Regional Extra 300823

One for the history buffs

By RYAN MALCOLM

LOCAL fire brigades are working harder to chronicle their experiences, in the wake of the release of a book detailing up to 150 years of the Wangaratta Fire Brigades’ Group history.

‘Make Tankers Ten – A History of the Wangaratta Fire Brigades’ Group’ was officially launched in March, the culmination of more than a decade of research and collaboration by local CFA stalwarts David Salau, Graham Colson, Neil Brock and Jim Buchan.

Attended by the state’s most senior CFA official, chief officer Jason Heffernan, the launch kick-started a frenzy of sales, with an estimated 450 copies flying off the shelves at Edgar’s Books and News, Garry Nash and Co and Milawa Post Office.

In the lead-up to Father’s Day, Mr Salau reflected on the experience, which involved chronicling individual stories from the group’s 16 brigades and highlighting the ‘fathers of the group’ who influenced the formation of the current Victorian fire service.

“It’s 150 years of volunteer service this year –1873 was the first formal fire brigade established – that was Wangaratta – it’s a bit of a significant year,” he said.

■ Continued page 6

◆ SNAPSHOT OF HISTORY: Contributor Graeme Norman and Make Tankers Ten co-author Jim Buchan played a key role in chronicling the stories of local brigades. PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

Koalas – the full story

KOALAS are marsupials that live in eucalypt forests in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia.

They are fussy eaters.

In Australia, there are more than 600 types of eucalypt trees but koalas will only eat a few species.

Their diet consists mainly of a certain type of eucalyptus leaf which is poisonous to other animals.

They can eat up to one kilogram of leaves each day.

From a young age, koala joeys are fed a form of fecal matter called pap that helps them to digest the leaves.

You could think that eucalypt leaves make koalas drunk, because they seem so dozy.

This is a myth – Koala food provides little energy, so they rest through the day, saving their energy to look for food at night.

A koala receives over 90 per cent of its hydration from the eucalyptus leaves.

Koalas will only drink when there isn’t enough moisture in the leaves, like during a drought.

Koalas can live up to 18 years.

They breed once a year, usually between September and March.

Once the joeys emerge from the pouches of their mothers, the mother communicates to her young with soft clicking, squeaking and gentle humming sounds.

Koalas live in long-term communities and are territorial.

They will live their entire lives in the same place unless they’re forced

with Backyard Buddies https://backyardbuddies.org. au/backyard-buddies/koala/

to move on.

Relocated koalas adapt very poorly to new environments and the majority do not survive, which is why injured koalas that have been looked after by a wildlife carer can only be returned to their home territory once well or housed in a sanctuary.

Within a community of koalas their home range needs to have suitable areas of forest, ideally eucalypt, which is large enough to support a healthy Koala population and allow expansion for their maturing young.

The home range needs ‘home trees’ and ‘food trees’.

A koala community will only develop and thrive if the habitat is just right.

They need to find a space in the forest that has good rainfall, suitable soil and their favourite gum leaves.

Like many of our native animals, koala populations are under threat from loss of habitat.

Over 80 per cent of koalas’ habitats are now on private land and with our houses getting closer to koalas ‘home range’ there is a higher risk of dog attacks and road accidents.

By taking simple measures like keeping your pets inside at night, planting and maintaining the Koalas favourite eucalypt trees and being more aware on the road, you can help Koalas survive.

Trout season opens Saturday, with other fishing options too

IT’S hard to believe that winter is almost over and the trout season is about to reopen.

This Saturday is the opening day of the new trout season here in Victoria, and it remains open until King’s Birthday weekend next June.

The NSW trout season does not open until October.

The streams are all in excellent shape at the moment.

I went for a drive around the hills last weekend and everything is looking perfect.

With solid flows in most streams, worms will be a worthwhile bait this opening weekend.

Some streams will be higher and dirtier than others, but I think

that worms will work well in most streams.

Those wanting to target trout with lures should do well too with most of the streams running quite clear, although there may be a bit of current to contend with.

If trout fishing in streams isn’t your thing that’s OK, there have been a lot of fish caught in other areas recently.

Lake Buffalo has been fishing very well for redfin, so too has Lake Eildon and the Waranga Basin.

Some people have been catching a lot of redfin in Lake Hume, while others have missed out completely.

I think a bit of local knowledge will give you the advantage there.

Broken Creek near Katamatite is teaming with carp at the moment.

The carp fishing is next level.

I caught around 30 there in a single afternoon recently.

Lake Moodemere has been fishing quite well all winter for both carp and redfin.

I even managed to catch a lovely pair of yellowbelly over there one wintery afternoon.

It’s only the start of spring and things are still cold, but there are a lot of fish biting at the moment and as the weather starts to warm up the yellowbelly at Lake Nillahcootie, Lake Hume and Lake Eildon will all start to fire too.

It’s an exciting time of the year for anglers in North East Victoria.

This Day in History, 1869

IN the early hours of the morning, a brief but intense earth tremor shook Beechworth. Although it lasted only seconds, it caused buildings to shake.

The tremor was heralded by a rumbling noise like a passing train, then glasses tinkled, crockery rattled and jumped on the shelves, beds shook and buildings swayed.

◆ REDFIN DELIGHT: A nice sized Lake Buffalo redfin caught on a small diving minnow lure last week. The bloke in the background (Terry Alexander) said to say “GO BLUES”.

◆ CUDDLY KOALAS: Koalas are marsupials that can be found across mainland Australia.

with Rob Alexander WANGARATTA lexander TA

Lentil walnut salad

Anh keeps young readers entertained

YOU’D be hard-pressed to find a more prolific and multi-talented author than Anh Do.

The devotion of the Australian comedian/ actor/artist/author to his young readers has seen him develop a whole raft of characters, and continue to pump out books telling their stories.

From Wolf Girl to E-Boy, The Champ to Pow Pow Pig, there is an Anh Do title to suit most abilities and interests in young readers, and as a result, he has a huge fan-base.

This week we have a book pack from Allen & Unwin containing five books Anh has released just since May, with two of them brand new to shelves this week.

E-Boy is back for his fifth incarnation in ‘Superhuman Army’ (illustrated by Marcelo Baez), in which Ethan’s powers are put to the test when he, Penny and Gemini find themselves in a desperate race against the corrupt government and its army of androids.

when they get there?

Another popular Anh Do character, The Champ, is back for the third time in ‘The Champ v the Werewolf Warriorz’ (illustrated by Dave Atze).

Summer continues to grow into her super powers and secret identity, but when the Book Witch and her army of Werewolf Warriorz threaten to ruin the Rockstone Autumn Fair, Summer’s powers are put to the test.

Will she be able to save the day, and the fair, without revealing her identity?

THIS healthy recipe from Bowel Cancer Australia makes four serves and is rich in fibre and nutrients.

For more recipes like this, follow the links at www.bowelcanceraustralia.org

Ingredients

400 grams of cooked or tinned brown lentils

2 tablespoons of walnuts chopped

125 grams of reduced fat cheddar cheese (optional)

2 cups of baby spinach

1 punnet of cherry or grape tomatoes cut in half

2 tablespoons of red onion finely diced

Dressing

Four tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Two teaspoons of lemon juice

Pinch of salt and pepper

Teaspoon of wholegrain mustard

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Add all ingredients of the dressing into a container with a secure lid, shake vigorously.

3. Pour over salad and mix through.

4. Let stand for 20 minutes.

5. Place in individual small soup bowls to serve.

Soon they are in the clutches of the dreaded Collector, and must try to free themselves in time to seize the Grapes of Atlantis.

Then there’s Wolf Girl, in her ninth epic adventure, ‘Sink or Swim’ (illustrated by Lachlan Creagh).

When Gwen and her pack are carried by the wild river to the tiny village of Hookville, little does she know she will soon be joining forces with Jarrod, a local athlete, to compete in the Championship Games.

But will they make it upriver to the games in time, and what - and who - will they find

In the newly-released Pow Pow Pig book, ‘Snow Action’ (illustrated by Peter Cheong), Pow Pow and the Z Team end up at the North Pole and are not sure how to get home again - until they stumble across a missing sled, a wayward cow, and two stolen reindeer.

And the latest ‘Rise of the Mythix’ book, ‘Prophecy’s End’ (illustrated by Marcelo Baez) has Kelly, Minh and Jimmy feeling the prophecy is closing in on them.

The only way to get their loved ones back is to fight their way to the very heart of the Collector’s secret stockpile…but will the Sunken Temple of Tears fulfil their wildest dreams or realise their worst nightmares?

If you would like to win these five books (each RRP $15.99), simply email skerwin@ nemedia.com.au to be in the running.

With SImone North East Media

Local CFA story one for the history buffs

■ From page 1

“We’ve sort of hawked around various venues and people who have an interest in the history of the brigades have taken (the book) up and thought this is just fabulous – they’re impressed with the quality and impressed with the content, so that’s been really good.

“What it has done is it has certainly stimulated brigades to think about their own social histories, and we’ve certainly been promoting to brigades that now they’ve done these snapshots, (they need to) keep maintaining (their) documentation.

“Take photos and document it, because it just gets lost otherwise – so it’s certainly given

some impetus to that.”

Mr Salau said the book was closing in on breaking even in sales, with any further purchases to be redirected to support the Wangaratta Group of brigades.

“What we’re finding out is word of mouth is going around to a degree now – people are realising it’s as much a social history of Wangaratta and district as it is a history of the fire services and it certainly seems to be having a broader appeal,” he said.

“As the chief officer (Mr Heffernan) said at the launch, the CFA is the community and the community is CFA, so (the book) is as much a social comment as fire brigade stuff as well.

FEATURE STORY

“We keep bumping into people and I think we’ve had books go across to Spain – we’ve had some books marketed through the Milawa Post Office and one of the guys there was a firefighter from Spain and he’s taken a book back with him, so that’s getting a bit of a run.

“It was very satisfying to see the fruition of that work come together and end up with a product that seems to be recognised and valued as being important work.”

The book is available for $40.

For more information, contact make.tankers.10@gmail. com, search Make Tankers Ten on Facebook or Google, or call 0408 387 582.

◆ IN DEPTH: Members of the editorial team behind Make Tankers Ten, including Jim Buchan (author) and Graeme Norman (contributor) spent more than a decade compiling local stories.

PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

The following opportunities now exist for enthusiastic, safety focused people with suitable experience and qualifications. Please visit our website to find out more about current positions available across Mawsons business divisions.

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Keep your eye on myopia management!

MYOPIA is an eye condition that results in poor or blurred vision when viewing in the distance.

It is also known as near-sightedness because people with myopia can still see things clearly that are close.

In myopic eyes, commonly, the length of the eyeball is longer than it should be, causing images of distant objects to be focused ‘in front of ‘rather than ‘on’ the light sensitive layer of the eye known as the retina.

Perfect gift for your dad

IF you’re looking for the perfect gift for your dad this Father’s Day, look no further than North East Fasteners.

At North East Fasteners we stock a range of Kincrome products including the Portable Tool Kit 70 Piece.

The portable toolkit contains 70 essential tools that come in handy in a variety of situations.

Some of the tools featured in the kit include 3/8” square drive sockets and accessories, combination spanners, a wide variety of hex keys, knives, pliers and more.

The wide variety of tools will allow your dad to undertake even the most compli-

cated project with everything he needs all in one place.

All of the tools are conveniently contained in a lightweight blow mould case making it simple and easy to carry for the dad on the go.

So, whether your dad is a tradesperson, specialises in DIY projects or is in need of a new tool kit in the garage, this tool kit is the perfect gift.

Current research indicates that both genetics and environmental factors determine whether a child will be myopic.

They also play a role in the progression of myopia.

However, while we cannot change their genetics, it is useful to know that environment plays a significant role in myopia and therefore, you can use some simple strategies that will help protect their vision now and into the future.

Understand the risk factors

Of the many factors found associated with myopia, such as ethnicity, parental myopia and urban living, two factors are significant and found to be causally related.

Near work and education

The greater the time spent on near work, the greater the risk of myopia- both onset and progression.

In children of the same age, those who were in a higher class/grade at school (greater aca-

demic load) have a more myopic refractive error.

Low outdoors time

Those that spend less time outdoors are at significant risk of myopia.

The International Myopia Institute recommends spending a minimum of two hours outdoors per day.

Know the related diseases

If left untreated, myopia will gradually worsen.

People with high myopia (-5.00D or worse) have an increased risk of retinal detachment, cataracts, myopic degeneration and glaucoma, which can all cause vision loss.

Slowing progression is key, and with healthy changes to our habits and lifestyles, plus intervention treatments when needed, we can stop myopia from being the leading cause of avoidable vision loss.

Get myopia managed

Myopia may be delayed or prevented by spending less time on devices and more time outdoors, possibly due to increased exposure to sunlight or the need to look into the far distance regularly.

While myopia cannot be completely prevented, when it onsets, it can be managed through the use of specially designed lenses or contact lenses – and through therapeutics (i.e. eye drops).

These management approaches aim to slow the progress of myopia, reducing the risk of the eye reaching higher levels of myopia

◆ FATHER’S DAY: Get your dad a present he’ll love from North East Fasteners.

with David James NORTH EAST FASTENERS

◆ MYOPIA MANAGEMENT: Knowing the risk factors of myopia can help protect your vision.

with Roxy Akers WANGARATTA EYECARE

Kincrome tools to suit all budgets this Father’s Day are on display and available at North East Fasteners