MP310724_Digital_Edition.pdf

Rural Fire Service warning

By MELINDA CAIRNS HACK

A RECENT spate of grassfires in the region has prompted a winter warning from the Monaro Rural Fire Service (RFS) Monaro RFS district co-ordinator, Ash Morrow, said landholders should be aware the winter season does not necessarily mean low fire risk as dry grass presents an ongoing fire hazard.

A timely reminder of this occurred last week with Cooma and Dry Plains RFS brigades fighting a grassfire at Dairymans Plains. Four properties were under threat before crews contained the fire..

“The Monaro RFS team is asking for caution over the winter season due to the prevalence of dry and cured grass across the region,” District co-ordinator Ash Morrow said.

“Landholders need to be careful in exposing dry grasses to any heat source or sparks, such as farm machinery and equipment.

“Gusty and gale force winds pose a problem at this time of year.”

■ Read more on page 4

By KAREN FORMAN

Bombala innovation a ‘world-first’

BOMBALA will be in a much better position for fighting fires following the completion of four innovative and locally designed tankers.

The tankers, that could be a world-first, are designed by brothers Peter and Mark Rodwell of Rodwell Logging at Bombala. They

were brought to life with a $1.4 million Protecting Our Communities (Disaster Resilience) Program grant.

The innovative tankers differ from most other firefighting equipment as they can be added to existing all-terrain logging equipment. They also have a large water capacity, can be operated via remote control and have a high driver-

safety rating.

“There is something similar in Finland, but their tankers are built of aluminium, not the steel we use and only have half the volume of ours,” Peter Rodwell said.

“We believe this is a second-tonone system.”

With four tankers built and ready for use in Bombala, Rodwell Logging is now looking at producing

them commercially and sending them around the world. They use a Victorian family company, Kennedy Trailers, based in Bairnsdale, to build the tankers.

“They are an amazing piece of kit,” Mr Rodwell said.

“We have been in logging forever and we haven’t seen anything like these. It would be good to see them go further afield to help other re-

gions fight fires.”

The Rodwell brothers came up with the idea for tankers that could be attached to a “forwarder” after the 2019-2020 Black Summer Bushfires which had a devastating impact on the Bombala district.

“The 2020 fires were that serious we had to change the way we were going about things,” he said. ■ Read more on page 8

AWARENESS: Emma Roberson volunteer equipment officer, Ash Morrow district co-ordinator, Jim Darrant district manager, Rodney Bishop community risk officer, Adrian Butters operations officer, Esther Strachan district administration officer, Ben Morley brigade captain, John Evans welfare officer, and Langdon Gould inspector. The Monaro RFS is warning landholders to be careful of the current dry conditions across much of the region.

PHOTO: Melinda Cairns Hack

Leanne’s scholarship honour Shannons Flat road repairs

Hardworking Monaro High student rewarded

By NATHAN THOMPSON

COOMA’S Leanne Adams boasts a resume well beyond her years.

Leanne is the current Monaro High School captain, the 2024 Snowy Monaro Young Citizen of the Year, and now an Australian National University (ANU) Tuckwell Scholar.

Leanne received the exciting news last week of her success in becoming just one of 25 Tuckwell Scholarship recipients.

More than 1000 students applied for the scholarship and through a competitive selection process, Leanne showed what can be achieved with hard work and the support from her proud family and school community.

“I want to thank my family for the way they have helped and encouraged me throughout the process,” Leanne said.

“Thank you to the amazing people at school who have supported me and all of my friends.”

The ANU Tuckwell Scholarship program is regarded as the best undergraduate scholarship program in Australia.

The program helps talented students, like Leanne, to realise their potential by providing financial

support, personal enrichment and development opportunities.

Leanne will receive $26,000 for each year of her degree, plus financial help with moving and mentoring.

“You get to meet with a lot of academics, attend a lot of events. it will open a lot of opportunities in my chosen field,” Leanne said.

Leanne is hoping to study within the engineering and scientific fields. To be eligible for the schol-

arship, students need to be on target for an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank above 95.

Leanne has lived in Cooma her whole life. She attended Lambie Street Preschool and Cooma Public School before attending MHS.

“Leanne has had wonderful public school educators along the way who have encouraged her and provided challenging opportunities for her,” Leanne’s mother Jane said.

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THE timetable for the upgrade of Shannons Flat Road has been set, with Snowy Monaro Regional Council staff and contractors starting work on-site in September.

Council said local residents and rural motorists will soon enjoy a range of significant improvements along the four kilometre section of Shannons Flat Road between Bobeyan Road and Callemondah Road.

Joining major works already underway on Dry Plains Road, this upgrade of Shannons Flat Road is the second and final local project to be proudly funded by the NSW Government’s Fixing Local Roads Program Round 3.

Key project details include: four kilometres of road upgrades, work is expected to take four to six months, and road safety is set to be improved and reduce ongoing maintenance costs.

“We were very excited when the news came through.”

Leanne said she is most looking forward to the ‘amazing’ community, support, and opportunities that will come with the scholarship.

“ANU seems like an incredible place to live and study at, and I’m so excited to see what the future holds for me thanks to the Tuckwell Scholarship,” Leanne said.

Motorists are advised to expect some delays while this work is underway.

“Remember to always drive to the conditions and follow the direction of roadwork signage and traffic control workers,” a Council spokesperson said.

“This important upgrade will deliver more reliable journeys for locals and visitors using Shannons Flat Road.”

Public Consultation

The 2024 Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee is examining the existing and future telecommunications needs in regional, rural and remote communities across Australia.

We want to hear your views on, and ideas for, telecommunications in your region, including:

• the availability of suitable phone and internet services

• telecommunications challenges faced during natural disasters

• how emerging technologies could improve connectivity

• ways that telecommunications can support regional development.

Public consultation sessions will be held in Braidwood on Friday, 9 August 2024, and Cooma on Saturday, 10 August 2024

Go to www.rtirc.gov.au for further details, to register your attendance in advance and to find out more about the Review.

TRADIE UNDERWEAR

SUPPORT: Monaro High School captain Leanne Adams is congratulated by mum, Jane, and dad, Mark, upon receiving a coveted ANU Tuckwell Scholarship.

PHOTO: Nathan Thompson

Homelessness Week highlights local issues Candidates come forward

By MELINDA CAIRNS HACK

RAISING awareness of homelessness in the Snowy Monaro, who it affects and how to lessen the increasing demand of homelessness, are in the spotlight during Homelessness Week.

Under the theme ‘Homelessness Action Now’, Homelessness Week - an annual campaign coordinated by Homelessness Australia - is being held nationally from August 5 to August 11.

The theme especially resonates within the Snowy Monaro as services and community groups in the region are experiencing a surge in demand, as more and more people face difficulties.

Mission Australia Cooma is experiencing an increased demand for services, far exceeding its funded contractual requirements.

“I think this speaks to the pressures being felt by people across the region,” co-ordinator Mission Australia Cooma Region Homelessness Support Service, Caitlin O’Bryan, said.

“People are seeking support from our homelessness service for a range of reasons including domestic and family violence, financial challenges, receiving a no grounds eviction, or unaffordable rent increases forcing them out of their homes.

More accommodation needed: Mission Australia

“We assist people to access community housing and work with them to try and find an affordable private rental where possible.”

Ms O’Bryan said with the increase in rents across the region and the long waitlist for social and community housing, finding a secure home for their clients is challenging.

“Mission Australia is seeing an increase in the number of people who require temporary accommodation. We need more tem-

porary accommodation options in Cooma and the surrounding region,” Ms O’Bryan said.

“Right now, people have to go to Bega or Queanbeyan to access temporary accommodation and this can mean leaving their support networks and community.”

Homelessness Australia is the national peak body for homelessness.

It aims to provide an effective national voice on homelessness and related issues; to be concerned with the well being

of individuals and groups experiencing or vulnerable to homelessness and to promote their well being through socially just policies and programs to undertake actions, research and policy aimed at developing and promoting policies, preventing the extent and effect of homelessness, educating the community on issues relating to homelessness, and to participate in and/or carry out programs designed to contribute to the elimination of homelessness and related issues.

SNOWY MONARO VOTES

THE list of potential candidates for the Snowy Monaro Regional Council elections on September 14 is growing, a week out from nominations opening.

While registering as a candidate is a separate process to being nominated on the ballot, there are 21-names currently listed (at time of going to print).

Current councillors who have indicated their willingness to stand again include: Mayor Chris Hanna, deputy mayor Tanya Higgins (Labor), Lynda Summers (Labor), Tricia Hopkins, Karlee Johnson, and Luke Williamson.

Include on the register of candidates, also includes: Cindy Chawner, Vele Civijovski, Michael Freeman, Anthony Garvin (Labor), Penelope Judge (Labor), Charles Kolano, Oliver Moran, Michael Newman, Mathieu Nolte (Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party), Anne O’Leary, Guy Palframan, Kylie Phillips (Labor), Andrew Thaler, and Bill Walker (Labor).

On August 5, the lodgement of nominations commence. This is also the start of the regulated period for electoral material.

Nominations to contest the elections close at 12pm on August 14. It is also the close of registrations for candidates and groups.

Come August 15, the ballot paper draw will begin and the uncontested elections will be declared.

BUSY TIMES: Mission Australia Cooma Region Homelessness Support Service coordinator Caitlin O’Bryan says the service has experienced an increase in referrals for temporary accommodation.

PHOTO: Nathan Thompson

Engineering minds come together Winter fire risks

Cooma’s scientific legacy showcased for grads

By NATHAN THOMPSON

SOME of the country’s most promising engineers have taken the opportunity to learn from some of the nation’s best minds at a recent demonstration at Cooma’s famous rock bolting site.

The past and present came together earlier this month when the Hydro Heritage Centre committee hosted the winners of the Snowy Mountains Engineeing Corporation (SMEC) graduate development program.

The graduates joined SMEC staff, former engineers who worked on the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme, and Hydro1 Heritage Centre committee members for a tour of the SMEC Fluids Laboratory, including the renowned Dartmouth Dam model.

Five graduates heard from former engineers, including Cooma’s Damien Kenneally, who spoke about the history of the SMEC Fluids Laboratory and the important testing carried out at the Lambie Gorge rock bolting site.

Engineer and Hydro1 Heritage Centre treasurer, Johnathan Kugler, said the working group was pleased to showcase

the rock bolting site and laboratory, informing the engineers of the world-leading research undertaken in Cooma.

“It’s incredible we have interest from young engineers, coming here via SMEC,” Mr Kugler said.

“We are fortunate to have the opportunity to show the history of the sites, and what we hope to achieve with developing the heritage centre and precinct.

“I hope they are enlightened by the engineering break throughs that took place in this great region.”

The graduates were chosen for the prestigious SMEC pro-

gram after delivering research papers. The question they answered was – ‘What can you do in your role to catalyse the transition to a regenerative future’.

The Hydro1 Heritage Centre committee has spent the last seven years working towards re-opening the mechanics laboratory, located on Sharp Street, Cooma.

The committee has grand plans to transform the site into a leading tourist drawcard. They believe the benefits for the Snowy Monaro will be longlasting.

Committee member Suzanne Dunning said the community

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By MELINDA CAIRNS HACK

GRASSFIRES on the Snowy Monaro are a constant threat to property throughout the year.

Snowy Monaro Rural Fire Service (SMRFS) district co-ordinator, Ash Morrow, said residents should be aware that the winter season does not necessarily mean low fire risk as dry grass presents an ongoing fire hazard.

A timely reminder of this occurred on Wednesday July 24.

Rural Fire Service brigades from Cooma and Dry Plains responded to a grass fire on Towrang Vale Road, Dairymans Plains, and upon arrival found four adjacent houses under threat.

The fire burnt 1.5 hectares, with crews remaining on-scene for another hour to black out any remaining hotspots.

A hot vehicle exhaust started the fire in a paddock behind the house.

The new property occupants were treated by paramedics for smoke inhalation as they attempted to extinguish the fire prior to crews arriving.

can support the project by becoming a member of the group.

“We are looking forward to turning our vision for the Hydro1 Heritage Centre into something real and we are keen to welcome new members to help with this outstanding venture,” Mrs Dunning said.

“Becoming a member is a terrific way of supporting the project if you can’t commit volunteer time.

“By building a strong membership base, we can demonstrate the community’s want for such a project, which will be important when we apply for grants.”

“The Monaro RFS team is asking for caution over the winter season due to the prevalence of dry and cured grass across the region,” Ash Morrow of the RFS said.

“Landholders need to be careful in exposing dry grasses to any heat source or sparks, such as farm machinery and equipment.

“In addition, gusty and gale force winds pose a problem at this time of year

“The RFS requests any landowner who is planning to burn on their property refrain from lighting fires until severe weather events pass.

“We also advise landowners who have burned recently ensure any previous fires are fully extinguished when a change in weather conditions is forecast, so they do not reignite.”

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TOUR: SMEC graduates joined former Snowy Scheme engineers and Hydro1 Heritage Centre committee members to learn about the important role Cooma played in rock bolting and other scientific testing. The group is at the rock bolting historical site at Lambie Gorge.

PHOTO: Nathan Thompson

Alpine rescues prompt warning

Don’t rely on blogs for backcountry knowledge

By KAREN FORMAN

THE rescue of three lost back country skiers within a week, requiring mobilisation of at least four emergency service organisations - has resulted in calls for people venturing into alpine areas in winter to be realistic about ability, equipment and conditions.

With the tally already at more than half of the average number of alpine rescues for a winter season just six weeks in, backcountry operators and emergency services spokespeople have implored skiers, boarders and snowshoers to not only ensure they have the knowledge and equipment to venture beyond the patrolled ski resorts, but to consider the risk to emergency services personnel - many of whom are volunteers - before heading out.

“There are definitely more people interested in taking up backcountry activities,” longtime local backcountry expert Bruce Easton said.

“This may have started in COVID when the resorts were not open and people were looking for alternatives to lifted skiing and boarding.

“Obviously we love to see this, but we also need to encourage people to ensure that they are doing it safely - which means having the right gear, the knowledge of how to use that gear, watching the weather which is ever changeable and making the most of opportunities to speak to the people who hire and sell the gear, who lead tours and who know what they are doing.”

Mr Easton said people tended to rely on online forums which were not always accurate. “I think people are best to go out on tours with experienced guides for their

first few times,” he said.

“Know before you go. It is better to know before you go than learn out there.”

Mr Easton said conditions last week had resulted in sheet ice, wind scour, and glaze as snow, when falling, was not sticking.

“If people haven’t got something like broader alpine touring skies or snowshoes or broad telemark skis they may well get into trouble,” he said.

“At the bare minimum back country skiers should take something sharp so they can dig in when icy.”

Mr Easton’s comments follow reports of emergency services responding to:

* Tuesday July 23 a disorientated skier slipped down the east side of Etheridge Ridge. Police on snowmo-

• Shipping containers

* Sunday July 21 saw Monaro Police District alpine operations unite launch a search for a missing 51-year-old snowboarder at South Rams Head, Thredbo, with assistance from Police Rescue, Fire and Rescue NSW, Toll Helicopter and SES.

The man was located near Dead Horse Gap.

Cooma Monaro SES acting chief inspector Bill Taylor said three rescues in a week was a lot, especially given the average is around six per winter.

biles retrieved the person on foot and delivered them to an oversnow vehicle at the twin bridges, where State Emergency Services Alpine Search and Rescue unit members waited to provide support.

* Wednesday July 24 saw emergency services respond to reports of a 32 year-old stranded skiier from St Ives having lost both skis and becoming stranded on a large iced escarpment on Mt Tate, Guthega, with limited food and equipment.

Monaro Police District Alpine Operations Unit launched a search operation at 1.30pm with help from police rescue, National Parks and Wildlife, PolAir, Toll Helicopter and SES and he was located around 8.30pm uninjured.

“A lot of people don’t go out with sufficient or appropriate equipment, thinking they are only going out for a day, but doing 20k, so maybe they need to take something more substantial than a jumper,” he said.

“Many times I’ve gone onto Rolling Grounds on a blue sky day and gotten a white out situation, which is particularly dangerous as it is very disorientating. People keep moving without being able to see a cliff or a wall.”

Mr Taylor said people without experience would be better to stick to safer areas like the Munyan power station trail, which had nice huts for emergency overnight accommodation, or the marked trails around

Perisher maintained by the Nordic Shelter committee.

“People are going on top of the Main Range to Twynam or Tait on the west side which is very steep, and the east side is still a long way from help. People should never go alone. The SES advises people not ski off known trails without companionship,” he said.

Mr Taylor said the advent of touring skis and split boards had made backcountry activities more accessible to people, but many did not have the experience to know what to do if something went wrong.

“Everyone should have a Personal Locator Beacon, which you can hire from NPWS, you can’t rely on mobile phones which can run low on battery.

“There is also the issue about risking our volunteers. After three incidents we have some very tired people who have been out for a long time in arduous conditions.

“It does put people at risk. The calls usually come at night. Usually people don’t think they are in trouble till the light goes.

“A lot of the areas in which we operate, although we have some snowmobiles, some of these areas are pretty much inaccessible via snowmobile.”

ICE RISK: Catherine Green out from Charlotte Pass.

PHOTO: Bruce Easton

Lake Crackenback Resort and Spa saddened by restaurant closure

By TRISTA HEATH

LAKE Crackenback Resort and Spa’s general manager, Anthony Cleary, has announced the closure of Cuisine Restaurant and Bar, from Monday September 2, 2024.

This decision comes in response to challenging trading conditions and a decline in visitor numbers at the Resort.

“We are disappointed to have to announce this closure of Cuisine, with another quiet summer approaching, we have decided it is time to make this hard decision,” said Mr Cleary.

“Cuisine Restaurant and Bar holds a special place in the resort, offering memorable dining experiences to our guests over the years and hosting numerous weddings, conferences, and events.

“We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our dedicated team and loyal guests who have supported us throughout this time.”

Lake Crackenback Resort and Spa, like many local businesses, has felt the downturn in domestic tourism as well as increasing cost pressures over the past 12 months.

The hospitality industry is feeling the pressures the most and is affected by the economic downturn and tourism decline.

Mr Cleary described the current situation as a ‘perfect storm’ of bad news for the resort.

“Being a remote tourist destination it’s a lot of work for a resort our size to attract tourists to stay here, marketing is expensive, and the overall costs are expensive to operate a major resort like this,” Mr Cleary said.

“We have seen a shift over the past 12 months where we have seen a boom in tourism numbers then it wasn’t long

before the boom softened leaving many businesses struggling.

“For any business to survive you would have to consider the viability of the long term business and unfortunately for us that meant closing the Cuisine Restaurant and Bar.”

Key stakeholders of the Lake Crackenback Resort and Spa met to discuss and consider every element of the restaurant and what could be done to keep the doors open, however the current economic situation left no other viable solution.

“There were many aspects to consider including

the fact that cost of food has gone up astronomically, insurance has become very expensive and difficult to get, not to mention the cost of staffing the facilities and ensuring all other costs are met,” Mr Cleary said.

“We went through every element of the business and all the implications of costs increasing and we knew we couldn’t keep holding on, we had to make this hard decision for the longevity of the resort.

“We are very lucky in our region to have the snow resorts and all the benefits they provide us and it’s a very attractive destination in winter, but you can’t run a business over the two busy months of July and August, it is the summer months that are the real challenge for us.”

Mr Cleary said he has a long career operating in regional towns and destinations throughout Australia and has found that there must be strong federal, state and local support at every level in tourist destinations to make a business successful.

“If you don’t have continuity, strong strategy and strong tourism support it gets harder to run a business and you have to rely more on private

operators,” Mr Cleary said.

“Developers in the region, all the accommodation centres and businesses in the region often must pick up the slack that the government won’t contribute to.

“If your tourist business hasn’t got a clear tourism strategy, hasn’t got strong infrastructure support or a consistent vision it gets harder for all the private operators to keep it running.”

Businesses in the region are no strangers to the tourism cycles and it is obvious the region is going through a downward cycle.

Mr Cleary said his advice to the local businesses currently struggling is to just hang in there, you have got to.

“You have to make the decisions to protect yourself and your business which is what we have done with this decision, but conversely Lake Crackenback Resort and Spa is still here,” Mr Cleary said.

“We are operating a top quality resort which has delivered a consistent, good quality product and we are still here to offer you these services.

“We are trying to develop strategies to increase visitation, maintain our resort at

the level it has been and protect our business.

“With the closure of the restaurant, it will help us be more viable for the future, so we have to be ready for the upturn and that is what we are doing now.”

Mr Cleary said it was a tough announcement to make and it has made a real impact on the resort family with the loss of jobs as well as 18 couples receiving the news that their wedding venue is no longer available.

“We had to deliver the most stressful news to these couples, however the upside to that situation is that we’ve been able to work with all the couples to give recommendations for alternative venues,” Mr Cleary said.

“So far in a short amount of time since the announcement was made the response has been great, we are heartened to know that people understand the difficult situation and they are sympathetic.

“We are excited that we have been able to work with all the couples to find an alternative solution and we are positive for the future of the resort.”

All couples and bookings affected by the closure have received full refunds.

CLOSING: Cuisine Restaurant and Bar closes on Monday September 2. PHOTO: Supplied

Biogas flaring to slash emissions

Cooma

SNOWY Monaro Regional Council is set to significantly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions with the upcoming introduction of biogas flaring at Cooma Landfill.

Following a competitive tender process, Council has selected a contractor to install and operate a biogas flaring system at the landfill site.

Biogas flaring is a process that captures and burns off harmful greenhouse gases produced by decomposing waste in landfills.

As waste breaks down, it releases methane – a greenhouse gas 33 times more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of its warming effect on the atmosphere.

“Methane from landfills is a major contributor to climate change,” senior project manager, Tyron Bicknell, said.

“By implementing biogas flaring at Cooma Landfill, we expect to reduce Council’s overall greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50 percent.”

The flaring process involves boring holes and laying perforated pipes throughout the landfill. A vacuum pump extracts the gas, which is then burned in an

EMISSIONS: An example of what the biogas installation at the Cooma Landfill will look like.

enclosed system, converting the methane into water and carbon dioxide.

“While carbon dioxide is still a greenhouse gas, it’s 33 time less harmful than methane. This process significantly reduces the climate impact of our landfill operations,” Mr Bicknell said.

Council said the project comes at no cost to ratepayers. The selected contractor will bear all expenses for installation, operation, and maintenance of the flaring system.

Council stands to benefit financially through a profit-sharing arrangement for Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) generated by the flaring process.

This initiative is a win-win for the

PHOTO: Wastexpi, dreamstime.com

region, with Council taking meaningful action on climate change while also creating a new revenue stream to further improve our bottom line.

Initial gas mapping work for the new biogas flaring system at Cooma Landfill gets underway from September 2024, with the project team liaising closely with landfill staff to ensure minimal disruption to operations.

Investigations into the potential for biogas flaring at Jindabyne Landfill will also be conducted in September, with any determination on the feasibility of expanding operations to this facility pending further analysis of gas production levels at the site.

Cooma bridge to be replaced

By NATHAN THOMPSON

WHEN the new Cooma Creek pedestrian bridge, between Sharp and Commissioner Streets, is opened by the end of October, it will end a two-year wait for the community.

Snowy Monaro Regional Council has awarded the tender for the bridge’s replacement, following its damage during flash flooding in October 2022.

The bridge, near the Cooma skate park, provides access to a safer crossing point for users of the creek shared pathway. In the months since the bridge was damaged beyond use, community members have expressed their frustration with the delay in erecting a replacement.

Council announced last week, work is scheduled to commence onsite from midSeptember.

“Council’s contractor for this project is manufacturing the new bridge structure off-site, with this approach reducing the time required for on-site installation and construction,” a Council spokesperson said.

“If all goes to plan and the weather holds out, the current timeline will see the replacement pedestrian bridge open to the public by Thursday October 31.

“The new design will be safer for users and more resilient to future floods.”

Council had announced in October 2023 the bridge was expected to be replaced in early 2024.

The delay has upset community members, including the Cooma Pace Setters who walk twice a week around town.

“The bridge is an important part of the shared pathway and we haven’t been able to go that way for a long time,” group organiser Maurice Pattinson said.

Council said two main factors resulted in the replacement of the Cooma Creek path footbridge being pushed back.

“Since our last update in early October 2023, Council received additional environmental reports that required modifications to the proposed bridge design,” a Council statement said.

“We worked as quickly as possible with the contractor to redesign the bridge to meet these additional requirements, but this did take some time.

“Additionally, contractor bids submitted for this project were all higher than the available grant funding. Following a period of negotiation with the awarded contractor and the funding body, the project was scheduled for September 2024 when everything was in place.”

Bombala’s world leading fire tankers

By KAREN FORMAN

BOMBALA will be in a much better position for fighting fires in the future following the completion of four innovative and locally designed tankers that could well be a world first.

The tankers, designed by brothers Peter and Mark Rodwell of Rodwell Logging at Bombala and brought to life with a $1.4 million Protecting Our Communities (Disaster Resilience) Program grant, differ from most other firefighting equipment because they can be added to existing all-terrain logging equipment, have a large water capacity, can be operated via remote control and have a high driver-safety rating.

“There is something similar in Finland, but their tankers are built of aluminium, not the steel we use and only have half the volume of ours,” Peter Rodwell said.

“We believe this is a second to none system.”

With four tankers built and ready for use in Bombala, Rodwell Logging is now looking at producing them commercially and sending them around the world. They use a Victorian family company, Kennedy Trailers, based in Bairnsdale, to build the tankers.

“They are an amazing piece of kit,” Mr Rodwell said.

All-terrain vehicles to revolutionise fire fighting

“We have been in logging forever and we haven’t seen anything like these. It would be good to see them go further afield to help other regions fight fires.”

The Rodwell brothers came up with the idea for tankers that could be attached to a ‘forwarder’ after the 2019-2020 Black Summer Bushfires which had a devastating impact on Bombala.

“The 2019/20 fires were that serious we had to change the way we were going about things,” he said.

“Kristy McBain (Member for Eden-Monaro) was a huge support and helped us get the funds.

“The best thing for us was to use the existing industry. We thought to repurpose forestry machinery used in the community by adding a custom tank to a forwarder, which is a tractor comprising a cab and a log bunk.

“Forwarders are used to pick up and cart logs out of harsh terrain and because they are already out there doing things, we felt they were perfect to use for fighting fires.

ter cannon that has the capability of firing up to 450 litres of water per minute, up to 40 metres in distance.

Mr Rodwell said the tankers could deliver 52 minutes of full capacity of water to a flame and be used in all terrain, particularly on slopes of up to 25-30 degrees, directly up and down a hill.

bullet proof glass, curtains to reduce heat inside the cabin, a roll over device and radio access, so the operator doesn’t have to get out of the machine to operate the taps.

“We’ve also put together a bulk water carrier where can hook up log trailers, so can deliver water to the site.”

“To these little communities, that’s probably turning the clock backwards.

“Recently in Victoria they have locked up the whole hardwood industry and that’s only 40km south of us in Bombala, so we have a real fire threat on our southern boundary.

“Probably the fire departments will do the best they can on that side of the border, but I reckon in due course we will have the fire here and we will need to fight it.

“That’s where our tankers which can operate in hard to access areas, can be very useful.”

Mr Rodwell said he feared further loss of the pine trees on which the local timber industry relied.

“If we lose any more of the pine trees to fire, we have the Dongwha sawmill here, we wouldn’t have the mill or the jobs for the town,” he said.

“We can have one within a couple of hours ready for fire fighting.”

The custom water tanks fit inside the log bunk on the forwarder and include a wa-

“The idea is that it is a machine that you can put an operator in and feel comfortable with as far as protecting him,” he said.

“There are a lot of dry overhead hazards these days, after the last fires, so if can keep your operator underneath a canopy, like we have

Mr Rodwell said his family, which had been in logging for more than 50 years, was passionate about doing all it could to keep the local timber industry going.

“Over the years, I have seen the industry dwindle due to policy and green pressure and a lot of areas locked up,” he said.

“We are doing this virtually to look after the community and the town initially, people first, houses, dwellings and sheds second. But if we haven’t got the natural resource (timber), you won’t have the jobs and it’s not good for the community.”

Mr Rodwell believes the company had built enough tankers to support local fire fighting activities.

READY FOR ACTION: The all-terrain fire fighting tanker designed in Bombala by Rodwell Logging is ready to mitigate fire risk.

PHOTO: Contributed

Residents to have say on coverage issues

SNOWY Monaro residents have a final chance to have their say about telecommunications issues impacting them, with a second round of face-to-face consultations underway across the state.

The consultations are being held by the Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee as part of the once-everythree-years Regional Telecommunications Review undertaken by the Australian Government.

These forums, along with those held in other states, have allowed residents to share their views directly with the committee, which will inform their final report to government, and follows the closing of the national survey and the public submission process on July 31.

The second round of NSW forums will take place in Cooma on Saturday August 10, 9.30am - 11.30am, at the Cooma Multifunction Centre.

The 2024 review is chaired by Alannah MacTiernan, former Western Australia Minister for Regional Development. She is supported by Mr Ian Kelly, Ms Kristy Sparrow, Fiona Nash and Dr Jessa Rogers.

“The experiences of regional, remote, and rural Australians are what under-

pin our final report to Government and we are keen to hear directly from New South Wales residents about the issues they face and the opportunities ahead – and this is their final opportunity,” Ms MacTiernan said.

“The feedback we receive directly influence our recommendations to Government. Previous reviews have led to significant policy initiative and investments, and we are committed to helping the government deliver meaningful reform from the 2024 review.”

The committee is keen to hear about a range of matters set out in the Terms of Reference including the effectiveness of existing government investment programs, the improvement of telecommunications in emergencies, and the extent to which the needs of First Nations communities are being met.

Input from the public helps the committee make findings and recommendations that address the needs of regional, rural, and remote and Australia and will inform how the Australian Government delivers stronger policy and programs in regional Australia, with the final report due to government by the end of the year.

Five-year first for Selwyn

GOOD recent snowfalls across the mountains have been widely welcomed, particularly at Selwyn Snow Resort.

After a busy school holiday period there has been more great news for the resort patrons.

Advanced skiers will be pleased to hear that Selwyn finally has enough snow to open the advanced terrain.

“We are very excited at Selwyn to finally have our advanced terrain open after a five-year hiatus due to the bushfire rebuild and the poor

2023 snow season in 2023,” general manager Selwyn Snow Resort, Lucy BlytonGray, said.

With more snowfall over the weekend the resort is ready to open all lifts for the first time since 2019.

“Selwyn is finally back and we are thrilled to see guests enjoying all areas of the resort again,” Ms Blyton-Gray said.

“With two more months left in the winter 2024 season, we look forward to welcoming existing and new guests to Selwyn Snow Resort.”

Myack Creek upgrade works

THE replacement of the sewer crossing over Myack Creek in Berridale is scheduled to commence next week.

Snowy Monaro Regional Council says the current support structure for the sewer main is old and needs to be replaced.

A new box culvert design will be constructed over the next several weeks, with Council taking this opportunity to renew the 150mm gravity sewer main that crosses the creek at this location at the same time. Work on this project is scheduled to start on Tues-

day August 6 and is expected to take approximately 40-days to complete, weather permitting.

Council will provide an update as we near the middle of September 2024 if the completion date needs to be extended.

Project work hours are Monday to Saturday from 6am to 6am. On Sunday, work will be carried out between 7am to 5pm, and 9am to 3om for Monday to Saturday: 6am to 6pm Sunday: 7am to 5pm for quieter work, 9am to 3pm for heavy machinery

PROMISING SIGNS Good snowfalls in the last two weeks has seen the opening of Selwyn Resort’s advanced terrain.

PHOTO: Selwyn Snow Resort

OUR emergency services have been busy of late with multiple grassfires and alpine rescues occurring.

The Monaro Rural Fire Service is urging landholders to be vigilant and exercise greater caution when burning off or undertaking tasks that can cause an ignition. Despite the cooler temperatures, grassfires can start easily and with our recent strong winds, this poses a dangerous mix.

While fires have kept RFS crews busy, search and rescues have been the order of the week for alpine based emergency services personnel.

There were three successful search and rescue operations undertaken after skiers/ hikers found themselves lost and unable to navigate back to their starting point.

Back country operators and emergency services are calling for greater awareness and care for those wishing to explore beyond the resorts.

If you’re into sport then August might just be the best month of 2024. The Paris Olympics are underway. The Postman was a little caught out that a number of sports started before the opening ceremony.

The Siene was the centre of attention as the Paris Games became the first to hold an opening ceremony away from a stadium.

How is the mobile coverage where you live? If you rely on the 3G network, did you know it’s due to be switched off on August 31.

The Senate inquiry into the shutdown of the network came to Cooma last week for a public hearing into the switch off.

The Senate Standing Committees on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport held one of two nationwide public hearings in Cooma on Wednesday July 24.

Snowy Monaro mayor Chris Hanna and Lake Eucumbene Community Association members Bob and Susan Lawton addressed the committee.

Mayor Hanna spoke of regional concerns the 3G shutdown will leave parts of the area without any mobile coverage.

The Lawtons represented the towns/villages of Adaminaby, Old Adaminaby and Anglers Reach. They detailed the coverage issues that exist in this corner of the Snowy Monaro.

Mayor Hanna and the Lawtons called for the telcos to ensure the 4G network will be expanded to cover the loss of the 3G areas.

Telstra has advised that if 3G closure impacts you, you will likely have already heard from them. They have also developed an SMS tool to check if your phone needs an upgrade. If you text ‘3’ to 3498, we’ll text you back telling you if you need to take action.

Pick our sports team like we pick councillors

ENVISION a world where assembling your favourite sports team depended not on sheer athletic talent, but on the same democratic principles that guides our local elections. Athletes would trade in their physical skills for campaign promises, and the locker room would transform into a political arena.

Instead of rigorous training sessions, athletes would hit the campaign trail. Imagine a striker pledging to score a record number of goals or a defender promising an impregnable defense. Soundbites and slogans would fill the sports pages, transforming players into political candidates vying for public favor. I ‘can’ win the game. Look at our flashy uniforms - we will be great.

Meet your candidates would be replaced with the pre game interviews as players outline their plans, critiquing their competitors and pointing out the weaknesses of the games. The focus would shift from physical prowess to eloquence and persuasive power and playing to their friends and neighbours vision of what it would be like to know a councillor / sport star.

In this new paradigm, popularity could outweigh raw talent. A charismatic player might secure a spot over a more skilled, yet less well-known teammate. The selection process would hinge on who can best sway public opinion and build a loyal voter base, emphasising likeability and public engagement over athletic excellence.

Similar to political arenas, players might form alliances to consolidate their power. Promises of mutual support and strategic partnerships would dominate behind-the-scenes negotiations. Team dynamics would be influenced by political manoeuvring, with players leveraging their influence to secure positions. Maybe we could elect our favourite batters to play on the same team as our front forwards….which is akin to voting above the line and wasting our votes.

While it could entertain us in the same manner as a Melbourne cup office pick, this method could introduce significant drawbacks. Selection based on popularity rather than merit might lead to disjointed

OK GUYS, I THINK WE’VE WASTED ENOUGH TIME HAVING THESE STUPID MEETINGS. LET’S GO BACK TO WHAT WE WERE DOING BEFORE.

team performance. Campaign promises may not always translate to on-field success, risking dissatisfaction and underperformance. The focus would shift from building a cohesive, skillbased team to winning public approval.

In essence, while the idea of selecting sports teams through electoral processes is both fascinating and whimsical, it underscores the importance of meritocratic systems in highstakes environments like sports. A good promise aligning with our own bias might excel in council’s elections, but athletic performance thrives on skill, teamwork, and dedication - is it too much to expect a similar outcome?

Complex and multifaceted as they are, electoral processes for local councillors often leave much to be desired in terms of accessibility and engagement. Now let’s flip the coin and Imagine a scenario where the selection of our local representatives mirrored the process of building a sports team focused on skill, compatibility, and hands-on trials.

Instead of the usual campaign promises and debates, prospective councillors would undergo a series of practical assessments that simulate real-life municipal challenges. Much like tryouts, these trials would test candidates’ abilities to problemsolve, innovate, and work under pressure. Imagine a candidate tackling simulated traffic issues or developing a rapid response plan for community emergencies.

Just as sports teams seek players who not only have individual talent but also fit well together, the selection process for councillors could place a greater emphasis on interpersonal skills and teamwork. Candidates would participate in group exercises to evaluate how well they collaborate, communicate, and contribute to a cohesive unit, ensuring that the final council works seamlessly and efficiently.

In a sports team-like selection process, public engagement would play a crucial role. Open trials and assessments would be held in public forums where community members can observe and evaluate candidates in real-time. This level of transpar-

ency would help ensure that selections are based not on political manoeuvring but on genuine competency and public trust.

Drawing from sports analytics, each candidate’s performance would be assessed using clear, measurable metrics. Councillors would be elected based on their demonstrated ability to meet specific benchmarks, such as economic development targets, community outreach effectiveness, or environmental initiatives. This would ensure that only those with proven capabilities make the cut.

Even in a sport-like election process, democratic principles would remain intact. Candidates would still require public approval, much like a coach seeking consensus on team selections. Regular performance reviews would ensure ongoing accountability, akin to tracking an athlete’s season stats.

Aspiring councillors could benefit from preparatory programs similar to sports academies, focusing on skill development, leadership training, and public administration. This would cultivate a pool of wellprepared and highly skilled candidates ready to take on the complexities of local governance.

While adopting a sports teamlike process for electing councillors might seem unconventional, it offers an intriguing blend of meritocracy, transparency, and public engagement.

By prioritising skill, teamwork, and performance, we could foster a more effective and dynamic local governance structure that truly serves its community.

Our council is in crisis. They have lost focus, ignored by a State Government‘s bureaucracy and politicians. Our council needs real leadership to move forward and doesn’t need rhetoric of a single issue. It doesn’t need loud squawking ‘look at me’ candidates and it certainly doesn’t need incumbent who promised what ever it was to get votes and then failed to deliver anything of substance.

Take some personal responsibility for council past failure and current situation. It’s our vote, which should be treasured so do not delegate it to political parties or groups formed to capitalise on voter apathy.

Isn’t it time that we elect our councillors with the same energy and process that we use for our sports teams?

Olivier Kapetanakos Jindabyne

Church service times across the Snowy Monaro region

Cooma Baptist Church: 10am Sunday

St Patrick’s Catholic Parish: 10am Sunday, Weekday mass 10am Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays

St Paul’s Anglican Parish of Cooma: 9.30am Sunday

St Andrew’s Cooma Uniting Church: 9.30am Sunday

Lifegate Christian Church Cooma: 9:55am second and fourth Sunday each month, 4pm first and third Sunday each month

Cooma Presbyterian Church: 9am Sunday

St John’s Anglican Church Adaminaby: 3pm first and third Sunday each month

St Peter’s Anglican Church Nimmitabel: 11.30am third Sunday each month

St Andrew’s Catholic Church Nimmitabel: Saturday vigil mass 5pm on the weekend of the third Sunday, Liturgy with Holy Communion other Saturdays 5pm

Village Church Jindabyne: 4pm and 6pm Sunday

All Saints Anglican Church Berridale: 9.30am Sunday

All Saints Numeralla: second Sunday of the month liturgy 5pm, Fourth Sunday of month 5pm mass

If your church would like to be added to this list, please contact us editor@monaropost.com.au

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Time to jump off fossil fuel bandwagon

IT might have been freezing in Cooma last week, but Sunday July 21 was the hottest day on record globally, at 17.09 degrees Celsius.

Then the next day, that record was broken with a global average of 17.15 degrees C. It caused alarm amongst experts, and mild panic in me.

Alarm is certainly warranted. Were Monday’s record an anomaly you could dismiss it but over the last 13 months there was a large jump in temperatures globally.

Global warming is no longer in doubt. Indeed, the last decade (2015 to 2024) had

HAVE YOUR SAY

the highest daily average temperatures of any 10-year period on record.

What is concerning is the potential increase in extreme weather, such as heavy rainfall events or heatwaves, such as western North America is experiencing at the moment, and the wildfires that accompany heatwaves and drought as we are seeing in Canada.

We are seeing more and more of these extreme events and they cost in human and financial terms. The 2003 heatwave in Europe killed 70,000 people. Superstorm Sandy in 2012 cost US$88

billion. Hurricane Harvey’s deluge over Houston caused US$151 billion in damages.

And let us not forget the increased frequency of coral bleaching events that has sent our own Great Barrier Reef into a death spiral.

Nor the increasing loss of Arctic ice that reflects radiation and keeps us cool. Nor the steady acidification of the oceans, threatening the whole base of the food chain. Nor the rapid melting of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice-sheets, accelerating sea-level rise.

What keeps me awake at night though, is the slowing

of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (read Gulf Stream) in recent years with over a third of studies predicting a major disruption in the 2030s. This would send Britain and the rest of Europe into a miniice age with temperatures plummeting by 10 degrees C or more. They would not be able to grow food.

We have to stop all this. The only way is to get off the fossil fuel bandwagon and change our behaviours. The fate of the world is at stake.

Jenny Goldie Cooma

The Monaro Post welcomes contributions of Letters to the Editor. Letters can be posted, emailed or dropped to our office. Preference will be given to letters concerning local issues. Letters may be edited for reasons of clarity, removing defamatory or offensive content or due to space constraints. Preference will be given to letters which are less than 500 words in length. It is the editor’s prerogative to print or not to print letters. The editor’s decision is final.

Email editor@monaropost.com.au

Address 59 Vale Street, Cooma

Life on the funny farm

By Paul Dorin

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Riposte

By LISA ASHURST

I WASN’T’ affected by the big dropout when the cyber network crashed. Not needing to go to the supermarket, a fuel station or anywhere else where I would have been affected, I did not find out it had even happened until I’d switched on the nightly news.

And discovered there had been a major disruption and it was catastrophic.

But one of the positives to have come out of it, I hope, was the penny dropping that we are not ready to go cashless just yet, so to those little businesses that insist we can only pay with a card or “via the app” when we try to pay with cash?

Start accepting cash again, because the downside for a lot of businesses was that people didn’t have cash on them because they don’t carry it anymore because they have become so used to many businesses being cashless. So no one could pay for anything.

What a mess, with millions of things around the globe coming to a very abrupt halt. So, how much was your life interrupted? Depends how dependent you are on the cyber network to run your daily life and entertain your children.

Many of us have become so completely dependent on it that something like a major crash can leave us floundering because everything stops.

Okay, maybe not everything, but enough did to cause a global migraine. Admittedly, it wasn’t out for too long, not really, but for the time the disruption was going on, it was bad. But what if it had have taken longer than a day to fix?

There was a time when if we wanted to buy something we went

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Jim Walker-Broose 0408 425 484 jim@monaropost.com.au

Keely Pressley 0456 217 012 keely@monaropost.com.au

CLASSIFIEDS

Bridget Sommer (02) 6452 0318 classifieds@monaropost.com.au

into the shop, bought it over the counter and paid with cash or card. If we wanted to do any kind of banking, we went into the branch and did the transaction via the teller, not a machine. The ATM was an option only. Unlike today where many banks have a staff member directing customers to the ATM to do everything. But pretty much all businesses could operate without the Internet, even when they were connected to it, because the manual options were still in place. So, are we too reliant on doing everything online, even when we don’t necessarily want to be? Yes, I think so. Which is why the world went pear-shaped when a simple thing like an upgrade shut so many things down. I don’t know how people who run their entire lives online managed. Well, they didn’t apparently. Ditto businesses that no longer have any kind of alternative operational options. Cashless outlets could not serve food or drinks because customers were unable to pay. A lot of places, including supermarkets, just closed their doors because they could not do business. Freaky!

There’s probably a lesson in there somewhere, about having alternatives (like cash for instance) on hand to deal with things like the big outage we just had. I mean, I thought Covid had taught people about the benefits of having some spare cash in the house for emergencies, and enough basic staples in the pantry to cover meals, just in case. Non one expected a big crash like the one that recently happened and it just went to show that no one was really ready for it either.

Anyone having a rethink yet?

DESIGN & PRODUCTION

Aasta Arctander aasta@monaropost.com.au

FEATURES WRITER Lisa Ashurst

$50K upgrade for multicultural centre Bombala feedback sought

ALL classes and groups at Cooma Multicultural Centre (CMC) have been stopped for a couple of weeksbut for a very happy reason.

The CMC is undergoing a $50,000 facelift, with the funding through an election promise from Member for Monaro, Steve Whan.

Work will include repainting and a new floor and is expected to be completed by early August.

Centre manager, Yvi Henderson, said a feature of the renovation would be an adjustment so the internal area can be separated into two sections.

“We will be able to better accomodate groups and also have the kids and mums with a bit of separation for some of the classes,” she said.

“We will have an official opening in August.”

Most classes including ukelele, choir, drumming, English, art and craft and kids programs have been put on hold while the work takes place.

Ms Henderson said, however, that she was looking for alternative venues to continue English classes.

Artists called to exhibit

COOMA’s Raglan Gallery has put out the call to ceramicists and sculptors to submit work to its new exhibition, which is set to open on August 21.

The show, INSIDE OUTSIDE, will feature a variety of all-sized works with one thing in common: they should be able to be displayed inside or out.

A gallery spokesperson said entry was free, with the only criteria that the art had to be for sale.

Entry forms are available from the gallery or via the Raglan website and must be lodged “sooner rather than later but no later than August 14”.

The exhibition will run August 21October 6.

Meanwhile, the Raglan’s current show in the Tillers Gallery titled MINIATURES has proven to be a huge success despite the small masterpieces that hang on the walls. Each piece is sized no larger than 10 inches on the longest side with 15 artists represented.

More than one third of the show has already sold with pledges of more sales to come.

The show closes August 18.

BOMBALA residents are invited to contribute to health service planning at Bombala MultiPurpose Service (MPS).

Southern NSW Local Health District (SNSWLHD) is planning for a range of health services to be delivered out of the MPS into the future.

The Bombala community is encouraged to assist with this planning by providing relevant feedback.

There are a few ways community members can contribute to the plan:

By joining the SNSWLHD planning team at a community drop-in session on Friday August 2 from 12pm to 6pm at Bombala Library;

Email feedback to SNSWLHDPlanning@health.nsw.gov.au and

Scan the QR code to complete our survey or visit surveymonkey. com/r/BombalaMultipurposeServicePlan

Any community feedback will help the organisation to shape, design and improve local health services including residential aged care needs, associated with the announcement of an expansion from 10 to 30 residential aged care beds at the MPS.

Monaro men’s breakfasts return

ST PAUL’S Anglican Church will restart their once popular men’s breakfasts with the first get together in a number of years taking place this weekend.

The men of the church are encouraging other men in the region to join them for a hearty breakfast and to build friendships.

A guest speaker for each breakfast will be arranged with the first talk coming from Pastor Bryan Bartlett, Salvation Army Cooma.

The breakfast is in the St Paul’s Anglican Church hall on Commissioner Street, Cooma, starting at 7.30am. $5 per person. RSVP via cooma.mensbreakfast.com.au or 6416 0124.

UPGRADES: Cooma Multicultural Centre manager Yvi Henderson in the midst of the $50,000 renovations of the centre’s headquarters on Massie Street, Cooma.

PHOTO: Karen Forman

Trout by Rob Ereaux is one of the works nominated for the Raglan Gallery’s INSIDE OUTSIDE exhibition. PHOTO: Artist

INSIDE OUTSIDE: Antique Horse’ by Lex Sorrentino will feature in the Raglan Gallery’s new exhibition. PHOTO: Artist

Council News

Updates | Information | Consultation

TENDER: JINDABYNE

SHARED TRAIL UPGRADE

Snowy Monaro Regional Council is seeking tenders from suitably qualified contractors for facility upgrade works at the following locations:

STAGE 1.2

COBBON CRES TO JINDABYNE DAM WALL (COPPER TOM TRAIL UPGRADE)

STAGE 1.3

HATCHERY BAY TO GADEN ROAD (EXISTING TRAIL UPGRADE)

This package includes facility upgrade, demolition, construction works and supply of material in accordance with project brief, BCA/ NCC, health and safety compliance.

Interested parties must obtain copies of the tender documentation from Council’s e-tendering system www.vendorpanel.com.au

OPEN DATE AND TIME: Tender will open 4PM AEST on Thursday 25 July 2024.

CLOSING DATE AND TIME: Tenders close at 4PM AEST on Thursday 29 August 2024 and submissions must be fully received by this time.

SITE INSPECTIONS

Compulsory information sessions are being offered at the sites with dates and times below:

Monday 5 August 2024 from 9am to 11am at Cnr Cobbon Cres & Townsend St, Jindabyne (Copper Tom Trail – Beginning point)

Monday 5 August 2024 from 12pm to 2pm at Hatchery Bay Rd, Jindabyne (Hatchery Bay)

ENQUIRIES: Tender enquiries should be directed to VendorPanel’s online forum.

SUBMISSIONS: Completed responses can ONLY be submitted via the electronic tender box using the Word & Excel version of the schedule(s).

Respondents will receive a successful submission receipt timed and dated upon completion.

ROAD NAME PROPOSAL

Pursuant to Section 163 of the Roads Act 1993 and Part Seven of the Roads Regulations 2018, notice is hereby given of a road name proposal for Stage 10 and 11 of the Highview subdivision in southern Jindabyne.

As part of amended development application DA 10.2007.03000079.020, the construction of one new road is proposed.

The proposed name for this new road is Anderson Street, named after Mount Anderson in the NSW Main Range of the Snowy Mountains. Existing roads in this subdivision also take their names from geographic features found in nearby Kosciuszko National Park.

Feedback period

The community is invited to share their feedback on the name proposed.

Submissions will be accepted for twenty-eight (28) days, ending Wednesday 7 August 2024.

Submissions should be made in writing to Chief Executive Officer David Hogan by email to council@snowymonaro.nsw.gov.au or by mail to PO Box 714, Cooma NSW 2630.

JOB VACANCIES

If you're looking for a career with purpose, consider joining the team here at Council.

Closing Wednesday 7 August 2024

Manager HR Services

Full Time – Location negotiable

Check out our online careers portal by visiting www.snowymonaro.nsw.gov.au/careers to learn more about our work.

24/7 Customer service line

ELECTION TIME AT COUNCIL

From Monday 5 August 2024, some Council communications and operations will be restricted for the 40 days leading up to the local government election on Saturday 14 September. Learn more at https://qrco.de/2024SMRCelection

POSTAL VOTE INFORMATION

The NSW Electoral Commission will be accepting applications for postal voting from Tuesday 6 August 2024 to Monday 9 September 2024.

To apply for a postal vote, visit the Commission's website at https://elections.nsw.gov.au or call 1300 135 736 to lodge your application by phone.

To ensure your vote is counted, make sure you complete your ballot paper and postal vote certificate by 6pm on election day, Saturday 14 September 2024.

Don't delay sending your completed vote and certificate, as the Commission can only count postal ballots received before 6pm Friday 27 September 2024.

DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL

Snowy Monaro Regional Council has received the following development application:

Property Address: BARRACKS HILL/2982 Jerangle Road JERANGLE 2630

Legal Description: Lot: 27 DP: 750558

Application No: 10.2024.138.1

Development Proposal: Emergency Services Facility - RFS Shed

Applicant: Snowy Monaro Regional Council Consent Authority: Snowy Monaro Regional Council

This application and its accompanying documents will be on display at all Council offices and online at https://qrco.de/SMRC-DA and https://qrco.de/masterview for twenty-eight (28) days, ending Wednesday 28 August 2024. Council is seeking community comment on this proposal. All submissions should be made in writing to Chief Executive Officer David Hogan. All submissions will be treated as a public document. Any person making a submission is required to disclose any reportable political donations or gifts at the time of making the submission.

For more information, please contact Council's development and planning department at the Jindabyne office, or visit https://qrco.de/DAinfo

COMMITTEE VACANCY

Nominations for a position on the Cooma North Ridge Reserve Section 355 Advisory Committee are now open and will close at 11.59pm Wednesday 7 August 2024.

Council is seeking nominations from people interested in becoming an energetic member of the Cooma North Ridge Reserve Section 355 Advisory Committee.

The nomination form is available online or from Council offices. Nominees should provide a brief outline of their involvement with the community, and their location relative to the reserve.

Submit your completed nomination form by email to council@smrc.nsw.gov.au, by hand to Council's Cooma office, or by post to PO Box 714, Cooma NSW 2630.

Visit https://qrco.de/s355 to download the form.

COMMUNITY RECYCLING CENTRES: FREE DISPOSAL

Got tricky household waste? Don't bin it, bring it to your local Community Recycling Centre (CRC) instead!

Residents can now drop off a range of problem waste items for free all year round at CRCs in Cooma and Jindabyne.

These include:

Paint (oil and water based)

Gas bottles and fire extinguishers

Fluorescent globes and tubes

Household and car batteries

Motor and other oils

Smoke detectors

Mobile phones

Printer cartridges

There's a 20-litre or 20-kilogram limit per item. Can't make it to a CRC? Look out for Community Recycling Stations at libraries and other council facilities. These smaller drop-off points accept batteries, ink cartridges, and fluorescent globes.

By using these services, you'll help boost our recycling rates and keep harmful materials out of the environment.

For CRC locations and opening hours, visit our website at https://qrco.de/trickywaste

PROPOSED GRANTING OF PUBLIC LAND LICENCES

In accordance with section 47A of the Local Government Act 1993, Snowy Monaro Regional Council gives 28 days of public notice that it proposes to grant short term (12 month) nonexclusive licences to the below Applicants for the following property (‘Land’):

Part of O’Brien Avenue Reserve BERRIDALE, Lot 35 DP 701757

Monaro Equestrian Association for equestrian activities

XY Collective for bicycling activities

Cooma & District Kennel and Obedience Club for dog obedience activities

Please note that access to the public right of way along Myack Creek and the town link at Short Street will be maintained.

Making a submission

Written submissions may be made by Wednesday 7 August 2024 and must be marked ‘Licences for Public Land’ and sent to:

Snowy Monaro Regional Council

Post: PO Box 714, COOMA NSW 2630

Email: council@snowymonaro.nsw.gov.au

MYACK CREEK

WASTEWATER UPGRADE

Replacement of the sewer crossing over Myack Creek in Berridale is scheduled to begin Tuesday 6 August 2024, and will run through until midSeptember, weather permitting.

The current support structure will be replaced with a box culvert and the main will be renewed.

Hours of work will be 6am to 6pm on weekdays and Saturdays, and 7am to 5pm on Sundays with some noise restrictions.

Bombala SES seeks new members

By KAREN FORMAN

BOMBALA State Emergency Services (SES) isn’t the busiest or the biggest of the units that make up the Snowy Monaro cluster, but it is certainly not lacking in enthusiasm or passion.

Like other SES units, Bombala, which currently has just seven members, is a volunteer organisation accredited by the government to provide emergency help in flood, storm and tsunami events.

Units also are called upon by other emergency services such as police and ambulance to assist with land, bush and alpine search and rescue and retrieval and road crashes. Sometimes unit members are called to travel to assist in other areas.

Because of its geographical location, however, Bombala tends to do more more ‘trees and roofs’ and sometimes flooding. The unit was also involved in the Thredbo landslide more than 30 years-ago and land searches.

Unit commander Daryl Phillips says the unit is always training hard, ready for callouts.

He is keen to attract new members to boost the unit’s numbers - and that offer is open to people of all ages, interests and experiences.

“Currently we have from 18 year-olds to 60ish,” he said.

“I would love to see more members come along and join in our weekly Tuesday night training nights and be available to help out when we are called out.

“People don’t need to have experience or qualifications - we provide the training and uniforms and equipment for free and it is a great thing to be involved with.”

Bombala SES is currently somewhat of a family affair.

Mr Phillips’ daughter Amity, at 18, is the youngest member. Anthony and Peter represent the Rosencranz family, Kira Raics is not a member but goes along to ropes training with Sam Raics and Damon Raics, and deputy unit commander is Mr Phillips’ wife, Kelly.

Learn new skills, improve confidence: Unit commander

Formerly of Bibbenluke, Mr Phillips now lives in Bombala and works for Snowy Monaro Regional Council, which he says is an employer that is very supportive of his role with the SES.

He has been in the unit for 26-years after ‘accidentally’ joining.

“I didn’t even know SES existed. My brother was in it, he asked me to bring his son to the shed and I drove him up and when I left I had a uniform and a helmet and I’ve been there ever since,” he said.

That was three months before the Thredbo landslide, which all units were asked to send members to to help search through the rubble created when a flood of

water pushed two ski lodges downhill, killing 18 people, with only one survivor.

“We got the call at 4am from the controller, who asked me to go out for a trip and the next thing I was walking uphill at Thredbo, searching through rubble. I had finished my time there when Stuart was found the week after,” Mr Phillips said.

He also assisted with Cyclone Yasi in Queensland and Sydney storms.

Mr Phillips said his employer, like many, had been supportive of his SES duties.

“Council has always been pretty good with me going off on callouts in work time,” he said.

“We don’t get much here, probably we get a callout once every three months.

But we are busy on Tuesday nights with training. We try to work out what people need for the direction they want to go in, and make the training happen. We are getting into stuff with Cooma unit now, getting people going up to do training with them.

“A lot of the early learning is online which makes it easier.”

Mr Philips said new members could be trained up enough to go on callouts as early as a month into their membership.

“Four wheel drive, storm damage, boat operation, land search, radio operations, there is something for everyone,” he said.

“You don’t need to be super fit and young, you can

work on the radios or helping out with various things.

We supply uniforms, it costs nothing to be in the SES but can be a great way to help your community, learn new skills and make new friends.”

Mr Philips said he was particularly keen for people to join who were interested in being part of a boat crew.

“We have a boat, as well as the usual car and truck, but we need boat crew as there is not much point having a boat if we don’t have a crew,” he said.

“We currently only have one person with a boat licence, not yet an SES boat licence but we are working on that.”

Mr Phillips said unlike Snowy River and Cooma

units, Bombala rarely had any road crash callouts.

“Sometimes police get us to do lighting for fatals, while waiting for contractors, but we don’t go out and cut people out of cars like the others do,” he said.

“Sometimes we get flooding, the water comes down the hill into some of the shops in the main streets and we need to do some sandbagging, but it is very rare here. Our river comes up fast and goes down just as fast.

“We also get called to help the police with land searches as well.”

For more information on Bombala SES, drop in to the Bombala SES from 6.30pm Tuesday nights, call 132 500 or talk to Mr Phillips on 0409 715 596.

READY FOR ACTION: Bombala SES members back row - Anthony Rosencranz, Daryl Phillips, and Sam Raics. Middle - keen supporter Kira Raics, member Damon Raics, and member Amity Phillips. Front is Peter Rosencranz.

PHOTO: Deputy unit commander Kelly Phillips (not pictured).

Tour guide Teagan’s unlikely career

By KAREN FORMAN

KEEN snowboarder, National Parks and Wildlife Service tour guide and Cooma resident Teagan Symons has always loved music but never in her wildest dreams did she ever think of taking up singing and joining a band.

Not only at the age of 35 has she done just that, but she actually fronts a local band, The Pingers, as lead vocalist - and the outfit has just released its first album.

“It’s all a bit crazy,” Teagan said.

“I really just yell, not sing, as I’ve never had any singing lessons or anything, but the boys tell me my yelling voice is becoming more of a singing voice with practice, so that is encouraging.”

Teagan heads the fun four-piece punk band with two members, drummer Steven O’Bryan and Teagan coming from Cooma and two - guitarist Casey Been from Jindabyne and bass player Ollie Benson from Kalkite.

The foursome released its first EP with eight songs, seven of which are originals, during a jam-packed three-band concert at the Lake Jindabyne Hotel on June 1. It was recorded at Core Studios with Nik Carpenter on the Gold Coast.

“The album is called Pink Mitzi and is available on all of the streaming channels now, with CDs to be printed as soon as we have the money to do so,” Teagan said.

“We were hoping to raise enough money from the show and merchandise sales to be able to print the CDs and also get back to the studio on the Gold Coast to record another one.

“Basically we are teeshirt salesmen pretending to be a band. Seriously though, there isn’t much money in music, so we all have to have other jobs.”

For Teagan, that other job is as a tour guide with National Parks and Wild-

life Service at Yarrangobilly Caves. She also teaches yoga and chair yoga at Werri-Nina Centre, which runs programs for people older than 65.

She originally came to the Snowy Monaro to work in the snowfields, then later returned to care for her nan in Cooma. She and Steven, who works at Rhythm boardshop and mows lawns in summer, bought a house in Cooma four-years-ago.

Ollie works at First Tracks in Jindabyne and Casey at Lake Jindabyne Hotel.

The band came into being in May last year when Casey, who had stayed with Teagan while working a ski season together a decade before, returned to the area and asked her why she wasn’t playing music given she was in a relationship with drummer Steven, a local muso who had had ex-

perience playing in heavy metal bands and had been around the open mics.

“That had never occurred to me. I had always loved music and gone to shows, like in 2007, there was a lot going on at The Station, Banjo, Brumby Bar and LJ, and listened to music, but I have zero musical talent,” she said.

“I tried to learn the piano and the guitar but failed. Casey was saying, you’ve gotta start a band, so we started jamming together, he brought three songs, I started my yelling aka singing and we got a bit serious and thought we had better find a bass player.

“Ollie lives at Kalkite and it is great to have a second girl around especially when we are travelling to gigs. She’s actually a guitarist who we conned into playing bass and is the one in

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charge of all our design work, which is amazing.

“That’s the thing. It’s not just about the four of us, but about all the people who are around to help. Like Laurent Steiger, our sound guy on launch night, who was amazing. He’s done a lot of work in Wollongong where he came from with punk and metal bands and he gets us.”

Teagan, who says she has found some great singing lesson material online, joins in the songwriting process “so I get to yell what I write”, while the musicians work on the music.

“It is all fun and simple. Our best song only has two chords - D and C.”

The band chose punk as its genre because the members like it and it is simple and happy.

“I’ve always been into punk and the boys have played heavy metal and hard core bands. Punk is a bit softer than heavy metal, more basic. It is synonymous with snowboarders and obviously there are a lot of snowboarders in our local area,” Teagan said.

“Basically we like happy music, trying not to focus on derogatory or depressive stuff. We have a lot of fun and run amok and like our audiences to do the same.

“Casey is the only one allowed to have a mohawk

and we all dress in whatever we feel like.

“It is such fun, I can’t believe this is real life.”

The band, she says, won’t be quite as busy in winter as its members want time to go snowboarding, but is ideally located between Sydney and Melbourne which makes getting to city gigs easy. It has a local gig planned in September at Travellers Rest in Cooma.

“I just want to play punk rock and snowboard in Japan and Canada. That would be the dream now,” Teagan said.

MUSIC: Cooma/Jindabyne punk band The Pingers launches its first album at Lake Jindabyne Hotel. PHOTO: Contributed.

ALTER EGO: The Pingers lead singer Teagan Symons’ performances are a far cry from her day jobs as a national parks guide and yoga teacher. PHOTO: Contributed.

Pizza vending machine proves popular

La Famiglia comes up with innovative idea

By TRISTA HEATH

THE FIRST of its kind in the Snowy Monaro region, La Famiglia in Jindabyne has seen a roaring success with its new pizza vending machine.

Open 24/7 or until sold out, the machine produces fresh, quality Italian made pizza from the push of a button and a three minute wait.

La Famiglia owner Val Viscontini said the feedback so far has been positive with countless customers enjoying the service and selling out every night.

Val said the concept of the machine is to give people the same great quality Italian handmade takeaway pizzas in a faster timeframe.

“Made fresh in the La Famiglia kitchen every day, the pizza vending machine is about keeping a great quality produced at a faster time as wait times for takeaway, especially in winter, can be up to one hour long,” Val said.

“Not everyone wants to wait an hour and some people can get frustrated after waiting in queues all day on the mountain and frustrated from driving down the mountain in huge traffic jams.

“The vending machine is a good option for those not wanting to wait so long, and for all those shift workers, staff that work late hours, or those who arrive in town late at night and nothing is open.”

Val makes the pizzas fresh daily in the La Famiglia restaurant where they are oven cooked the same way that they would be for dine in and takeaway customers.

Slightly smaller to fit the boxes correctly and slightly different hand stretching to minimise puffy crust to fit the box perfectly, he has also kept to a price point that people can afford.

Identical product, identical ingredients, and a menu that allows for four different options hand-picked by Val that would suit most tastebuds.

“We have a kid’s option, a spicy option and vegetarian options available,” Val said.

“I make the pizzas fresh daily, then cut them up and put them in the boxes where they get immediately stored inside the machine.

“The machine is basically one big refrigerator divided into four compartments for different kinds of pizzas.

“Make your selection on the touch screen, pay with card, and working on a spiral system the boxes are spiralled down a conveyor belt which then pushes them forward to a convection oven where the pizzas are heated for three minutes then delivered through the flaps of the vending machine for collection.”

Once ordered the vending machine provides a clock countdown until your pizzas are ready.

The machine fits a total of 64 pizzas and at the moment Val is only half filling the machine and is selling out every day.

With the option of a hot or cold pizza where you can take your pizzas and reheat from home, the machine is

proving popular amongst both locals and visitors to the town.

Making at least 130 pizzas per night, Val said he missed out on a lot of sales over the years because of takeaway wait times and believes the machine will help with lost revenue.

“The restaurant was missing out on around 50 to 60 pizza sales a night and it breaks my heart as a business owner to lose so many customers,” Val said.

“I have been struggling for the last few years, and was almost ready to give up the restaurant, it’s been challenging and the hardest thing I have done in my life to keep the business afloat.

“The vending machine idea came from France who have been using them throughout the country for the last seven years and I had a French guy working for me over summer who mentioned the machines to me, and I looked into it and thought why not give it a try here in Jindabyne.”

A Melbourne computer tech company brought the machine concept onboard and is now theirs for global distribution and Val got the first machine that came into Australia.

The machine was previ-

ously placed in South Bank Station where it was featured on the breakfast television show ‘Sunrise’ and is now happily situated out the front of La Famiglia Jindabyne.

Working off a simple

touch screen process with one screen as an LED menu screen, the other is the order screen with an easy to follow process to get your fresh pizza in just three minutes per pizza.

Go and give it a try.

Festival selection for local film maker

A DOCUMENTARY by a local film maker has been selected as one of the Far South Film Festival’s 2024 finalists.

Richard Snashall of Numeralla has been named one of 16 finalists for his short documentary entitled “Snipe” – The Latham’s Snipe Project. The film is about how a cryptic but captivating vulnerable migra-

tory shorebird becomes the focus of a community effort to preserve precious eastern Australian wetlands.

The Far South Film Festival encourages films from regional Australian filmmakers which are then selected for screening at the 2024 Far South Film Festival.

The festival will be held on Saturday August 17 in Merimbula at

The Twyford, a performing arts, visual arts and community venue.

For audiences this is a unique opportunity to see independently produced films from regional filmmakers, whose voices and stories present a different point of view. Attendees can look forward to a variety of films during the festival screenings with drama, comedy, fantasy, experimental, documen-

tary, and sci fi genres represented.

Tickets for the Far South Film Festival will be on sale from the first week of August.

Finalists will be in contention for the major prize of $1000 for Best Film, and a range of other prize categories, including Best Director, Best Youth Film, Best Performance, Best Use of a Regional Setting and People’s Choice Award.

Screening sessions will be followed by Q&As with filmmakers and an Awards Ceremony.

Tickets will be available to purchase via the Far South Film Festival website.

More information about the film festival and the individual films are also on the website farsouthfilmfestival.com/

FRESH: La Famiglia Jindabyne’s newest pizza vending machine is located out front the restaurant on Snowy River Way.

PHOTOS: Trista Heath

Busking birthday for Probus ladies

THE July meeting of the Cooma Ladies Probus Club started with a tribute minute of silence to reflect upon the contribution made by recently passed on members Helen Edwards and Pat Green who will be sadly missed.

On a brighter note, acting president Gleynss Allen welcomed and inducted Erika Somerset from Coffs Harbour into the group. Erika was introduced by active member Lola Van der Plaat. Social activities organiser Judi Knighton then gave an amusing report of the trip to Bundaberg that five members enjoyed.

Highlights included an environmental excursion of the Fraser Coast area of Queensland, tours of the Sea Turtle Centre, the Mary Poppins Museum and of course the Bundaberg Rum Brewery before ‘rolling on’ to visit a macadamia nut farm.

Morning tea was a special event with the cutting of the club’s 28th birthday cake by founding president Heather Little.

Heather was assisted by Elizabeth Laught who was present at the inaugural meeting all those years ago and also by the club’s newest member Erika Somerset. A generous slice was enjoyed by all including the guest speaker for the meeting, Allan Spencer.

Well known musician and music shop owner Allan Spencer addressed the meeting, speaking of his time in Cooma and how the Australian National Busking Championships were conceived in 2012 and have

evolved into a large and growing Australia-wide network of busking festivals over the past 12-years. In 2016 the Busking Championships became incorporated thanks to the skill and efforts of the late Graham French.

Participating towns include Stanthorpe, Noosa, and Gladstone in Queensland, Kilmore, Rutherglen and Ballarat in Victoria, Braddon in ACT and Narooma, Peak Hill, Gundagai and of course Cooma in NSW.

Each town holds regional busking heats and the winners of each age category of the street entertainment compete in the Australian National Busking Championships Grand Final held in Cooma in November. Cooma’s heat was held in April and the grand final

will be held on November 30.

The busking championships are worthwhile community events for regional Australia generating economic activity for local businesses.

Local not-for-profit organisations such as Rotary, Lions, CWA, Scouts, Guides, Community Radio, Car Clubs, Men’s Sheds, schools and sporting clubs are keen to be involved and raise funds through these busking events.

The festivals are all about inclusion welcoming all ages, genres, performers with a disability, non-musical acts - circus, poetry, dance. Performers entertain for fun and for sharing music with larger audiences. Some are looking for an opportunity to develop a future in music

New journalist joins Monaro Media Group

THE Monaro Media Group has welcomed experienced journalist Melinda Cairns Hack to its editorial team.

Melinda will be based at the Cooma office, covering the local region for The Monaro Post, Jindabyne Summit Sun and Snow Post magazine.

Melinda enjoys writing general news and community profiles.

Born in Melbourne and raised in the Bega Valley, the mother of two completed a Bachelor of Arts in Communication, specialising in journalism at the University of Canberra, after finishing school.

It is not her first time living in the Snowy Monaro.

“I worked for the Cooma Monaro Express for a couple of years in the mid-1990s and more recently I wrote editorial for the Coastal Life magazine remotely for Monaro Media Group,” she said.

In 1996 Melinda was employed as a permanent relief journalist, after leaving the Express, to return home to the Bega Valley.

“I worked at Bega District News, the Magnet newspaper in Eden, Merimbula News Weekly and Narooma News.”

She spent a few years employed in other fields but has gravitated back to regional newspapers, taking up an opportunity to work full-time with The

Monaro Media Group.

“I have always had a soft spot for the Monaro,” she said.

“We bought land on Tuross Road at Kybeyan about seven years ago, where we run some highland cows and a couple of horses.

“I am looking forward to getting to know members of the community, reestablishing old connections and joining some local community groups.”

Melinda is a ‘double act’, with her sidekick, Goldie - a maltese shitzu cross, moving to Cooma with her.

and the performing arts.

Many competitors have progressed from the championships to become fully fledged professional musicians, such as The String Family, The Haystack Mountain Hermits, Felicity Kircher, Oscar Litchfield, Rory Phillips and Felicity Dowd.

After his enlightening talk, Allan kindly distributed a Busk CD to each Probus member present to listen to and enjoy at home. Some members then exercised a short tai chi routine with Pauline before enjoying a special birthday lunch at Rose’s restaurant.

The next meeting of the Ladies Probus Club is 10am on Wednesday August 14 in the function room of the Cooma Ex-Services Cub. New members always welcome.

Whan criticises fake letter

MEMBER for Monaro, Steve Whan, has confirmed an Email purporting to be from the Snowy Monaro Labor branch, claiming its support for the proposed Coonerang Wind Farm, is fake.

Mr Whan has strongly criticised the author of the fake email, who pretended to be a Snowy Monaro Labor branch member. The email did the rounds on social media last week, claiming the local Labor branch endorses the proposed wind farm and is calling for a Pride coloured turbine.

“It’s been brought to my attention that a fake email is being circulated in our community which talks about alleged plans between the Snowy Monaro Labor Branch and Someva, regarding the proposed Coonerang wind farm. It also falsely mentions State Labor,” Mr Whan said.

“I’m disgusted that someone would sink to this level in an attempt to score political points. Close to that is anyone who re-publishes on social media such an obviously fake email.

“The email is fraud, but it is

to provoke homophobic

also abhorrent in the way the actual author has attempted

sentiment.”

Mr Whan’s office said the email would be forwarded to the NSW Police and NSW Electoral Commission.

Guest speaker Allan Spencer presents Gwennyth Connelly a CD recording entitled ‘BUSK’ to enjoy following his address about the Australian National Busking Championships that he founded 12-years ago.

First president of Cooma Ladies Probus Club which was formed 28-years ago, Heather Little, is flanked by inaugural member Elizabeth Laught (right) and newest member Erika Somerset as she cuts the special birthday cake to share amongst members for morning tea.

WELCOME: Acting president Glenyss Allen, right, welcomes and inducts Erika Somerset into the Ladies Probus Club. Erika was introduced by Lola Van der Plaat, left.

PHOTOS: Cooma Ladies Probus Club

CRITICAL: Member for Monaro, Steve Whan, has labelled a fake email claiming to be from the Snowy Monaro Labor branch has abhorrent. The letter claims the branch supports the proposed Coonerang Wind Farm and the colouring of a turbine in Pride flag colours.

PHOTO: Supplied

WELCOME: New The Monaro Post journalist Melinda Cairns Hack.

By MELINDA CAIRNS HACK

Former Snowy worker recounts time with great fondness Jim reflects on life, love, Snowy

ONE of the greatest life events to come out of Henry James (Jim) Robinson’s time working on the Snowy Scheme is, without a doubt, meeting and marrying his wife of 55 years, Carlo.

It’s a love story that’s still as fresh today for Jim as it was more than 50 years ago, when he was a young man in his 20s driving heavy plant equipment, and Carlo was a high school student. Carlo also happened to be the daughter of Jim’s boss, Toby Todd, who oversaw field construction.

“I was so lucky to meet her,” Jim said.

“I was servicing my car one weekend and her father had to give me a message to tell me to take the machine somewhere else the next day and he called in with his family. A couple of days later he said, ‘My daughter wants you to come round and see her and I thought ‘you got to be joking. She’s a pretty girl, what have I got to lose Jimmy’, so I went there…we went together for three years and then we got married. Carlo was 19 when we married, and I was 25.”

Jim’s affection, love and devotion to Carlo, after all these years, is just as strong and evident as it was the day they first met at Island Bend camp.

Now at the age of 80, the Jindabyne resident is looking forward to the 75-year Snowy Scheme reunion weekend scheduled for October 19 and 20 where he and Carlo can catch up with good mates and fondly recount the old Snowy days.

Jim first started out as an apprentice plumber living in Wollongong, but it didn’t take long before he decided this was not the occupation he wanted to pursue.

“I loathed doing plumbing, and I had had enough of Wollongong, so I left after I finished my apprenticeship.”

On January 25 1965, he began with the Snowy Scheme at the Island Bend camp where he remained until August 20 1969.

“Those barracks at Island Bend were pretty rough when I got there. There were four steam pipes through the roof and that was the heating; the rooms weren’t super-hot but they were comfortable…if the boiler broke down or something happened to the boiler there were a lot of boys shivering the next morning,” he chuckled.

Most of his work involved driving graders, clearing snow in and around Island Bend, so the daily bus run to Cooma could occur.

“They used to leave at 7am in the morning in the bus, Carlo used to take this bus to high school and then went to the tech school in Cooma.

“When I first went to the

area there was no dam in Jindabyne; I was working on the roads at Island Bend, then I worked on Diggers Creek and Bar Ridge aqueduct pipelines.

“They were quite lengthy aqueduct concrete pipes.

“I also worked in Veranda Camp.

“The father-in-law said to me ‘you got to go over to Veranda Camp for a couple of days’.

“I was flown over to Khancoban, and I was to pick up a grader at Khancoban, and then go to Veranda Camp and grade the roads right up through Geehi, Veranda Camp and up where the aqueduct pipeline was there.

“He said to me ‘you won’t need to do much, you’ll only be there a couple of days, you’ll only need a toothbrush’ and I ended up being there for two-and-a-half months!”

In Jim’s words it was a

rough camp – “just a couple of little huts stuck up in the bush”.

“When I first went to Veranda Camp the mattresses were made of old coconut fibre and were lumpy.

“They had a French cook with a big moustache there, like the ones you see on tv. He was a bit of a character. There was probably about half a dozen Irish men there and about three Germans and that was it, that was the camp.

“They had a generator for power and cooking and sometimes they used to say the cook is on the ‘vanilla essence’…but he was a very good cook.

“Sometimes when you went to have your meal of a night, he’d have a roast sitting there and a heap of it cut up, with potatoes and other vegetables and you would have to help yourself – that was when he was on one of

his ‘turns’,” Jim laughed.

“I also remember there were a lot of dingoes around Geehi.

“One time when I was grading the road from Eucumbene up to Providence Portal, I was sitting on my own having lunch in the grader, and I saw something move in the bush.

“’What’s that?’ I thought. I ran round to the bush and saw this little dingo pup, so I ran off after him and caught him. I took him back and when my father-in-law picked me up, he said, ‘what are you going to do with that’ and I said, ‘I don’t know, I’ll worry about that when I get back to the camp.’

“When I got back to Jindabyne where we had been moved to after the closure of the Island Bend camp, there was a cleaner there from Yugoslavia or Croatia and he asked could he have the dingo pup.

“I gave him the pup, he was bob-tailed and fluffy, a beautiful little fellow.

“A couple of years later I found out from my fatherin-law who had seen the cleaner, he told him ‘That little dog that your future son-in-law gave me has turned out to be the best dog I have ever had!’”

Recounting the days of old is something which gives Jim a lot of enjoyment and pleasure.

There are a few work mates who still live in Jindabyne who he sees regularly.

You get the impression there are plenty more Snowy memories Jim could share, but he will save those ones until he meets with his mates again in October.

“I went to the first reunion years ago and Carlo caught up with many of her Island Bend classmates as well.”

One of the friends Carlo

still sees from time to time is actor John Jarratt, who attended Island Bend school with Carlo, and they have remained good friends ever since.

“John’s father worked on the Snowy and was actually the scout master at Island Bend.”

Conditions up in the mountains were obviously tough, especially in the winter, but what is abundantly clear is Jim, the other workers and their families made the most of the experience and made lifelong memories and friends.

“I had a great time on the Snowy and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. I enjoyed driving the machinery.

“I did a lot of travel; I was moved around quite a bit.

“Best of all I was lucky to have met Carlo while there. She’s a beautiful person and I love her dearly.”

SNOWY 75th: Jim Robinson remembers his time working on the Snowy Scheme with fondness, particularly meeting with wife Carlo.

PHOTO: Melinda Cairns Hack

Jim (right) at a Snowy Scheme function with some fellow workers from Island Bend camp.

An example of one of the heavy plant machines that Jim drove while working on the Snowy Scheme in the mid to late 1960s.

ACROSS

1 Who was the US singer and film actor, Dean ... (6)

7 Name a Banjo Paterson classic, the Man from ... (8)

8 What are boxing matches split into (6)

9 Name the wife of William Shakespeare, Anne ... (8)

10 Which British coin had a value of 21 shillings (6)

11 Name a palm, having fan-shaped leaves (8)

14 What are false teeth called (8)

18 Name another term for pansies (6)

19 What is the body of an aircraft (8)

21 What is a flock of geese called (6)

22 Name a snake of the boa family (8)

23 What are assemblies of ecclesiastics (6) DOWN

1 Name a goldenflowered plant (8)

2 What do we call one who rents (6)

3 Name the birthplace of Omar Khayyam (8)

4 What is the unit of electric potential (4)

6 One who wags school is known as a what (6)

12 Which Nevada city is known for its gambling casinos (3,5)

13 Who devised the strategy of the Wooden Horse of Troy (8)

15 Name an alternative term for a horse (6)

E-QUATIONS

5 To be on fire, is to be what (6)

Letters

Some

16 Which type of warfare was prevalent in the Somme in World War One (6)

E-QUATIONS

Letters A to Z have a number value. Some are shown in the right-hand cells. Create remaining values using clues in centre cells.

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE CROSSWORD QUICK

17 What was the surname of Daniel, “Mad Dog” (6)

20 Name a former unit of currency in India (4)

Find the following words in the grid. They may be read in any direction, even diagonally. Some letters are used more than once.

WHICH WORDS

1 URTICANT (a) Smooth mannered (b) Stinging (c) Swampy

2 VAGARY (a) A lack of precision (b) A tramp (c) A freakish prank

BIYWORD

Build it yourself using the clues and each of the twenty-four letters once only to form ten words: five across and five down. A key word (bold clue) builds on the letter set in the grid.

CLUES:

Awful (3)

Commonplace (5)

Free (3)

Limited (abb) (3) Mansion (5) Relaxed (5)

Revolutionary zealot (7) Card game (7) Showed extreme fondness (5) WWII life jacket: ... West (3)

Solve the crossword. Each answer has four letters.

6.00 Morning Programs. 1.00 Escape To The Country. 2.00 Weekender. 2.30 Slow Train Through Africa. 3.30 Harry’s Practice. 4.00 Medical Emergency. 4.30 Better Homes. 5.30 Escape To The Country. 6.30 Bargain Hunt. 7.30 Heartbeat. 8.45 Judge John Deed. 10.45 Late Programs.

6.00 Sunrise. 9.00 The Morning Show. 11.30 Seven Morning News. 12.00 MOVIE: A Daughter’s Deception. (2019) 2.00 Motorbike Cops. 2.15 Catch Phrase. 3.00 The Chase. 4.00 Seven News At 4. 5.00 The Chase Australia. 6.00 7News Local. 6.30 7News @ 6:30. 7.00 Home And Away. 7.30 The 1% Club UK. 8.30 The Front Bar. 9.30 The Best Of The Russell Gilbert Show. 10.45 Autopsy USA. 11.45 Air Crash Investigations. 12.45 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 3.00 Billy The Exterminator. 3.30 Close Encounters Down Under. 4.30 Storage Wars. 5.00 American Restoration. 5.30 American Pickers. 6.30 Pawn Stars. 7.30 Highway Patrol. 8.00 The Force: BTL. 8.30 World’s Wildest Police Videos. 10.30 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 2.00 Fairly Legal. 3.40 Bondi Vet. 4.35 Modern Family. 5.00 First Dates Australia. 6.00 Modern Family. 6.30 Weddings Make You Laugh Out Loud. 7.30 First Dates UK. 8.35 Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA. 10.35 Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. 11.35 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 3.00 News. 4.00 Afternoon Briefing.

6.00 Morning Programs. 12.00 ABC News At Noon. 1.00 Australia’s Wild Odyssey. 1.55 Anh’s Brush With Fame. 2.25 Back Roads. 2.55 Restoration Australia. 3.55 Griff’s Great Australian Rail Trip. 4.40 Grand Designs. 5.30 Antiques Roadshow.

6.30 Hard Quiz. 7.00 ABC News. 7.30 7.30. 8.00 Foreign Correspondent. 8.30 Grand Designs: The Streets. 9.20 Troppo. 10.15 ABC Late News. 10.30 The Business. 10.45 Talking Heads. 11.15 Grand Designs. 12.05 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 1.00 Escape To The Country. 2.00 South Aussie With Cosi. 2.30 The Hotel Inspector. 3.30 Harry’s Practice. 4.00 Medical Emergency. 4.30 Better Homes. 5.30 Escape To The Country. 6.30 Bargain Hunt. 7.30 Father Brown. 8.30 McDonald And Dodds. 10.30 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 1.15 MythBusters. 2.05 ER. 2.50 Doctor Who. 3.40 Speechless. 4.05 Would I Lie To You?

4.35 MythBusters. 5.25 Amazing Spaces. 6.15 Car S.O.S. 7.00 My Family. 7.30 Would I Lie To You? 9.00 Gruen. 9.40 Monday’s Experts. 10.10 ER. 11.40 Late Programs.

6.00 Sunrise. 9.00 The Morning Show. 11.30 Seven Morning News. 12.00 MOVIE: Hidden Intentions. (2018) 2.00 Surveillance Oz. 2.15 Catch Phrase. 3.00 The Chase. 4.00 Seven News At 4. 5.00 The Chase Australia. 6.00 7News Local. 6.30 7News @ 6:30. 7.00 Home And Away. 8.30 Homicide: With Ron Iddles. 9.30 Air Crash Investigations. 10.30 Starstruck. 1.00 The Goldbergs. 2.00 Home Shopping. 4.00 Million Dollar Minute. 5.00 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 2.00 Motor MythBusters. 3.00 Billy The Exterminator. 3.30 Close Encounters Down Under. 4.30 Storage Wars. 5.00 American Restoration. 5.30 American Pickers. 6.30 Pawn Stars. 7.30 Full Custom Garage. 8.30 MOVIE: Bad Boys For Life. (2020) 11.05 Late Programs.

6.00 Kids’ Programs. 6.25 The Adventures Of Paddington. 7.05 Andy And The Band. 7.35 The Inbestigators. 7.50 Little Lunch. 8.05 Fresh Off The Boat. 8.25 Matilda And The Ramsay Bunch. 8.50 Muster Dogs. 9.45 Style It Out. 10.15 Doctor Who. 11.05 Late Programs.

6.00 Sunrise. 9.00 The Morning Show. 11.30 Seven Morning News. 12.00 MOVIE: Heaven. (2019) 2.00 Surveillance Oz. 2.15 Catch Phrase. 3.00 The Chase. 4.00 Seven News At 4. 5.00 The Chase Australia. 6.00 7News Local. 6.30 7News @ 6:30. 7.00 Better Homes And Gardens. 8.30 MOVIE: Fifty Shades Darker. (2016) Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Kim Basinger. 11.00 To Be Advised. 1.00 Criminal Confessions. 2.00 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs.

2.30 Weekender. 3.00 The Great Australian Doorstep. 3.30 Harry’s Practice. 4.00 Medical Emergency. 4.30 Better Homes. 5.30 Escape To The Country. 6.30 Bargain Hunt. 7.30 Extreme Railways. 8.30 Escape To The Country. 10.30 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 2.00 Secrets Of The Supercars. 3.00 Timbersports. 3.30 Close Encounters Down Under. 4.30 Storage Wars. 5.00 American Restoration. 5.30 American Pickers. 6.30 Pawn Stars. 7.00 AFL. Western Bulldogs v Melbourne. 10.00 Late Programs.

6.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 4: Early morning. 7.00 Today In Paris. 11.00 9News Morning. 12.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024: Encore. 3.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 5: Afternoon. 6.00 9News. 7.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 5: Night. 10.30 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 5: Early morning. 12.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 5: Post midnight. 3.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 5: Overnight. 5.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 5: Early morning. 6.00 Morning Programs. 1.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024: Replay. Replay of the action from Day 4. 5.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 5: Afternoon. 6.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 5: Night. 10.30 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 5: Late night. 12.00 Late Programs.

6.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 5: Early morning. 7.00 Today In Paris. 11.00 9News Morning. 12.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024: Encore. 3.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 6: Afternoon. 6.00 9News. 7.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 6: Night. 7.50 Rugby League. NRL. Round 22. Wests Tigers v North Queensland Cowboys. 9.45 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 6: Night. 10.30 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 6: Late night. 12.00 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 2.45 Mesmerised. 3.15 Bondi Vet. 4.00 Modern Family. 4.30 Black-ish. 5.00 Grand Crew. 5.30 The Goldbergs. 6.00 Modern Family. 6.35 Dads Make You Laugh Out Loud. 7.30 First Dates UK. 8.35 Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. 10.45 First Dates UK. 11.40 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 3.00 News. 4.00 Afternoon Briefing. 5.00 News With Joe O’Brien. 6.00 ABC News Hour. 7.00 National News. 7.30 ABC Evening News. 8.00 ABC News Tonight. 8.45 The Business. 9.00 The World. 10.00 Nightly News. 10.30 Late Programs.

6.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 6: Early morning. 7.00 Today In Paris. 11.00 9News Morning. 12.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024: Encore. 3.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 7: Afternoon. 6.00 9News. 7.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 7: Night. 8.00 Rugby League. NRL. Round 22. Dolphins v Sydney Roosters. 9.55 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 7: Night. 10.30 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 7: Late night. 12.00 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 3.00 Mesmerised. 3.30 Modern Family. 4.00 Dads Make You Laugh Out Loud. 5.00 Baking It. 6.00 Dodger. 7.00 MOVIE: Stuart Little 2. (2002) 8.30 MOVIE: As Good As It Gets. (1997) Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt. 11.20 MOVIE: Love, Simon. (2018) 1.40 Late Programs.

Afternoon Briefing. 5.00

News Hour. 7.00

Evening

6.00 Morning Programs. 12.00 10 News First: Midday. 1.00 Entertainment Tonight. 1.30 Judge Judy. 2.00 To Be Advised. 3.00 Everyday Gourmet With Justine Schofield. 3.30 10 News First: Afternoon. 4.00 Neighbours. 4.30 The Bold And The Beautiful. 5.00 10 News First. 6.00 Deal Or No Deal. 6.30 The Project. 7.30 Bondi Rescue. 8.30 Ambulance Australia. 9.30 FBI: International. 10.30 10’s Late News. 10.55 The Project. 12.00 Late Programs. 6.00 Home Shopping. 8.00 What’s Up Down Under. 8.30 Diagnosis Murder. 10.30 JAG. 12.30 Bull. 1.30 NCIS. 2.30 Jake And The Fatman. 3.30 Diagnosis Murder. 5.30 JAG. 7.30 NCIS. 9.25

6.00 Morning Programs. 12.00 10 News First: Midday. 1.00 Entertainment Tonight. 1.30 Judge Judy. 2.00 Taskmaster Australia. 3.00 Everyday Gourmet With Justine Schofield. 3.30 10 News First: Afternoon. 4.00 Neighbours. 4.30 The Bold And The Beautiful. 5.00 10 News First. 6.00 Deal Or No Deal. 6.30 The Project. 7.30 The Dog House Australia. 8.40 Law & Order: SVU. 10.35 10’s Late News. 11.00

Gourmet. 4.30 Friends. 5.30 The Big Bang Theory. 6.30 Neighbours. 7.00 Friends. 8.00 The Big Bang Theory. 9.30 Two And A Half Men. 10.00 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 10.05 Great Canal Journeys. 11.00 Living In A Postcard. 12.00 WorldWatch. 2.15

6.00 Morning Programs. 8.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024: Replay. Replay of the action from Day 5. 5.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 6: Afternoon. 6.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 6: Night. 10.30 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 6: Late night. 12.00 Late Programs.

Band. 7.35 Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures. 8.00 Hard Quiz Kids. 8.35 Operation Ouch! 9.05 Officially Amazing. 9.35 Dragon Ball Super. 9.55 Supernatural Academy. 10.20 The PM’s Daughter. 10.45 Late Programs. 6.00 Morning Programs. 2.10 ER. 2.55 Doctor Who. 3.40 Speechless. 4.05 Would I Lie To You? 4.35 MythBusters. 5.25 Amazing Spaces. 6.15 Car S.O.S. 7.00 My Family. 7.30 Would I Lie To You? 8.30 MOVIE: Snitch. (2013) 10.20 ER. 11.45 Rage. 12.50 Late Programs. 6.00 WorldWatch. 9.00 Paul O’Grady: For The Love Of Dogs. 10.00 Great Canal Journeys. 10.55 Britain’s Biggest Dig. 12.00 WorldWatch. 2.00 Animal Einsteins. 3.00 NITV News: Nula. 3.30 The Cook Up. 4.00 Garma Festival 2024. 5.30

8.00 Planet America: Fireside Chat. 8.45 ABC News Tonight. 9.00 The World. 9.30 Close Of Business. 10.00 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 12.00 10 News First: Midday. 1.00 Entertainment Tonight. 1.30 Judge Judy. 2.00 Dr Phil. 3.00 Everyday Gourmet With Justine Schofield. 3.30 10 News First: Afternoon. 4.00 My Market Kitchen. 4.30 The Bold And The Beautiful. 5.00 10 News First. 6.00 Deal Or No Deal. 6.30 The Project. 7.30 Have You Been Paying Attention? 8.30 The Graham Norton Show. 9.30 The Cheap Seats. 10.30 10’s Late News. 10.55 The Project. 12.00 Late Programs. 6.00 Home Shopping. 8.00 What’s Up Down Under. 8.30 Diagnosis Murder. 10.30 JAG. 12.30 Bull. 1.30 NCIS. 2.30 Jake And The Fatman. 3.30 Diagnosis Murder. 5.30 JAG. 7.30 NCIS. 9.25 FBI: Most Wanted. 11.15 Blue Bloods. 12.15 Home Shopping. 2.15 Late Programs. 6.00 Morning Programs. 1.30 Becker. 2.00 Rules Of Engagement. 2.30 King Of Queens. 3.00 Frasier. 4.00 Everyday Gourmet. 4.30 Friends. 5.30 The Big Bang Theory. 6.30 Friends. 8.00 The Big Bang Theory. 9.30 Two And A Half Men. 10.00 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 8.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024: Replay. Replay of the action from Day 6. 5.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 7: Afternoon. 6.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 7: Night. 10.30 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 7: Late night. 12.00 Late Programs.

ABC SEVEN NINE

TEN SBS

6.00 Rage Charts. 7.00 Weekend Breakfast. 9.00 Rage. 12.00 ABC News At Noon. 12.30 Unforgotten. 1.15 Vera. 2.45 Sister Boniface Mysteries. 3.35 The Greek Islands With Julia Bradbury. 4.00 Spicks And Specks. Final. 4.30 Freeman. 5.30 Landline. 6.00 Stuff The British Stole. 6.30 I Was Actually There. 7.00 ABC News. 7.30 Sister Boniface Mysteries. 8.15 Van Der Valk. 9.50 Fifteen-Love. 10.40 The Beast Must Die. 11.25 Rage.

6.00 Morning Programs. 12.00 House Of Wellness. 1.00 Escape To The Country. 3.00 Chris Tarrant’s Extreme Railways. 4.00 Escape To The Country. 5.00 Bargain Hunt. 6.00 Heathrow. 6.30 The Highland Vet. 7.30 The Yorkshire Vet. 8.30 Escape To The Country. 11.30 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 12.15 MOVIE: Girl With A Pearl Earring. (2003) 1.50 Portlandia. 2.20 ER. 3.05 Penn & Teller: Fool Us. 3.45 Speechless. 4.05 Would I Lie To You? 4.35 MythBusters. 5.25 Amazing Spaces. 6.15 Car S.O.S. 7.00 Would I Lie To You? 8.00 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 10.00 Offsiders. 10.30 The World This Week. 11.00 Compass. 11.30 Songs Of Praise. 12.00 ABC News At Noon. 12.30 Landline. 1.30 Love Your Garden. 2.20 Grand Designs: The Streets. 3.05 Dream Gardens. 3.40 Extraordinary Escapes. 4.30 Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery. 5.00 Restoration Australia. 6.00 Antiques Roadshow. 7.00 ABC News. 7.30 Vera. 9.00 Fifteen-Love. 9.55 Unforgotten. 10.45 Fisk. 11.10 Annika. 11.55 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 1.00 The Highland Vet. 2.00 South Aussie With Cosi. 2.30 Discover. 3.00 My Greek Odyssey. 4.00 Bondi Vet. 5.00 Escape To The Country. 6.00 Greatest Escapes To The Country. 6.45 Escape To The Country. 7.45 Mrs Brown’s Boys. 8.35 Endeavour. 10.35 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 2.15

ER. 3.00 Penn & Teller: Fool Us. 3.40 Speechless. Final. 4.05 Would I Lie To You? 4.35 MythBusters. 5.25 Amazing Spaces. 6.15 Car S.O.S. 7.00 Would I Lie To You? 8.00 QI. 8.30 Stuff The British Stole. 9.35 Take 5. 10.05 Late Programs.

6.00 Better Homes And Gardens. 7.00 Weekend Sunrise. 10.00 The Morning Show: Weekend. 12.00 Horse Racing. VRC Season Premiere Race Day, Rosehill Gardens Raceday and Teddy Bears Picnic at the Races. 5.00 Seven News At 5. 5.30 Border Security: Australia’s Front Line. 6.00 Seven News. 7.00 Border Security: Australia’s Front Line. 7.30 Football. AFL. Round 21. Port Adelaide v Sydney. 10.30 To Be Advised. 12.30 Boy To Man. 1.30 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 3.00 NDRC Top Doorslammer. H’lights. 4.00 BarrettJackson: Revved Up. 5.00 Counting Cars. 5.30 Storage Wars. 6.00 Pawn Stars. 7.00 Storage Wars. 7.30 MOVIE: Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit. (1993) 9.50 MOVIE: Sisters. (2015) 12.20 Late Programs.

6.00 Kids’ Programs. 6.05 Kiya And The Kimoja Heroes. 6.25 Pfffirates. 7.05 Karma’s World. 7.30 Hard Quiz Kids. 7.55 The Crystal Maze. 8.45 All-Round Champion. 9.35 MOVIE: Nancy Drew. (2007) 11.10 Good Game Spawn Point. 11.30 Late Programs.

6.00 Better Homes And Gardens. 7.00 Weekend Sunrise. 10.00 The Morning Show: Weekend. 12.00 Jabba’s Movies. 12.30 Border Security: International. 1.00 Football. AFL. Round 21. GWS Giants v Hawthorn. 4.00 Better Homes And Gardens. 5.00 Seven News At 5. 5.30 Sydney Weekender. 6.00 Seven News. 7.00 Dancing With The Stars. 9.25 Miniseries: Malpractice. 11.30 Born To Kill? 12.30 Lipstick Jungle. 1.30 Harry’s Practice. 2.00 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 1.00 Tackling Australia. 1.30 Fish’n Mates. 2.00 Fishy Business. 2.30 Step Outside. 3.00 Fishing Addiction. 4.00 Big Shrimpin’. 5.00 Storage Wars: NY. 6.00 Border Security: Int. 7.00 Border Security. 8.30 MOVIE: Transporter 3. (2008) 10.40 Late Programs.

6.00 Kids’ Programs. 6.05 Kiya And The Kimoja Heroes. 6.25 Pfffirates. 7.05 Karma’s World. 7.30 MOVIE: The Secret Garden. (1993) 9.05 Fresh Off The Boat. 10.10 Doctor Who. 10.55 Merlin. 11.45 RCO: Järvi Conducts Mozart And Schumann. 1.00 Late Programs.

6.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 7: Early morning. 7.00 Today In Paris. 11.00

9News Morning Weekend. 12.00 Olympic

Games Paris 2024: Encore. 3.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 8: Afternoon. 6.00 9News Saturday. 7.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 8: Night. 10.30 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 8. Late night. 12.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 8: Post midnight. 3.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 8: Overnight. 5.00 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 11.25 Yummy Mummies. 11.50 Bringing Sexy Back. 1.15 Dancing With The Stars: All Stars. 3.15 Britain’s Got Talent. 5.15 MOVIE: A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood. (2019) 7.30 MOVIE: Hitch. (2005) Will Smith. 10.00 MOVIE: Old. (2021) 12.15 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs.

7.30 Compass. 8.00 News Tonight. 8.15 Four Corners. 9.00 Late Programs.

6.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 8: Early morning. 7.00 Today In Paris. 11.00 9News Morning Weekend. 12.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024: Encore. 3.30 Rugby League. NRL. Round 24. Canterbury Bulldogs v Canberra Raiders. 6.00 9News Sunday. 7.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 9: Night. 10.30 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 9: Late night. 12.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 9: Post midnight. 3.00 Late Programs.

6.00 Get Clever. 7.00 Get Arty. 8.00 It’s Academic. 9.00 Kitty Is Not A Cat. 10.00 Dream Academy. 10.45 Britain’s Got Talent. 12.50 Home And Away. 3.30 To Be Advised. 5.30 Puppy School. 6.30 Bondi Vet. 7.30 Law & Order: Criminal Intent. 8.30 Law & Order: SVU. 10.30 Law & Order. 11.30 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 2.00 News. 2.30 Creative Types. 3.00 News. 3.30 Offsiders. 4.00 Landline. 5.00 News With Auslan. 5.30 News Regional. 6.00 Evening News. 6.30 Foreign Correspondent. 7.00 National News. 7.30 Insiders. 8.30 News Tonight. 9.00 Nightly News. 9.30 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 1.00 This Rugged Coast. 2.00 Weekender. 2.30 My Greek Odyssey. 3.30 Harry’s Practice. 4.00 Medical Emergency. 4.30 Better Homes. 5.30 I Escaped To The Country. 6.30 Bargain Hunt. 7.30 Doc Martin. 8.30 Foyle’s War. 10.30 Late Programs.

Seven News At 4. 5.00 The Chase Australia. 6.00 7News Local. 6.30 7News @ 6:30. 7.00 Home And Away. 7.30 Border Security: Australia’s Front Line. 8.30 Alert: Missing Persons Unit. 10.30

S.W.A.T. 12.30 The Event. 2.30 Home Shopping. 4.00 Million Dollar Minute. 5.00 Sunrise 5am News. 5.30 Sunrise.

6.00 Morning Programs. 3.00 Austn Rally C’ship. The Middle of Everywhere Gippsland Rally. H’lights. 3.30 Storage Wars. 4.30 American Restoration. 5.30 American Pickers. 6.30 Pawn Stars. 7.30 Outback Opal Hunters. 8.30 Gem Hunters Down Under. 9.30 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 12.00 ABC News At Noon. 1.00 Van Der Valk. 2.30 I Was Actually There. 2.55 Restoration Australia. 3.55 Griff’s Great Australian Rail Trip. 4.40 Grand Designs. 5.30 Back Roads. 6.00 Hard Quiz. 6.30 Monday’s Experts. Final. 7.00 ABC News. 7.30 7.30. 8.00 Stuff The British Stole. Final. 8.30 Four Corners. 9.15 Media Watch. 9.35 Monday’s Experts. Final. 10.05 You Can’t Ask That. 10.35 ABC Late News. 10.50 The Business. 11.10 Planet America. 11.40 Late Programs. 6.00 Kids’ Programs. 6.25 The Adventures Of Paddington. 7.05 Riley Rocket. 7.35 The Inbestigators. 7.50 Little Lunch. 8.05 Fresh Off The Boat. 8.25 Matilda And The Ramsay Bunch. 8.50 Style It Out. 9.20 Further Back In Time For Dinner. 10.15 Doctor Who. 11.00 Late Programs. 6.00 Morning Programs.

6.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 9: Early morning. 7.00 Today In Paris. 11.00 9News Morning. 12.00 Olympic

Games Paris 2024: Encore. 3.00 Olympic

Games Paris 2024. Day 10: Afternoon. 6.00 9News. 7.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 10: Night. 10.30 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 10: Late night. 12.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 10: Post midnight. 3.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 10: Overnight. 5.00 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 2.45 Malaysia Kitchen. 3.10 Bondi Vet. 4.00 Grand Crew. 4.30 Glee. 5.30 The Goldbergs. 6.00 Modern Family. 6.30 Cats Make You Laugh Out Loud. 7.30 Law & Order: Criminal Intent. 8.30 Law & Order: SVU. 10.30 Law & Order: LA. 11.30 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 3.00

6.00 Morning Programs. 10.00 Deal Or No Deal: Celebrity Jackpot. 11.00 Healthy Homes. 11.30 The Drew Barrymore Show. 1.00 Good Chef Bad Chef. 1.30 Farm To Fork. 2.00 Pooches At Play. 2.30 Everyday Gourmet With Justine Schofield. 3.00 My Market Kitchen. 3.30 The Big Bang Theory. 4.30 Deal Or No Deal. 5.00 10 News First. 6.00 The Dog House Australia. 7.00 The Dog House. 8.00 To Be Advised. 9.00 Ambulance UK. 11.30 Late Programs. 6.00 Home Shopping. 9.00 Pooches At Play. 9.30 Diagnosis Murder. 11.30 Taste Of Australia: BBQ. 12.00 Jake And The Fatman. 1.00 JAG. 3.00 Tough Tested. Return. 4.00 All 4 Adventure. 5.00 Reel Action. 5.30 JAG. 7.30 NCIS. 9.25 Bull. 12.15 Blue Bloods. 2.05 Late Programs. 6.00 Morning Programs. 12.00 The King Of Queens. 12.30 Two And A

6.00 Morning Programs. 8.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024: Replay. Replay of the action from Day 7. 5.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 8: Afternoon. 6.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 8: Night. 10.30 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 8: Late night. 12.00 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 11.00 To Be Advised. 12.00 Farm To Fork. 12.30 Cook With Luke. 1.00 My Market Kitchen. 1.30 Good Chef Bad Chef. 2.00 Everyday Gourmet With Justine Schofield. 2.30 Food Trail: South Africa. 3.00 Hungry. 3.30 The Big Bang Theory. 4.30 Deal Or No Deal. 5.00 10 News First. 6.30 The Sunday Project. 7.30 MOVIE:

6.00 WorldWatch. 9.00 Garma Bunngul 2024. 10.00 Garma Festival Forums 2024.

6.00 WorldWatch. 9.00 Garma Bunngul 2024. 10.00 Garma Festival Forums 2024. 12.00 WorldWatch. 12.30 PBS Washington Week With The Atlantic. 1.00 Speedweek. 3.10 Portillo’s Greatest Railway Journeys. 4.05 Ireland In Music: Sclimpini. 4.35 Britain’s Scenic Railways. 5.30 The Books He Didn’t Burn. 6.30 News. 7.30 Mayhem: Secret Lives Of Georgian Kings. 9.20 Raising The Mary Rose: The Lost Tapes. 10.15 Ukraine: Life Under Attack. 11.10 Late Programs. 6.00

6.00 Morning Programs. 8.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024: Replay. Replay of the action from Day 8. 5.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 9: Afternoon. 6.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 9: Night. 10.30 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 9: Late night. 12.00 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 12.00 10 News First: Midday. 1.00 Ent. Tonight. 1.30 Judge Judy. 2.00 To Be Advised. 3.00 Everyday Gourmet With Justine Schofield. 3.30 10 News First: Afternoon. 4.00 Neighbours. 4.30 The Bold And The Beautiful. 5.00 10 News First. 6.00 Deal Or No Deal. 6.30 The Project. 7.30 Deal Or No Deal: Celebrity Jackpot. 8.30 Have You Been Paying Attention? 9.30 Ghosts. 10.25 10’s Late News. 10.50 The Project. 11.55 Late Programs. 6.00 Morning Programs. 8.30 Deal Or No Deal. 9.30 Reel Action. 10.30 JAG. 11.30 Diagnosis Murder. 12.30 Bull. 1.30 NCIS. 2.30

2.55 Doctor Who. 3.40 Fresh Off The Boat. 4.00 Would I Lie To You? 4.35 MythBusters. 5.25 Amazing Spaces. 6.15 Car S.O.S. 7.00 My Family. 7.30 Would I Lie To You? 8.30 Penn & Teller: Fool Us. 9.15 MythBusters. 10.05 Late Programs. 6.00 WorldWatch. 9.00 Garma Bunngul 2024. 10.10 Great Canal Journeys. 11.05 Britain’s Biggest Dig. 12.10 WorldWatch. 2.10 The Great Separation. 3.40 The Cook Up. 4.10 Jeopardy! 5.00 Letters And Numbers. 5.30 Mastermind Aust. 6.00 Garma

6.00 Morning Programs. 8.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024: Replay. Replay of the action from Day 9. 5.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 10: Afternoon. 6.00 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 10: Night. 10.30 Olympic Games Paris 2024. Day 10: Late night. 12.00 Late Programs.

Engagement. 2.30 King Of Queens. 3.00 Frasier. 4.00 Everyday Gourmet. 4.30 Friends. 5.30 The Big Bang Theory. 6.30 Neighbours. 7.00 Friends. 8.00 The Big Bang Theory. 9.30 Two And

Million Dollar Minute. 5.00 Sunrise 5am News. 5.30 Sunrise. 6.00 Morning Programs. 1.00 I Escaped To The Country. 2.00 Creek To Coast. 2.30 Great Rail Restorations. 3.30 Harry’s Practice. 4.00 Medical Emergency. 4.30 Better Homes. 5.30 I Escaped To The Country. 6.30 Bargain Hunt. 7.30 Call The Midwife. 8.45 A Touch Of Frost. 11.00 Late Programs.

6.00 Morning Programs. 1.00 Outback Opal Hunters. 2.00 Gem Hunters Down Under. 3.00 Billy The Exterminator. 3.30 Truck Night In America. 4.30 Storage Wars. 5.00 American Restoration. 5.30 American Pickers. 6.30 Pawn Stars. 7.30 Outback Truckers. 9.30 Kings Of Pain. 10.30 Late Programs.

5.00 Late Programs.

Morning Programs. 8.00

Games

of

11:

6.00

10.30

Paris 2024. Day 11: Late night. 12.00 Late Programs. 6.00 Morning Programs. 2.45 Malaysia Kitchen. 3.10 Bondi Vet. 4.00 Modern Family. 4.30 Glee. 5.30 The Goldbergs. 6.00 Modern Family. 6.30 Magic Makes You Laugh Out Loud. 7.30 First Dates UK. 8.35 MOVIE: Never Been Kissed. (1999) 10.50 Magic Makes You Laugh Out Loud. 11.50 Late Programs. 6.00 Morning Programs. 12.00 10 News First: Midday. 1.00

JULY 31 - AUGUST 6 | 2024

Perfect treechange, home and business

ADDRESS: ‘The Drovers Rest’, 785

THE Drovers Rest offers a fantastic opportunity for any prospective purchaser to secure real property and a dog and cat boarding business.

The Drovers Rest was originally established in 2001 by the current owners, building an outstanding database of roughly 3,500 clients over the years. Their dedication and hard work have paid off in the way of

regular return business from a large percentage of their clients.

The pet resort component of

The Drovers Rest features a 60run dog kennel including 14 outdoor yards, accommodating up to 80 dogs during peak periods, plus a cattery accommodating up to 20 cats under the current arrangement.

All four legged customers are greeted in the front of office and reception area, and may be treated to a spa day in the dog wash and grooming space during their stay at the property.

In addition to the fine facilities for the four-legged customers, you will find a lovely four bedroom, one bathroom main house to reside in.

Features include a spacious family room, open plan kitchen/ living/dining, separate WC, internal laundry, verandah and an outdoor entertaining area.

As well as a standalone one bedroom granny flat, perfect for guests or perhaps as an additional income stream.

Further infrastructure includes a 10.5m x 7m garage/

workshop, bore, dam, and 65,000L of water storage over four tanks.

Situated on approximately 6.50 hectares or 15.57 acres fenced into four paddocks plus house yard, lightly timbered by eucalyptus, pines and deciduous trees.

The Drovers Rest has an unsurpassable reputation for its high standards of care for all four-legged customers and is easily operated by two people with occasional help at peak times.

The business has functioned as a profitable operation for some 20 years by the current owners. The Drovers Rest offers a fantastic opportunity for the future custodians and is not one to miss.

The Drovers Rest, 785 Dry Plains Road, Wambrook, NSW 2630 is for sale, asking $1,800,000, property and business sold as a going concern.

To find out more or book your private inspection, contact the KMPL sales team on 02 6456 6783.

Opportunity awaits

Address: Hylands, 3657 Shannons Flat Road, Shannons Flat NSW 2630

HYLANDS is situated in a desirable location for those looking to get out of town but still be within reach of town’s amenities. A comfortable drive to Cooma and Adaminaby alike as well as 1 ¼ hours or so to Canberra. The property is zoned RU1, a detached dual occupancy is possible under the current LEP, subject to all relevant approvals. An existing dwelling of circa 1950s, twobedroom cottage, with timber floors throughout, kitchen/dining open plan. Mains power, single phase and landline phone all available. Rainwater tank as well as two workshops, sheds or garages. There is also an excellent dam on the property and a spring.

Hylands offers boundless opportunities for the potential buyer, whether it be to renovate the existing cottage, build your own forever home, provide an additional income stream, your own getaway/retreat or value add to existing property. Located on the doorstep of the best fishing in the Snowy’s and close to ski resorts, the location is ideal to make the most of what the Snowy Mountains has to offer.

Do not hesitate to find out more or book your private inspection! Contact the KMPL sales team on 02 6456 6783. Hylands 3657 Shannons Flat Road, Shannons Flat NSW 2630 goes to online auction on Tuesday August 13, 2024, at 6.30pm via the Realtair website.

• Located some 30 minutes drive north of Cooma

• Circa 1950’s 2 bedroom cottage, timber floors throughout

• Kitchen dining open plan

• Indoor bathroom

• Mains power, single phase, landline phone

• Rainwater tank

• Excellent dam and spring

• Two workshops, sheds or garages

• Fenced into one paddock AGENTS COMMENTS:

“Hylands” is located a comfortable drive to Cooma and Adaminaby alike as well as 1 ¼ hours or so to Canberra. Perfectly situated for those looking to add value. “Hylands” would make a great getaway close by to some of the best fishing in the Snowy’s, alternatively renovate and make it your permanent home. Zoned RU1, a detached dual occupancy is possible under the current LEP subject to all relevant approvals of course. Build your dream home, plus get some rental income from the original cottage. This property must be sold so don’t hesitate and contact our sales team now!

Contact:

Mackay

6783

Rare opportunity to own a piece of Jindabyne history

Address: 21 Park Road, Jindabyne NSW 2627

JINDABYNE’S 21 Park Road is located in the heart of town on a gently undulating 720.80m2 block. Offering a unique chance to secure your own piece of history being the first home finished and lived in, in the new town of Jindabyne in 1964. Three bedroom home with two separate living spaces, open plan kitchen/dining, centrally located bathroom, separate WC, internal laundry. A north facing verandah, front and rear access, garage at the rear and excellent drive-

way access to large backyard. Situated desirably with a northern aspect boasting some remarkable lake views as far as Kalkite waters and is only a short distance to shops and schools. Live in the home as it is, renovate or redevelop the property to make it your own, the choice is yours.

Don’t miss your chance to own a piece of history in a highly sought-after location. Opportunities like this do not arise often.

To find out more or book your private inspection, contact the KMPL sales team on 02 6456 6783.

• Located in the heart of Jindabyne

Snowy Monaro

Acquire Your own hidden gem

Address: “Najee” 817 Numeralla Road, Bunyan NSW 2630

ONLY a short distance from town but far enough to enjoy country living, “Najee” offers an excellent opportunity to secure a little known about and seldom seen gem. Approximately 161.87 ha or 400 acres, this block presents the perfect opportunity to acquire an excellent small grazing holding.

Located a little more than eight kilometres from Cooma along Numeralla Road, accessed via a further 1.8km of crown gravel road guaranteeing privacy. Soils mostly volcanic derived ranging from heavier red basalt to lighter sandier dark red basalt, alluvial flats and heavier red loam type soils, scattered seams of limestone as well as pink and white quartz in places. Bound by Rock Flat Creek along its entire eastern boundary. Fenced into five paddocks including one lucerne paddock and evidence of previous pasture improvement over the years.

Aside from the land, this property also includes a circa 1988 Huxley brick veneer home, offering four bedrooms (master with ensuite), open plan kitchen/dining/family room, second living area. Second bathroom, separate WC, internal laundry. Northerly facing paved outdoor entertaining area, two car garage with internal access. Other infrastructure includes three rainwater tanks (totalling approx. 160,000L of storage), three bay machinery shed, three

bay hay shed, steel cattle yards.

The sale of “Najee” offers potential buyers the chance to secure a perfect starter or add on block and own an outstanding small grazing holding. Zoned RU1, a dual occupancy is possible which may lead to other opportunities. The current LEP also provides an option for further subdivision with a minimum lot size of 80 Ha stipulated in the LEP. All of this, subject to approval from all the relevant authorities of course.

Don’t miss your chance to make this property your own. “Najee” 817 Numeralla Road, Bunyan NSW 2630 goes to online auction on Tuesday August 27, 2024 at 6.30pm via the Realtair website.

Contact the KMPL office to find out more.

• Located a little more than 8km from Cooma along Numeralla Road, accessed via a further 1.8km of crown gravel road guaranteeing privacy

• A little known and seldom seen absolute gem, small acreage grazing property

• Bound by Rock Flat Creek along its entire eastern boundary

• Soils mostly volcanic derived ranging from heavier red basalt to lighter sandier dark red basalt, alluvial flats and heavier red loam type soils, scattered seams of limestone as well as pink and white quartz in places

• Some evidence of pasture improvement over the years with phalaris, cocksfoot and some clover still present

• Fenced into five paddocks including one lucerne paddock

• Circa 1988 built Huxley brick veneer home in original condition, offering 4 bedrooms (master with ensuite), open plan kitchen/dining/family room, second living area. Second bathroom, separate WC, internal laundry. Northerly facing paved outdoor entertaining area

• Two car garage with internal access

• Established garden and grounds in need of some TLC

• Mains power, internet, landline phone

• Three rainwater tanks totalling approx. 160,000L of storage

• Three bay machinery shed approx. 15m x 6m

• Three bay hay shed approx. 7m x 10m

• Steel cattle yards

AGENTS COMMENTS: The sale of “Najee”

an

This

Dual access building block

Address: 53 Chusan Street, Bombala

Asking: $140,000

Agent: Nutrien Harcourts Bombala

This is a great opportunity for the astute developer to purchase a residential building block with loads of potential. Featuring dual access to Chusan and Warne Street, the block is 2022m2*, perfect for those looking for a dual occupancy/subdivision** development opportunity or to have a larger single residence with magnificent views over the Bombala township. The block has all town services nearby for connection (water, sewerage, natural gas, electricity, NBN). Neighbourhood park is 200m*

from the block and the local Bombala golf course is 400m*.

No matter what your residential development dream is, this could be the answer.

*approximate value

**subject to council approval

Mackay

02 6456 6783 W: kirshnermackay.com.au

Online Auction: Tuesday 27th August 2024 Commencing 6:30pm Venue: Online Auction Website Realtair Inspect: By Appointment with Exclusive Agent Only.

10 easy decor tips to lift your mood, reduce financial stress at home

INTERIOR designer Kellie Richardson shares her top tips for improving the look and feel of a home.

It’s no secret that many Australians are feeling the pinch of interest rate rises and the increasing cost-of-living pressures. This increased financial stress means many people are spending more time at home to reduce costs and keep spending down.

Kellie Richardson, founder of Melbourne-based Kurved by Design, believes increased time at home is leading to low moods for many Australians.

1. Declutter and organise

The top tip on Richardson’s list is to get rid of anything you don’t need and organise what you do.

Clear out unnecessary items to create a sense of space and order.Be ruthless. Maintain your belongings neatly organised to promote a calm and serene environment.

2. Enhance natural light

There’s nothing like natural light to boost your mood and dramatically change the look and feel of a home. “Light is uplifting,” Richardson says. “Keep windows clean and un-

obstructed to allow natural light to flow in.

Richardson also recommends making use of decor you already have to brighten your space. “Place mirrors strategically to reflect light and make the space feel larger and brighter,” she says.

3. Incorporate plants

Introducing plants into your interiors improves the look and health of your home.

Bringing the outdoors in not only changes the look of your home, it can also have health benefits including improved air quality.

“Add indoor plants to bring life and freshness into your home,” Richardson says.

“Plants like peace lilies, snake plants, and jade plants are good for Feng Shui. Place plants in areas that need more vitality and energy, such as corners or next to electronics.”

4. Use calming colours

If you do intend to add new items into your home or dabble with a fresh paint job, Richardson recommends opting for calming colours that increase positivity.

“Light blues, greens and earthy tones are great for cre-

ating a relaxing atmosphere,” she says. “Use vibrant colours like red, orange, and yellow sparingly to energise specific areas.”

5. Balance the elements

Balancing the elements within your home is an important part of Feng Shui.

When executed correctly, Feng Shui is believed to create harmony and peace within a home and increase prosperity. One way to achieve this is to balance the elements within your home.

Introduce water features like a small fountain or aquarium to add tranquillity.

Use candles to introduce the fire element, which adds warmth and passion.

Incorporate wooden furniture or decor to bring stability and growth. Add metal accents to create clarity and precision and use crystals, stones, or clay pots to ground and stabilise the energy.

6. Enhance air quality

Enhancing the air quality within your home and introducing beautiful scents can go a long way to creating a happier and lighter mood.

“Ensure good airflow by

Lot 17, 18, 19, 20 Percy Harris Street, Jindabyne

AUCTION: 29th August at 2pm

Presenting four commercial blocks located in the industrial area of Jindabyne in Leesville Estate, just 5 minutes from the centre of town. The blocks are zoned IN1 General Industrial, which offers flexible usage for various industrial activities.

The blocks have registered titles. This allows a DA to be submitted and to then move forward to the construction phase.

opening windows regularly and using air purifiers,” says Richardson. “Use essential oils or incense to introduce pleasant scents that uplift your mood.”

7. Create a welcoming entrance

The age-old adage first impressions last is not only true for people, but also for your home.

“Keep the area around your front door clean and inviting,” Richardson says.

“Use a welcome mat and good lighting. Decorate the entryway with uplifting art or plants to create a positive first impression.”

8. Incorporate soothing sounds

Just as smell creates a positive mood, sound is another powerful sense that can be used to create a harmonious home.

“Hang wind-chimes near windows or doors to create soothing sounds that enhance chi (energy) flow,” Richardson says. “Play calming or uplifting music to create a positive atmosphere.”

9. Add personal touches

No one wants their home to feel like a display house. Incorporating items that have a special meaning, or simply remind you of happy times, is a great way to boost your mood.

“Display family photos, artwork and items that have sentimental value to make the space feel more personal and uplifting,” says Richardson. “Include items related to your hobbies and interests to make the space feel uniquely yours.”

10. Improve bedroom Feng Shui

It’s essential to create a bedroom set-up that encourages a good night’s sleep.

The importance of sleep cannot be overstated. Studies show that quality sleep is essential to good health and poor or inadequate sleep can lead to a range of health issues. Therefore, having a bedroom set-up that encourages a good night’s sleep is vital.

“Place your bed in a commanding position, with the headboard against a solid wall and a clear view of the door,” says Richardson. “Keep electronics to a minimum in the bedroom to promote restful sleep.”

The expanding Leesville Industrial Estate services Jindabyne and the Snowy Mountains. Don’t miss this opportunity to invest in a growing industrial market.

To schedule a site visit or for more information, please call Michael Henley on 0403 165 563 or Matisse Rawson on 0412 630 409.

Snowy Monaro

Sights set on Merino ewe survival

MERINO ewes make up about two-thirds of Australia’s breeding ewe flock and, anecdotally, tend to have higher mortality rates than ewes of other breeds.

However, the industry doesn’t have an accurate handle on what causes many of these losses – which usually occur around lambing – or what cost-effective and practical intervention strategies might increase ewe survival rates.

A team of researchers, veterinarians and consultants are working with Merino producers to tackle this challenge.

The four-year project is

funded by MLA and Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) and builds on a recent study which assessed the causes and rates of ewe mortality during the lambing period across commercial maternal flocks.

Getting a handle on losses

A review of Australian literature indicated a range in mortality rates of 2–10 percent of Merino ewe flocks, with reports as high as 25 percent in some flocks.

However, the method with which mortality is determined could be influencing that variability. For example, mortality can be determined as the num-

ber of confirmed deaths by counting carcases, or as the difference in numbers between yardings. Without a carcase, the cause of death is harder to determine with certainty. Generally, the cause of death is divided into three categories – those occurring before, during or after lambing.

A fourth category can be considered – the deaths which occur around the lambing period not directly caused by pregnancy or lambing, but to which ewes can be more susceptible during this time.

Common causes of death

Busy time for Monaro Farming Systems

Liming trial in district

There is renewed interest in lime applications because some Monaro farmerss believe they are seeing positive responses to lime, and because there is a new protocol for lime application that is based on research by the NSW DPI and CSU at Wagga.

The new protocol involves liming the surface soil to pH(Ca) 5.6 with follow-up lime applications to promote faster movement of alkalinity down the soil profile. The Board has been discussing the need for new trials on the Monaro to look again at the effectiveness and economics of liming soils.

A working group of Mandy Horton, Darcy Larritt, Brad Yelds, Lisa Phillips, John Jeffreys and Richard Simpson has been formed to plan new lime trials and the Board is now actively seeking a way to fund the work as part of the MFS Soils Club activities.

This will be in conjunction with MFS’ continuing interest in balanced soil nutrient management and how to address boron deficiency.

Soil moisture probes

As part of the Monaro Farming System network, there are currently 10 probe sites based at Bibbenluke, Bukalong, Bungarby, Burando, Coolringdon, Countegany, Delegate, Kybeyan, Maffra and Mila. These feed information into the Farming Forecaster tool.

Recently, South East Local Land Services engaged Paul Hudson from Cropsol to do a maintenance run on all the probes in the SE LLS, TFS, Bookham Ag and MFS networks.

South East LLS funded the cost of the maintenance run and the replacement of all the old sim cards in each soil moisture probe which for MFS sites, came to almost $11,000. Worm risk outlook

The average worm egg count through this year’s Autumn on the Monaro is 442epg.

The long-term average through Autumn is 338. A large factor in the above average WEC’s is likely the high percentage of Barbers Pole, averaging 77 percent with the long term average being 63 percent.

The above average temperatures will have allowed Barbers Pole to be active for longer than normal causing high reinfection in susceptible sheep. Over winter, we can expect Small Brown Stomach Worm and Black Scour Worm to become more active, Barbers Pole larvae that has already hatched can survive freezing conditions although new eggs stop developing below 10 degrees. Effective drenching at the start of winter is critical in limiting worm pressure in the following spring. Farewell, Frances

The MFS has farewelled its executive officer, Frances Lomas, who has moved on to a new role with Nutrien Ag as a property manager.

Bec Kading, who has been with MFS for almost six years in admin, finance and projects, has stepped into the role of EO.

“We wish Frances all the best in her new role and thank members for all the support shown during the transition,” Ms Kading said.

before lambing include pregnancy toxaemia and hypocalcaemia, or vaginal prolapse, if followed by complications such as infection or rupture of the vaginal wall.

Risk factors include age and litter size, with older ewes or those carrying multiples being at greater risk.

A prolonged or difficult birth (dystocia) is a common cause of Merino ewe death during lambing.

Dystocia can be due to the lamb’s position (such as head back or leg back), or the ewe’s physiology (for example, a small pelvis). Risk factors for dystocia include ewe age, body condition

score, litter size and lamb birth weight.

Death after lambing can often occur due to reproductive tract infections, or mastitis.

Some studies indicate only about 10 percent of ewe deaths are investigated by a vet.

However, the cause of death can’t always be determined by just looking at a carcase, with research finding veterinary postmortems may be needed to diagnose dystocia. However, a post-mortem does not guarantee a diagnosis – one study showed that a cause of death could not be found in

up to 20 percent of mortalities.

Ongoing research

During this year’s lambing, mortality incidence and causes will be determined on a selection of farms across southern Australia as part of the Merino ewe survival project. Producers’ farm diaries and veterinary-conducted post-mortems will be used to collect data on Merino ewe mortality. This data, together with the recently conducted industry-wide survey on Merino ewe mortality, will inform mitigation strategies.

Merino ewes sell to $200 at Yass sheep sale

Sheep yarded 4985, lambs yarded 5000

By MLA

LAMB numbers increased and the quality was mixed with the extra numbers. The trade lambs were mixed but did contain a few runs of excellent presented shorn lambs. Heavy weights were well supplied and there were good numbers of extra heavy lambs. All the usual buyers were operating but the market sold to a cheaper trend.

Light lambs were $25 to $30 cheaper with the two score processing lambs selling from $68 to $113/head. Trade weights 20 to 24kg sold from $155 to $208/head with the bulk ranging from 780c to 850c/kg.

The heavy lambs were hardest hit slipping $25 to $30/head on good quality lambs, the 24 to 26kg lambs sold from $200 to $226/head and averaged 820c/kg cwt. Heavy 26 to 30kg lambs sold from $210 to $255/head or 800c/kg cwt on average.

The extra heavy weights ranged from $253 to a top of $315/head. Heavy Meri-

nos were $15 to $20 softer selling from $170 to $220/ head averaging from 720c to 780c/kg. The best priced hogget reached $188/head. Mutton numbers lifted and the quality was mixed. Prices followed the softer trend with most mutton falling between $15 and $20/head. Medium weight ewes sold from $55 to $85/ head.

Heavy crossbred ewes ranged from $133 to $166 and heavy full wool Merino ewes reached $200/head. Most mutton sold between 380c to 450c/kg.

LIVESTOCK: Merino ewes sell to a top of $200 at last week’s Yass sale. PHOTO: Supplied

Bombala depot yards proposal set for Council

By KAREN FORMAN

A HAPPY ending for the Bombala depot yards may finally be in sight, with a proposal for new management to go before Snowy Monaro Regional Council in August.

The Bombala Sale Yards Committee has recommended that Council accept an offer from a user to take over the running and maintenance of the facility, which is used as a collection point for stock travelling between farms and saleyards, sometimes requiring overnight stays.

The recommendation is a result of an onsite meeting involving users such as transport companies and

agents, attended by councillor and farmer, Bob Stewart.

Councllor Stewart has been a passionate proponent of the yards and has fought hard to help find a solution to keeping them open, after Council officers recommended immediate closure before Easter due to maintenance and funding issues.

“I can’t say too much until it goes to Council, but basically we have got an offer from a user to take over the yards,” Cr Stewart told The Monaro Media Group.

“It should go up in the August meeting I think.”

Councillor Stewart was previously reported as saying that a user pays situation seemed the most obvious

and only workable solution, especially given the farming industry relied heavily upon the yards being open.

“The recommendation is that they pay Council an annual fee and take over the management and maintenance of the yards,” he said.

“To recoup that cost, they will then charge their clients per head.

“I think we worked out a price roughly they could charge and they seemed happy.”

Councillor Stewart said he hoped Council accepted the recommendation.

“I really think this is the best way forward and I think it will sort out the issue which has been going on for far too long,” he said.

ewes sell to $165

Total yarding

67,800 at Wagga sheep sale

By MLA

LAST week’s Wagga Wagga sheep sale saw a very mixed quality yarding with lighter weight lambs in plain condition.

Not all export buyers were operating while other export companies did not participate fully. Most of the demand for domestic lambs came from southern processors, but at significantly cheaper prices to the previous week.

A small group of feedlot and restocking buyers were at the rail. A few pens of new season lambs were offered selling between $188 to $221/head. In the trade market prices were very erratic causing significant price spreads. Prices in general slipped $15 to $30 with the 20 to 24kg making from $138 to $196/ head to average around 775c/kg cwt.

Merino lambs lacked the bidding intensity of previous sales with competition fading as the market progressed. The better presented trade types trading between $138 to $180/head. Heavy Merino lambs $184 to $227/head.

Store buyers and feedlots continued to support trade

3G network shutdown concerns: National Farmers

By CHARLIE THOMAS, NATIONAL FARMERS’ FEDERATION DEPUTY CEO

SINCE its introduction in 2006, the 3G network has been a steadfast lifeline for many consumers across the country, but arguably for none more so than those living in regional, rural and remote Australia.

The livelihoods of Australian farming families are intrinsically tied to accessible, reliable, affordable, resilient and quality connectivity. Reliable mobile connectivity underpins modern agriculture, enabling efficient farm management, market access and daily business operations. For many with no bricks and mortar alternative down the road, it also provides essential access to health care, emergency services, education, social interaction and wellbeing outcomes.

Many in the bush still consider the 3G network an essential component of reliable connectivity, a component which triggers a sigh of relief when it pops up on their phone during an emergency or natural disaster. The final alternative to no signal at all.

While we acknowledge the opportunity the shut-

down presents to improve connectivity across the country, farmers and communities are understandably apprehensive about what a world without the 3G network means for them.

An anxiety made worse by anecdotal reports of degrading and changing mobile service in some areas and a general lack of confidence in existing complaint processes.

These communities are forced to trust providers with their ability to communicate, to conduct business, and to access essential and emergency services. With existing primary connectivity barriers, it is these communities that will invariably suffer the lion’s share of any adverse consequences through the transition.

The National Farmers’ Federation has critical expectations of providers to ensure a seamless transition and protect the fundamental needs of regional, rural and remote communities.

These expectations include that:

- Connectivity must be equivalent or improved;

- Providers must prioritise accountability and transparency through the transition; and

- Proactive, robust and considered efforts are made to inform consumers and avoid adverse consequences;

- Post-network shutdown issues are addressed quickly and effectively. To achieve that, we expect communication efforts and services beyond business-as-usual.

As it stands today, we are not satisfied that each of our requirements for this transition have been met – noting though that we still have a couple of months until this transition takes effect with the major regional networks. We remain closely engaged with the network operators to monitor their progress and will continue to hold them to account for equivalent or improved coverage on behalf of our members.

Our primary concerns:

- Anecdotal reports that service is diminishing or shifting in the lead up to the shutdown;

- Whether the shutdown will lead to poorer connectivity outcomes;

- Unforeseen impacts on devices, such as ag tech and handsets; and

- Customers’ ability to raise concerns and resolve issues quickly and efficiently.

and lighter weight classes, but on a reduced scale.

Lambs to feed on selling from $127 to $180, while store lambs ranged from $78 to $163/head.

In the export sale the market lacked weight.

All heavy lamb classes sold to notably cheaper price trends of $30 to $50/ head, with the market missing competition from other exporters.

Lambs 26 to 30kg made from $203 to $235, while their heavier counterparts sold from $233 to $270/head.

The mutton sale followed the cheaper trends set in the lamb market with prices coming off the boil. Mutton prices dipped $15 to $35.

Heavy ewes sold $108 to $165 to average 375c/kg.

AGRICULTURE: Norm Talbot of Talbot Transport, Matt Green of Nutrien Ag Solutions and Snowy Monaro Regional Councillor

Bob Stewart, are hoping a recommendation due to come before Council will see new management for the Bombala depot yards

PHOTO: Karen Forman

FOOTY TIPPING COMP 2024

Notice of Ongoing 1080 Ground Baiting

NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) will be conducting an ongoing ground baiting program for wild dog and fox control. Dried meat baits containing 1080 poison (sodium fluroacetate) will be deployed in rugged and remote areas, aiming to reduce wild dog and fox numbers. The ongoing baiting is planned to be undertaken between Friday 9 August 2024 to Friday 7 February 2025. This program is part of an integrated pest animal control strategy aimed at minimising the impacts of these pests on neighbouring stock. Baiting programs will be conducted in the Adaminaby/Yaouk, Snowy Plain, Thredbo/Ingebyra, Dalgety/Paupong and Corrowong/ Tombong/Merriangaah Wild Dog Plan Areas. This includes the following sections of Kosciuszko National Park: the Yaouk/ Adaminaby area from Lone Pine Trail to Lake Eucumbene; Denison; Happy Jacks; Snowy Plain; Kalkite Mountain; Thredbo Valley; Moonbah; Ingebyra; Paupong; Numbla Vale; the Snowy River; Byadbo Wilderness Area and Corrowong area. Baiting programs will also be undertaken in Scabby Range, Yaouk, Merriangaah and Quidong Nature Reserves.

All baiting locations will be identifiable to the public through signage erected around the baited areas. Domestic pests are highly susceptible to 1080 poison. Dogs, cats and other pets and domestic animals are not permitted on NPWS estate.

For further information please contact the NPWS Jindabyne Office (02) 6450 5555 or the NPWS Tumut Office on (02) 6947 7000.

NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service is hiring!

• Field Officer 1/4

• Ongoing full-time role, Jindabyne

Primary Purpose of the role: Field Officers assist with a diverse range of activities relating to maintenance and improvement to park assets within NPWS parks and reserves. You will be guided by the senior field staff, in your day-to-day work including fire trail maintenance and construction, pest and weed control, routine maintenance, construction and installation of new assets and conservation works. You will operate and maintain plant and equipment, participate in fire management activities, respond to visitor enquiries and assist with compliance activities as required. Please see the statement of works available via the link below for further details on the types of skills for this role.

Total Remuneration package: Field Officer 1/4

Salary ($59,008 to $72,606), employer’s contribution to superannuation and 17% loading for working weekends and public holidays.

Applications close: Sunday 11 August 2024 at 11:55pm

Enquiries: Tristan Ricketson on 0408 367 557.

To apply, please visit iworkfor.nsw.gov.au and search reference number 536674

PAYROLL AND ACCOUNTS ADMINISTRATOR (Part-Time)

We are seeking an experienced Payroll and Accounts Administrator for our Cooma depot to oversee accounts, payroll, bank reconciliation, paying suppliers and resolving queries. Expected hours of work are Monday to Friday, 3 to 5 days a week. Above award wages.

For more details please contact: Marco: 0427 310 241 or Mark: 0427 310 441 Or email sales@monarofreight.com.au

CHARLES, Sally. Thank you

We want to thank this wonderful community for all the loving comfort and support that we have been shown throughout our ordeal of the last 3 weeks.

We are so lucky to live in such a wonderfully caring and generous group of people, who pull together when they are needed and who gave us strength and helped us in so many ways.

Our thanks to the Cooma Car Club for hosting the celebration of our beautiful Sally’s life, which was such a fitting tribute to a very special person and where 4 close friends told us just how special she was.

This was live streamed via Facebook so her Godmother in England, and family and friends in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth could all be part of it.

Thanks to Tony and Joseph Nasser, and to Rebecca who looked after all the catering, wonderful people.

Thanks also to the Auspost staff who had welcomed Sally into their team and who all came to pay her their respects.

Thank you all so much.

~ Anne and Howard Charles.

Heelers celebrate heritage round

Clay Stewart presenting Adam Rodwell his heritage jersey

Katrina Brownlie and Sue Morgan presenting the Ladies Day jersey to Monique Perkins

Carla Hepburn

Interschools attract thousands

THE ACT and Regional NSW Interschools Snowsport Championships returned to Perisher last week where 1,300 students competed from 146 schools, totalling more than 2,700 entries.

The Regional Championships brings together schools from the Snowy Mountains, South East NSW, and Canberra in a friendly and safe competition where they have the opportunity to compete in five snow sports disciplines, being Alpine, Ski Cross, Moguls, Snowboard GS, and Snowboard Cross.

The Interschools Championships are an opportunity to introduce skiers and snowboarders to snow sports competition. Every year there are many new students to the competition along with students you have been competing in the event since their first school years.

Snow Australia thanked all the volunteers, course officials, team managers, school coordinators and supporters for a fund and fast four days of events.

“A big thank you goes to the Perisher Race Department and Managing for hosting fund and safe events for the school students,” a Snow Australia spokesperson said.

Tom Smith from Snowy Mountains Grammar School, when asked what is his favourite discipline is, said alpine. Tim said he enjoyed his Interschools time.

“Definitely Alpine because you get to go very fast,” Tom said.

He also shared his tips to other competitors.

“Don’t overthink it. It is not as competitive as you think. Go for it and have a good time.”

A mutliclass event was held for skiers and students with a disability at the final day of the Championships.

More than 25 competitors entered, who were joined by members of the Australia Paralympic Team who raced on the course as well, chatted to participants before and after the event, and presented medals to the winners. This included Josh Hanlon, Sam Tait, Georgia Gunew, Ethan Jackson, Sean Pollard, and Ben Tudhope.

There were lots of smiles after the competition from the families, supporters, and competitors.

CHAMPIONSHIPS: SUBARU ACT and Regional NSW Interschools Snowsport Championships took place in Perisher last week seeing our local talent take the

Tigers fall short in top of table clash

Redmond double, Cooma let slip minor premiership

A BLOCKBUSTER game awaited the Cooma Tigers first grade side who travelled to Kambah Oval to play Weston Magpies in State League 1.

A win for either side would place one hand on the coveted minor premiership being the run-

away top two teams in the competition.

Before kick off, Weston was one point clear of Cooma with four games to play, a win all-but securing a title.

A physically intense start to the game predicted and the crowd was not disappointed with both teams flying into challenges.

Laurence Redmond was booked within the first 20 minutes for a lunging tackle in midfield, shortly after the foul Weston capitalised on the lapse in concentration from the Cooma defence, 1-0 Weston from a fine finish.

Seven minutes after Weston

Tigers work hard to secure one-all draw

IN A hard-fought second division match on Saturday, the Cooma Tigers under 12A and Weston Molonglo showcased impressive skills and sportsmanship, resulting in a well-earned one-all draw.

From the first whistle, it was clear both teams were determined to make their mark, playing with intensity and enthusiasm, creating a game that was as competitive as it was entertaining.

Molonglo drew first blood with a mix-up in the Tigers backline gifting them a goal in the first half. Not to be outdone, Cooma Tigers responded accordingly, leveling the score with a stunning strike

that brought the game to one-all, where it remained until the final whistle.

Cooma’s defence, who (apart from the aforementioned blunder) held tight and were otherwise impervious to attacks.

Tigers’ goalkeeper, Taane Cross, stood out as the best on ground, demonstrating exceptional skill and determination throughout the match. His performance was instrumental in keeping his team in the game.

The draw was a fitting outcome for a match where both teams demonstrated a high level of play and fair competition.

opened the scoring, they doubled the lead following multiple Cooma errors.

This lead to a simple tap in for the Weston centre-forward, 2-0 Weston.

This finally woke Cooma up and the substitute Tim Sixt was a catalyst in an attempted Cooma revival.

Cooma began to play the football that had them dominating teams over the previous weeks and from a Jordan Whitchurch long throw, Redmond rose highest and headed in a beautiful goal, 2-1.

For Cooma it was the theme of

the day with basic errors leading to another Weston goal, a beautifully taken header, 3-1 Weston.

Cooma came out of the break a completely different team. Pressing high up the pitch and ruthless defence. Cooma’s dominance was rewarded 20 minutes from fulltime from another Whitchurch long throw and Redmond header combination, 3-2.

Cooma continued to push and press with hunger. Weston was desperate in defence and had multiple goal-line clearances.

Cooma was clearly the better side the whole way through the second half but the physical inten-

sity of the game didn’t dwindle as Cooma defenders Oscar Schoon and Whitchurch alongside multiple Weston players were booked by the referee.

Iain Elliott and Cam Mackintosh were relentless with their attempts at goal but to no avail. The game finished 3-2, all but securing the minor premiership for the Weston Magpies who now hold a four point lead on the Tigers at the top of the table with just three games to go.

Cooma’s next game is at Nijong Oval on Saturday August 3. Reserve grade kick off at 1pm while first grade kick off at 3pm.

Tiger 10s score 13-goals

THE Cooma Tigers under 10s returned to Kambah last Saturday, playing Belnorth FC, eager to turn around the results of the Kanga Cup.

From the outset, Cooma was on the attack with the Lee brothers playing upfront causing all sorts of problems with their strong runs down the sideline.

This resulted in two early goals.

Alfie Lee hit the back of the net with a great strike.

Cooma was a changed team after the reset of last week’s washout.

The team continued to apply pressure as great team -

work and passing through the middle resulted in more goals.

Jackson Sweeney increased his already impressive tally for the season by another four goal.

Walker Pate and Archie Lee finishing with three and four goals a piece.

As the game went on, Cooma’s confidence increased with some impressive football on display.

Alisha Dring playing in the midfield had an outstanding game, earning her player of the match.

Always calm under pressure, her skills were on

show, continually beating opponents and providing great ball to the forwards.

Connor Clifford who has trained with the team all year earned a call up late in the week, fitting in seamlessly, he was rewarded with a late goal.

Strong defence all game from Flynn Hardwicke and Jayden Musengi keeping the scoresheet clean.

Cooma the stronger team on the day, taking the game 13 - nil.

The under 10s have shown plenty of promise this season, highlighted by their Kanga Cup efforts.

Snowy Mountains Grammar School students take to the podium with their successful skills on snow.

Snowy Mountains Grammar School students show their talent on the course.

Jindabyne Public School students in their skis ready to compete.

Jindabyne High School students participate in the annual championship up at Perisher competing against state rivelries.

podium. PHOTOS: Snow Australia

Close loss for senior Devils

THE Yass Rams have claimed the Gordon Litchfield Boots ‘N’ All trophy after a six-point win over the Cooma Red Devils.

A committed Red Devils outfit pushed Yass throughout the 80-minutes, and almost stole the match following a late charge. The Red Devils lost 30-24.

When the two sides met in Cooma earlier this season, the Red Devils let Yass build a 28-point lead before almost running the visitors down with four quick tries.

Across the two games for the Boots ‘N’ All trophy, Yass won both games by just nine points in total.

Red Devils tries were scored by centre Josh McDonald, winger Lachlan Hemphill, scrum half Connor Campbell and flyhalf and captain Damien Roach.

The Red Devils play their last home game of the season on Saturday August 3 against Bungendore. Kick-off at 2.30pm.

Brave efforts from junior Red Devils

THE Cooma Junior Red Devils under 14s team travelled to Marist College over weekend to play the first game since the break for school holidays.

It is a new look competition following a reshuffle of sides in attempts to even up the games, with some teams being very dominant in the previous arrangement.

The Marist team was actually an under 13 outfit previously dominating their competition. Cooma also has some under 13 players mixed through their team so no one really knew what to expect.

The Devils faced a very well drilled Marist team and it was evident from the start that they had a real contest on their hands with the opposition in complete control of possession for the first couple of minutes.

The speed with which they got to the breakdown and recycled the ball was very impressive and something that took a while for the Devils to adjust to.

In comparison, the

Cooma defensive effort was equally impressive and they repeatedly stopped the Marist attack.

The weight of possession took its toll though with Marist scoring two tries after Cooma became worn down by some very well organised attack and ball control from Marist.

The Devils were able to get a bit more ball towards the end of the half with Ben Alcock, Laird McInnes, Matt Collins working hard in the ruck and maul to finally get it out to the talented backline who scored a great try from a fair way out to an ever reliable Ashton Jamieson.

The conversion from Ollie Paul saw the half time score a very respectable 10-7 to Marist.

The second half continued in the same fashion as the first with Marist just too dominant in controlling the ball. Cooma was brave in defence with everyone lifting their effort when they realised the skill of their opponents, who had some big mobile

forwards who got a lot of ball in good position.

Cooma was eventually worn down and Marist ran in three second half tries. The Devils scored one converted try of their own with Ollie Paul running from about 65 meters out, beating numerous defenders and showing his usual determination to get over the line.

Cooma was a couple of players short although Marist did lend the side some handy players, but Cooma would have liked their full contingent to see how they could go.

Everyone played with great perseverance and should be proud of their efforts.

Cooma knows what to expect now and hopefully can learn and lift from the experience. Standouts, particularly in defence were Laird McInnes, Ollie Paul, Ben Alcock, Ashton Jamieson and Max Ward.

Henry Campbell, Jacob Wilson, Junior Moore, Matt Collins, and Archie Schubert also worked hard

Under 10s try hard

THE Cooma Junior Red Devils under 10s made the trip up to Canberra on Saturday to take on top of competition Wests for their first game in the top division.

After an undefeated season in division two, the ACT Junior Rugby Union moved the Cooma side up into division one to ply their trade against the top Canberra teams.

After a strong start, Matty Alcock made a break for the line off the back of the Cooma scrum. He was well supported by Bill Neilson and Anthony Backhouse.

A well drilled Wests pack brought a new level of rugby for the Cooma pack to contend with at the scrum and breakdown.

The Cooma side did not to shy away from the physicality Wests is renowned for with Luca Paul, Patrick O’Neill and Kodie Shubert consistently attacking the Wests ruck and competing for the ball. This led to some turn overs for Hayden Shubert and Braxton Benn to attack with bruising carries into an impenetrable Wests backline.

Blake French, Luke Cook and Cooper Shaw had there hands full up front in the scrum and did a fantastic job. The Cooma pack won two tightheads against Wests and holding Cooma’s feeds.

The Cooma scrum has improved remarkably throughout the season and is now one of the side’s best assets to build there game off.

Cooma’s player of the match went to second rower Patrick O Neil for locking up the Cooma scrum and providing support and drive for the side up front.

The under 10 coaches said Patrick has come along really well under the guidance of senior second rower Josh Barron who has been working with Pat and Kodie on technique at training.

A lot was learned in the side’s first clash after the break and they will come back stronger after what eventuated to be there first lost. They all played their hearts out and will take these lessons into there next game against the Tuggeranong Vikings next week.

against a very mobile pack. Cooma’s scrum was solid thanks to their efforts.

Also in the backs putting in great effort were Beau Gallagher,Benji Carling and Isaac Freebody getting quickly off their line to constantly cut off the attack of the opposition. Sev-

eral players carried some injuries but didn’t want to let their mates down.

Cooma’s under 14 coach and manager said they were proud of the side’s efforts.

Cooma was defeated in the end with a fulltime score of 27 -14.

Final score, Wests 46 defeat Cooma 0.

The under 10 side has impressed in their debut season for the Red Devils. It’s the first time in many years, Cooma has fielded an under 10s team.

Josh McDonald looks for a gap to run through.

Jake Quodling hits hard in defence.

Scrum half Connor Campbell tries his best to burst through the Yass defence.

ATTACK: Cooma Red Devils stalwart Adam Schubert charges forward in the match against Yass. PHOTOS: Cooma Red Devils

EFFORT: Cooma Red Devils under 14s player Max Ward receives player of the match honours for his work ethic in the side’s match against Marist. Max is congratulated by his coach Adam Schubert. Junior Red Devils player of the match award are sponsored by The Cooma Barber - Dom Giagios. PHOTO: Cooma Junior Red Devils

Fillies fight hard for tackle win

By DAVID BRISON

JOHN Connors Oval, Jindabyne, a variable day, with a chill wind from the nearby snow as the Cooma Stallions and Fillies took on the Snowy River Bears in ladies tackle, reserve grade and first grade.

As usual with the local Derby, all the matches were well contested with both clubs out for bragging rights for the year.

Both teams started the game well with some solid defence from Savanna Nikau, Chloe Trevanion, Maddi Banks and Ash Steinke for Cooma and Grace Maxwell, Lucy Moroney and Natasha Kelly for the Bears.

Early possession saw the Bears get a roll into the Fillies red zone with Grace Maxwell stopped centimetres from the line.

Kelly then scooted over from dummy half and converted her own try, 0-6.

The Bears regained possession from the kick off and only desperate defence held Maxwell out. Banks then broke the Bears line and ran about 75 metres to score. Alicia Aioun added the extras, 6-6, which was the half time score.

Into the second half and Maxwell again had a long run and was just stopped by Bryanna Wittig and Jess Clark. On the back of a penalty, the Fillies marched down field and Kirsty Brazulaitus scored. Captain Ruby Barnes added the extras, 12-6.

More Cooma possession saw Savanna Nikau over in the corner for Cooma,16-6. Maxwell for the Bears shifted up a gear and ran 40 metres to score. Not converted. 16-10. More solid defence from both teams with Cooma repelling a couple of strong raids from near their try line for a win of 16-10.

Three points and players’ player Banks, two to Brazulaitus and one to Steinke.

The Ladies League tag played in Bega on Saturday and were rather convincingly beaten 4-44, by a strong Bega Chicks outfit.

Three points and players’ player to Steinke, and two to Wittig. Next Saturday, the League Tag team travel to Pambula to play in the elimination semi final. Sunday the tackle team are scheduled to play in Jindabyne.

Stallions reserves finally mesh

By DAVID BRISON

COOMA started strongly and after a penalty, centre Tom Bromfield was away down field and just tackled.

A couple of plays later after good lead up work by Lee Morgan and Jack Newson, Bromfield was in for a well deserved try. Half Mitch Hynes converted, 6-0. Both sides got a couple of penalties each and the Bears were almost in, but a desperate James Boller tackle just saved the try.

Damien Roach forced his way over for the Bears from dummy half, 6-4.

A tackle gone wrong saw a Cooma player badly hurt. Kudos to both the Stallions’ and Bears’ support staff who worked together and kept him safe and warm whilst waiting for paramedics. His condition is being monitored in hospital, and we wish him a speedy recovery.

As a result the team had an extended break and with no time off in reserve grade, the game re-

started for the second half. With a strong wind and light flurries of snow, the conditions for taking a high ball were not ideal, with Cooma well served by some good work by custodian Declan Gregory and young winger Rylee Holland. Gregory was also strong in attack, beating multiple defenders in a swerving run from the 30 me-

tre line to score, 10-4.

Then the Bears got a bit of possession after a couple of high kicks and they were able to score, 10-10.

Stallions five eight Jack Newson found a bit of space and did an in and away before passing to Gregory who was over for his second try. Hynes converted, 16-10. Lee Morgan made a beak and

was almost in before Boller forced his way over from short range. Hynes converted, 22-10.

With their tails up, Cooma scores twice more. Centre Gus Brabham crossed as did winger Ryder Cochrane for his first try of the season.

Final score, Stallions defeated the Bears 30-10. At the end of the game, long

time Stallions stalwart Mill Issa was clapped off the field by both teams in his final game for the Stallions. Hynes also gave away his boots at the end of the game. Both players will be sorely missed next year.

Three points Gregory, two to Jack Newson and one each to Issa and Lee Morgan. Players player Issa.

The Bears women’s tackle side showed plenty of promise on the weekend.

Maddie Banks makes a break for the Fillies.

Kirsty Brazulaitis sends a pass away. Brazulaitis was one of the Fllies best in their 16-10 win.

Savana Nikau crosses the line for the Fillies during the second half.

STRONG: Grace Maxwell of the Snowy River Bears proves hard to tackle during the women’s tackle game between Cooma and the Bears at John Connors Oval. PHOTOS: Nathan Thompson

Tui Samoa charges forward for the Bears. With each run, Samoa proves hard to handle for the defence.

In his final game for the Stallions, prop Mill Issa delivers a trademark barnstorming run.

WINNERS: Stallions reserve grade fullback Declan Gregory and winger Ryder Cochrane celebrate the side’s win over the Snowy River Bears. PHOTOS: Nathan Thompson

Bears strong start secures win

By DAVID BRISON

DESPITE some strong defence by forwards Todd Williams and Richard Bensley and some great one-onone defence by fullback Keegan Caldwell, the Bears burst out of the blocks with smart, fast, hard and direct play.

The Bears got away to a 28-point lead before the Stallions at last found some pattern to their play. With young Zac Lucas coming on to make his first grade debut, the Stallions latest restart caught the Bears by surprise.

Quick hands from the

scrum base saw winger Jonah Perea in for a right edge try. Keegan Caldwell converted, 6-28. In the next set, hooker Kristian Zusak broke through and ran 30 metres before being tackled, Caldwell chipped ahead, Zac Lucas grabbed it and fed it straight to centre Brock Halls who was in on the stroke of half time. 10-28. Into the second and Lucas showed his versatility saving a try. With some possession coming the Stallions way, Zusak picked up a try, and Caldwell converted, 16-28.

A dropped ball from kick

off and the Bears regained ascendancy. 16-34. Caldwell defused another raid with his trademark one-on-one defence. The Bears attacked down the left edge and centre Josh McDonald grabbed an intercept and ran 80 metres to score, 22-34.

Riley Casey pulled off a great 40-20 and Cooma was almost in, but lost the ball. The Bears turned defence into attack and scored immediately, 22-40.

Bensley capped off a fine game with a try. Converted for full time score of 2840. Bragging rights to the Snowy River Bears for 2024.

Long time veterans Todd Williams and Ryan Morgan both retired after the game and the Stallions would like to thank both players for their outstanding service to the club.

Three points and players’ player to Bensley, two to McDonald and one each to Luke Bracher and Caldwell.

That finishes the season for both Cooma men’s teams, and although disappointing in some aspects, the club did unearth a wealth of young and talented players who will serve the club well next year.

Kelley trained Daicos finishes first

THE Sapphire Coast Turf Club hosted a well attended race meeting on Sunday with clear skies but a very lazy wind arrived later in the afternoon.

Race 1 was a 1000 metre Maiden Plate and was taken out by the Matt Kelley trained Daicos.

After finishing third at Canberra last Friday, and pulling up well, the gelding was backed up on Sunday and won by four lengths under jockey Nick Heywood.

The horse is raced by a syndicate which includes Robbie (A.C.T. Racing Club Publicity Officer) and Ray Ringland, the latter some might recall as the Bega Roosters half back in 1980’s.

Kembla Grange trainer Theresa Bateup and jockey Jess Taylor had a winning double with Tartana in the 1600 metre BM 66 over 1600 metres and Mulvader in the Maiden/Class 1 over the same distance.

Paul Murray, also from Kembla Grange, won the 1000 metre Maiden Hcp with One Smart Cookie ridden by Olivia Chambers whilst Canberra trainer John Nisbet won the Class 2 over 1000 metres with Heart of Vancouver ridden by Hannah Williams.

Goulburn trainer Matt Dale won the Maiden Plate over 1400 metre with Ken’ Ker, Nick Heywood riding his second winner for the day.

From a local perspective, the best was left for last, a Benchmark 58 Hcp over 1200 metres when Fourcade, trained by Shaun Coady at Moruya, won for Apprentice Jockey Jade McKenzie.

Fourcade is raced by Monaro locals Len Manton

Cross-country ski week a favourite

THE annual 2024 cross-country (XC) ski week at the Perisher XC Centre is a celebration of cross-country skiing that offers an exciting line-up of events over the course of nine days.

XC Ski Week school mornings will start with an early XC ski session for local school children, part of the Term 3 NSWACT XC Winter XC Programs.

These are before-school training sessions on Tuesday to Friday mornings, weekday sessions and weekend training programs.

Starting on Saturday August 3, the festivities include 11 events, culminating in the Snowy Mountains Classic and the final big presentation the following Saturday.

If you’re eager for a different skiing experience, skiers can participate in the NSW Ski Orienteering Championships on the Sunday.

On Saturday, the events will begin with the PXC Cup, a fun

five to 10km race with some wacky prizes and a special-issue PXC Cup for everyone.

Other events include the KAC X-C Classic, a point-to-point sprint, from Perisher to Charlotte Pass either classical or skate, your choice, a mystery coffee tour which includes a fire pit, fresh brewed coffee and treats somewhere in the beautiful landscape of the XC trails and the much anticipated twilight relays.

Enjoy an evening at the Nordic Shelter Twilight Relays, an important fundraiser for the Nordic Shelter, and a whole lot of fun.

For the first time, this will be a multi-function extravaganza with the main event featuring the twilight relays which is hotly contested by teams of four skiing in ridiculous conditions and vying for glass mugs to add to their collections.

Dedication of the plaque to be hung in the shelter in memory

of Glen McRitchie, the amazing builder who made the dream of the Nordic shelter extensions in 2008 a reality will be held after the twilight relay.

Followed by a special screening of Huw Kingston’s short film, Alpine Odyssey, accompanied by Huw himself.

The Nordic Shelter was part of Huw’s massive fundraising Odyssey for Save the Children/ Our Yarning Indigenous literacy project in 2022.

His efforts raised $65,000 for the project and is now raising more with the screening tour, Huw is presenting the special screening at the twilight relays as a thank you to the XC community for their assistance.

If young XC skiers are interested in any of these programs over the winter school term, contact nswxc1@gmail.com.

and Chris Byrnes, Brendan and Maryanne Rudd, Tony Russell and Jackie Harmey. Also in the ownership syndicate are Neville and Lesley Clarke, Lachie and Mary Owen along with Noel Bridle, all of whom reside in the Tumut district. Jumping from barrier one in the ten horse field, Miss McKenzie positioned the horse well, hogging the rail and sitting off the leader.

On straightening, Fourcade hit the front but was being attacked by multiple horses, the main danger being Sassy Missile, ridden by Jess Taylor, who slipped along the rail to take the lead. In a great battle to the line, young McKenzie kept her horse balanced, urging the four year old mare to the lead again and on the line had a neck margin success over Sassy Missile and with Easy Company in third.

Fourcade, who has now had two wins and four minor placings from thirteen starts, will likely have her next start in a Highway Hcp in Sydney.

Matt Kelley travelled Spinosaurus to Kembla Grange on Saturday and the gelding ran second to Mafia, trained by Peter and Paul Snowden.

Spinosaurus, who is raced by Mick Schofield, was ridden well by Wagga based apprentice Holly Durnan who Matt had also used on three of his horses at Ballarat recently. From the same stable, I’ve Bean Tryin’ had a jump-out last week and is on track for a race start in a few weeks.

Meanwhile another of the locally owned stable stars, Invertational, will return to work this week after a spell.

TWILIGHT: Last years participants in the Twilight Relay dressed up for the occasion. PHOTO: Supplied

TOUGH: Stallions forward Richard Bensley is met in a strong tackle from Bears second rower Troy Freebody.

PHOTO: Nathan Thompson

SPORT

Tough conditions for golfers

By COOLAMATONG GOLF CLUB

GOLFERS braved cold temperatures and a southerly breeze on Sunday.

Tom McIntosh proved the best with a 69 nett score in the first round of the monthly medal stroke event.

After a steady front nine, Tom stormed home in seven over par from his 23 handicap, five pars helping him immensely.

The runner-up on the day was Stephen Jermyn playing under his 12 handicap with a fine 70 nett score.

Terry Stevenson was third with a nett 74.

There is an outright leader in the men’s eclectic, with Ben Hearn shooting to -26 courtesy of a few key holes in his last two rounds.

Two birdies on holes 10 and 12 on Sunday, plus a birdie on the fourth hole in his previous round last week has elevated him to the top position.

This could very well be a winning lead, even though there are still several months to play. Time will tell.

Wednesday’s scoring was also tough with only one player bettering their handicap.

Geoff Murphy topped the day with 38 stableford points, a very steady round with 20 points the front nine, and 18 points the back.

His card was a combination of four, three pointers, and two single point holes, and all the rest 2 points.

Andy Bicanic was runner-up on the day with 34 points.

In A grade, Andrew Haigh was the best with 33 points and won a voucher, followed by Stephen Jermyn with 32, Alan Butterworth and Pom Wheeldon both with 31.

In B grade, Geoff Murphy was the best with 38, followed by Cody Dixon on 34 points, Ross Thompson 33, Arthur Owens with 32 and Werner Siegenthaler 31.

In C grade, Andy Bicanic was the best with 34 points, Pete Fleming with 33 and Richard Hendriks with 32.

In the ladies Jan O’Halloran pipped Kylie Woodcock, who were the only two ladies playing on the day.

The men’s nearest the pins were Andy Bicanic on hole three, Ken Kable on eight, Andrew Haigh on 15 and Sam Noller on 17.

The ladies near pins were shared two apiece to Jan O’Halloran and Kylie Woodcock.

COOMA athlete Kristian Sandercoe has enjoyed a terrific week of competition and friendship at the 2024 National Winter Special Olympics.

Kristian claimed a bronze medal in alpine skiing and now awaits to see if he will be named in the Australian team for the Special Winter Olympics in Italy next year.

Kristian is well known for his skiing talents, alongside his brother Kyle, with the pair enjoying regular success when competing.

Following his efforts at the National Winter Special Olympics held at Mt Buller, Kristian said he had an excellent time racing and catching up with coaches and fellow athletes.

“I had a fantastic time. Thank you to all the coaches and fellow athletes. I had ball,” Kristian said.

Winter Cup finals

By COOMA GOLF CLUB

SATURDAY’S conditions at the Cooma Golf Club were perfect for winter golf and there was a strong turnout for the stableford held in conjunction with the second and final round of the Winter Cup.

The Winter Cup (four-ballbest-ball) winners Ben Rolfe and Sean Smith with an impressive score of 82 points.

The overall winner on Saturday was John Gargett with 37 points on countback from the A Grade winner Stephen Young.

The B Grade winner was Ben Rolfe with 33 points on countback from Brian Tugwell and the C Grade title went to Val Leitch with 35 points.

Balls were won by Steven Wheatley, Bailey Burke, David Robinson, Claire Caldwell, Brian Tugwell and Sean Bradshaw.

Nearest the pin on the ninth went to Col Langdon and hole 17 to Claire Caldwell. The four-ball-best-ball winners were Frank McKnight and Steven Wheatley with 44 points.

In last week’s midweek competition, Wayne Flynn was the overall winner with 35 points on countback from runner-up Col Langdon.

Balls went to David Robinson, David Stewart, Alan Kelly, Bailey Burke, Helen Crawford and Gino Cerro.

Nearest the pin on hole nine was claimed by David Stewart and on 17 Alan Kelly had the best shot.

Next Saturday is the monthly medal followed by a stableford on Sunday.

The midweek competition is a stableford.

THE combined Jindabyne and Adaminaby bowling club’s women’s team is competing in grade three women’s pennant bowls against Merimbula.

The competition began last weekend with matches at Tura Beach and Merimbula bowls clubs resulting in a win to Merimbula.

Adaminaby/Jindabyne drew rink one 20-shots all.

The local team comprised Lynette McMahon, Lana Theobald, Luba Waters and Glenda Daal.

On rink two, Merimbula won 25-13 against Jenny Smith, Tavia Taylor, Barbara Johnson and Dell Turner.

The next round of pennant bowls against Merimbula takes place on the weekend of August 10 and 11, to be hosted again at the Merimbula and Tura Beach clubs.

Para Futures return

SNOW Australia Para FUTURES returned last weekend at Perisher with athletes joined by Winter Paralympians and high performance staff.

Athletes were joined by the Para Snowboard and Para Alpine High Performance team members Ben Tudhope, Sean Pollard, Georgia Gunew, Ethan Jackson and Sam Tait who led clinics and welcomed this next generation of Para athletes into the family.

This weekend was all about understanding the demands of being high performance athlete, pushing boundaries and having fun on the snow, all while getting tips and tricks from development and high performance coaches to improve technique and build tactics to improve performance.

Following the on-snow component, all the Futures athletes reconvened at the National Snowsports Training Centre in Jindabyne for a stretch and recovery session, led by the high performance athletes.

An information session

was then held to introduce the FUTURES athletes and parents to the pathway model and watch videos of the world’s best, while opening great conversations around the para pathway, life as an athlete and the opportunities to move forward in Para Snowsports.

National Classification is a critical step in the Para Athlete pathway involving both indoor and on-snow assessment. This was led by the lead classifier along with an information session for all on the values of Para Classification creating a fair and level playing field for all athletes.

The following day the wind departed, the sky was blue, and conditions were fresh to get back on snow and into a race course environment to apply the skills from day one.

Each lap the FUTURES athletes got more confident in the gates and the speeds increased each run.

The high performance athletes put on a masterclass of race line and technique, serving as inspiration and motivation for the FUTURES participants.

Ben Troy, 2026 Winter Paralympics Chef de Mission, joined the crew at the top of the course and was blown away by the level of talent coming through the Para pathway.

“It is so encouraging to see Para FUTURES athletes interested in development skills and entering the pathway toward competition,” he said. “The day concluded with a free ride expression session on Powder Ridge with plenty of impressive skills on display from all.

The aim of Snow Australia Para FUTURES is not only talent Identification of athletes with physical or visual impairments, but also to provide space for these athletes to explore and develop their skills in the sport alongside Para Alpine and Para Snowboard’s best.

FUTURES is the starting point for conversations around pathway and life as an athlete. It is a launching point for new athletes and a welcoming to the family from the whole Para Snowsports team.

Williams on song

By CHARLI FIDDES, CANBERRA RAIDERS

THE recent wet conditions didn’t compromise the quality of footy showcased in round 15 of the Canberra Raiders Cup, which saw four grueling games around the grounds.

Queanbeyan Kangaroos

48 defeat Gunaghlin Bulls 22

The Queanbeyan Kangaroos secured a well deserved 48-22 win over the Gungahlin Bulls on Saturday afternoon.

In scoring 10 tries, four Roos players crossed for doubles, including Bailey Nash, Brayden Draber, Jesse Dent, and Ryan Dodson.

The wet conditions proved challenging for both sides, although the Roos remained consistent for the full 80 minutes.

The Bulls didn’t go down without a fight, claiming 22 points, however, they struggled to hold out in defence and ultimately lost by a healthy margin.

Belconnen United Sharks

4 defeat Woden Valley Rams

0

The Belconnen United Sharks claimed a narrow four point victory over the previously table topping Woden Valley Rams.

Both sides showcased unbreakable defence in the wet and muddy conditions, which saw the scoreboard read nil-all until deep into the second half.

The home side finally cracked Woden’s defensive line when winger Connor Massen charged over with about 10 minutes remaining, marking the only points scored on the day.

Sharks prop Albert Watego was recognised for his efforts in the grueling midfield battle, receiving man of the match honours.

Next week, the Sharks will be made to back up with another strong performance against the Roos, while the Rams look to reclaim top spot when they face West Belconnen.

Yass Magpies 14 defeat West Belconnen Warriors

8

The Yass Magpies claimed an upset victory over the West Belconnen Warriors in front of a home crowd at Walker Park.

Both sides were determined to bag the two points as the Magpies look to avoid the wooden spoon, while the Warriors aim for a top four spot.

The Magpies took full

advantage of the slippery conditions on their home turf, forcing the game into a grind and reaching the try line three times through Ranapiri Baker, Benjamin Davis, and Lane Davis.

Next week, the Warriors face a tough challenge as they go up against the Rams, while Yass will test themselves against the Bushrangers.

Queanbeyan Blues 42 defeat Goulburn City Bulldogs 10

The Queanbeyan Blues secured a phenomenal 32 point win over the Goulburn City Bulldogs at Workers Arena.

The Blues were on song offensively once again, with eight different players crossing for tries in a strong team effort.

The Bulldogs found a way to score on two occasions through Bradley Arnall and Thomas Harmer, but ultimately couldn’t hold out the Queanbeyan raid.

The big win sees the Blues at the top of the Canberra Raiders Cup ladder, after boosting their impressive points differential.

The competition is a month away from reaching finals.

Social bowlers on target

By BOMBALA BOWLS

SOCIAL bowls played on Wednesday July 24 saw two rinks in action.

Rink 1 pairs game saw the score seesaw backwards and forwards until about halfway into the game then Matt Cootes and Bert Ingram found their rhythm eventually defeating Eileen Hampshire and Neil Brotherton 27-10.

Rink 2 was a game of triples with Joyce Cotterill playing swinger for both sides.

Peter Jones, Janet Cowell and Joyce got the upper hand early on but Aurora Reed, Karen Brownlie and Joyce fought back to even it to seven all on the seventh end.

P layers swapped positions to gain experience. The final score went to Peter, Janet and Joyce 17-14.

Fillies win tackle derby

High Heelers triumph

BOMBALA LEAGUE TAG SECURES MINOR PREMIERSHIP

THE Bombala High Heelers have claimed another Group 16 league tag minor premiership following a dominant 2024 season.

Arguably the side’s best win of the season came on Saturday, as the Bombala Blue Heelers Club celebrated ladies day and heritage round.

In front of the large home crowd, the High Heelers fired a premiership warning to their rivals with a comprehensive 38-12 win over Tathra.

The High Heelers win set the scene for the club’s most exciting

day of the year as first grade followed suit to defeat finals bound Tathra.

The club honoured its 1999/2000 first grade sides who finished the Group 16 competition as runnersup in those seasons.

Past players, club officials and supporters gathered for the occasion with special jersey presentations taking place for the High Heelers team and Blue Heelers first grade squad.

Ladies day gave the club an opportunity to honour the many women who keep the club run-

ning and its league tag side, one of Group 16’s most consistent sides.

The High Heelers ran onto the Bombala Showground with the club’s junior girls league tag team forming a tunnel for the players to run through.

The 2022 premiers have enjoyed a rivalry with Tathra, stretching back to Bombala’s win over the coastal club in the grand final of that season.

Earlier this year, Tathra collected a 14-10 win against Bombala, the High Heelers only loss in 2024.

On Saturday, three tries to Maree Coates went a long way to securing the victory for the High Heelers who raced in seven tries to Tathra’s two.

Patrice Clear crossed for a double with tries also going the way of Brylie Stewart and Rachael Babidge.

The High Heelers have the first week of the Group 16 finals off, and await the winner of Tathra and Eden in this Sunday’s major semi-final.

The High Heelers are through to the qualifying final on the weekend of August 10 and 11.

A win will take them through to the grand final.

■ For more coverage on the Blue Heelers heritage round, see page 33 of this edition.

SUCCESS: The Bombala High Heelers celebrate ladies day and securing the Group 16 league tag minor premiership. PHOTOS: Carla Hepburn

Monique Perkins breaks away downfield in her 100th match for the club.

Rural Fire Service warning

By MELINDA CAIRNS HACK

A RECENT spate of grassfires in the Jindabyne and Snowy Mountains region has prompted a winter warning from the Monaro Rural Fire Service (RFS).

The last fortnight has been busy period for local RFS brigades who have battled a house fire at Ingebyra, and multiple grassfires throughout the region. The house was lost in gale force winds earlier this month.

The house on Grosses Plain, south of Jindabyne, was well alight by the time emergency crews attended.

The cause is believed to be accidental, starting from a barbecue next to the house.

Recent grassfires have prompted a RFS warning with Monaro RFS district coordinator, Ash Morrow, calling on landholders to be aware the winter season does not necessarily mean a reduced fire risk as dry grass presents an ongoing fire hazard.

“The Monaro RFS team is asking for caution over the winter season due to the prevalence of dry and cured grass across the region,” District coordinator Ash Morrow said.

“Landholders need to be careful in exposing dry grasses to any heat source or sparks, such as farm machinery and equipment.

“In addition, gusty and gale force winds pose a problem at this time of year.”

■ Read more on page 4

‘Know before you go’: expert guide

THE rescue of three lost back country skiers within a week, requiring mobilisation of at least four emergency service organisations - has resulted in calls for people venturing into alpine areas in winter to be realistic about ability, equipment and conditions.

With the tally already at more than half of the average number of alpine rescues for a winter

season just six weeks in, backcountry operators and emergency services spokespeople have implored skiers, boarders and snowshoers to not only ensure they have the knowledge and equipment to venture beyond the patrolled ski resorts, but to consider the risk to emergency services personnel - many of who are volunteers - before heading out.

“There are definitely more people interested in taking up backcountry activities,” longtime local backcountry expert guide and owner of Wilderness Sports, Bruce Easton said.

“This may have started in COVID when the resorts were not open and people were looking for alternatives to lifted skiing and boarding.

“Obviously we love to see this,

but we also need to encourage people to ensure that they are doing it safely - which means having the right gear, the knowledge of how to use that gear, watching the weather which is ever changeable and making the most of opportunities to speak to the people who hire and sell the gear, who lead tours and who know what they are doing.”

Mr Easton said people tended

to rely on online forums and social media which were not always accurate.

“I think people are best to go out on tours with experienced guides for their first few times,” he said.

“Know before you go. It is better to know before you go than learn out there.”

■ Read more on page 5

AWARENESS: Emma Roberson volunteer equipment officer, Ash Morrow district co-ordinator, Jim Darrant district manager, Rodney Bishop community risk officer, Adrian Butters operations officer, Esther Strachan district administration officer, Ben Morley brigade captain, John Evans welfare officer, and Langdon Gould inspector. The Monaro RFS is warning landholders to be careful of the current dry conditions across much of the region.

PHOTO: Melinda Cairns Hack

THOUSANDS RACE AT PERISHER INTERSCHOOLS

THE ACT and Regional NSW Interschools Snowsport Championships returned to Perisher last week where 1,300 students competed from 146 schools, totalling more than 2,700 entries.

The Regional Championships brings together schools from the Snowy Mountains, South East NSW, and Canberra in a friendly and safe competition where they have the opportunity to compete in five snow sports disciplines, being Alpine, Ski Cross, Moguls, Snowboard GS, and Snowboard Cross.

The Interschools Championships are an opportunity to introduce skiers and snowboarders to snow sports competition. Every year there are many new students to the competition along with students you have been competing in the event since their first school years.

“Snow Australia wishes to thank all the amazing volunteer course officials, team managers, school coordinators and supporters for a fun and fast four days of events,” a Snow Australia spokesperson said.

“A big thank you goes to the Perisher Race Department and Managing for hosting fund and safe events for the school students.”

At the end of the Alpine Division 1 competition, competitors shared their experiences.

Tom Smith from Snowy Mountains Grammar School, enjoyed a successful week. He said enjoying the racing was key to his form.

“Alpine is my favourite discipline because you get to go very fast,” Tom said.

“Don’t overthink it. It is not as competitive as you think. Go for it and have a good time.”

Bella Mann of St Clares College, Canberra, overcame initial nerves to register some impressive times.

“I was a little bit nervous at first but by the end of it I was smashing it, it was so much fun,” Bella said.

Success for local schools

Her team mate Annika Zahara shared what her favourite thing about Interschools is.

“Getting to meet new people but also getting to work with the St Clares team.”

It was Annika’s and many others final Regional Interschools Championships as Year 12 students. Her team mate Ella Woods, although in Year 12, had their first Interschools experience.

“This is my first year with the

lot of fun. I really enjoyed it. I was scared what I got out here today but I started talking to the other schools around me and everyone was just so lovely,” Annika said.

Peta Josh, school coordinator for Bulli High School and volunteer course official, said her time at Interschools was very rewarding.

“The course was very slick, very fast. Very well run, very well organised and very easy to do,” Peta said.

”I love watching students from

Where the Flick

They don’t like it when I cheer them on, but I do.”

Peta encouraged others to help volunteer when Interschools rolls around next.

“Get involved. It’s fun. It helps everyone else out. I would read the instructions for volunteering.

I would ask questions from the people who help put you in location on the course. Make the most of the opportunity to help out your school and children,” Peta said.

A mutliclass event was held for skiers and students with a disabil-

ity at the final day of the Championships.

More than 25 competitors entered, who were joined by members of the Australia Paralympic Team who raced on the course as well, chatted to participants before and after the event, and presented medals to the winners.

This included Josh Hanlon, Sam Tait, Georgia Gunew, Ethan Jackson, Sean Pollard, and Ben Tudhope.

There were lots of smiles after the competition from the families, supporters, and competitors.

Alpine competition at the ACT and

PHOTO: Snow Australia