitfield (where they also live) in the beautiful King Valley five years ago. “We now have the retail and wholesale outlets together with takeaway hot food, patés, pies, coffee, all of course gluten free” said Rosemarie. Rosemarie’s favourite ingredients are cherries and rhubarb and she loves to use their own home grown produce. Mark is establishing hydroponic gardens on site at their store in Whitfield. Rosemarie has proudly mastered her gluten-free pastry, pasta and bread mixes and all are available at the store or via wholesale orders. One of the new releases in the huge range of products is the gluten-free savoury and sweet pastry mixes. King Valley Fine Foods is also available from local markets. A list of their stockists and markets they attend is on their website. Stop and grab a stock of produce for the pantry, a pie and a coffee from King Valley Fine Foods. www.kingvalleyfinefoods.com.au

STILL

Not your average…

Distillery open 10am to 5pm daily

216 Whorouly – Bobinawarrah Rd, Milawa www.hurdlecreekstill.com.au NORTH BY NORTH-EAST

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OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

hantelle Stoikos and Benjamin Lane said “I do” in front of 129 family members and friends at the beautiful Flowerdale Estate in March this year. It was the Easter weekend allowing for a long country/rustic themed wedding where the bride and groom could relax and take everything in. With lots of family travelling from interstate, everyone met Friday night and enjoyed the delicious food at the Flowerdale Estate restaurant followed by a buffet breakfast the next morning. That left plenty of time to relax before the ceremony kicked off at 5pm. All the preparations were in order; Chantelle and her sister covered the cake, Kim’s Florist at Kilmore supplied the flowers, Gary Eastwood provided the entertainment and Glam on the Go was responsible for the bridal’s party’s hair and beauty. Laurine Blejwas the celebrant, Northern Victory Party Hire supplied the marquee, while the centre pieces, signs and table boards were all hand-made by the bridal party. Jessica Stoikos, Vanessa Stoikos, Dannielle Lane, Emily Georgiadis, Patrick Walsh, Guy Leighton, Daniel Schraven and Aaron Hopkins made up the bridal party and daughter Millie Lane was the flower girl. Mothers of the bride and groom both walked Mille down the aisle and also carried the rings so that they could be part of the ceremony. The weekend was capped off by a treasure hunt for the kids Easter morning across the beautiful Flowerdale Estate, leaving Chantelle and Benjamin with ever-lasting memories. NNE

Chantelle Chant and Benjamin in

Photos courtesy: Rachael Emily Photography

Roaming poppy for

weddings

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NNEHITCHED

A slight touch of

tradition

relaxed, outdoorsy, nature loving wedding with lots of yummy food and fine wine, surrounded by friends and family was the day Debbie Hurwitz and Andrew Hawthorne had spent many months researching, sourcing and planning. With the bride being Jewish, the 100 guests got to witness the favourite parts of a Jewish wedding incorporated into their wedding – being married under a chuppah, both parents walking the bride down the aisle then walking around the groom seven times, seven blessings said in English as well as the groom smashing a glass at the end. A natural, rustic theme with a slight traditional aspect saw Debbie and Andrew investing a lot of time trawling

through internet sites and visiting op shops across Victoria for items to reuse and recycle; not only saving costs, but also limiting the impact they had on their surroundings. Saladin Lodge held the ceremony while the reception was at Narbethong Community Hall. Catering was provided by The Taco Truck and Trailer Made, with the entree and dessert made with love from the mothers of the bride and groom. The Wandering Woodsman, a vintage caravan, served the drinks, Lyn Rechnitzer was the celebrant and Joel and Ange – a DJ/guitarist duo from Soundscape entertained. Michael Morris drove up from Cheltenham to tend to the hair and the fresh flowers were arranged by the mothers of the bride and groom

along with family friends Faye and Sue. Being completely non-traditional the couple wanted a small intimate bridal party. Andrew had his brother, Chris Hawthorne as his groomsman and Debbie had her brother Josh Hurwutz as her bridesman. Sticking to the non-traditional theme, they opted for a cheese tower style cake with the three tiers from Coldstream Dairy. The wedding car was Debbie’s grandparents Landcruiser, which was a lovely gesture as Debbie lost her grandparents just over a year earlier. The night was capped off by a lovely stay at Saladin Lodge which was a wedding gift from Debbie’s work colleagues at Healesville Pharmacy. NNE

Flowers & gifts for special occasions

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NNEHITCHED

The delights of some weddings At NNE, we are told about a large number of weddings. Most are wonderfully happy events, but now and again we get some really funny stories. And the ones below, at least, are true.

Frieda & Oscar

Lisa & Neale

t was about 20 years ago when sprightly Oscar from Manangatang proposed to Frieda, a lovely German lass only eight years his junior. Oscar was only 95 and both volunteered at the local heritage museum at Swan Hill where the marketing officer saw a big opportunity for publicity. “We’ll have the ceremony on the deck of the paddle steamer,” he enthused. “The guests can assemble on the river bank and we’ll invite all the TV stations for miles around. We’ll provide the wedding breakfast for 100 people.” TV people on board, the museum gave the couple 100 invitations to hand out to relatives and friends, but Oscar soon found that wasn’t nearly enough. When no one was looking, the wily nonagenarian snuck into the photocopier room and manufactured another 400 invitations. When the big day came, everything was perfect, except the nerves of the young parson. Completely thrown by the size of the occasion, he decided to stick with the script he used for all young couples. All went well until he talked about the possibility of the couple having kids. “The gift of family can be a burden,” he intoned. The crowd was still rolling around with laughter when, mercifully, the parson’s official duties came to an end.

his was a gorgeous wedding in one of the biggest churches in Melbourne to be followed by a reception at none other than the Windsor Hotel in Spring Street. It seemed like there were hundreds of people, all of whom were dressed to the nines all waiting for the gorgeous couple who had linked up at high school to make their vows. Neale waited nervously at the front of the alter, chatting to his entourage of groomsmen and showing off his white dinner suit and brand new, shiny white shoes. The bride arrived – late, of course – and looking beautiful. Finally they held hands before kneeling while prayers were said. There, for all to see – well the front few rows at least – were the remarkably clean soles of Neale’s new shoes. Clean, except for the letters standing out in red lipstick. “HE”, said the left foot, followed by “LP” on the right. The poor officiating minister, of course, never did quite understand that day why many of his flock were giggling through his service. We should also report that the loving couple are still together after more than 30 years.

– From Joe Blake

– From Pat O’Bryan

If you have a funny wedding story you can tell, please email NNE at admin@northbynortheast.com.au or go to our Facebook page.

Andrea Dolling | 0418 429 008 4 Highett St, Mansfield www.davons.com.au 66

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

NNEFAMILY MATTERS

We’re connected! The NBN has finally come to the country, and LOU MUNRO is celebrating its benefits.

“

… I can happily entertain myself and multi-task by watching TV, checking my Facebook and Instagram accounts, messaging on Facebook, doing some internet banking or online shopping, all whilst lounging on the couch. It’s simply marvellous!”

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

s you read this, picture me lounging on the couch typing it out on my laptop and able to also receive emails, check my Facebook and Instagram accounts or surf the internet if the urge takes me. I can now do all this and more! Yep, we recently were one of the lucky country customers to have NBN installed. It is something worth celebrating! I applied through our internet provider almost nine months prior; indeed we are patient in the country. The

irony of this special service is that now we don’t really need it. The old boy and I are empty nesters, so the young adults are not reaping the rewards. I would have cherished this special connection when I was working from home. So the paradox isn’t lost on me! Pre-NBN when I did a little work from home, due to slow internet connection I had a routine that only fellow countrydwellers would be able to relate to. My morning ritual was to first go to my office and turn on the computer, pop the

Picture: Shutterstock

kettle on while I waited for it to ‘warm up’ and connect to the internet. Next I would open outlook to retrieve emails, then wait some more! I would have breakfast, put on a load of washing, make the bed, then check if all my emails had finally been received. Our neighbours could also relate. After being weekenders for years, they are now living here in the country permanently. With their business they have to send large attachments with emails. After learning the hard way, they now send these emails a couple at a time, wait for them to send, then repeat the process. It would take up a large chunk of their day. What did I say earlier about us country people being patient? I recall discussing this issue with my brother-in-law who has always lived in suburban Melbourne and worked in the CBD. He found it all difficult to comprehend and kept asking questions as to why this was so. I explained that in rural areas we were the forgotten ones; obviously our work and businesses were not valued by pollies who were calling the shots when it came to better internet connection in the country. Thankfully, due to country-dwellers making some noise and local pollies lobbying over the last couple of years, government has finally recognised country issues and poured some dollars into rural regions. We are all slowly becoming part of the ‘real’ world when it comes to connectivity. The really funny thing was that at our household, I didn’t fully comprehend the benefits. I am really shaming myself in admitting this! Allow me to explain. Our middle son, the 24-year-old, came home for the weekend and I announced that NBN had just been connected earlier in the week. He proceeded to get out his phone and asked for the wifi password. I gave him a puzzled look and naively suggested that we don’t have wifi. “OMG Mum, you are sooo dumb!” was what I received as he stormed to the office, with me trailing on his heels. The long and the short of it, he had all our phones and household screen devices connected to our wifi in less than 30 minutes. The old boy was fascinated and even got involved in the process, by asking questions. To our lad’s credit he answered all of them respectfully. I did sulk a little and indicated that I had noticed he hadn’t called the old boy dumb! “Well Mum,” he announced in a very adult manner. “You should know better; you are usually up with these things.” Well okay, I will take that as a back-handed compliment, maybe? So stupid me, (yes, it’s okay when I say it) thought getting NBN just meant faster internet connection. Echoing my boy’s comment that I should have known better, I just hadn’t stopped to consider the difference and was busy and preoccupied with work, but really no excuses.

Anyway moving on, the benefits are really lovely. When the old boy has fallen asleep on the couch after dinner and a hard day’s work I can happily entertain myself and multi-task by watching TV, checking my Facebook and Instagram accounts, messaging on facebook, doing some internet banking or online shopping, all whilst lounging on the couch. It’s simply marvellous! You see, in the past we had satellite connection for our internet. This was all that was available in our area. Our adult kids used to call it living in a black hole. Whilst I wouldn’t go that far in describing our past extremely limited connectivity, it had been frustrating at times. We could only access the internet via our computer, just like the good ole days! When I was researching stuff for work and attempting to open large pdf documents or view videos, it was nigh impossible and hugely infuriating. I would scare our little foxy by loudly cursing at the computer. We still, however, have continued poor mobile service and have to leave our phones on the kitchen window sill, to receive texts. If our mobiles ring it’s next to useless answering them, because as soon as you pick them up from the window sill, service has been greatly reduced or totally lost. So, for that reason alone we still have a landline, which annoys me every time we receive our phone bill. I guess the moral of this story is, whilst you can’t have everything, you can celebrate and make the most of what you have got at the time. A little like life perhaps? NNE

No NBN installers were harmed in the writing of this article. Just a happy middle-aged couple enjoying the benefits of being better connected to the world.

NORTH BY NORTH-EAST

NNEANIMALS

Desexing is best for pets We’ve come a long way in the methods used for desexing our pets, but as Dr DOUG NORMAN from the Alexandra Veterinary Clinic reports, there’s still room for improvement.

esexing is a surgical procedure; for male animals the testicles are removed, and generally the ovaries and uterus in females. This procedure is carried out under a general anaesthetic and full recovery takes approximately two weeks.

History:

Throughout our early history the desexing of companion animals was never considered. When people moved 70

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

from rural areas into towns, and dogs and cats became more popular as pets, the number of unwanted strays exploded in most civilised areas. The first attempts to desex cats probably occurred around a hundred years ago using a technique involving placing the tom cat head first into a gumboot for restraint and cutting out the testicles with a sharp knife. This early desexing would be considered cruel by current standards. Despite the refinements in the desexing procedure there is always a whisper of

the knife and “welly boot” to solve the marauding tom around farmyards. Anaesthetics used in the early 1900s – chloroform and ether - were considered quite dangerous, and sadly many animals failed to wake up after surgery. With an ever-increasing number of unwanted animals roaming free, drowning became popular as the most quick and painless way to solve the problem. As a student driving an animal ambulance many years ago I witnessed an attempt to kill an old injured tom cat this method. Believe me,

New...

“

The first attempts to desex … involving placing the tom cat head first into a gumboot for restraint and cutting out the testicles with a sharp knife”

it was certainly not quick or stress-free. Thankfully modern anaesthetics have given us that option. It was probably not until the 195060s that anaesthetics became safer and desexing became a common practice.

Desexing today:

Many thousands of unwanted pets are put to sleep today as there is an oversupply of pets. This has come about by owners not desexing their animals early in life. There are many reasons for this delay, most commonly the added cost and inconvenience. Low cost desexing schemes have helped this burden. Compulsory sterilisation would need 90 per cent of the breeding animals involved to halt population growth. These days, desexing is one of the most commonly performed and the safest surgical procedures. Most animals are desexed at six months of age; this allows for maximum growth and development before maturity starts. In most cases females have not started their heat (breeding) cycles. If left until later, the surgery is complicated by the risk of haemorrhage increased due to more blood flow to the reproductive organs. In many shelters where numbers of unwanted cats and dogs are sent, earlyage desexing is practised. This surgery is usually done at about three months and is safer than desexing at a much older age. u

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The procedure:

Castration (for males) Cats: The hair around the scrotum is removed and the skin sterilised prior to surgery. Two incisions are made into the scrotum, the testicles removed and the blood supply and spermatic cord tied off. In most cases no skin sutures are used and the wound is covered with antibiotic powder. Recovery is quick and is completely healed in 10 days. Dogs: The area of skin in front of the scrotum is prepared for surgery. A single incision is made in the skin forward of the scrotum in the midline. One testicle is brought forward and stripped of any surrounding tissue. The blood vessels and spermatic cord are tied off. The second testicle is removed in the same manner and the skin closed with sutures under the skin, so there is no need to return for suture removal. An Elizabethan collar is worn to prevent unwanted licking of the wound. Skin is healed in 10 days. Spaying (for females) Cats: Hair is clipped and a surgical prep carried out over the site. Surgery can be performed either in the midline or on the side of the body. The entry into the abdominal cavity is termed a laparotomy.

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

Each ovary is brought up to the surface and blood vessels tied off. The base of the uterus is clamped and tied off at the level of the cervix. This is called an ovario-hysterectomy. The abdominal opening is sutured as well as skin closure. Recovery is about 10 days when the skin is healed. Dogs: The operation is essentially the same as for cats, but often on a larger scale. Recovery is still around 10 days for healing.

Reasons:

The main reason for desexing is to control unwanted pregnancies and in doing so reduce the burden of stray and abandoned animals for councils and shelters to deal with. The control of roaming animals is a bonus; they are less likely to get lost or be hit by a car. As a tom cat prowls over a large territory it can become a nuisance by making unwanted advances to other desexed cats. This can lead to cat bite infections in male and females as well as abscess development. More serious is the risk of carrying and spreading the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV, or cat AIDS) to victims. Additional benefits of desexing to the individual are the reduction of future health and behavioural problems.

Desexing female pets at an early age will reduce the incidence of mammary tumours. This is most important if surgery is before the first heat. These benefits apply to both cats and dogs. Mammary cancers are around 90 per cent fatal in cats and 50 per cent fatal in dogs. If tumours are detected early, additional surgery may be necessary in an attempt to prevent further spread. As un-desexed dogs get older, the continual heat cycles may trigger disease in the uterus. Such conditions as cystic endometritis and pymetron (infection of the uterus) may lead to life-threatening situations where surgery is the only hope of survival. Diseases of the ovaries – cystic ovary and ovarian tumours - are also prevented with early desexing. The benefit for male dogs is the elimination of testicular tumours and the decreased incidence of prostate and perianal tumours, the latter being stimulated by the presence of testosterone. A reduction in the need to urinate on virtually everything is also beneficial. Desexed male cats will also have a reduction in spraying activity.

Myths and misconceptions:

‘It makes my male dog less masculine’. This is generally a male concern as some tend to humanize their pets and imagine their feelings are like theirs. I have heard of some owners choosing to use synthetic testicular implants to overcome this problem. ‘Desexing will change my pet’s personality and he will become fat and lazy’. It is usual for a desexed animal to become more attached to its owner and in doing so will tend to be closer. This can result in increased feeding of treats. A pet’s character and personality does not change, so an active life and appropriate diet are best. ‘Females should have a litter before desexing’. Spaying a dog at a young age bestows all the advantages of desexing. The process of giving birth can be a dangerous one and may well place your pet at unnecessary risk. NNE

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NNEOPEN GARDENS

Turn over a new leaf Many of the towns in the north-east region of Victoria have some beautiful botanical gardens, which are open most days all year round; however, some of the best kept botanical secrets are to be found in the numerous private gardens that most of us never have the chance to see. Whether youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in Bright or Marysville, Wangaratta or Taggerty, or anywhere inbetween there are some absolutely beautiful gardens where the rainfall over the last month or so has been magnificent and the owners have been madly trying to keep up with weed eradication and trimming back of growth that could be unsightly. Over the next few pages NNE brings you details from garden lovers in some of the areas our magazine covers. The rest of the areas were less organised as we went to press so we advise readers to keep an eye on local press and signage. 74

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

melling the roses in Yea and district G

ardening experts will tell you that the best place for roses is Yea. This year’s Open Garden weekend, organised by the local Rotary Club, will provide an opportunity to not only see some wonderful gardens, but also to sniff the beautiful smell of roses wafting through the air. Twelve terrific gardens will be open this year, some in the town, others on country properties, but they’re all different. All have had years of meticulous attention lavished on them, and will give you boundless ideas and inspiration for your own gardening efforts. The country properties are in short driving distance of each other, and the scenery is magnificent. Between town properties, great food and coffee is available at any number of local establishments. None of these gardens opened last

year, and most have never been open to the public before, so you’ll be able to enjoy things you’ve never seen before. Yea Garden Club will hold its annual plant stall to coincide with the Open Gardens Weekend and they will have hundreds of potted treasures for sale at bargain prices. They can be found in the beautiful ‘Abutilon’ garden at 5 Welch Street, Yea, which is marked on the open gardens township map available on the weekend. The Open Gardens weekend is Saturday November 5th and Sunday November 6th, 2016. Gardens will be open from 10am to 5pm each day. Tickets, maps and programs will be available to purchase from each garden gate or at the Yea Information Centre. Entry fees are $5 per garden or $35 for a composite ticket for entry to all gardens. If you’re in the Yea vicinity on that weekend, you’d be mad not to get around to these outstanding gardens. www.yearotary.org.au

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NNEOPEN GARDENS

culpting gardens in Alexandra

LINDY SLOAN, from the Alexandra and District Open Gardens Committee, reports on this year’s displays.

ow in its 26th year, the Alexandra & District Open Gardens Weekend on October 22 and 23 will not only showcase nine gorgeous gardens, but will feature creative garden sculptures by artists from throughout Victoria. Highlands artist Darren Gilbert of Monkey Tail designs, will have his sculptures perfectly placed amidst the magnificent Cathkin property of landscape designer, Cally Sinclair. Over the past 17 years Cally has created a large country garden of two acres, incorporating sweeping lawns and massive specimen cypress, oak, eucalypt and ash trees. Farm views are enhanced by flowering crab apples, hedges and beds with low maintenance shrubs. A fullynetted vegetable garden and a new Tuscan-style entertaining area complete the picture. Plant sales will be popular here while visitors enjoy quality coffee, tea and light refreshments. A classic car display from Murrindindi Historical Vehicle Register will ensure visitors have much to admire at this venue. Andrew Wight’s ‘Get Rusted’ steel sculptures start life at his workshop near Bendigo and will be displayed at the lovely country property of Mandy and Bjorn Valsinger near Alexandra, where rolling green hills provide a tranquil setting for this informal garden. This venue will host morning and afternoon tea as well as delicious lunch on the deck and in the courtyard. Expect a hive of activity here with a mosaic workshop conducted by Aly Karazija of Mosaic Magic. It may even be possible to glimpse Bjorn’s impressive collection of antique fishing rods and reels. At Cath and Vince Collett’s four acre garden on the edge of Alexandra, Daryl Callander’s distinctive steel sculptures will be featured, many created from horse shoes. Daryl’s work is well known in the Yea district. A the Taggerty garden of Philip Williams and Suzy van der Vlies, contemporary steel art work will be displayed by Gail and Mark Ryland of ‘Steely’, from Maiden Gully near Bendigo. Each piece is unique and demonstrates Gail and Mark’s attention to a range of finishes. In addition to garden sculptures, other gardens will feature plant sales, a beautiful handmade quilt display, unusual bird houses, a jewellery stall and aviaries with many different breeds of birds. 76

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

MANSFIELD GARDEN CLUB

Open Garden Day SUNDAY 30 OCTOBER 10am - 4pm

4 Gardeners Gardens

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NNEOPEN GARDENS

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rom business to open gardens

ot many people elect to leave a career in law and finance, and relocate to a country property comprising only paddocks that recede into bush. Following years of study and diverse professional jobs in the city, Suzy van der Vlies and Philip Williams changed direction to pursue a country lifestyle. For Philip, the decision to quit practising law after 25 years was supported by his developing interest in studying kinesiology. This period coincided with Suzy tiring of city life and seeking a “shack in the country”. With this background and increasing disenchantment with their professional work and city life, they commenced the search for a suitable country property. In 2000, a property for sale near Taggerty met their criteria and became theirs in just three days. After a marathon of numerous architectural designs and finally with the efforts of local builder Norm Stace, ‘Suzy’s shack’ was completed and they moved in during 2003 where Philip faced raw paddocks to transform into a garden. And so the challenges emerged. Following the construction of their home, the surrounds consisted of red greasy clay and a compacted site with gravel and building debris. Building of paved areas and steps to an adjacent bank commenced. Precious topsoil, removed prior to the build, was now spread around the house to create lawn areas and garden beds. Soil excavated to create the pool was mounded to form a perfect location for growing proteas. The hard yards of garden bed preparation were done by hand as Suzy and Philip spread newspaper, cardboard and mulch, barrow by barrow. Initial plantings of olive trees, robinias, leucodendron and grevilleas occurred. Setbacks were endured. The development of their garden coincided with years of drought. Water was precious as they endeavoured to establish trees and shrubs. The original Photinia hedge of 100 plants was burnt during the 2009 fires and had to be replaced from scratch. One winter, frost that resembled snow burnt the hedge again. Now, more than 10 years on, visitors see a vibrant garden with maturing maples, silver birch trees and garden 78

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

beds. Swathes of lavender and azaleas have settled in well beside the house while the fully netted orchard produces a bounty of delicious fruit and vegetables. This property is a tribute to Suzy and Philip’s perseverance and their vision. It is such a contrast from their former working lives to the tranquil retreat they have created, where a mob of 20 roos can graze undisturbed in the adjacent paddocks. As part of the Alexandra & District Open Gardens Weekend on 22-23 October, 2016, visitors should not miss the opportunity to enjoy this lovely property at Taggerty. Details of all nine open gardens are on the website: www.alexandraopengardens. com.au

ouring the gardens of Ruffy

he small high-altitude community of Ruffy is vibrant. As part of this year’s Ruffy Artfest, four district gardens will be open both Saturday and Sunday. The gardens are all fairly close together, but not close enough to walk, so you can enjoy the amazing Ruffy scenery as you drive from one to another. Bungle Boori, Hughes Road, Tarcombe, is sure to delight with its five acres of stunning park-like gardens. Rosehill, in Buntings Road, Ruffy, has a profusion of well-chosen flowering plants, as well as a variety of mature English shade trees and a nursery. Pindarri, Weibye Track, Ruffy is full of plants, trees and birds. Bunnyong, on Longwood-Gobur Road, Creightons Creek, has been shaped and inspired by the surrounding granite outcrops and challenging weather. Tickets for this event are $15 per person for all four gardens. You can buy tickets and collect maps at any of the gardens, or at Ruffy Hall in Nolans Road, Ruffy. Maps locating the gardens and more information is available at www. ruffycommunity.com.au The gardens are open on November 12 and 13 from 10am – 5 pm on Saturday and 10 am – 4 pm on Sunday.

arden Beauty in Mansfield T

he Mansfield Open Garden event will have four gardens on display, and what excellent gardens they promise to be. Each year Mansfield gardeners spend hours on their knees to ensure that every part of their garden is perfect. Each garden reflects the owner, their likes, their plant choices and their dream of what the overall effect is to look like on the Open Gardens day. This year the gardens that are to open include: Sheahan Garden, 6 Old Mill Road Monroe Garden, 7 Highton Lane Le Poidevan Garden, 21 Logan Street Stuart Garden, 281 Rifle Butt Road Light refreshments will be available at the Le Poidevan garden for $5 a head. The gardens will open on Sunday 30 October from 10am â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 4pm. To view all four garden will cost you $15 or $5 per garden. NNE

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NNEFOOD AND WINE

Food to match the scenery

PAT O’BRYAN heads to the King Valley and finds Chrismont Cellar Door and Larder is a great place for a hearty Italian meal

ith good friends in tow we choose a table beside the floor-to-ceiling windows looking across the expansive balcony to the beautiful King Valley and the mountains around beautiful Cheshunt. It’s a beautiful day; blue sky with cotton-ball clouds, the green valley rolling out and lined with rows of grape vines, paddocks of contented cattle and the King River. The specials for the day are fresh made pasta (pappardelle with a mushroom, cream and bacon sauce); pork belly chips cubed and deep-fried and Italian doughnut balls with a masala dipping sauce. For the main course we really didn’t get to the menu; it was

hard to move past the specials. From the smaller dishes list we choose the Carne mista (Italian terrine, $22) to share. One diner also chooses from this list the Polpette di sarde (sardine balls, $18) and the Oxtail ‘in umido’ (umido means wet in Italian) with polenta ($18). After seeing the size of the meals there is much discussion on this particular diner being able to finish both dishes. It’s going to be well worth a try. While waiting for the terrine to share, two of the group head for the tasting room at the end of the restaurant to make a decision on the wine for lunch. The starving person on the table insists that we order the house bread platter ($8), a platter of two types of light fresh

generous slices of bread, one plain, the other with olives and a bowl of tangy olive oil. The wine of choice is the 2013 Shiraz ($26). We’re tempted to head out onto the balcony but even though it’s a beautiful day it’s still cold; too cold unless you’re one of the kids who never seem to be bothered by temperature. The purpose-built restaurant, tasting room and larder stands impressively high behind the Chrismont grape vines. A floor-to-ceiling fireplace stands in the centre of the room and divides the tasting area from the dining room. It is an impressively comfortable contemporary building. Back to the dishes, first of all the terrine: the meat is tender, moist,

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BYO food

“

… the meat is tender, moist, chunky and set in an aspic, topped with lemon zest … very moreish and delightful”

chunky and set in aspic, topped with lemon zest and accompanied with mixed salad greens lightly dressed, very moreish and delightful. We spread lashes of the terrine across baguette slices. Following the terrine comes the beef cheek with smoked herb mashed potato and sweet and savory balsamic onion ($38) and two servings of the slow-cooked pork belly with braised red cabbage, potate fritte, (baked potatoes) and salsa agro dolce (sweet and sour sauce, $38). The sardine balls are hearty and tasty and come in a bowl covered with a rich tomato-based sauce that you could just eat by itself. Then the bowl of oxtail, again in a sauce made with love. The meat falls from the oxtail and, combined with the polenta and sauce, is delicious. And yes, this diner can’t finish the dishes, but sure enjoys trying. The beef-cheek normally comes with potato mash, but after a non-dairy request the mash is exchanged for a pile of small baked potatoes. Slowcooked onions complete the dish; the combination is delicious. Lastly, the two pork-belly diners don’t hesitate when their meals arrive. The crackling is a real winner and left to last by both diners, as the best bits always are. One diner who is not normally a cabbage lover is converted after this dish.

A comment to Jo, owner and hostess, about the generous size of the meals elicits this response: “We’re Italian; we love people to eat. Inspiration for the meals comes from my mum Franca and aunt Maria. My cousin Giovanna Jones is the key ingredient in our kitchen’s success.” When asked if we want dessert we all look longingly at the doughnuts, but there is no way they’ll fit in. A complimentary biscotti of almond and one of ricotta and lemon finish the meal perfectly with great coffee and a pot of real tea. The service is excellent and we thank good management. Just as a side note we are grateful that the tables are cleaned with hot cloths and not sprayed with goodness knows what. It’s great that some people realise that you don’t want to have disinfectant all over your meal. Just a warning: before you select from the menu the dishes are not only delicious, they are also large. The trick next time – and there will be a next time – is not to eat breakfast beforehand. NNE

Chrismont Cellar Door, Restaurant and Larder 251 Upper King River Road, Cheshunt. 03 5729 8220 www.chrismont.com.au Open daily 10am-5pm (except Christmas Day) There are some days that the restaurant is closed for private functions so always call first.

NORTH BY NORTH-EAST

NNEFOOD AND WINE

Celebrate the good life With the King Valley’s La Dolce Vita festival rapidly approaching, wine writer IAN DUNN sampled some true Italian reds from the region

friend recently visited the King Valley and returned bearing wine. Much wine! And what a place to visit. Great wine families, largely doing the stuff their forebears did in Italy and taking every opportunity to celebrate their produce with events like La Dolce Vita this November. We first tried a Nebbiolo from La Cantina, operated by father and son team Gino and Peter Corsini. I’d not seen the label before, so did a little research. What a story is told on their very informative website. Ultimately, after many other vocations, Signor Corsini found himself growing tobacco and, in common with many of the great family wineries of the Valley, changed over to wine. Many varieties are grown, a feature being the non-use of any preservatives, which, it must be said, is admirable and courageous. The 2012 Nebbiolo is an easy drinking wine, slightly sharp in the mid82

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

palate. Nebbiolo is not easy to produce. At the price of $18, it’s quite good value. We then tried a brace of very interesting Sangioveses. We found ourselves musing over the difference between Chianti (which must be derived entirely from Sangiovese) and the wines we were drinking. Few Chiantis are made using fruit such as that in the King. The 2015 Nonna Gisella Pizzini ($21.50) is the bigger wine, denser in colour, supported by great fruit and moderate in alcohol (13.5 per cent). Ideal for those who prefer big-bodied reds. By contrast the Chrismont LaZona 2013 ($26) is paler in hue and doesn’t exhibit the same full-frontal fruit, but is quite delightful. The pundits tell us that amongst the typical flavours in Sangiovese is, would you believe, tobacco! We couldn’t detect it, but the Deft Palate swears that she did notice a hint of strawberry. Both are excellent wines with vastly contrasting features I now turn to a Barbera – a variety I like very much. It’s not well-known here, but it’s actually the third-most planted grape variety in Italy. The Chrismont, La Zona 2014 version has a colour that will satisfy anyone, as will everything else about this beauty. It’s quite a big wine for this variety although a relatively moderate 13.5 percent alcohol. The Deft Palate said she’d never enjoyed a Barbera as much as this, a comment which pleased me not, as I’ve bought quite a few Barbera, but never previously the Chrismont! Great value at $26. We also have a number of interesting white wines from the same region to which we will give preference when the weather warms up a little. iandunn227@gmail.com NNE

“

The Deft Palate said she’d never enjoyed a Barbera as much as this, a comment which pleased me not …”

La Dolce Vita festival showcases what the King Valley is all about. Dates to remember are Saturday, November 19 and Sunday, November 20. Most of the area’s wineries will be open. Wineries we sampled some of the wares from are: Chrismont Upper King River Rd, Cheshunt chrismont.com.au 03 5729 8220 Pizzini 175 King Valley Rd Whitfield pizzini.com.au 03 5729 8278 La Cantina 54 Honey’s Lane, King Valley lacantinakingvalley.com.au 03 5729 3615

YOUR HOSTS CARMEL and BRIAN DIXON

Trophy Winning Red Wines

Invite you to a gourmet stay at

JAMIESON B and B

Mob 0402 136 448

38 Nash Street, JAMIESON t (03) 5777 0601 m 0400 570 600 e brian@lifebeinit.org

53 Longwood Mansfield Road Longwood East 3665 Victoria jenny@maygarshill.com.au

www.maygarshill.com.au

MAYGARS HILL

www.jamiesonbandb.com.au

THE GIDDY GOAT Licensed Café

Opening Hours: Thursday to Sunday 6am - Breakfast & lunch

Ph: 5773 4223

ts Lazy Breakfas

53 Longwood Mansfield Road, Longwood East 3665 Victoria Australia Tel 61 3 5798 5417 M 0402 136 448 vineyard@strathbogieboutiquewines.com www.strathbogieboutiquewines.com

Relaxed Lun ches

Great Food Cheerful Service Funny Looking Staff Eat In or Takeaway

6606 Maroondah Hwy. Yarck

eals Homemade M

Yarck Cottage

B&B. Overnight & Holiday Accommodat ion • No minimum nights • Sleeps 14+ people • In middle of town • Right on Rail Trail • Within a stone’s thr ow of eateries • Supplied meals to cottage available 1 Wrights Road, Yar ck Victoria Phone: Sonja 0409 004 887 or Andrew 0408 599 677

www.yarckcottage.c

the produce store

P rivate F unction c atering

food

our team caters for any type of event at our place or yours a woolshed dinner. a country wedding. a birthday

mansfield

wine

coffee

B ook F or Y our c hristmas F unction open 7 days fully licensed 03 5779 1404 68 high st mansfield theproducestore.com.au

NNEFOOD AND WINE

It may not be the season for summer pudding, but Longwood chef COLETTE GEIER has mixed the freshness of spring with an old family favourite to create comfort food with a new twist.

veryone has that favourite comfort food they get a bit irrational about, and for my brother it’s self-saucing pudding. I’m not talking good, homemade self-saucing pudding, I’m talking the cheap and nasty packet variety but nonetheless he would buy it two packets at a time and demolish the lot in a single sitting; it was like watching Taz the Tasmanian Devil from Looney Tunes. I’ve since discovered buying packet pud is ludicrous because not only is it ridiculously easy to make, the real thing is so much more delicious. After meeting Glenda Thomson from Strathbogie and learning all about blueberry farming, I was keen to find a suitable blueberry recipe, so incorporating them into a pudding made perfect sense. No wonder it’s a timeless classic; it’s egg-free and easy to substitute the dairy or wheat flour. As long as you’re not serving someone on paleo, all is well. If you are serving someone on paleo, give them a long lecture about sustainable agriculture and just hand them the blueberries. Apart from being ridiculously easy to make, this pudding has all the joys of cake plus the added bonus of syrupy sauce loaded with fresh bursts of tangy blueberry fabulousness. The lemon zest adds gorgeous aromatics and a dollop of sour cream or yogurt tops it off perfectly. There’s really no way to improve on a freshly picked blueberry but if you ever do find yourself with too many to eat (or you happen to have a bag of frozen ones in the freezer), I highly recommend a quick pud. NNE 84

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

Spring pudding

Lemon and blueberry self-saucing pudding 1 ½ cups self-raising flour 1 cup caster sugar 1 cup buttermilk or whatever kind of milk takes your fancy 2 tbsp. finely grated lemon rind 4 tablespoons of melted butter or vegetable oil Pinch of salt ½ cup icing sugar 1 ½ cups boiling water

Sauce 2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen) 2 tbsp sugar 2 tbsp water To make the sauce, place berries in a pot with the small amounts of water and sugar and boil until the sugar has dissolved, then pour the mixture into the bottom of a greased baking dish. Put the flour, caster sugar, milk, butter, lemon zest and salt in a bowl and mix. You can do this with an electric mixer but it’s one recipe I just mix with a wooden spoon. Gently spoon the mixture over the blueberries and smooth flat. Sprinkle the icing sugar over the top and then pour the boiling water over the back of a spoon onto the mix. Bake at 180°c for 30 minutes or until golden. Let the pudding sit for 5-10 minutes before serving to allow the sauce to thicken.

Heat ‘N’ Eat Meals All prepared by our in-house chef Aaron ‘Squizzy’ Taylor Roasts: Mustard Silverside, Beef, Pork & Lamb Family Pies: Steak, Steak, Bacon & Onion, Chicken & Vegetable, Curry Chicken & Vegetable, Lamb & Red Wine & Squidge’s Shepherd’s Pie

Gourmet Pies: Venison & Kangaroo Homemade Lasagnes: Chicken & Beef Quiches: Lorraine & Vegetarian Family Favourites: Lamb Shanks, Braised Chops, Lambs Fry & Bacon, Rogan Josh, Beef Vindaloo, Snags with Onion Gravy, Curry Sausages, Bolognese Sauce, Chicken Cacciatore, Venison Casserole & Hearty Soup

5775 1163

Shop 9, 22 Highett St, Mansfield www.alpinebutchery.com.au NORTH BY NORTH-EAST

NNEFOOD AND WINE

Some tasting notes

Over the past few weeks, IAN DUNN has found himself tasting some outstanding wines, some of the best examples of these varieties that he can recall from our region

t started with two reserve wines, both the 2013 Shiraz and Cabernet, from Sedona at Murrindindi. These were first tasted at a Murrindindi Winemakers’ dinner, (about which more below). On such an occasion one can get excited by the ambience, the great food and company, so that most wine tastes pretty good! To check my impressions, the following day I chuffed over to Sedona and bought two more bottles to be drunk by a hard headed bunch of serious wine drinkers at a pub in Melbourne. I gave the publican Peter a glass of each, which he shared with his wife Miriam, the chef. The result was that my companions loved it and so did the publican, who has since put both wines on his wine list. These reserve wines are not cheap, in the low $30s, but if they were from, say, Heathcote, they would be $50 plus. Interestingly, the tasters could not agree as to which wine was superior.

If the weather’s cold, try the reds

And now for some brief details of the Winemakers’ Dinner, with truffle featuring on the menu, at Marysville. I wish space permitted me to say more; suffice to say that the dinner was a sellout and both food and wines – all the wines – were excellent. I’d like to mention them all, but I couldn’t do justice to the whites. Of particular interest, apart from the Sedonas, were a lovely Cabernet Franc from Philip Lobley, an excellent Pinot Noir from Little Cathedral and very good Cabernet Merlot from Mt Cathedral. It was a very cold night, therefore the reds seemed more attractive. I’m sure that if such an evening had occurred in summer, the whites may well have dominated our thinking.

Long range tasting

Jenny Houghton at Maygars

A similar conundrum affected the Deft Palate and me a few weeks later. On this occasion we were drinking the wonderful 2014 Shiraz and Cabernet from Maygars Hill. The tasting was a lengthy affair. We drank half of each, re-capped the bottles, and finished them the following night; not a bad test as so many bottles are drunk at home over two or more dinners. Again we were divided as to the superior wine. On the second night we both thought the Shiraz was preferable. But these are simply outstanding, as better judges than I have pronounced. I find it hard to believe the price: $28. The 2013 Maygar’s Cabernet was also a cracker of a wine. When I have the chance I will compare the two, but the Cabernet of both years is awfully good. I’m absolutely certain that all the wines referred to above have years of ageing in them.

Sangiovese for local pub

Another Sangiovese has recently been approved by a number of tasters at the Hungry Horse Hotel at Molesworth – thankfully, very handy to my place – where the newish owners are combining good food with an excellent range of local, interesting, wine. The Sangiovese we’ve liked so well is from Amulet, near Beechworth; it’s extremely attractive at a very modest price. NNE iandunn227@gmail.com

Lunch and dinner 7 days a week All day meals on long weekends • Beer garden Take away meals • Accommodation • Bottleshop Ice cold beer • Open fireplace in bar & bistro Maroondah Highway, Buxton Phone 03 5774 7381 buxtonhotel@virtual.net.au

THE PLACE TO MEET, THE PLACE TO EAT

Made by Ros Ritchie with passion and skill Take home the essence of The High Country

ALL DAY BREAKFAST & LUNCH DELICIOUS FRESH JUICES, SMOOTHIES & MILKSHAKES HAND CRAFTED PIES, PASTRIES & CAKES ICE CREAM CONES 12 FLAVOURS

Carefully crafted wines

SERVING GREAT DIVIDE ORGANIC & FAIR TRADE COFFEE

Handpicked from Carefully individual crafted wines vineyards in the cool climate Carefully crafted wines high country of Victoria Handpicked from individual

vineyards in the cool climate

Handpicked from individual Made with skill and highpassion country of Victoria vineyards in the cool climate high country of Victoriaat: Available Marks IGA & Foodworks Supermarket Restaurants throughout region Made with skill and the passion

C A F E SINCE 1972

28 HIGH ST, MANSFIELD Ph 5775 2623 OPEN 7.30AM 7 DAYS A WEEK

Ros Ritchie PhoneWines Ros 0448 900 541 PO Box 210 Mansfield PO Box 210 Mansfield,Vic 3724 Victoria 3724 Australia www.rosritchiewines.com www.rosritchiewines.com

Ros Ritchie Wines PO Box 210 Mansfield

NNEARTS

Alice Aliceininaa cruel cruelland land Music and Freedom, by Zoe Morrison, Vintage, $32.99 Review by JOE BLAKE

ne of the more colourful characters in Australian history was John Grey Gorton, who became Prime Minister in 1968. Many years earlier, while a student at Oxford, he married Bettina Brown. Their wedding night was not quite as they’d planned it, because marriage was frowned on for students of that prestigious seat of learning. Immediately after the ceremony, the head of Gorton’s college summoned him to his office and kept him talking throughout the night. Bettina was left waiting in her new husband’s room, perhaps feeling the loneliness that would characterise her lifelong union with a politician. Her feelings didn’t matter at Oxford of the time; she was female and therefore inferior. In this marvellous but often bleak tale, Alice starts life on an orange grove near the Murray River, just after World War I. Her father, once a talented and prosperous citrus grower, is damaged by his role in the war, and nothing seems to go right. His wife, a cultured person, feels herself marooned in the backblocks of New South Wales, and is determined that

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

her only child will not suffer the same fate. At the tender age of six, Alice is shipped off to boarding school in England, and expected to become a famous concert pianist. At first life is dreadfully hard, but gradually she comes to enjoy her new surroundings. Although determined to return to Australia at the end of her schooling, Alice is convinced to accept the offer of a place in the Royal College of Music in London, where her talents blossom and she becomes a highly accomplished pianist. When that course is complete, her plans for home are shattered; she’s devastated by the news that her parents are dead, killed in a car crash. Griefstricken, she marries Edward, an older man who’s been pursuing her for some time. While he’s been quite gentle before the wedding, he turns into a monster immediately after. Not only physically violent, he also is cruel emotionally, destroying whatever confidence she might have built up. Edward is an Oxford academic in economics, preaching the doctrine that the market is the solution to everything. This is only the 1950s, so his time hasn’t

come yet, but his cruel and soulless message reaches its audience later, with Reagan and Thatcher taking it up as a way to make their wealthy friends even richer. In the meantime, Alice is never allowed to perform music in public, except where Edward deems fit. Her only solace is the occasional company of the other faculty wives; none suffers as much as her, but all are mere adjuncts to their academic spouses. Eventually she gives up music altogether, and her life is incredibly sad until, at about the age of 40 she gives birth to a son. Even this event doesn’t help her state of mind, and her relationship with her son is strained. When Edward finally dies, Alice doesn’t feel free. She burns all his books, and can only try to starve herself to death as a way out. However, a saviour appears out of thin air: her neighbour, playing the piano. This brilliant book raises questions about many things: relationships, economics, education, homesickness, music and how they all fit together. The writing is beautiful and the tension everpresent; there’s always a temptation to flip over a few pages to see what’s going to happen next. NNE

Eclectic appeal

eg Webster from Molesworth is the most recent artist to cover the walls of the Ruffy Produce Store with her varied pieces of art. Meg uses two mediums in this exhibition, watercolours and collage with textiles. Her watercolours are fine and beautifully delicate while providing her subjects with depth and life. In contrast Meg Websterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s collages are fun, very clever and colourful, in each piece you can almost recognize someone you know. The exhibition is eclectic and appealing. Ruffy Produce Store is in Nolans Road, Ruffy and is open Friday evenings and on Saturday and Sundays during the day. NNE

NORTH BY NORTH-EAST

Happenings October&November Mansfield Show

The following events are listed as a free service & were believed to be correct at the time of going to print. Readers should check details in case of changes & for further information.

Markets Every Saturday

Second Saturday of month

Third Sunday of month

Mansfield Produce Swap 10am –12pm.

Alexandra Market 9am – 1pm.

Flowerdale Community Market

Stalls, refreshments, train rides. 0427 509 988 Alexandra Timber Tramway. 7 Station St. market@alexandratramway.org.au

9am – 1pm. Flowerdale Community Hall, Yea–Whittlesea Rd. 03 5780 1223

Mansfield Lions Craft Market 8am – 1pm.

Mansfield CWA Craft & Produce Market

High St median strip. 03 5777 3760

Free. Swap excess produce. 120 High St

Myrtleford Central Market 9am – 2pm. Farmers’ produce & local artisans. 10 Clyde St (rear entrance from Myrtle St) 0427 272 777

Every Sunday

10am – 2pm. Locally homemade goodies. CWA Hall, High St.

Yackandandah Lions Club Market

Wangaratta Market 8am – 1pm.

Myrtleford Flea Market 8am – 12pm.

Fourth Saturday of month

Trash, treasure, fresh produce. Avian Park Raceway. Newman St. 0427 215 258

First Friday of month Twig & Bloom Boutique Market 6 – 9pm (NOV only) Local art, craft and design. St Joseph’s Hall, Wedge St Benalla www.twigandbloommarket.com

Twilight Fair Myrtleford (NOV only) Tasty food, craft stalls, pony rides and live music to enjoy. Fundraiser Myrtleford P–12 College 69–75 O’Donnell Avenue, Myrtleford 0439 488 378 www.myrtlefordp12.vic.edu.au

First Saturday of month Beechworth Farmers’ Market 9am – 12pm. Fresh local produce. Church grounds, cnr Ford & Church Sts. 0408 859 282

Mount Beauty Community Markets 9am – 2pm.

Local produce, trash & treasure, plants. Old School Museum, Elgin St. 03 5727 1417 or 03 5752 1963

Wangaratta Farmers’ Market 8.30am – 12pm. Local produce & food products. Apex Park. Clements St. wangarattafarmersmarket@gmail.com

Violet Town Community Market 8.30am – 1pm. No dogs. Recreation Reserve, Tulip St. market@violettown.org.au

Second Sunday of month Avenel Produce & Craft Market

Local growers, producers, trash & treasure. Live entertainers, delicious food. Yea Railway Park, Station St. yeamarket@gmail.com 0411 433 702

First Sunday of month Chiltern Market 10am – 2pm.

Marysville Community Market 9am – 1pm. Rutherglen Farmers’ Market 9am – 12.30pm.

Bollygum Park Community Market 40 Whittlesea–Kinglake Rd, Kinglake bollygummarket@gmail.com 0409 849 722

Third Saturday of month

Piazza & adjacent church grounds kerry@tafco.com.au 03 5752 1800

Kinglake Produce & Artisan Market 10am – 3pm. Whorouly Village Fair (OCT only)

9.30am – 3pm Produce & talented craftspeople Whorouly Recreation Reserve.

Fifth Saturday of month Oxley Bush Market (OCT only) 65 stalls – home–made, produced, grown & new. Oxley Shire Hall, Snow Rd 03 5727 3389 Mansfield Bush Market (OCT only) 8am – 2.30pm Local produce, arts, craft, knick knacks, food & more Highett St Mansfield (Curia St – Hunter St) 0417 118 103

Fifth Sunday of the month

Handmade, organic, recycled, ethical. Howitt Park. 0457 953 586 www.brightchamber.com.au

Wangaratta Jazz Festival Sunday Market

Euroa Village Farmers’ Market 9am–1pm. Rotary Park, Kirkland Ave. www.euroavillagefarmersmarket.org

Moyhu Farmers’ & Community Market

Local produce, arts & craft. Lake View House, 18–22 Victoria St 0431 821 347

Tallarook Farmers’ Market 9am – 1pm.

Yackandandah Monthly Produce Swap

Mechanics’ Institute, Main Rd, Tallarook. clivehines@hotmail.com

9.30am. Yackandandah Community Garden. William St. 0477 417 445

Milawa Gourmet Region Producers Market

Yarck Country Market

(OCT only) The Cross Roads Milawa, Snow Road, Milawa 03 5727 3507

9am – 1.30pm. Local produce. Yarck Hall, Maroondah Hwy. 03 5773 4304

Bright’s Iconic Rod Run Market

Eildon Big Fish Challenge Twilight Market

9am – 2pm (NOV only) Pioneer Park, Bright www.brightsiconicrodrun.com.au

(OCT only) 4 – 9pm Eildon Pondage 0418 266 038 www.eildonbigfishchallenge.com.au

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

Median strip High St. 0417 319 879

Myrtleford Farmers’ Market

Bright Market 9am – 1pm.

8am – 12pm. Local produce, plants, artisans. Lions’ Park, King Valley Rd. www.moyhufarmersmarket.com.au

Foreshore. benallamarket@gmail.com

Mansfield Farmers’ Market 8.30am – 1pm.

info@kinglakemarket.com.au 03 5786 1976

8am – 12pm. Fawkner Drv Car park pandmpoels@bigpond.com

Local produce. 1800 622 871 info@rutherglenvic.com

Yea Country Market 9am – 1pm.

Benalla Lakeside Quality Craft & Produce Market 9am – 2pm. Fawkner Drive, Lake Benalla

Benalla Lions Club Carboot Sale

Nagambie Lakes Community Market

IN RECESS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE www.tatongvillagemarket.com

9am – 3pm. Queen Victoria Park, Sydney Rd 03 5728 2968

Fourth Sunday of month

11 Murchison St. www.marysvilletourism.com

Tatong Village Market

Beechworth Country Craft Market

9am – 1pm. Grow it, bake it and make it! Jubilee Park Queen St. 0468 586 069

Homegrown produce, new & used goods, craft. Hollands St & Kiewa Cres. 03 5754 4097 9am – 1pm. Make, bake, sew & grow. Jacobson’s Outlook & Blayney Reserve Beside the Lake. www.nagambiemarket.com.au

9am – 1pm. Wellsford St. 0418 122 921

(OCT only) Local and regional stalls Apex Park, Parfitt Road, Wangaratta 03 5722 1666 www.wangarattajazz.com

Maindample Country Fair (OCT only) 8am – 3pm

Maindample Community Park, Main St 0401 712 810

Bonnie Doon Country Market & Car Boot Sale (OCT only) 9am -–1pm 03 5778 7722 bdccentre@bigpond.com Bonnie Doon Community Centre grounds, Arnot St

Mansfield Historical Society Car Boot/Bric a Brac Sale (OCT only) 10am – 3pm Mansfield History Centre/Station. 175 High St. 03 5776 2231 www.mansfieldhistoricalsociety.com.au

Fifth Monday of the month Bright Spring Festival Rotary Markets (OCT only) 9am – 2pm Bright Shopping Centre, Burke St 03 5755 1696 www.brightrotary.org.au.

nual n A th The 126

Shire Libraries Alexandra Grant St 03 5772 0349 Beechworth Cnr Albert Rd & Harper Ave 1300 365 003 Benalla Nunn St 03 5762 2069 Bright Ireland St 03 5755 1540 Euroa Binney St 1300 374 765 Flowerdale/Eildon/Marysville/Strath Creek 03 5772 0349 Kinglake Kinglake–Whittlesea Rd 03 5786 1522 Mansfield Collopy St 03 5775 2176 Myrtleford Cnr Standish St & O’Donnell Ave 03 5752 2038 Nagambie High St 1300 374 765 Violet Town Cowslip St 1300 374 765 Wangaratta Docker St 03 5772 4211 Yea The Semi Circle 03 5797 2209

w o h S a o r u E 23 22nd &

COME AND JOIN IN OUR TRADITIONAL COUNTRY SHOW SATURDAY SCARECROW COMPETITION, SHEARING, CATTLE, HORSES, WOOL, POULTRY, WORKING DOGS AND SHOW DOGS, MISS JUNIOR SHOWGIRL AND TINY TOT COMPETITION ART, CRAFT AND HORTICULTURE EXHIBITS, HIGHLAND DANCING, MUSIC, FREE ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN, GOURMET FOOD, LOCAL WINE, CRAFT BEER SHOWBAGS AND RIDES

SUNDAY

Cinemas & Performing Arts

HORSE EVENTS CONTINUE

Benalla Performing Arts & Convention Centre

WWW.EUROASHOW.ORG.AU

57 Samaria Rd www.bpacc.com.au

016

r, 2 e b o t c rd O

Chiltern Star Theatre Main St 03 5726 1395 Euroa Community Cinema Shire Building, Bury St www.euroa.org.au Mansfield Armchair Cinema 1 Chenery St www.the–mac.com.au Swanpool Cinema 2386 Midland Hwy www.swanpoolcinema.com.au Violet Town St Dunstan’s Hall High St Wangaratta Cinema Centre 1st Floor, The Co Store Complex, Cnr Ovens & Reid Sts. www.wangcinema.com.au Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre 33 – 37 Ford St www.wangarattapac.com.au

Wangaratta Players Inc 4D Evans St 0427 522 318 Yackandandah Memorial Hall Complex High St. www.yackandandah.com Australian Classic Movie Nights Chiltern Star Theatre hotson@westnet.com.au

Gig Guide Open Mic Every Tuesday from 7.30pm. Commercial Hotel, Alexandra Open Mic 1st Sunday monthly 5 – 9pm. Hotel Nicholas, Beechworth Beechworth Ghost & Paranormal Tours Most nights. 1300 366 231 Live Music at Bright Brewery Sundays. www.brightbrewery.com.au Buxton Hotel Motel Live Music Last Sunday of each month buxtonhotel@virtual.net.au 03 5774 7381 Everton Hotel Open Mic Session 2nd Sunday monthly 2pm. 03 5727 0232 The Flowerdale Hotel 2pm First Sunday monthly. 03 5780 1230 Bracket & Jam 3rd Friday of the month. Dinner 6.30pm, music 7.30pm. Mansfield Regional Produce Store. Book 03 5779 1404

60/40 & Dance Night Easy social ballroom dancing 7.30 – 10.30pm Every 4th Saturday Anglican Parish Hall, 2 Anzac Ave Seymour

Wangaratta Ukulele Band 1st Thursday monthly Vine Hotel, Wangaratta Nth. Yackandandah Old Time Dance 2nd Saturday monthly

$500 1st prize sponsored by Brooklands Farm, Ruffy

EXHIBITION AND SALE OF QUALITY ART & STUNNING OPEN GARDENS

11th, 12th, 13th November 2016 Ruffy Hall, Nolans Road, Ruffy INCLUDING Painting, photography, ceramics, metal art +

OPENING NIGHT

~ Meet the Artists ~ Friday 11th November, 7pm – 9pm Tickets $20pp (incl. supper, drinks and music) Bookings essential by Monday 7th November Robyn Sheehan 03 5790 3275 ruffy.artfest@gmail.com

ART EXHIBITION & SALE, OPEN GARDENS Saturday: 10am-5pm | Sunday 10am-4pm

TICKETS ART EXHIBITION: $5PP at the door, children under 12 free OPEN GARDENS: $15pp (all four gardens) available at each garden or at the Ruffy Hall www.ruffycommunity.com.au

CELEBRATING COMMUNITY

Yackandandah Public Hall www.uniqueyackandandah.com.au NORTH BY NORTH–EAST

NNEHAPPENINGS

Galleries & Museums Alexandra Timber Tramway & Museum Station St, Alexandra www.alexandratramway.org.au

Banksia Gallery King Parrot Valley Country Retreat 26 – 66 Wentworth Rd, Strath Creek

0457 590 022

Bainz Gallery Wangaratta Library Benalla Art Gallery Botanic Gardens

Bridge St, Benalla www.benallaartgallery.com

Country Shows MAG. Mansfield Art Gallery

4 Highett St. Mansfield 1300 783 446 www.mansfieldgallery.com.au

133rd Alexandra Annual Spring Show Saturday 12 November

Mansfield Historical Society

0477 002 051 pna.alexandra@gmail.com www.alexandrashow.com

Marian Rennie Gallery

134th Benalla Spring Show

Mansfield Railway Station 175 High St. Mansfield 132 Breakaway Rd, Acheron www.marianrennie.com.au

Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA)

Friday 14 – Saturday 15 October 03 5762 2323 secretary@benallashow.com www.benallashow.com

Benalla Costume & Pioneer Museum

546 Dean St, Albury (02) 6023 8154

Dookie Show

North East Artisans Community Gallery

Saturday 29 October

Benalla Migrant Camp & Aviation Museum

88 – 90 Bridge St, Benalla www.facebook.com/NE.Artisans

Bright Art Gallery

Cnr. Emily St & High St, Seymour www.seymourartsociety.org.au

14 Mair St, Benalla benhist@vicnet.net.au home.vicnet.net.au/~benmus/ Samaria Rd, Benalla benallamigrantcampexhibition.blogspot.com.au

Old Courthouse Gallery

dookieshowsociety@gmail.com www.dookieshow.com.au

126th Annual Euroa Show Saturday 22 – Sunday 23 October

Mountbatten Ave, Bright www.brightartgallery.org.au

Old Post Office Seymour

03 5795 2527 euroashow@bigpond.com www.euroashow.org.au

Bruno’s Art & Sculpture Garden

Robert O’Hara Burke Museum

127th Mansfield Annual Agricultural Show

Loch St, Beechworth www.burkemuseum.com.au

Saturday 19 November

Ruffy Produce Store 26 Nolans Rd, Ruffy 03 5790 4387 www.ruffy.com.au

0400 355 204 mansfieldap@outlook.com www.mansfieldaandpsociety.com.au

Rustic Simplicity @ The Shear ‘N’ shedS

69th Annual Myrtleford Spring Show

51 Falls Rd, Marysville www.brunosart.com

Chambers Gallery

113 High Street, Broadford www.mitchellshire.vic.gov.au

El Dorado Museum

136 Main St, El Dorado www.eldoradomuseum.com

Gallery 34

34 High St, Yea www.gallery34.com.au

Highlands Hillcrest Gallery & Studio

Hillcrest, RMB 6020 Old Highlands Rd, Highlands dennisspiteri@active8.net.au

Ibrox Fine Art Gallery

24 Highett St, Mansfield 0418 579 633 www.ibroxfineartgallery.com.au

John Dermer Gallery

225 Kirkby Flat Rd, Yackandandah info@johndermer.com.au

Kerrisdale Mountain Railway & Museum 7523 Goulburn Valley Hwy, Kerrisdale www.kerrisdalemtnrailway.com.au

50 Emily St, Seymour www.artsseymour.com.au

74 Grant St, Alexandra www.rusticsimplicityblog.wordpress.com

The Farmers’ Arms Hotel Museum 25 Kirkland Ave Euroa. 03 5798 9548

The Gallery

225 Kirbys Flat Rd. Yackandandah

The Sheila Inc Design Centre

52 – 54 Binney St, Euroa 0400 753 715

Wangaratta Art Gallery

56 Ovens St, Wangaratta www.wangarattaartgallery.com.au

Wangaratta Historical Society

Saturday 22 October 03 5752 2608 myrtlefordshow@bigpond.com www.themyrtlefordshow.com.au

128th Rutherglen Agricultural Show Sunday 16 October 02 6032 8044 wineagshow@westnet.com.au www.rutherglenwineshow.com.au

‘The Great Seymour Show Off’ Friday 30 September – Saturday 1 October 0422 058 213 secretary@seymouragshow.org.au www.seymouragshow.org.au

Ford St, Wangaratta wanghistsoc@hotmail.com www.wanghistsoc.org.au

152nd Wangaratta Show

Wangaratta Visitors Centre Exhibition Room 100 Murphy St. Wangaratta

03 5721 3280 wangarattashow@westnet.com.au www.wangarattashow.org.au

Friday 7 – Saturday 8 October

Yarrawonga Mulwala Agricultural Show

Markets and sunshine mix W

armer days, sun shining and there is a need to be outdoors though not all the time working. It’s time to dust off the cobwebs and enjoy a few fun things. An alternative idea to fixing fences and weeding gardens is to head off to one or two or three of the local markets (they are listed on the previous page). The Mansfield Bush Market is one of the big ones, with stalls in Highett Street. Stall holders from all over Victoria attend with their various wares for sale. Head to Mansfield on Sunday October 30 and remember to bring your own carry bag, better make it a big one. NNE

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

Friday 30 September 0431 486 903: admin@ymshow.com.au www.ymshow.com.au

101st Yea Show Friday 25 – Saturday 26 November 03 5797 2819 info@yeashow.org.au www.yeashow.org.au

Open Gardens Alexandra & District Open Gardens Saturday 22 – Sunday 23 October

9.00am - 1.00pm (no market in August)

10am – 4pm 03 5772 1432 www.alexandraopengardens.com.au

Benalla Garden Club Open Gardens Day Saturday 29 October 10am – 4pm 03 5766 6275 benallagardenclub@gmail.com

Bright Spring Festival Open Gardens Saturday 15 October – Tuesday 1 November www.brightspringfestival.com.au/open–gardens

Open Garden Day by Mansfield Garden Club Sunday 30 October 10am – 4pm 0438 648 372 mansfieldgardenclub@gmail.com www.facebook.com/mansfieldgardenclub/

Ruffy ArtFest Open Gardens Saturday 12 – Sunday 13 November $15pp four gardens Sat 10am–5pm | Sun 10am–4pm www.ruffycommunity.com.au

Rotary Club of Yea’s Open Gardens Saturday 5 – Sunday 6 November 10am – 5pm 03 5797 2663 www.yearotary.org.au

Race Meetings Alexandra Picnic Races – Run for the Roses Saturday 22 October Alexandra Racecourse, 1 Gordon St. Alexandra 03 5773 4304 www.alexandraraceclub.com.au

Fabulous array of stalls on offer by local producers, growers and makers, as well as eclectic trash and treasure stalls, all enhanced by local entertainers and delicious food and snacks.

For more information contact Barb 0411 433 702

Euroa Cup Race Day Benalla 2016 Sunday 6 November Benalla Racecourse, 5865 Midland Hwy, Benalla 03 5762 2543 www.benalla.countryracing.com.au

Monday Racing 2016 - Benalla Monday 24 October Benalla Racecourse, 5865 Midland Hwy, Benalla 03 5762 2543 www.benalla.countryracing.com.au

Melbourne Cup Picnic Races in Mansfield Tuesday 1 November Mansfield District Racing Club , Midland Highway, Mansfield 0418 595 878 www.mansfieldcountryraces.com.au

Victorian Vietnam Veterans ‘Together Then, Together Again’ Race Day Saturday 19 November Seymour Racing Club, 55 Kobyboyn Rd, Seymour 03 5799 1681 seymour_racing@countryracing.com.au

Wangaratta Motor Group Melbourne Cup Day Races Tuesday 1 November Wangaratta Turf Club, 1–15 Racecourse Road, Wangaratta 03 5722 1242 www.countryracing.com.au/wangaratta-turf-club

Wangaratta Turf Club Spring Racing Monday 14 November Wangaratta Turf Club, 1–15 Racecourse Road, Wangaratta 03 5722 1242 www.countryracing.com.au/wangaratta-turf-club

Yea Racing Club Spring Celebration Saturday 12 November Yea Racing Club, 121 Racecourse Rd 03 5797 2955 www.country.racing.com/yea

Celebrate Spring & Biodiversity Come bird watching, wildflower hunting, join a talk or field day this Spring.

Euroa Arboretum will coordinate Biodiversity Spring 2016 in the Goulburn Broken and North East Catchment with support from the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority.

Funded by the Australian Government’s National Landcare Programme.

September 1- November 30 For more information visit our website Open Mondays 9am – 5pm or by appointment. 76 Euroa Main Road, Euroa (just off the Hume Hwy)

www.euroaarboretum.com.au NORTH BY NORTH–EAST

NNEHAPPENINGS

Events (October) Photo Competition – Childrens Week for under 8s Murrindindi Childrens’ Network competition over October www.facebook.com/murrindindichildrensnetwork

Friday 14 – Saturday 29 October

Sunday 23 October

MMUDS production of Beauty and the Beast

Monument Hill Ramble 10:30am

Mansfield Musical & Dramatic Society, View St. www.mmuds.org.au

Find the best patches of wildflowers around Kilmore. www.beam.org.au

Saturday 15 October

Spiders: Learn to love them 3pm Hosted by Strath Creek Landcare Group. goulburnbroken.landcarevic.net.au/strathck

Saturday 1 October

Annual Wildflower Walk

Show ’n’ Shine and Swap Meet

Up2Us Landcare Alliance, Mansfield. 0400 613 344 or info@up2us.org.au.

Myrtleford Showgrounds, 107 O’Donnell Avenue www.choppedandchanged.com

Sunday 2 October Biodiversity Day 10am – 3pm. ‘One Giant Leap Project’. Winton Wetlands, Boat Ramp, 652 Lake Mokoan Rd, Winton North

Tuesday 5 October Seniors Rights Session 10.30 – 11.30am Supporting Seniors in Mansfield. FREE session. Mansfield Library, Collopy St. 03 5775 8555

Friday 7 October Todd McKenney sings Peter Allen Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre, 37 Ford St 03 57 228 105 www.wangarattapac.com.au

Friday 7 – Sunday 9 October Alpine Equine Extravaganza A weekend of all things horsey Pioneer Park Recreation Reserve 0407 242 789 alpineadultridingclub@hotmail.com

Yackandandah Town Garage Sale

Ned Kelly Chase

Run or cycle. Apex Park Wangaratta 0407 081 070 www.nedkellychase.com.au

37 High St, Yackandandah 02 60 271 988 www.uniqueyackandandah.com.au

Wednesday 26 October

Saturday 15 – Sunday 16 October

Visit to three farm–based businesses 0409 955 396 karenb@gbcma.vic.gov.au

4th Annual Eildon Big Fish Challenge Eildon Pondage. 0418 266 038 www.eildonbigfishchallenge.com.au

Saturday 15 October – Tuesday 1 November Bright Spring Festival

Seymour Paddock to Plate tour

Thursday 27 October Spring Arts Literary Award 7pm ‘MAD’ Tales launch party and reading. Bos Taurus, 13/15 High St, Mansfield

Showcasing the Great Alpine Valleys www.brightspringfestival.com.au

Friday 28 – Saturday 29 October

Friday 21 October

and wine. 7.30pm Fri, 2pm & 7.30pm Sat. www.yappers.org Butter Factory, 13 Rattray St, Yea.

Official Opening Mansfield Spring Arts 6pm Delatite Hotel, 95 High St, Mansfield 0412 446 990 admin@artsmansfield.com.au www.artsmansfield.com.au

Friday 21 – Saturday 22 October

QUAFF Musical about loyalty, misunderstanding

Friday 28 – Sunday 30 October Wangaratta Jazz & Blues Festival

Jam–packed long weekend of premium jazz and blues. www.wangarattajazz.com

The Caged Canary

Friday 28 October – Tuesday 1 November Mansfield High Country Festival

Saturday 8 October

36 High St, Yackandandah 02 6027 1988 arts.yackandandah.com

Amulet Highland Games

Friday 21 – Sunday 23 October

1036 Wangaratta Rd, Beechworth 03 57 270 420 sales@amuletwines.com.au

Jamieson Wine, Cheese & Beer Night

Festival of Flowers 6.30 pm Friday, Saturday 10am-4pm, Sunday 11am-4pm. St John’s Anglican Church, Downey St, Alexandra. www.alexanglicans.org

Diverse activities put on by locals www.highcountryfestival.com.au

Marysville Art Show

Marysville Community Centre, 40 Falls Rd marysvilleartshow@yahoo.com.au 0431 450 160 www.marysvilleartshow.com

8pm Jamieson Memorial Hall. Huge range of international products. 03 5777 0535 www.facebook.com/JamiesonCommunity/

Swagger Music Festival Wandiligong

Make a moment @ the M Party 7pm Celebrating the makeover of the Merton Memorial Hall. Dress beginning with an ‘M’. 0409 789 615 or 0409 955 809 Find us on Facebook - Merton Fundraisers

Friday 21 October – Friday 18 November

Spring Degustation Dinner 7pm Holmesglen at Eildon, 92 Moore Road, Eildon. eildon@holmesglen.edu.au 03 5774 2631 www.holmesglen.edu.au

reCYCLING Sculpture Touring Trail

Spring Arts Median to Rare Sculpture Exhibition

Beechworth Oktoberfest Bridge Road Brewers, Ford St, Beechworth 03 57 282 703 info@bridgeroadbrewers.com.au

Sunday 9 October Alexandra Automotive Swap Meet and Historic Truck Muster Alexandra Showgrounds, 53 William St alexandra.swapmeet@gmail.com 0428 630 022

0421 384 153 swaggermusicfestival@gmail.com www.swaggermusicfestival.com.au

Maps at Rutherglen Visitor Info Centre, 57 Main St 0429 401 835 webster.irena@westnet.com.au www.artsrutherglen.com.au

Saturday 22 October Out of Opera 7pm Delatite Hotel, 95 High St, Mansfield 03 5775 2004 hoteldelatite@gmail.com www.thedelatitehotel.com.au Tour de Rutherglen Three different distances

Saturday 29 October

9am High St, Mansfield (median strip opp Post Office) 0412 446 990 admin@artsmansfield.com.au www.artsmansfield.com.au

Artist Simeon Ayres 4pm Drawn and painted maps. Ruffy Produce Store 26 Nolans Rd, Ruffy. www.ruffy.com.au

Saturday 29 October – Sunday 6 November Benalla Festival

Shores of Lake Benalla and Botanical Gardens. 03 57 602 600 benalla.festival@benalla.vic.gov.au www.benallafestival.com

Friday 14 – Sunday 16 October

0497 066 132 tour@rutherglenrotary.org www.tourderutherglen.org

Marysville Jazz and Blues Weekend

Wangaratta Speedway Opening Night

Sunday 30 October

Gates open at 12 noon with racing from 4pm. Shanley St, Wangaratta 0427 308 976 www.speedwaywangaratta.com.au

Barwite Vineyards & Ros Ritchie Wines Bush Picnic 12noon – 3pm 1974 Long Ln, Barwite

0477 123 506 www.marysvillejazzandblues.com

Mountain Bay Classic Lake Eildon Fishing Competition. mmpr@swiftdsl.com.au 0400 066 989

Foggy Mountain Bluegrass Festival Whittlesea Kinglake Rd. Kinglake 0488 997 117 www.fmbluegrass.com.au 94

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

Saturday 22 – Sunday 23 October

0448 900 541 rosritchie@bigpond.com www.rosritchiewines.com

MIFF Travelling Showcase

Monday 31 October

Mansfield Armchair Cinema www.the–mac.com.au/star–film–festival/

Wine, food and music www.rutherglenvic.com

Rutherglen Spring Swing

Events (November) Friday 4 – Saturday 5 November

Saturday 12 - Sunday 13 November

QUAFF Musical about loyalty, misunderstanding

Ruffy ArtFest Art Exhibition & Sale, Open Gardens

and wine. 7.30pm Fri, 2pm & 7.30pm Sat. www.yappers.org Butter Factory, 13 Rattray St, Yea.

La Dolce Vita Festival

Saturday: 10am – 5pm | Sunday 10am – 4pm Ruffy Hall, Nolans Road, Ruffy Robyn Sheehan 03 5790 3275 ruffy.artfest@gmail.com www.ruffycommunity.com.au

Celebrate ‘the sweet life’ in the King Valley. info@winesofthekingvalley.com.au www.winesofthekingvalley.com.au

7th international tarmac rally. www.targa.com.au

Sunday 13 November

Beechworth Celtic Festival

Yackandandah Billy Cart Race

18th Annual Wangaratta Swap Meet and Collectables Market

Friday 4 – Sunday 6 November Targa High Country

0438 466 513 www.beechworthcelticfestival.com.au

Bright’s 26th Iconic Rod Run 0429 861 463 seeyou@brightsiconicrodrun.com.au www.brightsiconicrodrun.com.au

Saturday 5 November Targafest 5 – 7.30pm High Street, Mansfield See the cars close up and meet the drivers. www.targa.com.au

Talk Wild Trout 9.30am – 5pm Arts Centre at Mansfield Secondary College, 15 View St. www.mansfieldmtbuller.com.au/twt

Wednesday 9 November More bugs in the system Soil biology forum

yackandandah.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au 02 6027 1431 www.yackaps.vic.edu.au

Tuesday 15 – Wednesday 16 November The Barrowthon A gruelling but fun push with your fundraising friends from Beechworth to Mount Buffalo. A legacy of a sporting bet made 80 years ago. info@barrowthon.com.au www.barrowthon.com.au

The 5th Annual Kinglake Ranges Art Show

YAMAHA Australian 4 Day Enduro | A4DE

Saturday 26 November

Held in Mansfield www.a4de.com.au offroad@offroad-racing.com.au

Mount Beauty & District Community Band

Friday 11 November

Snowgum Garden Nursery 120 High St Mansfield. 03 5775 1100

Fun to learn

Friday 25 – Sunday 27 November

Wednesday 16 – Saturday 19 November

Saturday 19 November

7 – 9pm Meet the Artists Ruffy Hall, Nolans Road, Ruffy Robyn Sheehan 03 5790 3275 ruffy.artfest@gmail.com www.ruffycommunity.com.au

Wangaratta Showgrounds, Green St 0459 824 169 wanglions@yahoo.com.au wangaratta.vic.lions.org.au

Opening night Fri 6.30 pm, Sat & Sun 10am – 4 pm Kinglake Community Centre, Cnr WhittleseaKinglake Rd & Extons Rd. Michelle 03 5786 5654 or Chrissy 03 5786 1231 www.kinglakeartshow.com.au

9.30am – 3.30pm Charles Sturt University / GOTAFE Rural Industries Campus 218 Tone Rd, Wangaratta. www.gbcma.vic.gov.au

Ruffy Artfest Opening Night

Sunday 20 November

Living Pantry Lunch

Saturday 19 – Sunday 20 November Great Alpine Rd Marathon & Half Marathon www.runningwild.net.au Paul Ashton 0418 136 070

8pm. Kiewa Crescent, Mount Beauty 03 5754 4586 mjcrebbin@bigpond.com

The Ballad of BackBone Joe Yarck Mechanics Institute, Maroondah Hwy, Yarck walsh145@me.com 03 5773 4304

Saturday 26 – Sunday 27 November Lake Eildon Festival Bonnie Doon & Goughs Bay Action–packed opening of the water sport season www.lakeeildonfestival.com.au

mbracing diversity has become a whole lot more interesting and enjoyable thanks to Biodivesity Spring 2016 and the Goulburn Broken catchment and northeast Victorian group. During October and November their events calendar has grown to cover the flora and fauna that exists in our region with us. The ‘Learning to Love Spiders’ sounds intriguing, we think. Some of the event on offer are: Bird Walk and Squawk at Flowerdale, the Wildflowers at Dookie College Bushland Reserve, the One Giant Leap- Biodiversity Day at Winton Wetlands, the Reptiles of the Granitic Hills and Woodlands at Chiltern, a Guided Walk of Chiltern’s Granitic Hills, Planning your property in Yea, the Springhurst Community Lizard Hunt, Getting to know your dirt and pasture in Yea, Spiders: Learning to love them in Strath Creek, Water on your Farm in Molesworth, Pest Animals and Plants and Animal Health in Yea and Encouraging Wildlife on your Farm in Yea. For more information on these events and what else is around the corner checkout The Biodiversity Spring calendar on www.biodiversityspring.wordpress.com. This site is updated regularly and remember that you must RSVP before attending, no ‘just turning up’ allowed. The contact is Wendy D’Amore who can be reached on 0407 331 376 or via email on wendy.damore@euroaarboretum.com.au. NNE

NORTH BY NORTH–EAST

NNEPROPERTY

Place your own caveat on ‘Adie Farm’

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

“The veranda appears to be the ideal spot for a morning cuppa while looking over your own acre of vines through to valleys and faraway hills.”

he first thing you notice about ‘Adie Farm’ as you enter its long driveway at Caveat is how well maintained the property appears to be. It had been a soaking few weeks before the inspection but the unsealed track was in fine nick; the fencing was ring-locked and sturdy and the paddocks looked to be secure. As it turned out the track went on to become the main laneway of the 331 hectares (about 818 acres) farm, but that was after it took us past the original farmhouse, which has fallen into disrepair, and then onto the family farm house sitting on an elevated setting and offering commanding views across the impressive Strathbogie tablelands towards Mt Good Morning Billy. The house offers much with timber cathedral ceilings in most rooms and a really comfortable, friendly feel about it. Main entry is into a family sized kitchen with a long timber bench separating the kitchen area from dining space. The kitchen boasts a fuel stove that also keeps the heat up to the hydronic heating through the house.

Wood for the fuel stove is fed into a cupboard beside the stove from outside. A long dining table fits snugly in front of a window with those grand views. Further along is a large lounge with a beautiful stone open fireplace in a corner. Either side are deep windows to a timber decked veranda on two sides of the house. The veranda appears to be the ideal spot for a morning cuppa while looking over your own acre of vines through to valleys and faraway hills. Five steps lead to a higher level with two bedrooms, both with ensuite bathrooms and both with a wall of robes. There is also a separate laundry. Across a decked area is a large, separate room which is a magnificent bedroom again with a timber cathedral ceiling and boasting glorious windows offering those grand views. This bedroom also has a very large third ensuite bathroom and a handy mezzanine space. The home isn’t grand, but it does feel very comfortable. Caveat is one of those little heard of places near Terip Terip and Ruffy

and very handy to the larger centres of Euroa and Yea. The farm, which appears to be very productive, is set up with 26 paddocks all offering water. There is a seasonal creek, some 22 dams and troughs in other paddocks. It has been running about 100 breeding cattle and keeping calves on longer than usual. It has also run a large number of sheep. ‘Adie Farm’ will be offered for sale by ‘Expression of Interest’ as a whole or in three lots, being ‘Yurittas’ of 300 acres including the home and disused original cottage; ‘Irvines’ of 252 acres and ‘Edwards’ of 266 acres. This is a beautiful, well maintained farm that should attract a lot of interest. NNE

AT A GLANCE ‘Adie Farm’, 129 Yurittas Road, Caveat 331 hectares approx (818 acres) Farmhouse of three bedrooms For Sale by ‘Expression of Interest’ closing Thursday, October 20 at 5pm at Elders, 160 Queen Street, Melbourne. Agent: Elders Melbourne, Nick Myer 9609 6225 Elders Euroa, Steve Harrington 5795 2094

NORTH BY NORTH-EAST

Love the Country Life MERRIJIG 47 LOVICKS LANE

42 acres in the heart of the Victorian High Country. The home comprises 4 large bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 separate living areas, study, slow combustion wood heating & solar hot water. Excellent water storage with 3 large tanks, dam and creek. Central laneway accessing numerous paddocks of varying sizes. Arena, round yard, horse shelters, semi-permanent creek through property, lovely northerly aspect with gorgeous views across the beautiful Merrijig valley. Large 5 bay machinery shed, tack room, hay shed, additional lockable 12m x 6m shed with power and phone, chook run, veggie garden, solar power with premium price grid feed guaranteed for another 10 years!! (Approx. value $3k - $4k/year) Ideally set up for agistment centre, riding centre or farm stay. State forest is 5 minutes ride out the front gate.

$795,000

Call for an inspection today.

Andrew Clark Catherine Pigdon Karen Fearon-Brown Glenn Martin

Sales 0428 574 439 Reception Property Management Sales 0427 752 619

Call in to see the Clark & Co team at 18 High St, Mansfield www.clarkco.com.au

KEVINGTON 500 METRES OF GOULBURN RIVER FRONTAGE This Upper Goulburn River Retreat, accessed by a sealed road, is just waiting for you to build your dream riverfront residence or perhaps add on to the existing building. Planning permits along with plans for a (3) three bedroom home have previously been sought on this productive 14 acres of grazing land which backs on to crown land and has over 500 metres of absolute Goulburn River frontage. The building envelope is adorned with established trees to give your home that extra bit of seclusion and the pasture is fully fenced & electrically charged to keep your stock from engaging in a splash in the river. There is a 36 x 20ft Colourbond shed with built in kitchen & gas stove, a living area, separate bathroom and toilet, power, landline phone & even a continuous gas hot water system. Electric split system heating and cooling will keep you comfortable throughout all seasons and a seven bed on-site caravan is also part of the package to accommodate extra guests. The current owners have even installed a new septic system making for one less thing that needs to be taken care of.

L O C A L S E R V I C E , N AT I O N A L S T R E N G T H

OFFERS BETWEEN $499,000 - $545,000

Outside there is a 24 x 10ft machinery / hay / wood shed., 2 x 22,500 litre water tanks and 1 x 1,000 litre water tank all connected to the building and outdoors. A Crown Water Frontage Licence and 2mg stock and domestic water licence are in place so your stock need not peer over the fence looking for a drink as the water rushes past. This is a very rare and outstanding tree lined property with beautiful views overlooking the river. There are very few that are lucky enough to own riverfront land on the Goulburn River. 4937 Mansfield Woods Point Road Call Danni to arrange an inspection if you would like to be one of the privileged ones.

Mansfield branch - 5775 1444 Danni Schneider 0414 690 479 165 Mt Buller Rd., MANSFIELD dschneider@ruralco.com.au

www.ruralcoproperty.com.au

BONNIE DOON

PINING FOR A 120 ACRE RECREATIONAL RETREAT?

* Only 2 hours from Melbourne

* Would lend itself to replanting

* 15 mins to Lake Eildon

* Great investment opportunity

* Over 100 acres of land

* Investment and leisure in one

* 80% harvested pine plantation

* Perfect property for dirt biking, hiking or camping

* 20% yet to be harvested for income

* Beautiful elevated positions with building potential

EUROA

EILDON

Lot 19 Hells Hole Creek Road

BLUE HILLS ~ 547 ACRES ~ 4 BR PERIOD HOMESTEAD

Located approx 20 km from Euroa stands the property of all year grazing and water supply, stretching from undulating to hills and up to plateau grazing. Approx 480 acres of good grazing with the remainder being natural bush. DBL frontage to unfailing Ramages Creek and 6 spring fed dams along with stock troughs and 130,000lt rain water. The stunning 45sq homestead circa 1900, with magnificent English gardens, is an excellent example and credit to its era. High pine lined ceilings throughout, large living room with open fireplace, S/S

* Build your dream home on this superb allotment * Goulburn River frontage with excellent water access * Goulburn Valley Highway sealed road frontage * Rich fertile alluvial river flats, cleared for grazing * Suitable for most agricultural pursuits

Mansfield branch - 5775 1444 Danni Schneider 0414 690 479 165 Mt Buller Rd., MANSFIELD dschneider@ruralco.com.au

EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

A/C, wide verandah on all sides, 3 large bedrooms (two with open fireplaces), office and traditional central hallway. Hostess blackwood kitchen boasting stunning views, exceptional storage, dbl ensuite and WIR. 4sq studio/br plus fully self-contained 2 BR cottage, requires update. Original 2 stand shearing shed with excellent steel yards, plus sundry shedding (there is also a second set of yards on the plateau) most fencing has been renewed with 90% steel. Lifestyle to income, productive and reliable farming to stunning water and views, comes highly recommended. Property Must Sell.

GOULBURN OPPORTUNITY

5.64 HA / 13.94 ACRES

* Well fenced with treed boundary lines * East boundary - road access from Full Belly Court * Subdivision potential (STCA) * Rural / lifestyle investment opportunity

L O C A L S E R V I C E , N AT I O N A L S T R E N G T H

$275,000

1980 Creightons Creek Road Euroa branch - 5795 2240 Steven Jeffery 0427 595 760 31 Binney St., EUROA euroa@ruralco.com.au

$450,000 242 Goulburn Valley Highway Alexandra branch - 5772 1110 Nik Patek 0409 936 210 78 Grant St., ALEXANDRA npatek@ruralco.com.au

www.ruralcoproperty.com.au

NNEPROPERTY

Could ask for no more

ome would call it ‘Cape Cod’ in style, while others would opt for the more upmarket American description of Hampton’s style. However you may describe it, the double storey house at 122 Merinda Way in Mansfield is pretty special. The house is set on four hectares (about 10 acres) of undulating green paddocks in this newly developed area just off Monkey Gully Road, about five minutes drive from the bustle of the retail and cafe centre of Mansfield. Designed to provide luxurious living, the house has a spacious main bedroom complete with log fire, twin walk-in robes and a grand ensuite bathroom. There are another three double bedrooms plus a guest suite ideal for visitors. Upstairs also has a second living space ideal as a rumpus room with a splendid outlook over the property. Downstairs sees a beautifully appointed living/dining and entertaining area with a ceiling straight out of a designer magazine. It is adjacent to the hostess kitchen beautifully fitted out and continues with the same polished timber floor as the entertaining area. An open fireplace in the living area takes pride of position in wintry months whereas the views and direct access to the heated indoor swimming pool come into their own in the warmer seasons.

100

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

Glass doors at one end of the pool see it able to be used more in a patio style at these times. Beside the house is a double garage with a covered walkway between the two. A short distance to the house is a massive shed with 540 square metres of floor space. A 5Kw solar to grid power system keeps the pool heated during the day. With stunning views to the hills and mountains beyond, the house is sited to take in all the scenic delights including the stands of red gum beside an overflowing dam. Properties like this one do not come onto the market all that often. It could be seen as an entertainer’s paradise or you could be a bit selfish and just keep it for you and your family to enjoy. NNE

AT A GLANCE 122 Merinda Way, Mansfield 4 bedrooms plus guest suite. Approx 4 hectares (10 acres) Price: $1.2million plus Agent: John Canavan Real Estate 03 5775 2792

www.eldersrealestate.com.au www.eldersrealestate.com.au

CAVEAT CAVEAT ‘ADIE ‘ADIE FARM’ FARM’ 818 818 acres acres (331 (331 ha)ha) in 4intitles 4 titles Handy Handy to Euroa to Euroa andand approx. approx. 35 kms 35 kms north-east north-east of Yea, of Yea, is the is the highly highly regarded regarded ‘Adie ‘Adie Farm’. Farm’. TheThe property property consists consists of 818 of 818 acres acres – 331 – 331 hectares hectares – incorporating – incorporating a comfortable a comfortable twotwo bedroom bedroom home home withwith an adjoining an adjoining self-selfcontained contained oneone bedroom bedroom bungalow bungalow – all–bedrooms all bedrooms withwith modern modern ensuite ensuite bathrooms. bathrooms. Home Home is set is set in an in elevated an elevated garden garden setting setting offering offering magnificent magnificent northern northern valley valley vistas vistas andand overlooking overlooking an established an established oneone hectare hectare vineyard. vineyard. Excellent Excellent infrastructure infrastructure withwith wellwell maintained maintained fencing, fencing, central central laneway laneway system system andand all paddocks all paddocks withwith water. water. To be To offered be offered for sale for sale by Expression by Expression of Interest of Interest as aaswhole a whole or inorthree in three lots,lots, closing closing Thursday Thursday 20th20th October October at 5.00pm, at 5.00pm, Elders Elders 160160 Queen Queen Street, Street, Melbourne. Melbourne. ‘Yuritta’s’ ‘Yuritta’s’ 300300 acres acres (121(121 ha) ha) includes includes home home andand disused disused original original cottage. cottage. ‘Irvines’ ‘Irvines’ 252252 acres acres (102(102 ha).ha). ‘Edwards’ ‘Edwards’ 266266 acres acres (108(108 ha).ha). ‘Adie ‘Adie Farm’ Farm’ offers offers a rare a rare opportunity opportunity to purchase to purchase a property a property of unlimited of unlimited potential, potential, ideally ideally suited suited to cropping, to cropping, breeding, breeding, fattening fattening or stud or stud pursuits pursuits in the in the highly highly regarded regarded Caveat Caveat region. region.

Contact Contact selling selling agents agents Steve Steve Harrington Harrington 0428 0428 574574 231231 or Nick or Nick Myer Myer 0427 0427 610610 278278

ELDERS ELDERS EUROA EUROA (03) (03) 5736 5736 4300 4300 27 27 Binney Binney Street Street

NNEPROPERTY

500 metres of river frontage

p high where the Goulburn River is unbelievably clean and fresh, there is a chance to have your own piece of paradise with about 500 metres of frontage to this rushing stream just a few kilometres past the historic Kevington pub. Not only do you get the river and the pub, but you also have the convenience of bitumen on the Mansfield Woods Point Road which goes past your front gate, somewhat concealed by established trees. The property is about 5.67 hectares or 14 acres of rich grazing land fully fenced with electric hot wires to keep stock from straying. There’s a Crown Water Frontage Licence in place along with a 2mg licence for stock and domestic water. The fishing licence will be the buyer’s responsibility, but no licence is required to just enjoy the views and the fresh air. Until you have your plans organised for the exciting house, there is a large Colorbond shed to help get you through. This has a cosy kitchen with gas stove, a living area, separate bathroom and toilet, power, landline phone and even a continuous gas hot water system. Electric split system heating and cooling will help to keep you comfortable and a seven bed on-site caravan is also part of the package to accommodate extra

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guests. The current owners have even installed a new septic system making one less thing that needs to be taken care of. A big machinery shed which is used for hay and wood storage. Water from the roofs is collected by two tanks each of about 22,500 litres. There already has been a building permit issued for a three bedroom house on this beautiful block, but the golden rule always is to check with local authorities before committing. This is a magical piece of dirt resembling a driving range for a golf club with scattered trees on the property and right along the easily accessible river bank. The area around the shed and caravan are already well planted for extra seclusion. As well as the Kevington pub, you’re very close to historic Jamieson and about half an hour to Mansfield. NNE

AT A GLANCE 4781 Mansfield Woods Point Road, Kevington 6.67 hectares approx. (about 14 acres) Private Sale: $499,000 - $545,000 Agent: Ruralco Mansfield, 5775 1444 Danni Schneider 0414 690 4792

landmarkharcourts.com.au

LAKE EILDON - WATER FRONT RETREAT

Nestled on the banks of Lake Eildon is this low-maintenance solid brick holiday home. Being sold fully furnished, this property is ready to enjoy. There are 3 bedrooms, 2 furnished with double beds and the third has 2 bunks and a single bed. There is a central bathroom and 2 living areas. Lovely modern kitchen taking in the gorgeous outlook and lake view. Huge undercover outdoor entertaining area, perfect for the family BBQs. Plenty of water supply with 3 water tanks. Abundant bird and wildlife. This property comes with day boat and private jetty. So pack your wetsuit and fishing rod and head to Lake Eildon! $495,000 WIWO Belinda Hocking 0418 115 574

ALEXANDRA 5772 3444 56 GRANT STREET

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;HAMPTONSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; GRAND CAPE COD ON 10 ACRES Genuine craftsmanship and dedication to luxurious living. Finished to perfection. Consists of large lounge/dining areas beside impressive hostess kitchen. Grand master suite with open fire, twin walk-in robes and beautiful ensuite bathroom. Upstairs sees another living or rumpus area, three other bedrooms served by large family bathroom plus separate guest suite. Indoor heated pool opens to perfect cabana style, patio living in warmer months. Double garage, large shedded area of 540 square metres. 5kW solar to grid system, 3 phase power connected. Comes with offices, workshopping and garaging facility for 8 vehicles. Walk in and start living.

PRIVATE SALE: POA

74 High St, Mansfield

JOHN CANAVAN: 0419 177 799 GERARD CANAVAN: 0417 357 877

johncanavan.com.au

5775 2792

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Airconditioning / Refrigeration

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Financial Solutions

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PROFESSIONAL DESIGN SOLUTIONS

Peace of Mind for Your Financial Future • Superannuation • Family & Income Protection • Retirement Planning • Estate Planning & Aged Care Michael Holmes, CFP Matthew Holmes, Dip FP Jeffery Meyland, Dip FP 23 Ely Street, Wangaratta VIC 3677

www.financialmv.com.au

Ph: (03) 5721 4855

P: 5779 1290

3 Eisners Lane, Mansfield 3722

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To advertise contact Kelly Timms on 0417 869 608 / 5779 1290 or email kelly@northbynortheast.com.au

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Trade Qualified, over 30 years experience

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Dr Jacinta Kelly B.V.Bio, B.V.Sc (Hons)

Clinic Hours by appointment Phone. 5772 1600 Mobile. 0408 576 456 49 Bayley Street, Alexandra 3714

Weed Control

Travis Capp

Lic. No 37388

Plumber & Gasfitter Your plumbing specialists

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OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016

From building new kitchens, to hospitality supplies or upholstery and health services, the NNE Specialists Section is ideal for you. Your message will reach more than 12,000 readers across the Murrindindi, Mansfield, Strathbogie, Benalla, Indigo, Alpine and Wangaratta shires for as low as only $100 per edition. Customers advertising across the six issues per year can also receive personalised editorial coverage supporting their business. This is fantastic exposure and a great way for our readers to learn more about your business and the services you offer.

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Promote your specialised service

Book Now Appointments: P: 03 5772 0947 F: 03 9012 4299 M: 0417 369 225 soundimaging @bigpond.com

December/January edition deadline is November 11 Kelly – 0417 869 608 kelly@northbynortheast.com.au

NNESkilled People

Caring for your financial future

name like Financial Momentum invites the question; what do they do? The opening line of their prospectus answers it: “Our aim is to make your financial planning as simple and convenient as possible …” Their busy office is located in Wangaratta, with three financial advisors. Michael Holmes is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and is a director and financial planner. “I had been working with the state bank for over seven years and thoroughly enjoyed working in the industry. I was recruited into the planning profession through a connection; I was currently treasurer for a local kindergarten. Since then I have branched out to owning my own financial planning business and I’ve never looked back,” says Michael. “Michael asked me if I would be interested in doing some work, to help out with paraplanning, and from there I found myself really enjoying the industry,” says Matt Holmes. (For the uninitiated, to paraplan is to prepare Statement of Advice documents, financial modelling and other financial planning documents). Matt is also a director and financial adviser at Financial Momentum. Jeff Meyland explained how he became involved in this company: “I’ve always enjoyed working with people and I get particular joy from helping people focus on and achieve their goals. I was encouraged to take on a

Michael Holmes

traineeship in financial planning and discovered I can do so much good in this industry. I was hooked.” Jeff’s position is associate financial adviser. In any business there needs to be rewards and Michael, Matt and Jeff reflect on what they find most rewarding. “Being able to provide peace of mind for my clients and being there to see them reach their goals,” is Michael’s reward for all his work. In Matt’s case the bonus has been in educating clients. “Some clients are confused about their financial situation, and assisting them to work towards their objectives has been most rewarding,” he says proudly. Jeff has trouble nailing down one aspect of his work that gave him the biggest reward. “It’s hard to choose just one. Being able to work closely with members of my community and being able to take the pressure off so they can feel more secure and confident in their future is one of the most gratifying aspects of what I do,” Jeff confirms. How much do they enjoy dealing with the community? The team from Financial Momentum has shared skills outside of work. Michael has always been involved with various clubs and organisations and enjoys being part of these groups. Matt grew up around small town sporting clubs and has found it fulfilling to not only participate but to also give back to them.

Matthew Holmes

Both professionally and personally, Jeff has taken on the role of Youth Services Director for the Rotary Club of Milawa-Oxley, as well as being involved in other local groups and events. “One of the privileges of being where I am is the ability to give back,” says Jeff. “And to make a difference to those around me.” It is important to have goals and the team at Financial Momentum know that most of all. For them the ultimate goal is to expand their range of services and grow the business so that they can offer comprehensive solutions for their clients and all under one roof. Recently added to their services has been aged care planning. Like any team of people there are those you always see and those who keep everything ticking over. At Financial Momentum there is no difference. Apart from Michael, Matt and Jeff, the team consists of: Barry Wills, estate planning & aged care specialist; Carissa Johnson, office manager; Marina Gangoiti, administration manager at the Sunbury Office; Corey Sheather, administration assistant and paraplanner; Daniella Clifford, administration assistant; Shylandi Lewis, receptionist; and Tracy Ryan, finance officer. NNE Financial Momentum 23 Ely Street, Wangaratta 03 5721 4855 www.financialmv.com.au

Jeffery Meyland

NORTH BY NORTH-EAST

107

54-56 High Street Mansfield 5775 2099 mansfield@leadingappliances.com.au