TWO Mitchell Shire students were among 10 winners of the 2018 ‘Weary’ Dunlop Award, presented last week at Parliament House.

Broadford student Breanna Hinchcliffe and Kieran Holt, from Kilmore, received their awards from Member for Euroa Steph Ryan.

Ms Ryan offers the award each year to each school across the Euroa electorate in honour of Sir Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop.

He was born and raised at Stewarton, educated in Benalla and grew up to be an extraordinary surgeon, serving in World War II.

As a prisoner of the Japanese, Weary Dunlop displayed extraordinary courage, leadership and compassion, giving hope to the sick and comforting the dying.

The award, made annually, recognises students who have done their best in the face of challenges, and who have demonstrated persistence and resilience in order to achieve academically, socially, culturally, in the sporting arena or in another field of endeavour.

Breanna completed year 12 at Broadford Secondary College last year and was described by her teachers as one of the most optimistic, resilient and inspirational students they had taught.Kieran completed grade six at St Patrick’s Primary School Kilmore last year and was described as a kind, compassionate member of the school community with natural leadership skills.

“Breanna and Kieran are great examples of the spirit exemplified by Sir Edward ‘Weary Dunlop’ and it was an honour to have them in Parliament,” Ms Ryan said.

“Hosting these wonderful young people and their families in Parliament is one of the highlights on my year.

“Each of them has a unique story of how they persisted and showed resilience to overcome adversity.”

By Eden Hynninen

The Macedon Ranges is cementing its reputation as a beacon for gastronomy with hundreds of people travelling to Melbourne Food and Wine Festival events in the past week.

Events at Gisborne and Lancefield were among 250 on the festival calendar.

Glen Junor Belted Galloways farm in Gisborne hosted the ‘Regional World’s Longest Lunch’ on Friday, showcasing regional produce and the expansive backdrop of the property to a table of 70.Baringo Estate executive chef Tim Austin – who organised the event – said the Macedon Ranges was becoming a mark on the map for tourists.

“The idea was to look at what we were doing a few years ago and what we’re doing now to create a retrospective lunch”, Mr Austin said.

“We’ve used local beef from this farm, herbs from our gardens and almost 20 kilograms of ricotta sourced in Romsey.

“We’ve matched out produce with wines from our local winemakers including Bindi Winegrowers, Curly Flat, Hanging Rock and Place of Changing Winds – we used their past and present wines.

”Mr Austin said events such Melbourne Food and Wine Festival would continue to open up unknown parts of the Macedon Ranges to the wider public.

“It’s great for the region because we are part of the MFWF and the area may not have been on people’s radar previously,” Mr Austin said.

Gisborne Collective owner Nathan Presley – who also worked on the event – noted the talent growing in the region.

“The calibre of chefs is really growing here,” Mr Presley said.

“I’ve just come from Thailand where I visited 12 Michelin star restaurants for inspiration in our restaurant.

“I’ve refreshed and ready to get back into it.”

Toolern Vale resident Denise Drew attended the long lunch in Gisborne and said the location was convenient for tourists.

“We’re not that far out of Melbourne, only 40 minutes,” Ms Drew said.

“The station is right next to Baringo Estate, so I think it’s great for the amount of people coming into the area.

“We will see some great local produce, so I’m excited to try that and meet some interesting people.”

Owner of the Glen Junor Belted Galloways farm Joe Gauci said the lunch provided a perfect backdrop for people to see and smell what they were eating.

“We’ve got so many things to see here and access is so easy from the city,” Mr Gauci said.

“I think Macedon Ranges is the poor brother to the Mornington and Yarra Valley but I think we’re slowly catching up.”

The weekend also included ‘Spring Hill Estate’s Smoke, Fire and Water Family Day’ and ‘Baringo Twilight Gintastic’ at Baringo Estate in New Gisborne.  

By Evelyn Leckie

An amusing approach requesting several potholes to be fixed in Heathcote Junction has eventually made its way to the correct road authority.

A Facebook post attracted a lot of attention from Mtichell Shire residents depicting several large potholes and bumps in the road crossing a railway line.

The social media attention was enough for Mitchell Shire Council to make an official statement after several people tagged them in the photo.

Resident Jamie Dennis came across the railway junction with several potholes outlined with white paint and the words ‘FIX ME’ written above the damaged area.

“I took the photo while I was out walking,” Mr Dennis said.

“When I first saw the paint job, my first thought was – I’m not the only angry resident, and then I thought – I’ve got to post this and get community support to have this fixed, enough is enough!”

Mr Dennis posted the photo with the caption ‘The town has had a gut full, fix the hole!’

One resident commented on the Facebook post: “My little car nearly disappears in this hole.”

“So does my Ford Territory,” posted another resident.

Mitchell Shire Council responded on social media saying council have been made aware of the road issues.

“This particular location is not one that we manage, however we have forwarded this ‘informal complaint’ on to the relevant authorities to review,” a Mitchell Shire Council spokesperson said.

“This is one way to highlight an issue with roads, but not exactly advisable.

“If you see a location that has significant damage that you’d like to inquire about in a meaningful way, we are happy to hear from you.”

Australian Rail Track Corporation told North Central Review that the corporation was aware of the resurfacing work needed at Heathcote Junction.

“ARTC is looking to complete works as soon as possible,” a spokesperson said.

“If community members wish to raise a maintenance concern with ARTC, they can contact ARTC’s enviroline on enviroline@artc.com.au or 1300 550 402.”

By Evelyn Leckie

Mitchell Shire Council will make a submission opposing Hogan’s Hotel’s application for an extra 20 poker machines at its Wallan premises.

The decision comes after a special council meeting last week where all councillors in attendance voted unanimously to submit a Social and Economic Impact Assessment to the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation.

The assessment, carried out by SGS Economics and Planning, details the social and economic impacts on the Mitchell Shire Council community if 20 extra poker machines are added.

Councillors Rob Eldridge, Rhonda Sanderson and Fiona Stevens raised their concerns while referring to the detrimental statistics and figures in the assessment.

SGS Economics and Planning reported an estimated $6.9 million social and economic loss to the Mitchell Shire Council community if 20 more poker machines were added to the Hogan’s Hotel premises.

“The figures are confronting,” Cr Sanderson said.“An increase of electronic gaming machines increases the loss to our local community – and it’s a direct cost to us.”

Cr Stevens acknowledged the benefits that Hogan’s Hotel provided to the community and highlighted their reasons for the application.

“The reason given by Hogan’s is to improve their financial position and cater to the growing demand,” she said.

“However, I don’t believe the Social and Economic Impact Assessment substantiates Hogan’s Hotel’s reasons for the application.”

Cr Sanderson said she was disappointed with the timing of the application, which council received on January 2.

“Staff were working hard over the holiday break over this issue because it’s important,” she said.

The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation oversees the conduct of gambling in Victoria and is the statutory authority to determine whether an application for a gaming license should be granted.

The commission will consider the application on April 2.

By Eden Hynninen

Bruce Nicholls is a man of varied accomplishments.

Serving in Australia’s Foreign Service for nearly two decades with postings in India, Germany, Switzerland, China and Hong Kong, he returned to Australia in the 1990s to continue in the corporate world on the boards of several public and private companies.

His latest venture however is in stark contrast to his world of trade and politics, with a move into creative writing.It all started one night over a glass of wine reflecting on memories throughout his career.

“Once I’d left the service, just for fun at night I’d sit down with a glass of wine where I’d look through personal diaries of my time overseas and I ended up writing my first book called A Briefcase in Transit,” Mr Nicholls said.

“It was all humorous anecdotes from my time as Trade Commissioner.”

But it wasn’t until Mr Nicholls met with a literary agent that he gained a flare for fiction.

“She said ‘with all your experience in the foreign service you need to write a spy novel’,” Mr Nicholl said.

“So I wrote Code Name: Sentinel that won the North Central Review’s literary award in 2012 – that award really kick-started my career in fiction writing.

“I’ve just released the second instalment in this trilogy The Dongfeng Deception that is set in the US.”

Mr Nicholls uses not only his experience in trade relations but heavily researches current developments for his novels.

“To make fiction credible you need to use a lot of facts.

“You think you know where you are going with a book but then you research and it takes you in another direction,” Mr Nicholls said.

“My wife Annie and I went off to a villa on the west coast of Bali to write my last novel.

“I started at 4pm in the afternoon with a bottle of Cognac sitting under a palm tree with the waves crashing –at 4am I finished writing 20,000 words.”

Mr Nicholls is busy writing his third book in the trilogy focusing on the future of China.

“China has been a very big part of my life, I lived there and have sat on many boards that invest money back into China, but I’m concerned about where they are headed,” he said.

“I have googled human rights abuse in China and have some foreign agents come into my computer screen – I’ve had to throw computers and buy new ones.

“There are minority groups in western China who are in detention camps and are working under forced labor – I want to look into this.”

Mr Nicholls reflects on the changing nature of his career over time.

“It was difficult moving into creative writing because I’d previously written dry, objective pieces for my work,” he said.

“But I’m enjoying this phase of my life where my wife and I can travel to an exotic location where I can sit down and get a burst of creative energy.”