Ocean Grove Voice - 8th September 2023

Grubbers battle ready

By Justin Flynn

It seems fitting that two Bellarine Netball League powerhouses will again contest this year’s A Grade grand final.

Geelong Amateur and Ocean Grove are the league’s heavyweights and have a fierce, but respectful rivalry.

Ammos have lost just once this season, to Ocean Grove in round 15 by two goals.

Ammos won the two other encounters, by 26 goals in round four and by four in the second semi-final two weeks ago.

The game will feature the two best goal shooters in the competition, and perhaps two of the best of all time.

Geelong Amateur’s Ruby Watson has a record-breaking 1113 goals this season while Ocean Grove’s Bec O’Neill is up to 968.

Ocean Grove co-coach Candice Parker said her players were “super excited” to be back on grand final day after losing to Ammos last year.

“We hope we can learn from what happened last year and try to go one better,” she said.

“Just working on those combinations and when you are down to the final you know you need to step up.

“We’reprettyevenlymatchedwhenyoulook at height and runners through the midcourt.”

Parkersaidlastyear’sgrandfinalexperience will stand the players in good stead.

“Some of the other players we’ve brought in have grand final experience,” she said.

“We hope that it’s going to be a tight tussle. We just gave them six goals in the first quarter (of the second semi) and we were down by 10. Having to claw your back against a really good side like that makes it tough.”

Ocean Grove will go in as underdogs.

“We have to be ferocious at the ball,” Parker said.

“We need to create momentum and we can’t let up. We need a full four-quarter effort.”

Ocean Grove has three senior and two junior teams in the grand finals, all playing against Ammos.

“Being able to have some of the seniors and juniors in, it’s a testament to the club at how

much we’ve built,” Parker said.

Geelong Amateur coach Mel Savage said the rivalry between the two clubs sets up a potentially epic grand final.

“It’s just an amazing rivalry and what it shows is the tremendous depth of both juniors and seniors in both clubs,” she said. Ammos have 10 of 12 teams competing in grand finals.

“We’re really excited about the opportunity, and I guess for us in particular, yes it’s about A Grade, but our club is in 10 out of the 12 grand finals – it’s an incredible achievement,” Savage said.

Savage said Ammos go into the clash with a clean bill of health and that playing two matches in four weeks was “neither here nor there”.

“We did match simulation for those two weeks, so we still played a one-hour match at the intensity that we would in a game,” she said.

“I don’t think it hinders us at all. You just get used to it. You know you’re building a session around the fact that you’ve got a week off so you simulate the same match intensity.”

While both sides have champion goal shooters, Savage said it was the defensive aspect of her team’s game that impressed most.

“I think our depth is that we can turn over the ball all over the court,” she said.

“I really think our attackers are extremely good defenders. I know the girls say our best defender in the team is our centre player, Georgia Duncan. She’s incredible. Her uncanny ability to win ball for us in that mid-third is exceptional and I think that we have the strongest defensive line up in the league.

“They will continue to win ball for us because they work tirelessly as a unit. I think that’s the big key factor. We don’t rely on one. I think as a unit defensively we work extremely hard for each other.”

The game, at 3.30pm on Saturday September, is at Newcomb’s Grinter Reserve. It will be streamed live on AFL Barwon TV at aflbarwon.com.au/barwon-media/ afl-barwon-tv

Ocean Grove’s Emily Moroney and Geelong Amateur’s Ashlea Creasey with the 2023 Dow Cup.

(Ivan Kemp) 358489_05

‘‘ It’s just an amazing rivalry and what it shows is the tremendous depth of both juniors and seniors in both clubs ’’ - Mel Savage

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Drysdale receives Orange Door

Thanks to a new Orange Door in Drysdale, the Barwon community now has access to wellbeing services closer to home.

The Orange Door Network Access Point opened in Drysdale on Tuesday, September 5, to provide coordinated support to the Bellarine community.

Member for Bellarine Alison Marchant said the new facility would help people experiencing family violence and for families needing support for a child’s wellbeing and

development.

“The expansion of the Barwon Orange Door network will provide much needed family violence and wellbeing support for families across the Bellarine region, with a new base in Drysdale,” she said.

Bellarine Community Health hosts the Bellarine Access Point, which includes a reception area, private meeting room, public areas and secure staff working areas.

Minister for Prevention of Family Violence

Ros Spence said The Orange Door network was built in response to an “uncoordinated and fragmented service system”.

“The Bellarine access point completes The Orange Door network in Barwon and means Victorians across the region have access to this important and valuable service,” she said.

Barwon’s The Orange Door started operating in Geelong in May 2018, which built on the area’s existing service system

Gallery hosts the freshest faces in art

Young artists will be on display when the Hive Gallery hosts the 2023 Ocean Grove Primary School (OGPS) Art Show.

The annual art show will be open from 4pm to 7pm tonight (Friday, September 8) at the Hive, where patrons can enjoy refreshments provided by Two Doors Down Cafe and the Lions Club sausage sizzle.

OGPS visual art teachers Jo Chapman and Andrea Thompson thanked the Hive’s Karen Spreadborough and Will Wilson for their generosityinmakingthespaceavailableforthe art show since 2019.

“It’s really lovely to be able to share our

artwork in a professional space, the kids are so excited that their art is going to be hanging up in an art gallery,” Ms Chapman said.

“We’re really lucky to have the support of Karen and Will at the Hive.”

Theshowwillfeatureaneclecticmixofworks by all year levels of OGPS students, including paintings, collage, steampunk sculptures and skate decks.

The artworks are available for purchase at $5 a piece, with all proceeds going towards the school’s visual arts department.

The funds raised from last year’s show contributed to the purchase of a safety cage

for the school’s kiln, improving safety for the students and allowing them to experiment with ceramics more easily.

Ms Chapman said the art show had become an important community event since its inception many years ago.

“It’s a celebration of art, but it’s also really important for the community,” she said.

“We noticed that post-COVID; it was one of the first big events where people were able to socialise and catch up. It’s a really special night for the kids and also a great community night.”

Matt Hewson

and has since supported more than 36,000 people.

The network provides specialist family violence, Aboriginal, child and family services to provide crisis assistance and support, risk and needs assessment, safety planning, and connection to other services.

The Orange Door network in Barwon is a free service and can be contacted on 1800 312 820 or at barwon@orangedoor.vic.gov.au from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.

Funding for safe storage

QueenscliffLonsdaleYachtClub(QLYC) can safely move and store equipment better thanks to council funding.

The Borough of Queenscliff awarded community grants to 12 organisations that support community, art and cultural projects and activities that improve residents’ wellbeing and quality of life.

QLYC secretary Felicity McKenzie said the club received $1300 from the community grants program to assist in the purchase of equipment to move and store kayaks in their boat shed safely.

“Weareverygratefulfortheborough’s support of our club which encourages family-friendly fun,” she said.

“As a club of over 400 members and run by a committee of volunteers we were extremely happy to receive the Borough of Queenscliff community grant.”

Mayor Isabelle Tolhurst said the programlookedtohelplocalcommunity groups and organisations and provide opportunities for the council and the community to work together.

“It’s a joy for council to be celebrating the wonderful community events we have across the Borough,” she said.

Other successful grant recipients included Boomerang Bags, Combined Probus Club of Queenscliffe, Point Lonsdale Boardriders Club, Point Lonsdale Primary School, Queenscliff and District Neighbourhood House, Point Lonsdale Basketball Association, Queenscliff Indigenous Nursery, Shedding the Blues, St Aloysius Primary School, and Tides of Welcome Community Choir.

Applications for the Borough of Queenscliff’s next round of community grants will open again next year.

Jena Carr

OGPS visual arts teachers Jo Chapman and Andrea Thompson and the Hive’s Karen Spreadborough. (Ivan Kemp) 357927_08

BarwonHeads BridgeWalk insupportofthe Voice Referendum

Libby

Surfside students learn while they bake

Surfside Primary School’s annual Threatened Species Bake Off is in full swing again, delivering delicious treats while engaging students with concepts of conservation of native species.

Surfside students from grades three and five design and create cupcakes representing threatened Australian species, as part of their StephanieAlexanderKitchenGardenprogram.

This is the second year the Ocean Grove school has run the event in conjunction with the Australian Geographic Threatened Species Bake Off.

Kitchen Garden program kitchen specialist Fleur Kilpatrick said the students were having a lot of fun imagining, baking and eating their nature-themed cupcake creations.

“They love it, and I really feel their creativity comes out in this fortnightly cycle of recipes,” Ms Kilpatrick said.

“They research the animal, they plan, they sketch their cupcake and then they come and create it.”

Ms Kilpatrick said the students gaining understanding of the perilous situation many species faced was also an important part of the activity.

“They really come to that awareness of the gravity of the threatened species’ situation,” she said. “September 7 is National Threatened Species Day, the day where they believe the Tasmanian Tiger became extinct in 1936.

“So it’s a real eye-opener for a lot of students that species are becoming extinct and a lot are threatened. It creates a bit of an impact on them.”

The local winners of the grade five section will be entered in the official event.

Matt Hewson

Angus, Kenzie, Harvey, Addi and Simon (rear). (Pictures: Ivan Kemp) 358087

Above: Krystal and Mitch. Top right: Hugo, Darcy, Skye, Maddison and Johanna (rear).

Right: Theo, Stef and Hamish.

Amanda, Jorja, Tilly, Henri and Rory.

Potential ban ruffles feathers

By Jena Carr

Geelong hunters will not be allowed to undertake recreational duck and quail shooting from next year if the state government approves calls for a complete ban.

Final report findings from a Parliament Inquiry into Victoria’s Recreational Bird Hunting Arrangements on August 31 recommended cancelling the bird hunting season from 2024.

Geelong Field and Game president Luke Mifsud said there were a “lot of emotions” regarding the proposed ban on duck hunting

and felt hunters were being attacked.

“A lot of people think that hunting is just going out there to kill ducks and then that’s it, but there’s a lot more that goes into it,” he said.

“Geelong Field and Game have helped construct channels to manage the water flow to certain swamps and build, install and monitor breeding habitats for the ducks and all water birds.

“As hunters, we do have a heart. We do care about the ducks, and no one wants to see a suffering duck when you’ve been hunting.” Field and Game Australia chief executive

Church talks referendum

The Ocean Grove Uniting Church has invited the community to attend an open forum on the Voice to Parliament referendum this Sunday.

The church’s Forum on the Voice, will give attendees the chance to hear from Indigenous education expert Kathryn Gale and ask questions about the upcoming referendum.

The Uniting Church has been steadfast in its support of the Voice to Parliament, announcing in February its belief in the Voice as “a critical step toward honouring the sovereignty of First Nations Australians… and furthering the work of truth-telling and treaty”.

The church’s Reverend Peter Gador-Whyte said all members of the community were welcome to attend, speak and listen.

“This is an invitation for people to come and ask questions, disagree, learn a bit more about it,” Rev Gador-Whyte said.

“This is a very important issue for me and I think the whole of Australia,” he said.

“(Those in) the Aboriginal community have grown up with a feeling of real dispossession of their land. And if we were in their position I’m sure that we would feel the same, we would be wanting to have at least some voice.

“If you don’t have that then you don’t have much say over your own destiny, your own future.”

Rev Gador-Whyte said Ms Gale’s experiences both as an educator and with her adopted brother, who was a member of the Stolen Generation, gave her a deep insight into the issues surrounding the Voice.

The Forum on the Voice will be held at Ocean Grove Uniting Church at 4pm on Sunday, September 10.

Matt Hewson

Lucas Cooke said hunting posed “no risk” to game birds and positively impacted habitat conservation.

“It’s really disappointing to see people say that a decline in 66 species of non-game birds, birds that aren’t even hunted, is being caused by hunting,” he said.

“The Geelong branch has cleaned countless amounts of polystyrene... and has constantly been opening inlet channels and maintaining the function of those wetlands.

“If the ban is successful, hunters won’t be engaged to do that work in wetlands anymore, and the wetlands will suffer in Geelong.”

Geelong Duck Rescue coordinator Natalie Kopas said she was “absolutely overjoyed” and that the ban on duck hunting would be a “big step forward” for conservation.

“Wounding native wildlife for fun is just not acceptable,” she said.

“There’s a lot of rubbish left behind by duck shooters, and the ban would mean we would have cleaner waterways for animals.

“There’s absolutely no reason for the state government to hold on to the ban or drag their feet about it. They can just implement the recommendations and move on to other things.”

Ocean Grove Uniting Church’s Reverend Peter Gador-Whyte and secretary Dianne Sapwell. (Supplied)

Firies soak up new headquarters

By Matt Hewson

St Leonards CFA has moved into its new home, a brand new, built-for-purpose fire station on Murradoc Road.

The St Leonards Fire Brigade has been using the new St Leonards fire station for two weeks, having eagerly awaited the move since the building’s construction started last August.

CFA operations officer Commander Ian Beswicke said its members were thrilled with

Local

the new base of operations.

“They are really pleased with the build and the end result,” Commander Beswicke said.

“They just couldn’t wait to get in here as it was such a big improvement facility-wise for them.

Whereas the brigade’s old station was essentiallyalargeshed,thenewstationboastsa drive-through engine bay big enough for three trucks with automatic gates and electronic doors, dedicated change rooms, monitors with fire call information and sustainable design.

Commander Beswicke said the new station wouldbothallowthebrigadetooperatequicker andmoreefficientlyinresponsetofirecallsand provide a more pleasant work environment for the volunteer members.

“It means they’ll get into and out of the station much more efficiently, which gets them to the scene earlier,” he said.

“Anything that cuts time off (response time) is a real benefit to the community.

“Also, it makes life easier for them; it wasn’t

gallery’s efforts acknowledged

A local art gallery has been nominated for a 2023 Victorian Community Achievement Award for its contributions to the Ocean Grove and broader Bellarine community.

The Hive Ocean Grove Gallery is one of the nominees for the Nectre Regional Service Award, which aims to recognise regional and rural contributors who help to reshape and inspire their local communities.

In addition to supporting, mentoring and showcasing the works of local artists, the Hive acts as a community hub, supports local government and community initiatives such as Geelong Design Week and the Bellarine Arts Trail, provides free gallery space to

school students and sponsors the Ocean Grove Football and Netball Club and Ocean Grove Tennis Club.

The gallery also takes the lead on sustainability initiatives, such as partnering with the Bellarine Catchment Network to provide education opportunities for artists and establishing a land restoration project encouraging indigenous plant life.

The Hive opened in 2016, when curator and director Karen Spreadborough and her partner and sculptor Will Wilson decided to create their own site to exhibit Mr Wilson’s work.

Ms Spreadborough said she was very proud of what the gallery had been able to achieve

since it opened.

“We’ve grown over seven years from six local artiststonowover45,”MsSpreadboroughsaid.

“We’ve got 50 exhibitions under our belt, we’ve had over 38,000 visitors now. We certainly hope we can help grow tourism in the region.

“We find there’s a key community tribe that returnstousregularly,butalsoprobablyathird of our visitors are new all the time, (with many) from interstate and international as well.”

The Victorian Community Achievement Awards will be presented on Friday, 1 December .

Matt Hewson

so nice in the old station. It was very small, not big enough for all their equipment.

“We’re hopeful we can get some new recruits from the community now we’ve got the new facility and it’s a bit more prominent. We’re hoping people will see it and go, gee, I might be interested in that.”

Commander Beswicke invited anyone interested in joining the brigade to visit the station on a Sunday or visit cfa.vic.gov.au to find out more.

Home ground advantage

Queenscliff’s Sport and Recreation

Precinct has been completed thanks to support from the state government.

Minister for Community Sport Ros Spence, Member for Bellarine Alison Marchant, and Borough of Queenscliffe Mayor Isabelle Tolhurst marked the work’s completion on Tuesday, 5 September. Thespacereceivedmorethan $3.3 million from the state government and features an accessible multi-sport and recreation hub to help attract people to participate in outdoor activities.

The hub has two Netball Australia-standard courts with female-friendly accessible change rooms, a four-wicket cricket training facility, and a covered deck for spectators.

Minister Spence said the new precinct gave Queenscliff’s clubs and community more opportunities to be active “in a way that best suits them”.

“These state-of-the-art facilities provide a home for all things sport and recreation in Queenscliff,” she said.

“Facilities like the Queenscliff Sport and Recreation Precinct make it easier for people to lead active and connected lifestyles full of the health and wellbeing benefits offered by participating in sport and recreation.”

Worksalsoincludedupgradestopower, water and sewerage systems and created environmentally sensitive drainage and water-saving infrastructure to make the precinct more sustainable.

Mrs Marchant said supporting inclusion in local sports and improving community infrastructure was important. “Queenscliff is home to a community that is passionate about sportandrecreationandI’mverypleased to see we now have appropriate facilities that we can be proud of,” she said.

The Borough of Queenscliffe also contributed $835,000 to the project.

The Hive Gallery’s Karen Spreadborough. (Ivan Kemp) 359112_01

Flood prevention crucial

By Cr Trent Sullivan

It is far better to address problems before they arise, rather than deal with the fallout after the damage is done.

When it comes to flood prevention, council has created a 10-year program to mitigate the impactsoflargestorms,andtobestpreparethe community for any such events.

We have plans to do flood modelling across the whole municipality, with many of the higher priority areas already complete or underway.

Themodellingwillhelpusbetterunderstand and manage flood risk, identify necessary drainage upgrades, and show us where to focus our investment.

As part of this focused work, City officers are undertaking a detailed study of the Ocean Grove catchment.

The study area includes Ocean Grove, Wallington, Marcus Hill and parts of Point Lonsdale.

During an earlier public feedback period, we received58contributionsfromthecommunity.

The study team is now hoping to progress its understanding, by surveying a range of properties in the area.

Residents may see surveyors out and about over the next couple of months.

They will be taking measurements on various properties, to identify homes that may have above floor flooding.

If your home is included in the survey, you would have received a notification in the mail.

The modelling will help us plan for drainage upgrades and prioritise areas for potential flood mitigation options.

For more information on the Ocean Grove Flood Study, please visit yoursay. geelongaustralia.com.au/OGFS

Community feedback has informed new dog

orders across a number of reserves and public spaces.

The biggest response we received during public consultation on the proposed changes came from the Ocean Grove community.

There were 277 submissions related to Buckley Park Foreshore Reserve.

City officers had proposed prohibiting dogs from using the reserve, in a tightening of the seasonal orders that were in place.

Residentstoldusthatthearea’ssensitiveflora and wildlife warranted protection, however many believed this could be done by keeping dogs on lead in this area, rather than banning them.

Areas to the east and west of the reserve allow dogs on a leash.

For consistency in conditions, it was decided

thatdogsonaleashshouldbeallowedtoaccess BuckleyParkForeshoreReserveall-yearround. The existing controls for Barwon Heads Community Park – Equestrian Centre will continue, with dogs allowed off leash when no horses are using the space.

While council has deferred a decision around the use of Yellow Gum Nature Reserve in Ocean Grove, until the matter of public pedestrian access has been finalised by City officers.

Thank you to all the community members who provided feedback on the dog control orders.

Council strives to implement orders that reflect the needs of a wide range of users, as well as protect environmental and cultural values.

City of Greater Geelong mayor Trent Sullivan. (Ivan Kemp) 348439_15

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Boy & Bear add second show

By Matt Hewson

Boy & Bear have announced a second show at the Torquay Hotel as part of their national tour after the tickets sold out for the first scheduled performance.

With tickets unavailable for the Torquay gig on Saturday 16 September the band have added a Sunday session date on 17 September .

The indie rockers are promoting their new, self-titled album and also celebrating the 10 yearanniversaryofthereleaseoftheirplatinum album Harlequin Dream with a release of previously unheard songs as a three-track EP titled Lost Dreams, which comes out 15 September .

For Boy & Bear bassist Dave Symes, it also

marks a decade since he joined the band, replacing original bass player Jake Tarasenko as the band began to conceive of Harlequin Dream.

“They were at a time, just before making this Harlequin record, where they had some shows leading into the Australian summer festival season that year, and Jake had decided for his own personal reasons to move on from the band,” Symes said.

“Their tour manager, the great Greg Weaver, was somebody I’d worked with previously and he suggested to the boys that maybe I could helpouttogetthroughthefestivalshowsbefore they worked out what they were going to do.

“We just hit it off, we got on really well musically and personally and the shows went

really great.

“After one of the shows Killian (Gavin) and Tim (Hart) decided to lock me in the van and said I wasn’t getting out unless I joined the band. We started recording Harlequin Dream a month later.”

Symes said the release of the three tracks recorded as part of the Harlequin Dream project but never heard by the public gave him a great perspective on the journey of the band so far.

“Listening to that music definitely takes me back to that time,” he said. “You develop and mature and get more experienced every year you work at your craft, so you can hear the growth. It definitely takes me back and helps me reflect on the last 10 years.”

Geelong’s Every Brilliant Thing

Life is made up of many brilliant things, as the Geelong Contemporary Theatre company explores in a new show coming to the Potato Shed.

Every Brilliant Thing is a one-woman show that follows a child’s goal of making a list of

“It’s a play about how we heal through depression and some ways in which we don’t as well as some of the misconceptions about what it means to live with depression and to process depression.”

Mr Brooke said the audience played an

“Ourtheatrecompanyisdedicatedtomaking more contemporary work and introducing people to newer works in theatre,” Mr Brooke said.

“We hope this separates us from some of the other theatre companies in Geelong and we’d love the community support in helping us do

Every Brilliant Thing is coming to the Potato Shed in Drysdale on September 15 and 16 at 7.30pm and September 23 at 1pm and

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit tickets.geelongaustralia.com.au/event/

Jena Carr

Local parents and carers – including grandparents – can book a free appointment to have their child car restraint installed or inspected at the Bellarine Living & Learning Centre, Leopold Community & Learning Centre, Cloverdale Community Centre, Norlane Community Centre, Rosewall Neighbourhood Centre and Springdale Neighbourhood House at safeseatssafekids.

Member for Bellarine Alison Marchant (right) inspects a child car restraint at a Safe Seats Victoria Child Car Restraints General Manager

Boy & Bear. (Maclay Heriot)

mean more than 1,300 new

will be built and all of them social or affordable.

A life of opportunities as part of a lifestyle community

Picture this: You find yourself stranded in a sea of wrapping paper and ribbon, keeping an ear out for the gingerbread in the oven and running through your mounting to-do list in your head.

You’ve heard each Christmas carol about a billion times each, and you still haven’t oiled the deck, fixed that hole in the wall or raked the garden.

We’re all familiar with what a whirlwind the lead-up to Christmas is, and no, you’re not dreaming, it’s nearly time to do it all again.

It isn’t just the stress of all the planning, shopping, catering and present-buying, it’s thatnaggingfeelingthatsurelyit’simpossible for time to pass so quickly. Well, we say no more! No more crazy Christmas chaos! No more panic at the passing of time!

When your days are spent doing things you love, you’ll never look back and wonder where the time’s gone. And when you’re living in a sparkling, brand new home, you can wave goodbye to the stress of gardening and home maintenance and say hello to no council rates and a lower cost of living. Now that’s a Christmas present that won’t be re-gifted.

At Lifestyle Communities, life is what they do. They’re about opening up new opportunities, experiences and connections for the people who live in their communities. Why wait when a low-maintenance home and a low-stress life could be yours today?

Give yourself an early Christmas present – a life of opportunity, of peace, and of knowing that the best things in life come to those who reach out and grab them.

Call to speak with one of the team on 1300 50 55 60.

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The confident choice in retirement living plan

Retirement is a time for seniors to savour the fruits of their labour and embark on a new, fulfilling chapter in life.

In this pursuit of happiness, one brand that consistently stands out is Keyton. With a rich history of catering to the needs and aspirations of retirees, Keyton’s retirement villages have become synonymous with exceptional living.

Recently, one of their flagship villages, Abervale in Geelong, celebrated a remarkable milestone – its 40th anniversary, known as the Ruby Jubilee. Residents came together to mark this momentous occasion and show their affection for their villages by wearing as much red as they could find in their closets.

It was a testament to the enduring bonds and cherished memories created within the Keyton community.

What sets Keyton apart is the incredible lifestyle it offers to its residents. Beyond the beautiful, well-maintained grounds and many amenities, it’s the vibrant social fabric that truly defines the Keyton retirement experience.

Residents have a myriad of clubs and activities at their fingertips, ensuring that there’s always something exciting to look forward to. Whether it’s gardening, art classes, or a friendly game of bridge, there is something fun to do for everyone.

But it doesn’t stop there. Giving back to the community is a big part of many residents’ lives.

That’s why Keyton collaborates with organisations such as EdConnect to foster intergenerational connections. Retirees have the opportunity to mentor school kids and engage in meaningful exchanges, proving that retirement is a time for both personal growth and contributing to society.

Keyton creates a fun and meaningful lifestyle for residents. Above: Keyton’s Abervale village celebrates 40 years with a Ruby Jubilee. (Supplied)

DO NOT attempt this quiz unless you are at least 63. (Shutterstock)

Voice seniors quiz

Readers must be at least 63 years old before providing answers, because any younger and you a) won’t know the answers anyway; and b) you’re way too young to handle the pressure.

So, all you fabulous 63s, 74s. 85s and 96s, are you up for the challenge?

If you score under 5, you’re really only 62 and still have a bit to learn

If you score 6-9, you’re probably 79 and thinking about a uni course

If you score 10-12, you’re 98, and pretty well know everything by now

Itshouldbenotedthat,whiletrue,the answers provided may cause indelicate snorting or hiccups.

THE QUESTIONS:

1/ Who killed Cock Robin and with which weapon?

2/ InwhatyeardidKingEdwardVIIIabdicate the British throne?

3/ For what was June Bronhill named?

4/ Who preceded William McMahon as prime minister?

5/ Which US president was the first to visit Australia, and what was his wife’s name?

6/ What date did Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin?

7/ Who won the 2020 AFL Grand Final?

8/ What was tennis player Evonne Cawley’s maiden name?

9/ What year did Queen Elizabeth II visit Australia? And her coronation?

10/ Was Juliet a Montague or a Capulet?

11/ What are ‘plates of meat’ in Cockney slang?

12/ Who found his thrill on Blueberry Hill?

Fats for nothing. Compiler: Carole Levy

12/ In 1956, Fats Domino did – and he probably ate all the blueberries on that hill, with ice cream on the side. He wasn’t called

11/ Feet. In the ‘40s and 50s, ‘plates of meat’ was heard everywhere in Melbourne’s west, including from the ‘trouble and strife’ and ‘rub-a-dub’ on the main ‘frog and toad’.

meshy headdress known as a Juliet cap. Cap… Capulet…get it?

10/ Capulet. Memory jogger: think of that

8/ Goolagong – and didn’t we all love her? Then she married a bloke named Cawley and gave up one of the best names ever.

9/ 1954, and more than THREE QUARTERS of Aussies saw her in person. She was crowned in 1953 (June 2) and appeared on the cover of Women’s Weekly 40 million times thereafter.

“All the way with LBJ” was his slogan, which nowadays would likely be met with “Fly away LBJ”. His wife’s name was Lady Bird but she wouldn’t fly away either.

3/ Her birth place, Broken Hill. Bet she was glad she wasn’t born in WA’s Delicate Nobby and became Delia Obby.

7/ Richmond Tigers, although right now their roar is a tad meow-ish. Are they yellow and black groans we hear?

5/ Lyndon B. Johnson, who only showed up to promote the unpopular Vietnam War.

4/ John Gorton, he of protruding ear and dinged-up face that marked him as a crashed fighter plane pilot in WWII. Protruding ears were sadly still the fashion when Billy McMahon succeeded him.

6/ Christmas Eve, 1974. Tracy must have been scorned somewhere along the line because she showed more fury than a mum whose kids have been mistreated.

2/ 1936 (December 11), the same year Jessie Owens won four Olympic Gold Medals and put it right up Hitler and every sane person rejoiced..

The little bird was a classic dupe of the Tall Poppy Syndrome, otherwise known as bringemdownapegortwo-itis.

1/ The sparrow, with his bow and arrow.

THE ANSWERS:

If you or your loved one are looking for care in Ocean Grove, Leopold or Grovedale, contact Homestyle Aged Care.

Concentric rehabilitation at Homestyle Aged Care

Concentric Rehabilitation offers a variety of services to the residents of Homestyle Aged Care.Concentricprovidesprivaterehabilitation services across a number of Homestyle facilities, with a wellness centre soon to be opening at Sea Views Manor in Ocean Grove and Belmont Grange in Grovedale. TheWellnessPackagebyConcentricprovides goal centred, personalised multi-discipline therapy to the residents, in group and individual sessions with regular reassessments, and ongoing goal setting.

Concentric have helped the residents achieve some fantastic goals.

If you would like to know more about Concentric Rehabilitation at Homestyle Aged Care or if you or your loved one are looking for careinOceanGrove,LeopoldorGrovedale,the admissions team can discuss your individual situation and advise on the many options available.

Call 1300 104 663 or visit homestyleagedcare.com.au

Circus coming to town to offer some holiday delight

Eroni’s Circus is coming home to Geelong with a new programme to delight families for the school holidays.

While Geelong has always been a favourite location for the Victorian based family owned circus, it truly feels like home now after spending all of the lockdowns based here.

When the show couldn’t go on, the family and performers secured essential services jobs working in and around Geelong, all while continuing to train and maintain their performance skills.

When lockdowns finally lifted and the borders reopened, the circus pilgrimaged to the outback Queensland towns of Tambo and Blackall for the very first Blackall-Tambo Circus Carnival.

The Half-Way Hotel at Northampton Downs, a station between Tambo and Blackall in Western Queensland, is the birthplace of the Eroni’s Circus family lineage from over 130 years ago, the hotel was exchanged for a bullock team and so started their circus days.

Alifesizedelephantthatisproudlydisplayed in the main street of Blackall celebrates the town’s connection to Australian circus history and was purchased and transported all the way from Geelong in 2020.

Eroni’s Circus toured Queensland and northern NSW before returning home to Victoria this year.

Eroni’s Circus draws inspiration from the classical circuses of yesteryear.

Beautiful, glamorous costuming, lively original music, immaculately presented animals, traditional circus clowns, the smell of sawdust and popcorn in the air and the anticipation of what exciting act will come out next, through the red velvet curtain.

The circus has many new artists and new acts that have not performed in Geelong on previous visits while still retaining the crowd

favourites of clowns, trapeze acts, beautiful palomino horses and cheeky goats. Performing throughout the school holidays in Moolap (next to Bellarine Bargains) the circus prides itself as a very family oriented circus that caters for all ages, from

grandparents through to young children.

General admission tickets are only $35 for adults and $25 for children. First row ringside are an extra $5 per person.

Tickets are available onsite from one hour before each show. Free parking onsite.

Snack foods such as Dagwood dogs, freshly made hot cinnamon donuts, hot jam donuts, cold drinks, fairy floss and freshly popped corn are available from the circus food trailer. There are also games and novelty souvenirs for sale.

Eroni’s Circus toured Queensland and northern NSW before returning home to Victoria this year. (Pictures: Supplied)

Get creative these school holidays

School holidays are an excellent opportunity for children to recharge, explore their interests, and have fun outside of the classroom. Whether it’s a short break or an extended vacation, parents and guardians often seek engaging activities to keep their kids occupied and stimulated during these breaks. In this article, we’ll explore some exciting school holiday activities that provide a mix of learning, creativity, and outdoor adventure.

Museum visits – A visit to a local museum can be both entertaining and educational. Many museums offer interactive exhibits and workshops tailored to children’s interests. It’s a great way to introduce them to history, science, art, and culture in a fun and engaging manner.

Nature exploration – Exploring the great outdoors can be a transformative experience for kids. Hiking, camping, and nature walks not only encourage physical activity but also fosteradeepappreciationfortheenvironment. Consider family outings to national parks or local nature reserves.

Creativeworkshops– Enrolling your child in creative workshops such as painting, pottery, or theatre can be a great way to nurture their artistic talents. These classes encourage self-expression and boost creativity while honing specific skills.

Reading challenges – Reading is a fundamental skill that should be nurtured year-round. During school holidays, set up a reading challenge with rewards for completing a certain number of books. It’s a fantastic way to foster a love for reading and improve literacy.

Cooking and baking – Cooking and baking activities can be both educational and delicious. Involve your kids in the kitchen, teaching them the basics of meal preparation and baking. It’s an excellent opportunity to impart valuable life skills.

Sports and physical activities – Physical activity is crucial for a child’s overall development. Encourage participation in sports like soccer, swimming, or dance classes. These activities promote teamwork,

Not anymore

You know those days during the holidays when the kids are getting bored and they are starting to climb the walls? Or maybe they are even starting to drive you up the wall?

Well, your peace-of-mind solution is to take them to where they can do exactly that: take them to The Rock Adventure Centre where they can try indoor rock climbing in a safe and controlled environment.

When you take your children rock climbing, don’t be afraid to give it a try yourself. It’s a great way to improve your fitness.

You use your whole body: fingers, hands, forearms, shoulders, back, abdomen, and legs. Indoor rock climbing is an excellent low-impact fitness regimen and it’s great fun and very addictive.

Even if you don’t want to climb yourself,

just being involved with your kids by holding their safety ropes while they climb and sharing in their success makes rock climbing a great family activity.

TheRockalsohasfullysupervisedKidsRock sessions. Every Tuesday and Thursday from 2pm to 4pm drop your kids off and we will take them climbing. Our trained and experienced Instructors will take your kids through climbing games and challenges n both our bouldering area and our roped area.

We will do all the ‘belaying’ for the kids, as well as encouraging them to explore their limits.

discipline, and a healthy lifestyle.

Volunteer work – Engaging in volunteer work during school holidays teaches children the importance of giving back to the community. It can be as simple as helping at a local food bank, participating in a beach cleanup, or visiting senior citizens in a nursing home.

STEM projects – For kids interested in science, technology, engineering, and

mathematics (STEM), school holidays are an excellent time to engage in hands-on projects. Build robots, conduct chemistry experiments, or explore coding through fun online platforms.

Travelandculturalexperiences– Ifpossible, consider planning a family trip during school holidays. Travelling exposes children to different cultures, languages, and historical landmarks. It broadens their horizons and provides valuable life experiences.

There’s plenty to do these school holidays. (Shutterstock)

The Rock will drive you up the wall...in a good way.

Ali goes into the final of writing comp

The Bellarine Writing Competition is now ready for the final to be held and completed by 19 October and published in the Voice on Friday, 3 November.

For Topic 5 there were 18 well-written entries and the winner, a regular contributor, Ali Holborn, produced another good story, The Victors, with clear exciting writing, keeping the reader guessing until the end.

It was a very imaginative story which used the picture in a very natural way throughout the action-packed plot. Notable mentions go to GlennTaylor,JennyMacaulay, AaronMitchell, and Wes Furyk.

The judges would like to thank all the competitors who have contributed during the year and Justin Flynn, editor of the Ocean Grove Voice for his assistance. We hope to see old and new writers next year.

The Victors

By Ali Holburn

Voices drift ahead of the footsteps striding towards me. I freeze. I thought this way would be safe! I silently curse my stupidity. Of course someone will have noticed the pale blue bike missing. Nothing escapes The Victors’ attention.

On impulse, I alight, taking care to prop it against one of the pine posts that delineates the forest walkway. Quietly, deliberately. It wouldn’t do to appear sloppy or panicked, no matter how furiously my heart hammers. I curse myself again. Their teachings have already begun to infiltrate my mind.

Shadows now, rounding the bend. I lift my makeshift pack from the bike’s wire basket and although I need to head right, I duck under the railing to my left to keep my shadow out of sight.

“Who’s there?” The Victors call.

Unsure if they’ve seen me, or just the bike, I scramble to the bushes as their footsteps hasten.OnethingIhaveoverthem–runningis forbidden. Told me so when I was first brought here after my kidnapping, so they won’t be able to catch me unless they break their own rules.

Through the branches, I observe The Victors reachmygetawayvehicle,theirhandsshielding their eyes as they peer into the bushland. I can’t make out exactly which two they are, and it doesn’t help that they stole my multifocals when they abducted me, but regardless, I must remain hidden.

After an interminable length of time, they whisper to each other before seizing the handlebars and wheeling the bike back along the boardwalk.

Whispersunsettleme.Alwayshushedvoices, controlled movements. Everything controlled. Including me. I’ve pretended to concede during their hypnosis sessions, but the small stones secreted in my slip-on sneakers kept me alert.Theywon’tbrainwashmeastheyhavethe others here.

I break cover from my hiding place when their footsteps fade, and clamber across the walkway into the bushland on the other side. My heart immediately calms. Good to be on the right side. Being on the left is courting with the devil. The Victors haven’t said as much, but I know it.

The sun is sinking, the unshaded patches offering little warmth now. I rummage in the pillowcaseI’musingasmypack,butallthat’sin there is my toothbrush and a plastic cup.

Ali Holborn

To hone her skills in writing books for her children, Ali obtained a Diploma of Professional Children’s Writing through the Australian College of Journalism. Since then, she has published a few stories for various age groups, but now that she has retired to the Bellarine and started a writer’s group, is enjoying writing fiction for adults.

Ali’s other favourite hobbies are painting, playing pickleball and volleyball, yoga and enjoying our beautiful environment.

Iseethe.Theytookallmyclothingwhenthey brought me here, and insisted I wear the same boring trousers and tunic as everyone else. Only The Victors wear different clothes to us, stillauniformthough,withcliponbadgeswith their names on. VIC IMH. They’re all called VIC IMH.

I toss the pack into the bushes and run. It’s almost dinner time and they’ll know for sure that I’m missing. I must get out before they inject me with their potions. My breath is ragged, rasping, my vision worsened by sweat now dripping into my eyes.

Voices behind me. I turn, still running forward. Trip on branches, twigs snapping. They know where I am!

My feet brake. Of course they know where I am. That’s why they weren’t worried about findingthebikewithnorider.Theyinjectedme when they bundled me kicking and screaming into their kidnapping van. Bet it was a GPS. They’ve been tracking my every move!

“AAAAAAAGH!” I scream over and over.

“Steady as you go,” Victor calls out gently. Patronising.

I snatch a stick from the ground and surge towards him.

“STAY AWAY FROM ME!” I threaten him with my sword.

“Shh, everything will be okay,” Victor says. He’s scared. I can tell by the way his hands are held in surrender. Emboldened, I lunge at him.

He steps back, startled. “We’re just here to help.”

“Help? I don’t want help. Don’t want to be indoctrinated into your stupid cult. Let me go home!”

Victor sighs. “How about we go inside, mate, clean you up a bit.” He takes a tentative step towards me.

I take a step back, shaking my head furiously. Arms grab me from behind and the hypodermic pierces my skin.

I awake sometime later shackled to my bed. I’m groggy but feel calm and peaceful.

“Here you go,” Victor says, gently pushing my glasses onto my face. “You must have dropped them when you first came in. Found them this morning.”

And finally, I have clarity. Beneath the bold VIC IMH lettering on his badge – Victorian Institute for Mental Health, along with his name - George.

The Last Ride

By Glenn Taylor (highly recommended)

We were a team, it felt like we did everything together. If anyone saw one of us, the other was not far away. I particularly love how she looks after me and others around her. The thoughtfulness of her touch, and her care.

I particularly liked our daily rides, grab some food, check the tyres and off we would go. Exploring the region together, stopping at various places and enjoying the moment. Her never ending sharing of stories as we rode. She gave intimate details of relationships old and new. I never tired of the time we shared and the experiences lived. The rides included going to the parks, to the beach and to visit our other friends. A few times they joined us on the rides but really I enjoyed it most when it was just the two of us.

We have been inseparable since her parents passed away in August around five or six years ago. I can remember our first time meeting around then. Her being upset but keen to ‘start a new life’ and we started riding together. Originally the rides did include going to the cemetery. I heard about her parents and the love they shared. I felt at times my role was to replace them, but this thought was never shared. I was glad that I was there for her at the times she needed something to distract her. We loved going to the city. She would always make sure we caught the off peak train so bikes could come along. We would alight at an outer suburban station and she would share her knowledge of outer Melbourne suburbs using awesome bike tracks. Park ourselves at a cafe, and her university friends would be there. They talked about their university days and challenges of life. I enjoyed her admiring glances, I felt needed and an important part of her life. When she was with this group she always appeared younger, as if the stories took herbacktoacarefreetimeandthewholegroup seemed to share this positive outlook. Her university friends are a close group and they did try to make me feel included but I never felt

we shared many common interests. They all preferredtowalkorcatchatramthanridewith us. Once one of them did ride a bike but it was just a phase for the inner city hipster. Nice bike though, pastel green with a tan coloured seat. Even had a small pannier and bag set, leather with little tassels.

Our other regular ride was to the local beach. We would ride over the bridge and a few kilometres to this really quiet beach. Unload the front basket of the food and wine, and sit and talk again for hours, we sat and enjoyed each other’s company for hours. Time never seemed to matter, she would talk, I would listen and together we would enjoy whatever time we had together.

Over the last few weeks I noticed a change. We stopped going to Melbourne and her conversations became shorter. She had stopped talking about her parents. We would still go for rides but her checking on me and how I was going stopped. She held herself in a heavy way, she no longer sat high in the saddle, she slumped and her riding appeared weighted and less enthusiastic. I did not really know how to help. Her conversations continued to get shorter and the topic when she spoke I could feel her tears.

Todayshedidn’tcheckmytyrepressuresand she put a small white envelope into the carry basket.

We got to the bridge near the beach. I can see it now, she left me against the railing, putting her hand out toward me as if to stop me. “I’m sorry.” She said as she turned. It was then I could see the tears. She slowly walked to the middle of the bridge. I looked up as she stood on the railing; she looked toward the sky and then stepped outward. I will never forget the sound of the splash of water and then nothing.

Silence, now I am left leaning against the railing. No-one to clean my pastel blue frame, that gentle twist of the valve cap, pump up my tyres, fill my basket with goodies, or give me that admiring glance. Our rides together have come to an abrupt ending.

Ali Holborn is the fifth winner of the Bellarine Writing Competition. (Supplied)

Thriving on your own with family lawyer Allison Rowe

Allison Rowe, a highly respected figure in family law in Victoria, is starting on a new journey here in Ocean Grove with the launch of her own family law firm Allison Rowe Family Lawyers.

This marks a new chapter in her journey where she is poised to thrive independently and extend her invaluable services to the community she holds dear.

With over two decades of experience in the field, Allison Rowe has established herself as a legal luminary dedicated to helping families navigate complex challenges with compassion and expertise.

As a Founding Partner of Cahill and Rowe Family Law at just 28, Allison’s profound understanding of parenting and property matters has made her a trusted advocate for countless families. Her unique blend of experience, dedication, and personal insight into her clients struggles sets her apart in the realm of family law.

Allison’s journey began when she was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria and the High Court of Australia in 1999. Her unwavering commitment to her client’s well-being led her to become a founding partner, where she honed her skills and expertise, building a legacy of dedication and excellence.

The heart of Allison Rowe’s approach lies in her ability to provide comprehensive guidance to her clients free of judgement or blame. Drawing on her deep understanding of family law and her personal experiences, Allison ensures that her clients make informed decisions that align with their best interests and the well-being of their loved ones. Her meticulous attention to detail ensures that no aspect is overlooked, allowing her clients to navigate legal complexities confidently.

Allison Rowe Family Lawyers specialises in

simplifying complex family law matters with clarity and compassion. With over 20 years of expertise, Allison and her team offer guidance and support that help clients navigate obstacles, emerge stronger, and embrace new beginnings.

The firms guiding philosophy is centred around relieving clients of the burdens of legal obligations so that they can focus on what truly matters - their families.

Allison’s journey from being a partner at a large firm to owning her own independent practice is a testament to her dedication, resilience, and unwavering commitment to family law. With her experience and personalised approach, she stands as a beacon of hope for those seeking legal guidance during challenging times.

Allison Rowe Family Lawyers offers comprehensive services, including assistance with children and parenting matters, property and financial settlements, divorce and separation, family violence support, child support and spousal maintenance, asset protection, and superannuation splitting.

As Ocean Grove welcomes this new chapter in Allison Rowe’s journey, the community can rest assured that they have a compassionate, experienced, and dedicated family lawyer ready to support them through life’s legal challenges.

To book an appointment, interested individuals can contact Allison Rowe Family Lawyers at enquiries@allisonrowe.com.au, 0422 845 911 or allisonrowe.com.au

12625685-HC33-23

Allison Rowe is starting on a new journey in Ocean Grove with the launch of her own family law firm Allison Rowe Family Lawyers.

From rocks to writing crime

Portarlington author and journalist Rick Wilkinson launched his new novel The Maw of the Beast last week. Matt Hewson caught up with him to discuss his journey from geology to crime fiction.

From his earliest days as a schoolboy at Caulfield Grammar, Rick Wilkinson knew he wanted to be a writer.

“I’ve been writing stories, fiction, since I was about 12 years old, and literature was always my favourite at school,” Rick said.

“That’s all I knew, that’s what I really wanted to do. But there were no real jobs; arts was a bit nebulous in those days, there was nothing you could do with it unless you wanted to teach.”

Born in 1947, Rick grew up in the suburbs of St Kilda, Balaclava and Ripponlea, the son of an airline manager father and hairdresser mother.

There were plenty of books in the Wilkinson house; Rick’s father loved Dickens and the classics and his mother would read to him and his younger sister before bedtime.

In particular, Rick was drawn to classic Australian children’s books exploring the natural world of our continent, such as Blinky Bill and Snugglepot and Cuddlepie.

“I like nature, I always have, and stories around animals and things like that,” Rick said.

“I just love to be outdoors. I was outdoors all the time, we went on excursions as a family on the weekends.

“By the time I got to the stage of choosing (a career), I started looking around for something where I could be outdoors. I didn’t want to be confined to an office; I wanted something to do with my hands, get around and see things.”

Rick decided to pursue a career in geology, but by his own admission, he didn’t have a particular bent for mathematics.

So he began his studies at RMIT, which offered bridging mathematics subjects, then completed his degree at the University of Western Australia (UWA).

“It was great, it was away from home… I was one of those kids that could hardly wait to leave,” Rick said.

“And of course, part of the course was work experience, so I worked down mines, went to New Guinea, got around the Pilbara. That’s what I wanted to do, and I enjoyed it.”

For two years after receiving his degree from UWA, Rick worked in Cloncurry, Queensland for Mount Isa Mines offshoot Carpentaria Exploration.

“They were mostly in for copper – it was an exploration company – so I was out in the bush looking for and bashing rocks in the hot sun, basically,” he said.

“Buteventhen,I’dgotto22andIstillwanted to write. And I’d done a couple of things for their magazine and they said oh yeah, not bad.

“So I said, right, I’m going. And London was the thing to do in those days.”

In 1972 Rick, now married, bought himself and his wife Aileen a return ticket to England to pursue his dreams of being a journalist.

Upon arrival he went straight to Fleet Street, the home of London’s newspaper industry, but was just as quickly rebuffed.

However, Rick got the tip that a new magazine focused on the burgeoning North Sea oil industry was about to start up, and with his credentials as a geologist he applied immediately.

“I became the exploration editor of the Oil Man; talk about luck, it was about three days after I actually got to London,” he said.

“That was 50 years ago, and I’ve been writing ever since.”

Over the next decade, Rick’s professional life blossomed. He established himself as an

in-demandoilandenergyjournalistintheUK, writing for a number of publications.

His personal life through this period had its ups and downs; he and his wife, now with a daughter, divorced and Rick married an English doctor, Sharron.

In 1979 Rick and Sharron moved back to Australia, where he picked up a job at the Australian, the last he ever applied for.

“I worked there for a couple of years, and since then someone just says, would you like to…?” he said.

Rick wrote for the Financial Review, Australian Business and the Australian Institute of Petroleum’s monthly magazine, among others. It was during this time that he began writing both non-fiction and children’s books.

“When I got back here in the 80s I didn’t know a lot about the petroleum industry in Australia, its background,” he said.

“So I thought, well, I’m looking into it, I might as well write a story about it. I found it fascinating, because petroleum characters are marvellous, going right back to John Lort Stokes and the (HMAS) Beagle.

“Then I got a couple of commissions to write company histories, and then the history of the Bureau of Mineral Resources (now Geoscience Australia).”

At the same time, inspired by his daughter Susie, Rick began writing children’s stories in the early morning before starting work at the Financial Review.

Rick’s first two children’s books were picked up by Allen & Unwin, and he continued to write about animals and nature for kids.

After Sharron’s death in the mid-90s Rick

made another snap decision, this time moving to Portarlington.

“It was another one of those lucky things in my life that just happened,” Rick said.

“This (house) was only on the market for three days, and the bloke wasn’t here when I wanted to see it.

“But the block was vacant next door so I walked around and had a look at the house from the back and I thought, I’ll take this.

“I hadn’t even seen it. It was just one of those things, you know, and that was 26 years ago.”

Since then Rick has written all sorts of things; travelogues, histories, more kids books and recently two novels.

Last year Rick released the Invaders, an expansive tale set across three different time periods across Australia and the work he

considers “one of the most pleasing things” he’s written.

The Invaders incorporates Rick’s knowledge of Australia’s burgeoning oil industry in the mid-1800s, as well as a fictionalised account of little-known army recon outfit the Nackeroos, who roamed Australia’s top end during WWII.

Last week Rick released the first novel in a series of crime yarns focused on protagonist George “Jogger” Jensen, a “disillusioned crime reporter” who returns to his childhood town of Portarlington.

With no police background himself, Rick chose to make his investigator a journalist – “You’ve got to write what you know” – and drew on his partner Elaine, who introduced him to the crime genre, as a sounding board.

Rick has woven historical aspects of the Bellarine into his latest book, not so much as plot elements, but more to paint a rich and sometimes edifying backdrop for the mystery that unfolds.

“It’s something I was interested in, so I tried and put bits and pieces of that in writing, not to be a teaching manual, but just to drop them in so people are learning stuff about the area as well as hopefully being entertained,” he said.

“Whether anyone who’s not from this area is going to be interested, I don’t know. That’ll be the test.”

Rick is currently working on further “Jogger” Jensen novels, as well as a history of the Portarlington Football Club, which turns 150 next year.

“The Bellarine is a fun place; it’s the best decision I ever made, to come here,” he said.

“I’ll be here, writing on. I’ll probably just keep going till I can’t.”

Rick Wilkinson working away at his home in Portarlington. (Ivan Kemp) 354860_01

‘‘ They were mostly in for copper ... I was out in the bush looking for and bashing rocks in the hot sun, basically ’’ - Rick Wilkinson

Celebrate spring at Leura Park Estate this month

Spring has sprung and the days are getting longer.

The sun shines just that bit more brightly each day and the need for winter coats becomes more scarce.

Spring is a time to celebrate at Leura Park Estate with Spring Celebrations lunches bringing the best of spring to the table.

THURSDAY & FRIDAY

Main course plus a glass of wine, beer, barista coffee, loose leaf tea or soft drink only $25.

Seafood Duo

Fresh local flathead fillets in Flying Brick Cider batter, panko crumbed calamari rings, chips and salad.

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad with poached egg and garlic croutons (gfa)

Beef and Shiraz Pie with tomato relish, chips and salad

Ricotta Gnocchi with roasted red pepper, fresh herb and balsamic sauce and Grana Panada (v)

Greek Lamb Pita with lemon potatoes, roquette, tzatziki

Breaded Eggplant Schnitzel roasted vegetable stack with tomato and basil sauce and grilled haloumi (gf, v, vga)

** Menu subject to change but will always be delicious.

gf: gluten free v: vegetarian vga: vegan available

Leura Park also has a stunning cellar door boasting a rustic chic ambience and an always

upbeat atmosphere. Stunning al fresco grazing platters and cheese platters are perfect to share before enjoying a selection of gourmet stone based pizzas, a deliciously robust eye fillet steak

sandwich or perhaps salt and pepper calamari with Greek salad.

Dine in the striking ‘Opera House-esque’ Pod or out on the sun drenched terrace with a glass of the estate’s acclaimed cool

climate wine.

Leura Park Estate is located at 1400 Portarlington Road, Curlewis. Bookings: leuraparkestate.com.au

JACK RABBIT

• Iconic Bellarine winery

• Unrivalled panoramic views

• Contemporary a la carte

• Sophisticated wines

• Lunch / Wine Tastings

• OPEN 7 Days

85 McAdams Lane, Bellarine 03 5251 2223 jackrabbitvineyard.com.au

12606706-RR21-23

Finesse your form or just for fun.

• Lunch / Dinner / Snacks

• Burger, Beverage & Balls packages

• Barista coffe, beer, wine & cocktails

• OPEN 7 days

1201 Portarlington Rd, Curlewis Ph 5251 1111 curlewisgolf.com.au

FLYING

Join in the Spring Celebrations fun at Leura Park Estate.

The ultimate wining and dining feast

Scotchmans Hill has been a renowned grower, producer and wholesaler of premium cool maritime climate wines for over forty years. Situated in the heart of the Bellarine Peninsula, rated among James Halliday’s Top 100 Australian Wineries with 20 wines over 90 pointsinthisyear’sHallidayWineCompanion, the beautiful estate is just a 90-minute drive from Melbourne or 20 minutes from Geelong, making it a convenient and enjoyable trip for wine enthusiasts.

Cellar door: Open 7 days, 11am to 4pm Come and explore the ultimate wine-tasting experience at the cellar door. The passionate team of experts is ready to accompany you on

a journey through award-winning vintages and varieties. Tastings are not only enjoyable but also highly educational. Charcuterie and artisan cheeses are available to accompany your tasting.

Scotchmans Restaurant: Open for lunch Thursday to Sunday, drinks and dinner every Friday from 5.30pm

Scotchmans Restaurant’s a la carte menu features the best of Victoria’s freshest-sourced produce. This week’s restaurant highlight is wholecrumbedwhiting,smokedmusselbutter, mixed salad, lemon. Wine pairing – 2022 Scotchmans Hill Riesling. 2022 Scotchmans Hill Riesling is crisp with citrus flavours, and a

mineral backbone makes it the perfect pairing with whiting. Its acidity compliments the umami flavours in the smoked mussel butter, elevating the dish and wine to another level.

Indulge in the ultimate combination of comfort and outdoor serenity with the restaurant’s enclosed alfresco dining area, overlooking sweeping views of the vineyards and Port Phillip Bay.

Are you searching for a location to hold your Christmas party?

Packages are designed to accommodate small, intimategatheringstolarge,grandcelebrations.

Call 5251 4431 to see what dates are available.

The ultimate wine-tasting experience awaits at Scotchmans Hill.

Sweeping views of the Melbourne CBD.

Wilkinson joins council ranks

Elise Wilkinson is the newest face on Geelong’s council, elected via countback after the unexpected resignation of Stephanie Asher and joining mayor Trent Sullivan and Jim Mason as a Bellarine Ward representative. Matt Hewson caught up with Councillor Wilkinson to hear her story.

From the 2017 council election until late 2022, the City of Greater Geelong had only one change in its ranks, when Put Climate First candidate Belinda Moloney ousted Pat Murnane from his position as Kardinia Ward councillor.

Since then, councillors Sarah Mansfield, Kylie Grzybek and, just a month ago, former mayor Stephanie Asher have left the council group for career or personal reasons.

Ms Asher’s resignation means Elise Wilkinson becomes the third person this term - along with fellow progressives Melissa Cadwell and Sarah Hathway - to join the council group with less than half of the current term remaining.

Cr Wilkinson, a Put Climate First endorsee herself, polled seventh in first preference votes for the Bellarine Ward in the 2020 election, but vote preferences pushed her ahead of the competition to put her on the City of Greater Geelong council.

She said as the countback approached she had not really given herself a chance of being elected to council.

“I was surprised; I knew the countback was on, that Stephanie Asher was vacating, but… I don’t think I really thought about how preferential voting really worked,” she said.

“So I went, what was I thinking about three years ago? What was my motivation? And I realised that none of those motivating factors had actually changed.

“I’m really passionate about standing up for other people and for what I believe to be right. I feel incredibly honoured to be elected and fortunate to represent the people of the Bellarine Ward.”

Born in Prahran and spending significant parts of her early childhood in Frankston and Ferntree Gully, Cr Wilkinson spent nearly all her high school years living in Singapore with her family.

After high school she returned to Australia to study at the University of Melbourne.

“I did an arts degree, to my mum’s great chagrin; she wanted me to come back and study law,” Cr Wilkinson said.

“I did politics and anthropology, which I loved. I took a year off and did some voluntary work and then thought, what do I do?

“I’mreallyquitepassionateaboutcommunity development and social justice issues and thought, okay, how do I turn that into a career? And then I went back and did social work.” With two degrees under her belt, Cr Wilkinson decided to use neither. Instead, she joined a theatre company in Melbourne and began acting full-time.

“I had a theatre company in Melbourne, we did mainly comedy,” she said.

“We did pub theatre. We’d write scripts or adapt them; we actually adapted Shakespeare and did a few tragedies in the pub, at the Union Club Hotel in Fitzroy and the Builders Arms.

“Thatwaswithfourotherfriends,weformed that between other shows. It was a way of keeping us working, it was really fun.”

After six years of acting in Melbourne, Cr Wilkinson and her partner decided to head off in 2001 to Western Australia in their kombi with their two dogs.

“And we thought we’d just stop in Barwon Heads for a little bit,” she said.

“But we never got to WA. We stuck around because we loved it so much.

“I had no work, so I did waitressing for a while, which was really great. I think everyone should do that at some time or another.

“But I remember at that time really reflecting on what the next step was. And that’s when I remembered I had a social work degree, and I thought, yeah, actually, that’s really important to me.”

Cr Wilkinson began working at BAYSA (thenBarwonYouth,nowpartofMeli),initially focused on youth justice and supporting young people to get access to free legal representation.

“For most of that time, from 2001 up until about2013,Iwasworkingwithyoungpeopleat risk, either within the justice system, homeless or at risk of disengaging from mainstream school,” she said.

“It’s important to me that I leave the world a better place, that I make a difference.

“I’m really passionate about enabling people to tell their story, and it might just be to me as a social worker or councillor, but that they are able to stand up and take up space.

“I think when we do that, when we’re motivated by a sense of kindness and respect, a lot of things just work. We can accomplish quite a lot.”

Feeling the need to continue telling her own stories, Cr Wilkinson joined Blink Dance TheatreCompanyin2013,whereshestillserves as creative executive producer and a performer, while also working full-time as a lead clinician in complex care at Barwon Health.

Now living in Ocean Grove, she believes her long-term roles as social worker and performing artist inform both her priorities and strengths as a councillor.

“I’ve spent most of my career having really difficult conversations and really listening, and

also managing and de-escalating situations. ” Cr Wilkinson said.

“I think that, often, some of that conflict comes from people who don’t feel like they’re being heard.

“It’s a pretty exciting time. There’s been some really great change (at council), with a new CEO and two other councillors that have also been part of the Stephen Bradbury process of coming to power.

“I’m excited about working alongside the councillors to make sometimes very challenging decisions, but working through those in the most transparent, accountable way so that the community feels heard and well represented.”

Cr Wilkinson said council had endured a challenging period recently, but she was focused on issues such as environmental protection, social justice and infrastructure. She said she also intended to be an advocate for the arts and culture in the region.

“As a practising artist in this region, it’s a really exciting time,” Cr Wilkinson said. “I feel like there’s been some real fostering of (the) incredible talent within this region. Geelong’s got some really amazing venues and resources.

“Everything from the community-based art practicetoabiggerstage,abiggergallery,it’sall storytelling and that’s so important.

“Ithinkaplacethatreallyhonoursitsancient storytellers, its First Nations people, and its new stories is a richer place.”

‘‘ When we’re motivated by a sense of kindness and respect, a lot of things just work. We can accomplish quite a lot ’’

- Elise Wilkinson

(Ivan Kemp) 358386_01

Geelong’s newest councillor Elise Wilkinson. (Supplied)

SUDOKU

No. 19 76 85 659 82

43 851 49 13 37

48 4827 49 2

easy 52 1 94 48 7

23 6 5239 82

52 26 4 423

medium 81 2 1895 26 3

DECODER WORDFIT

hard

645 48 7 98

D A S E A A O A I E

21 words: Good

31 words: Very good

42 words:

A C I A L

agar, agate, agile, alga, algae, argil, cage, cagier, cartage, CARTILAGE, cigar, crag, gait, gaiter, gala, gale, garlic, gate, gear, gelt, gilt, girl, girt, glacier, glare, grace, grail, grate, great, grit, lager, large, raga, rage, regal, regalia, taiga, tiger, tragic, tragical, triage, trig

No. 149

Using the nine letters in the grid, how many words of four letters or more can you list? The centre letter must be included and each letter may only be used once. No colloquial or foreign words. No capitalised nouns, apostrophes or plural words ending in “s”. R E N E D E A N S R E C A P A R O M A W I R E D S E N S E

2 In medical science, what is the equivalent of gynaecology for men?

3 Panama is bordered by which two countries?

4 What word in English is formed by two words that end in -gry, and is also a combination of their meanings?

5 The astronomical theory that the planets revolve around the sun is known as what?

6 Dhivehi is the official language of which country?

7 Viola, Olivia and Sebastian are all characters in which Shakespearean play?

8 The city of Darwin (pictured) has had to be almost entirely rebuilt twice as a consequence of what two events?

9 Which religion follows the Eightfold Path?

10 And what is the country of origin of that religion?

No.

Northern border bird heaven

IdrovetoAlburyduringtheweekforalearning experience at the university and had a lovely time exploring Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park.

I saw multiple honeyeater species, including yellow-tufted fuscous, white-plumed eastern spinebill, as well as noisy friarbirds, red wattlebirds and a few turquoise parrots. It was heaven.

I discovered Bartley’s Block near Chiltern and wandered around with so many birds zipping around that I didn’t know where to look. I didn’t spot the critically endangered regent honeyeater. There are an estimated 300 of these birds left in the wild, so I didn’t expect to see one.

The noisy friarbirds were living up to their name by calling loudly. These unusual birds are members of the honeyeater family and they have a distinctive naked black head and a strong bill with a prominent bump at the base. They also have a completely bare black head and upper neck.

It was lovely to see many brown treecreepers in the forest at Chiltern.

Treecreepers are one of my favourite birds as they can be seen in small family groups and they vocalise and cooperate with each other.

I love their out of proportion, large toes that allow them to grip on the bark of trees as they move upwards looking for insects to eat.

Brown treecreepers are the largest of Australia’streecreepers.Theyarepalebrownto grey in plumage.

COMMUNITY OCEANGROVEVOICE.COM.AU

Closer to home there has been some lovely birdactivityaroundtheBellarine.TomFletcher and Barry Lingham went for a drive and informed me that they spotted a good number of nankeen kestrels and a few white-necked herons on the Bellarine Peninsula.

Nankeen kestrels are small raptors that tend to move around habitats in response to food availability, so there must scrumptious food sources such as mammals, reptiles, small birds andinsectsavailablearoundthisareacurrently.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Kestrelscanbeseeninopenhabitatshovering a short distance above the ground, using quick wingbeats to hold themselves in position and then diving on prey on the ground.

White-necked herons are impressive, large herons that can be seen in shallow freshwater habitats.

There has been one of these birds hanging around the Breamlea Flora & Fauna Reserve for a week or so.

These birds undertake winter and spring

movements like many wader species found in Australia.

The white-necked heron is a large heron, of around a metre in height. They have a white head,alongwhiteneckandalineofblackspots running down the front.

The upperparts of the body are grey-black andunderpartsaregreyandwhite.White-faced heronsaresmaller,andhavegreyplumagewith a white face, and are more commonly seen around the Bellarine Peninsula compared to

WANT YOUR EVENT LISTED? Community Calendar is made available free of charge to not-for-profit organisations to keep the public informed of special events and activities. Send item details to Voice Community Calendar, 1/47 Pakington Street, Geelong West, 3218, or email to newsdesk@voicegroup.com.au. Deadline for copy and announcements is 5pm Tuesday.

Clifton Springs Community Men’s Shed Community BBQ/sausage sizzle fundraiser. Gold coin or food item donation to aid Wombat’s Wish and Food Bank. Saturday September 16, 8am-11am, 45 Central Road, Clifton Springs.

Book club

Leopold CAE book club meets second Tuesday each month from 6.30pm. Very friendly group. New members welcome.

■ Shirley, 0488 055 969

Chess clubs

For chess fun simply come along and see yourself, play some chess, meet some members, with no obligation to join. We welcome players of all abilities. Ocean Grove, Tuesdays at 1.30pm at 101 The Terrace, Ocean Grove; Portarlington, Mondays at 9.30am, Parks Hall, 87 Newcombe Street, Portarlington; and St Leonards, Thursdays at 9.30am, unit 2 1375-1377 Murradoc Road, (on Blanche Street), St Leonards.

■ Ralph, 0431 458 100 (Ocean Grove), Rob, 5259 2290 (Portarlington), Lyn, 5292 2162 (St Leonards)

TOWN club

The Springs TOWN Club (Take Off Weight Naturally) meets Mondays, 9-10.30am at the Community Hub, 23 Eversley Street, Drysdale. Weigh-in, group therapy and regular relaxation sessions. Cost: $5 per session, $54 annual fee.

■ Bev O’Meara, 0421 636 830

Carpet bowls

Leopold Hall 805-809 Bellarine Highway, Leopold on Wednesday and Friday from 1pm to 3.15pm. Admission: $4 includes afternoon tea.

■ 0400 500 402

Ballroom dance

Leopold Hall, 805-809 Bellarine Highway, Saturday August 13, 7.30pm-11.30pm.

Admission $10 includes supper.

Music: Charles Pedder.

■ 0400 500 402

Scottish country dancing classes

GOG Scottish Country Dance classes 7.30pm Tuesdays at Leopold Hill Hall, $5. No partner needed, just comfy casual clothing and flat shoes.

■ Jane, 0481 126 022, or Barbara, 0419 511 781

Portarlington Senior Citizens Bus trip to Fyansford Paper Mill then Bunjil’s Lookout in Maude for a BBQ lunch. Thursday September 21, 9am start back about 4pm.

■ Shirley, 0438 720 076

Ocean Grove Senior Citizens 101 The Terrace, Ocean Grove Weekly

•฀฀Tuesday:฀indoor฀bowls,฀snooker฀and฀chess฀ 1pm

•฀฀Wednesday:฀beginner฀art฀painting฀class฀at฀ 9.30am, bingo 1.30pm and chord club jam session for musicians 4pm

•฀฀Thursday:฀social฀afternoons,฀cards฀500฀ and snooker 1pm

•฀฀Friday:฀sketching฀art฀class฀9.30am,฀indoor฀ bowls 1pm Fortnightly

•฀CWA฀1st฀and฀3rd฀Thursday฀7.30pm Monthly

•฀Book฀group฀1st฀Friday฀1pm

•฀฀Inhouse฀movies฀3rd฀Wednesday฀1.30pm

•฀฀Ocean฀Grove฀Stamp฀Club฀4th฀Wednesday฀ 10am

■ 5255 2996

Cards

Ocean Grove Seniors play card game 500 every฀Thursday฀at฀1.15pm.฀If฀you฀are฀new฀ to the game a quick lesson will get you in play. The core group of six players adjust to any number and you will enjoy the friendship of like-minded players. Cost: $20 annually and coffee included. At 102 The Terrace, Ocean Grove.

■ Lyn, 5256 2540

Ocean Grove Day VIEW Meets second Wednesday of the month, 10.30am for 11am.

■ oceangroveday.viewclub@gmail.com

Drysdale Day VIEW

Supporting The Smith Family for fun and friendship while supporting disadvantaged Students. Meetings at Portarlington Golf Club for lunch on the fourth Friday of each month.

■ Margaret, 0431 636 090

Ocean Grove Evening VIEW Meets on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 6.30pm. Email oceangroveevening.viewclub@gmail.com for details.

■ 0428 546 796

Probus Club of Ocean Grove Men’s Meets at 10am on the first Monday of each month, except January, at the Surf Life Saving Club on Surf Beach Road.

■ Barry, 0409 161 129

Ocean Grove on Barwon Probus Meets 9.45am for 10am every third Wednesday at Ocean Grove Golf Club

■ gwen.anne.james@gmail.com

Drysdale Ladies Probus Club Meets at 10.30am on the fourth Monday of each month at the Clifton Springs Golf Club.

■ Lorraine, 0412 805 858

Afternoon tea dance

Life฀Activities฀Club฀[Geelong฀Inc]฀hosts฀an฀ afternoon tea dance on Thursdays, 2-4pm, at Belmont Park Pavilion. Entry: $5.

■ 5251 3529

CWA Drysdale

Meets Drysdale RSL, Princess St, Drysdale on the second Tuesday of the month. Meetings start at 1pm followed by afternoon tea. Friendly group looking to recruit new members.

■ Jenni, 0452 258 333

Left: Jen’s brown treecreeper at Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park.

Above: Jen’s white-necked heron at Breamlea. (Pictures: Supplied)

Out and about

1/ Saskia Hamberger and Maddie Blomfield after a surf. 2/ Josh Devine and son Finn. 3/ Early morning surfers Nev Forster, David Curtain and Gus Angleton. 4/ Chris Mooney with Scala. 5/ Beverley Nutt and Fay Johnson. 6/ Lee Considine gives a surf lesson to Jordan Moore. 7/ Tori Lovell enjoys a coffee. 8/ Wayne Harding with Jack. 9/ Trish Brosnan with Darcy. 10/ Marc and Laura Sands with baby Siena and ZuZu. 11/ Helen and Cookie. (Pictures: Ivan Kemp) 357968

Voice photographer Ivan Kemp went to Ocean Grove main beach on Wednesday September 6 to see how people (and canines) were enjoying the early spring weather.

Leading with light in auto design

By Derek Ogden, Marque Motoring

In a display, which can only be described as a case of automotive smoke and mirrors, the new Hyundai Kona is designed to look like an electric vehicle – no radiator grille – whether an EV, hybrid or petrol powered.

The maker Hyundai says this is to make the whole range of the small SUV, including petrol variants - EV and hybrids are due here by year’s end - blend in with traffic better in the future.

The ‘petrols’ on offer at present are a 2.0-litre four-cylinder with a CVT automatic and front-wheel drive, and a turbocharged 1.6-litre four-cylinder with an eight-speed torque converter automatic and all-wheel drive.

Prices for the second-generation SUV start at $32,000 and rise to $46,500, plus on-road costs. The N-Line pack adds an extra $4000. Considerably more kit does come with the price premium.

The new Kona is covered by a five-year 100,000 kilometre warranty and attracts Hyundai’s Premium Roadside Support Plan free for the first 12 months and renewed annually for up to 10 years so long as the vehicle is serviced by Hyundai.

Styling

If there were a patron saint of electric lighting, say St Osram, the new Kona would pay him or her homage, for the car’s design makes Hyundai literally a leading light in automotive design.

The absence of a grille apart, up front the full width of the compact sports utility vehicle is emphasised by an LED strip light – similar to one which debuted in the Staria – on the leading edge of the bonnet from wing to wing.

Not far behind is a similar single bar across the rear, highlighting the futuristic (EV) view from behind. Outboard lighting matches the front triangular set-up. Inside and out the new Kona is bigger than its predecessor. In profile, apart from muscular wheel arch covers, the rest is very much de rigueur for he class.

Interior

Atatadover4.3mlong,1.8mwideandalmost 1.6 m tall, the ‘small’ SUV is more spacious on the inside too thanks to a 60 mm increase in wheelbase front to back. This translates to much more leg room in the back compared with before. Head room is more than adequate for the average adult.

Absent in the 2.0 is a shift-by-wire transmission stalk to the right behind the steering wheel found in Premium and turbo grades. In its place here is a conventional centre-console gearshift.

Storage abounds, with bins in the front doors big enough for large bottles and two retractable cup holders in the centre console, plus a generous glove box, as well as wireless charging, USB-C jacks and a 12V socket.

Rear doors can take small bottles and there are two cup holders in the fold-down centre armrest and pockets on the front seat backs. Adjustable ventilation outlets and a pair of USB-C power sockets are in situ. The boot will hold 407 litres with the rear seat backs raised, or up to 1241 litres with them folded flat. A space-saver spare is carried.

Infotainment

A high-resolution 12.3-inch widescreen digital infotainment display sits above the centre stack, which incorporates climate control air-con buttons. Directly in front of the driver is a digital instrument screen inside a 12.3-inch panel.

Wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto are standard low down the model range, while Premium variants with satellite navigation have only wired systems.

This is due to change later this year with wireless becoming available to all.

Hyundai’s Bluelink connection enables

remote access from a paired smartphone with vehicle location, remote lock and start services, plus the ability to contact emergency services in the event of an accident.

Engines/transmissions

The Kona and Kona Premium come with either a naturally aspirated Atkinson cycle 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine sending 110 kW and 180 Nm at 6200 rpm and 4500 rpm, respectively, to the front wheels through a CVT automatic transmission.

Hyundaiclaimsacombinedurban/highway fuel consumption figure of 6.6 litres per 100 kilometres, while the test car came up with 6.1 litres per 100 kilometres over a week of varied driving conditions.

Safety

Kona is on board with Hyundai’s SmartSense safety system, which includes front and rear autonomous emergency braking (with car, ‘powered two-wheeler’, pedestrian and cyclist detection), blind spot view and collision avoidance, lane-following and lane keeping assist.

There’s also rear cross-traffic alert, active cruise control, safe exit warning, surround view monitor, driver attention warning and tyre pressure monitoring. A multi-collision brake is designed to minimise the chance of additional impacts after an

AT A GLANCE

MODEL RANGE

Hyundai Kona 2.0 $32,000

Hyundai Kona 2.0 N-Line $36,000

Hyundai Kona 2.0 Premium $39,500

Hyundai Kona 2.0 Premium N-Line $42,500

Hyundai Kona 1.6 turbo N-Line $40,000

Hyundai Kona 1.6 turbo Premium N-Line $46,500

OPTIONS

Metallic paint $595 (all models); sunroof $1500 (Kona Premium) ; Light grey, sage green interior $295 (Kona Premium}

SPECIFICATIONS

Hyundai 2.0L 4-cylinder petrol, CVT, FWD

Note: These prices do not include government or dealer delivery charges. Contact your local Hyundai dealer for drive-away prices.

initial crash and an emergency stop signal function are also standard.

There are seven airbags, including a front centre bag to minimise front occupant injuries in a side impact, as well as three top tether anchors and two Isofix positions across the rear seat.

Driving

Riding on the standard 18-inch wheels the Kona kept up a steady march over some rough country roads and reduced cabin noise intrusion to an acceptable level on concrete motorway surfaces.

Steering followed suit with positive feedback from the road, while disc brakes, ventilated at the front, had little trouble stopping the 1.4 tonne-plus vehicle in the dry-only conditions encountered.

Speed presented only one problem and that was purely electronic. The test car speed-sign recognition indicator suffered from a form of dyslexia:the10km/hspeedlimitregisteredina shopping centre car park remained unchanged through several streets before the instrument display switched to the correct legal limit.

Other speed limits were slow to catch up and slip roads constantly over-rode the legal motorway limit.

Constant speed limit and lane keeping audible warnings turned out to be overzealous, and while made to be turned off, were not easy to silence.

Summary

In typical Hyundai fashion the new Kona 2.0 stands apart in its class from a design point of view and it will be interesting to see what the hybrid and full electric models can come up with under the skin later this year.

Unique design features look to an electric future for the new Hyundai Kona. (Pictures: Supplied)

Young Grubbers in fine form

Ocean Grove took on Geelong Amateur in the 17 & Under Division 2 and 15 & Under Division 1 qualfifying finals at Portarlington. Voice photographer Ivan Kemp was there.

Left: Clover Marsh accepts a pass. Centre: Zoe Naughtin and Clover Marsh compete for the ball in the 17 & Under Division 2 clash Right: Matilda Whittakers with the ball. (Pictures: Ivan Kemp) 357085

Left: Holly Britt takes the ball in the goal ring. Centre: Laura Ahearn takes possession. Right: Alice Sampson wins the ball. (Pictures: Ivan Kemp) 356191

Left: Harriett Shaw reaches to accept a pass with strong opposition from Abhi Sanjeev. Centre: Ruby Armstrong in action. Right: Emma Barry with the ball in the 15 & Under Division 1 game.

Abhi Sanjeev in defence for Ocean Grove.

Emma Daley takes the ball under the net.

Powerhouses go head-to-head

Bellarine Netball League powerhouses Ocean Grove and Geelong Amateur met each other in the A Grade and B Grade second semi-finals and Voice photographer Ivan Kemp was at Portarlington to see it all unfold.

Far left: Emily Moroney looks for a passing option (top); Rebecca O’Neill was in fine form at goalshooter. Left: Georgia Finn passes out of defence in A Grade. Above: Georgia Duncan wins this contest for the ball against Georgia Finn. (Pictures: Ivan Kemp) 356188

Karina Sproal battles against Mila Bell in B Grade.

Left: Julia Twigg wins this contest against Lucy Sampson. Centre: Lucy Sampson wins a tight contest. Right: Claudia Britt hangs onto a pass. (Pictures: Ivan Kemp) 356190

Above: Karina Sproal beats Emma Jones to the ball. Left: Jesse Sutton scores a goal.

Wandana’s win no fluke

LOCAL TENNIS

Wandana Heights proved its win in the semi-final over minor premiers Surfcoast Torquay wasn’t a fluke by backing it up in the final.

HeightswonthreerubberstooneintheOpen section, but wasn’t quite as lucky as Wandana’s Blue team in 4 Mixed lost to Eastern Districts.

The teams were two sets all going into the reversemixedandwhiletheteamssharedthese sets, Districts took the win by six games.

Moolap had the best participation on Saturday with four teams competing in three finalsand2OpenwasabattleoftheYellowand Black teams, with Black looking to avenge its semi-final loss.

The first singles was a battle with Yellow’s Kyle Beattie winning 10-5 in the super tiebreak while Mark Core and Uzair Shah fought through in the doubles 6-4, 7-6 for Black. Shah also had a tough singles win, before Core teamed with Joel Wilson to seal the win for

Black 3-1.

Moolap Black was victorious in 1 Mixed when it accounted for Waurn Ponds with a clean sweep. Gold made it a trifecta for the club in 3 Mixed against Newcomb when it won the reverse mixed after being tied at two sets to take a 4-2 win.

Newcomb was also vying for two other premiershipswithteamsin1Menand2Mixed.

Bannockburn appeared shellshocked in the Men’s when Newcomb won the first four sets negating the need to play the final two sets.

Grovedale proved to be a tougher opponent in the Mixed with the match going down to the wire. The teams went set for set, but Newcomb stayed ahead on the games count, and got over the line by just one.

All Saints had a great season in 3 Open losing only one match going into Saturday and continued their winning run with a 4-0 victory over Lara.

Ocean Grove Blue set up the win in the 2 Men’s final against Western Heights Uniting winningthefirstthreesets.FromthereUniting foughtbacktakingthefourthandfifthbutBlue ralliedtosealtheresulttakingthesixthputting it ahead 4-2.

GeelongEastUnitingalsohadagoodstartin 3 Men, having three solid wins and a tiebreak loss, putting it ahead 3-1 before Clifton Springs fought back winning the final two sets. But with an eight-game advantage, Uniting held out to take the flag.

Premiers crowned in junior comp

LOCAL TENNIS

Donna Schoenmaekers

It was perfect conditions for Tennis Geelong’s grand final day and the level of play in Junior Pennant was just as good with eight of the 17 sections decided only by games difference.

The biggest winner for the day was Geelong Lawn, with a colossal 13 teams playing in 10 finals, finishing with eight wins for the day.

Minor premiers in Green Ball 1, 3 Boys and8Boyshadnarrowwinsbysixgames over Drysdale and four games over Grovedale and Bannockburn.

Green Ball 3 had a 4-2 win over Surfcoast Bellbrae and 6 Boys defeated Wandana Heights five sets to one.

In the battle of Green versus White Lawn teams, Green got up by one game in 9 Boys while White prevailed in Green Ball 2 by four and four sets to two in 5 Boys.

Beachside upset Lawn in 1 Girls with a match that was neck and neck, with only two games separating the teams, and Waurn Ponds came from third in Green Ball 3 to beat Lawn 4-2.

Western Heights Uniting was the only other club with multiple wins taking out the double of sections 2 and 3 Girls. The results for the teams were opposite ends of the spectrum with Section 3 consolidating an early lead to finish 5-1 against Surfcoast Torquay while Section 2 won three of singles before Drysdale came back winning the two doubles, taking the match to a deciding set, when the final result was tied on sets and games. Uniting came out firing in the decider taking it 6-0 to give the club a second win for the day.

While Drysdale was unlucky in Green Ball 1 and 2 Girls, 4 Girls had a much better day with a 5-1 win over Ocean Grove.

Grovedale also had three teams in finals, coming home with one win, when 1 Boys, coming from third, to overcome Wandana Heights by seven games.

HamlynParkcamefromthirdtowin7 Boys over Grovedale by four games.

Competition has special meaning

Third time lucky for the Victorian Old Mal and Logger titles.

After a nervous week of watching the forecast things finally fell into place for SOUL Longboarders to run the Victorian Old Mal Titles and Logger Comp at Point Impossible in perfect 1-3 foot conditions.

This comp has a long history with the club and president Brian Tucker is largely responsible for it continuing to run as long

as it has.

His work behind the scenes ensures it runs smoothly and is enjoyable for all competitors.

This year’s comp was in memory of Robbie Kennedy. Robbie was a great supporter of this comp and loved his Old Mals and Logs. Because of the postponement of the event it meant that some original entrants weren’t able to make it.

Logger heats were first in the water and

had some of the bigger sets of the day coming through.

The swell calmed down during the day and the Old Mals had near perfect conditions to run in.

Lots of drop knee turns, fade takeoffs and long nose-rides were the order of the day.

Judges were kept busy in all heats with plenty of waves being caught and the scoring scale put up a few notches.

BarwonHeadswasvictoriousin4Boys with a 4-2 over Lara, while in Section 2 they went down by the narrowest of margins. The teams were tied on sets and games with Clifton Springs While after the singles but White fought hard and managed to edge ahead by one game at the end of the day.

St Mary’s had just one team playing, but made the most of the opportunity in 5 Girls winning three of the four singles beforefollowingupwithawininthefirst doubles to clinch the win 4-2.

Donna Schoenmaekers

S3X Moolap Gold: Wendy Greaves, Rob Alsopp, Julia Augello, Dean Lehmann and Rita Nelis.

7B Hamlyn Park: Prahlad Anand, Harry Carter, Hudson Incoll, Seb Varszeghy and Hamish Cox.

Under 45 Victorian Old Mal Title: 1st Matt Shey, 2nd Ted Murphy, 3rd Angela King, 4th Jack McKenzie.

Over 45 Victorian Old Mal Title: 1st Tim Edwards, 2nd Brent Womersley, 3rd Luke Edwards, 4th Kev Hunter.

Women’s Logger: 1st Angela King, 2nd Kelly Goddard, 3rd Jax Goddard, 4th Sarah Quinney.

Men’s Logger: 1st Tim Edwards, 2nd Matty Shey, 4th Matt Robbo, 3rd Ted Murphy.

Tigers and Hawks set for clash

By Justin Flynn

Few pundits will be tipping Drysdale to win Saturday’s Bellarine Football League grand final against Torquay, but a round 17 upset has given the Hawks some belief that anything is possible.

Torquay’s only loss this season came in the penultimate round of the home and away season when Drysdale prevailed by one point and co-coach Ben Carmichael said it came at the right time.

“It certainly gave us a template to what it looks like to beat them and it gives you a little bit of confidence going into another match up against them,” he said.

“It gives us confidence knowing that we can match it with them If we play our best footy.”

Drysdale won its way through to the decider with a nine-point win against nemesis Barwon Heads.

“We’re really embracing the week, it’s new to a lot of the guys and there’s a few experienced guys that have been there, but everything that comes our way we’re just going to really enjoy leading up into Saturday,” Carmichael said.

“Torquay have got a really dangerous forward line. They don’t need many looks and they’ll kick goals.

“Our backline has held up really well, but it’s

all on the back of our pressure up the ground not allowing sides to get easy kicks inside. Our backs have been super.” Drysdale’s form since its 56-point round 14 loss to Barwon Heads has been stunning.

“It was probably that day at Barwon Heads thatwasarealturningpointforus,”Carmichael said.

“We reflected on where we were as a group and what we did look at is we had time to fix a lot of things. So we sat back and we said we’ve

got four or five weeks of finals. How are we going to bridge that gap?

“Internally we just built off that, we got a bit of continuity with our squad and momentum leading into finals is obviously big.”

Carmichael is under no illusions that Torquay has been the standout team of the competition.

“I think we just have to play an allround game against them,” he said.

“If you fall away in one area they’ll hurt you. So we certainly need to get our hands on the footy around the middle and get the ball forward and give ourselves an opportunity.

“We’ll see how the game plays out. We’ll just play our style of footy and then things that get thrown up during the game, we’ll change accordingly. But we’ll try and focus on our game style.”

Torquay suffered an upset loss to Barwon Heads in last year’s grand final, but coach Dom Gleeson said his side was ready.

“This year we’ve had a really good build up, our planning has been great and the boys are really bought into this,” he said.

“It certainly didn’t work for us last year, but there was a fair bit going on for us - trying to carry players through injured, we’re fighting fit and ready to go.

“Wehadenoughwinsontheboardtosuggest

that we’ll finish in the top two or three so we put some planning in place to be able to rest some players, to expose players to positions (so) that’s probably what the difference is between this year and last.”

Gleeson said he was grateful to have versatility through his squad, which has 18 homegrown Torquay juniors.

He said Drysdale presented a formidable challenge and the list complimented stars such as Tom Ruggles, James Breust and Ben Fennell.

“They’ve got a really even spread of key defenders and forwards and midfielders that are helping them out,” he said.

“It’s a really strong even team and they’ve done well to put it together.”

Gleesonsaidhisgrouphadanextrareasonto win on Saturday. Club champion James Darke will be missing after doing an ACL earlier this season.

“He’s been such a great leader,” he said.

“As soon as he did his knee he just switched into another coach for me and it’s been really incredible the way he’s gone about it.”

The game, at 2pm on Saturday September 9, is at Newcomb’s Grinter Reserve. It will be streamedliveonAFLBarwonTVataflbarwon. com.au/barwon-media/afl-barwon-tv

Barwon Heads takes on Geelong Amateur in the reserves grand final beginning at 11.30am.

‘Ruthless’ Ocean Grove ready for grand final

Bellarine Netball League grand finals are on Saturday September 9 at Grinter Reserve, Newcomb. Justin Flynn takes a look at the preliminary final results, including a commanding performance by Ocean Grove in A Grade that sets up an epic season decider against Geelong Amateur.

A GRADE

A ruthless Ocean Grove booked a grand final spot against Geelong Amateur with an 18-goal preliminary final win against Queenscliff at Newcomb on Saturday September 2.

After an even first few minutes, Ocean Grove got on top with defensive intercepts and turnovers, which allowed the ball to be transitioned quickly to goal shooter Bec O’Neill.

The Grubbers led by nine at quarter time and controlled the tempo for most of the game to win 53 to 35.

Georgia Finn and Kelsey Ollis were superb as was Georgia Ryan, while O’Neill scored 39 goals and goal attack Ashton O’Brien was busy with 13.

Grand final: Geelong Amateur vs Ocean Grove, 3.30pm.

B GRADE

Ocean Grove is into the grand final after a hard-fought four-goal win against Modewarre.

Amelia Cunningham and Jesse Sutton were on target scoring 21 goals each in the 42 to 38 win.

Grand final: GeelongAmateurvsOceanGrove at 1.15pm.

C GRADE

Ocean Grove held off Drysdale to advance to the decider with a 36 to 32 win.

Kate Titheridge scored 23 goals while Vicki King was the Hawks’ best.

Grand final: GeelongAmateurvsOceanGrove at 11.55am.

D GRADE

Torquay won a nailbiter against Ocean Grove by two goals to get through 29 to 27.

The Tigers led by five at half time and four at the last change before holding on with Sheree Chafer, Bonnie Skabla and Annabelle Dunn best.

Ocean Grove was well served by Tarryn Stanley, Tina Birch (19 goals) and Zarly Smith.

Grand final: Geelong Amateur vs Torquay at 10.40am.

E GRADE Barwon Heads won a thriller by the barest of margins against Ocean Grove.

The Grubbers looked to have the game under control at half time leading by six goals, but the Seagulls rallied to be behind by just one at three-quarter time and then ahead by one at the end, winning 23 to 22.

Abby Blacket and goal shooter Louise McNamara (15 goals) were best for Barwon Heads while Emilie Punton, Anabelle Sargeant and Hannah Quinn (16 goals) were best for Ocean Grove.

Grand final: Geelong Amateur vs Barwon Heads at 2.15pm.

19 & UNDER Portarlington defeated Drysdale by 12 goals with Lila Mustica (16 goals) and Chloe Zahl best.

A nine goal to five third term set up the win.

Grand final: Queenscliff vs Portarlington at 10.40am.

17 & UNDER DIVISION 1

An eight-goal win has put Drysdale into the grand final. After an even first three quarters, the Hawks clicked into gear in the last, scoring 14 goals to seven to defeat Ocean Grove 38 to 30.

Lily Mills was best with 31 goals while Ella McGlynn was Ocean Grove’s best.

Grand final: Portarlington vs Drysdale at 9.25am

17 & UNDER DIVISION 2

An eight goal to two last quarter has put Torquay into the grand final.

The Tigers trailed by one going into the last term against Ocean Grove, but ran away with the game.

Grand final: Geelong Amateur vs Torquay at 1.15pm.

15 & UNDER DIVISION 1

A blistering start has given Geelong Amateur a path through to the grand final. Ammos scored 10 goals to one in the first term against Portarlington and never looked back, eventually winning 31 to 19.

Grand final: OceanGrovevsGeelongAmateur at 11.55am.

15 & UNDER DIVISION 2

Geelong Amateur won a close encounter against Ocean Grove, 24 to 22. Not much separated the two sides for the entire game, but the Tigers were in front when it mattered most.

Grand final: Torquay vs Geelong Amateur at 8.10am.

13 & UNDER DIVISION 1

Emilia Evans, Layne Harvey and Arleya Hillier (13 goals) were the architects in Portarlington’s four-goal win against Barwon Heads. The Seagulls were well served by Charli Janezic, Billi Janezic and Eve Antonowicz.

Grandfinal: GeelongAmateurvsPortarlington at 9.25am.

13 & UNDER DIVISION 2

Geelong Amateur had a comfortable 26 to 9 win against Torquay, which was set up by a 10 goal to one first term.

Grand final: OceanGrovevsGeelongAmateur at 8.10am.

Torquay’s Ben McNamara and Drysdale’s Mitchell McGuire will be hoping to get their hands on the 2023 DOW Bellarine Football League premiership cup late Saturday afternoon. (Ivan Kemp) 358489_07

Left: Georgia Finn cuts off this attack in the A Grade qualifying final. Centre: Clover Marsh leaps to take a pass in the 17 & Under Division 2 final.

Right: Alice Sampson leads from the front in the 15 & Under Division 1 clash. (Pictures: Ivan Kemp) 356188