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CHEWTON CHATCHEWTON DOMAIN SOCIETY (INCORPORATED)

Reg. No. A0034364LP.O. Box 85, Chewton, 3451.

Published on the 1st of each month Issue 198 August, 2015.

www.chewton.net

Like all the Landcare groups Australia all over, Golden Point Landcare had put the word out about its planting day to be held along Forest Creek but, as usual, we never have any idea about how many people will arrive on the day. And today there were a dozen of us and we were joined by locals Julie and Gary and their friends Chou Yuh Lin (Emma) and Chen Min Hsiang (Frank) from Tai-wan who are out here working at Castlemaine KR under the backpackers program. They did appear to be a little bemused watching everyone get to work and it does take some explaining about why this happy group of planters were out in the cold digging holes when they could have been home in front of the fire!

Each year as part of the projects that Golden Point Landcare manages through the Forest Creek valley, a planting session is organised and this year’s special day was brilliant. A lot of fun with planters swapping stories about their worst weed and their favourite plant and finish-ing off with a warming morning tea – and we didn’t plant

Australia all over…a single tree even though we were part of PlanetArk’s NTPD! We concentrated instead on grasses and sedg-es and some low ground cover plants that thrive near a waterway. This is because the area we work in already has enough trees regenerat-ing and the heritage land-scape, including the Mon-ster Meeting site, should remain visible as an impor-tant part of the Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park.

We also talked about how Golden Point Landcare is celebrating its 21st anni-versary starting at 10 a.m. on Sunday August 23rd in the Chewton Town Hall

(where there’s a lovely heater!). Photos taken through the years will bring back memories for some and for others they will see how much has been done through these years to make this area such a wonderful place to walk or ride or just wander through the bush. Everyone is welcome to join us.

National Tree Planting Day

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Buildings continue to ap-pear as Chewton grows, and we’ve seen houses relocated to Chewton as part of that growth. But, when one of the reloca-tions is featured in a mag-azine you realise it must be something special.

Sanctuary maga-zine’s Winter edition car-ries an article titled “Re-cycled House” that traces the story of “the

house with the yellow door” we now see in Mitch-ell Street. The story of this house starts In Bruns-wick when the current owners were planning to leave the city. As part of those plans, Calan and Sarah had purchased a block in Chewton where land was “relatively affordable and commuting was still a possibility.” Then, co-incidentally, a neighbouring 110 year old Brunswick house was to be demolished. The re-cycling process was about to begin.

Moving the house on-site was the first step. This allowed the gutting and re-plastering to take place whilst using, re-using and adapting processes were practised. Nothing was wasted. Can you imagine where the broken plaster was used? A fascinating story unfolds as the article describes how the house came together. Second life materials progressively added their stories as

Chewton residence given Sanctuary spacethey became part of the new creation. Boards that Kyne-ton residents traipsed over for years are included, along with doors that were opened and closed by generations of Port Melbourne pub patrons.

A new house, new residents and an inspiring story! Issue 31 of Sanctuary is available for $11.95. And there is more of this story (and photographs) on http://www.sanc-tuarymagazine.org.au/profile/relocated-house/

Sanctuary is published by ATA, the Alternative Technology Association. ATA is a not-for-profit organisation that exists to enable, represent and inspire people to live sustainably in their homes

and communities. www.ata.org.au

Photo courtesy of Calan

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Just pick a spot that is managed by a volunteer community group and use it as a dumping ground! Post Office Hill Action Group took over the management of 17 and a half hectares of crown land some years ago. The group now battles on winning community support to keep the area tidy and bring it to a state of being a major community asset. Weed removal and plantings have already taken place and walking tracks and brochures are in the pipe-line. But someone obviously thinks there’s a better use because a lounge suite, three televisions, a microwave and what looked like a little camping fridge have been dumped there.

Unbelievable!This information was posted on chewton.net Face-

Book and attracted 2,204 visits and 13 of these people posted comments, most expressing disgust and outrage. The post was then shared on Castlemania FaceBook and attracted a further 26 comments.

One of the comments suggested that if any of the items had a serial number some tracing might be possible. Mysteriously, the televisions and microwave disappeared from the site after that post!

Since then, several people have claimed to have

How to trash a town in one easy lessonknowledge about the source of the lounge suite. This in-formation has been reported.

What to do about rubbish dumping? It seems every-one has a story to tell, an anecdote to share and be enraged about. It also came up as a major issue during the Chew-ton Community Plan discussions. And the Community Plan has these things to say on page 10 under the heading, “Building sustainable communities”…The Issues:

• Rubbish dumping in the bush and public spaces around Chewton.

Priority Actions: • Lobbying the Council to reduce tip fees for disposal of

whitegoods/appliances and to enforce high penalties and promote awareness of illegal rubbish dumping.

• Arrange a hard rubbish collection day.• Establish a Spring Clean Up Day.

And some groups are already working on the issue – as seen in the rubbish collected from the old tip site by POHAG and now awaiting collection and legal disposal. Isn’t there an irony demonstrated here? A volunteer com-munity group cleaning up an area, while another com-munity member actively adds to the rubbish that needs to cleaned up! Do you call that fair? Hardly!

Letter to the editorWhile out bushwalking last week I took a track I hadn’t been along for ages so thought I’d check it out and also have a look at what Post Office Hill Action Group had been doing in cleaning up behind our original tip in Rail-way Street.

Coming in off Pitman Street, up through the bush, all looked so peaceful and beautiful. Down through the little creek that flows under the railway line, I noticed not tyres in the creek any more and all the rubbish gone. At this point you are right in the bottom of the gully and I started the trek up the hill to the back of the old tip where there always used to be old stoves, mattresses, furniture, household rubbish – dumped rubbish that POHAG has put in endless hours, all volunteer time, to clear up.

As I looked up, I stopped and could not believe what I was seeing – some “oxygen pirate” had dumped a lounge suite, three TVs, a microwave and a small por-table fridge at the lowest part of the gully so if you were walking along the top of the track and didn’t look down then you wouldn’t have seen it. To take that much trou-ble to get to the bottom of the gully to try and hide what you’ve done shows just what sort of person this is. I wasn’t so much angry, I was just so, so sad for all the people who have spent countless hours working in all kinds of weather for the benefit of us all by making this a place where we can appreciate the native flora and fauna – and people do something like this. I can only shake my head and let POHAG know that some people do appreci-ate your fantastic efforts – not like some!

Yours, Bettie the Bushwalker.

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Nine new firefighters are needed to help Chewton Fire Bri-gade keep up with increasing demand for our services.

Membership numbers have remained steady over the past five years with the brigade currently having 19 firefighters and 5 non-operational members. During this same time period demand has grown seeing our turn out numbers increase by around 57%.

This significant rise in demand meant that on two oc-casions last year, Chewton CFA were unable to field crews to two incidents. This meant that those incidents did not have the support of our brigade which could have led to fires getting out of control due to lack of resources and an increase in response times.

Our brigade prides itself on being able to help our local communities and we strive to always respond to calls for help. In order to meet our demand we require at least nine more firefighters and three more non-operational members who can provide support to our crews.

THAT IS WHY WE NEED YOU!We are currently seeking new members for the fol-

lowing roles:• Firefighters – we would love to hear from anyone in

the community who is interested in joining our bri-gade as a Fire Fighter. In particular, we are in desper-ate need of members who are able to turn out during working hours.

• Catering – anyone who is able to help out with cater-ing at events such as our Annual Bonfire Night.

• Fundraising – as a volunteer brigade we are always in need of funds to help buy valuable equipment for the brigade. We would love to hear from anyone who has

CFA Update – August 2015

We need your help - we’re recruiting now!!!!!a passion for fundraising and is willing to get some activities up and running.

• Event Management – we need help from someone with events management experience to help us run events such as the Annual Bonfire Night.

• Graphic Designer – as part of our recruitment we would love to speak to anyone with graphic design ex-perience who would be able to help us create recruit-ment posters as well as promotional tools for fundrais-ing events.

• Grounds Maintenance – anyone who is able to come down to the fire station on a Sunday morning and help out with general maintenance as well as any working bees.

• Non-operational Members – we are also looking for non-operational members who would be willing to help out running and organising any of the above roles as well as provide support to our crews by helping out when needed.

All these roles are open to anyone in the community aged 16 and over. Anyone who is interested in joining the brigade should contact our Captain Steve on 0418 996 734.

Alternatively, you can come down to the station, in Mount Street, any Sunday morning at around 10 am and talk to the brigade or you can speak to any member of the brigade who you may know personally.

We desperately need new members to sign up be-cause without more firefighters and non-operational mem-bers, there might come a day when Chewton CFA is miss-ing in action.

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VicRoads welcomed the recent opportunity to meet with members of the Chewton community to discuss ideas around their Community Plan. Themes the group shared with us and Council included potential improvements for pedestrians crossing the Pyrenees Highway to access near-by recreational areas and the small shopping precinct. We are working with Council to explore potential options and how they may fit in with its Walking and Cycling Strategy.

There was also discussion around vehicle speeds on the Pyrenees Highway through the town. The current speed limit of 50 km/h is considered appropriate for this area. However, VicRoads has set up its ‘Speed Indicator Trailer’ for the next few weeks. The ‘trailer’ will help lift awareness among the motorists of their travelling speed as they drive through the town.

In relation to the traffic counters that are currently out, VicRoads won’t have access to this data for several months. In the meantime, the most recent available traffic counts for Chewton, can be accessed via https://www.vi-croads.vic.gov.au/traffic-and-road-use/road-network-and-performance/road-use-and-performance

Council is also looking further into other matters of interest to the group, including parking and disability ac-cess arrangements.

Mal Kersting, VicRoads Regional Director.

Countingon

VicRoads

Junior Brigade UpdateChewton’s youngest members have started training, learning what it takes to be a firefighter.

The first Junior Brigade training session was held on Tuesday the 14th

of July and our newest recruits had a great night despite the rain. The juniors were shown how to bowl out a hose, and roll it back up again, and they learnt how to turn on the pump.

Once the rain cleared we also got the chance to get outside and squirt a bit of water after the juniors were shown the all-important water signals.

Our Junior Brigade currently only has three very enthusiastic members and we are hoping to have a few more sign up. If you have a child between the ages of 11-15 who is interested in getting involved with the junior brigade then please give Paige a call on 0413 942 331 or come to the station on a Sunday morning at 10 am. Paige Mounsey, Chewton CFA Communications Officer.

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This intriguing photo taken inside St. John’s Church ar-rived for the Chewton Chat. Intriguing from many aspects – it made the little historic church look almost cathedral-like, it was obviously not a church service and it was for-warded by a photographer signing himself as Frank Chen. It turned out that Frank is the anglicised name of Chen Min Hsiang, that the occasion was the most recent of the mid-month concerts being held at St. John’s and that the Saturday church services at St. John’s are now held with a different seating arrangement. Gee, you can learn a lot from one photo – and in providing the background detail, Julie Henchman takes up the story…

Three Acoustic Anglican Afternoons have been held at St. John’s Church Fryers Road Chewton. These have been mid-month on a Sunday from 2 p.m. and the audi-ences have enjoyed the relaxed and comfortable space – cushioned chairs rather than hard wooden pews.

A variety of local performers have been show-cased and thanks go to everyone who has volunteered their time and talent so far. It’s been quite a long list. In May it was Allan and Alastair with Celtic Harp, flute and fiddle, The Blenders who are a group of women singing harmo-niously, Something in the Air (Annie and Chris make a stunning vocal duo!) and Treble Trio who are three friends with recorders and a uke.

In June we noted that for some visitors it was the first time they had been in St. John’s, and the acoustics and informal space had new performers requesting to be able to play there too. There was Gus and Steph (flute, guitar songs and dulcimer tunes), Alastair (precious fiddle Irish

reels and hornpipes), David Rigby (songs and humorous story telling), Ange Mitten (luscious blues songs and gui-tar) and Dave de Hugard (professional renditions of early Australian tales with accordion accompaniment).

Our most recent concert in July saw St. John’s packed and a cosy refuge from the cold weather outside. Playing were Jeanette Gillespie (folk and original songstress from Guildford – who runs the Folk Club at the Guildford Pub every 3rd Wednesday), Serenada (a trio playing popular songs from the 30s, 40s and 50s comprising John on gui-tar and vocals, Gwyn on clarinet and vocals and Chris on bass), Christine King (wonderful recitations of her origi-nal poetry), The Blenders (4 parts with a mix of voices) and Keith Fox (a stunning memory and dexterity on his treble playing baroque and contemporary pieces).

These social afternoons are bringing people together. This may be a good way for you to enter and enjoy this lovely local and historic church. For just $5 entry you can help yourself to tea, coffee, cake and biscuits.

Funds raised at these concerts have so far amounted to $435.00. An outdoor light has been purchased and in-stalled for better visibility and safety of the congregation at services that are held every Saturday at 6 p.m. where everyone is welcome. Other funds raised will contribute to ongoing maintenance of this very old building.

Posters with details of upcoming concerts on August 16th and September 13th will be at the Chewton Post Office, Chewton Service Station and Chewton General Store. To offer your contribution of refreshments or entertainment please contact Julie on 0497 231 209.

Accoustic Afternoons at St. John’s

There will be services at St. John’s each Saturday at 6pm during August. Everyone welcome.

We welcome back our Locum Priest Father Des and thank Bishop Jeremy for conducting services while Des was away.

We have survived winter well with our heaters and look forward to spring! There have now been 3 Sunday afternoon concerts at the church over the last couple

of months. They have been well attended and enjoyed by all despite the weather. Thanks to Julie Henchman for organizing them.

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That photo of the concert in St. John’s led to a conversa-tion conducted by email, a conversation that just had to lead to a meeting. So one was arranged and over warm drinks we met in the Chewton shop. Frank Chen and his partner Emma Chou are staying in Chewton with Julie and Gary so Julie Henchman made the fourth at the table.

Comparing backgrounds and life experiences was quickly on the agenda. Frank and Emma are from Taiwan – a “tropical island” and their spoken language is Man-darin. Back home they aren’t Frank and Emma either – Frank is actually Chen Min Hsiang and Emma is Chou Yuh Lin. Frank was working in television industry pro-ducing news and live productions – along with 1,400 other employees in the largest television production company in Taiwan. Emma’s studies led her to fluency in Japanese and to work in events management, working and MC-ing Japanese events and stage shows in Taiwan. Frank had accompanied his father on business trips through China, Emma had been to Japan and they’d both become famil-iar with Thailand so they felt it was time to expand their horizons and have some different cultural experiences. Exploring options, they found they could get temporary back-packer visas for Australia which would allow them to work two six-month blocks in Australia. The first block was arranged for KR Bacon - and that’s how they came to be packing at the Baco and living in Chewton!

The differences between home and here? Frank and Emma come from Taipei, the largest city on Taiwan. 7 million people live in Taipei, 23 million plus on Taiwan! That explains why, after landing in Sydney, the pair were spooked when they drove into Wagga in the late afternoon and found no-one on the streets! They’d read Wagga is Australia’s largest inland city – and they found no-one! Even the wide roads they found while driving through the Australian countryside were a new experience. And it’s so relaxed here according to Frank. After work there’s time to sit and converse and reflect. And at age 28, time to learn to cook! Much of life in Taiwan involved eating already prepared meals so now the experimentation with what can be done personally in a wok is an exciting new field to be explored. And meat – it’s so cheap and so fresh here! And the weather – sitting in the Chewton shop with the outside temperature falling to less than 10 degrees it’s hard to visualise Taipei at 34 degrees and experiencing a tropical thunderstorm as well.

Frank and Emma aren’t wasting any time experienc-ing local life. Local markets, jazz concerts and even tree plantings are part of the routine – along with socializing in the Chewton shop and photographing concerts in St. John’s. There’s another 5 months of local exploration to be done before the work obligation in Castlemaine ends and another workplace has to be found. And the Great Ocean road to be driven, Tasmania and New Zealand to be visited – and ??? The Australian bucket list is still being populated!

There are another 5 months of opportunities to meet Frank and Emma – so don’t miss out as they continue to experience the “Chewton experience”.

And the last word belongs to Frank, “We can enjoy and experience Australian life because Julie and Gary are looking after us so well. We really appreciate all the things they do for us.”

From Taipei to Chewton

MoBQ time againand it’s tonight!!! Aaargh!

August the 1st... CU!

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There are 13 positions on the Management Committee of the Chewton Domain Society and under the new Con-sumer Affairs constitutional changes brought in a couple of years ago thirteen people now need to be nominated each year. As we know there are a number of commu-nity groups operating in Chewton and it’s great when the work that their committees do is shared around by busy volunteers.

If you have an interest in the history of the area, have a passion for bookkeeping, like organising events, think you would like to write for the Chat, like working with IT, find the Monster Meeting celebrations fascinat-ing – or you would just like to find out more about what the CDS does and how you can help – please contact a current committee member or talk to an executive mem-ber to find out more. Helen McGeachin, Bettie Exon (5472 3892), Judy Cobb (5472 5118) or Marie Jones (5472 2892) would love to talk with people interested in finding out more about the CDS management committee. Nomination forms are available from CDS Secretary, Bettie, and should be with the secretary by August 16th.

The CDS is holding its Annual General Meeting on Sunday August 23rd starting at 2 p.m. in the Chewton Town Hall. After the formal part of the meeting has been completed there will be an update of the long awaited Welcome to Chewton Kit. A group of volunteers has been compiling information about the local area and this will soon be available on a CD and on the revamped www.chewton.net - and we plan on having some book versions printed a little later. Our usual scrumptious afternoon tea will then be served and there will be a raffle of a hand

Chewton Domain Society - AGM

Thanks ZoeWhen Zoe popped into the Chewton Town Hall a few weeks ago she noticed that the pictures that the People and Places volunteers use to tell visi-tors about snippets of Chewton’s history weren’t hanging properly – they needed something to keep them straighter. And as the creation and hanging of art works is one of her passions she offered to help out. She attached removable timber slats to the back of each of these pictures and moved the hanging cables into the correct place and now the pictures are hanging and they can be stored and brought out again when needed. Thanks Zoe!

crafted music jewellery box donated by Tom Taft and a $50 voucher for the Chewton Post Office. Funds raised will go towards the next items to complete the restoration of the town hall – the access footpath, the handrails and a light above the front door.

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One of seven children, Elaine Appleton has lived in the same street in Chewton all her life, although in four differ-ent houses. ‘Six generations on my mother’s side lived in Chewton, and five of those generations attended the Chew-ton school, beginning with my great grandfather who com-menced school here in 1871, to my daughters who went there in 1969 and 1973. In my day there were around 90 children there then. We walked to school every day, rain, hail or shine. I remember the day the war ended. We got a holiday from school.’

Elaine says as children their favourite entertainment was the November 5th Bonfire night. ‘For months before-hand we’d drag logs from the bush, which you’re not al-lowed to do now, and hold the bonfire in a neighbour’s or in our own paddock.’

Like most children at the time, they attended Sunday School and Youth Club each week plus Sunday School pic-nics held annually. ‘We had our good clothes for church and Sunday School, and when we came home we had to change into our house clothes.’

Elaine admits that life is certainly easier today. ‘We grew up having a bath once a week, using water from the wood-fired copper. I was in my teens when my father had electricity installed.’

After Chewton Primary School she went on to the high school in Castlemaine. ‘On my 15th birthday I be-gan working at the Castlemaine Woollen Mill, and that’s where I met my husband, Len. When he was 36 he had a very bad heart attack and was off work for two years, then returned to work at the Woollen Mill.’ After five years of home duties Elaine worked at the Castle Motel. Then 32 years with Castlemaine Taxis.

The Chewton Elaine knew has changed. ‘I remember when the grocer would come to the door in his horse and cart and take his order, then deliver it the next day. There

was George Archer’s butcher shop on the main road, where we got our meat. The gen-eral store was where Ellery Park is today.’

In the 1980s Elaine became inter-ested in preserving the history of Chewton. Armed with a video camera she be-gan recording Chewton’s history, using local residents. The result was some 40 films. Each film was shown at the Chewton Community Centre. The showings and sales have raised over $15,000, which went to the Chewton Town Hall Committee, now the Chewton Domain Society. These films are still for sale. Through the years Elaine has also filmed Chewton’s events.

She has also developed a photo collection of the town’s history. Over 600 photos, with the assistance of Mary Thompson, were catalogued and developed into al-bums. Her project became the People and Places docu-mented history of Chewton, now on display and open to the public each weekend. Many of their visitors come to research family history. ‘Our collection has been added to and invites more photos, documents and family histories.’ Elaine is still keeping Chewton’s current history which she puts into Year Books.

Elaine says she is immensely proud of both the long-time and new residents of Chewton who volunteer their time in keeping Chewton a great place to live. ‘We have had our pioneers who helped keep Chewton going. We now have newcomers who have contributed to our history. I would particularly like to thank those who helped save our swimming pool.’

Two things she would like to see happen here are: the restoration of the church building at the Chewton Commu-nity and Senior Citizens Centre; and units for retired and needy people. ‘I used to know everyone in Chewton, but not anymore. I know more people in the cemetery than living in Chewton today.’

According to Elaine, she would never want to live anywhere else, and she never would. ‘If I left Chewton I would fret.’ Gloria Meltzer.

Know Your NeighbourHave you met Elaine Appleton?

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We have been travelling in Western Canada and came back to find Fryerstown very dry. Since then it has been very cold but we have had some good rain and I now have hopes of a nice spring - so do the birds who are pairing up and checking out nesting sites.

Some years ago Lesley J. Morton, who has since died, published a small booklet on the Duke of Cornwall Mine. It contains much valuable information on the Kitto and the Rowe families that are so crucial to the under-standing of the mine and the Cornish Engine House which is a feature of the Fryerstown landscape. So I have de-cided to reproduce over this issue of the Chat and probably the next, the stories of the two families as Lesley told them, with only minimal editing by me to fit the available space. I fully acknowledge the work of Lesley which went into compiling and writing the family stories and her publication. I commence with her story of the Kitto Family:

“Richard Luke Middleton Kitto was born in 1836 at Redruth, Cornwall, in the heart of the copper mining district of Redruth, Scorrier, St. Day, an area of roughly 5 square miles of concentrated industry which formed part of the wider mining region of Camborne to the west and Truro to the east. This could be con-sidered the industrial area of Cornwall for by the time R.L.M. Kitto was born the trappings of a nineteenth century industrial town had encroached on the rural landscape and his home. ‘Tresker-by House’ would no longer have been the isolated manor house it once was. ‘R.L.M.’ was the third son of James Henry Middleton Kitto (his mother had been a ‘Middle-ton’) and his wife, Christiana, nee Luke, and they would have belonged to the higher echelons of local society, James being a mining engineer and the son of Captain Thomas Kitto, mine agent (1776 - 1867) and his wife, Mary Ann (nee Middleton). In the Cornish tradition they followed the mining scene around the world. The Kitto family were all involved with the mining scene mostly in managerial positions either as trained engineers and surveyors, like R.L.M. or in mining operations, like his brother Thomas Luke Kitto (born 1834) who also migrated to Fryerstown

but moved on later to the Le Froy mines in North Tasma-nia, or the youngest brother, Francis Henry Luke Kitto, born 1845 who after a time at Fryerstown became man-ager of a gold mine at Broken Hill, N.S.W. Three sons of John Middleton Kitto, a brother of James Henry, the father of the Australian migrants, also came to Australia but did not settle in Victoria. The eldest, Thomas Charles Collin-gwood Kitto, born 1835, was born in Co. Cork Ireland, spent considerable time in South Australia at the copper mines, then returned to Cornwall. His younger brother Richard, died in Ballarat in 1865, three years after arriving in Australia, and the youngest brother Robert Kent, born

1844, was the only one to marry and set-tle permanently, Moonta S.A. being his home till his death in 1925 (he had mar-ried Mary Olifent in 1870).

There were, of course, girls in the family, and they also tended to marry into the mining community. Of particu-lar interest to Australians are the mar-riages of R.L.M.’s sisters Mary Ann, born 1842, Elizabeth, born 1846 and Kate, the youngest. Mary Ann had made what would no doubt have been called a most ‘suitable’ marriage by the fam-ily. She wed William Henry Williams, born 1831, of ‘Trefula Manor’, Redruth, probably one of the Scorrier mining fam-ily. Their daughter Jane was brought to Victoria as a small child and was said to

have hated life in the young and rough colonial mining community. Whatever her feelings, Australia was to be her home from then on till her death in 1922 at Launces-ton, Tasmania. Strangely, her daughter Dorothy married Roderick Anderson, a son of Kate Luke Kitto, the young-est sister of Mary Ann Kitto (Williams) who had married twice, to Thomas Wyatt in 1878, then after his death to Frederick Anderson. She died in Fryerstown.

Elizabeth Middleton Kitto, R.L.M.’s second sister, married John Parsons at Christ Church, Castlemaine on 20th December 1870. He was born at Germoe, Cornwall, in 1839, the son of John and Jane Parsons, farmers at Go-dolphin and this is the name given to the Elmore farming property of the family. In later years, John and Elizabeth moved on to northern Victoria and he died at Nurmurkah in 1884.

R.L.M. came to Australia about 1855, was briefly in Chewton then in 1857 became a teacher with the Denomi-national at Sandhurst (Bendigo). After this he moved to Chewton where he became Manager of the Wattle Gully Company mine and in June 1860 he was appointed Mining Surveyor and Registrar for the Mining Division of Fryer’s Creek. This was an important year for him as on Febru-ary 15th he had married Catherine Raisbeck, born 1835 at Arkengarthdale, Yorkshire, the fourth daughter of Wil-liam and Margaret Raisbeck who were presumably also a mining family as we later read of a Robert Raisbeck in

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association with R.L.M. Kitto at Malmsbury.In March Thomas Luke Kitto, also in Fryerstown,

had married Elizabeth Eddy, the daughter of Captain Rich-ard Stevens of Redruth - sadly she died some months later. In 1864 he married Hannah Bickham and they had five children.

Francis Henry Luke Kitto, the other brother in Fryer-stown was married in 1874 to Lavinia Rowe, the daughter of Captain James Rowe, the eldest of the Rowe brothers of Fryerstown and they later moved to Broken Hill for a time but eventually returned to Fryerstown where they are buried.

R.L.M. Kitto was very much a public figure and as early as 1860 was seeking appointment as a member of the local mining board, a body of great importance in gold-fields areas. In a report of his speech supporting his can-didature, the verdict was that he showed honour, sound judgement, great practical knowledge of mining, a good education and, to cap it all, gentlemanly feelings and man-ners - what more could anyone ask? The result was his election to the board and the beginning of a career in pub-lic life, which culminated in his election in 1868 as Mem-ber of Parliament for Castlemaine. He was re-nominated in 1871 but withdrew for business reasons.

In 1862 he had been elected Grand Noble of M.U. Lodge but his skills as a public speaker and leader did not preclude him from more serious pursuits and in 1862 he obtained a 1st Class Surveyor’s certificate after having sat for examinations in Melbourne. His obituary stated that he had early in life exhibited a great taste for mathematics and was thus lead to adopt the profession of mining engi-neer and surveyor. His first Victorian post was in the gov-ernment topographic department. In 1867 he published a pamphlet, “Goldfields of Victoria” in London and this coincided with his trip to England”

George Brown in his “Reminiscences of Fryer-stown” says that Richard Kitto was granted leave of ab-sence from his position for twelve months in 1867 to return to England seeking capital for mining ventures in Victo-ria. With his partial success The Duke of Cornwall was recapitalised into a new company with 6 Directors and a capital of £50,000, which was used to buy and install new equipment. Richard Kitto resigned his position as Min-ing Surveyor and Registrar and was appointed Managing Director on a salary of £1,000. However it soon became evident that the reefs were not as rich or as extensive as had been hoped. By May 1870 the company was in seri-ous difficulties but a reformed local company with added capital continued to spend heavily on the mine installing a new battery in 1873. Finally, on July 23rd 1875, The Duke of Cornwall mine machinery and buildings were sold by public auction at a price of £1,850 to the Rowe brothers and was considered the cheapest plant in the district. Mark Amos, summarised the situation, saying that ‘too much money had been spent on plant and surface work and not enough on development underground.’

Leslie Morton continues the Kitto family story: “His home at Fryerstown in 1866 was the attractive brick house adjoining the Church of England, which is still used as a

residence today. R.L.M. and his family lived here through his time of involvement with the ‘Duke of Cornwall’ mine from 1869 onwards, until the family’s departure from Aus-tralia (1875). Although arriving back home with nothing in view – as the Castlemaine paper later reported – ‘with his customary good luck’ he soon obtained the position of manager of a large coal and iron company in Prestonpans, Scotland and this remained his home till his untimely death in 1880 at the age of 44 years. He died young, leaving a wife and family of 10 children but he had achieved a great deal in his short lifespan in various directions and his per-sonality had impressed a large number of people in differ-ent parts of the world. They were a devout Methodist fam-ily as were so many Cornish, and he erected memorials in memory of his parents and brothers at St Euny’s Church, Redruth. For R.L.M Kitto, the ‘Duke of Cornwall’ Engine House in Fryerstown remains his lasting epitaph.”

In our absence, Fryerstown celebrated the Winter Solstice in the usual Fryerstown style with good food, a bonfire, and company. This was a local family night, 7 different soups, all home-made by volunteers and excit-ing desserts brought by the community. Also scones, jam and cream were produced in our kitchen. The entertain-ment was provided by Jim Cole and Marilyn on drums and piano, Skip Sail on guitar and singing and Jason, Felicity and Tim, celebrated musicians who had recently played at the Adelaide Festival. We were very lucky that all our excellent entertainers are local people. We had our usual fire with lots of people around it and children toasting their marshmallows. In all there were around 50 people and lots of children. It was a local, friendly night out with family and neighbours and something for children to remember, as I recall the bonfires to celebrate Empire Day and Guy Fawkes Day in my childhood.

Sadly the film planned for July didn’t arrive in time for the night so it had to be cancelled and because the or-ganisers and some other regulars will be away at the end of August it has been decided to cancel the August film night but we are planning a September film night on the 26th.

We have a new Coordinator at the old school, Mary Anne Egan, who joined our community 18 months ago with a young family. She brings a wealth of senior man-agement experience and enthusiasm. We welcome her as she takes over from Denise Button who has built up great connections with the broader community.

Kay Thorne.

12

Nurturing the whole child

in every child

With Principal Julie Holden on long service leave, the school community has welcomed Kate Ballantyne as act-ing principal. And Kate described her introduction to Chewton School in her first Newsletter:

Hello Everyone, Welcome to Term Three! What a wintry start to the term. Thank you for the warm welcome I have received from students, staff and community mem-bers. It has been greatly valued. Walking into Chewton PS you immediately feel at home. The building and grounds are lovely and provide a great environment for all. It is obvious as you walk around that the school has a strong commitment from its families and community members. I am really looking forward to my ten weeks with you all.

We have a busy and exciting term ahead. A couple of highlights will be our Taste Week activities, Science week and the Grade 3-4 camp. There are also opportunities for parents to come along to a Cyber Safety information ses-sion and a session on blogging.

Great to see our students back and engaged with their learning. I am looking forward to my first days in the Year 2-3 class, it is great to be getting to know a lot of names. Parents often ask about what they can do at home to support their children. There are lots of ways parents can support their children at home with learning, however, one of the most important and valuable for younger stu-

dents is to listen to them read on a daily basis and discuss their books. With older students it is more around having a conversation about what they might be reading or listen-ing to – audio books are great for students who may find reading difficult.

And the following week Kate wrote:Thank you to those of you who attended the P-2 Writ-

ing workshop organised by Nicole and Emma on Tuesday morning. It is always good to share ideas with parents and caregivers about what we are doing at school and how it could be supported at home. Thank you to Nicole and Emma for their preparation and time in sharing with you. If you feel it would be valuable to find out more please let us know and we will see if we can organise another time to share.

Next week we will start to see our very competent school leaders taking an active role in running our assem-bly on Monday morning. As a staff we feel it is impor-tant to provide varied opportunities for them to experience leadership roles whilst being supported. Assembly is a perfect spot!

A big thank you to John Wilkinson for coming to speak with all of our students on Thursday. His passion and insight about the solar system was enjoyed by all.

Term 3 is obviously off to a flyer!

In celebration of National Tree Day, Chewton PS spent time last Friday planting and mulching - over our fence! Many hands made light work of planting out a variety of grasses, mulching and general maintenance of our garden

areas. Under the guidance of Jen and Fritz it was an energetic hour. Thank you to everyone involved.

13

And in more sad news, we learnt that Andrew Milton had unexpectedly passed away.

Andrew had been a valuable volunteer contributor to Chewton. Perhaps his biggest legacy is the website that he designed and established. It was a ground-breaking ini-tiative and was launched in September 2003 by Jonathan Ridnell from ABC Bendigo. An interview with Andrew on that station followed. The CDS presented Andrew with a digital camera at its next meeting, with the then president Jim Jones making the presentation.

In recent years, An-drew established a success-ful chewton.net FaceBook page and worked as its ad-ministrator. His last post was on July 3rd when he reported he’d posted the July Chewton Chat on the website.

Vale Andrew!

The People and Plac-es volunteers open the Chewton Town Hall on a Saturday and Sunday afternoons so that locals and visitors can research the history of the area and their personal family histories. Judy Wilkes, who passed away late last in June, was one of these volunteers and she will be sadly missed by her col-leagues.

Vale Judy!

A community is only as good as its volunteers!

FREE ENTRY AGE 8 TO ADULT

6PM SATURDAY 15th AUGUST 2015CASTLEMAINE PHEE BROADWAY

Plus view the night sky from telescopes on the footpath outside the venue with the Bendigo and District Astronomical Society

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7PM FRIDAY 21st AUGUST 2015DAYLESFORD TOWN HALL

- Does life exist on other planets?- Should we go to Mars?- Is the Death Star real??- How will the next supernova explosion matter to you?

Professor Orsola De Marco reveals the fascinating world of Astrophysics in a talk that will enthral both children and adults alike. Expand your horizons to the edge of the Universe!

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Not too trivial to ignore

15

New coordinatorfor the old school

The old Fryerstown School has a new Facilities Coordinator, Maryanne Egan. Maryanne moved to Fryerstown with her young family 18 months ago, and has been working along-side the school’s original coor-dinator, Denise Button, for the past six months.

“The Fryerstown School provides community groups, businesses and individuals access to a unique workshop, performance and function venue at affordable rates,” says Maryanne. “I particularly enjoy the diversity of people who hire the space. Since I began the school has been a venue for meditation workshops, corporate training days, dance events, performance creative development, a huge family reunion and theatrical performance set building.”

“We’re thrilled that Maryanne and her family have joined our community, and that she’s now taking over the Coordinator role at the old school,” says Tim Todhunter, Chair of the Fryerstown School Committee of Manage-ment. “She brings great experience in arts and health administration and management, which will enable us to build on the spectacular job done by Denise.”

To find out more about hiring or becoming involved with the old school, visit www.fryerstownschool.com.au or phone 0422 301008

Photo: Maryanne Egan at the old school

More than 200 people gathered in the Castlemaine Town Hall on Sunday, July 26, for a successful Chewton Pool fund-raiser. Called a ‘Big Trivia for a Little Pool’, Rose Darling, President, Chewton Pool Inc., told the audience what is meant by this.

As she explained, the Chewton pool currently con-sists of the main pool plus a nippers pool. However, unbe-known to most people, there is another smaller baby pool filled in and hidden beneath a wooden platform. It has not been in use for many years and now Chewton Pool Inc. plans to reinstate this pool and convert the two smaller pools to saltwater, a preference of many families.

This trivia event appealed to a wide range of people from far and wide, and was highlighted by the comedian, Rod Quantock, acting as MC. Rod was appointed ‘Chew-ton’s Minister for the Arts & Culture’ in 2011, when he hosted our first Pool Art Auction.

Sponsors of the event were Castlemaine Lions Club and Ottery Cottage. Donors of auction items were Laurie Hancock, Phil Elson, Maryanne Murdoch, Castlemaine Travel and Cruise, Auto Pro Castlemaine, Bunnings Kan-garoo Flat, Pot Luck Gardening, Janine Clark, Tonks Bros, Marlene Heard, Harley Parker, ANAM and Jenny Jarman. These businesses, artists and artisans have given great sup-port.

As usual, our fundraising team outdid themselves with their organisation and persuasion skills. Without their amazing work ethic, the projects our pool patrons en-joy would not be possible. All tasks, from operating the crèche, pouring champagne, baking a thank you sponge cake for Rod, adjudication, designing posters, front of house, gathering goods and setting out the trivia questions – are done with grace and good humour (plenty of that). Many thanks again to these brilliant people.

Now the detailed specifications and delivery of this exciting project can begin – we can already hear the splash of little feet!

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16

Having invaded and built in the space once occupied by kangaroos we are still coming to terms with sharing space with them. But how well do we know them?

Kangaroos are grazing her-bivores, which means their diet consists mainly of grasses. They can survive long periods without water. They live and travel in organized groups or “mobs,” dominated by the largest male. Male kangaroos are called boomers, bucks or jacks; females are does, flyers, or jills, and the young ones are joeys. The collective noun for kangaroos is a mob, troop or court.

Because of very long feet, a kangaroo cannot walk normally. To move at slow speeds, a kangaroo will use its tail to form a tripod with its two forelimbs. It then raises its hind feet forward, in a form of locomotion called “crawl-walking.”

Usually, female kangaroos give birth to one joey at a time. Newborns weigh as little as 0.03 ounces at birth - as small as a lima bean! After birth, the joey crawls into its mother’s pouch, where it will nurse and continue to grow and develop. Red kangaroo joeys do not leave the pouch for good until they are more than eight months old. Grey kangaroo joeys wait until they are almost a year old.

Kangaroos and cars don’t mix. The ACT govern-ment warns:• the peak time for crashes is between 5 pm and 10 pm• the rate of crashes is higher in winter• more collisions follow long periods of dry weather• there are more collisions with kangaroos near the full

moon phase than the new moon phase.According to drive.com the best way to avoid col-

lecting a kangaroo is not to drive at dawn, dusk and night. That’s when wildlife generally – and kangaroos in particu-lar – are most active. It’s also when they can’t see the car because they are blinded by the headlights. While kanga-roos aren’t the most road-savvy creatures, during the day they’ll generally make a reasonable attempt to avoid end-ing up as a bonnet emblem. But at night they will make seemingly crazy direction changes because all they can see is a blinding light.

And, lastly, drive carefully because there are large mobs of kangaroos around at present. These photos have been taken in the Golden Point area in the last few days…

Kangaroos numbers keep jumping...

CHEWTON SERVICE STATION37 Pyrenees Highway, Chewton, 3451.

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17

Poe try

Corner

Political stalemateWhen a major party needs an Independent

in order to form a government

Ours will be a marriage of inconvenience No love will be lost between us two my dear Ours will be a marriage of inconvenience No good will ever come of it I fear.

Not a cuddle nor a kiss Will adorn our wedded bliss Just a scathing glance or two Is the best I’ll get from youWe will never clear the decks For spot of rampant sex Such conjugal amusement Could twist our bodies into wrecks.

Ours will be a marriage of inconvenience Whatever I want won’t be alright with you Ours will be a marriage of inconvenience Whatever I want you’ll do what you want to do.

If I get into a jam You just wouldn’t give a damn If I needed help from you You’d have better things to doOur marriage vows will prove a curse. Not for better or for worse And in sickness - nix the doctor You’ll just order me a hearse

Ours will be a marriage of inconvenienceNo love will be lost between us two my dearIf I show a sign of meannessYou will take me to the cleanersIf I say I disagreeYou’ll make mincemeat out of meBut you dare not cut my throat‘Cos you’ll need my vital vote .No love will be lost between us two

Here’s cheers!David Watson.

Chewton Playgroup – not just for the kids!

Babies, toddlers and preschool aged children who go to playgroup can make new friends, have new experiences, gain self-confidence and develop physically, socially, emotionally and intellectually. And that’s just some of the benefits for the kids! But what’s in it for you?

Adults stay with their children at playgroup. This gives them the chance to meet other people going through similar experiences that can come with caring for young children. You get to have adult conversations, develop new social networks and friendships, share experiences, interests and ideas. It’s time to spend playing with your child, without the guilt of needing to do something else.

Come join us in the multi-purpose room at Chewton Primary School. 9.15am to 11am, Monday mornings during term, or contact the Chewton Primary School on 5472 2557.

GalahsGalahs all dressed in pink and grey Will chatter from the bright of day Until Sun’s moribundant ray. Then start again tomorrow.

Like bishops frocked in grey and rose In Synod pond’ring scriptural prose They nod their heads and softly doze. And start again tomorrow.

David Watson for Jaq, Xmas 2014

18

At POHAG’s July meeting discussion embraced on-going tasks and future funding. Weed control (gorse, blackberry and other woody weeds) is set to continue when conditions are suitable and will be implemented by contractor, Bush-co. Later there will be involvement of the school with planting, erosion control and monitoring of nearby nesting boxes. There was an enthusiastic response to distributing nesting boxes to families which had been prepared as flat-packs by Sam Samson, Alan Dry and John Ellis. James Darling handled the distribution.

A working party from Loddon Prison will be assist-ing us in a variety of projects. They have already lowered some of the nesting boxes to make them easier to monitor, installed additional nesting boxes on Block 2 and in the south-east corner of Block 3, and, drawn out some of the recyclable wire and metal to be taken away. Other tasks include the removal of old car bodies, weed control, anti-erosion works and assistance with re-vegetation.

In June, Clive Willman generously gave of his time and professional geological knowledge to accurately plot some significant features to be included in an information brochure and map.

During the years which POHAG has had a licence from DELWP to manage the Old Post Office Hill area, a lot of time and money has been spent improving the environ-ment and amenity - weed control, revegetation, removal of dumped rubbish. Personal time is willingly given to or-ganizing and participation in projects by members and the community which is greatly appreciated. Much has been achieved so far. We are encouraged by the positive feed-back received on the improved appearance and accessibil-ity. However, an evening phone call from a concerned and regular walker in the area was upsetting to say the least. On inspection, a large trailer load or ute load of household white goods and furniture had been dumped in a “seclud-ed” location where it would not be readily noticed which suggests the area was known by the individual/s. The per-petrator has no respect for the residents who live nearby, cares less for the environment, nor has any consideration for the potential impact on the morale of the members of POHAG.

Our next meeting will be at the Chewton Town Hall on Sunday, 9 August at 10:00am. ALL welcome!

Ian O’Halloran (for POHAG)

POHAG ( )

Rubbish collected and awaiting removal

Post Office HillAction Group

FOBIF walkBright winter sunshine, obscure corners

A bitterly cold morning didn’t deter FOBIF walkers from tackling some obscure corners of the Columbine and Salt-ers Creeks valleys on Sunday. The corners turned out to be even more obscure than intended when a navigation er-ror by walk leader Bernard Slattery landed the group in an unexpected approach to Salters Creek. Well, as the great Paddy Pallin might have said, in this country you’re ‘never quite lost’, and we all emerged triumphant and on time.

The walk included a look at one of Doug Ralph’s favou-rite haunts: Charlie Sanger’s hut, near Columbine Creek. As usual, we provided perfect winter weather for the oc-casion.

Photos: Lunch at Salters Creek and, top, Bernard addressing the group at Sanger’s hut site.

Next FOBIF walkThe next Friends of the Box Ironbafk Forest walk is on August 16 approximately 6 km at Tarilta Gorge & Upper Loddon State Forest.

This circuit walk commences at the junction of the Goldfields Track and Porcupine Ridge Road. Approxi-mately 2 km down the Goldfields Track we descend to a wide green valley leading to Tarilta Creek. After many stream crossings north we turn into a glorious long and wide valley leading back to the Goldfields Track and the starting point.

Richard Piesse 0448 572 867.

19

Sometimes it’s the simple things...On July 3rd some photos were taken in the frost. Noth-ing unusual so far - but when this post went on chewton.net FaceBook things started moving. 855 looks included

21 likes as the internet hotted up!Good frost this morning! -3.8 in Bendigo,

-3.9 in Redesdale and, according to the Bureau, -4 in Castlemaine. Thermometer under the ve-randa was showing -2 here and Chewton would have been colder – all the cold air rolls down Forest Creek into Chewton from here and driv-ing down Golden Point Road on a frosty morning usually sees the car’s thermometer measure a 2 to 3 degree drop in outside temperature.

But the tops of the eucalypts around the res. were white and the outside water containers were solid. The dog’s water bowl, the bird baths, the chook drinkers, the half wine barrel with the fountain – all rock solid. The solar panels iced over and rosellas looking very cold in the

bare fruit trees. But picturesque it was and tolerable knowing the baker’s oven was pumping out heat in the kitchen and just waiting for human company...

Three men were fined $607 each after breaching firewood collection laws in state forests near St Arnaud in the past fortnight.

Department of Environment, Land, Water and Plan-ning (DELWP) Fire and Land Officer David Lanyon said a member of the public alerted DELWP that two people were removing firewood from the Carapooee West State Forest on 15 July.

“Two St Arnaud men were issued infringement no-tices of $607 each for illegally removing approximately one cubic metre of firewood outside the designated collec-tion area and season,” Mr Lanyon said. “In a separate in-cident on 20 July during a regular patrol, DELWP officers found a 40 year old man from Moliagul taking firewood out of the Rheola State Forest. The man also received a $607 penalty infringement notice for collecting firewood outside of a designated collection area and season.

Under the Forest Act 1958, people who collect fire-wood outside designated firewood collection areas or a firewood collection season, take more than the maximum allowable amounts or sell firewood they have collected can face on the spot fines of $607, or a maximum penalty in court of one year imprisonment or a $7,583.50 fine, or both. DELWP and Parks Victoria officers patrol forests and take a zero tolerance approach to those who are break-ing firewood collection laws.

The domestic firewood collection season on public land is currently closed. The spring collection season will open 1 September 2015.

For more information on firewood collection on pub-lic land, please visit www.delwp.vic.gov.au/firewood

Report any suspicious behaviour in the forest to 136 186 or your nearest DELWP or Parks Victoria office or police station. Taken from a Press Release.

Illegal firewood collectors pay the price

20

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Road condition inspection underway

Mount Alexander Shire Council is conducting a detailed video imaging and condition assessment of the Shire’s 1,462km road network throughout July. The assessment will gather information to enable better management of the road system including more effective maintenance and re-newal strategies.

“Clearly marked vehicles will be traveling on all roads within the Shire using lasers and video to compre-hensively survey the condition of roads,” said Jason Tay-lor, Council’s Director Sustainable Development. “The information gathered will be uploaded onto our mapping system so we’ll have a very clear understanding of how we can best manage the road network.”

The local road network is a critical community as-set. Whilst Council undertakes regular road condition analyses this will be the most comprehensive local road assessment to date. The detailed information will inform Council’s short, medium and longer term road mainte-nance plans.

No image recordings of commercial or residential, private properties or structures will be undertaken.

The road condition inspection is part of Council’s commitment to renew and maintain local roads throughout the Shire. Council has allocated $2.84 million to be spent on roads in the Budget 2015/2016.

The assessment will not include roads which VicRo-ads is responsible for such as the Midland Highway or Pyr-enees Highway.

For more information contact Vahid Salehi, Team Leader Engineering, on 5471 1700.

Taken from a Press Release.

Pet registrations and pound fees change...

Pet registration and pound release fees in Mount Alexan-der Shire will increase from 1 July. The additional fee in-come will offset increased costs associated with providing pound services.

Mount Alexander Shire Council’s 12 year contract with the RSPCA for the provision of pound services ex-pired in March this year. A tender process was undertaken to provide this service in the future. The Domestic Ani-mals Act 1994 and the Impounding of Livestock Act 1994 requires Councils to have a pound facility for the purposes of seizure of pets and livestock.

Only one tender was received from the RSPCA at a tendered price of $110,000 (excluding GST). The RSPCA had previously been providing this service for approxi-mately $15,000 per year. The increase in price is attrib-uted to the provider’s efforts to recover the full cost of the service and the higher standards required under legislation for the care of animals.

Council has entered a 12 month contract with the RSPCA. During this time Council will investigate other potential alternatives that are more cost effective.

The new registration and pound release fees will come into effect in the 2015/2016 financial year. The new fees and charges are in line with Greater Bendigo City Council and Macedon Ranges Shire Council.

It is a legal requirement that all cats and dogs over the age of three months are registered and microchipped. Council offers a 50 per cent reduction on registration fees for pensioners, and a discount for de-sexed pets and older animals.

The fee for a microchipped desexed dog or cat is $42 or $21 for pensioners. The full fee which applies to non-desexed animals is $126 or $63 for pensioners.

Pound release fees for registered and microchipped dogs and cats are $50 for up to 24 hours. The release fee increases based on length of stay in the pound and is high-er for non-registered animals.

Livestock owners whose animals are impounded will also see an increase in pound fees.

2-8 August National Missing Persons Week

National Missing Persons Week aims to raise awareness about the significant number of young

Australians reported missing. Out of the estimated 35,000 people who are reported missing each year, approximately

20,000 are under the age of 18.

21

Councillor’s ChatIt’s pairing-off time in the bird world. Magpies are col-lecting beakfuls of moss and dry grass to line nests, parrots are checking out tree hollows and in Chewton, ducks are stopping traffic as they carry out their courtship rituals in the middle of the Pyrenees Highway. It’s all a matter of priorities. A duck is normally a cautious creature, stay-ing well out of harm’s way, but as spring approaches, the ducks of Chewton tend to indulge in extreme risk-taking behaviours.

Councils don’t like risk. A lot of effort goes into identifying risk, avoiding risk, judging the level of risk and reducing risk across all areas of council responsibil-ity. Council’s Municipal Emergency Management Plan identifies all manner of risks to public safety, including fire, flood, storm, earthquake and riot, then sets out actions to be taken, should one of these dire events occur. Volun-teers who organise public events such as the Fryerstown Antique Fair or the Castlemaine Truck Show face a major task in completing risk assessments, identifying all pos-sible risks, rating their likelihood and showing how each risk will be effectively managed. No prizes for guessing the number one risk for the Antique Fair which is held over the Australia Day weekend in one of Victoria’s top-rating fire risk areas. Meetings with the police, regional level CFA, Council and SES are an integral part of gaining approval for the event to take place.

Risks involved in Council operations aren’t lim-ited to natural disasters. Management of the landfill in-cludes dealing with the risks of methane gas release and groundwater contamination; public safety at the transfer station, disposal of dangerous materials such as asbestos and noxious chemicals. In our towns, footpaths and street trees pose risks: trip and slip hazards, falling limbs. In the current budget we’ve allocated close to $100,000 for tree maintenance across the Shire, to allow more checking and pruning of unsafe trees. A lot of our trees are showing their age, as well as stresses due to drought and storms. The attractive slate section of footpath outside the Cas-tlemaine Post Office is being replaced to remove the slip hazard caused by the slate turning into a skating rink after rain. Chewton residents wisely using their own local post office will, of course, have avoided this risk. Risk avoid-ance is always better than risk mitigation.

The list goes on: Council’s Environmental Health Officer is responsible for checking the health of commer-cial kitchens in cafes and restaurants, and their potential risk to human health. Septic tanks are checked for their risk to environmental health, and new septic systems must meet stringent criteria that are aimed to minimise such risk. Swimming pools are high risk zones, which is why the Chewton pool’s biggest running cost is the employ-ment of qualified lifeguards. Pools also have significant trip, slip and water quality risks, all of which had to be addressed before the Chewton pool could open under its present community management, Chewton Pool Inc.

Risk of fraud is present in any organisation. Coun-cil is no exception and where public money is involved,

scrutiny must be of the highest order. From volunteer committees of council that administer halls and recreation facilities to council’s internal operations, regular detailed reports of income and expenditure must be published and made available for public scrutiny. Each Section 86 com-mittee treasurer must have their annual financial report checked by an independent auditor. At the other end of the scale, to supervise its own financial operations, Coun-cil receives summary financial reports monthly, more de-tailed financial reports every three months, all published in Council agendas, and an annual report which goes to the State Government auditor for external scrutiny. Council also has an Audit and Risk Committee comprised of inde-pendent financially-qualified individuals such as accoun-tants and auditors, plus the mayor and a second councillor. This high-powered committee is charged with scrutinising Council’s quarterly finance reports from an independent expert perspective, as well as conducting an audit program of risks across all of Council’s operations, focusing on one area each time it meets. It also receives a detailed report of risk management issues within the organisation from Council’s Risk and Safety Officer (who else?).

It’s not possible to avoid or minimise risk all the time. Let’s face it, a totally risk-free life would be pretty boring. But taking measures to reduce unnecessary or se-rious risks to public health and safety is a prime responsi-bility of Council. As for the ducks’ risk-taking behaviour, let’s hope they survive the traffic long enough to sort out their transactional mating matters and settle into a nice, cosy, low-risk nesting hollow. I won’t mention how the chicks get out of the nest. Now that really is a risk man-ager’s nightmare!

Cr. Christine Henderson.

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Chewton Domain SocietyReceiving reports of on-going projects and work was a major part of the July CDS meeting. With the Chewton Community Plan it was agreed that all Chewton communi-ty groups should have further opportunity to choose their priorities for funding from the list that has been developed.

Updating chewton.net website and the Welcome to Chewton kit is one of the suggested priorities and a pos-sible budget for this would be for 100 blank CDs, ink for printing the CDs, possibly 20 hard copies and a website revamp – all up about $1,000. The committee agreed to continue this project and see what happens with the com-munity groups’ priorities for the funding. The CDS listed the Welcome to Chewton kit as its priority but there is a need to wait for an update on the community feedback.

Four new membership applications were received and accepted. A new template letter was tabled and ap-proved, these are to be sent to new members when their applications have been approved. Membership secretary Glen Harrison has set up an Excel data base to keep re-cords of memberships payments, donations and offers of help expressed on the new membership forms.

The People and Places (P&P) report led to a discus-sion on the location of old photos of Sparks and Patterson, Elaine Appleton has written to the committee asking for these photographs to go back into the town hall. Elaine reported on work she has been doing. A photo of Judy Wilks was tabled to go with an acknowledgement of her work with the P&P volunteers in the next Chat. The sign for the Chewton Town Hall on the Pyrenees Highway was discussed as it has the misleading word “museum” on it. As it is a council managed sign it was decided that the CDS ask Council to remove the word museum and that any further changes to street signs be done in conjunction with the Chewton Community Plan process.

Amongst the correspondence received was a Pio-neers and Old Residents newsletter, a MAS council Memorandum of Understanding for the public toilet and the BBQ cleaning, a Lisa Chesters newsletter, a Dept. of Environment, Land, Water and Planning letter outlining a review of Heritage Victoria Act 1995, Castlemaine His-toric Society Minutes and an Australian Tax Office letter

acknowledging the CDS deregistration from GST obliga-tions. A really mixed postal bag!

Outward correspondence included a sympathy card to Lindsay and Barbara Milton on the passing of their son Andrew. An acknowledgement of Andrew’s contribution to the website and the Chat is to be included in the next Chat.

The Treasurer’s Report showed the balance at 8.7.2015 to be $28,245.19 with accounts for payment to-talling $1,090.15. Work done and waiting for invoices to-talled $1,620.00. Other committed funds totalled $7,500 – leaving a balance of $18,035.04.

It was also pointed out in the financial report that the CDS account books are with the auditor for the end of financial year audit, GST registration has been cancelled - income from the membership mailout is now $230 and with additional donations of $280.

A quote for the concreting of the side paths of the town hall was tabled, discussed and accepted. A draft ac-cess policy for the town hall and post office was presented – members to bring comments to the next meeting.

Tom Taft has donated a musical jewellery box to be raffled as a Town Hall fund raiser at the CDS AGM. An-other raffle item is to be sought to complement this dona-tion.

The CDS AGM is to be held on Sunday 23rd August at 2 p.m., with a notice to go in the Chat. It was agreed that any current CDS committee members re-nominating for the CDS committee should get nominators and seconders from CDS members who are not current CDs committee members as a show of good will and respect. Nomination forms are available from the CDS secretary Bettie Exon. Nominations should be with the secretary a week before the AGM. A sneak preview of the update of the Welcome to Chewton Kit will be a feature of the 2015 AGM.

The meeting closed at 8.06 p.m. The next CDS Man-agement Committee Meeting will be on Monday August 17th at 7.15 p.m. in the Chewton Town Hall.

Chewton Town HallAre you looking for a place for an afternoon tea, a celebration, an exhibition, a meeting, a confer-

ence, a concert, a food preparation space?

The Chewton Town Hall offers a beautifully re-stored space available for a variety of events and

uses. (Because of the age of the building universal access is limited)

To discuss what you might need, what we can offer and the costs of hiring all or part of the hall...

contact Bettie on 5472 3892 or goldenpoint2@bigpond.com

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155 Main RdCampbells Creek

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23

Welcome to ChewtonA Welcome to Chewton Kit was a popular initiative of the Chewton Domain Soci-ety about 10 years ago. But

no-one realised just how popular! The original kits were printed booklets detailing what

Chewton had to offer, and were handed to new families arriving in the town. Several of the non-new arrivals pur-chased copies too! But after several editions - updated as the town’s attributes, businesses and attractions changed - the Welcome Kit died a lingering death. Until 2015!

In 2015 two things happened. Firstly, the Chewton Community Plan identified the kit as a high priority. Sec-ondly Susan Morgan put her hand up to drive this proj-ect and has done a power of work since then. Thanks to Susan we are now very close to achieving an up-to-date Welcome to Chewton Kit.

This will be produced in digital form - on a disc for presntation to new Chewtonians. A few hard copies will be printed for browsing at the Post Office, shop and town hall. And the information within will be presented on an up-to-date chewton.net website.

What will it include? Chewton was once the thriving heart of the Forest Creek diggings and is now a pictur-esque area surrounded by bushland and the Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park; Australia’s first nation-al heritage park. And you can have coffee at the store, browse antiques, dine at the Red Hill, explore music and art opportunities, workout at the gym, take a swim, “do” a yoga class at the local pool or enjoy a family picnic at the Res, gold prospecting, hiking, biking, archery, join a soccer team or just enjoy the serenityof the serenity of the bushlands. Is there anything else that should be included on this list?

And the Kit’s contents? Anything to be added to this list? Emergency Contacts, Fire, Ambulance, Police, Castlemaine Health (Hospital), Castlemaine District Com-munity Health, State Emergency Service (SES), Mount Alexander Shire map: Chewton map: Region, Chew-ton History, Chewton Chat, Chewton Weather, Chewton CFA, Chewton Garage, Chewton Playgroup – not just for the kids! Chewton Post Office, Chewton Senior Citi-zens, Chewton Primary School, Chewton Service Station, Chewton Store, Chewton Venue Hire (Town Hall, Com-munity Centre), St John’s Church, Parks, Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park, Ellery Park, Regu-lar Events such as the Biggest Morning Tea, Lis-tening Posts, Monster Meeting celebrations, Anzac Day, Remembrance Day, Road Bowls, Markets, Wesley Hill Market, Utilities, Chewton Cemetery, Coliban Water, Firewood, Fuel, Ice, Internet, LPG, Meals on Wheels, Mt Alexander Shire, Parks Victoria, Phone Top Up, Rubbish Collection, Community Groups, Chewton Domain Soci-

ety, People and Places, Chewton Bushlands Association, Post Office Hill Action Group, Golden Point Landcare, Red Cross, Out and About, Dining, Red Hill Hotel, Al-bion Hotel, Bold Café, Shopping, Red Box Gifts, Mo’s Antiques, Coffee (Rocket Roasts), Garden Art, Fitness, Biking, Gym, Archery, Swimming, Soccer, Yoga, Medita-tion, Gardens & Nurseries, Local Artists, Studios, Tours, Galleries, Education & Libraries, University of the Third Age, TAFE, Accommodation, Bed & Breakfasts, Local Motels, Nearby Wineries, Blackjack Wines, Bress Winery, Harcourt Valley Vineyard, Henry of Harcourt, Guilford Vineyard, Sutton Grange Winery, Taradale Wine and Pro-duce, Neighbouring Attractions, Fryerstown, Castlemaine, Harcourt, Sutton Grange, Getting Around, Walking, Bus (Castlemaine Bus Lines), Taxi (Castlemaine Taxi servic-es), Trains, Melbourne Airport Bus, Business Contacts and services, Building, Bricklaying, Painting, Plumbing, Carpentry / Handyman, Electronics, Excavating, Fitness/Massage, Gardening, Health, Information technology, Of-fice Supplies, Party Hire, Pets, Self-Storage and so on.

Has anything been overlooked? As the last crossing of the ts and the dotting of the is takes place it would be good to feel comforatble that everything has been includ-ed. Please email goldenpoint2@bigpond.com any sugges-tions in early August - or call 5472 2892.

With your help......the Welcome to Chewton Kit is on its way!

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A curry every day Monk Dish on Friday & Saturday

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Telephone: 54 706 038 Your Host: Onn Ho

24

Not far from the centre of Chewton walkers on the Goldfields Track pass by this site. This section that runs between Castlemaine and Bendigo is known as the Leanganook Track and it takes walkers from Castlemaine to Chewton before crossing Forest Creek and passing this site en route to Man-chester reef, the Garfield Water Wheel and beyond.

A reminder of the goldfields history of this area are the walls left standing. A reminder of the environ-ment that existed before the gold rush is the massive yellow box standing in the same area. The girth and canopy of this tree are truly impressive, and worth a pause (and a moment of reflec-tion) while walking the track.

Looking down on Chewton...

From the hills to the north there are panoramic views of the Forest Creek valley and in the distance - Chewton. The lower arrow shows part of Expedition Pass Reservoir.

...and two old timers

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25

News vender (sic) Forest Creek (on right) is a favourite S.T.Gill sketch for obvious reasons - and the correct version is in the on-line gallery of the State Library of Victoria. And now for the next few months the spotlight is really going to be on Gill and his memorable drawings of life on the goldfields.

Now we can step back in time to colonial Australia in a stunning free exhibition at the State Library. Australian sketch-book: Colonial life and the art of ST Gill provides a window onto everyday life on the goldfields

and in the bush, cities and towns of 19th-century Australia and it is now open.

Prospectors, Aboriginal Australians, larrikins and swagmen – see classic Australian characters brought to life in the vibrant imagery of ST Gill, the most significant artist of the colonial era. From Dead Man’s Creek to Dig-gers Rest, Gill captures the essence of our young nation – its resilience, dry humour and above all, its love of an underdog.

Once Australia’s most popular artist and now a for-gotten name, this first-ever retrospective brings a lifetime of ST Gill’s work to light, showcasing more than 200 paintings, drawings, watercolours and prints. The exhibi-tion is complemented by a host of free programming, in-cluding guided tours, illuminating discussions and curator presentations. A major publication on Gill’s life and work has been launched to accompany this exhibition. Pick up a copy of ST Gill and his audiences by curator and art his-torian Professor Sasha Grishin.

This exhibition is open 10am–5pm in the Keith Mur-doch Gallery at the State Library of Victoria.

Regional Victorian galleries in Castlemaine, Bal-larat, Bendigo and Geelong are hosting displays of ST Gill artwork from their own collections, curator talks and book launches from July to October 2015. The Baillieu Library at University of Melbourne is displaying ST Gill works from their collection.

Castlemaine Art Gallery hosted a well-attended talk and book launch by Emeritus Professor Sasha Grishin, and sold many of the new books - signed by the author.

And if that’s not enough Gill to do your head in, you can book in to “Colour of Gold” at the Bendigo Writers Festival on Saturday 8th of August, 2.30 p.m. at the Visual Arts Centre, View street, Bendigo. This is advertised as, “The watercolours by ST Gill provide insight into gold-fields life. Art historian Sasha Grishin talks to Bendigo Art Gallery’s Tansy Curtin about why he has created both an exhibition and a new book about this undervalued art-ist.” And this associated video may be of interest…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21PZTJm2_XQ

S.T.Gill exhibitions now open!

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Mount Alexander Mail - Thursday 19 August 1915DEATH. - McCANCE. -

On the 9th August, 1915,Corporal John Elmer McCance, died from wounds received at the Dardanelles, dearly, loved eldest son of Mrs McCance, and the late F. E. Mc-Cance, of Chewton; aged 34 years; also on the 1st August, 1915, 2nd Lieut. Finlay McCance, died from wounds re-ceived in action in France.

Far, far away, from all your race,And those that love you best,No kindred hand to deck the place.Where you are laid to rest.But pitying eyes may sometimes gazeUpon that sad and lonely spot, God watcheth where we all are laid.And heroes brave you shall never be forgot.Our brave boy at rest.

- Inserted by his loving mother, brother and sisters. Chewton, August 18/1915.

Mount Alexander Mail - Tuesday 3 August 1915RAILWAY TROLLEY SMASH BETWEEN

ELPHINSTONE AND CHEWTON.A LAST NIGHT OCCURRENCE. NO MEN MISSING. Tragedy was suggested by the broken piece of a trolley that was impaled on the cow-catcher of the engine of the 8.30 goods train from Woodend on its arrival at Castle-maine station last night. But as far as could be ascertained by inquiry between here and Kyneton no railway workers are missing.

On examination of the train when it steamed in at five minutes to eleven, the broken fragments of a depart-mental trolley on the front of the engine were at once no-ticeable. The police were promptly communicated with, and hasty investigation made at the various stations along the line. Careful scrutiny of the engine failed to trace even a suspicion of blood-marks, and this fact brought relief.

It was reported from Chewton that a man had left there on a trolley going towards Elphinstone, presum-ably to take the night shift on guard at the tunnel at eleven o’clock. It was suggested that he had been run down by the train. But it was elicited that there was no one missing from there, although no explanation was available as to what had become of the trolley.

The engine driver, in response to accusations, stated he did not notice any impact, nor any unusual circum-stance. The night was very dark and the train was making the most of its non-stop run from Woodend to Castlemaine.

Up to an early hour this morning the inquiry was continued, but with no definite result. A search of the line, it is understood, will be instituted this morning.

Glen Harrison.

Chewton - 100 years ago... Wattle Gully MineThe Victorian Heritage Register has Wattle Gully Mine listed as (VHR) Number H1879. Its poppet head is a tow-ering reminder of Chewton’s gold history. The plaque citation approved for the site says, “Wattle Gully quartz mine was first worked in 1853 and was the richest mine in Victoria in the 1930s. The site retains evidence of chang-ing goldmining technology in the twentieth century.”

Now the site is locked up and deserted, with the 1200 foot shaft derelict and full of water while it awaits its next phase of life – believed to be in the custodianship of Parks Victoria. The poppet head is symbolic of the mine but in fact has only been there since the early 1950s when new plant (a winding engine, steel poppet head, and twenty-head battery) was added . The plant was obtained from the Central Nell Gwynne Company, Bendigo. And the domi-nant noise of the new battery is still recalled by many old Chewton identities.

Wattle Gully Mine holds a pivotal position in the his-tory of the State’s quartz mining industry. The rich strike at Wattle Gully mine in 1937 helped revive the State’s gold mining industry that had been in the doldrums since the First World War. Wattle Gully, and a handful of other ‘new’ companies (the Maude and Yellow Girl, Morning Star, A 1, and North Deborah) were the flagships of the revived industry and sustained the State’s gold produc-tion for some 30 years. Wattle Gully mine, with a yield of 350,000 ounces, was the richest mine of its era.

By 1940, the Wattle Gully Company had paid out £207,000 in dividends to its shareholders. The company continued to mine profitably through the Second World War, though it struggled due to a shortage of manpower. After the war, the mine continued to develop but on 13 March 1969, the Wattle Gully Company closed down the mine, laying off 62 men. After 1970 Wattle Gully mine worked intermittently until it closed shortly after. The site offices were then used by a succession of companies that bought “ownership and leasehold” of the Castlemaine Goldfields and extensive drilling and 3D mapping opera-tions were continued there until the latest owner consoli-dated all operations in Ballarat.

With the decline and demise of “the mine” Chewton has changed. No longer are there football,, cricket and tennis teams, and the number of businesses has declined. In 2004 a Back to Wattle Gully Mine attracted big num-bers and was a highly successful event. The Chewton Chat

24-30 August Keep Australia Beautiful Week

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caught up ex-Wattle Gully worker and then-Chewtonite Joe Wilson who told his story for the June 2004 edition…

Joe went to work at Wattle Gully Mine immedi-ately after leaving school at 16. He initially worked on the project of extracting gold from the old sand tailings. The tailings dump stretched between the mine and the rail-way line. Joe’s job involved being in the bottom of the pit pitchforking out the reeds and cumbungi so that they wouldn’t block up the grates as the tailings were pumped up to the tanks and put through screens.

Seventeen was the legal age for working under-ground and Joe couldn’t wait! Working underground in-volved back filling stopes at all levels, the stopes being the “rooms” where the actual mining took place. Slurry was pumped in to raise the floor and back fill as the stope expanded. Rock bolting, timbers and heavy wire mesh were constantly in use to hold unstable ground. Work un-derground involved arriving in civvy clothes, changing into the cap, lamp, boots, gloves and overalls for the rest of the shift, showering and changing back into civvies at

knock off time. The dirty clothes never went home! The underground work sites were comfortable with power un-derground, microwaves in the crib huts (lunchrooms) and toilets.

One particular record Joe was keen to share was the day his team of four set the ore trucking record for Wat-tle Gully Mine. Working on Level 9 with Joe on the plat (placing each truck in the cage), Aaron Pinkerton as loco driver thundering down the drive with 6 trucks at a time, Wayne Tyrua as the winder driver and John Murdoch as braceman pulling the trucks out of the cage, 280 of the ¾ ton trucks were handled in one shift.

When the mine was in full production three shifts operated with a rotating roster for the workers. The noise level varied according to the shifts worked. When a face was fired the explosions would set the earth rumbling and rattling. The day and afternoon shifts bore out and set the explosives and detonators in place and just before mid-night the blasts began. Riding the cage up at the end of the 4 to midnight shift was exciting because the explosions at the different levels could be heard.

The visit to the mine brought back many more mem-ories for Joe. There was the dampness and the pumps nec-essary to relay the water to the top from 1,200 feet down, the constant temperature, the three foot of mud that had to be shovelled out from the entire length of Level 11 when it was re-opened, the bend in the shaft at about Level 5 that made riding the cage interesting (and was straightened at last in the mid-eighties), the four in the cage ride up and down the shaft that often became many more sharing the cage on Friday nights, the emergency manway that had an escape ladder running the full 1,200 feet from top to bot-tom (you were stuffed when you got to the top!) and the ghost on Level 6! And there is the memory of the final shift; no speculation, no warning - just a get changed and leave the site, it’s all over.

There were also the characters and their stories, and this was Chewton at its bloody best according to Joe! The Chewton and Wesley Hill shops were gold mines on their own providing food, and stories of the Red Hill Hotel in those days still abound. Joe still remembers Wattle Gully as a job where he could honestly say that he loved going to work every single day. He added, “It’s a grouse feeling to be associated with such a terrific part of our wonderful Wattle Gully Mine history, and I would love to see the day that it fires up again, as it was certainly good for the town and the surrounding district.”

We need friendly people with an appreciation of Chew-ton’s history, who are prepared to give 3 hours one Satur-day or Sunday each month. Please ring Allan Dry 54723385 or Elaine Appleton 54722498 if you would like to be part of the team.

TOWN HALL EXHIBITION ROSTERSATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS (& most Public Holidays) 1pm to 4pm SCHOOL HOLIDAYS WEEKDAYS BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

Please

arrang

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own

swap if

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August 2015Saturday 1 RoseSunday 2 Frank Saturday 8 JoanSunday 9 AllanSaturday 15 ElaineSunday 16 MarionSaturday 22 IreneSunday 23 GlenSaturday 29 RoseSunday 30 Fran

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Merrick Mason Hilton was photographed along with a Verey Photo Collection photo of his grandfather on a vis-it to the town hall’s People and Places display from the Verey Collection. His grandfather is Arthur Sparks, the son of JW Sparks and he had succeeded J.W. Sparks as Chewton’s Town Clerk. To add to this web of connections, Merrick had narrated the segment about his great grand-father J.W. Sparks for the History of Chewton videos that had been produced by Elaine Appleton.

Merrick also provided photos (below) of Arthur’s wife, Mary Mason Sparks (Jenkin) and their daughters Constance and Edith. Both girls attended Chewton State School 1054, and Edith is Merrick’s mother.

Who were the Sparks?Norton Cottage is in

Main Road. It is the house JW Sparks lived in. Arthur and Mary lived in Eureka Street.

There are many ex-amples of J.W. Sparks’ work around Chewton. The Church Street Chan-nel and the stone retaining wall along Forest Creek are two that are acknowledged on the Shire’s Heritage listings. He retired due to ill health on the 30th Nov 1908. Sparks Road, near the Chewton Cemetery, is named after him.

A copy of the autobi-ography of Jas. W. Sparks is in the town hall.

Elaine Appleton.

Buda Historic Home and GardenA property of national significance.

Home of the noted Gold and Silversmith ERNEST LEVINY and his family from 1863 to 1981, featuring authentic furnishings, arts and crafts collection, significant heritage garden and grounds.

Nursery selling drought-hardy plants, many propagated from the garden. Open hours Wed - Sat 12noon to 5pm, Sunday 10am to 5pm. Groups by appointment.

42 Hunter Street, Castlemaine 3450, T/F: (03) 5472 1032 E: admin@budacastlemaine.org

Wesley HillCommunity Market

Every Saturday7.30am – 1.00pm

An old fashioned Country MarketOpposite the Albion Hotel

New stallholders always welcome.Call the Market Manager

0418 117 953

29

Creeping cactusWheel Cactus (Opuntia robusta) has been moving outwards from the Mal-don area since (we think) the mid-1900s. Its spread accelerated some years ago when the local ravens discovered that the fruit was good to eat. Plants have recently appeared in Castle-maine, so this is probably a good time for to look out for any young cacti that may have already invaded the Chew-ton area.

This cactus is a close cousin of the Prickly Pear (Opuntia stricta) and is often confused with it. Howev-er, its discs are quite different – round, rather than pear-shaped – and it is much more invasive, in this area at least. It has been declared a Weed of National Significance, and for very good reasons. The plants, among other things:• are very resourceful and prolific invaders• are not a ‘good look’ in bushland and paddocks• cause serious harm to grazing and browsing animals• can cover a whole hillside in just a few years.

Young plants are most likely to be found under trees, where the ravens perch; cactus seeds can also be carried by foxes onto open land.

It sounds depressing. However, here in the Maldon area the Tarrengower Cactus Control Group (aka Cactus Warriors) are feeling very encouraged by what a few deter-mined people have achieved in clearing some very badly infested properties. We are confident that this unpleasant weed can be stopped.

Anyone who would like to find out more about Wheel Cactus and how to kill it is welcome to join us on our regu-lar field days, which we hold on the last Sunday of ev-ery month (except in the hotter, snakier summer months). We’re a friendly crowd, and it’s a great way to learn about the most effective methods of dealing with this pest weed, as well as pick up some very good tips on what not to do! (e.g. you can’t expect them to just lie down and die where they’ve been dropped.)

Field days are held from 10.30 to 12.30 on the last Sunday of each month at a selected location. The morn-ing starts with a demo and then we take up our tools, spread out and kill cacti. We finish at midday with a free BBQ lunch (snags or vegie burgers), a cuppa and a chat.

Our August Field Day will be on Sunday 30th at a property in Tarrengower School Road, off Watersons Road north of Maldon, turning left from the Maldon–Bridgewa-ter Road. There will be helpful CACTUS signs from the turnoff to show you the way.

Wear outdoor boots and a hat, and waterproofs and woollies if you need them. Tools, injectors etc. will be provided for the day.

For further information:• access the Tarrengower Cactus Control Group web-

site: www.cactuswarriors.org• or ring Ian Grenda on 0412 015 807. Frances Wade.

Nuts about Maldon MarketMarket goers are a nutty bunch – heading out in any kind of weather to get their fresh, seasonal and local produce. Many of the regular Maldon Market shoppers have be-come addicted to the peanut butter made fresh on-site by Nut Fusion and the fragrant nut snack ranges from Twins Pantry, others wait patiently for the Autumn harvest of fresh walnuts from Boonderoo Walnuts.

Boonderoo Walnuts have about 6,000 walnut trees on their orchard in Redesdale, Victoria which they have lovingly converted from a sheep farm. They have another 4,000 trees on their orchard in the Murray Valley. When they began this journey, the majority of walnuts eaten in Australia were imported from overseas, leaving a niche waiting to be filled by a quality Australian product.

Boonderoo Walnuts offer walnuts in several different ways; Inshell, Kernel – Halves and Pieces, Walnut & Date Roulade or dry roasted with spices, herbed parmesan or Sesame glazed with maple syrup. They also produce spe-cialty walnut oil – one of only three producers in Australia.

“Walnuts are one of the original superfoods, and we want Australians to be eating 10 a day!” says Hilary Jan-kelson of Boonderoo Farms.

Locals Wayne and Kath Hollis are the force behind Nut Fusion, and in their own words “we are nuts about nuts”. They create honest, unique and natural nut based products blended with a mix of real fruit and spices. Mar-ket goers can also purchase their peanut butter which is freshly ground on site – and without the additives of regu-lar peanut butter.

Join us on 9 August for the next Maldon Market: Hand Made, Home Grown and go nuts with the rest of us! The Maldon Market is held on the second Sunday of every month from 9 – 2pm in Fountain St & Shire Garden, Mal-don.

For more infor-mation, please con-tact the Market Co-ordinator Phillippa Schuster market@maldonnc.org.au or 0477201654

Taken from a Press Release.

30

Indian Classical Dance Bharata Natyam

An Indian classical dance performance by Avanthi Raju will be presented at the old Fryerstown School on Sunday 23rd August from 4pm, followed by refreshments.

Avanthi Raju started dancing at a young age and went on to perform in various dance school concerts. Firstly, the Allaripu will be performed. This is a piece that is com-prised of pure dance and is traditionally danced to open a Bharatanatym program. This is in contrast to the next dance, Kaliguga Varadhan, which explores the expressive and narrative side of the art form. Sung in Tamil, a south Indian language, the story is about Lord Subramaniam (Kartikeya), the protector of the divinity, Kaliyuga. It is said that Kaliyuga will appear at the end of the fourth final time period of Hinduism, coincidently called Kaliyuga.

Admission is free – donations to the school are en-couraged. Bookings are required for seating and catering purposes. Bookings may be made online at trybooking.com/IIAQ or by phoning 0407 015918 or emailing anandraju@bigpond.com.

Walking Tours

Walks with expert, local guides Gentle, fun walk, all ages and abilities welcome

Historical and Botanical tours Bring your hat and water bottle

www.cdchcastlemaine.com.au

Chewton History Walk When: Wednesday 26th August, 10.00 - 11.00am Where: Meet outside Chewton Senior Citizen’s Centre, Main Rd, Chewton. Who: Led by local resident Ian O’Halloran Cost: Free

North Muckleford Native Orchid Walk When: Wednesday 23rd September, 10.15am – 11.30am Where: Meet at the Gower School Ruins, Castlemaine- Maldon Rd. Who: Led by Dot Henshall, U3A Bush Ramblers Cost: Free

For more information call Castlemaine District Community Health on:

Phone: 5479 1000 Cancelled in the event of heavy rain

No RSVP required

Changes to Council’s Community Grants Scheme

Mount Alexander Shire Council’s annual Strengthen-ing Our Community Grants Scheme is currently being reviewed to provide an easier, more efficient program to support community initiatives across the Shire.

The review will introduce processes to enable a fast-er turnaround and less paperwork for community organ-isations so that they receive their funds quickly.

“This is a great opportunity for us to refresh the grant scheme and ensure that it is still meeting both the needs of Council and the community,” said Vicky Mason, Coun-cil’s Director Sustainable Communities.

As part of the review the timelines of the 2015/2016 funding round have been changed to better align with oth-er grant programs. They will now open in January 2016.

A series of workshops and information sessions will be held over the coming months to provide the opportu-nity for community organisations to be introduced to other funding programs, to develop their grant writing skills and plan for financial sustainability.

For more information about the 2015/2016 Strength-ening Our Community Grants Scheme please call contact us or email grants@mountalexander.vic.gov.au.

Warm thanks for the quiltPaul sent a photo of himself for the Chewton Chat with a message to say thank you. He was the winner of the quilt at Chewton’s Biggest Morning Tea raffle and said it couldn’t have come at a better time as this winter seems to have been the coldest one he has experienced.

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The Chewton Chat is published by the Chewton Domain Society. A subcommittee of John Ellis (Ed.),Bettie Exon, Gloria Meltzer, Debbie Hall, Phil Hall and Glen Harrison is responsible for the publication. Many volunteers help with production and circulation. It is circulated on the first of each month, necessitating a deadline of about the 22nd of the month before. Material can be left at the Chewton General Store, with any of the sub-committee members, sent by e-mail to goldenpoint2@bigpond.com or by calling 5472 2892.

Contributions of ideas, news items, articles, and letters are always welcome; as are advertisements that help meet monthly production costs. Circulation is via the Chewton General Store, Chewton Pet Supplies, Chewton Post Office, East End Servo, Red Hill Hotel, Castle Automotive Enterprises and Tourist Information Board, as well as the Bold Cafe, Castlemaine Library, Market Building, CHIRP, CIC, Castlemaine Copy Cen-tre and Castlemaine Office Supplies. Mt. Alexander Hospital Residential receives monthly copies too. Whilst copies are free, there are donation tins at many collection points and donations can be mailed to the CDS address below. Subscriptions for mailed copies can be arranged. Circula-tion is now 700. A full colour Chewton Chat can also be downloaded each month from www.chewton.net - as can earlier issues. The CDS can be contacted through PO Box 85, Chewton, 3451; or the Chewton Town Hall 5470 6131 (when open). The Chewton Chat wishes to advise that the views or remarks expressed in this publication are not necessarily the views of the editor, the management team or the Chewton Domain Society and no endorsement of service is implied by the listing of advertisers, sponsors or contributors.

FIELD NATSVISITORS ARE WELCOME AT CLUB

MEETINGS AND EXCURSIONSFri Aug 14th: Meeting:

Speaker Rod Orr on ‘Bendigo’s Botanical Wonders’

Sat Aug 15th: Field trip to

Whipstick State ParkOrdinary membership: Single $30, Family $40, Pensioner or student: Single $25, Family $30. Subscription includes postage of the monthly

newsletter, Castlemaine Naturalist.

General meetings - (second Friday of each month, except January) are held in the Uniting Church (UCA) Hall (enter from Lyttleton St.) at 7.30 pm. Field Trips - (Saturday following the general meeting) leave from the car park opposite Cas-tle Motel, Duke Street at 1.30pm sharp unless stated otherwise. BYO afternoon tea. Outdoor excursions are likely to be cancelled in extreme weather conditions. There are NO excursions on total fire ban days.CASTLEMAINE FIELD NATURALISTS,

PO BOX 324, CASTLEMAINE 3450http://castlemainefnc.wordpress.com/

Vocal Nosh!A good sing & good food in convivial company

Sunday 2nd August at 6pmAt Newstead Community Centre

Led this month by Fay White Theme: Travelling Songs

•6:00 - 7:00pm Vocal entrée - warm up and easy stuff•7:00 - 7:30pm Food - Hearty soup, crusty bread, fresh fruit•7:30 - 8:30 pm Musical main course - delicious harmonies

Songs in the folk style, mostly a cappella

No prior musical experience necessary. No need to read music.

Singing for the pleasure of it.

Whole session including food $15, concession $12, chil-dren $5, first hour only $5.

Bookings by email: faywhite.music@westnet.com.au or phone Fay 5461 5471

Are you interested in

PLAYING THE BLUES?You are invited to a monthlyJam Session at Elphinstone

This is a non-professional, informal get-togetherof people who want to make some noise and have some fun!

If you are into blues music andsing or play an instrument

you are welcome!For more information:

Email: cpatrick@impulse.net.au

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Just got to start with a bit of good cheer. The Cootamundra wattle is flowering near Lawsons Bridge, which means that spring is on its way, eventually. Doesn’t matter that it takes over when it’s not wanted, and considered by many a weed; it’s flowering its familiar bright yellow flowers and light green leaves, and that makes wind, rain and chill more bearable. And another thing that makes winter chill more bearable, is the rain that has filled some of our tanks and reservoirs once again. I have noticed some dams far from full, so let’s hope that changes next month for those folks.

Turning now to some data, I have recorded 46.5 millimetres so far this month. It has been good soaking rain that has drilled itself into my topsoil and increased the height of the water in my wicking beds. Whilst it is not yet up to the average 60 millimetres that June and July usually bring, I am pleased that we have had a few good downpours. Last month we had a number of NSR (not-sufficient-to-register) days, which promised a lot that did not materialise. But this month, we had a good 35 millimetres over a five day period in the middle of the month. Most welcome, and better than the El Nino promise of poor rains so far this winter and spring. Fingers crossed that it keeps on keeping on.

Temperatures however have been normal. Pretty chilly ‘double-doona’ nights all round. This month

The Cootamundra Wattle is floweringwe have experienced an overnight monthly average of just less than 3.5 degrees celsius. Our overnight mode was just 1 degree celsius, encouraged down by one -4 degree night and a number of -2 and -1 degree lows to accompany it. Our monthly daytime temperature has continued to fall, giving us an average daytime value of 9.8 degrees celsius. This is two degrees lower than last month. The mode was also just 10 degrees celsius. Our highest temperature for the month was 14 degrees C.

The obvious question is, “Are June/July our coldest months of the year”. The answer is, in many years they are. There is not much in it, but August is often just a tad warmer, and a bit less wet than either June or July. Within my brief experience of Chewton weather, we may be over the worst of the winter within a month or two. So, more strength to the Cootamundra wattle.

Finally, a last look at the Bureau of Meteorolgy and its El Nino watch. The latest information is that a major El Nino event has been forecast for the rest of the year and beyond. This event is likely to lead to prolonged drier, hotter conditions across much of eastern Australia. It has been officially declared by the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM). This is likely to lead to a shift towards Spring weather more quickly than normal, with more warm more quickly, but less rain.

John Leavesley.

Calendar of EventsAug 1st MoBQ (Chewton Community BBQ), 6 p.m., Ellery Pak. BYO everything.Aug 1st Service, 6 p.m., St. John’s Anglican Church, Chewton.Aug 2nd Vocal Nosh, 6 p.m., Newstead Community Centre (see page 31).Aug 8th Service, 6 p.m., St. John’s Anglican Church, Chewton.Aug 9th POHAG meeting, 10 a.m., Chewton Town Hall.Aug 11th MAS Council meeting, 7.30 p.m., Civic Centre, Castlemaine.Aug 15th Service, 6 p.m., St. John’s Anglican Church, Chewton.Aug 16th FOBIF walk at Tarilta (see page 18, call 0448 572 867).Aug 16th Concert, 2 p.m., St. John’s Anglican Church, Chewton.Aug 17th CDS Management Committee meeting, 7.15 p.m., Chewton Town Hall.Aug 23rd Deadline for September Chewton Chat.Aug 23rd Golden Point Landcare celebrates 21 years! 10 a.m., Chewton Town Hall. Aug 23rd Chewton Domain Society AGM, 2 p.m., Chewton Town Hall.Aug 23rd Service, 6 p.m., St. John’s Anglican Church, Chewton.Aug 25th MAS Council meeting, 7.30 p.m., Civic Centre, Castlemaine.Aug 26th Chewton history walk, 10 a.m., meet outside Chewton Community Centre.Aug 30th Service, 6 p.m., St. John’s Anglican Church, Chewton.Aug 31st Folding Chewton Chat (Monday), 2.30 p.m., Chewton Town Hall.

Considered joining the Chewton CFA yet?

Maybe it’s time! See pages 4 and 5.