Chronicle Monday 170624

AVOCADOS have been a McGown family business for decades. And Chris, Peter, Levi, Mitchell and Ava McGown, with Shawn the sheep, are committed to the cause. FULL STORY P14 PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

By JEFF ZEUSCHNER and JORDAN DUURSMA

A GLENROWAN family is encouraging all small country communities to have publicly accessible defibrillators after their son’s life was saved following a heart attack last Thursday morning.

Michael Stirling, aged 31, slumped to the ground unconscious at the Glenrowan Vintage Cafe around 9am, with his Mum Pam, Dad Simon and local residents immediately coming to his aid.

Pam said group members started CPR, rang triple zero for an ambulance, and a member raced the 250 metres to Glenrowan Bakery to grab the defibrillator, publicly accessible on the exterior wall

for such an emergency.

“Michael was blue and not breathing for four to five minutes, but with the help of the defibrillator they managed to revive him and get him breathing,” she said.

“The paramedics and MICA officers arrived min-

utes later and were just so fast and efficient, and he was put into an air ambulance helicopter and flown to the Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH).

“We can’t thank everyone enough for all their efforts, without which Michael wouldn’t be alive.

“Certainly the medical professionals have said that without the defibrillator he wouldn’t have made it.

“I think people knowing how to do CPR, keeping their skills and knowledge up is important too.

Pam said Michael remained in the RMH’s Intensive Care Unit, in an induced coma.

■ Continued page 2

“We are just so grateful, and want to share our story so people know how vital it is to have publicly accessible defibrillators.”

5700 new homes by 2051

Government releases draft target for Wangaratta, all councils to help accommodate gg,pggrowth

By JEFF ZEUSCHNER

VICTORIA’S councils will have the first chance to show where and how they can unlock space for new homes over the coming decades, with the Victorian Government kicking off the next stage of local government consultation on draft housing capacity targets tailored for every local government area (LGA) in the state.

Under the draft, the Rural City of Wangaratta is looking to increase its total number of homes from 14,000 (2023 total) to 19,700 by 2051 - some 5700 new dwellings to be built over the next 27 years.

Significant growth is also forecast across neighbouring municipalities in the North East, with 2051 draft targets of:

• Alpine Shire 7400 dwellings (2023) to rise by 1700;

Premier Jacinta Allan and Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny announced the draft targets for each LGA yesterday, with final targets released by the end of this year.

• Wodonga 18,900 dwellings (2023) to rise by 14,400;

• Indigo Shire 8000 dwellings (2023) to rise by 3000;

• Benalla 7400 dwellings (2023) to rise by 1600;

• Mansfield Shire 6900 (2023) to rise by 3700; and

• Towong Shire 3200 dwellings (2023) to rise by 500.

Premier Allan said Victoria has the largest annual population growth of all Australian states, and it needs more than two million additional homes by the 2050s - and where they are built matters.

“More homes are needed in established suburbs – close to jobs, transport, education, and services – to give more young people the chance to live near where they grew up, and to reduce future growth pressure on families,” she said.

“To give industry the confidence they need to get on and build, we need government and all councils working towards the same goal: more homes for Victorians – in the right places.

“In regional cities and rural

areas, the targets will also help deliver more new homes in cities and towns to boost key worker and affordable housing.”

Premier Allan said Victoria’s councils have the powers to unlock space for more homes by proposing changes to local planning rules.

“The government will consult closely with councils to harness their local knowledge, with councils to report back on the draft target and the local changes they propose,” she said.

Premier Allan said the government wants to hear from councils about the continued infrastructure support that communities need to grow sustainably.

She said the draft dwelling targets for each LGA were outlined in the landmark Housing Statement and are the next stage of the discussion government is having with Victorians as part of the new plan for Victoria – a long-term vision for Victoria’s next 30 years.

■

Hotham, Falls Creek open first runs for snow

By JEFF ZEUSCHNER

THE 2024 snow season is up and running, with both Mt Hotham and Falls Creek opening terrain for skiers and boarders over the weekend.

With around 20cms of fresh snowfall last week, and plenty of snowmaking at both resorts, people were able to take their first runs on the slopes, albeit with limited options at present.

Mt Hotham got its first lift spinning for the season, with the Summit Trainer poma opened on Saturday with a mini park also set up on the skiers right of the slope.

The Big D opened on Sunday.

While there is currently no tobogganing anywhere at Mt Hotham - but expected soonthere is still plenty of snow to build snowmen and make snow angels.

At Falls Creek, skiing and boarding commenced with the opening of Halley’s Comet on Saturday.

Beginners have also been enjoying the slopes at Mouse Trap Carpet.

The beginner zone, conveniently situated near the Snowsports School and Cloud 9 restaurant, is specifically designed to help

HAVE

season

local Libby Chirnside 28, was enjoying the fresh snow at Hotham lat week. Both Hotham and Falls Creek opened terrain, with one or two lifts operating, to get the season started over the weekend.

newcomers find their footing and gain confidence on the slopes.

Private lessons for beginners are also be available.

Wombat’s Ramble is also expected to be open for skiing and boarding in the coming days, and ski lift teams are working to prepare Main Street terrain and Towers Chairlift for operation as soon as possible.

The forecast is looking good

for some natural snow this week and for snowmaking conditions to continue for a while yet, bolstering the chances of more terrain opening at both resorts very soon.

Vail Resorts Australia, which owns both ski lifts at Falls Creek and Mt Hotham, has extended the sale of its Epic Australia Pass until June 19.

The 12 month season pass offers unlimited access to Hotham, Falls

Creek and Perisher, as well as more than 70 overseas ski resorts in Japan, Europe, Canada and the USA. Anyone headed to the resorts is reminded that snow chains must always be carried, and fitted when and where directed.

For the latest information on the mountains visit: fallscreek. com.au, hotham.com.au, or for Mt Buffalo go to visitbuffalo.com.au

Mum encourages all communities to have publicly accessible defibrillators after her son’s life saved following a heart attack

■ From page 1

“He is stable and his condition is improving, but he is not out of the woods yet,” she said, maintaining a bedside vigil of her son.

Sherwin Kashani from Glenrowan Pharmacy who was part of the team effort to save Michael’s life said this incident certainly highlights the need for defibrillators in regional towns.

“Without the defibrillator the patient would have been gone,” he said.

“The survival rate goes from two per cent to 90 per cent when you are able to use a defibrillator, it’s so important for small communities to have defibrillators accessible to the public.

“Every community needs defibrillators, but importantly the community needs to know where it is and how to use them.

“It is important to have as many as possible in regional towns, this can happen anywhere.

“When I arrived he was blue from lack of oxygen and that was very confronting.

“We couldn’t have done anything better then we did,

everyone had their job and we worked really well together.

“His heart had stopped and the defibrillator kept him alive, I’m very glad he survived.

“It was the best possible outcome.”

The defibrillator used in the Glenrowan emergency was jointly funded by the Glenrowan/Warby Lions Club and Bendigo Bank several years ago, and this is the second time it has been used.

A search of the Ambulance Victoria’s Automated External Defibrillator registry indicates that almost half of the 19 rural communities in the Rural City of Wangaratta do not have any AED’s listed.

LIFESAVER:

Community members were able to access this defibrillator outside the centrally located Glenrowan Bakery as save Michael Stirling’s life last week. PHOTO: Jeff Zeuschner

No AED’s are listed for Oxley, Cheshunt, Myrrhee, Springhurst, Eldorado, Boweya, Murmungee and Bowser. Rural communities with AED’s are: Milawa (Brown Brothers Wine Group); Greta (Flanigan Contracting Greta South); Moyhu (Moyhu Bowls Club, Moyhu Fire Station); Whitfield (Whitfield garage, Gentle Annie Caravan Park); Everton (Everton Community Hall); Peechleba (Peechleba Bushland Reserve committee); Killawarra (private residence, 193 Frosts Road); Boorhaman (Boorhaman Recreation Reserve, Boorhaman Golf Club); Whorouly (Whorouly Hotel); and Bowman’s Forest (Jade Quality Kiwi).

AED’s listed at 27 locations in Wangaratta: PRIVATE RESIDENCE, 35 WHITE STREET; COLES SUPERMARKET; APCO SERVICE STATION; RURAL CITY OF WANGARATTA WORKS DEPOT; WANGARATTA LAWN TENNIS CLUB; GOTAFE WANGARATTA CAMPUS (Docker St); CATHOLIC EDUCATION OFFICE SANDHURST; WANGARATTA PERFORMING ARTS & CONVENTION CENTRE; VICROADS; DAN MURPHYS; RURAL CITY OF WANGARATTA; BIG W; WOOLWORTHS SUPERMARKET; THE CENTRE FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION INC; WANGARATTA CLUB; WANGARATTA VISITOR INFORMATION CENTRE; EPA VICTORIA; VICTORIAN ABORIGINAL CHILD CARE AGENCY; TYREMAX AUSTRALIA PTY LTD; GOULBURN MURRAY WATER; AVK WANG PTY LTD; ADAMS DRILLERS; WANGARATTA INDOOR SPORTS AND AQUATIC CENTRE; WANGARATTA BOWLS AND SPORTS CLUB; WANGARATTA LIVESTOCK EXCHANGE; WANGARATTA MENS SHED; WANGARATTA GOLF CLUB.

WE

LIFTOUT: Hotham

PHOTO: Chris Hocking, Vail Resorts

$100k to connect Wangaratta city to riverside, trail

By JORDAN DUURSMA

A $100,000 Victorian Government grant will help deliver public artwork and wayfinding signage to connect pedestrians in Wangaratta’s Reid Street to the Riverside Square on Faithfull Street and the Bullawah Cultural Trail.

The grant is part of the state’s $25 million Council Support Package, with $3.5m backing various North East councils’ projects to bolster tourism, local infrastructure and help businesses.

Rural City of Wangaratta director of sustainability and culture, Stephen Swart, said council wel-

comes funding for this wayfinding project to connect Wangaratta’s busy pedestrian activity in Reid Street, to Riverside Square and the Bullawah Cultural Trail along the Ovens River.

“The Bullawah Cultural Trail was created in partnership with local elders and community representatives in 2016 to celebrate and share the ancient stories, knowledge, and skills of Wangaratta’s Bangerang people,” he said.

“The trail is a significant symbol of reconciliation for our community and with enhanced wayfinding it will fulfil its potential as a key cultural tourism destination and

educational experience for locals and tourist alike.

“Wayfinding signage will build awareness and connectivity for pedestrians to discover this important experience close to the CBD.”

Traditional Owner and Bangerang Elder Darren ‘Uncle Dozer’ Atkinson said it would be great to see this funding go towards signage on the Bullawah Cultural Trail and Faithful Street that tells the true history of the massacre that took place during the settlement of Wangaratta.

“We know through oral history and some documentation that Wangaratta is a massacre site, we

have a street named after someone who was involved, it would be great to have signage that tells the true story,” he said.

“The Bangerang people are a team who walk side by side on the road to reconciliation with the Rural City of Wangaratta, this would be a great opportunity to take a step in the direction towards true reconciliation.”

Member for Northern Victoria, Jaclyn Symes, said the government funding supports and celebrates the unique regional and rural towns, and this initiative empowers them to choose projects that highlight their local landmarks, businesses, and community assets.

Council forum confirms another election candidate, more faces

A CANDIDATES forum in Wangaratta has drawn potential candidates looking at running for the Rural City of Wangaratta council at the upcoming October election, with local gym owner Mel Paul and former state MP Tania Maxwell heading the list.

Ms Paul, who owns M&M X-TREME fitness in Wangaratta attended the forum and said she will definitely nominate for council when the time comes in September.

She has been involved in council’s sport and recreation advisory committee for five years and is on the board of the Wangaratta Basketball Association.

Ms Maxwell was the lead of the ‘Enough is Enough’ campaign which led to a term as a state MP for Northern Victoria and she is now a keynote speaker on surviving trauma.

She attended the forum on Thursday night and viewed it as a useful tool, especially for people who aren’t familiar with governance structure and policy of council.

While Ms Maxwell has not confirmed she will run for council, she is considering nomination because she has always had a passion for the community.

“I look at this as another step in that chain to find ways to support my community on completely different plat-

BY STEVE KELLY skelly@ nemedia.com.au

forms and at a completely different level,” she said.

“It’s something I’m excited about and very interested in but I haven’t locked that decision in, but I’m certainly doing all the research, I’m meeting with councillors and I’ve gone through council’s annual report and strategic plan.

“For me it’s vital and important when you go for any particular role you should have an understanding what you’re getting in for and what are your capabilities in performing that role.”

Allison Winters, who has already made her intention to nominate public, was in attendance at the forum.

Current councillors Harry Bussell, Dave Fuller and Ashlee Fitzpatrick were also there.

Other locals and people from across the region were physically present at the forum or watching the online stream organised by the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) but at this stage haven’t confirmed their intention to run.

MAV CEO Kelly Grigsby MC’d the event and she estimated 40 people in attendance in person or online.

Rural City of Wangaratta act-

Mel

CONSIDERING IT: Former state MP Tania Maxwell.

ing CEO Sarah Brindley was one of six council CEOs who shared advice with prospective councillors and spoke about the allocation of portfolios between councillors to share the load of representation.

“Those can quite often align to any election campaign priorities that you’re particularly passionate about to give you opportunity to perhaps delve deeper and your colleagues can do the same,” she said.

Indigo Shire CEO Trevor

Ierino said council officers need to realise it’s up to the elected council to decide on any given agenda item.

From a councillor point of view he encouraged councillors to scrutinise the debate but to be really careful about comments.

“As long as council is respectful and understands the role of democracy, things work well, but if something goes off track then they don’t work well,” he said.

Seven wards, one councillor each

RURAL City of Wangaratta voters head to the polls, via a postal ballot, in October to elect seven councillors for the next four years.

This year’s election wlll be different as a state electoral review will see the rural city’s current council ward structure of four wards (one city ward with four councillors, three rural wards electing one councillor each) being replaced with a new seven single-councillor ward structure.

Voters in each of the seven wards (Appin Ward, Bullawah Ward, King River Ward, Ovens Ward, Warby Ward, Wareena Ward and Yarrunga Ward) will only get to choose between those candidates standing in their ward.

For more details on enrolling to vote or standing for council visit mav.asn.au/stand-for-council-2024.

Digital Pest Control

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The sooner you take action the better. With pests it’s not about treating the symptoms you see but removing the source of the problem. This calls for a professional pest exterminator such as Economic Pest Control.

HOW CAN YOU HELP? It’s important that you don’t allow a few rodents to turn into a rodent infestation on your property. The sooner you take ac tion the better. With pests it’s not about treating the symptoms you see but removing the source of the problem. This calls for a professional pest controller such as Economic Pest Control.

a non-toxic solution for your rodent problem?

Hassle-free pest control solution that handles all the work? Then SMART is the answer.

HAVING A LAUGH: Alpine Shire CEO Will Jeremy (left), Benalla Rural City CEO Dom Testoni and Rural City of Wangaratta acting CEO Sarah Brindley shared some of their insights into council with prospective candidates. PHOTO: Steve Kelly

FUNDING BOOST FOR WANGARATTA: The Riverside Square on Faithfull Street is one of the three locations in Wangaratta that will benefit from State Government funding. PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

RUNNING:

Paul says she will run as a candidate at the council election this October.

NEW ARRIVALS AT NORTHEAST HEALTH WANGARATTA

The Wangaratta Chronicle will be in attendance at the midwifery ward on Wednesdays and Fridays at 9.30am to take photos of newborns with their parents, grandparents and/or siblings.

Consent forms are available from Northeast Health Wangaratta and from Wangaratta Chronicle staff on the day.

If you would like a photo but are not at the ward at the time of visiting, you can come into the Wangaratta Chronicle office at 37 Rowan Street during office hours to organise it. Photographs are available to purchase from the Wangaratta Chronicle office.

Phoenix James Matthew Brown

PHOENIX James Mathew Brown was born at Northeast Health Wangaratta on Wednesday, June 12 at 4am and weighed 3.46kg (7lb 10oz). He is the brother of Jediah, Zaidyn and Haze and the son of Melissa Turnor and Bodie Brown of Benalla.

Harlow Lynn Dianne King

Harlow Lynn Dianne King was born at Northeast Health Wangaratta on Wednesday, June 12 at 12:32pm and weighed 2.4kg (5lb 4oz). She is the sister of Lillian King and the daughter of Kayla Goullet and Nathen King of Wangaratta.

Workshop in Wangaratta focused on dementia care

HEALTH professionals are being invited to a free workshop, focused on dementia, in Wangaratta this week.

The Enabling EDIE (Educational Dementia Immersive Experience) is an award-winning virtual reality training session designed to give participants a 360-degree experience of living with dementia in a safe and facilitated environment. The workshop, from 10am to 1pm this Thursday at Quality Hotel Wangaratta Gateway, is to assist general practice staff to develop an understanding of what it’s like to live with dementia, as well as dementia-friendly design principles and opportunities to improve care.

The workshop is presented by Dementia Australia and funded by Murray PHN.

For more enquiries, including bookings, contact Murray PHN in Albury on (02) 6041 0000.

Local hero makes his 368th blood donation

BY JORDAN DUURSMA jduursma@ nemedia.com.au

BLOOD donors are humble heroes who save and change lives, quite literally out of the goodness of their hearts.

One of these local champions is John Doig, who has reached the significant milestone of donating for the 368th time.

He has demonstrated unwavering dedication and his long term donations are a testament to his commitment to helping others.

John said donating is a great way to help others who require the blood/plasma to live a normal life.

“It is also a free health check up,” he said.

Lifeblood spokesperson Shae Burns said National Blood Donor Week was an opportunity to recognise Wangaratta’s donors and inspire others.

“In Wangaratta, our local donors are the lifeblood of our community,” Shae said.

“This National Blood Donor Week, we celebrated 11 locals who this past year have achieved a milestone donation of 200 or more.

“One in three people will need blood or blood products in their lifetime, so we want to say a huge thank you to all our donors who made a difference, not only to their community, but to patients and families all over Australia.

“Patients receive the gift of life because ordinary people do an extraordinary thing.

“They roll up their sleeves to help.”

Lifeblood needs more people

LIFEBLOOD Wangaratta

Donor Centre is on Norton Street and is open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11am to 6:30pm and Fridays from 7:30am to 2:30pm.

You can book a donation now by calling 13 14 95 or book online at lifeblood.com.au or on the DonateBlood app.

to join the community of blood and plasma donors who save lives by giving 1.6 million donations across Australia every year.

“We are calling on people to become the lifeblood of Australia, the lifeblood of their communities and the lifeblood of those patients who need blood and blood products every day,” Shae said.

“This month, we still need 137 locals to roll up their sleeves and give blood on Wednesday’s,

Thursday’s or Friday’s at our donor centre located on 17a Norton Street, Wangaratta.

“From cancer patients to road trauma victims, people with blood disorders, surgical patients, and new mums – blood is needed for someone, somewhere in Australia, every 18 seconds.

“It takes just an hour of your time to donate blood and every donation can help save up to three lives.”

Everyone who donates from now until July 14 will receive a limited-edition bandage designed by Indigenous Australian artist Aretha Brown.

The bandage is a thank you to the more than half a million donors across Australia, who currently make up our life-saving community.

Book a donation at www. lifeblood.com.au, via the free DonateBlood App or by calling 13 14 95.

People can now track blood supply levels in real time

AUSTRALIAN Red Cross Lifeblood’s blood supply levels are now available to view in real-time in the hope it will encourage more people to donate more often.

Research by the nation’s blood service found that 75 per cent of Australians say they would donate blood if they knew their blood type was needed.

The Lifeblood Blood Supply Update, which is updated daily, displays blood supply levels for each blood type.

Lifeblood executive director of donor experience, Cath Stone, said Lifeblood needs to keep enough red cell units stocked and ready to meet expected demand.

“We hope that by having up-to-date information about how much blood is held by Lifeblood, it will motivate more people to come in and donate, especially when their blood type is needed or running low,” she said.

These levels go up and down based on how many units of each blood type is sent to hospitals and how many donors of that type have given blood recently.

Blood types marked ‘very low’ means donations are needed immediately; ‘low’ means more donors are needed; ‘need more’ means Lifeblood needs people to donate in the next five days; ‘Ok’ means that blood donations are still needed of that blood type; and ‘good’ means you should consider donating plasma if you can, or give blood to keep supplies at a good level.

May through to September is the period when blood supply levels are most likely to drop to ‘very low’.

“We’d love to see people keeping a regular eye on our blood supplies and making an appointment when their blood type is needed, especially during the colder months,” Cath said.

Lifeblood research reveals that two in five Australians don’t know their blood type or are unsure of which blood type they have - but donating blood is a great way to find out.

To keep an eye on Lifeblood’s blood supplies visit https://www.lifeblood. com.au/blood/blood-supply-levels.

Creative program started in North East expands overseas

By CHLOE JAENICKE

PARALLEL Wilds, a project that originally started at Outdoor School Bogong, recently won the group category at the UK Creative Freedom Awards by John Muir Trust.

They won the award for their 2023 Young Somerset and Exmoor National Park project ‘The Stream of Freedom’.

Parallel Wilds is an immer-

sive 3D writing platform for youth to create empowering self-identity in the natural world and a speculative universe on the future of wilderness, set in the year 2050.

Creative director, Craig Dent, said he created the project alongside Justin Dallinger, from Oakley 3D Studios, as he wanted to make something state-of-the-art.

They created their pilot program at the Outdoor School

Bogong in 2021, in collaboration with students from Beechworth and Tallangatta Secondary College, titled Silvereye.

“The very first one we did was a little test project at Tawonga National Park and then the Outdoor School backed it, thanks to the principal, Roger Blackwell, and then they put the application into Creative Victoria,” Mr Dent said.

Since then, the project

has continued to grow.

Last year, they completed six projects including Seeds of the Supertrees with Milawa and Carraragarmungee primary schools, Kingdom of Kingfishers with students from Oxley Primary School, and The Stream of Freedom created by youth from Young Somerset in the UK.

“It’s amazing that from what was kind of an idea and experiment, we’ve now got people

in UK wanting to do a partner project with a regional shire out here,” Mr Dent said.

“I really feel a strong sense of legacy with the project.

“I’m really enjoying the young people engaging with it and that they’re getting to write how they feel about the natural world and the wilderness.”

This year, Mr Dent said they have 16 to 20 projects lined up, including their project at

Supanova Comic Con & Gaming at the Melbourne Showgrounds they completed in April this year, and have also been invited to the Supanova conventions in Sydney and Brisbane later this year. Others include work with Beechworth and Rutherglen in Indigo Shire, in Chiltern to create a project based on the Regent Honeyeater, and on the Kiewa River based on the Macquarie Perch.

LOCAL HERO: John Doig gave his 368th blood donation at the Wangaratta donor centre last week to help out those who need it.

PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

Breakfast to help break stigma around men’s health

By CHLOE JAENICKE

WANGARATTA Volunteer Group will be holding a breakfast to break the stigma surrounding men’s health while raising funds for the Cancer Council this week.

Garry Nash & Co director Mike Noble and other male team members will be leading this year’s discussion panel and have been attending the event as guests since its inception.

“From personal experience it’s a really great breakfast,” Mr Noble said.

“It’s an opportunity to talk to some good people and finish up by 9am and head off to work or home or whatever you need to do, is pretty ideal.

“It’s something that the males in our office have certainly supported over the years.”

Mr Noble said they hope to talk about their own experi-

ences and hope to inspire other men to do the same and take their health seriously.

“This might be stereotypical, but I think that men aren’t good at having discussion around things of a personal nature and health,” he said.

“If we lead in that space and be a bit vulnerable in our own personal journeys it might encourage others to see their doctors or have a chat when they need to have a chat.”

The breakfast will take place at the Wangaratta Gateway Hotel at 7.30am this Friday (June 21) with around 70 men attending.

SUPPORTING MEN’S HEALTH: Looking forward to the upcoming men’s breakfast are (from left) Cameron Meggs, Duncan MacGibbon, Kane Grimshaw and David Sutton from Garry Nash & Co.

PHOTO: Chloe Jaenicke

Memorial highlights mental health in the police force

BY JORDAN DUURSMA jduursma@ nemedia.com.au

A COLLABORATIVE project between Greta Cemetery Trust, the Victoria Police Historical Graves Committee and Wallan Cemetery Trust will see Constable Hugh Bracken who played a significant role in the Glenrowan siege, honoured with a memorial plaque and story board at Wallan Cemetery.

Secretary of Greta Cemetery Trust, great-grand-niece of Kelly gang member Steve Hart and the great-granddaughter of Thomas Lloyd Junior, Noeleen Lloyd, said there has been a groundswell of support for this project with more than $10,000 raised.

“Hugh Bracken deserves to have his story told and every dollar donated has counted,” Ms Lloyd said.

“We want to share his life story and shine a light on PTSD and mental illness.

“Mental health is an important factor of this story, it’s just as important today as it was then.”

Constable Bracken was kidnapped and held hostage during the Kelly Gang’s infamous last stand in Glenrow-

HIS STORY:

on 06/07/1880

(Source: SLV; 1648175; b26461). PHOTO: Courtesy Greta Cemetery Trust

an in June 1880.

During the siege, Constable Bracken escaped to warn police in Wangaratta and was instrumental in the capture of Ned Kelly, preventing a senior officer from killing Ned.

According the Greta Cemetery Trust’s historical accounts, Constable Bracken was shunned by his colleagues for his actions.

On May 9, 1883 Constable Bracken was found medically unfit and was discharged from Victoria Police.

He sadly took his own life on February 23, 1900.

HIGHLIGHTING

Leading Senior Constable Scott Miller from Glenrowan said Constable Bracken’s story highlights mental health issues in the police force that are more relevant than ever.

He said there needs to be a shift in the culture and the stigmatism around mental health issues in the force.

“There’s power in vulnerability, but not everyone is prepared to step in there,”Ld Sen Const Miller said.

“Whilst it is hard to take that first step to acknowledge the issues, once that’s done you can then start to improve.

“As police officers, we are exposed to traumatic events that can mount up over time, unless you are actively working on keeping yourself mentally healthy.”

Parties involved hope Constable Bracken’s story shines a light on the need for mental health support systems for current and former police officers.

The Victoria Police Historical Graves Committee cannot provide financial support for the project, as its funding is limited to cases involving members of the Victoria Police Force who are recorded on the

Victoria Police Honour Roll. Retired Chief Inspector

Ralph Stavely from the Victoria Police Historical Graves Committee said while they cannot fund the project they are in support of it.

“Bracken is more than deserving of this honour,” he said.

Mr Stavely has been working closely with Ms Lloyd to see this idea become a reality.

The project is on track to unveil the memorial plaque at Wallan Cemetery on the 125th anniversary of Constable Bracken’s death on February 23, 2025.

Nationals start campaign for “fair go for all” on $400 school bonus

THE Nationals have launched a Fair School Bonus campaign to highlight what they say is regional Victoria being “blatantly ignored” by the Victorian Labor Government.

Nationals’ Wangaratta-based state MP for Ovens Valley, Tim McCurdy, said too many families are being unfairly excluded in the government’s inequitable School Saving Bonus.

“The $400 bonus, introduced in the State Budget, is automatically granted to all Victorian government school students, but is rigorously restricted for students in low-fee Catholic and independent schools... restricted to eligible concession card holders,” he said.

“Regional families should not miss out based solely on their choice of school, yet so many will be ignored amid the cost-of-living crisis.

“It’s time all were given a fair go.”

The Rural City of Wangaratta has 18 government schools and five non-government schools, with total student enrolments between government and non-government schools believed to be near 50:50.

Mr McCurdy is urging regional Victorians to back the new campaign by visiting vicn.at/schoolsavingbonus

“If the Allan Labor Government is serious in supporting regional Victorians with cost-of-living assistance, they should do it equally,” he said.

“It’s blatantly unfair.”

SHARING

Constable Hugh Bracken, photographed by by W. E. Barnes

MENTAL HEALTH: Noleen Lloyd and Leading Senior Constable Scott Miller are part of the effort memorialising Constable Hugh Bracken and highlighting mental health issues in the police force.

PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

Jitfft

Difference between life and death

GLENROWAN’S Pam Stirling has given us all a confronting reminder of the lifesaving benefits of publicly accessible defibrillators, especially in rural communities.

Seeing her son suffer a heart attack and then being able to revive him, with the help of other community members and a defibrillator, hits home to everyone what a blessing these machines, and community members with CPR knowledge, are.

Unfortunately not all rural communities have AED’s, with at least eight in the Rural City of Wangaratta not listed on Ambulance Victoria’s registry.

For those communities with AED’s, but not on the registry, now is the time to fic it - and for those communities without AED’s, could there be a more worthy project to pursue?

State must help deliver home target

PREMIER Jacinta Allan yesterday unveiled dwelling targets to be built in LGA’s by 2051, to help accommodate Victoria’s ongoing growth.

The draft strategy suggests another 5700 homes for the Rural City of Wangaratta.

It’s a big number, but significant work has been done with council’s planning scheme to create new residential corridors, and substantial subdivisions are in the wind.

One of the key stumbling blocks remains infrastructure to increase the city’s sewage capacity - and North East Water has $11.6m committed for the 2024/25 year.

But Premier Allan’s ‘wish list’ won’t be delivered here, or any other LGA, without government support for such infrastructure.

Her government’s gaze will need to go beyond the city limits if they truly want regional Victoria to accommodate growth.

The Quiz No. 89

1. Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve is located 35 kilometres east of which Western Australian city?

2. Which 2002 movie starred Keira Knightley as Juliette “Jules” Paxton?

3. Tigerair Australia is a fully owned subsidiary of which holding company?

4. What is the capital city of Guyana?

5. Symphony No. 9 in E minor (aka New World Symphony) is one of the best known works by which composer?

6. Which country was Australia playing when Glen McGrath played his last Test Cricket match?

7. On which date in 2016 was the Australian Census supposed to have been completed?

8. Kunanyi/Mount Wellington overlooks which Australian capital city?

9. Who were the two hosts of the 2016 Australian TV show, I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!?

10. As at August 2016, what are the six official languages of the United Nations?

11. Which well-known musical features the character, Simon Zealotes?

12. In Greek mythology, who is the twin sister of Apollo?

13. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe was first published in which century?

14. Who were the two players for Australia Green when they won the 2016 Hopman Cup final?

15. Suharto was the president of which country from 1967 to 1998?

16. Who is the stepfather of actress, Kate Hudson?

17. The milk of which animal is used to make traditional Limburger cheese?

18. The 2013 album, Wastelands, is the sixth studio album by which Australian rock band?

19. What are the two colours on the flag of Canada?

20. Former professional wrestler, Jesse “The Body” Ventura, was the 38th Governor of which US state?

FACEBOOK users this week commented on the Green Street bridge works being delayed by up to six months.

• Angela Francesca Pane: What a shock.

• Joy Keppler: Who would have thought.

• Rob Bell: It was never going to be done in 6 months.. the bridge hasn’t even started being built yet. They are doing a great job to improve the infrastructure and area but it was always going to take

longer than the 6 months they said it would take.

• Erin Ross: Rob Bell exactly mate totally agree.

• Hanny Bongers: Rob Bell I agree, just say so from the beginning.

• Anne Pirie: Time to fix the traffic lights at Greta Rd. No need for arrows. Just turn green. How stupid is it that people wanting to turn left have to wait for the lights to cycle through. No need for a green arrow for right turns either.

Nuclear power barely a realistic option

RECENT letters supporting nuclear power (Wangaratta Chronicle, June 3 and 10) assume that it would be cost effective and that large-scale renewables would no longer be required.

The CSIRO’s GenCost reports have consistently shown nuclear power in Australia would be the most expensive source even when transmission and storage costs are included.

Should seven large-scale nuclear reactors typically generating 1GW each be built, as is rumoured to be the Coalition proposal, an optimistic back of the envelope calculation reveals that all up they would supply around 55 TWh of electricity each year in total.

But Australia used 250 TWh in 2023 and by 2050 it is forecast to be around 330 TWh. Clearly, renewables with storage will still be required.

The progress being made with storage such as regional community batteries (“Feasibility study into neighbourhood battery option”, Wangaratta Chronicle, June 12) is a good example of what is possible.

As your article states, neighbourhood batteries reduce the incidence of power outages and provide an incentive for more residents to take up rooftop solar.

The Australian PV Institute’s map shows that despite its sunny climate only 27.8 per cent of Wangaratta rooftops have solar, less than the national average currently around 35 per cent.

The Institute recently found that adding rooftop solar would save households “an average of more than $1300 per year”.

It’s very unlikely that nuclear power will eventuate in Australia.

What the Coalition must focus on is genuine climate policy across all sectors, including adaptation for regional communities experiencing more extreme and frequent severe weather events.

RayPeck,Hawthorn

Nuclear power and coal still the way to go

THE Liberal Party’s meeting on sustainable clean power I attended recently in Wangaratta, seemed much focused on solving real problems

Here in Australia, the nuclear debate is trapped, and caught in political spiral that is slowly descending from practicalities to fearmongering.

While nuclear energy was a focal point,

• Andrew Meloury: So I guess the problem is the fact that the boom gates at sisely ave come down when the train is stopped at the station holding up traffic for no reason !! Gee must be hard to move some sensors 100 meters.

• Georgina Johnson: I’m a casual visitor to Wangaratta now, how much l like the the new track work, I knew there were going to be issues at Green St because the bridge it’s self is too steep

so alot of the streets around it need changing one been the artillery road in and out of Wangaratta the old Hume Highway.

• Mark Sanders: Georgina Johnson Either Murphy St needs to be 4 lanes again or we need a 4-lane CBD bypass.

• Brenton Savage: I’m pretty sure everyone was expecting this.

• Matthew Lees: Build a bridge and get over it ! It make take six more months though.

Our follower total is Like the Wangaratta Chronicle Facebook page to have your say.

14,880

FUTURE MAYORS? Rural City of Wangaratta Mayor Dean Rees was in the hot seat during a recent visit from Wangaratta Primary School grade five/students, including Maya Blackall and Mark Henschke. Students have been learning about the three levels of government in Australia and their respective responsibilities. They have also learnt the process in how heads of government get into their positions of leadership. During their visit to the council chambers to visit Mayor Rees they were interested to learn about the process of making change in our local community, including how council decides what it spends money on. Next term the students are going to State Parliament to learn about process and responsibilities in more detail.

the realisation was that these were difficult to build with limited Australian local expertise, and needing a long lead time to build.

To help create conditions for building these nuclear generators, we should be modernising existing coal power, so we can keep the power on while we solve real problems. The nuclear option costs involved were compared with various options.

An impossibly costly network of 20,000 kilometres network for a distribution system needed for solar panels, which only work by day, is quite romantic, but impossibly costly.

Your news item (Wangaratta Chronicle, Wednesday, June 12) writes about 50 to 100 kilowatt batteries for Wangaratta.

These will only stabilise the electrical network due to unstable intermittent solar panel input.

A conservative 2 kilowatts per household at peak demand times would see these batteries power us for a very, very short time.

Let’s say 25 to 50 homes for an hour… Not really sustainable is it, but very costly.

Let’s get some capable technical members of parliament involved.

Labor doesn’t have any by the looks of it. Like my current household budget, reality meets affordability and the renewable systems are creating environmental and yet unknown problems.

No wonder our economy per capita is receding into a recession.

Cheaper energy?

It seems like a giant ponzi scheme run by the government to me.

JohnVance,Wangaratta

WE welcome your letters to the Editor. Priority is given to typed/emailed letters under 250 words. Every letter must have your full name, address and a daytime phone contact number supplied for verification purposes. Any letter may be edited for reasons of space, content or legibility. Email edit.chronicle@nemedia.com.au

Post Letters to the Editor, 37 Rowan St, Wangaratta 3677

Georgetown

England

Julia Morris, Chris Brown

Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, Russian, Spanish 11. Jesus Christ Superstar 12. Artemis 13. 18th century 14. Daria Gavrilova, Nick Kyrgios 15.

16. Kurt Russell

Cow

Eskimo Joe 19. Red, white

Minnesota

PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

You’r You’re never e too o old to ld learn

For an amateur actor who has played such a wide variety of roles over almost four decades in the North East, you may think Shane Douthie has seen it all.

From leading dramatic and comedic roles to even a few forays into musicals, in recent years Shane has been more than happy in character-driven cameos.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth as his role as John in Wangaratta Players current production of The Long Road by Shelagh Stephenson testifies.

Shane plays the devastated father of 18-year-old Danny, who is stabbed to death on the street in a random act of violence, which sends John into a downward spiral of drunken depression, anger and frustration that threatens to tear the remaining family apart.

“A quick glance at the synopsis showed me it was the type of confronting, realistic dark drama we rarely get to present on stage in regional theatre,” Shane said.

“Like any father, I could readily empathise with John’s absolute grief and pain to lose a son in such a tragic and senseless fashion.

“The death of any child for a parent would be their most painful experience in life.

“The added challenge for me was understanding and then adopting John’s anger and inability to share his pain and that of his wife and surviving son - I came to terms with openly sharing my feelings many years ago.”

The use of monologues, where actors break away from the normal structure of a play to speak directly to the audience, also appealed to Shane, bringing back memories of a two-handed 15 minute dialogue he performed with his wife Colette for Allegro Theatre Company in Yarrawonga last year for the production of

VETERAN ACTOR SHANE DOUTHIE HAS BEEN REINVIGORATED BY HIS ROLE IN THE LONG ROAD

The Family Album, devised and directed by Brenda Spilva based on stories by Margaret Hickey.

“I have a tendency in most of my roles to, at times, directly ‘eye’ the audience to bring them into the story, but to do that for a sustained period of time in the Stage Door Studio, where we are basically in the audience’s lap, was irresistible to me,” he said.

“Brad’s (Buckingham) direction I also found inspiring, he really takes the actor to the depth of the meaning of almost every word; he has great respect for the writer’s creativity and challenges the actors to search for a depth of understanding they may never usually attempt.”

Shane said the chance to perform on stage directly opposite Colette, as the mother Mary, was also something he always treasured.

“It creates some interesting conversations and some creative tension at home that I hope brings out the best in each of us,” he said.

“The chance to perform again with Jack (Johnston as their son Joe) and welcome two very exciting talents such as Mak (Makenzie Clark as Emma) and Miranda

(Schroeder as Elizabeth) was also enjoyable and augurs well for The Players’ future.

“We need more new talent to join us and this show proves that age is no barrier to begin your stage career.”

The play is recommended for mature audiences and contains adult themes, coarse language, and violence, and will be per-

formed at The Stage Door Studio at 4D Evans Street Wangaratta and continues this Friday, June 21 and Saturday, June 22 at 7.30pm and at 2pm Sunday, June 23. Tickets are $30pp available now at https://www.trybooking. com/CRRUA.

For more information checkout the Wangaratta Players Facebook page.

Author visits not to be missed

ON Sunday, June 30, author and former journalist Michael Brissenden will speak about his new release, ‘Smoke’, at Old Faithfulls Brew Bar from 2.30pm.

To book visit https://events. humanitix.com/author-talk-withmichael-brissenden

On Thursday, July 11, Leonie Kelsall will be at the Wangaratta Library to speak about her new book, ‘The Homestead in the Eucalypts’.

To book visit https://events. humanitix.com/meet-the-author-leonie-kelsall?hxchl=mktloc&hxref=australia%2Fcobram

Edgars Books and News is involved with both author visits.

Petite Miniature Textiles 2024

ONE of Wangaratta Art Gallery’s most popular exhibitions, Petite Miniature Textiles 2024, showcasing innovative textile practice from across Australia in small scale, is now open at the gallery.

This year works included in Petite have been selected by guest curator, artist and previous Petite exhibitor, Susie Losch, and Wangaratta Art Gallery director Rachel Arndt, around the theme “of the times”.

It features 30 works by 22 artists from across the country, exploring a multitude of contemporary concerns from artificial intelligence to affordable housing, and runs until June 23.

GANEAA exhibition in Bainz Gallery

MEMBERS of the Goulburn and North East Arts Alliance (GANEAA) are presenting an exhibition called From Grass Trees to Wetlands in the Bainz Gallery at the Wangaratta Library this month.

The exhibition showcases a wide range of artwork by 14 artists taking inspiration from our unique local environment, including the grass trees in the Warby Ranges and the wetlands in Winton.

Featuring examples of printmaking, textiles, photography, pastel, mixed media and acrylic on canvas, it will be on display until June 28.

Wangaratta Artists Society opening its doors to new members

By JORDAN DUURSMA

WANGARATTA Artists Society Inc is encouraging local community members who are interested in art to try a membership before they buy.

The Wangaratta Artists Society Inc is a place for artists from across the North East to gather together, share expertise, explore techniques, and pursue their artistic ambitions.

The studio space provides an opportunity for community and connection over a shared interest, whether you have artwork showcased in national galleries or simply enjoy creating art, all are welcome.

The studio is open Monday to Friday from 10am to 4pm on Tone Road.

While the organisation operates on a membership basis to access the studio, community members are encouraged to ‘come and try’ the space out for $5 before committing to a membership.

Anyone can join by filling out an application form and paying an annual membership free of $50.

Wangaratta Artists Society Inc member Margo Zautsen said the process for joining is very simple.

“You don’t have to be a great artist, anybody who has an interest in creating art is welcome,” she said.

“Just pop in and introduce yourself if you would like to see what the studio is like and get a feel for the space before committing to the membership.

COME AND TRY: Helen Gibson and Margo Zautsen are encouraging community members who are interested in art to come along and have a go at the

Society’s studio.

“We have approximately 30 members and we would love more.

“It’s important for the community to have access to spaces where they can come

and create art and connect with fellow artists.”

The Wangaratta Artists Society Inc is a community organisation for local artists to work together weekly, the

studio hub is accessible and welcoming.

The studio serves as a workspace for artists to pursue their artistic endeavours in their preferred medium, individually or with input from other artists.

Wangaratta Artists Society Inc member Helen Gibson said people will share constructive criticism if asked but the studio is a positive space.

“We all started somewhere and somebody helped us,” she said.

“Everyone’s work is different and we expect that as everyone’s experiences are different.”

With enough interest from the community, the studio will look to open on weekends - express your

interest to Robyn White at 0412 291 066.

Wangaratta Artists Society Inc has exciting events coming up with a life drawing workshop later in the month and an exhibition in October.

Annette Lawson will facilitate a life drawing workshop on Sunday, June 23. The session will be held from 1pm to 4pm and 5pm to 7pm with split time to take advantage of the different light.

Cost is $40, reserve your place with Annette at 0457 499 257.

Wangaratta Artists Society Inc’s Annual Art Exhibition showcasing local artworks will be held from Thursday, October 31 to Tuesday, November 5.

Wangaratta Artists

PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

A FAMILY TORN: Shane Douthie (as John, left and main pic) with Jack Johnson (as Joe) and Colette Quin (as Mary) in the Wangaratta Players current production of The Long Road. PHOTOS: Elevated Media

40 years of embroidery celebrated

Monday, June 16, 2014

By ANITA McPHERSON

A RETROSPECTIVE exhibi-

tion celebrating forty years of embroidery in North East Victoria will open at the Wangaratta Library next week.

Showcasing works of traditional and contemporary embroidery by members of the Embroiderers Guild Victoria, North East Branch, the collection covers the period from 1974 until today and includes work created at the very first class.

Guild member Janice Jones said there were 40 pieces of all sizes in the exhibition.

“Embroidery changes with the fashions, but it is very good to see examples of the kind of traditional work which still continues today, along with more contemporary styles including machine embroidery and felting,” she said.

“Embroidery covers such a broad spectrum now, and can incorporate beadwork, silk paper and beading, and one of the exhibits called ‘Masquerade’ is actually made from pieces of fabric that were parts of costumes worn in the Melbourne production of Phantom of the Opera.”

Winter blast of rain and snow

WHAT’S UP WITH THE WEATHER?

A VERY active cold front brought welcomed rains to North East Victoria from Tuesday morning last week. There was a notable drop in maximum temperatures, after the first 10 days of June had been two degrees above the June normal in Wangaratta and at other nearby rural towns.

Further showers late Tuesday night and early Wednesday saw rainfall totals altogether 15mm to 25mm at many North East towns and districts.

getting together and seeing the work everyone brings along, and chatting with the friends we’ve made over the years,” said Ms Jones.

With their official “birthday” on June 20, the group will celebrate over lunch at Murdoch House next Saturday, where past and present members have been invited to bring along a piece of embroidery for a “pop-up” show.

“We are looking forward to

“We will also talk about the highlights for our group over the years, such as our contribution to the Johnston Collection and the three piece panel we made about the history of Wangaratta, which often hangs in the Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre.”

Wangaratta had 12mm, Eldorado 10.6mm, while the King Valley saw heavier falls over the two days with Cheshunt 39mm and Carboor Upper 34.6mm.

Interestingly, the Bureau of Meteorology station’s recorded 32.2mm at Greta South and just 2.8mm at Great West.

Bright had 36.4mm, Harrietville 30mm and Lake buffalo 25mm, while Rutherglen had 11.4mm and Yarrawonga only 6.2mm.

The alpine resorts received their first snowfalls

of the season taking which saw their villages blanketed in up to 20cm by the end of last week.

The deep low also brought very strong winds to southern Victoria with much damage to property.

A wind gust of 139kph was recorded at Wilsons Promontory at 4.20am Wednesday morning.

With a deep low pressure sitting in the Tasman sea since last Wednesday, most of Victoria has been experiencing a bitterly cold southerly airstream seeing heavy frosts in North East Victoria.

The lowest ever June temperature recorded in Wanga-

ratta was minus 7.2 degrees on June 14, 2006 and that followed a dry autumn season in Victoria with a notably hot dry March which did happen this year as well. In 1998 the autumn season was warmer and drier as well with the temperature on June 19, 1998 falling to minus 5.6 degrees, but heavy rain fell just two days later in Wangaratta.

We are approaching the shortest day of the year on Friday, June 21. Many times I have seen from the records that the most significant rainfall for the month of June has occurred on this shortest day.

WINTER RAIN: Wangaratta had 12mm of rain Tuesday/ Wednesday last week.

PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

By Peter Nelson Peter Nelson, retired CSIRO climatologist

STITCH IN TIME: Members of the Embroiderers Guild Victoria, North East Branch including Kerryn Taylor are celebrating the group’s 40th birthday with an exhibition titled “The 40 Years Stitch” at the Bainz Gallery in the Wangaratta Library until July 12.

PHOTO: Marc Bongers

Greta students share their research on war veterans

AN insightful project has helped young people in the Greta region connect with their community and its rich history, while gaining an understanding of life and the war experience in a meaningful way.

Students in grades three to six at Greta Valley Primary School spent five weeks researching a soldier buried in the Greta cemetery, presenting their work at the

community’s ANZAC Day service.

With the support of school principal Howard Gibson, we are sharing what they found out through their investigations.

The project has also shown that many of today’s residents have a familial connection to those who called Greta home generations ago.

In this instalment, student Lewis Nicholls shares what he found out about Robert John McMonigle.

Robert John McMonigle was born on April 9, 1883 in Glenrowan.

Robert’s mother was Mary Ann and his father was John McMonigle.

His wife was Ruth Elma Collie and they had three children - Robert, Mary and Kathleen.

Robert was in the 13th Light Horse Regiment in World War 1.

He joined the army on December 29, 1914 when he was 29 years old, and his service number was 337.

He left Australia on May 28, 1915.

He fought in France and received a Victory Medal.

In 1916 Robert made a narrow escape fighting in the enemy’s quarters and the only thing that saved him was his coat that was shredded by shrapnel.

He was admitted to hospital on the March 7, 1916 then again three days later.

He was one of the last soldiers to return to Australia, coming home in 1919.

He also enlisted on March 25 in 1942 for World War Two.

He was a Private in the 22nd Battalion and his service number was V372096.

He was discharged on October 10 in 1945.

Robert died on September 7, 1965.

WE REMEMBER: Robert John McMonigle was awarded the Victory Medal for his service.

Australia Post grants to help improve mental health

APPLICATIONS are now open for Australia Post's 2024 community grants program, which funds community-led local projects.

Until July 1, eligible notfor-profit groups can apply for grants of up to $10,000 to support projects which have the primary purpose of improving mental health and wellbeing in local communities.

Last year's program saw 72 projects awarded funding totalling more than $500,000, with half of the successful applications awarded in rural and remote locations.

Among last year's recipients was the Connecting Community Café initiative from Wangaratta's Open Door Neighbourhood House; a $10,000 grant was directed to the program, which provides a space for members of the community to congregate with like-minded local peers. Organisations interested in applying are encouraged to review the community grant guidelines to check eligibility requirements, with eligible community organisations able to apply until 11.59pm on July 1. To check eligibility, visit https://auspost.com.au Successful applicants will be notified in September 2024.

STUDY PROJECT: Greta Valley Primary School student Lewis Nicholls chose to learn more about the life of John McMonigle.

Thirty by Thirty exhibition a big hit

By KURT HICKLING

MORE than 100 people attended the official opening of the Thirty x Thirty exhibition at Art Gallery on Ovens in Wangaratta on June 6.

Guests admired more than 92 entries from talented local artists, each displaying their two-dimensional artwork measuring just 30 centimetres square.

Today, between 10am until 4pm is your last opportunity to see the exhibition.

Giving life to Lifeball

THREE Wangaratta Lifeball players were recently awarded certificates of appreciation for their contribution to the local competition.

President Glenis Johnson presented the awards to Jean Freeman, Joyce Ryan and Fran Doig, recognising their tireless efforts to promote Lifeball, and their ongoing support and assistance to fellow members.

Lifeball is held each Tuesday from 1pm on the basketball court at the Wangaratta Sports and Aquatic Centre. Phone 0418 574 404 for more information about this non-contact game of netball.

THANK

RECOGNISED: Glenis Johnson with Joyce Ryan.

YOU: Wangaratta Lifeball president Glenis Johnson with Jean Freeman.

WHERE TO START: Shinya Matsumura and Emma-Lee Still.

LEADERS IN ART: Ronan Holdsworth and Rachel Arndt.

BIG NIGHT: Bronwyn and Colin Pearse.

QUICK SNAP: Lucas and Jana Brook.

PROUD AS PUNCH: Janet Leith and Ron Ahl.

OPENING NIGHT: Barbara and Ken Forster.

CHEERS: Kate Jenvey and Candice Jones.

PHOTOS: Kurt Hickling.

GREAT SUPPORT: Glenis Johnson with Fran Doig.

VERY IMPRESSED: Kristine Beach, Paul Bosanko and Donna Hughes.

SMILES: Mark and Joanne Radnor with Linda D’Agostino.

LOCAL TALENT: Sian Lim and Leonie Carr.

Travel experiences are back on bucket lists in a big way

BY STEVE KELLY skelly@ nemedia.com.au

The travel industry has bounced back with people from all over the North East and Southern NSW renewing their hopes and dreams to travel Australia and the rest of the world.

It was one of the hardest hit during the COVID years with border closures and restrictions turning people’s plans on their head.

But it only made seasoned travellers more persistent in their desires to return to their favourite overseas spots, or revitalising people’s ambitions to create new memories through travel.

Renee Nightingale, owner of Hello World Wangaratta, Wodonga and Albury, said there was a pent-up demand because people had been locked up for so long and they just wanted to go out and have those experiences and those bucket list trips that they were thinking about when they couldn’t travel anywhere.

“We lost everything over those couple of years and for it to come back as it has, it has been huge,” she said.

Renee has managed to retain most of her staff through the COVID years and she is back to a full team of 15 experienced consultants who offer that extra layer of support for travellers looking to set up on their next adventure.

“I got the three shops through with as many staff as possible - we did have to downsize but to be back fully staffed with 15 consultants is absolutely terrific,” she said.

“There is a demand out there for travel agent consultants, so to have the team that I have that are so well travelled and passionate and have been doing it for as long as they have is a real credit to each and every one of them.”

The staff feel like they travel around the world every day considering the never-ending list of places to visit and experiences to be had.

Japan has been a popular destination of choice and Europe has returned as another favourite for people to visit.

Domestic travel to the wide selection of locations in Australia is always high on the list for customers.

Renee said the destination of choice at the moment is Japan and it’s possibly because it’s perceived as a very safe destination and it’s not the 24-hour flight that Europe is.

She said people generally look for guided tour groups such as river cruises as it adds that extra layer of security in travelling.

“For these people it’s about just being around other people when travelling,” Renee said.

“It has changed in recent years with people wanting smaller groups and more intimate experiences.”

Europe is always a popular place for people to make travel plans for through Hello World with its iconic land-

For more information please contact:

Amy Ratcliffe

5723 0134 | aratcliffe@nemedia.com.au

Jess Clough 5723 0128 | jclough@nemedia.com.au

marks, and travel packages offering amazing experiences.

Renee also recommends that someone’s first trip to Euroa could be to touch on all the iconic spots and work out where they would like to go back to and spend a more in-depth time on another trip.

“It’s a great eye opener and a great way to start travelling to Europe and it’s probably something that you either do it once and do it well, or you keep going back to different areas that you like.

“People are really looking for those niche itineraries, for example a foodie might be chasing a Bordeaux river cruise.”

It has been great for staff at Hello World staff to see people coming back in to plan their next adventure, albeit it took a few some time

super busy with a huge spike in people looking for their next holiday adventure.

to regain confidence again.

“The regulars who continue to travel, I do think it didn’t affect them as much and as soon as the borders opened they were ready to go again,” Renee reflected.

“It was the ones who had saved up for so long and were let down in not being able to go, it was hard for them to get the momentum back.”

Renee reassured any potential travellers looking to plan a trip.

“The one thing we’ve found coming out of COVID is that when you’re booking with us, you’re booking with someone who is local and trusted,” she said.

“We’re 24/7 so if something happens in the middle of the night the caller will generally get me on the end of the phone.

“You’ve got that person and

that reassurance that somebody is there for you the whole time and you’re not going to go to a call centre and be 87th in the queue at three o’clock in the morning when something is actually happening.

“It’s not that we anticipate something will happen, but we all know that with everything changing in the world, to have that security is important.

“Your consultant has either been where you are going, or they’ve got a colleague who has which can also add that extra layer of support.

“Whether it’s your first, second or even your 50th trip, just to know that your consultant has your back the whole way, can be an easy and reassured way to travel.”

DESTINATION OF CHOICE: Japan is the curent number one destination for the region’s travellers.

TRAVEL EXPERT: Hello World Travel Albury, Wodonga and Wangaratta owner Renee Nightingale.

EXCITING TIMES: Hello World Travel Wangaratta consultants (from left) Jodie Pellegrino, Sami Kreltszheim, Carrie O’Shannessy and Nikki Feehan have been

PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

Junior Reporter Club

ACROSS

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE CROSSWORD

4 What is a theatre where films are shown (6)

7 Which term suggests a composition of grains (8)

8 Name a particular dodger (6)

9 What are the letters of a language in their customary order (8)

11 When one amends or alters one does what (7)

13 What is an insatiable greed for riches (7)

15 What is mental or emotional strain (7)

17 Who is the god of the sea (7)

20 When one teaches one does what (8)

23 What is a list of persons with their periods of duty (6)

24 What is a blood feud called (8)

25 To deliver from danger is to do what (6) DOWN

1 Which term describes that which is uttered by the mouth (4)

2 Which device holds a boat in place (6)

3 What is a cudgel also known as (4)

4 Which box is used for packing and transporting items (5)

5 What is a foolish person called (coll) (6)

6 Which hand-held computer device controls the cursor (5)

9 Name the longest river in South America (6)

10 To have constructed is to have done what (7)

12 What are backbones known as (6)

14 What is atmospheric electricity (6)

16 Weighing machines are called what (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

Solve

18 To call up is to do what (5)

19 What is firmness of courage in trying circumstances (5)

21 Name one of the two bones of the forearm (4)

22 When one consumes food one does what (4)

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

LUXATION

(a) Indulgence in costly pleasures

(b) A dislocation

(c) A jump, with rotation, in figure-skating 2 MENISCUS

(a) A crescent-shaped figure

(b) An ancient monumental standing stone

(c) An Ethiopian king who fought for the Trojans

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:

Come with (5) East of north-east (3) Faster (7) Illegal act (5) Joint (5) Little (5) Public transport vehicle (3) Set (3) Tea (3) Traffic control structure (7)

Avo’s a smashing family hit

BY KURT HICKLING khickling@ nemedia.com.au

A MOLYULLAH farming family are providing a smashing hit as one of only two local avocado producers in the local area.

Peter, Chris and Felicity McGown run their 200 acre property with livestock and an avocado orchard with more than 100 thriving trees producing quality fruit.

Four popular varieties are grown - Hass, Fuertle, Bacon and Zutano - and their different growing season ensure avocados are available all year round.

The trio took over the farm in 2019 from their parents, who originally bought the property in 1985.

“When Mum and Dad purchased the property, they planted 200 avocado trees covering four varieties in the orchard as the location and soil type were ideal for growing conditions,” Peter said.

“Since my brother and sister and I took over the farm, it was paramount to our family that we continue to build and develop it including the production of avocados which over the four varieties, we see the production of our beautiful

fruit all year round.

“The dry autumn period has had no affect on our trees as we run a sprinkler system with water drawn by a bore, however, avocado trees are naturally resilient and can tolerate dry conditions.

“The production of organic grown avocados on

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our farm are a popular hit to locals as we offer some varieties not seen at the supermarkets.

“We sell our fruit at the Wangaratta Farmers Market every second Saturday and Beechworth Farmers Market every first Saturday.”

Peter said the family farm will be looking at

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expanding, as the quantity of high quality fruit offers options to sell abroad.

“My niece and nephews Levi, Mitchell and Ava McGown help the farm by taking our fresh produce to Melbourne and Frankston and sell our delicious avocados,” he said.

“Our avocado varieties

Avocados first arrived here as seed in 1840

ACCORDING to Australian Avocados, the fruit - native to Mexico and Central America - first arrived in Australia in 1840 in seed form and were planted in the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney.

Further commercial imports of seed and plants continued over the next 110 years until by the late 1960s a developing Australian industry began to take shape.

Avocados are high in fat with 60 per cent of this being monounsaturated fats, which research suggests helps to protect against heart disease and lower blood pressure.

They are also an excellent source of potassium, folate and fibre, all of which benefit the cardiovascular system.

are popular as they have a creamier fruit with a softer skin... Bacon and Fuerte being our most popular varieties.

“Our family wants to continue working the farm and produce avocados as a legacy to our parents and for our future generations.”

Like all faming pursuits, it’s not without its challenges.

“We have had some ongoing issues with local deer eating the leaves on the avocado trees,” said Peter.

“We do find dead deer the next morning at the base of the avocado trees as the leaves are toxic to the animal.”

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SMASHING HIT: Chris, Peter, Levi, Mitchell and Ava McGown love growing avocados at their Molyullah property.

PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

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WINNERS AND LOSERS

SATURDAY, JUNE 15

NETBALL SCORES

Albury 60 def Corowa Rutherglen 33 North Albury 35 def by Myrtleford 39 17 & UNDER Albury 41 def by Corowa Rutherglen 42 North Albury 40 def by Myrtleford 44 15 & UNDER Albury 55 def Corowa Rutherglen 13 North Albury 24 def by Myrtleford 41

THIRDS RESULTS

Albury 9.7.61 def Corowa R’glen 9.5.59: GOALS: ALBURY: D. Dunstan 4, W. El-achkar 1, N. Conway 1, L. Hogan 1, N. Wilkinson 1, K. Griparis 1. COROWA RUTHERGLEN C. Duryea 3, I. Dickinson 2, J. Lavis 2, J. Kuschert 1. BEST: ALBURY: O. Feuerherdt, N. Prentice, J. Shanahan, D. Dunstan, L. Hogan, F. Scholes. COROWA RUTHERGLEN: L. Tafft, C. Duryea, J. Lavis, J. Kuschert, B. Eyers, J. Massey-Chase. Nth Albury 17.15.117 def Myrtleford 1.6.12: GOALS: North Albury Thirds: L. Hetherton 7, T. Field 2, T. Ellis 1, C. Spencer 1, T.

1, C. Moncrieff 1, M. Heriot 1. BEST: NORTH ALBURY: C. Spencer, W. Clohesy, W. Satchell, A. Jansen, B. Daley, J. Smith. MYRTLEFORD: T. Miller, J. Browne, O. Neil, O Benson, L. Barbour, C. Howden. A GRADE Albury 42 def by Corowa Rutherglen 56 North Albury 56 def Myrtleford 50 B GRADE Albury 45 def Corowa Rutherglen 34 North Albury 43 def by Myrtleford 61 C GRADE

GOALS: NORTH ALBURY: N. Dennis 5, J. Minogue 5, F. Gardiner 2, J. Hayes 2, T. Broomhead 2, C. Winter 2, K. Tallent 1, C. McIntosh 1. MYRTLEFORD: L. Murphy-Dale 4, R. Bouker 2, B. Ricardi 2, B. Coleman 1, N. Turner 1, D. Batey 1, M. Munro 1. BEST: NORTH ALBURY: J. Reynolds, N. Dennis, F. Ramage, J. King, F. Gardiner, J. Minogue. MYRTLEFORD: J. Muraca, L. Murphy-Dale, T. Cappellari, J. East, B. Ricardi, J. Gribbin.

ALBURY 6.1 8.6 13.6 17.11.113 COROWA-R’GLEN 1.2 1.3 3.7 5.10.40

GOALS: ALBURY: M. Walker 7, C. McGrath 3, J. Gaynor 2, K. Heiner-Hennessy 2, M. Byrne 1, F. Hart 1, T. Quade 1. COROWA RUTHERGLEN: S. Dunstan 2, D. Hope 2, J. Eyers 1. BEST: ALBURY: M. Walker, J. Gaynor, E. Powell, J. Page, I. Muller, W. Unthank. COROWA RUTHERGLEN: D. Hope, R. Eyers, J. Longmire, S. Jansen, C. Bertram, J. Marks.

SATURDAY, JUNE 22

SUNDAY, JUNE 23

WINNERS AND LOSERS

GOALS: BENALLA ALL BLACKS: Lachlan Sinclair

Jordan

MILAWA: Braydon Kearns 8, Jared Lea 7, Brady Bartlett 6, Xavier Ham 2, Harry Allan 1, Corey Dunn 1, Brandon Fitzpatrick 1, Matt Graham 1, Simon Pane 1. BEST: BENALLA ALL BLACKS: Damian Broughton, David Nero, Chelton Orchard, David Button, Sam Cox, Kieran Linke. MILAWA: Braydon Kearns, Xavier Ham, Tyler Dunn, Jared Lea, Corey Dunn, Josh Owen.

A GRADE:

Benalla 30 def by Milawa 70, Greta 58 def Moyhu 27 Goorambat 36 def by Bright 49

B GRADE:

Benalla 21 def by Milawa 82, Greta 36 def Moyhu 35, Goorambat 23 def by Bright 44

B RESERVE:

Greta 48 def Moyhu 37, Goorambat 34 def by Bright 48

C GRADE:

Benalla 12 def by Milawa 50, Greta 40 def by Moyhu 42, King Valley 39 def Tarrawingee 29 15 & UNDER:

Benalla 19 drew with Milawa 19, Greta 21 def Moyhu 13, King Valley 34 def Tarrawingee 28 Not other scores available a time of print

ROUND 12

SATURDAY, JUNE 22

BRIGHT vs BONNIE DOON

MILAWA vs GRETA NORTH

WANGARATTA vs BENALLA

MOYHU vs WHOROULY

TARRAWINGEE vs GOORAMBAT

KING VALLEY - BYE

GOALS: GRETA: Frazer Judd 11, James McClounan 4, Brenton Newbold 3, Tyler Arrowsmith 1, Frazer Dent 1, Ben Hogan 1, Lachie Kennett 1, Luke Minogue 1, Tom Webster 1. MOYHU: Tom Bannon 1, George Hearn 1, Nick Stewart 1. BEST: GRETA: Frazer Judd, James McClounan, Frazer Dent, Luke Minogue, Joshua Bell, Nicholas Pell. MOYHU: Bailey Zimmermann, Matthew Thrum, David McDonald, Liam Cook, Jett Roberts, Josh Coonan.

GOALS: GOORAMBAT: Dylan Beavis 2, Duane Haebich 2, Angus Burston 1, Josh Heylbut 1, Sully Malay 1, Brayden Stepien 1. BRIGHT: Mikka Paulsen 6, Dylan Bursill 2, Max Rampling 2, Rodrigo Arguello 1, Riley Bacon 1, Clay Cambridge-Dillon 1, Jack Dalbosco 1, Luke Quirk 1. BEST: GOORAMBAT: Benjamin Reaburn, Josh Heylbut, Sully Malay, Brayden Stepien, Dylan Beavis, John House. BRIGHT: Mikka Paulsen, Thomas Gray, Alexander Dalbosco, Joe Gray, Rodrigo Arguello, James Love. NTH WANGARATTA

9.13 15.18.108

WHOROULY 1.2 2.3 3.4 4.4.28

GOALS: NORTH WANGARATTA: Matthew Curtis 3, Damien Bradley 2, Jack Brown 2, Jhye Devine 2, Taylor O’Brien 2, Steven Lepenik 1, Matthew Prestianni 1, Tyler Schulze 1, Timothy Wilson 1. WHOROULY: Zac Bladon 2, Oliver Dixon 1, Samuel Ferguson 1. BEST: NORTH WANGARATTA: David Killen, Sean Gales, Adam Enever, Tyler Schulze, Damien Bradley, Taylor O’Brien. WHOROULY: Oliver Dixon, Dylan Gephart, Zac Bladon, Daniel Harris, Darcy O’Shannessy, Edward Bramich.

Dees demolish Benalla, North Wang Hawks fly high over Lions

By NATHAN DE VRIES

THE stronger sides in the Ovens and King Football league flexed their muscles on the weekend, with the average winning margin from round 11’s senior matches just over 100 points.

The largest score difference came from Milawa’s match at Benalla’s Friendlies Oval, which saw the Demons triumph by 189 points, 29.29 (203) to 2.2 (14).

Milawa’s forwards and midfield units had a day out, producing 27 scoring shots to half time with 14 goals, while Benalla managed a solitary goal in the first half.

The damage continued through the second half, with Benalla’s defence unable to withstand the constant barrage of millimetre perfect ball use from the Demons.

Braydon Kearns was on fire up forward, finishing with eight goals, while Jared Lea (seven), Brady Bartlett (six) and Xavier Ham (two) were influential.

Elsewhere, North Wangaratta reignited their season with an 80-point win

over Whorouly, 15.18 (108) to 4.4 (28).

A congested first term saw Whorouly only trail by 13 points at quarter time, before North Wangaratta started to stretch their legs.

Moving the ball well and capitalising on their opponent’s mistakes, the Hawks defended hard and pushed a 17-point margin at halftime to a 45-point lead by the start of the fourth.

Matt Curtis was impressive as a key forward, finishing with three goals, with David Killen and Adam Enever turning in solid performances.

For Whorouly, Ollie Dixon was strong coming off half back, with Dylan Gephart and Zac Bladon strong across the ground.

The Lions were more successful in the reserves encounter, turning up in force to mark Brett Allen’s 500th club match with a win, 11.5 (71) to 9.9 (63), with Allen kicking two goals.

Elsewhere, Bright brushed aside a spirited Goorambat outfit to record a 47-point win, 15.12 (102) to 8.7 (55).

A closely fought first half saw the Bats hold a

slim margin of four points, but Bright’s class shone through in a major way in the third term.

Limiting Goorambat to just seven points for the quarter, the Mountain Men pounded on six majors to race out to a strong lead with Mikka Paulsen kicking six goals for the match in a best on ground effort, before Bright sealed the four points with a fivegoal final term.

Ben Reaburn, Sully Malay and Dylan Beavis were among the best on the ground for the Bats, while Joe Gray and James Love impressed for the Mountain Men.

King Valley were electric in their 54-point win over Tarrawingee at Whitfield, defending their home ground with a ninegoal result 12.19 (91) to 5.7 (37).

The Roos led for the majority of the match, pulling away late as the Bulldogs struggled to impact the scoreboard.

Tarrawingee booted four goals in the second quarter before failing to record a major for the rest of the match, while King Valley accelerated their scoring as the match wore on.

Greta Blues dominate young Moyhu Hoppers brigade across the ground in 131-point drubbing

■ From back page

Frazer Dent, Luke Minogue and Josh Bell also performed well.

Greta coach Chris Dube said it was a clinical performance against a challenging opposition.

“It was a wonderful test heading into these next few weeks where winter sets in and you can’t afford to drop five per cent,” he said.

“Moyhu’s pressure was really high and they maintained it for basically four quarters, so we had to play good football for a long time.

“We knew a young Moyhu was just going to run all day, so in some respects they gave us a pretty clear understanding of how the match was going to play because we knew they were going to take the game on.

“Our midfield started to get on top a little bit and we just became a little bit relentless, we kept peppering the forward 50 - we either converted or we kept it in there for a while and made repeat entries.”

Dube said a full team effort allowed his tentpole players to shine.

“We’ve got a nice little bevy of performers, but I’m loving the work of our dour defenders and our hit-up half forwards that make those other guys able to do that really classy stuff,” he said.

“I seldom give the full forward a best on, but ‘Juddy’ made some goals himself, he didn’t just receive them.

“Our skipper, Josh Bell, just runs all day so he links us from the back half so well.

“You’ve got Lachie Kennett, you’ve got Frazer Dent, you’ve got James McClounan – if one doesn’t get you, somebody else will.”

CAUGHT: Jared Cook is brought down by Pat Kelly.

GOOD TACKLE: Zac Bladon is forced to dish off a handball or get run down in North Wangaratta’s 80 point win over the Lions.

PHOTOS: Nathan de Vries

TRACKING: Harrison Bell runs down a loose footy.

FAST HANDS: Brad Whinray prepares to dish out a handball.

BIG MEN BATTLE: Tom Fursdon and Harry Verdon battle it out in the ruck contest.

PHOTOS: Kurt Hickling

Keen adds another milestone to glistening A grade netball career

KELLIE Keen is officially a member of the 100 club at the Wangaratta Football Netball Club.

The stalwart notched up 100 games for the Magpies in their loss to Wodonga Raiders last weekend in what was another milestone in what has been a glistening career.

The goaler has racked up a total of 417 A-grade games with Goulburn Valley League club Benalla, plus an extra 41 games with Ovens and Murray League rival Wangaratta Rovers before joining the Magpies.

Keen said she was hon-

BY WILLSON MACK wmack@ nemedia.com.au

oured to reach the milestone.

“It was pretty low key and going down to Raiders wasn’t the best way to celebrate it but I’m really honoured to do so,” Keen said.

“Magpies gave me the opportunity to coach an A grade side which I hadn’t done before so I’m very fortunate they let me do that.

“It’s a great club to be involved in, everyone’s very

welcoming and I’ve loved my time here.

“After playing at Benalla for so long I never thought I’d reach 100 games anywhere else.”

Keen has enjoyed plenty of success at the ‘Pies, leading them to back-to-back premierships as player coach in 2017 and 2018.

“The first year I was at the club I didn’t know anyone and then the next (year) we won a premiership so it all happened pretty quick,” Keen said.

“To win back-to-back premierships was really spe-

cial and that’s why you play team sport – not for the individual accolades but for the team success.”

Keen returned to Benalla in 2022 but found herself back at Wangaratta in 2023 where she still remains an integral part of the offense.

“I came back to Wangaratta last year and its been nice to be able to train and not worry about the coaching side of things,” she said.

“I’m coaching the juniors but to be able to play A grade netball as purely a player has been enjoyable.

“It’s nice to not have to

worry about who’s playing where on a Saturday, I can just focus on me.”

Keen’s now eyeing a third premiership with Wangaratta in season 2024 as they currently sit in second position with an 8-1 record.

“We’ve got a good group in the A grade that ge along really well off the court which makes the on court stuff really enjoyable,” she said.

“We’ve had a great start to this season, we had a hiccup last weekend but hopefully we continue to build and can have a real crack at the pointy end of the season.

“Once you get to finals it’s a completely different ball game so we just need to get there first.”

So what’s the secret to playing over 500 games of A grade netball?

“I’ve been super lucky with injury, I haven’t had a serious one touch wood,” she said.

“I also make sure recovery’s a big part of my routine so I try and get out on a Sunday and do something that’s going to help me recover well.

“For me I’ll keep playing until I can’t do it properly.”

SUPERSTAR: Kellie Keen played her 100th game for Wangaratta last weekend (June 8).

PHOTO: Melissa Beattie

500 FOR BRETT

BOTH senior and reserve teams from Whorouly and North Wangaratta united to acknowledge Whorouly’s Brett Allen, who played his 500th game for the Lions in Saturday’s reserve match. Whorouly turned up for their stalwart, taking the win over the Hawks 11.5 (71) to 9.9 (63). Ovens and King match reports on page 18.

PHOTO: Nathan de Vries

Blues cruise to win

Greta dominates young Moyhu Hoppers brigade across

GRETA senior footballers proved the bye weekend hadn’t dulled their killer instinct, ripping apart Moyhu by 131 points, 24.14 (158) to 3.9 (27) on Saturday.

The Blues wasted no time cracking apart Moyhu’s defence, producing nine shots on goal in the first 20 minutes to take a 27 point lead

BY NATHAN DE VRIES ndevries@ nemedia.com.au

into the quarter time huddle.

The pain was piled on in the second term, as Greta’s midfield unit won more and more of the footy from the

middle and delivered it to their power forwards.

A brutal period of time for Moyhu’s back six, the Blues booted six second quarter goals with another half dozen shots falling wide of the big sticks.

The Hoppers started to find reward for their effort in the second half, with

Moyhu finding the footy more and using it better, but couldn’t convert in a meaningful way, with six behinds for the third quarter.

Conversely, Greta was clinical in their scoring, producing another 5.2 to take a commanding and unassailable 95 point lead into

the final period of play.

The Blues refused to take their foot off the Hoppers’ throat, with eight further goals coming before the siren ended Moyhu’s woes.

Bailey Zimmermann was among the best on ground for the defeated Hoppers, with brilliant performances from Matt Thrum, David

McDonald and Jett Roberts. Greta’s Frazer Judd proved he’s one of the most damaging forwards in the league with a mighty haul of 11 goals, with James McClounan (four goals) and Brenton Newbold (three) the only other multiple goal kickers.

■ Continued page 18