NOVEMBER 28, 2017 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + THE WEST’S BEST PROPERTY GUIDE
Rail link to ‘unlock’ west By Tate Papworth Construction of the long-touted rail link between Southern Cross Station and Melbourne Airport will begin within a decade, according to Premier Daniel Andrews. The plan, which includes a new major train hub to be built at Sunshine linking the city to the airport, has been labelled a game-changer for the west by Brimbank mayor Margaret Giudice. Cr Giudice said an airport link with a stop at Sunshine had the potential to deliver significant economic benefits to Brimbank, with potential jobs growth and tourism opportunities likely to follow. “Brimbank council welcomes the Victorian premier’s announcement that the Melbourne Airport rail link will proceed with a stop at Sunshine as a transformational project that will unlock potential in Melbourne’s west,” Cr Giudice said.
Celebrating a centenary Joyce Bult may be on the verge of raising the bat on 100 years, but she says she’s only just getting started. Mrs Bult will celebrate her 100th birthday on December 11, and is getting there in style. “I look after myself and get out as often as I can. I try and keep up with the news and keep thinking, I think that’s the secret. Don’t let things get behind you, keep it in front of you,” Mrs Bult said “My uncle used to drink like a fish and he made it to 110 so I think I have his genes.” Mrs Bult was born in Creswick, near Ballarat, in 1917, the eldest of three siblings. She moved to Footscray with her family just before starting school, before shifting to Sunshine. She is currently in the Keilor Retirement Village, and was living in her own unit until a month ago when she decided “I’m almost 100, I think it’s time for someone else to cook for me”. She said she remembers the hardships of the Great Depression vividly (“that was very tough, if you sat down for a meal you didn’t dare leave anything”), knitting socks for soldiers in World War II, and she saw Phar Lap in the flesh at Flemington. After leaving school at 14, Mrs Bult had jobs as a dressmaker, at Sunshine Pottery, Adams Cakes, and then running service stations with her husband, Vern. She’s seen the world change, from living in the first double-storey house in Sunshine, to the explosion of modern technology. “We used to get really excited when a car would go past, that was a big thing back then,” she said. “Now they’re everywhere. The world is a very different place now.” Mrs Bult will celebrate with four generations of her family in the coming weeks.
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It needs to be done properly and it needs to benefit every single Victorian - Daniel Andrews
“There’s no doubt this is a game-changer for Sunshine and for Melbourne’s west.” “If planned well, this project could transform the way people in the west live, travel and work. “An airport link with a stop at Sunshine will enable people from across Melbourne’s west and regional areas such as Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo to interchange and travel directly to the airport. “It will also help to reduce congestion on Brimbank’s roads by providing an alternative and sustainable mode of transport to and from Melbourne Airport and regional Victoria.” Mr Andrews made the rail link announcement at a Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry gathering in Geelong last Thursday. “By the time the Metro Tunnel is completed in 2026, construction work will be well under way on an airport rail link,” he said. “This sort of investment needs to be done right. It needs to be done properly and it needs to benefit every single Victorian. “It can’t just funnel tourists and business people between the CBD and the airport.” Cr Giudice said the council looked forward to working with the government to ensure the project’s maximum benefit to the community.
(Joe Mastroianni)
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Ewen McRae
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