March 18, 2022
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Pupils get ready to ride Pupils at Grovedale Primary School will be among the 350,000 children around the country jumping on their bikes for Ride2School Day next week. National Ride2School Day is Friday, March 25 and students have been encouraged to ride, scoot, skate or walk to school safely. The day, organised by Bicycle Network, aims to celebrate active travel and help children get their 60 minutes of daily exercise. Grovedale Primary School teacher Katie Baltetsch said “there are so many benefits of riding to school”. “Students can get some fresh air and exercise before school starts so they can come in ready to learn.” It also helped traffic flow in the morning when it could get very busy “with students getting dropped off,” Ms Baltetsch added. With some pupils set to ride to school for the first time, Ms Baltetsch encouraged pupils to practice riding with their parents or friends. “Grade 5 and 6s could ride with their parents or friends if they live close by, and they can put into the practise the skills they learnt during bike education last year,” she said. Ned, Ivy and Will.
(Ivan Kemp) 271025_01
‘Heritage vandalism’ plea By Ash Bolt The Friends of the Barwon River Ovoid Sewer Aqueduct are calling for Barwon Water to rethink its plans for the heritage-listed structure before it is partly demolished in the coming months. It’s expected works to remove four of the 110-year-old aqueduct’s 14 spans will be begin within months, after Barwon Water received approval from Heritage Victoria in 2020. The demolition of the four spans across
the Barwon River is part of Barwon Water’s Porronggitj Karrong project to open up public access to the river and 66 hectares of surrounding land in Breakwater, which will be turned into a cultural precinct in partnership with the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation. Friends of the Barwon River Ovoid Sewer Aqueduct spokesperson David Le Lievre said allowing the structure to be partially demolished was “heritage vandalism”. The 756-metre bridge began construction in
1912 and was one of the first regional sewerage systems in regional Victoria, connecting a pipe from Geelong to Black Rock. “It’s a beautiful structure and when you think about it, it’s one of the most important historical structures we have,” Mr Le Lievre said. “Sewerage is fundamental to a city and that structure would have saved hundreds of thousands of lives over its time. “The person who designed it was clearly more of an architect than an engineer because
it’s beautiful but the reinforced concrete isn’t thick enough in some places … but it would be a shame to lose this structure. “It doesn’t make sense to me why anyone would want to get rid of this history.” Mr Le Lievre said he wanted to see the aqueduct maintained and turned into a tourist attraction. “Once you lose history, you can’t get it back,” he said. ■ Continued:
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