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Hamper drive is on

The North Central Review
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Hamper drive is on

LOVE In Action is running its annual hamper drive again, and has called on the local community for help.

The program began in earnest last Saturday and Sunday, with group members selling raffle tickets at Kilmore Coles for their Christmas stockings.

Love In Action members will be at Kilmore Coles and Broadford IGA this Saturday and Sunday as they look to finish selling raffle tickets, which will be drawn on December 16.

Natalie Smith Jenny Clifford Love In Action

Pleasingly for Love In Action, the charity group has scored major support from Broadford Primary School and Broadford Secondary School students this year.

On Tuesday, a culmination of collecting Christmas food and fundraising saw $660 collected by Broadford Primary School students, which was raised by selling Zooper Doopers at school.

The students used the money raised to collect specific goods for Love In Action to help struggling families, such as Christmas stockings and shortbread.

Year 12 students from Broadford Secondary College organised an out-of-uniform day to help raise funds as part of their curriculum this year, with the funds, as well as food collection, going towards buying Christmas gifts for struggling children.

The support provided to Love In Action from students has helped the Broadford students understand the concept of being able to help out someone less fortunate, and that it doesn’t take much to make a difference to help their friends.

Love In Action is pleased by the support, but is asking the community for continued help.The group asks supporters to buy one or two items of toiletries per week and donate $5 a week to help Love In Action continue to thrive.

Festive fun in Broadford

The North Central Review
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Festive fun in Broadford

WITH Christmas fast approaching, Broadford is gearing up for a Carols in the Carpark.

It is an initiative of the Broadford Christian churches volunteers to bring the community together and tell the Christmas story with carols, have a sausage sizzle and have some fun at this special time of the year.

“We will embrace the true meaning of Christmas with the telling of the Christian story of the birth of Christ through the carols, with a songbook for people to join in,” spokesman Paul Fleming said.

All are welcome at the community event.

Carols in the Carpark is on December 19 at St Matthews Anglican Church grounds in Broadford. A sausage sizzle is at 5.30pm and carols start at 6pm.

Food for needy

The North Central Review
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Food for needy

LOCAL community organisations have received welcome Christmas gifts with a share in a $9 million funding through the State Government’s Community Food Relief Program.

Whittlesea Community House has received $78,000 to expand Whittlesea Township Fresh Food Co-op delivering fresh produce from local farmers to community members. The money will also help it develop cooking classes and to upgrade the community kitchen to provide meals for homeless and other vulnerable groups.

Compassion North Inc gets $45,000 to purchase food supplies and kitchen equipment to enhance food relief operations across the Hume, Mitchell Shire and Whittlesea areas.

In Mitchell Shire, Seymour & District Community House has received $15,000 to run community lunch and cooking classes, Harvest Hub food pantry and provide 100 meals a month to families.

Across Victoria, the program boosts supply for large-scale food relief organisations and supports volunteers. Seven coordination grants will help major providers expand services, while 126 local grants will strengthen grassroots support.

In the Macedon Ranges Shire, Daylesford Neighbourhood Centre will receive $89,000 to establish a commercial kitchen.

Woodend Neighbourhood House gets $22,500 to train volunteers, purchase digital tools and supplies for a new community garden.

The 2025/26 Victorian Budget delivers $18 million to expand food relief across Victoria.

Member for Macedon Mary-Anne Thomas said the grants would deliver much-needed food relief to those who needed it, and provide a helping hand for locals in need, so they could get back on their feet.

“We know our wonderful community organisations have the local knowledge and connections to best understand and respond to local needs, and to provide food relief where it’s needed most.”

Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland said she welcomed any support for neighbourhood houses and the frontline services stepping in for families doing it tough during the cost-of-living crisis.
 “But this latest funding announcement simply does not match the scale of the need. One local neighbourhood house has already confirmed it will be forced to make staff redundant because the funding received was only around a third of what was requested.
“This is happening at the very moment demand is skyrocketing and families are choosing between paying the power bill, covering rent, or putting food on the table.

“Any investment in food relief is welcome, but it must be meaningful. These services are not asking for luxury, they are asking for what they need to make sure no family goes hungry.”

A full list of grant recipients is available at vic.gov.au/community-food-reliefprogram-coordination-grants

Motorists urged to take care

Ruddin Ardzi
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Motorists urged to take care

DRIVERS using rural roads across the region are being urged to take extra care as roadside slashing and weed-spraying programs ramp up ahead of the peak fire-risk period.

Last week, crews were out along Wallan-Whittlesea Road undertaking extensive vegetation management, including the spraying of invasive blackberry and gorse and the slashing of long grass and overgrowth. The works form part of the Victorian Government’s ongoing Roadside Weeds and Pests Program, which provides funding to councils to tackle high-risk weeds and improve safety on rural roadsides.

Motorists travelling through the area may notice reduced visibility on some sections where vegetation has been cut back, as well as roadside machinery operating along shoulders. Drivers are advised to slow down, follow temporary traffic directions, and be prepared for workers and equipment close to the road edge.

Blackberry and gorse remain two of the most aggressive invasive plants impacting local landscapes, degrading farmland, overrunning native vegetation and contributing to higher fire danger. Their treatment is a key focus of current weed-control operations across the Mitchell and Whittlesea municipalities.

Authorities say the roadside works are essential to protecting both the environment and the travelling public.

“These programs reduce fuel loads, stop the spread of noxious weeds, and make our road network safer. We ask motorists to stay alert, especially where crews have been active in recent days,” a spokesperson said.

Residents and drivers are encouraged to report any roadside hazards, including fallen debris or visibility issues following slashing, to their local council or the relevant road authority.

Further weed-control and roadside-maintenance activities are expected to continue throughout the summer period.

Pet of the week

The North Central Review
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Pet of the week

This week’s VIP is Pedders the Cow, owned by Tallarook’s Shaun McCormick!

Pedders has been Shaun’s pet for 12 years, and gives out a daily kiss!

Letters to the editor – December 9, 2025

The North Central Review
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Letters to the editor – December 9, 2025

CFA staffing gaps put our region at risk

As we face what is shaping up to be one of the most dangerous fire seasons in recent memory, a new report has again highlighted the very real pressures facing our Country Fire Authority, including here in our own communities.

The Fire Services Implementation Monitor 2024 to 25 Annual Report reveals ongoing vacancies, fatigue, and a shortage of senior operational staff across the organisation. These warnings are not new.
Our local brigades have been raising alarm bells for years, making it clear the secondment model with Fire Rescue Victoria is failing to deliver the consistent staffing and leadership our volunteers rely on.

When experienced personnel are stretched thin or unavailable, response times are impacted. For regional communities, those delays can be devastating.

Compounding this is the lack of transparency around Forest Fire Management Victoria and its grounded G Wagon fleet. Communities still have no clear answers on why these vehicles remain off the road, what the replacement plan is, or how many CFA brigades have been asked to loan their own appliances to fill the gap.

With fire conditions escalating, the State Government must act on the Monitor’s recommendations and ensure the CFA has the resources, personnel and leadership needed to protect our towns.

Our communities should not be left carrying the consequences of inaction when safety is on the line.

–Annabelle Cleeland,

 Member for Euroa

Wild life treated 

I recently witnessed a baby possum being attacked by a large raven/crow in my backyard.

It had been injured and its life was in clear danger.

I took moves to protect it from further attack but had no idea what to do, thereafter.

Until a colleague advised me that vets were obliged to treat injured native wildlife in Victoria at no cost to the rescuer.

I thank the local veterinary clinic which accepted responsibility for the care of the marsupial.

Which, eventually, will be released back into its natural environment.

–Michael J Gamble

Belmont

Dodging potholes

Labor says it is “proud” of its road performance but every regional Victorians can see straight through it.

Whether you’re driving kids to school, heading to work, or simply trying to get into town – you’re forced to dodge potholes and crumbling shoulders.

Even worse, we learnt that out of 196 road-damage claims by motorists last year, Labor approved just one.

Road maintenance targets were missed by half, then quietly cut again while Labor patches 200,000 potholes.

But remember, come November 2026, it doesn’t have to be this way.

You have a choice: keep dodging potholes or elect a government that will take road maintenance seriously and build roads that last.

The Nationals in government will fight for regional Victorians and ensure they get their fair share of investment, services and infrastructure.

Danny O’Brien,

Leader of The Nationals

Shadow Minister for Roads and Road Safety

Just my Opinion with Ian Blyth – December 9, 2025

Ian Blyth
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Just my Opinion with Ian Blyth – December 9, 2025

APPARENTLY the City of Melbourne has discovered a bold new frontier in historical interpretation: if something from the past makes you uncomfortable, simply move it somewhere no one will notice. The latest victim of this enlightened approach? The Burke and Wills monument, a tribute to two men who crossed an entire continent with less equipment than the average inner-city cyclist carries on a weekend ride.

After years of promising the statue would return to City Square, the City of Melbourne has now decided it just doesn’t “fit” the vibe. The explorers who once stared down the unknown are no match for the modern aesthetic: curated minimalism, interpretive ambiguity and a landscape carefully designed to avoid offending the easily startled.

Instead of standing proudly in the city centre, the place where it spent more than a century, the monument is being quietly escorted to a polite corner near the Royal Society of Victoria. Safe. Contained. Out of the way. A bit like a historical inconvenience.

It’s ironic. Pioneers faced starvation, monsoons, hostile terrain and the small technical challenge of not knowing where they were half the time. Today’s decision-makers face far more daunting obstacles: committee meetings, “place activation strategies,” stakeholder workshops, and the terrifying possibility that somebody on social media may misunderstand the symbolism of a 160-year-old statue.

We live in an era where the bravery of the past is judged by the fragility of the present. Where monuments to endurance are treated as administrative clutter. Where history isn’t learned from, it’s edited, downsized, relocated and reinterpreted until it poses no risk of causing intellectual discomfort.

The question isn’t whether Burke and Wills deserve a plinth in City Square. The real question is: what does it say about us when the only thing we’re willing to honour publicly is whatever passes the mood board test of the moment?

Because whether council likes the optics or not, one fact is immovable: without the exploration, decisions and developments that built the foundations of modern Australia, the very people deciding the statue’s fate wouldn’t be here to make the decision at all.

And that’s just my opinion.

Ray Carroll’s; ‘From the Boundary’: December 9, 2025

Ray Carroll
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Ray Carroll’s; ‘From the Boundary’: December 9, 2025

TWO CHAMPIONS

ROVER 2025 12 09 Two Champions

Two great players in the crowd at the MCG for the celebration a week ago were Shane Crawford and Andrew Mackie (pictured). In the photo they were part of the crowd at my final game as coach at ACK. The pair are great friends and first met when Assumption played SHC Adelaide in 1991. They were outstanding college players and went on to wonderful careers with Hawthorn and Geelong.

THREE AMIGOS

ROVER 2025 12 09 Three Amigos

Three former ACK captains met up at a local area pub recently. From left they are Mick O’Donnell (1969), Sandy Symons (1976) and Adrian Mitchell-Hill (1979). Mick O’Donnell is Simon’s older brother. He too was a very good cricketer. Sandy Symons came from Hay in the Riverina. He was a rugged defender who took no prisoners. Adrian Mitchell-Hill from Albury led the 1979 champion team. Like the others a fine player and champion guy. A couple of years later his younger brother Tim played 1st XVII, he tragically lost his life not long after leaving college. The trio of captains were among the near 80 1st XVIII and 1st XI leaders I was privileged to have coached.

ERNIE HUG

Among the overflow crowd in the Olympic Room was Ernie Hug III. From a great Gippsland family Ernie was a champion 1st XVIII player in the late eighties. An outstanding high jumper he was ACK champion each year from seven to 12. He has really known tragedy. His grandfather Ernie was killed in a level crossing accident near Maffra. His dad, also Ernie, who played for Collingwood died young in a tree logging accident on the home farm. His brother died in his arms on the footy field at Sale when he suffered a severe head knock. Life for almost everyone is a mixture of sun and shadow, there has certainly been a fair bit of shadow in Ernie III’s life.

AFL CHIEF’S GESTURE

AFL boss Andrew Dillion apologised for not being able to attend the evening due to the women’s final between North and Brisbane. However, he sent a lovely framed 500-word tribute to be presented. Also, the ACKOC committee headed by Simon Costa, Luke Soulos and Monica Gill presented a magnificent life achievement award. It was nice to get messages from a number of Principals of rival colleges.

***

Gareth Hall, a highly regarded race caller “called” an imaginary race featuring some of the ACK legends. It was won by 1982 dual sports captain Ray Power who led the 1st XVIII to AGSV and Herald-Sun Sheild titles. His 210 goals in ’82 will probably never be surpassed.

***

James Weatherly, one of seven generation of his family to attend Geelong Grammar from the great Western district sheep station “Woolongoon” was happy to attend. He recalled as a young boy watching my father shearing at Woolongoon each year. One occasion the family had renowned English actor Derek Nimmo holidaying with them. He was fascinated to watch the sheep being shorn and asked dad “You must need a long holiday from this backbreaking work?” “No, we spend eight months shearing and then go North to the banana plantations in Queensland to work as banana benders and when they are picked, they are straight and we have to bend them ready to be sent around the country for sale”. “What fascinating work” exclaimed the actor.

***

Three popular guys at the function were Sportsbet legends Alan and son Matt Tripp; along with racing celebrity Tony Ottobre and wife Lynn. Tony had two winners from his “Jenni Stable” that afternoon. Matt Tripp is chairman of Melbourne Storm. Alan and Matt are truly fine people as are Tony and Lynn. They are very highly regarded by all who know them.

FRANCIS BOURKE

One of the legends of the game, Tiger champion Francis Bourke spoke beautifully. Through the shadowy mists of time, =I can still see him playing on the Main Oval in the early sixties. Even then he was tough and rugged. From Nathalia he went on to a 300 plus game career with Richmond and is a Hall of Fame inductee of the Tigers and AFL. His father Frank, and son David also both attended ACK and played for the Tigers. Another speaker was former state and federal national party politician Damian Drum whose sister is married to Francis Bourke. Before politics Damian played for Geelong and coached Freemantle.

***

As usual Bill Brownless and Shane Crawford provided the humorous interludes. Both were in fine form and recalled many hilarious times from their schooldays.

NCR (2025-12-02)

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