IT has been a busy week for the region’s firefighters, with local brigades responding to several callouts across Mitchell Shire and beyond.
Firefighters were on high alert yesterday, with a total fire ban declared in the North Central fire district, which includes Mitchell Shire.
CFA crews responded to two car fires – one in the early hours of Sunday, January 17 at Dockerys Road, Tallarook, and another in Pyalong near the intersection of the Northern Highway and Lancefield-Pyalong Road at the weekend.
Pyalong resident David Waye said the car fire on Saturday night could have been much worse if not for the swift response of firefighters.
“Fortunately, the car was sitting on a mown verge, near houses, so the response by local emergency services was swift. Only the car and a small area of grass on the verge were burnt, with no damage to local properties,” he said.
“If this had happened on one of the many backroads in the district, most of which have roadsides of high fuel loading, then the outcome could have been catastrophic.”
A grass fire at Hilldene on January 17 was quickly brought under control.
Mr Waye said residents were especially nervous about fires because of neglected roadside vegetation, which caused a fire hazard, as reported in last week’s Review.
In addition to the two car fires, several Mitchell Shire CFA brigades attended a grass fire at Graytown, near Heathcote, on Tuesday last week. A total of 20 CFA vehicles attended the blaze, which destroyed two sheds and burnt more than 200 hectares of land.
A smaller grass fire on January 17 was quickly brought under control at Hilldene, with Tallarook Fire Brigade members assisting Hilldene firefighters and other brigades to limit its spread.
KILMORE physiotherapist Marg Perrott has won recognition for her cutting-edge research on sports injuries.
Dr Perrott graduated with a PhD from LaTrobe University at the end of last year and was awarded the prestigious Nancy Millis Medal.
The medal is awarded to the authors of outstanding doctoral theses, indicating Dr Perrott’s thesis was in the top five per cent of research work.
Dr Perrott’s work investigated the link between core stability and sports injuries, and how to improve core stability to prevent injuries.
She said she had always been interested in research, but chose her specific area of focus because of an injury her friend experienced.
“I used to be a sprinter and one of my friends tore their hamstring at the World Masters Athletic Championships,” she said.
“It was just tragic for my friend. He could have won a medal at those championships, but he did his hamstring in the heats of the 100 metres.
“He sat there for another 10 days with a look of shock and loss on his face. For anyone who plays sport, there’s so many things that can stop you from achieving, but it’s so sad when injury is one of them.
“I felt that I should have been able to predict that that was going to happen. We had some signs that there were some issues that maybe we could have changed.
“He had really poor core stability, so one of the things my PhD looked at was can we change your core stability? We did a typical program that a physio or someone at the gym would get you doing and it would have increased people’s strength, but of all the other things we measured, it wouldn’t have changed stability at all.
“Then you have to say, ‘as a physio, if I’m going to give someone an exercise program, I need to make sure that it’s going to change some things other than just changing their strength’.”
Dr Perrott said it was a thrill to work with some of the leading sports scientists in the country.
“Research is getting to do something that nobody else has ever done, because to get a research project approved it has to be new work,” she said.
“It’s asking questions that people might be asking, but nobody has gone out to scientifically get the answers for.
“Being able to be at the cutting edge of research and the questions in sports injuries, I think that’s the exciting thing. And you get to mix with all these smart people who are all doing really good research.
“You can be in the right place at the right time and hear something that’s really ground-breaking and think, ‘this isn’t going to be published for another couple of years but I get to hear it now’. It’s super exciting.”
Dr Perrott, who works at Kilmore Physiotherapy Centre, said she wanted to continue researching on a part-time basis while continuing her clinical work.
She had been due to present at the International Olympic Committee World Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport last year before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the conference’s cancellation.
She said she hoped to attend the rescheduled conference in Monaco at the end of this year to present her research.
WHITTLESEA man John Leaford was honoured for a remarkable five decades of dedication to the local community with the presentation of a special Lions International service medal this month.
Mr Leaford has been a member of Whittlesea Lions Club for 50 years and, alongside his wife Leila, has been tirelessly involved in a range of voluntary roles in the township.
He is a life member of Lions and has been involved with Whittlesea Masonic Lodge, Whittlesea Agricultural Society and Whittlesea and Northern District Art Show.
As a carpenter he has created Santa decorations for the township at Christmas time and was involved in the town’s recovery from the Black Saturday bushfires.
Mr Leaford was presented with his 50 years of service medallion in a ceremony attended by a Lions International director Tony Benbow, Federal Member for McEwen and Lions member Rob Mitchell and Whittlesea Lions Club president Dave Cordell, along with family and other Lions members.
Mr Leaford said it was an honour to have served his community for as long as he had.
“Once I joined, I just kept going and that’s all there is to it,” he said.
“I enjoy the friends you make through Lions. I’ve travelled the world through Lions; it’s the largest service organisation in the world, with 1.4 million members.”
John Leaford, left, with wife Leila is congratulated by Federal Member for McEwan Rob Mitchell for 50 years of service to the Whittlesea Lions Club.
Mr Leaford said his philosophy was simple: get involved in as much as possible.
“Getting involved in projects gets you all fired up,” he said.
“When we came to Whittlesea in 1970, we knew one person, and then we got involved in the school and our kids joined Cubs and Scouts and Guides and Brownies.
“I got myself involved with the Whittlesea Show, and you just put your hand up all the time. It’s a bit hard sometimes because people expect you to do this or that, but you get involved.”
Mr Mitchell paid tribute to Mr Leaford with a speech in Federal Parliament earlier this month.
“John is someone who epitomises the Lions code of ethics and the purpose of statement that we Lions stand by,” Mr Mitchell said.
“John is a well-respected local builder renowned for building family homes and for developing lifelong friendships with his customers. John is generous in providing his time to those in need directly through his involvement in many community groups he’s been part of.
“He’s also a key contributor to the committee that was successful in building the Whittlesea technical school, now known as Whittlesea College. He also received a City of Whittlesea senior citizens award in 2013, and a runner-up at the HIA awards in 1995.
“He and his lovely wife Leila have been instrumental in leading community engagement and fundraising for many community events, emergency response and recovery activities, and the building of community infrastructure for our community of Whittlesea, particularly after the Black Saturday fires.”
Mr Cordell described Mr Leaford as ‘a champion guy’ who deserved all the accolades he received.
“He holds three different major awards with Lions: he’s a life member; a Melvin Jones Award recipient, named after the gentleman who started Lions in America and one of the highest awards you can get in Lions; and he’s got a James B Richardson award, which we presented him with the other day. That’s one of the biggest awards you can win in Australia,” Mr Cordell said.
“It’s quite big for him to have won all of those awards. It’s well deserved for all the work that he’s done over the years.
“He’s got his finger in every pie. He’s a very community-minded person, and it’d be great if we had a lot more people who jumped in and supported their town like John.”
LAURIMAR residents have won a battle to keep trees on their properties after the City of Whittlesea partially reversed a decision to remove about 140 trees from several streets in the estate.
About 140 trees on Woodstock Drive, Sparrowhawk Road, Harlin Street, Geebung Place and Sheoak Street had been slated for removal between February and March.
A letter from council to residents said the existing tree species in the area, combined with soil type and condition and extended drought periods had resulted in damage to some properties and had the potential to cause more damage if the trees were not removed.
But some residents disputed council’s claims, with Geebung Place property owner Paul Adams saying too many trees would be removed.
Mr Adams said some parts of Sparrowhawk Road, Sheoak Street and Woodstock Drive had been built on a floodplain, making the soil unstable and allowing trees to undermine building foundations, but that the northern end of Geebung Place and Harlin Street were above the floodplain and therefore not affected.
After several other residents raised their concerns about the removal of the trees, Mr Adams said council agreed to retain many of them.
“All the trees in Harlan Street and the northern end of Geebung Place, where I live, are now staying, as well as two trees that they relented on Woodstock Drive,” he said.
“My neighbour had a chat to someone from the council and said that they had another look at the geotechnical report and it was a bit different here compared to the other streets.
“I rang the council back and we had a good chat. He said it’s not often you get residents who are keen on keeping trees – it’s normally the other way around.”
Mr Adams said it was a good result for residents as the area’s trees were home to native wildlife.
“We’d found a newsletter that council put out about them trying to increase the tree canopy to 20 per cent in all these other suburbs. I think every other one was mentioned except ours,” he said.
“The trees provide shade and store carbon, so removing more trees necessary didn’t make any sense.
“I think the people who manage the trees really wanted to enhance the environmental aspects, but I think it’s the bean counters who are afraid of what might happen in the future if they don’t try to at least do something.
“But it’s a good result in the end. The trees that we objected to being removed are now going to stay.” The Whittlesea Review contacted council for comment but did not receive a response before yesterday’s print deadline.
LOCAL politicians are hoping to find a way for former Mernda Primary School chaplain and Whittlesea Community Support Network organiser Chantelle Olafsen to continue supporting City of Whittlesea residents.
Ms Olafsen had used her role as a chaplain to spearhead the online support network, which has linked local residents with charities and other social services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In December Ms Olafsen found out the government would no longer support her position at Mernda Primary School, leaving her role within the support network in doubt.
Without an income and the backing of the primary school, which allowed and encouraged her to operate the support network, Ms Olafsen said she would be unable to coordinate support services.
Federal Member for McEwen Rob Mitchell said he had looked into how school chaplain positions were funded in order to see if there was a way for Mernda Primary School to retain Ms Olafsen.
“All Victorian schools were eligible to apply in 2020 to receive funding in the 2021 and 2022 school years under the National School Chaplaincy Program,” he said.
“The process was based on published criteria that were used to assess applications.
“I’ve been advised the application round was very competitive and, unfortunately, not all schools could be funded.
“The Department of Education received almost 900 submissions for funding and, with only limited funding available, it was not possible to accommodate every request.”
Mr Mitchell said there were still avenues for Mernda Primary School to retain Ms Olafsen.
“Schools that did not receive funding through the program can continue to engage a chaplain through school funds or a community partnership,” he said.
“I’ve also been advised that the school can discuss funding a chaplain and wellbeing supports directly with their senior education improvement leader, and I’d encourage them to do that.
“In the meantime, we’ve made sure that our local state MP, Danielle Green is aware and we know that she will do everything she can to help.”
MACEDON Ranges Shire Council recognised its 2021 Australia Day award winners including Citizen of the Year Award winner Amanda Gauci and Arts Ambassador Award winner Bernadette Joiner.
Recipients were presented with their awards at a ceremony at Kyneton Town Hall on Tuesday morning.
Ms Gauci, who moved to Gisborne in 1983, immediately involved herself in local environment groups, including taking on the president’s role of both Friends of Gisborne Botanic Gardens and Friends of Daly Nature Reserve.
She also continued her love of native flora by assisting the 1st Gisborne Scouts in creating a native garden to enhance the scout hall.
Ms Gauci also helped lead nature walks for Gisborne Primary School, and as a registered wildlife carer, she cared for weak and injured wildlife.
“I’m very excited about [being awarded Citizen of the Year], and I look forward to the many opportunities it will present to me and community groups in the area,” she said.
“I think it’s established a well-needed awareness in community groups and we’re building the resilience in the Macedon Ranges and taking care of wildlife.
“It’s about persistence and being truthful, whether you like the truth or not – what are you going to do about it? Everyone has a gift they can contribute, it’s about realising that gift and not being afraid to come forward.”
Arts Ambassador winner Ms Joiner is known for having a passion for creativity and using her love for a variety of arts to develop a connection with old and young members of the community.
Ms Joiner, along with her husband and sister-in-law, bought Dromkeen, Riddells Creek, where she operates several workshops and classes, invites special guests to host shows, and builds relationships with the community around her.
In addition to connecting accomplished writers and illustrators with visitors, Ms Joiner enjoys talking to visitors about the history of Dromkeen and the literary treasures that have found their way to the property in recent years.
She also assists with learning opportunities in a range of creative pursuits, including blacksmithing and weaving.
Dromkeen’s main art gallery is a space for exhibitions, where many Macedon artists have had their work showcased.
Ms Joiner said her award meant she had a ‘wonderful opportunity’ to promote the arts and the impact they had on people of all ages.
“The young and old are welcome. This is really what I live for and it’s the thing that motivates me, along with the love of my family and dear friends,” she said.
“For me, I know in the past when I was younger, the opportunity to participate in arts was limited and based on the socioeconomic group you belonged to.
“But what I can do here is provide experiences for everybody, and it doesn’t matter how much money you have.
“Arts shape culture, and of course arts record history over decades. It helps to impact people’s lives.”
Ms Joiner said she always remembered one story that moved her and demonstrated the impact of arts.
“One day we had this mural painting outside in the garden. The air was still, and we were out underneath some pine trees,” she said.
“This little girl came over to me, and I said, ‘how are you?’ and she whispered, ‘my mum’s very sick’. It really moved me.
“Here we had given her an opportunity to leave that at home and be in a beautiful creative space, and it was a reminder how important creativity is to [children’s] wellbeing.”
Ms Joiner said Dromkeen had several events coming up in 2021 and people could visit dromkeen.com.au to find out more.
Young Citizen of the Year was awarded to Miranda Johnson-Jones, who has worked as a youth advocate targeting improved services for regional mental health, and developed a campaign addressing sexual assault.
The Community Event Award went to Summer Living in Woodend, operated by Woodend residents working in emergency management roles and volunteer groups who came together to focus on what living in Woodend in summer meant for the community.
Kyneton Agricultural Society took out the Community Achievement Award, after members past and present ensured the tradition of an agricultural show operated each year, gathering community groups, farmers, makers, and entertainers to bring the show to life.
WALLAN man Adam Georgelin is Mitchell Shire’s Access and Inclusion Champion for his tireless work to raise money and awareness for people with disabilities.
Mr Georgelin, who was born with spina bifida, completed a herculean 150-kilometre journey of the Great Victorian Rail Trail entirely by wheelchair to raise money for Disability Sports and Recreation and the Robert Rose Foundation in late 2019.
Both organisations play a large role in the Victorian Wheelchair Football League, in which Mr Georgelin competes as a member of the Richmond Football Club.
On the back of his wheelchair push, Mr Georgelin decided he wanted to do more to help people with disabilities across the Mitchell Shire region.
He is now attempting to create a website linking people with disabilities and their carers to support services and each other.
“What I’m looking to do is link people with disabilities to services and appliances, so that basically anybody in the community can come to the website and find anything to do with disability, from assistance in the home through to jobs,” he said.
“I’ve got a mate who runs a recruitment agency that specialises in finding jobs for people with disabilities. That will be on the website as well.
“I’m also looking to have a Facebook-style group where people with disabilities and like-minded people can come together and talk about life in general. It would be a safe place where people with disabilities could talk about things that are going on in their life.
“People in wheelchairs tend to have a lot of stuff like urinary tract infections and pressure sores.
“People in general can be a bit embarrassed when you start talking about UTIs or pressure sores, so it’s a place where people can feel comfortable chatting about the personal stuff that goes along with having a disability.”
He said he also planned to continue fundraising and spreading awareness for people with disabilities.
“I’m hoping to align with other disability organisations the way I did with the wheelchair push and raise money with other fundraising exercises, whether it’s another wheelchair push or doing a stationary bike cycle for 24 hours and seeing how many kilometres I can do,” he said.
“I’d like to thank the Richmond footy club for giving me the opportunity to play for them and share my experiences of having a disability with the community. None of this would have happened without them.
“I’d also like to thank my family and a really big thank you to my wife, who has been a rock through the whole thing. She has given me ideas and when I felt low moments during the wheelchair push, she was on the bike right beside me encouraging me to keep going.”
BROADFORD Historical Society has won back-to-back Community Event of the Year awards for its display on the history of Broadford State School on Australia Day last year.
The display collated photographs and other historical documents from the school’s history, with 102-year-old former student Jill Schneider supplying her old school pictures.
The society also opened up the Courier office, Old Broadford Jail, pioneer cottage, outdoor pavilion and APM Mill digester were also opened for the day.
Group president Rod McKenzie said the state school display had built on the success of a display about the Broadford Paper Mill the previous year.
“It’s a big thrill [to win Community Event of the Year] after winning it last year. It’s terrific to win it for the second year in a row,” he said.
“The past few years we thought we’d have a theme for our displays. We’ve had local sporting teams, the paper mill and we thought we should do one on the school because there would be a lot of photographs and other material around.”
Mr McKenzie said many former teachers and students from the school attended.
“With a lot of the [photographs] from the past 40 or 50 years, people spent a lot of time reminiscing and looking at them, talking about how people had changed and what things were like back then,” he said.
“It’s a way of encouraging people who haven’t been back to the town in quite a while to come back and reconnect with friends.
“The whole thing is about starting conversations and building connections, and it worked very well on that basis. People seemed to enjoy it, and then they went and had a look through our other buildings.”
Mr McKenzie said the group’s ability to prepare for today’s Australia Day exhibition had been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We had hoped to do a presentation on the Courier office because it’s the 130th anniversary, but because it still needs some work done on it, we thought we would go for Broadford then and now,” he said.
“We’ve got some photos and accounts from the past and what it looks like now. We’ve got some photos of the same place sometimes separated by 120 years, so it’s interesting to show that.
“We’re hoping we can still honour the history of the paper and its connection to local families in October when it’s history week, or on Australia Day next year.”
WALLAN Circle of Friendship is Mitchell Shire’s Community Group of the Year for 2020.
For nearly 40 years, the group has organised fundraising activities and helped connect women in the Wallan area.
Circle members meet for two hours each Monday at Wallan Uniting Church, and coordinator Lorraine Alcock said it provided a valuable social outlet for isolated members of the community.
“At the moment we have 24 members. Some are from Kilmore, Craigeburn, Beveridge, Wandong and Upper Plenty,” she said.
“A lot of our members are widows or ladies who live on their own. It started in people’s homes as a craft group in the 1980s, and then later on it moved into the church.
“I think the friendship is fantastic. We used to do plenty of craftwork and sewing, but most of our members now are really happy just to have a social outing and be together.”
The group does much more than social outings. Through fundraisers and events such as morning teas, trivia days, and Easter raffles, the group raises money for groups such as Kilmore’s Dianella Hostel and Caladenia Nursing Home.
Last year the group raised more than $600 for Dianella, which the hostel used to purchase a tablet. Wallan Circle of Friendship members also donated a Christmas hamper to be raffled.
“We have a wonderful lady, Marge, who has been with the circle for many years. She knits little teddies for children who come into the hospital at Kilmore and she has had many thank yous from the hospital for that,” Ms Alcock said.
The COVID-19 pandemic had been a testing time for the group, but the bonds of friendship between the members kept them close.
“Through the lockdown one night when I couldn’t sleep, I thought, ‘I’ll do a newsletter just to keep in touch with them’,” Ms Alcock said.
“My husband is good on the computer so we put together newsletters and then put them in envelopes and delivered them all.
“We would do it up with some jokes and other things like plans for what we could do when we get out of lockdown. We had photos from previous years and it gave everybody something to read while we were in lockdown.
“We were in touch by phone, and we tried to keep in touch with everybody and make sure people were well and check if they needed food or anything dropped off or a ride to the doctors.”
Ms Alcock said the group was touched to have been nominated for the Community Group of the Year award by former Uniting Church minister Peter Weeks.
“We’re very happy. I didn’t know we were nominated until we got the call that we’d won,” she said.
MITCHELL Shire Council marked Australia Day with the presentation of community awards at a ceremony in Wallan this morning.
Wandong man John Simpson was named Mitchell Shire Citizen of the Year for his tireless work as member of both the Victoria State Emergency Service and Country Fire Authority.
Mr Simpson said he was surprised and humbled to win the award.
“It was something that never entered my mind,” he said.
“It well and truly caught me off guard. It was something that I never had considered, and I certainly never expected anyone to nominate me for an award like this.”
In addition to his work with the SES and CFA, Mr Simpson has been a teacher and Cub Scout leader in the Mitchell Shire.
Seymour’s Hayley Edmonds was named Young Citizen of the Year for a display of resilience during the past year.
Hayley was cited for being ‘a natural leader’ and offered informal mentoring to her peers, who looked up to her during a disrupted year.
Wallan man Adam Georgelin was the shire’s Access and Inclusion Champion after a year in which he raised money and awareness for people with disabilities.
Mr Georgelin, who was born with spina bifita, pushed his wheelchair along the entire length of the Great Victorian Rail Trail to raise money for Disability Sports and Recreation and the Robert Rose Foundation.
He is now in the process of setting up a website aiming to link people with disabilities and their carers with support services in the area.
Broadford Historical Society picked up the Community Event of the Year award for its display on the history of Broadford State School in January last year.
The event saw the oldest living Broadford State School student Jill Schneider, 102, send her school photos to be displayed, while many former teachers and students attended.
A booklet chronicled a timeline of major events at from 1873 to end of school year in 2019.
Community Group of the Year went to Wallan Circle of Friendship, a social group that has been operating in the town for nearly 40 years.
The group organises fundraisers and events for members, many of whom are elderly and meet at the Uniting Church for a chat and social connection. During the COVID-19 pandemic, group members stayed in touch via a newsletter.
Wandong’s John Simpson shows his colours as a member of both the CFA and SES. Mr Simpson was today recognised as Mitchell Shire’s Citizen of the Year.
Citizen of the Year a true volunteer
WANDONG’S John Simpson has played many roles during a lifetime of service to the community.
He is a member of both the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Victoria State Emergency Service (SES), has been a teacher, a Cub Scout leader and even a driving instructor.
Now Mr Simpson has a new title to add to the list: Mitchell Shire’s Citizen of the Year.
Mr Simpson was today presented with the award at a ceremony in Wallan, recognising his selfless dedication to the people of the region.
He has been a CFA member for nearly 40 years, joining the organisation shortly after moving to the region. He became an SES volunteer a year later.
Mr Simpson is now Kilmore SES unit controller and a member of Wandong Fire Brigade.
He said he enjoyed being able to help people through his roles at both organisations.
“I think [what I enjoy most is] the satisfaction of being able to give to people in the area and in the community, whether it be through the fire brigade or the SES,” he said.
“I suppose there is a personal satisfaction that I can help people in different ways.”
Mr Simpson also has a passion for mentoring younger people, serving as a leader of the 1st Wallan Wallan Cub Scouts for six years and a driving instructor for a year.
As a teacher at Seymour College, he combined his dedication to the SES with his love of teaching.
“Through the SES I got involved with a program called the Victorian Youth Development Program, which started back in the 1990s,” he said.
“The kids got a huge amount out of it and it brought a lot of them out of their shell.”
Mr Simpson said a few memories from the program stood out.
“We were doing some abseiling near Tallarook. Thirteen times one boy harnessed up and went to the edge and leaned over and said, ‘no, I can’t do it’. There were 25 kids in the group, and none of them hung it on him or laughed at him – they all encouraged him.
“Thirteen times he wouldn’t go down, and on the 14th time he went down and then ran like crazy to get up so he could go back down again.”
Other memorable moments included demonstrating a rooftop rescue during a visit by Prince Edward to Melbourne and having his group represent Victoria at a combined CFA and SES competition in Western Australia.
Mr Simpson has also seen his share of hard times across the region.
As a member of Wandong Fire Brigade, he was one of the first CFA members in the region to respond to the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009.
“On Black Saturday I think we were about the fourth or fifth tanker to get on scene,” he said.
“Just the sheer ferocity and speed of it was probably the thing I remember the most. The speed it was travelling at, the heat and the wind.”
Responding to storms, flooding and car crashes are also a regular part of Mr Simpson’s SES duties, but he said he never dwelt on the negative aspects of the job.
“With things like car crashes, you don’t talk about them so much,” he said.
“But if you’re able to help someone or save them, that’s a really good feeling.”
Despite his outstanding track record of community service, Mr Simpson said he was shocked to find out he was nominated for Mitchell Shire’s Citizen of the Year award, and even more shocked to win it.
Mr Simpson said he was grateful for the award and thanked his family, friends and the community for the honour.
“I’d like to thank my wife for putting up with everything,” he said.
“Just the other day my pager went off at about midday and I got back at about 10pm at night after responding to a fire at Graytown,” he said.
“That’s the way it has been and she has accepted that for all these years. I couldn’t have done it without her.”
