Bust out the Christmas cheer this July at Kilmore Trackside’s night market in collaboration with Good Vibrations Bohemian Bulla Market.
The market, from 5pm to 9pm on Friday, July 28, will be at the John Kelly Pavilion at Kilmore Trackside.
Kilmore Racing Club’s marketing and partnership manager Lindsey Melis said it was a Boho-themed market with a Christmas twist.
“It’s fully booked for stalls and it’s been very popular. The things people will find include crystals, dreamcatchers, candles, soaps and lots of little goodies that lean into the Boho theme,” she said.
“There will also be some food trucks and we have a busker coming along for some entertainment.”
A special guest will also make an appearance.
“We contacted Santa and his elves and they’re going to be in attendance to help entertain the children and take pictures. They will be handing out lollies throughout the night as well,” Ms Melis said.
Trackside will be open for market-goers to enjoy a Christmas in July themed dinner and choose from a selection of Christmas-themed cocktails.
The regular bistro menu will also be available, and it is recommended to call to book a table, although walk-ins will be accepted on the night.
Ms Melis said she hoped the event would provide families with an activity during the cold Kilmore winter.
“It’s providing additional entertainment to the community and it’s something they can come and do on a winter’s night out,” she said.
“Hopefully we get a bunch of people in and they get to enjoy a night out.
“Sometimes it can be a bit dark and gloomy in winter here in Kilmore so it’s another reason to get out of the house and enjoy yourself. Hopefully the community likes what we’re doing.”
The market will be inside the John Kelly Pavilion to ensure the market goes ahead regardless of weather conditions.
The trainers bar will also be open for people to warm up and enjoy a drink or coffee.
“There will also be heaters to keep everyone nice and toasty, and warm and dry to enjoy the market in the evening,” Ms Melis said.
Creating a historical and arts precinct to showcase the municipality’s past is at the forefront of Whittlesea Historical Society’s future plans.
The society’s members gathered with historians and residents at Whittlesea’s Whitehaven Receptions last month to discuss the importance of promoting the history of the area.
The seminar highlighted the need for a historical and arts precinct in Whittlesea, with several guest speakers including Royal Historical Society of Victoria representatives, Whittlesea historians and professors.
Whittlesea Historical Society began in 1975 to preserve historic sources of the municipality and the region, however the group has been unable to establish a proper home for its belongings.
Whittlesea Historical Society media representative Matt Christie said collections of artefacts, documents and books were scattered all over the City of Whittlesea – in boxes, homes and even a storage room behind the Christ Church of Whittlesea.
“It should be stored in a climate-controlled room, because of the geographic locations of everything and that’s why things are getting damaged,” Mr Christie said.
“Nobody has a good understanding of the history because it’s not on display anywhere. It’s in a tub under a bed or in tub in the hall, and no one really knows.”
Whittlesea historian and founder of Facebook page Whittlestory David Ovenden spoke at a Whittlesea Historical Society seminar last month about the importance of preserving local history.
Without a home, Mr Christie said the society was limited in accepting more donations and expanding its services such as hosting tours and talks.
“It limits us. Pretty much anything that we’re going to be involved with, we have to pack up into a tub, take it out to that location,” he said.
“Unfortunately we have to go to them – they can’t come to us because we’re homeless.”
Royal Historical Society of Victoria executive officer Rosemary Cameron spoke about the importance of relationships between historical societies and local governments, as most historical societies were gifted old buildings to display resources.
Mr Christie said the group had a connection with the City of Whittlesea council, however the relationship needed to be strengthened.
“I think we need to put everything that we learned tonight, and all the questions that we’ve got from the audience onto paper and … that needs to be presented to council,” he said.
Royal Historical Society of Victoria president Richard Broome, an emeritus professor in history at La Trobe University, said there was a ‘clear appeal’ to attend the seminar in supporting a Whittlesea precinct.
“If artefacts and documents aren’t looked after, in the future when people say, ‘well what was Whittlesea like?’ they won’t have much material to go on and they won’t be able to find photographs of this place before it was changed,” he said.
“So students at school, if they have to study local history, they won’t have the resources they need to do so and that part of Whittlesea will be lost forever.”
Wallan Basketball Association has received the Victorian Junior Basketball League’s, VJBL, 2021-2022 Small Association of the Year award.
Wallan’s VJBL coordinators Michael and Jodie Schultz received the award at the VJBL Annual Delegates meeting.
Wallan Panthers VJBL Coordinator Michael Schultz receiving the VJBL Small Association of the Year award from Basketball Victoria’s Lyn Payet.
Mr Schultz said the award, decided by the VJBL committee, was unexpected.
He said a shift in the club’s reputation was one of the reasons for the award.
“We’ve built a good relationship with the VJBL committee. We unfortunately used to have not the greatest reputation at the club but our reputation over the year has really flourish,” he said.
“People are hearing good things about Wallan now, which is good.
“That’s just from sort of stamping out bad behaviour, bad attitudes and things like that.
“We’re also trying to get the right coaches in place so we can develop our kids and give them an opportunity to play at the highest level.
“That’s the sort of thing we’ve been pushing to do and obviously VJBL have noticed that and noticed that talk around town was a little better than it had been. That’s part of the reason why we got the award.”
The 2021-2022 season was successful for the junior program with Wallan putting 13 representative teams on the court – including its first ever Victorian Championship, VC, team.
The under 12 boys side made the semi-finals in VC reserve, while both under 16 girls’ teams were runners-up in their division. Five other Wallan teams also made finals.
“We’ve put in a heap of hard work to try and get our program back up and running and getting as many good teams and kids through the program as possible,” he said.
“To be recognised for all the hard work we’ve been putting in is a really proud moment and it was just a good reward for all the hard work we’ve been putting in.”
Mr Schultz said growing the girls’ junior basketball program was a focus going forward.
“Unfortunately we’ve lost a few girls so we’ve only got one team in under 12s, 14s, 16s and 18s at the moment. But we’re slowly rebuilding our girls’ program and that just starts from the success which we’ve seen from last season,” he said.
“We didn’t have an under 12 girls’ team last season but this season we do. They’re really going well and really improving week to week.
“This core group of girls we’re really trying to work with and build our girls program so they can then go into our senior women’s program down the track.”
Along with developing its relationship with metropolitan basketball associations, Wallan is continuing to build connections with country basketball becoming a ‘hub for high performance’.
“It’s a really unique position that we do have that country affiliation but we’re also able to compete in the VJBL division. It’s a unique opportunity for representative program and for our one’s sides who get to go to junior country championships,” Mr Schultz said.
“It brings more opportunity for our kids to go that extra step and represent the association and Country Victoria.
“We’ve got a fair few kids that are playing in the future development under 14s program, and we’re just about to have our under 12 skills day at the club next month.
“Building those relationships and getting those pathways through Country Victoria representative teams is one thing we’re pushing, along with trying to attract good coaches to the club.”
This year under 12, 16 and 18 boys’ teams won junior country championships and two teams won at a Whittlesea Basketball Association tournament.
“Success breeds success, so hopefully if we can keep building that success, we can lure players to the club and build a stronger association that way as well,” Mr Schultz said.
The site of the former Colmont School at Kilmore has been listed for sale with the intention to establish a new school that will use the pre-existing facilities.
Listed through Savills Melbourne, the land at 32-42 White Street is for sale by expression of interest as part of a four-week campaign that will end on July 26.
The real estate agent has reported there has already been multiple private schools interested since the campaign began last week.
Colmont School went into administration in July last year, leaving a large trail of money owed to staff, parents and local companies, and forcing families to find immediate enrolment for their children.
Since the school closed, the grounds and facilities of the former Kilmore International School have remained as they were – albeit noticeably overgrown.
Savills agent Tanya Su said the company was approached to list the land for sale by the property’s current owners – a Chinese company that bought Ray Wittmer’s stake in the school in May 2019.
“The land with the current facilities helps because of how construction costs have increased in the past few years,” she said.
“The existing facilities are definitely value added to the land and the former local school is quite famous. It’s a really good contribution to the local area that brings people here so we would like to see another school running.”
The land of the former Colmont School has been listed for sale by expression of interest by Savills Melbourne as part of a four-week campaign.
The former Colmont School’s five-hectare premises feature multiple classrooms including fully-fitted science labs, music, drama and art buildings, as well as a library, commercial kitchen and dining room.
Also on site is a standalone primary school building and a year 11-12 International Baccalaureate centre that was completed in 2011, along with two sporting fields, two tennis courts, a multipurpose basketball court and an area earmarked for an indoor stadium.
Savills is promoting ownership of the property as ‘a rare chance to revive the former school in a strong regional township benefitting from Melbourne’s expanding northern growth corridor’.
“Ideally we want to just keep the value of the buildings and the land,” Ms Su said.
“We’re definitely looking for another school to purchase the land, but we’re in the early stage of our campaign so we will see how it goes.”
Another option touted is that the State Government buy the school site to establish a public secondary school for Kilmore.
Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland said any option that would get the community closer to a public secondary school in Kilmore should be explored.
“Kilmore has seen significant growth over the past decade – something which will only accelerate in the years to come. We need to ensure this growth is supported with education options for locals,” she said.
“Nearby schools are bursting at the seams and the only other local option is Assumption College. While Assumption is a fantastic school there is no way every family can afford to send their kids there.
“The region needs another public option, and it needs to be located in Kilmore.”
Mitchell Shire Councillor Bill Chisholm has asked council staff to prepare a report to help community groups across the shire with solar assistance and battery backups.
The notice of motion, tabled at council’s June meeting, requests council officers prepare a report outlining the support currently available to community groups and organisations across the shire, to implement energy cost savings and environment sustainability initiatives.
Cr Chisholm also requested information on opportunities for council to advocate to the State Government to make subsidy schemes available to community groups.
He said energy costs and assistance were critical to the community, and a lot of volunteer-run organisations across Mitchell Shire.
“Currently it’s my understanding that a lot of community groups can’t directly apply for solar assistance and battery backup, and many or most of these community groups are based on volunteers,” he said.
“Post-COVID, it’s very difficult for a lot of these community groups and volunteers to manage.
“Volunteers are very scarce on the ground and the less stress we can put on them with assistance with costs involved in the running of these organisations the better.
“Hopefully we can encourage the State Government to make these grants available to these community groups.”
Cr Rob Eldridge seconded the motion, and said council have initiatives, both current and in the future, that could assist community groups to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and save money.
He said several initiatives to further support community groups would also be incorporated in the Mitchell Shire Climate Emergency Action Plan, which is currently under development.
“I think where this motion is slightly different is it’s putting emphasis on the volunteers and there’s probably a bit of a blackhole there,” he said.
“I think whenever we can empower the community to step forward and help them to do that, I think it’s a great outcome.”
Council voted unanimously in favour of the motion.
The Upper Plenty Merri Catchments Landcare Group is hosting a National Tree Day later this month, aimed at revegetating the area with the help of the community of Upper Plenty and surrounds.
Revegetation of farming property is important to provide habitat for wildlife and to improve the aesthetics of the area, while replanting also helps to improve the diversity of native vegetation.
The event will be at 5 Cleves Road South, Upper Plenty, from 10am to 12pm on July 29, with morning tea and refreshments provided.
Landcare will provide tools and equipment for planting including watering cans, however volunteers are asked to bring their own gloves and hammers.
Volunteers are required to RSVP by July 26. To register, contact Chris Cobern on 0413 855 490 or email chriscobern@mcmc.org.au.
Mitchell Shire residents Roslyn Stewart and Suresh Jain were recipients of this year’s Victorian Rural Health Awards, celebrating outstanding health professionals across rural Victoria.
The awards – acknowledging significant contributions of individuals and teams making a difference – were held virtually online last month, with 11 categories announced.
Broadford’s Roslyn Stewart was presented with the Outstanding Contribution By A Rural Health Consumer Advocate Award – an award dedicated to a consumer, carer or community member who has contributed to healthcare through their own lived experience.
Dealing with her own mental health battles for 40 years, Ms Stewart has been a volunteer consumer/lived experience representative on the Goulburn Mental Health and Wellbeing Committee for the past three years and was recently appointed to represent the Hume region for the Royal Commission’s Mental Interim Regional Body.
Her dedication to shaping better mental health services began when she relocated to Broadford 17 years ago to care for her ill mother. Ms Stewart joined the Suicide Prevention Network to improve the services she saw only exist in Melbourne to help her eating disorder.
“When I came up here to work, I realised that people didn’t have the support I had in Melbourne, there just wasn’t anything and I felt I’ve been supported so I needed to give back,” Ms Stewart said.
After developing an eating disorder at 18-years-old, with several hospitalised visits as she worked as a pharmacist in Melbourne, Ms Stewart felt she was in a good position to assist care and has provided Mental Health First Aid Training to her community over the years.
“I’m real, when I wrote the chapter for the book last year [for the Mitchell Shire Suicide Prevention Network] I wrote it because I was on my journey with anorexia. I thought even if I helped one person, it’d be worth it,” she said.
“I hope that my honesty and my willingness to listen, and explaining what each person has to say is worth something and worthwhile and will bring about change.”
Broadford’s Roslyn Stewart was presented with the Outstanding Contribution By A Rural Health Consumer Advocate Award.
Kilmore general practitioner Suresh Jain said he was ‘humbled’ to receive the Outstanding Contribution By A Rural GP or Rural Generalist Award for his work at Kilmore Medical Centre.
“I consider this to be a recognition of rural generalist as a specialty, I thank my colleagues for nominating and supporting me during my stay in Kilmore, also for their work in this district,” he said.
The medical field was not his first preference when finishing high school, but he followed his parents’ advice and graduated from Gandi Medical College in India in 1966.
Migrating to Australia in 1970 for an adventure, Dr Jain landed his first medical job at Royal Hobart Hospital and shortly after moved to Ballarat. However his career took a back seat as he focused on recovering from a serious car accident in Melbourne.
After recovery Dr Jain began his rural career in Hopetoun and settled in Kilmore in 1974 where he bought a practice, working as the only doctor in Kilmore, Broadford and Wallan for a few years, and at the Kilmore District Hospital, managing accidents and emergencies.
While a few clinics began opening in Wallan, in 2000, Dr Jain and a group of doctors built the Kilmore Medical Centre, which later sold to new owners.
Dr Jain said Kilmore presented opportunities in emergency, surgery, medical and birth deliveries, as well as providing him with community engagement through being an active member of Rotary Club of Southern Mitchell.
“I have been very fortunate to enjoy the support and trust of the local community, friends and colleagues and also very well supported by my wife Jeannette and whole family,” he said.
“I have grown up with the rest of the community in Kilmore and I feel that I have improved a lot and kept up with continuing education, thus upgrading my skills and knowledge constantly.”
Coming off the bye, Wallan Panthers men’s team experienced mixed results in a Big V division two double-header against Mildura Heat and Sherbrooke Suns at the weekend.
In a quick turnaround, Wallan first played the Heat at home on Saturday night, winning 77 to 52.
Wallan’s Tyler Best and Arcaim Lallemand both hit double-doubles with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 11 points, 11 rebounds respectively.
The Panthers started strong with a layup from Tom O’Connor and back-to-back three pointers from the Best brothers, with the side maintaining momentum to end the quarter up 24 to 19.
Taking advantage of Mildura’s missed shots, the Panthers finished off a strong first half, ahead 49 to 34 at half time.
Arcaim Lallemand was important in his side’s 25-point win at ‘The Jungle’ on Saturday night.
A slow start to the third quarter saw both teams unable to score until Wallan’s Dominic Bruno hit a jump shot.
Wallan’s defensive pressure was strong in the third quarter and it went into the fourth quarter with a 20-point lead.
The Panthers comfortably led for the rest of the game winning by 25 points.
However on Sunday, Wallan couldn’t back up its efforts and lost a home game to Sherbrooke 69 to 87.
There was some movement in Wallan’s starting five with Leigh Dean in the line-up instead of Jake Best from the night before.
Tom O’Connor had a double-double hitting 19 points with 13 rebounds and the consistent Lallemand scored 17 points and nine rebounds.
Sherbrooke won the jumpball, finishing with a quick layup to open the game.
Jayden O’Brien.Tom O’Connor.
Wallan’s Bruno responded with a three-pointer of his own, followed by a steal and O’Connor making a two-pointer putting Wallan in front.
The lead continued to shift in a competitive opening quarter but with Wallan struggling to score, Sherbrooke took the advantage leading 25 to 16 at the first break.
Lellemand started strong in the second quarter, scoring Wallan’s opening six points as the side continued to chase the Suns.
Unable to close the gap, the Panthers headed into halftime trailing 34 to 43.
It remained Sherbrooke’s game in the third quarter with strong boards and finishes leaving the Panthers trailing by 20 points heading into the final quarter.
The Suns’ Nick Tarrant was able to draw some fouls from the Panthers, hitting key foul shots to keep Sherbrooke comfortably ahead.
Wallan’s Lincoln Stewart got on a seven-point run bringing the game to within 13 points, but the Panthers couldn’t get ahead going down 69 to 87.
Wallan face Maccabi at home this Saturday.
Women
Wallan Panthers women went down 71 to 73 against Blackburn Vikings at home on Saturday.
Kylah Collins had another impressive game with 28 points, 16 rebounds and eight steals.
The Vikings kicked off the game with a three-point play after a turnover from Wallan’s Melissa Buckley and foul from Olivia Woods. The two sides remained within one point of each other until a three-pointer from the Vikings gave them some breathing room.
Wallan continued applying scoreboard pressure but couldn’t regain the lead, down 12 to 15 at the first break.
In the second quarter the Panthers clawed their way back to within one point, but the Vikings were soon on another scoring run, bringing the game back out to 13 points.
Wallan had scoring attempts but struggled to finish with one of the final plays of the game, resulting in four missed shots, four rebounds and one turnover.
Wallan’s Sarah Scott got a steal with 37 seconds remaining but a missed layup saw Blackburn rebound and finish with a halftime lead of 38 to 25.
In the third quarter the Panthers brought the game back to within seven points and the Vikings struggled offensively.
A three-pointer off from defensive rebound brought the Panthers back to within four points, but another scoring run by Blackburn helped them keep the lead, 53 to 48.
An impressive offensive effort by Colins in the final minutes of the fourth quarter brought the Panthers to within five points. Dalmau hit a three-pointer off an offensive rebound in the final five seconds of the game but it was not quite enough with the Panthers going down by two points.
