Festive recipes to warm up winter: Christmas in July

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June 27, 2023

Festive recipes to warm up winter: Christmas in July

Nothing beats a warm, Australian Christmas with pavlova, prawns and trifle, the air-conditioning at full blast and family gathered in the backyard.

Come July, Victorians are rugged up in scarves and beanies, but many choose to celebrate Christmas in July to enjoy a small taste of the northern hemisphere holiday experience made famous through nostalgic movies and carols.

While the air is frosty, Michael Buble implores people to dream of a Winter Wonderland with sleigh bells ringing and slow glistening while whipping up one of these easy traditional Christmas recipes. Why not enjoy a Christmas in July this year – either create it yourself at home, or dine out for a special occasion.

Christmas Sugar Cookies

Recipe supplied by Australia’s Best Recipes, bestrecipes.com.au

Ingredients:
125 g butter diced softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 egg extra large
2 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 cup fruit mince
80 g macadamias chopped
Icing
1 cup CSR pure icing sugar
25 ml milk

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Place butter and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until pale and creamy. Add egg, mixing until well combined.
Fold in combined flour and spice alternately with the fruit mince until well combined. Remove bowl from machine and fold in chopped nuts with a spoon.
Roll tablespoonfuls of mixture into small balls and flatten slightly onto lined oven trays. Bake for 16 minutes until golden. Transfer to a cooling rack.
For icing, whisk together the icing sugar and milk until smooth. Allow to sit for several minutes to thicken slightly if required. Dip a fork into icing and drizzle over the biscuits. Allow to set before packaging into gift boxes, or storing in an airtight container.

Loaded Christmas Sliders

A perfect solution for a quick lunch or dinner with left-over meats.

Recipe supplied by in rhi’s pantry, inrhispantry.com

Ingredients:
24 slider buns, halved horizontally
1 cup relish or chutney of your choice (cranberry and caramelised onion are good options)
3 cups roughly chopped cold meat (turkey or ham work well for Christmas in July)
2 cups grated edam or cheddar cheese
250g wheel brie, thinly sliced
50g garlic butter, melted
Grated parmesan and chopped chives, to garnish

Method:

Preheat your oven to 200°C, fan bake.
Arrange the slider buns in a baking tray, then set the tops aside.
Evenly spread the relish or chutney across the buns, then scatter over your choice of chopped meat.
Sprinkle the grated cheese over the meat, then lay on the brie slices. Season with salt and pepper, then place the slider bun lids back on top. Cover with foil, and bake for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, remove the foil, then brush the sliders generously with garlic butter. Return to the oven uncovered, and bake for a final 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Whilst still hot, garnish the sliders with freshly grated parmesan and chopped chives, then serve immediately and enjoy!
Tip: Assemble the sliders ahead of time, then cover and store in the fridge until ready to bake!

Hope Street Youth refuge site cleansed in smoking ceremony

Pam Kiriakidis

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June 27, 2023

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Hope Street Youth refuge site cleansed in smoking ceremony

By Pam Kiriakidis

A SMOKING ceremony was performed at the new Hope Street Youth refuge site on Friday ahead of the centre’s upcoming build.

Smoking ceremonies are an anicent custom among Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander people, and accompanies a welcome and cleansing of the area to promote protection of visitors.

Hope Street Youth and Family Services staff, the site’s developers and parliamentarians took part in the smoking ceremony given by Senior Wurundjeri of the Kulin Nation Aunty Joy Wandin Murphy and her son Craig.

Constructed in partnership with the City of Whittlesea, the new youth centre, located at a South Morang site home to a 400-year-old ‘majestic’ red river-gum tree, will accommodate people aged between 16 and 25 needing accomodation within the community.

Hope Street Youth and Family Services chief executive Donna Bennett said the smoking ceremony was a ‘natural’ reception toward the new site, expected to see construction in mid-2024.

“I feel honoured that Aunty Joy and her son have been here to do this … it’s going to create the right comforting and protective atmosphere for when the centre is built and our young people are here,” she said.

“The Aboriginal culture is extremely important, and to be able to connect that so well through the smoking ceremony, not just for here and now but also into the future, and for our young people who will use the centre.”

Aunty Joy Wandin Murphy said the ceremonial tradition was to welcome future site users to enjoy and feel protected in the space.

“We want them to feel that they are welcome here, and when we talk about the gift of the gum leaf, from the tops of the trees to the roots of the earth, that means everything that we have to give in spirit,” she said.

“The spirit of keeping people’s hopes up, you know, enabling them to believe and trust in people and really to know what takes them on their journey in their lives.”

Part of the new site’s investment was provided by the State Government’s Youth Housing Capital Grants program to form a First Response Youth Service in South Morang.

Member for Mill Park Lily D’Ambrosio, who spoke at the smoking ceremony, said she was pleased to connect with Hope Street on the initative.

“We know that youth homelessness is a really big challenge in our local community,” she said.

“Every service, every assistance that we can provide within the community will make a difference to a lot of young people, and it’s about providing that support when they need it.”

‘Finding Freedom’ celebrated during Refugee Week

Lauren Duffy

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June 27, 2023

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‘Finding Freedom’ celebrated during Refugee Week

The City of Whittlesea took part in Refugee Week from June 18 to 24, with this year’s theme being ‘Finding Freedom’.

Council hosted various events to celebrate the City of Whittlesea’s vibrant cultures and diversity brought by residents from overseas, and aimed to foster togetherness and raise awareness about the challenges refugees face.

Refugee Week events honoured and showcased the stories and experiences of the refugee community and people seeking asylum.

City of Whittlesea chair administrator Lydia Wilson said it was important to recognise and appreciate the ways in which people from refugee backgrounds enriched the municipality, and to understand the hardships and hurdles they continue to face.

“The City of Whittlesea promotes respect for the cultural diversity that refugees and migrants bring to our municipality and is proud of the positive contributions made by people who have come to our area from countries far and wide,” she said.

“Refugee Week is a great opportunity for us to unite individuals, communities and organisations from different backgrounds and to focus on creating a welcoming environment for refugees in our community.”

Council is also currently piloting a State Government-funded program helping refugees and people seeking asylum, who live within the City of Whittlesea and the City of Hume, to receive catch-up immunisations.

The program is open to people of all ages and aims to protect them and the broader community from vaccine-preventable diseases.

Catch-up vaccines are free for all refugees and other humanitarian entrants in Australia.

For more information about catch-up immunisations, email the City of Whittlesea’s multilingual project team on refugeeimmunisation@whittlesea.vic.gov.au.

Accreditation awarded to Kilmore health service

Lauren Duffy

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June 27, 2023

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Accreditation awarded to Kilmore health service

KILMORE District Health, KDH, has retained its accreditation from its last assessment in 2020 through the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards, ACHS, National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards program.

KDH interim chief executive Jennifer Gilham said it was important to achieve accreditation as it confirmed how a healthcare organisation provided safety and quality care to patients.

“ACHS accreditation sends a clear message to the community that Kilmore District Health, its management and staff, are committed to excellence in health care with a strong and continuous focus on safety and quality,” she said.

“I would like to commend all staff involved, as well as the consumers for their contribution, not only during the assessment and evaluation process, but also for their support and commitment to quality through continuing dialogue and improvement initiatives.

“By listening to the community’s requirements and expectations of KDH, we have identified and carried out valuable improvements.

“We are aware that both patients and consumers today demand high standards of health care and are pleased that we have been recognised for meeting this expectation.”

Accreditation is used by health care organisations to continuously improve the quality of care they deliver to the community. ACHS is Australia’s leading healthcare accreditation agency.

Organisations must demonstrate during either a three or four-year period how they have improved their services.

Will July’s Myki increase really be fare?

Roads & Transport

Jordyn Grubisic

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June 27, 2023

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Will July’s Myki increase really be fare?

MYKI fares will increase on July 1, 2023, bringing the daily full fare to $10 and $5 for concession holders.

Currently, a daily full fare is $9.20 and $4.60 for concession.

On weekends or public holidays daily fares will be capped at $7.20 and $3.60 for concessions, while currently it is $6.70 for full fare and $3.35 for concession.

Minister for Climate Action Lily D’Ambrosio said the fares will increase in line with the Consumer Price Index, CPI, with the increase already delayed for six months.

“Normally public transport fares are reconsidered or increase in January of every year. We made the decision at the beginning of the year that this would be delayed by many months. We’ve actually furthered savings for commuters through the delay in the increase in that transport fare to July this year,” she said.

During the election the State Government committed to capping regional transport fares to metropolitan fares.

Ms D’Ambrosio said regional fares would increase with metropolitan fares and that the government were ‘absolutely not ingenuous’ when regional fares were promised to be capped at metropolitan prices.

“What our election commitment was is that [regional fares] would be capped at the metropolitan rate. Of course if the metropolitan fares increase in line with CPI, and that is what is happening from July 1, then of course regional fares will be capped at that same level so they continue to be in alignment,” she said.

“To be able to deliver the services Victorians enjoy today there is always a need to understand and consider fares to allow us to deliver a service that Victorians enjoy. The regional fares remain capped at metropolitan fares and into the future Victorians will be travelling on regional transport and that extra money is in their pocket. This isn’t insignificant.”

Ms D’Ambrosio also said metropolitan fares were not increasing to offset costs of the regional fare cap.

She did not confirm if fares would increase again on January 1, 2024 in alignment with usual re-evaluation.

Man arrested over non-fatal shooting

Lauren Duffy

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June 27, 2023

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Mill Park Embona detectives arrested a man and located multiple firearms during warrants in Doreen on June 20.

Police responded to reports of a gunshot that struck a vehicle on Bridge Inn Road in Doreen on May 28.

The male driver and female passenger were not injured during the incident.

Police searched addresses in Doreen on Tuesday, where they allegedly found nine firearms, ammunition and other prohibited weapons including a sword, knuckle dusters and a butterfly knife. All items were seized.

A man, 47, was arrested and has been charged with non-prohibited person possessing firearms, possessing prohibited weapons and possessing ammunition without a licence.

He has been bailed to appear in Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court on November 15.

Trout-mendous school holiday fun: Fishing offered throughout the region

Lauren Duffy

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June 27, 2023

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Trout-mendous school holiday fun: Fishing offered throughout the region

Lakes across the region are offering opportunities for colourful family adventures with thousands of rainbow trout stocked just in time for the school holidays.

Rainbow trout are the ideal catch for budding fishers as they take a variety of widely available baits like worms or PowerBait.

Member for Macedon Mary-Anne Thomas said fish stocked into local lakes would encourage families to make lasting memories in the great outdoors and get kids hooked on a new hobby.

“There’s family fishing lakes throughout our region featuring easy access, regular stockings of catchable-size fish and many are in or not far from town, so the kids can jump on their bikes to try their luck,” she said.

Lakes stocked in the region include Yarrambat Lake in Yarrambat, Hanging Rock Lake in Woodend and Walter J Smith Reserve in Riddells Creek.

Most Family Fishing Lakes feature pontoons or jetties, good access paths and parking for fishers of all abilities as well as other nearby facilities like barbecues and toilets.

In Family Fishing Lakes, a daily bag limit of five trout applies, of which only two trout can exceed 35 centimetres.

More information about bag and size limits, permitted equipment and licensing can be found in the Victorian Recreational Fishing Guide, available free from most bait and tackle shops, online at vfa.vic.gov.au/fishingguide or via the free ‘Vic Fishing’ app on your smartphone.

For the full list of waterways stocked for these holidays, visit www.vfa.vic.gov.au/holidaytrout.

Ray Carroll’s ‘From the Boundary’: June 27, 2023

Ray Carroll

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June 27, 2023

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Cricketers of the century

As the Ashes battle unfolds on those distant fields of glory in England, it is timely to reflect on the summer game at Assumption.

With football, cricket has been played at ACK for 130 years. More than 700 players have played for the First XI across that time.

There have been many fine teams, fine cricketers and an impressive last premiership. The ‘cricketers of the century’ squad was named at Crown Palladium in 2019 this:

Simon O’Donnell, captain, 1980
Peter Ryan, vice captain, 1969
Dave Joss, 1932
Des Purdon, 1942
Nildo Munari, 1957
John Bahen, 1961
Peter Crimmins, 1965
Neale Daniher, 1978
Peter Tossol, 1978
Ray Power, 1982
Jon Henry, 1988
Jason Smith, 1990
Jarryd Travaglia, 1998
Jamie Sheahan, 2008
Tallan Wright, 2010
Cameron Armstrong, 2003,
Keith Savage, 1941
Mauro Rebuffo, 1986
Matt O’Sullivan,1983

Those named include ‘boys’ who went on to play for Australia, Victoria, Queensland, UK County and leagues, premier clubs in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and various country rep XI’s.

Six off the list also played AFL football. Many very fine players missed the cut, including the likes of Francis Bourke, Denis Munari, John Brady – each of them a football star.

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In the 80s and 90s, Assumption welcomed many cricket teams from England, Wales, India, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and New Zealand. They were memorable occasions and quite a few members later represented their national test teams.
One of the visiting college XI’s was from the famous rugby school, pictured, in the town of rugby in UK. The world game of rugby was born there.

Reflections

It was a piece of good fortune in the northern summer of 1970 to meet up with Wilfred Weld at the Hampshire Country Cricket ground.

A lifelong Hants follower – and years later president and patron – he was then doing some broadcasting of the home games.

At the time, Wilfred had his own cricket field with thatched pavilion on the Weld family estate, Lulworth Castle, in neighboring Dorset.

Wilfred and his lovely and gracious wife Sally were the custodians of the 13,000-acre estate, which has belonged to the Weld family for several hundred years.

Visitors are warmly welcomed to the castle and park. The wide-open spaces, historic buildings and stunning landscapes running down to the heritage coast make the precinct one of the most appealing visitor attractions in the south of England.

The chapel of St Mary’s in the grounds has its origins bound up in the history of Roman Catholicism in England.

The Welds have hosted cricketers from around the globe and among the favorites have been Shane Warne and Matthew Hayden.

On each visit to the UK since 1970, I’ve been fortunate to stay a while at the castle and enjoy the generous hospitality of the family.

Also, a number of Assumption College girls in their gap year have had the privilege of working in various areas at Lulworth where each had been superbly treated, particularly by Sally who has looked after them like a mother.

There are five villages across the estate, the market town of Wool, plus the bustling and popular area of Lulworth Cove with its heritage center.

A happy recent memory is of a Harvest Festival Celebration in the parish church of Combe Keynes, one of the villages, in September 2008. Friendly locals and a superb supper highlighted an occasion that has stood the test of time.

Wilfred and Sally have visited Australia several times, most often coinciding in with the England team’s Ashes visits.

They have visited Kilmore and watched cricket at Assumption.

A couple of the Assumption girls who spent time working at Lulworth told me recently how much they loved the experience.

Tara Brida, one of three sisters from Whittlesea who attended the college, has returned several times with her daughters to reunite with the Welds, and could scarcely believe people of such notability could be so kind and gracious. Likewise, Hayley Mogan, a vivacious lass of Irish heritage, absolutely loved her time at the castle.

Now a mum with four young children, living in Kinglake, Hayley introduced me to some of her wonderful relatives in Ireland whose hospitality was deeply appreciated.

Varia

For a long time, year 10 students have done work experience and for a fair number this is the stepping stone to a later career.

I met a young Kilmore lad the other day who is doing his work experience with Kilmore electrician Andrew Wigg. Jie Pisani-Coulson impresses as a fine lad and he is happy to have a good mentor in Andy.

Jie, an ACK student, played junior footy with Kilmore before taking a break. He hopes to start playing again at college next year.

*******

Assumption First XVIII 17.10 (112) easily defeated Camberwell 5.8 (38) at the weekend.

The Blues have two more games after the term break, before heading into the Associated Grammar Schools Victoria, AGSV, finals.

The final four is already decided – ACK, Yarra Valley, Ivanhoe and Marcellin. It is likely to be a close fought finals series.

Former Kilmore East tip site owner’s VCAT loss

Jordyn Grubisic

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June 27, 2023

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Former Kilmore East tip site owner’s VCAT loss

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, VCAT, has refused to order a final hearing between the landowner of the former Kilmore East tip and the Environmental Protection Authority, EPA.

VCAT deputy president Teresa Biscucci presided over a preliminary hearing last month after the landowner Dorro Downs sought to substitute Mitchell Shire Council, former owner of the land, as the recipient of an amended environmental action notice, EAN, issued by the Environment Protection Authority, EPA.

The notice was addressed to the property owner to install an interim control to prevent leachate from discharging from the Wallders Road property into an unnamed nearby creek.

The EPA also ordered the land owner to engage a suitably qualified person to develop a leachate management plan and hydrogeological assessment to minimise the risk to human health and the environment; as well as report compliance updates to the authority.

Leachate is contaminated liquid generated from water percolating through a solid waste disposal site, accumulating contaminants and moving into subsurface areas.

Ms Biscucci said VCAT did not have jurisdiction to make the council the recipient of the notice instead of Dorro Downs.

She said the decision under review was whether the notice was correctly issued to Dorro Downs, not whether it was the right recipient.

“Arguably the tribunal does not embark on its own investigation to determine the correct recipient of a notice. Rather it relies upon the evidence before it to establish the fact,” she said.

“On the material before me at present, it does not follow that the tribunal cannot substitute the name of the recipient in this hearing.”

The property owner also sought three VCAT delcarations to make additional declarations that council be responsible for actions to satisfy the amended EAN and any other requirements under the Environmental Protection Act 2017 (Vic) relevant to the leachate.

“As presently drafted declarations two, three and four are hypothetical, that is, they are contingent on establishing that council caused or permitted the relevant circumstances to occur or is responsible for causing or contributing to the contamination of the land,” Ms Buscucci said.

Because Ms Buscucci found VCAT did not have the jurisdiction to substitute the council as the recipient of the amended EAN, she dismissed the hearing, which resulted in a refusal to order a final hearing of the complaint and struck out the developer’s claim.

Mitchell Shire Council chief executive Brett Luxford said as the matter was before the tribunal it would be ‘inappropriate for council to comment’.

Auto Review: ‘Unrestored project’ tops online auction

Lauren Duffy

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June 26, 2023

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Auto Review: ‘Unrestored project’ tops online auction

A classic 250km/h British grand touring car in ‘project’ condition needing its full restoration completed was the top-selling vehicle in Shannons Timed Online Autumn Auction.

The once-glorious 1967 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage vied for top honours in the 245-lot auction in May, finally selling after 10 bids, for $226,000.

A 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 Coupe – $186,000; a time-warp 2017 Holden HSV GTS-R sedan that had covered just 2,036km since new that sold for $153,000; and a rare 1995 V12-engined Ferrari 456 Coupe that reached $120,000, also topped the list in the week-long national auction.

Other exotic European GT cars to sell well included a left-hand drive DeTomaso Pantera Coupe, $91,000, and a BMW 840Ci coupe for $38,500.

Shannons autumn auction continued to deliver strong results with high bidding participation from the enthusiasts motoring community, realising a clearance rate of 81 per cent and $13.4 million in total sales.

As expected from recent Shannons auctions, the top-selling lots of the sale were heritage black and white numerical number plates, with the early New South Wales-issued ‘31’ attracting a top bid of $1,648,000 to win the ‘state of origin’ war over the Victorian plate ‘52’ that sold for $1,457,000 in the auction’s final hours.

The triple digit VIC plate ‘535’ sold for $500,000; NSW ‘232’ sold for $470,000; NSW ‘421’ went for $311,000; VIC ‘7-799’ sold for $318,000.

Another Victorian plate ‘91.111’ with a strong Porsche flavour sold for $221,000 and the ‘lucky’ plate and VIC ‘13.888’ brought $201,000.

Amongst the motorcycles, the top-seller was a rare restored 1916 Indian Power Plus 990cc selling for $67,000, a 1926 Indian Big Chief 1200cc twin sold for $49,500 ahead of a 1929 Harley-Davidson JD 1200 for $44,000, while the top selling Japanese motorcycle was a Suzuki RG500 sports bike at $28,500.

Quality early American cars were also in demand, with a rare 1928 Cadillac LaSalle V8 Boat Tail roadster bringing an excellent $52,000, while a stately 1937 right-hand drive Packard 120 sedan sold for $48,000.

The only power boat in the auction – a superb circa 1948 Chris Craft 20ft Custom Cruiser – sold for an excellent $80,000.

Commercial vehicles continued their popularity with collectors, with a 1982 Holden WB Kingswood Ute selling for $39,500; a 1974 Holden HQ ‘Sandman Tribute’ Panel Van bringing in $38,000, a very authentic 1971 Holden HG Belmont 186 Ute selling for $22,000, while a ‘HSV-Enhanced’ Holden Commodore VR Wagon brought $23,000.

A Ford F-250 Dual Cab Utility fitted with the optional 7.3 litre diesel powertrain sold well for $63,000, while a restored 1978 Toyota FJ40 Landcruiser 4.2 litre station wagon produced an on-estimate $26,500.

The other Japanese vehicles in the auction to perform strongly were a 2000 Subaru Impreza WRX Sti sedan for $45,000, followed by a 1979 Mazda Series 1 rotary-engined coupe for $37,000.

Collectible classics to post good results included a stylish Volvo P1800S coupe that exceeded expectations, selling for an excellent $84,000 after 40 bids, a restored circa-1957 Volkswagen ‘Oval Window’ Beetle that brought an excellent $23,000; a 1989 Subaru Brumby Ute that sold for $15,000, and a unique 1951 DKW Schnellaster van that made $40,000.