NEWS
IN BRIEF Rainfall
Solid contributions
February rainfall was higher than the same time last year according to Healesville’s Alma Mitchell. Ms Mitchell recorded a total rainfall of 115.8mm compared to 35.2mm in February last year. It comes after Ms Mitchell’s recordings were also higher than average in January this year. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the average rainfall for the Healesville area in February is 67.7mm - as measured at Badgers Creek Sanctuary.
By Jed Lanyon Renowned sculptor Ernst Fries passed away at Healesville Hospital on Tuesday 3 March after a brief battle with lymphoma. The Yarra Valley artist was well known for his contemporary works in stainless steel, glass, granite and concrete. Ernst was born in Wurzburg, Germany in 1934 and grew up during World War II. On 16 March 1945, the majority of his home city was destroyed from British firebombing during an air raid. Ernst’s daughter, Reggie Clark, said he and his family were lucky to survive and that these experiences shaped his work later in life. “He came to Australia from Germany after the war. He had a very interrupted childhood because of the war,” she said. “He really didn’t have much education, but he did take himself off to a plumbing trade and so he could work with metal. And then he did some gold and silversmith courses. “His work often has some sort of social commentary or message, which won’t necessarily be obvious to the viewer.” Ernst’s submission for a bushfire memorial artwork made from concrete and glass was commissioned by Yarra Ranges Council in 2013. “It depicted the fires but also the aftermath of the regrowth ... He had experience working with concrete and glass for many years by doing church windows,” Ms Clark said. “It was just a fitting tribute to all of the people who had lost their lives.” The coloured glass of the artwork is designed to amplify the sun’s rays as they penetrate and reflect, making the work sparkle and shine. Ernst moved to Yarra Glen in 1985, living and working at the residence now known as Art at Linden Gate. “He bought this place mainly because of the views. It was lovely and quiet and he could
Road rescue Emergency services were called to a road rescue operation on the Maroondah Highway near Buxton on Wednesday 4 March. A vehicle had rolled but luckily the driver escaped with minor injuries according to Marysville SES. Traffic was limited to one lane, but continued to flow while the scene was cleared.
Operation Arid
Ernst Fries.
Picture: JESSE GRAHAM
set up a workshop without annoying the neighbours.” Some of Ernst’s other works include creating the Victorian Coat of Arms at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, the Toolangi Sculpture Trail, a six metre tall kinetic wind cube at Art at Linden Gate the church windows at St Ita’s Catholic Church Drouin and many more. Yarra Valley residents pass his sculpture everyday along the Warburton Highway in Wandin’s shopping strip. The sculpture was commissioned by Yarra Ranges Council in 2018. The large steel sculpture was designed to reflect Wandin’s unique berry and fruit orchard industries. Ernst was instrumental in establishing the Australian National Committee for the Inter-
Part of the Yarra Glen Bushfire Memorial. national Association of Art (UNESCO) and served as president on several occasions for the Association of Sculptors of Victoria from 1983 to 1988.
Rare beauties: baby skinks a coup for zoo Four beautiful and rare baby skinks, of a species affected by the recent bushfires, have been born at Healesville Sanctuary in a major win for the sanctuary’s captive breeding program. The births mark the first time the endangered Alpine She-oak Skink has been bred in captivity. Healesville Sanctuary’s Threatened Species Life Sciences Manager Monika Zabinskas said the baby reptiles, weighing only a few grams each, have just received their two-month health check to ensure they are healthy and developing properly. “Being able to successfully breed (these animals) in captivity is a great achievement for us,” Ms Zabinskas said. Ms Zabinskas says not much was known about breeding the endangered skinks before the Zoos Victoria breeding program began in 2012. Zoo staff worked with other experts,
Four Alpine She-oak Skinks were born recently at Healesville Sanctuary. including the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, to crack the difficult problem. “We had to develop the husbandry methods
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and techniques to maintain and reproduce the species in captivity,” said Ms Zabinskas. “The broader goal is to work with external partners to create an emergency response plan for the skinks. We hope the breeding program can support wild recovery efforts.” The Alpine She-oak Skink is one of 27 priority threatened species in Zoos Victoria’s Wildlife Conservation Master Plan. In the wild, Alpine She-oak Skinks live entirely in alpine and sub-alpine areas of NSW and Victoria that were devastated by this summer’s extreme bushfires. Fire is a huge danger to the Alpine She-Oak Skink, killing individuals and destroying the low-lying vegetation they live among. Any survivors of the initial blaze are then vulnerable to predators. The skinks are also threatened by habitat destruction and climate change.
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Police are investigating the theft of a motorbike from a Healesville property on 24 February. During the day, the unknown offender(s) entered the property and stole a Husqvarna trail bike from a shed. The bike’s registration is 8386F (Vic). An who has information about this incident is encouraged to call Healesville Police on 5962 4422.
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Police across the state put in the hard yards to help ensure road users stayed safe this Labour Day weekend. Officers were highly visible across metropolitan and rural locations as part of Operation Arid, a four-day focus on driving down the incidence and severity of road trauma. While the operation targeted the key causes of death and serious injury on our roads - including speed, fatigue, driver distraction and seatbelt offences - police had a particular focus on impaired driving. So far this year, 45 people have been killed on our state’s roads, with drink and drug driving suspected to be factors in ten of those incidents. Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner Libby Murphy said it was baffling that people continued to get behind the wheel after drinking or taking drugs when they knew the risks involved. “The dangers of drink and drug driving are nothing new,” Ms Murphy said. “Drink driving shortens your concentration span, significantly affects reaction times and alters your ability to judge distances. “Knowingly getting into the driver’s seat while drunk or drug-affected is entirely selfish and there’s no place for it on our roads. “We are doing more roadside drug tests than ever before, and we’ll be out and about breath-testing drivers, so think twice before consciously putting yourself and others at risk.”
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Tuesday, 10 March, 2020
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