INDIGO tourist visitation has increased year on year but a slowing down of growth from the impact of high living costs has been noticed.
Indigo Shire Council’s tourism manager Susannah Doyle said despite the slow growth, visitor spending had increased.
“It’s back to pre-pandemic levels topping $128 million across the shire,” she said.
Ms Doyle said areas of tourism interest over Christmas, New Year and
BY CORAL COOKSLEY ccooksley@ nemedia.com.au
school holiday period had been steady with ticket sales to Beechworth’s Historic Precinct, courthouse and walking tours.
“Accommodation bookings were steady during the holiday period too,” she said.
The tourism manager said last
but showed slow growth on previous years
year’s addition of Beechworth to the National Heritage Listing had a positive impact with noticeable interest from the education sector and visitors since then.
The listing in August last year included Beechworth’s historic court house, telegraph o ce, sub-treasury, Chinese protectorate o ce, gold warden’s o ce, lock-ups, police stables, Old Beechworth Gaol and shire hall, known as the town hall.
Beechworth Inc. president Katrina
Witherow said visitation seemed to happen in waves over the holidays.
“I think with the present economic conditions people seem to visit more at weekends or the period between Christmas and New Year,” she said.
“There was quite a number of people here at those times but it’s di cult to say because every business is di erent.
“We had a great response around town with the Christmas lights that drew crowds too.”
■ Continued page 3
EIGHT-year-old Otis Collins with his six-year-old sister Millie had fun at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) Kids on Tour workshop held at Beechworth Library on Monday. PHOTO: Coral Cooksley
Filling local health care gaps
By CORAL COOKSLEY
A NEW local service has boosted access to health care o ering a di erent option in Beechworth and surrounds with a nurse practitioner practice opened in the town in late December last year.
Beechworth’s Steve Voogt has practiced as a registered nurse practitioner for 16 years following a career as a registered nurse in various specialisations.
Mr Voogt said nurse practitioners have an extended scope of practice where his patients can be assessed, diagnosed, prescribed medication, request diagnostics such as pathology and radiology as well as referrals to specialists among services.
He also said the service is to complement existing medical practices as it’s vital for people to remain with their primary medical carers.
“What I’m hoping is people have a choice to see me, or they can choose to see their general practitioner (GP), but I always collaborate with GPs,” he said.
With shortages everywhere across rural and regional areas Mr Voogt said nurse practitioners help to ll the gaps.
“As long as it’s nothing urgent or emergency care, I’m
COLLABORATIVE: Nurse practitioner Steve Voogt has opened a service to help locals access healthcare complementing existing medical care providers.
happy to see those patients with condition ranging from viral illness to people with urinary tract or chest infections to people who may be a little bit more unwell,” he said.
Mr Voogt said he doesn’t see young people under the age of 18 years old or cover women’s health as its not within his scope.
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have quite de ned practice scopes such as working in emergency departments and mental health as examples, and I cover primary care and gerontology,” he said.
Mr Voogt undertook his general nurse training at a hospital in Melbourne nearly 40 years ago with career working in acute hospitals, hospitals in rural areas
GEARED UP WITH SCHOLARSHIP
By CORAL COOKSLEY
TWO young locals scooped rst-time scholarships o ered by the Beechworth Old Cranks Motor Club towards the end of last year.
Beechworth’s Ziggy Ferres and Yackandandah’s Fletcher Stanyer are both thrilled to receive the awards at $1500 each to jump start getting tools together for their mechanical trades.
Club president David McKay said the scholarships provided an incentive to encourage young people to take up motor vehicle maintenance careers.
Mr McKay said the club is keen to foster young people going in the automotive industry and mechanical trades, as well as to gain knowledge along the way to work on older style vehicles.
Seventeen-year-old Fletcher said his chosen career had been in uenced by his grandfather’s passion for cars and restoring them as well as a friend of his fathers.
as well as remotely in the Northern Territory, and hospital management.
His decision to focus on a clinical pathway led him study and work in intensive care (ICU) at a Melbourne hospital followed by working for 12 months in Canada.
“I worked in a neuro trauma Intensive Care Unit in Edmonton, Alberta which
was great and loved it,” he said.
The nurse practitioner returned to Australia from there with a move to Beechworth 22 years ago.
“I have been working around the area in hospitals ever since as well as Gateway Health,” Mr Voogt said.
Mr Voogt said he had been working in larger health fa-
cilities like Monash and the Royal Melbourne hospital but has now focused on providing the service for the local community.
With an interest in older people and their related illnesses - one of his areas of expertise, Mr Voogt said he undertakes comprehensive assessments for them.
“Home visits can be bene cial for older people,” he said.
Mr Voogt also said Medicare rebates had improved but remained a challenge with a gap fee charged for the service.
“Nurse practitioners have been around in Australia for close to 25 years with the profession steadily growing,” he said.
“It took the government some time for the profession to be recognised with a provider and prescriber numbers.
“I also consult and work with a physician who is a geriatrician as over the last few last few years, I’ve mainly worked with the older clientele, and we have undertaken lot of telehealth.”
With a website being developed visit for the service more information can be obtained by visiting the service’s Facebook page, email info@northeastnursepractitioner.au or contact Mr Voogt on 0455 420 715.
THRILLED: Yackandandah’s Fletcher Stanyer (le ) and Beechworth’s Ziggy Ferres are over the moon to each have received a scholarship to buy tools.
school apprenticeship program last year,” he said.
‘My dad’s mate has an automotive shop in Wodonga and does up old cars, and I’d always go down to the workshop to help him,” he said.
Fletcher said the scholarship o ered a good opportunity to help the younger generation get started into industry as TAFE study costs are expensive.
“I’m in an apprenticeship as a heavy diesel mechanic with a local business and started in a
The young trainee mechanic also said his course included agricultural studies too for vehicles such as tractors.
Both apprentices undertook a school apprenticeship program when in year 11.
“At the end of last year in Year 11, I le school and started the apprenticeship full-time,” Fletcher said.
Ziggy said his interest in the mechanical trade had been inuenced by his father.
“We’ve built some crazy stu , whether it be four-wheel drives or fast cars.
“I’ve always wanted to get into mechanics because when it came to mechanics I just wanted to research and learn about cars, so it was an easy trade for me to get into.”
Ziggy said he also has an apprenticeship in the automotive industry with a local business.
“In the school-based apprenticeship I worked two days a
“My dad was always into cars, and I’ve been working on cars in the driveway since I could hold a spanner,” the 17-year-old said.
week and did that for about six months, and then I nished up year 11 last year to continue full time this year while also studying at TAFE.
Ziggy said the scholarship helped out a lot.
“I need to get a toolbox and start collecting all my tools, so by the end of my apprenticeship, I’ll have everything I need to go out my own,” he said.
“This has been a fantastic big step, because I’m young and it’s really hard to save enough money to buy tools when you’re paying for all this other stu .”
PHOTO: Coral Cooksley
PHOTO: Coral Cooksley
Trip of a lifetime for local scouts
By CORAL COOKSLEY
FOUR excited 1st Beechworth Scouts had a trip of a lifetime when they took part in the 26th Australian Jamboree held in the Queensland town of Maryborough this month.
The event from January 5 to 17 drew around 10,000 Scouts from across Australia and around the world.
Scout leader from Beechworth Rohan France accompanying the scouts said contingents from every Australian State and Territory, as well as from more than 20 international contingents took part in the event stretched from nearby neighbours Fiji, Papua New Guinea (PNG), and Timor Leste to as far as the United Kingdom, Norway, and Belgium.
“The 30-hour bus trip failed to dent the enthusiasm of the scouts as they set up camp, prior to commencing their adventures,” he said.
For Beechworth scout Nikita it was an exciting time meeting people from across the world at Jamboree.
“I was able to meet people from across the world at Jamboree, as well as gain new skills and condence that will stay with me,” she said.
Beechworth scout Elena said “it was hot, wet, and muddy, but damn it was good”.
Mr France said a host of onsite activity highlights included abseiling, zip lining, mountain biking, motorised esky racing, laser tag, archery
tag and tomahawk throwing.
Others included 3D printing, competitive Lego building, team building activities, camp construction and pioneering skills along with old favourites such as badge swapping, and re lighting.
Mr France also said crocodiles were a favourite with a trip to the Australia Zoo on o site visits while a day at the beach on the Fraser Coast had been fun.
A visit to the Cistern Chapel of Maryborough – a public toilet block in the town transformed with brilliant artwork - and a golden toilet had been an interesting one too.
The project received a host of
media coverage two years ago when nished.
“Beechworth Scouts were paired with Scouts from Ringwood, Clayton, Oakleigh, and Waverly in Victoria to make a full unit of 30, along with a couple of leaders for support,” Mr France said.
“Scouts were responsible for all cooking, hygiene, and camp maintenance, as well as being prepared to embark on their adventures often leaving site as early as 6.30am to get in a full day of adventuring.”
Night time activities every evening included ‘Jamboree Got Talent’, performances by Australian singer-
songwriters Amy Shark, and Amy Sheppard and comedy by stand-up comedians Mel Buttle and Dave Hughes.
Among others was a country music themed evening as well as an EDM Rave evening – a dance party with a DJ playing music.
Mr France said high temperatures and humidity prevailed for the Jamboree with over 150mm of rain creating a challenging environment that was sure to build resilience.
“Beechworth Scouts also provided two leaders, and three Venturer Scouts (15 years old) who worked in logistics and rst aid supporting the event,” he said.
High spending in local holiday tourism
■ From front page
Ms Witherow said lights around town extended to the Old Beechworth Gaol with its wall lit up, new lights hung in the hero tree in the Town Hall Gardens, extra lights in Ford and Camp Streets as well as the Benev in Warner Road lit up.
“Bendigo Community Bank has been a fantastic supporter for the project over the years,” she said.
“People love coming to Beechworth and our Beechworth Inc. shop local campaign did really well with fantastic support from businesses.
“We had an exciting campaign with eight draws and each person received a bundle of vouchers to spend locally.
“We’ll undertake a bigger campaign this year.”
Ms Witherow said Beechworth had some tough times during the year such as Billson’s Brewery with the appointment of an administrator.
really core businesses and its really fantastic move forward,” she said.
“Some people don’t realise Billson’s is still operating and that can have an e ect on visitation,” she said.
The Beechworth Inc president said an exciting development for the town included the redevelopment by the new owner of the Wardens Hotel.
She said two local businesses had also secured spots to extend business out of town with Bridge Road Brewers opening at Melbourne Airport while Beechworth Hon-
Beechworth Bakery coowner and managing director, Marty Matassoni said a positive outlook prevailed over the Christmas holiday period with people out and about.
“The weather has been on our side as it has been warmish but it was hot and humid last year,” he said.
“The town looked vibrant with the Christmas lights too.”
Lake Sambell Caravan Park’s Roger Humphries said business had been good with business as usual.
Haines opens round 9 of Indi Stronger Communities Programme
INDEPENDENT
Federal Member for Indi Helen Haines is inviting expressions of interest for round nine of the Indi Stronger Communities Programme.
Open to community organisations and local governments, grants between $2500 and $20,000 are available for community projects.
Dr Haines said each year, the dedication and commitment of many local organisations to building a thriving community is recognised with funding to boost their local projects.
“Priority areas of focus for round nine of the programme include boosting tourism, supporting our veterans, people with disabilities and upgrading medical and sporting facilities,” she said.
Previous programme rounds have funded projects such as kitchen upgrades at the Euroa Citizens Band, refurbishments at the Bonegilla Hall, and the installation of shade sails at Tangambalanga Active Park.
“Seeing these projects brought to reality, and the lasting benefits experienced by our communities has been an extraordinary highlight of being Indi’s Independent MP,” Dr Haines said.
A panel comprised of representatives of local governments and community groups will assess the expressions of interest, prior to successful proponents being invited to make applications to the Department of Industry, Science and Resources.
More information and to submit an Expressions of Interest, please visit helenhaines.org/grants. Expressions of Interest must be received by 5pm on Thursday, February 13.
RAPT: Beechworth Inc. president and Dalcheri retailer Katrina Witherow is excited with news of the Warden’s Hotel development as well as two core town businesses extending their operations.
PHOTO: Coral Cooksley
History passion brings David to Beechworth
DAVID Saxton was born in the northern Victorian town of Nathalia.
He spent most of his life farming in the Upper Murray and moved to Beechworth with his partner four years ago from a farm in Leneva.
What do you do workwise?
I work as a tour guide around the Beechworth historic precinct and as a museum assistant at the Burke Museum.
What brought you to your role/career?
I was working in environmental restoration and looking for a role more to do with history and teaching.
I have a love of history and sharing it with people.
l have also worked on archaeology digs around the world.
What do you love about your work?
I love imparting knowledge and meeting a wide range of people.
Working with school groups is especially rewarding and seeing their wonder at how hard life could be on the gold elds while we are gold panning.
The fact is in many ways life is much better now than it has been in the past.
I enjoy showing people the historic buildings, explaining their history and the fact that they are still here because so many people in Beechworth had and still have a passion for history.
I work in a committed team passionate about preserving our Beechworth history and enhancing visitor experiences.
I enjoy helping with the “Kelly Trials” audio visual presentation at the Beechworth Courthouse - it is such an eye opener for many people as is the Burke Museum
What do you do in the community?
All my life I have volunteered in community organisations - SES, CFA, Lions Club, Hall committees, school committees, Landcare, Voices for Indigo, and recently Drag’d Out Beechworth.
At present with family commitments some of these have taken a back seat and l am doing more on a one-to-one basis with family and friends, such as sharing skills and tools for house renovations and furniture restoration.
My family and l enjoy many community activities around Indigo Shire, such as Spring Ditch and the Mayday Hills Art Society.
I volunteer to help the community and environment and feel being part of it.
Is there an important com-
munity issue that you think needs addressing?
Timely access to health services.
What would you do to solve change or improve that situation?
Have incentives to encourage health professionals to Beechworth.
For example - access to housing access to childcare, and a welcoming committee to support them and their families on an ongoing basis.
What do you see as one of the most important current world issues?
The increasing divide between wealth and poverty.
If the person you would most like to meet or knew came to Indigo Shire or was already here, who would that be, what would you show them, and why?
I would like to meet Dick Smith and show him the entrepreneurial communitybased organisations in and around the Indigo Shire.
And why - he is a people person and I feel he would acknowledge communities pulling together to bring change and improve our lives.
There are many good examples of this in and around Beechworth.
What book are you reading?
“The Aboriginal Story of Burke and Wills - Forgotten Narratives.” A study of Aboriginal cross-cultural exchanges with the Burke and Wills expedition of 1860-61.
Museum assistant.
Australia Day events around the shire
A HOST of Australia Day events on Sunday, January 26 are set to be held across Indigo Shire including local entertainment, awards presentations, guest speakers and ag raising and lowering ceremonies.
Beechworth: 8am to 9.30am at the Memorial Hall, Ford Street for a community barbecue, award presentations and entertainment, hosted by Beechworth Lions Club, Rotary Club of Beechworth, Beechworth CWA and Beechworth Scouts.
Barnawartha: 8am to 9.30am at the Soldiers Memorial Hall, High Street for
a community barbecue and award presentations hosted by the Barnawartha Soldiers Memorial Hall Committee.
Chiltern: 9.45am to 12pm at the Tourist Park, Main Street for a community morning tea/barbeque, entertainment and award presentations, hosted by the Black Dog Creek Fishing Club.
Kiewa-Tangambalanga : 11am to 1pm at Kiewa Memorial Park, Kiewa East Road for a community lunch, awards presentation and entertainment, hosted by the Tangambalanga Lions Club.
Rutherglen: 7.45am to
9.30am at the Lions Park, Douglas Street for a community breakfast, entertainment and awards presentation, hosted by the Rotary Club of Rutherglen.
Wahgunyah: 9.30am to 11.30am at Willows Recreation Reserve, Wahgunyah for a community barbecue, hosted by the Wahgunyah Progress Association.
Yackandandah : 8.30am to 9.30am Community barbeque breakfast at Isaac Park, Isaac Avenue hosted by the Yackandandah Lions Club, supported by Yackandandah Garden Club and Yackandandah Men’s Shed.
HISTORY BUFF: Beechworth’s David Saxton loves imparting knowledge as a tour guide and Burke
David Saxton
Crossley engine roars to life
By CORAL COOKSLEY
BEECHWORTH
history
cranked up on mid-Sunday afternoon when the historic Crossley engine roared to life in the purpose built shed at Wallace Park in Albert Road.
Run by the Beechworth Old Cranks Motor Club, organisers estimated more than 70 people were drawn to the event.
The engine is one of the last of its kind, with only six of its type built.
It powered Beechworth with electricity for a decade close to 90 years ago.
Imported by the Zwar Brothers Beechworth Tannery in March 1936 when its original plant was updated, the Crossley engine rumbled into action from then for the next for 10 years until the State Electricity Commission (SEC) of Victoria took over supply of electricity to the town.
Restoration of the thumping seven cylinder,
12.5-tonne diesel engine had been a joint project by the Beechworth Old Cranks Motor Club and the Rotary Club of Beechworth with its first official start up on May 1, 2016, as part of the Motor Club’s Dive Back in Time event.
Club treasurer Peter Deith said ongoing improvements to the engine had been achieved while maintenance continues to be ongoing.
A member of both clubs the late Charles Mason had been the project’s driving force.
Mr Mason’s close friend Rotarian Geoff Lucas said the project had taken a number of years from around 2005 before being brought into fruition.
“It’s awesome seeing it start up again today,” he said.
Old Cranks Motor Club members Ian Gray and Linton Schier both retired engineers work on the engine and fired up the Crossley on Sunday.
Mr Gray said the club started the engine up for about 10 minutes once or twice a year.
“It feels good to start it up because of the effort that has gone into it, and it’s nice
to show people,” he said.
Mr Gray said the engine had powered Mayday Hills too.
When power came to Beechworth in 1946 the engine was sold to Holloways
Timber Mill when the Tannery closed in 1961 provided the Mitta Mitta’s mill with electricity for the next 20 years.
The engine ended up in the Beechworth’s old railway
goods shed when relocated there in 2004 after being gifted to United Shire of Beechworth in 1992.
A joint effort by both clubs close to 12 years ago clinched a Victorian Government grant to place the engine on display.
“I was party to the installation on the foundations and helped to get it running,” Mr Gray said.
Beechworth’s David Saxton said today the same horsepower would be in a much smaller motor.
“I gather this was revolutionary at its time here and were a lot of towns without power at that time too,” he said.
“It’s the first time I’ve been close up and have seen it running, and I take my hat off to the clubs for preserving it.”
A barbeque held prior to the event for members drew some of the club’s motor vehicle enthusiasts to showcase more than 20 classic and vintage vehicles for visitors.
Neighbourhood centre repair café ramps up again
By CORAL COOKSLEY
FIXING items to help prevent them ending up in landfill is a mission for volunteers at Quercus Beechworth Neighbourhood Centre.
For volunteer Phil Ardern tossing items into landfill is a sad state of affairs.
“Too much stuff gets thrown into the landfill that’s probably quite repairable and is also an environmental cost as well,” he said.
“It’s important to have things repaired if we can.”
A licensed electrician by trade, Phil said repair is his background.
“I was doing a lot of repairs small items and I’m quite happy to help people repair things from that aspect,” he said.
With a need to be safety conscious with electrical items Mr Ardern said people have the chance for their
electrical items looked at by an electrician.
Volunteer Arthur Davies helping at the repair café for several years said another aspect of the repair café besides fixing things is to show people that repair is possible.
“I think it’s important to teach people what can be done and to give them confidence about having a go and doing things for themselves,” he said.
“Education is important to prevent items going into landfill by not using resources unnecessarily.”
Both volunteers agreed about the social side of helping as well.
“A reason I came down here is to help people as it’s a community operation, and if we all can do something to help our community, it keeps people connected,”
Mr Arden said.
“If you can teach people
skills, they appreciate it.”
Mr Davies and Mr Arden were part of a small band of volunteers at a brainstorming session last week for projects to help the community this year.
Quercus Beechworth operations coordinator Heather Jameson overseeing the repair café held once a month said great themes had discussed.
Ms Jameson said repair activities among them for skis, children’s toys, sewing sessions as well as the longstanding bicycle repairs are included.
“It’s going to be really valuable and hopefully will bring in some new people with different things to repair,” she said.
“We’re always wanting to hear from people who are
interested in being a repairer with any special skills too.
“I always look forward to hearing stories from the team about special little items that people thought were completely beyond repair.”
Ms Jameson said the group heard a story from one of the volunteers about a jewellery box repaired that meant so much to the
customer thinking it was beyond repair.
“It’s about getting the word out there again as we shouldn’t be throwing everything away, especially when there’s such a hive of knowledge in our community,” she said.
The operation coordinator said the repair café is part of an Australia-wide as well as a world-wide network with its origin in the Netherlands.
“Locally, there’s also one in Albury, Wodonga and Wangaratta and its valuable to have something to offer regularly and accessible in our town for our locals,” she said.
The repair café is held on the first Saturday of each month from 10am to 12pm with the first one kicking off at the Quercus Beechworth Oregon Hall on February 1 to coincide with the Farmers Market across the road. The hall is located at 26 Ford Street.
Library workshops continue to be a big hit for kids in shire
By CORAL COOKSLEY
FOR BEECHWORTH’S
Lisa Peters the local library is a great local resource for youngsters.
Her son Otis Collins (8) and daughter Millie (6) took part in an hour-long National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) Kids on Tour workshop around bogong moths held in Beechworth on Monday morning.
The workshop had been designed by Deanne Gilson, a proud Wadawurrung woman in Ballarat with her art and culture a part of NGV as well as other library workshops held around the shire over the school holidays.
“The library’s a wonderful hub of information, creativity and knowledge, and what a great thing to do for free,” Ms Peters said.
“It’s been a great session sparking their interests of the natural world around them, and Indigenous history is really interesting and local to us.
“I think it’s been a good opportunity for us to all learn more about it.”
Emily Littlewood with her children Sadie (3) and Briar (1) travelled from Rutherglen.
“I love the workshops and it’s another activity to do in the school holidays,” she said.
“It’s something di erent, interactive and fun.”
Beechworth Library assistant Anne Shanley said a great roll up of 14 children enjoyed the workshop based on Dr Gilson’s art work with her special interest in bogon moths.
“We discussed features of the moths, such as they’re very fairy hairy, and have fake eyes for camou age and their colour,” she said.
“The kids have known quite a lot about them too.
“We also talked about how women in Indigenous family groups used to collect bogon moths and then smoke them over their fires.
“It was a food delicacy and something di erent.
“We created a lot of conversation and interest, and children created colourful patterns.”
Ms Shanley said the workshops in school holidays broadened the scope of the libraries.
“They bring our young people in, it’s fun, exciting, and they love coming to the library to do these kinds of activities,” she said.
For more information about what’s on at Indigo Shire libraries visit www.indigoshire. vic.gov.au/libraries.
More measles cases reported in Victoria
TWO new cases of measles have been reported in Victoria who were infectious across Melbourne in mid-January, according to an official update from the Victorian Department of Health.
People who have attended the exposure sites (listed at health.vic.gov.au/health-alerts) during the specified times on January 15 or 16 should contact their GP immediately to discuss the need for post-exposure prophylaxis and monitor for symptoms of measles.
These new cases have been linked to travel in Vietnam, adding to four recent Victorian measles cases also connected to travel in this region.
There has been an increase in notified cases of measles in returned travellers across Australia in recent weeks, with growing outbreaks reported internationally including in Vietnam and Thailand. Measles is a highly infectious viral illness that can spread from person-to-person and potentially lead to serious health complications.
People who have attended the listed exposure sites during the specified dates and times should monitor for symptoms of measles and follow the instructions below.
Anyone who develops symptoms of measles should seek medical care - and wear a mask and call ahead to make sure they can be isolated from others.
Healthcare professionals should be alert for measles in patients with fever and rash, particularly those who have recently returned from overseas or attended a listed exposure site during the specified period.
Suspected cases should be tested, advised to isolate, and notified to the Department of Health immediately by calling 1300 651 160.
All Victorians are eligible to receive the free measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine if born during or after 1966 and without documentation of having received two doses of measles-containing vaccine.
Clinicians should vaccinate all individuals who are unsure of their vaccination history, regardless of Medicare status.
Anyone planning overseas travel should make sure they have received appropriate travel vaccinations, including MMR vaccine, especially important for anyone planning on travelling to South-East Asia including Vietnam.
Celebrating Community
Recognise your community’s unsung heroes at one of the following events on 26 January, Australia Day.
Barnawartha
8am – 9:30am
Barnawartha Soldiers
Memorial Hall
Beechworth
8am – 9:30am
Beechworth Memorial Hall
Chiltern
9:45am – 12.00pm
Tourist Park
| Community BBQ, award presentations and entertainment
| Community BBQ and award presentation
Kiewa/Tangambalanga
11am – 1pm
Kiewa Memorial Park
| Community lunch, award presentations and entertainment
Yackandandah
8:30am – 9.30am
Sir Isaacs Park
| Community BBQ
Rutherglen
7:45am – 9.30am
Lions Park
| Community breakfast, entertainment and award presentation
| Community morning tea and BBQ, entertainment and award presentations
Wahgunyah
9:30am – 11.30am
Willows Recreation Reserve
| Community BBQ
These events are proudly run by local community groups with support from Indigo Shire Council
Find more details www.indigoshire.vic.gov.au/australiaday
TRIPPED: Emily Littlewood with her children Sadie and Briar travelled from Rutherglen for the workshop.
Artist captures her love for animals in Menagerie
By ANITA MCPHERSON
A LOCAL artist who sees the unique spirit and character in each of the animals she loves to paint, is holding an exhibition at the Art Gallery on Ovens in Wangaratta.
Renowned Australian artist Carolyn Sheather lives in Manseld and works from her studio in Beechworth, but it was growing up on the family farm in Cheshunt where her love for animals and the natural world began.
Carolyn said she and her 10 siblings were raised on the productive property surrounded by cattle, where they also grew their own vegetables, and she attended secondary school in Wangaratta.
While having studied and gone on to teach extensively both locally, interstate and overseas, when it comes to her own paintings today, animals o en take centre stage.
“I nd that animals come naturally to me because I grew up with them,” she said.
“I see animals as companions not commodities and they are sentient - they have feelings whether we like it or not.
“But I don’t want to make a political statement - I’m never going to paint anything I don’t want to manifest.
New member for EPA Governing Board
EPA Victoria has welcomed a new member to its Governing Board.
Sarah Thomson brings a wealth of experience with a 25-year background in finance, governance and risk.
Sarah has diverse professional and personal experience and a strong commitment to ethical and values-based leadership and governance.
While Carolyn has worked for many years in a variety of di erent mediums including pastels, watercolours and acrylics, it was a er establishing her Beechworth 18 months ago that she began concentrating on oil painting.
She set herself a challenge to paint 100 paintings in three months, and much of this body of work, from small studies to larger scale pieces, are showcased in the exhibition she has called Menagerie.
“I became a much better painter with oils by doing the challenge,” she said.
“I’m in love with oils which I think comes through in the work.
“My heartfelt gratitude goes to the Mayday Hills Art Society for the opportunity they have given me in my amazing studio space - it has allowed me to ‘become’.”
Carolyn said she has a attracted a worldwide following from art lovers who nd her character- lled portraits enchanting, and she said it’s a pleasure to bring joy to people.
She says it’s her ability to look animals in the eye and “to paint less information, but give more” which has become her strength, and is something she
“I think art is very powerful so I don’t want to paint angst, I paint happy things.”
wants to get even better at.
“I really want to explore the relationships between animals too - they have these incredible relationships between themselves, not just between us and them,” she said.
See Menagerie at the Art Gallery on Ovens on Monday,
Thursday and Friday from 10am until 4pm and on Saturday and Sunday from 10am until 2pm until February 3.
Meet the artist during the ofcial opening celebration being held on Saturday, January 25 from 12pm to 2pm, with all welcome.
“I am very much looking forward to making a contribution to safeguarding the environment for the Victorian Community,” Sarah said.
In addition, she also has broad-based executive experience primarily as a chief financial officer but also in strategy development, digital, customer and community engagement.
Sarah is a chartered accountant, a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has degrees in economics and Asian studies from the Australian National University.
She has worked in diverse organisations in for-profit, for-purpose and government owned enterprises primarily in the international community development and water sectors and has spent a year working in an aboriginal corporation in Kakadu, Northern Territory.
Sarah has completed a number of leadership courses including the Minister for Water’s Insights Executive Leadership and Williamson Community Leadership programs.
She has a strong commitment to her regional home of Shepparton and has been the chair of the Goulburn Murray Resilience Strategy for four years, a board member of the Rumbalara Football and Netball Club (a primarily aboriginal club) and a committee member of the Committee for Greater Shepparton (a business advocacy committee).
In welcoming Sarah to the EPA governing board, chair professor Kate Auty said Sarah is widely respected in the water industry and amongst her regional community.
“She brings great skills to the board,” she said.
“As a board we warmly welcome her appointment.”
NATURAL WORLD: Artist Carolyn Sheather shares her paintings, drawings, sculptures and sketchbooks in Menagerie at the Art Gallery on Ovens in the laneway o Murphy Street in Wangaratta.
PHOTO: Kurt Hickling
A challenging road to neutrality
Chambers family at Lake Moodemere near Rutherglen talk about change in farming practices
LEADERSHIP and change is not foreign to the ve generations of the Chambers family at Lake Moodemere Estate in the Rutherglen wine region.
Changing farming systems and the mix of activities in order to remain in business is critical, as are the leadership skills shown by Belinda, Michael and Joel Chambers.
Lake Moodemere will soon be one of six wineries in Australia to become certied carbon neutral.
With deep family connections within the wine industry and a history of previous generations providing leadership within the broader agriculture industry this adaptation to climate change and emissions reduction was a natural step.
North East Catchment Management Authority spoke with the Chambers family in conjunction with hosting two Wine Australia workshops exploring carbon neutral wine and grapes at Rutherglen and Oxley during December.
These workshops are part of the Carbon Farming Outreach Program, helping farmers learn how to reduce emissions, store carbon and navigate carbon market opportunities.
When the Chambers family achieved sustainability certi cation for their Rutherglen vineyard on Lake Moodemere in 2021, they found a user-friendly framework that helped them create a stable ecosystem, reducing their reliance on synthetic fertilisers and expensive and intensive vineyard practices such as slash-
ing and other unnecessary activities.
Joel, who returned to Lake Moodemere Estate in 2018 a er serving in the Australian Defence Force, where he had honed his skills in leadership and change, said sustainability certi cation was focused around growing grapes using sustainable regenerative vineyard practices that are better for the environment while allowing the production of an acceptable yield and high quality.
He said while it was a logical step for the small familyowned winery and vineyard, it wasn’t without its challenges.
“At the start we did go hard, the vineyard went into shock and we had the worst vintage we’ve ever had,” Joel said.
For Joel’s father Michael, who established the wine label with wife Belinda in 1995, seeking sustainability certi cation made sense.
Michael’s father Peter had already moved away from pesticides in the vineyard which was rst planted in 1886.
He said what really pushed them into the big time was the millennial drought as for a couple of years, the crop was a bit thin on the ground.
But last year they had their highest yields ever and the best quality.
“The vines have gone through this transition and they’re starting to produce up to eight tonnes a hectare which is all we need,” Joel said.
“And they’ve created this stable ecosystem where we
don’t have to rely on any synthetic fertiliser.
“The sign of a healthy vineyard is when you go through to put your fungicide spray on and you come out and the tractor’s covered in bugs and spider webs.
“And you’ve gotta give it a really good wash down.”
The Chambers family recently celebrated their centenary; 100 years of mixed farming and growing grapes on the Lake Moodemere property.
At the same time Joel,
The vines have gone through this transition and they’re starting to produce up to eight tonnes a hectare which is all we need.
- JOEL CHAMBERS
who followed his parents Michael and Belinda, grandfather Peter and great uncle Bill into winemaking, has ensured Lake Moodemere will become the rst carbon neutral wine operation in North East Victoria.
But he says going carbon neutral at Lake Moodemere has been a “whole di erent kettle of sh”, in spite of the earlier transition to sustainability certi cation.
“It identi es your bigger emission areas and our vineyard is now not a big emitter,” Joel said.
“It wouldn’t be responsible to try and reduce emissions further in the vineyard because then we are going to have a yield issue.”
In order to meet the challenges of achieving carbon neutral certi cation through the governmentbacked program Climate Active, the Chambers engaged a consultant, rather than go it alone as they had previously done with sustainability certi cation.
“You need to reveal your entire input process and that goes from how you grow your grapes to how you operate your wine business; how we get our wine to our cellar club members or to the consumer,” Joel said.
The process identi es high emissions such as transport, wine bottles and
print calculation is critical in supporting farmers to become carbon neutral.
“We’ve been working on our soil carbon in the vineyard for some time,” Joel said.
“It’s up around 3pc compared to our land over the road which sits at about 1pc.
“If that can be registered and used; together with planted out areas that are not farmed, we will probably become carbon positive.”
Michael, Belinda and Joel say their small management team has given them greater versatility than larger operations but even then, the cost of carbon neutral certi cation remains a big deterrent both to them and their winemaking colleagues.
“So far it’s taken us two years because we spent an entire year getting our documentation together,” Joel said.
“The big cost is your initial certi cation and then you have to report every year.
“It would be nice to start to do that by ourselves; to do our own reporting and documentation. That would certainly lower costs.”
Right now, Joel said the carbon neutral certi cation will be a trial period at Lake Moodemere.
the production system.
From there, the Chambers have worked to reduce their emissions and have bought a minimal amount of o sets to cover transport which accounts for about 70 per cent of their business emissions.
Bottles are also a major emissions contributor, particularly the heavyweight premium claret bottle which until now has contained the Lake Moodemere family range.
The Chambers were using some light and green bottles already, and have since moved to use them across their range.
The only exception is for sparkling where there is no lightweight option for safety reasons.
They are also working through reducing their emissions and aiming to become carbon positive via insetting, a form of o sets where the carbon absorbed by a property and soil is claimed.
The climate active regulations currently do not allow the insetting of tree plantings or biodiversity, which is a “business as usual” part of any farming operation.
The Chambers say changes to the way on-farm biodiversity plantings are allowed to be used in the emissions foot-
While sustainability certi cation had delivered the winery good marketing opportunities and a point of engagement, particularly with its Cellar Club membership; it was still too early to know if carbon neutral certi cation would do the same.
“I think we’re de nitely gonna give it maybe ve years and we’ll see where things are - the cost will come into it big time,” he said.
Belinda Chambers said when Joel returned to Rutherglen in 2018 a er four years in the military, she and her husband had committed to back him where his passions were.
“And his passion was very quickly identi ed in the carbon neutral space for emissions,” she said.
“It was challenging for us to get our head around and to believe it, but as we went through the journey that changed and we’re fully immersed now.
“The strategy is to continue into the next generation and make sure that we’re investing in the kinds of things that Joel wants to continue with.”
The North East CMA is helping farmers to make informed decisions about carbon farming with free workshops on o er.
If you are interested in attending a training workshop or are interested in having training delivered to your group or network, contact Lachlan Campbell at lachlan.campbell@necma.vic. gov.au.
ACROSS
3 What one might do to a male waif (5,3)
7 Name the bell in the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament in London (3,3)
8 To have palpitated, is to have done what (8)
9 Name a Pacific Island State in the USA (6)
10 What are official government journals (8)
11 Name the language of Austria (6)
14 Name an English cookery writer, Isabella Mary ... (6)
17 Which imaginary island, populated by tiny people, is referred to in Gulliver’s Travels (8)
18 Who composed “White Christmas”, and countless other songs, ... Berlin (6)
19 To have deprived of clerical status, is to have done what (8)
20 What is a colloquial term for a cheap restaurant (6)
21 Which term describes reddish yellow (8)
DOWN
1 To be whimsically strange, is to be what (7)
3 Which substance, when injected into animal tissues, will stimulate the production of antibodies (7)
4 Who is under the friendly patronage of another (7)
5 What is a place of abode (7)
6 Name the fourth President of the US, James ... (7)
E-QUATIONS 7
2 Name the Biblical father of Isaac (7)
11 Which Italian physicist built the first astronomical telescope (7)
Letters have a number value
E-QUATIONS
Some values are in the right hand cells. Create remaining values using clues in
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
12 Name the English explorer and author, Sir Walter ... (7)
13 To be stupid or obstinate, is to be what (7)
14 Which term suggests that which comes to pass (arch) (7)
15 To lift up, is to do what (7)
16 What might we call the first two cricketers batting (7)
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
(a) Fine sediment (b) The assemblage of trees in a region (c) The earth’s crust underlying the sial 2 VALKYRIE
(a) One of the minor goddesses who conducted battlefield slain to Valhalla (b) A monument for a nation’s great men (c) A bidding farewell
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:
At value: ad ... (7)
Cedric (abbr.) (3)
Comedian (5)
Connectors (5)
Deep regret (7)
Large excavator (coll.) (3)
Leaf of paper (5)
Not many (3)
Open source software (3)
Weary (5)
Solve the crossword. Each answer has four letters.
Passed away peacefully at Stringybark Lodge, Beechworth. Aged 96 years.
Dearly loved wife of Bob (dec). Loved mother of Merrilyn and Greg (dec).
Cherished Nana of Renee and Lindsay.
classifieds@nemedia.com.au
37 Rowan Street, Wangaratta 3677
Adored mother-in-law of Brian and Sean. Great grandmother of Khye, Maya and Finn. “Gone from our sight, but never from our hearts” – John Green MASON
A funeral service to honour the life of Betty Charlotte Mason will be held at Beechworth Anglican Christ Church, 29 Ford St, Beechworth TODAY commencing at 1.30pm followed by interment at the Stanley Cemetery. Betty’s service can be viewed via live stream at northeastfunerals.com.au/live-stream/
The Beechworth Health Service (BHS) Board Chair, Dr. Isabel Paton, together with fellow Directors extend an invitation to join them at the BHS Annual General Meeting to be held on Thursday 6th February 2025 at 4-5pm
52 Sydney Road Beechworth Primary Health Meeting Space
Arrival and registration at 3.45pm
Annual General Meeting commencing at 4.00pm
Light refreshment will be provided after the formalities.
Please indicate if you have any dietary requirements RSVP by Thursday 30th January 2025 to oriana.mccormick@beechworthhealth.org.au or call (03) 5728 0289
CHECK OUT OUR NORTH EAST JOBS in today's Regional Extra for more employment opportunities. Published every Wednesday in your Wangaratta Chronicle, Ovens and Murray Advertiser, Myrtleford Times and Alpine Observer
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Summer Cup heats up at Beechworth
By DYLAN POOL
LAST Thursday 19 players were in attendance at twilight golf.
The front nine was played.
The winner with 24 points (20+4) was Andy Croome, runner up taking home the Bridge Road Brewers voucher was Brian Pritchard with 23 points (20+3).
Ball winners were Ben Ryder 23, Graeme Cordy 21 and Rod Shaw 20.
The Beechworth Bakery nearest the pin on the 3rd went to Jacob Howard and Dan Balzer claimed nearest the pin on the 7th.
Jamie Dolny took home all the cash by chipping in on the 9th.
Phil Pelgrim drew out his own name in the raffle therefore taking
home the CC’s Quality Meats and Smokehouse voucher.
Ben Ryder started the night with a bang, having an eagle on the par 5 first hole.
On Wednesday just one group headed out for a Stableford round.
Gail Smith had a fantastic round to win the day with 41 points, runner up was Doyna Collins with 35 points.
Nearest the pins went to Hollie Goodwin on the 3rd and Gail Smith on the 17th.
On Sunday the second round of the Summer Cup was played with 11 players again in attendance.
The winner of the day with 38 points was Daryl Rowe (20), runner up with 37 points was Phil Pelgrim (18).
Ball winners were Andy Croome (14) 35 and Dave Clark (13) 35.
Nearest the pins went to Darren Edwards on the 3rd and Dave Clark on the 5th.
After two rounds of the Summer Cup Dave Clark holds a slender lead with 73 points, followed by Phil Pelgrim 72, Hollie Goodwin 70, Daryl Rowe 69 and Zane Howard 68.
The next round of the Summer Cup is on in two Sundays time, February 2.
This coming Sunday will be an Ambrose event, with partners to be drawn on the day.
Arrive 11:30am for 12noon hit off, some afternoon tea will follow.
It would be great to see everyone come along for a social day.
Wanderers take down Lakers
By BAILEY ZIMMERMANN
BEECHWORTH’s A grade side pulled off a major scalp in their one-day finale for the 2024/25 season beating Yarrawonga Mulwala by 67 runs.
It was their second win on the trot at Baarmutha Park and skyrocketed to third in the overall ladder.
The Wanderers ended the oneday season just three points off a final berth, as Wangaratta Magpies and Rovers United Bruck will play off for the Rod Newton Shield on February 2.
Electing to bat first against the Lakers, Beechworth made a shaky start as opener Jack Ryan was bowled on the third ball of the match.
But led by Jackson Cull’s 57 at number three, the Wanderers top order made valuable contributions with Clancy Ellett (27), Brenton Surrey (27) and Kayde Surrey (22) all in the runs.
Matt Ryan’s unbeaten 19 off 16 balls provided the cherry on top of a strong total after 40 overs, finishing with 7/173.
After his cameo with the bat, Ryan provided his team with a dream start with the ball in the opening over dismissing the everdangerous Reid Clarke for a duck.
It was then Tim Cogger (3/19) and Jack Ryan (2/13) who put on a lethal spell of bowling to have the Lakers in all sorts of trouble at 6/28.
After none of their top six batters reached double figures, the Yarrawonga Mulwala bottom order
provided some resistance before it was broken by captain Brenton Surrey, who cleaned up the tail taking 3/11.
The Lakers were bowled out for 108.
A run of four straight two-day matches to end the regular season will begin this weekend back at Baarmutha Park as the Wanderers host City Colts.
The Colts are coming off a confidence building win last week over Ovens Valley and are well entrenched with the Wanderers in their battle for finals positioning.
In other grades, B grade were comprehensively outplayed by Rovers United Bruck in their return to action in 2025, going down by 161 runs at North Wangaratta.
Nine different bowlers tried their hand with the ball with little success as Lachie Fitzpatrick, James Dart and Jacob Howard earned a wicket each in RUB’s total of 3/247.
Howard put on 28 in a rare highlight with the bat for Beechworth before they were bowled out for 86.
In C grade, Beechworth came from the clouds to chase down 187 in their win over Yarrawonga Mulwala.
Junior Country Week wraps up
SUNDAY saw Junior Country Week grand finals contested across the North East, after a busy and sometimes interrupted week of junior cricket.
Out of seven local junior teams, only one side made it to a grand final, with the Under 13 WDCA Blue squad taking on CAW Stars for the Graham Kerr Shield at Noreuil Park, Albury.
Wangaratta were favourites to take out the title, having finished on top of the table and remained undefeated through the group stage. However, the WDCA couldn’t get the job done, bowled out for 122 chasing CAW’s 7/201.
a good day with
After bowling first at Victoria Park, it seemed a formidable task as the Wanderers stumbled to 7/83 after 19 overs following an impressive start from opener Chris Nuck (45).
But lower order heroics from Justin Iaria (53) and Kane Niklaus (37 not out) steered the Wanderers to an improbable win which was capped off with two overs to spare.
The team from Stanley remain unbeaten on top of the ladder.
Both B grade and C grade will have league wide byes on Saturday.
Stars won the toss and batted, with opener Archie Rhodes retiring not out after making a half century off 69 deliveries.
Thomas Sealey ripped through the top order, finishing with respectable figures of 3/35 from his allotment of eight overs.
Jordan Knight was also in the wickets, taking 2/40 from seven overs, while Finn Mitchell (1/27 from five) and Billy McMahon (1/31 from seven) pitched in as well.
The Stars’ bats were firing, compiling a substantial total of 201 from their 40 overs. With the required run rate a tick above five an over from the first ball, it was always going to be a tough chase.
Opener Angus Fraser was in good touch, carrying his bat for the entire innings on his way to 54* from 78 deliveries in a knock which included six fours and a six.
However, while he was belting the ball to all parts of the ground, wickets were falling at the other end.
WDCA Blue were in trouble after the first five overs at 3/17, with only three batters other than Fraser making it into double figures.
Taj Parker (14 from 12), Mitch McMasters (12 from 28) and Thomas Sealey (15 from 16) provided some resistance, but the consistent fall of wickets meant WDCA would be going home empty handed.
Nominations open for 2024 Victorian Sport Awards
IF you know of someone who deserves recognition at your sporting club, now’s the time to throw their hat in the ring.
Presented by the Victorian Government and Vicsport, nominations opened on Wednesday, January 15 for the Victorian Sport Awards (VSAs), which acknowledges the full spectrum of Victorian sport across all levels during the 2024 calendar year.
The most prestigious night for the state’s sporting and active recreation community, the VSAs recognises and celebrates those who made an outstanding con-
tribution to Victorian sport during 2024 by honouring the grassroots heroes who excelled at a community level, high-performance athletes who shone at a national and international level and everyone in between. With 18 awards presented, individual and team athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers, administrators, media personnel and the initiatives that ensure Victorians remain active will all be recognised. The nomination process is open to all members of the public, and nominations can be submitted via the Vicsport website between
Wednesday, January 15 and Friday, February 14.
“In partnership with the Victorian Government, Vicsport is thrilled to once again recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements of our state’s sport and recreation community at the Victorian Sport Awards,” Vicsport chair Jason Hellwig said.
“The premier event on the Victorian sporting calendar, it is a special night where we have the opportunity to honour the grassroots heroes who keep our sport and recreation sector thriving as well as the high-performance athletes who starred
on the world stage at events such as the Paris Olympics and Paralympics.
“With 18 awards on offer, I strongly urge all Victorians to submit their nominations to ensure their sport is well represented on the night.”
Following the closure of nominations after Friday, February 14, four finalists for each of the 18 awards will be decided by esteemed judging panels and announced in March before the winners are revealed on Wednesday, May 14 in the Members Dining Room at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
All finalists, family,
friends, sporting organisations and clubs are invited to attend the VSAs and celebrate the successes of sport in Victoria.
Categories in the 2024 Victorian Sport Awards are as follows: Leasexpress Coach of the Year, Gallagher Community Coach of the Year, Sports Accounting Australia Official of the Year, etrainu Community Official of the Year, AFL SportsReady Young Team of the Year, AED Authority Team of the Year, My Sport Live Community Sporting Event of the Year, Love the Game Community Sporting Club of the Year, revo -
lutioniseSPORT Victorian Sports Administrator of the Year – Eunice Gill Award, Bunnings Trade Local Government Initiative of the Year, VAILO Volunteer of the Year, VicHealth Sport and Active Recreation Initiative of the Year, Involve Masters Athlete of the Year, rebel Young Athlete of the Year, Outstanding Media Coverage of Sport Award, Polytan Peter Norman Inclusion Award, Frank Wilkes Award, Kitty McEwan Award.
More information on the 2024 Victorian Sport Awards can be found at http://vicsport.com.au/2024-vsas.
TWILIGHT DELIGHT: Winner of last Thursday’s twilight round at Beechworth Andy Croome with Sunday’s Summer Cup second round runner up Daryl Rowe.
the ball last Saturday against Yarrawonga Mulwala, taking 3/11.
HEAVE IT IN: Tristan Lenaz throws a ball back in the field.
PHOTOS: Marc Bongers
Local dragon boat club keeps paddling success
Beechworth Golden Serpents
A TEN-MEMBER junior
team in a premier event from Beechworth Golden Serpents
Dragon Boat Club will paddle hard and fast in a regatta being held on Rocky Lake at Falls Creek on Sunday.
The team will be among other Golden Serpent club crews entered in di erent contest categories as wellpremiers (under 40 years) and seniors (over 40 years).
Club coach Kellie Jones said teams consist of mixed, women and open in each of the premier and senior divisions.
Crews will race against other clubs – Wodonga’s Brave Hearts, Albury Wodon-
BY CORAL COOKSLEY ccooksley@ nemedia.com.au
ga’s Warriors and Mt Beauty as well as other teams from Gippsland and Melbourne in the racing competition known as the Mile High Regatta as the location is 1600 metres above sea level.
Kellie said members train hard three times a week with a focus on training for regattas in the lead up to each one.
“This one is a one-kilometre tri-point race with 20 member crews and we also race 200 metre distances with 10 member crews and
enter three
teams
have been practicing this length,” she said.
This season’s success for the club has stretched from the rst o cial regatta in Geelong held in August last year to the Australian Cross Border Championships held in early December and everything in between with the club racing in more regattas this year.
Kellie said a small crew took out rst place trophies to Battle on the Barwon (BoB) in Geelong.
“Some of the crew trained throughout winter once a week for the 5.4-kilometre race on the Barwon River,” she said.
to
compete in Falls Creek regatta on Sunday
Crews mainly from Victoria, a combined NSW team and teams from the ACT competed for the Southern Cross Cup in the Australian Border Championships held at Wodonga’s Gateway Lakes on the weekend of December 7 and 8.
Golden Serpents entered a senior 40-year-old and above crew while its open age crew for the premiers category included all club juniors in the major event.
On handicap the club held its second place and with points awarded for each event where Beechworth took out third place in the cup.
With state and nationals
coming up Kellie said the club looked forward to competing well in its entered age categories.
“As our membership has grown, we are now in the exciting position where we can enter teams in all age categories,” she said.
“We have around 80 members ranging from 10 years old to 70 years old and above.
“Teams entered will be senior A (40+), senior B (50+) and senior C (60+) as well as a junior crew.
“A lot of our members are also trying out for the Victorian State team which will compete at the nationals on state versus state day too.”
Kellie said entries for an annual lunar dragon boating event run as a part of the Chinese New Year celebrations hosted by Melbourne City are on the horizon.
“The Lunar New Year event is 200 metres racing as well as corporate racing,” she said. The coach said the club has gone from strength to strength in both membership and paddling results on the water.
“It’s lovely that dragon boating has been embraced by the Beechworth community, and we appreciate all support the community has shown,” she said.
