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1 CHEWTON CHAT CHEWTON DOMAIN SOCIETY (INCORPORATED) Reg. No. A0034364L P.O. Box 85, Chewton, 3451. Published on the 1st of each month Issue 201 November, 2015. www.chewton.net Whichever way you look at it October had it all! Bonfires, awards, book launches, lederhosens... ...and the excitement was palpable!

Chewton Chat November 2015

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A busy October in Chewton - 2 books launched, ozzies in lederhosen, fire brigade braces for summer, awards, 200 Chats and social media chimericks (?)

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Page 1: Chewton Chat November 2015

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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 201 November, 2015.

www.chewton.net

Whichever way you look at it

October had it all!Bonfires, awards, book launches, lederhosens...

...and the excitement was palpable!

Page 2: Chewton Chat November 2015

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A hot time in the old town...

Another great Chewton community night hosted by Chewton CFA! The success of last year’s bonfire night was repeated in 2015 – let’s hope this event embeds itself into the calendar as an annual event.

With Rob Palmer proving to be as adept as an MC as he is as “the postman” the day kicked off with Eve Morden on the keyboard. Eve’s stunning performance showed why (and how) she had won Castlemaine’s recent Battle of the Bands. Crowd numbers kept building up as she performed, her voice and music echoing around central Chewton. Opportunities were provided for donations to be made as people arrived and the raffle table was also attracting a lot of activity. The generos-ity of the crowd seemed to be matching their appreciation of the event.

Centre stage and the microphones were taken over by Team and Christine Henderson. Although Christine is perhaps better known in Chewton as the shire’s mayor who attends listening posts and functions, launches books, opens events and even writes for the Chat - her musical input with Team was memorable. Their adaption of some songs to include references to strategic plans and swimming pools was greeted with applause – and a call for an encore. But, as MC Rob ex-

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plained, the mayor wasn’t taking questions at this time!The aroma from the BBQ was drifting around the CFA building

and the free food became a magnet. Queues formed. And the BBQ was complemented by the unique flavours of Ice Cream Social, and then later with servings of sliced watermelon – eventually the caterers seemed glad of the opportunity to sit down.

Chewton’s CFA captain Steve Womersley gave a rundown on the CFA’s progress since the last bonfire. The brigade’s many vol-unteers were acknowledged – even those working and unable to be at the bonfire were applauded. Paige, David, Bernie, Jo, Ro, Warren, Barry, veteran John, Gary, Bob, Chris, Daniel – the naming went on much faster than all the names could be recorded! The success of the brigade’s recruiting campaign was also applauded – but it was pointed out there are still vacancies. And the necessity of continu-ous fund-raising. In keeping with the community spirit of this event, Chewton’s Pool Manager Jasmine Samson was given the microphone to also make a pitch for volunteer support at our pool. Community volunteers make the world go round – and they certainly make the community what it is!

The right to light the bonfire was then auctioned. The bidding quickly reached $50 and the mayor was presented with the box of matches to do the deed. But on the other side of the bonfire, an “ar-sonist” was already at work. Someone who has form! Someone who had tried to warm the venue for a winter POHAG meeting and caused the meeting to be re-located at the last minute! So flames greeted the mayor as she approached. Someone commented, “There may well be a $50 surcharge on your next rate notice Sam.”

As the fire died Carl Panuzzo took over the entertainment - and then the arrival of the large group known as Quba saw the site turn into an impromptu dance floor. An incredible community event, a su-perb atmosphere, great organisation – congratulations Chewton CFA!

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Bushland dreaming…A shared dream brings people out! The town hall in Chewton hosted the AGM of the Chewton Bushlands Association one night, then within days filled again for a book launch. And as people arrived a screen display was an attention grabber. Drones-eye video of the Chewton Bushlands meant most of us were seeing the Bushlands in a new light!

Association President, Mark Carter made the introductory remarks be-fore handing on to Antoinette Birkenbeil who confided, “I was torn between the titles “A Moveable Feast” and “Context is Everything” for the name for this piece of writing - an attempt to describe the process of sorting through the enormous amount of material from a wide variety of sources for the publica-tion of this work which has taken so long to come together. Yet, interestingly enough, when we first got the grant, every member of this organisation was so excited about getting the money to put together a history of the Chewton Bushlands we all ran off in our individual directions, as members of com-munity groups often do, without realising that we all had completely different ideas about the content of the book and how we should go about collecting the actual information.

The township of Chewton already had a number of excellent historical accounts but the Chewton Bushlands seemed to be just a place where wood was gathered and kangaroos were shot. Some of the content for the book seemed obvious at the time but the most moving and difficult part was the col-lection of the individual stories, which form the backbone of this publication.

The history group committee members Glen Harrison, Cate Freeman and Karen Baker were the major movers in drawing the threads of the publication together in their dialogues about content and structure, usually history and the environment versus the real estate. The indomitable Ken Savage maintained order and set high standards in his management of the group while providing content and doing research. Designer Mark Carter gave the project shape and form by generously offering many ideas that allowed us to visualise how the content might appear in the final publication. However it was Cate’s determi-nation to involve as many residents as possible, which led to the collection of

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stories and finally locating the Parsons family, who gave her many important documents from the time of the creation of the original subdivision, which have given the book a solid and unique historical foundation.

These documents showed how the involvement of people like Laurie Turner helped Brian Parsons to create the charac-ter of the subdivision that came to be known as the Chewton Bushlands, and how the residents were able to benefit from his planning and forethought to shape a way of life that contin-ues to accommodate inclusive and lively debate. However, it is undeniably Cate’s leadership and persistence that has al-lowed the group to produce this unique document, which has enhanced a deeper understanding of an important part of our history. Whether the residents are permanent or weekenders, newcomers or old timers, living in or around the bushland, it must be said that much of the area around the original subdivi-sion includes many people who are an integral part of the bush-lands community and that the township is also an important part of our lives. This insight provides context, and context is everything.

Many of the people who live in the bushlands came to live there for privacy and for the space from our neighbours but we understood the value of the sharing of those stories. The contri-bution of these brave experiences is greatly appreciated by the committee. Only some of those stories are published here, and those of you whose stories were not included in the final publi-cation, may wish to have your stories published on the wonder-ful website which Mark has also created on our behalf. Anyone with any more information or stories to tell should contact us via the website - we would love to hear from you.”

The launch was then completed by our shire’s mayor Christine Henderson. Her role in the book’s genesis and her obvious enjoyment of the completed book’s contents gave a special context to her speech. Bushlander Ken Savage present-ed a copy of the book to the Chewton Domain Society, which president Helen McGeachin accepted. It seems everyone has special memories of the Chewton Bushlands.

Then it was time to purchase a copy from the rapidly decreasing stockpile on sale, to sa-vour the champagne, to converse – and to read!

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Only in Sri Lanka - but launched in Chewton!A sunny Sunday and despite daylight sav-ing kicking in a few hours earlier, the Chewton Town Hall was packed with guests for the book launch. Gloria Melt-zer is perhaps bet-ter known locally as the interviewer who writes the monthly Know Your Neigh-bour column in the Chewton Chat – but she’s also a published

author and her tenth book was launched in the Chewton Town Hall.

After music provided by local jazz musicians took advantage of the town hall’s acoustics, a friend of Gloria’s stepped up as MC for the afternoon. Carmel introduced herself, made some introductory remarks and invited the Mayor of Mount Alexander to perform the launch – Chris-tine Nixon! Once the laughter subsided Christine Hen-derson took up the tale, telling of reading the book in the surrounds of Mungo. She read many excerpts from the book to paint an intriguing picture and tantalise the listen-ers about the book’s contents.

Then it was Gloria’s turn. At this point, Gloria

knocked over a glass. This prompted her partner Vaughan to comment audibly that we were launching a book – not a ship! After the laughter subsided, Gloria added a personal touch to the book’s introduction, also quoting conversa-tions that had obviously impacted on her.

Then the serious business of food, drink, conversa-tion, book signings and photo opportunities took over. Only in Sri Lanka is now available… and congratulations Gloria!

Only in Sri Lankaa review by Gabriell Posetti

This was a lovely read. And I am really glad I have read it.There are a couple of reasons for finding it not only a

pleasant armchair view of another place, it is both a lovely look at a culture, and a peek at long range grand-parenting. This book is written against the backdrop of the recent im-pacts of civil war and tsunami. How real that tsunami be-came reading this book.

To us, comfortably in Australia, phoning in a dona-tion, that event is almost forgotten. How well it is brought before my gaze now. Gloria’s daughter-in-law saw it in front of her. Her family saw it lapping at their feet. Some neighbours’ last sight was probably just moments before being overwhelmed by it. For this clarity, I am grateful..

I have been to Sri Lanka. It was the lazy Sri Lanka of back-packer hotels; local bus rides up perilous roads, buses carrying 2 passengers to every seat - and a few hang-ing on for dear life at the door; long trips in trains threat-ening to come apart at the seams, brutalising commune with bureaucracy. With my husband and 2 small kids, we were goggle eyed from start to leaving a month later. Not the ‘held in the bosom in the loving family’ of this book.

The Sri Lanka I remember is lush, colourful, humid, noisy, bewildering encounters, delicious food and incred-ibly, WHO had recently declared the Sri Lankans the most washed people in the world, so at the same time every af-ternoon, the heavens opened and everyone stood under the guttering to have a quick wash in the tepid rainfall. Every-thing was gradually falling apart… to no-one’s particular concern.

We did have something approximating a western shower, mostly, as we travelled from Columbo to Kandy to Bentota, and it was always cold water only. Though ‘cold’ in the tropics is a different thing altogether. Glo-ria’s account of showering made me chuckle. And how enchanting the accounts of nights at the casino having, what amounts to, R&R, in a western standard hotel…air conditioning etc. How enviable!

My own experience with the bureaucracy was horren-dous, and not so for the Buddhist bureaucrats I dealt with. My dealings left me wondering about the systems.…. till now! Gloria frequently weaves through her narrative the day to day, the deep and instinctive, encompassing real-ity of that profound philosophy. Having read this book, it makes more sense. At 30 I was yet to mature to grasp it.

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Probably, I was unconscious of the entirety of my Anglo/Judeo/Christian/ Australian cultural milieu. How ancient traditions flavour the every-day in the extended family, and Anusha and Danny’s lives is so rewardingly recounted in ‘Only in Sri Lanka. Thank you Gloria for that.

And what a family! Aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters, sons and babies and a few ‘hangers-on’, all of whom knit this extended family together! What do we miss out on by our snug little nuclear families, affluent by comparison? The telling of the vast and inclusive family makes them a vaguely enviable lot! Their inter-connectedness seems so comfortable, natural and the parts that make the whole in a way foreign to probably most of us.

Like Gloria, I have grandchildren, a daughter and son-in-law who live overseas. There is a particular pi-quancy in actually being in these relationships. My el-der grandson, had me as a Skype dinner companion since he was born. So we are connected enough, for now. His brother is not so Skype inclined. After 5 visits there in 7 years, and two visits from them in the same time, we are pretty connected….and I so miss the body contact of a hug, so well described by Gloria with her grandson Jai, and I can feel her ‘empty arms’, grieve that frequency of a kiss, little grandparent secrets about favourite foods, places, embedding memories in their little lives on which to build a grandparent/child relationship. Gloria’s experi-ence with phone calls and Skype is a really good reminder of the importance of keeping that flame flickering, before the glow of actually getting together with remote family.

We long-range grandparents seem to have, either up front, or the edge of our thinking, that absence. That twinging pang to remind us, that beloved son/daughter/grandchild is just not going to pop in. They are not sleep-ing over while their parents are out. They won’t be crawl-ing into our bed, or taste the treat we love to cook - just because they love it. Nor, importantly, will they nestle into the crook of our arm while we bring alive a favourite book. Oh, we miss a lot. And Gloria’s description of this gentle longing is true. And it is generously told.

It takes more than a passport. And more than the ready cash. And more than the ‘plastic’ with enough credit on it. It takes real commitment to step out of our lives, relationships, back from routines, and connections, and into another culture and into another household. Gloria reminds us to be fresh and ready to start again. Every time. Ready to take those Skype threads and fashion them into something substantial, and sustaining, something to warm hearts, theirs and ours. Till next time. How often do we hear ‘grandchildren are the reward for being a parent’. Well it’s true!

Our generation was busy. We were the ‘now ‘gen-eration…. hippies, happies, career/ing at work, or around the world. I sometimes wonder us post-whatever-we-were ‘baby-boomers’, were ill-prepared for the life and opportu-nities offered us by feminism, booming employment, and later, free tertiary education. Our mothers didn’t work, they lived inside the family, cared for hearth and home. My mother might have been much like Gloria’s. And who needed a Victoria Sponge when the world was waiting for

us to change it? How did that prepare us for the 60s, 70s etc? The ‘now’ of our generation opened doors, and win-dows into unimagined/unprepared-for lives, which we em-braced with enthusiasm. Our kids found themselves a part of a herd; influenced by other adults and other families’ norms. So Danny’s fitting in so seamlessly into Anusha’s vast clan was possibly easier than we might have assumed. His generation embrace a much bigger neighbourhood. And his is Sri Lanka. And like our own parents, we are left longing… always longing a little bit….for the next visit!

‘Only in Sri Lanka’ describes well these aspects of our ‘middle’ lives. And is a reminder that other genera-tions were less fortunate. Jumping on a plane, to exotic places, with a case crammed too tight, and hearts bursting with love for family, is the story of Gloria Meltzer’s life as a wayfaring Grandmother.

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Page 8: Chewton Chat November 2015

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THANKS CHEWTON!Chewton CFA’s Community Bonfire proved a huge success with a great turn out by the community again this year.The Bonfire was held on Saturday the 24th of October and parking on Mount Street in Chewton was at capacity. Nearly $1000 was raised on the night through the gen-erosity of those in attendance who kindly gave donations and entered our wood and wine raffle. Money like that goes a long way in small brigades like ours and it was great to have such support from our local community - so thank you everyone.

Special thanks also goes out to all those who made the night so successful including the bands, local sponsors, those who helped pre-pare the BBQ, and all members who helped out on the night.

CFA duties also kept our members on their toes with members been called out to a fire in Castlemaine just as clean-up had finished at the station after the bonfire. Luck-ily the call was only to a burnoff and members were able to go home and get some well-deserved rest. Bonfire night was also a great opportunity for our members to have a great night themselves with family and friends after a busy and early start to this year’s fire season.

The Lancefield fires kept our members busy in early October with numerous members going down for shifts in the Lancefield/Benloch area. 11 members from our bri-gade went down to the fires with some members going down multiple times. Members performed various roles at Lancefield from working on the back of trucks to leading the team as the Strike Team Leader.

Again, a big thank you goes out to all those members who found the time to go down and help out.

Chewton CFA would also like to say thank you to all those who have responded to our call for new recruits. Our recruitment drive has been going better than we imag-ined with around 11 community members coming to the brigade and signing up to become fire fighters. 5 of these people will hopefully be going through their Wildfire Fire

Fighter training this November and be ready to turn out with the brigade later in the year. We have also had 3 individuals who have signed up to be non-operational members and are eager to help out the bri-gade in any way they can.

Our recruitment campaign is still on-going, however, so do not be deterred from coming down and signing up. We are al-ways in need of new members, especially people who are available to turn out dur-ing working hours. If you are interested in joining us then please come and see us at the fire station any Sunday morning after 10am.

Members from Chewton CFA will also be running, or most likely walking, in this year’s Castlemaine Relay for Life on November 6th and 7th. This event raises money for the Cancer Council so please help us support this amazing cause. You can donate and spon-sor our team by searching for Castlemaine Relay for Life and donating to the team named Chewton Fire Brigade.

Finally, fire restrictions are also set to commence in the Mount Alexander Shire on Monday the 9th of Novem-ber. After this date you will be unable to burn off on your property if you do not have a permit. Please make sure that if you are planning to burn off prior to this date that you check the weather conditions are appropriate for burn-ing off (for example don’t burn off if it is very windy) and please register your burn with the Burn Off Notifications by calling 1800 668 511.

With an above normal fire season predicted again for this summer it is also time to make sure you have a fire plan ready. Having a fire plan means you know what to do on a bad day and will help keep you and your family safe.Paige Mounsey, Chewton CFA Communications Officer

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Recruiting now!

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During October Chewton Pool Inc celebrated reaching the finals of the Victorian Regional Achievement and Com-munity Awards and staff and hardworking committee and fundraising volunteers trooped down to Melbourne for the presentation night (photo below). Although we didn’t win we were very impressed with the amazing individuals and groups across our State working in their communities. Such a credit to all of them and such great energy!

We also ran a BBQ at the Lancia rally to raise funds and again our volunteers worked so hard on the day. The bonus was the stunning vehicles - and the sunshine.

Don’t forget the Chewton Pool Inc AGM is on Sun-day 8 November kicking off at 1pm with a free BBQ fol-lowed by a short AGM at 2pm. Anyone interested in join-ing a great organisation should be there. We will find you meaningful and enjoyable voluntary work and you will receive training to undertake the tasks. Personally, I find the pool people a great pleasure to work with and we are never short of a good laugh!

Chewton Pool gearing up... and an AGMOpening day is fast approaching on Friday 27 No-

vember. On Saturday 28th we will have some celebra-tory activities around lunchtime so keep an eye out for the opening posters for more details - or contact Pool Manager Jasmine Samson on 0417 018 417.

New volunteers are always welcome to help with the kiosk, facilities, fundraising, media and events. For those who haven’t completed their CPR and First Aid training, there is a session on Monday 9 November from 9am at Chewton Primary School’s Multipurpose room. To regis-ter, contact Jasmine. All volunteers need to have a Work-ing with Children check and undertake CPR training.

Lastly, we are looking for willing Golden Girls and Nuggets to undertaken Lifeguard training for their swim sessions. If you have a lifeguard qualification and are pre-pared to undertake an hour of volunteer work please con-tact Jasmine.

Rose Elphick Darling, 0418 306 900.

There will be a service at St. John’s every Saturday evening in November at 6pm.

Everyone welcome...November 7

November 14

November 21

November 28

Please support our advertisersWithout them there would be no Chat!

and there’s an Advent quiet afternoon on 28th November from 2.30pm.

Page 11: Chewton Chat November 2015

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Know Your NeighbourHave you met Michael Gillies-Smith?

“I came into this life through an extremely gifted father and a mother who was a grounding influence, a guide and the epitome of unconditional love. It was an incredible combo that has taken me around the world as a singer, journalist and government adviser and connected me with some very important people.

Mum and dad were married in Bendigo. Dad’s work as a hospital manager took them to Kyabram, where I was born, then Melbourne when I was one.

At primary school, I remember seeing the world as a planet that I looked upon from beyond. I always thought globally.

I loved the pyramids (of Egypt), the Bermuda Trian-gle and the statues on Easter Island. Each night, I looked out my bedroom window at the stars, hoping one of them would move suddenly, a UFO; that they would come down to me, I would go with them and then we’d come back and, together, give a press conference to the world. This was long before I became a journalist and government media adviser and knew anything about press conferences. I also loved (love) horses.

I got into Melbourne High School and that brought me under the singing tutelage of Caville Poli (nee Arm-strong), a former Sun Aria winner who had a career in Italy. Melbourne High’s excellence in all areas was my ramp to the world. I loved history and the life and times of Louis XIV, the Sun King, and the path to democracy. Melbourne High was also my soft-landing into the world of same-sex attraction.

Opera school at the VCA and a journalism cadetship followed. One morning on the platform at Moorabbin train station, I interviewed Opposition leader Jeff Kennett. The next morning his people rang me and offered me a job as his press secretary. ‘I still have 18 months to go on my cadetship,’ I said. Eighteen months later they rang me again. I’d already bought my ticket to the pyramids, Cairo. The plane stopped at Amman, Jordan. I got a visa to look around for two days. This turned into a year. Doors ev-erywhere opened. I explored the lost city of Petra with 20 archeologists from the Royal Jordanian Archaeologist’s Society, my first ancient site of the Middle East. I was giv-en a visa to Iraq and found myself the first western tour-ist in Baghdad three weeks after the eight-year war with Iran ended. I was free to roam. I went to Babylon and the ancient Mesopotamian sites of Nineveh and Ur from Sumerian and Assyrian times. I sat by the Euphrates and lived with people in huts. Years later I learned this was the Ancient Near East and a cradle of civilisation in the old testament.

I eventually got to the pyramids. By then I was long-acclimatised to the ancient temples and mysteries of the Middle East. It felt like home. I sang with an Egyptian band at a hotel resort on the Red Sea. We toured the coun-try and sang at weddings and hotels. We lived together and became very good friends. I stayed with their families at Port Said on the Suez Canal.

London beckoned. I auditioned and was accepted at the Royal Academy of Music and got a job as a journalist

at the Old Bailey Crimi-nal Court. Old Bailey Lane is off Fleet Street in historic Newgate, one of the most fascinating and well-preserved ar-eas of old London. (A few years later in Lon-don I sang the role of Macheath in The Beg-gar’s Opera, which is set in that part of London.) One of the earliest cases I covered at the Old Bailey was the release of the Guildford Four, later made into the movie In The Name of the Father star-ring Daniel Day Lewis. In the evening I worked as an usher at the ENO, English National Opera, at the Coliseum in St Martin’s Lane in the heart of the West End, around the corner from the National Gallery and Trafalgar Square. I soaked up every opera and ballet and their stories and tales. I lived with Geoffrey Parsons, the Australian-born world-famous pianist who played with the world’s most famous opera singers, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Victoria de los Angeles, Jessye Norman, Olaf Baer, Barbara Bonney and many others. From London, I explored Europe, New York and Washington.

The death of my father and my mother’s illness with Parkinson’s Disease pulled me back to Australia.

Jeff Kennett was now Premier and I became media adviser to Education Minister Don Hayward. In 1996, John Howard became Prime Minister. His School’s Min-ister David Kemp asked me to be his media adviser. Can-berra had long been an ambition. I jumped at it and was very excited to be at Parliament House. David was tireless, indefatigable, which suited me. We worked very closely together and complemented each other well. He became federal Education and Employment Minister. We trav-elled all over Australia, including to many remote Aborigi-nal schools and locations, Bathurst Island, Yuendumu, the Kimberleys. Press sec to a senior federal Cabinet Minister is a physically gruelling job, but exhilarating. I lived in Canberra when parliament sat 26 weeks of the year. The rest of the time I was based in Melbourne and travelled around the country. It wasn’t unusual to be in Melbourne in the morning, Sydney at lunchtime and Brisbane in the evening. The press sec is last to bed (midnight, 1 am) and first up (5 am). Hotel life can be lonely. (There’s no one to unwind with when you’ve just written tomorrow’s speech at 1am.)

Driving mum to Bendigo one Sunday to see her fam-ily, we drove through the tiny township of Chewton. My body went ZING. ‘I love this place,’ I said to mum. The pull was unmistakable and strong. The next day I rang the five real estate agents in Castlemaine. ‘I want five acres on a hill with views,’ I said. Bill Maltby rang back the next day. ‘I have 10 acres on a hill with great views, but there’s a catch, it’s off the grid.’ The next weekend I was viewing the block in the Chewton Bushlands. I didn’t hesitate, and bought it.” Gloria Meltzer.

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After a few surprisingly hot days it was with great delight we experienced a spectacular thunderstorm and downpour on Saturday night the 10th October. After all the dry weath-er, it was lovely to smell the damp earth in the garden and around the house. The birds seemed a bit confused but have resumed nesting and the flowers are really putting on a show in the gardens and in the bush.

Much of the work on preparing for our famous Fry-erstown Antique Fair goes on behind the scenes during most of the year but at this stage the work accelerates. The 41st Antique Fair will be held between the 22nd and 24th January 2016.

In Fryerstown we are planning a celebration of the centenary of the opening of the School on its present site at 3.30 pm on the 14th November this year with music, speeches, refreshments and the launch of Paul Gahan’s new hard backed pictorial essay in full colour, 120 pages of wonderful scenes and stories “Celebrating Fryerstown Past and Present”. Everyone is welcome – particularly those who have or have had a connection with the school which is now a busy and successful community hub! It would be helpful for catering if you could email ([email protected]) an acceptance if you can, but come anyway!

Over past years I have written several articles in the Chat on the school, drawn from different sources. In this paper I have drawn on the previous accounts to give a brief overview for the centenary celebrations of the school on its present site. It is not the centenary of schooling in Fryerstown which started much earlier on 6th Febru-ary 1853 in a tent at the Commissioners Camp at Golden Gully with 27 pupils. The tent could of course be moved to where the population was and in May the School Com-

FRYERSTOWNmittee recommended that it be moved to Chapel Hill, where it was later partly destroyed by fire. In February 1854 it was transferred again to a site near the Commis-sioners Camp, still in a tent. In April 1855 plans were drawn up and in a few months a permanent weatherboard building was built next to the Wesleyan (Methodist) Cha-pel in Heron Street. There was great pride in the ‘perma-nent’ new building, which opened in 1855 on the hill near the Duke of Cornwall engine house looking over the town. The enrolment in 1858 was 30 boys and 44 girls. Ken James says in his book, that in 1862 The National and De-nominational School systems were replaced by the Com-mon School system under the government’s newly formed Board of Education. Fryerstown National School became Fryerstown Common School No. 252. Fryerstown Com-mon School trustees “vested” the school with the Board. That is, in effect they gave ownership of the building to the Board in return for State Aid for teacher salaries and building grants. All schools under the new system were allocated a number chronologically. When Parliament passed the Education Act of 1872 that made schooling free, secular and compulsory, Common Schools became State Schools and the Board of Education was replaced by the Department of Education. So Fryerstown Common School No.252 became Fryerstown State School No. 252 (most schools retained the same number).

While these political and organisational changes were occurring, in Fryerstown the local community was faced with increasing numbers of pupils in a building that was built in 1855 and was considered to be in an unsatis-factory condition by the ear1y 1860s. Head teacher Da-vid Sheldon wrote in 1862, that although it had recently been repaired it was still in a “most uncomfortable state and as it stands in a peculiarly exposed position I fear some damage will be done to it by the storms of the season which in this place are very violent”. He sought funds to repair the school and residence. In 1863 the School Committee wrote to the Board of Education about the ap-prehension of teachers about the state of the building fol-lowing a recent storm, and in February 1864 the School Committee again wrote that urgent repairs were needed to “the oldest school on the Goldfields, and one which we think has cost the Board the least.” The Board was asked to match the twelve pounds held by the Committee for

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repairs. A month later the Committee submitted an ap-plication to the Board for desks, blackboards and repairs to roof and floor. In November 1865 the Committee de-cided that a new school house was needed. In February 1866 written plans and specifications were submitted to the Board. All this represented an enormous amount of work for the local committee and community for every little gain and the process will seem very familiar to those people who today have to apply for funding from govern-ments to maintain community assets. With no computers or typewriters everything had to be handwritten at every stage of the process. In July 1866 an application for fi-nancial aid to erect a new schoolroom was submitted. At that time the school enrolment was 450 pupils consisting of 200 boys, 150 girls and 100 infants under 8 years of age. In July the Board granted seventy-five pounds pro-vided the local community could match it. However the Committee could only raise thirty pounds, as money was scarce. A year later the Committee had Mr. McKenzie, the Fryers Road Board Engineer, draw up plans and specifica-tions for a new building after he had inspected the existing building and found that the building was so dilapidated that it would be a waste of time and money to do anything short of pulling the building down and rebuilding it. The Board again offered seventy-five pounds and this time the Committee was able to raise the same amount and build-ing went ahead. The new school room was weatherboard, but the Committee hoped to build a stone school room us-ing the present room for a separate infant room. In May 1868 they wrote to the Board citing the large increase in student numbers and they successfully applied for a grant of 50 pounds, which they matched, to build an additional brick and stone room. This was completed in March 1870. Numbers of pupils continued to grow and the schoolroom could accommodate162 but attendance was up to 300 students. The Wesleyan Church School was rented for a year or two, but clearly a new classroom was needed and in 1874 the Department of Education built an additional room. The saga with maintenance problems went on for another forty plus years. By 1914 it was recognized that the stone classroom, weatherboard infant room and weath-erboard storeroom were beyond repair and a new school was erected on a site in the centre of Fryerstown. It is

intriguing that the School Committee had asked that parts of the old school be moved to the new site and incorpo-rated into the new school. The wooden shingle roof is still evident today under the corrugated iron. George Brown’s book contains an account of the shifting of old buildings to the new site using a low wagon and horse teams, much to the delight of the school students who were watching. The School was officially opened on 12th November 1915 by dignitaries, including the Director of Education (later Sir) Frank Tate, himself a former pupil of the School, and H.S.W. Lawson, then Minister for Education. It served the town as a school until 1967 when it closed for lack of stu-dents and the last 3 students were relocated. Ruth Rowe who was a student at the time of the School resiting in 1915, wrote the following, in her booklet “Fryerstown” “The new state school was built for the 230 or so scholars and the official opening was held on 12 November1915. This was a great occasion. The mothers worked to provide a fitting dinner with plenty of ham, turkey, duck and chick-en. Mother’s contribution was a leg of lamb. Mr. William Webster was the headmaster and invited guests included Senator Lawson (later to be Premier of Victoria and then Sir Harry Lawson), Dr. Machen Hill, Mr. AD Freeman, dentist and Councillor Hargraves of Fryerstown. Dur-ing the proceedings Dr. Hill was called to an urgent case. The entertainment provided for the opening was a can-tata entitled “Grow Little Mushroom, Grow” which was staged at the Burke and Wills Mechanics Institute Hall. The Cantata had such a good reception it was later pre-sented again in Castlemaine”. The quantity and quality of food provided by this small town for the opening “great occasion” amazes me, it was wartime and the school popu-lation was only 230 according to Ruth. They didn’t do things by halves in Fryerstown in those days!

Up to the 1940s schools such as Fryerstown went up to year 8 but in the 1940s they changed that, and Fry-erstown School students at the end of Grade 6 went to secondary school in Castlemaine. The school was perma-nently closed and the site was reserved for State School purposes in 1968.

Around 1973 the Gardenvale Central School was ac-tively seeking a suitable site on which to establish a rural school camp and set up a Committee that was given a list of closed rural schools that could suit their purposes. The school committee visited a number of these, deciding on the Fryerstown School. On 13th December 1973 Garden-vale School commenced a 99-year lease of the School site

Photos courtesy Tim Todhunter. The school as it is today, its launch as a community

hub and one of the many essential working bees.

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with the Education Department accepting the management and maintenance of the property under “ permissive oc-cupancy”. The Rural Campus of Gardenvale School was integrated into the curriculum as a unique learning and recreational resource, the Aims and Objectives were:• To take children from a suburban environment and in-

troduce them to living and learning with others• To promote self reliance and foster tolerance of others,

as well as fostering inter-dependence• To gain an appreciation through incidental and de-

tailed studies of fauna and flora and the environment• To encourage the children to develop social responsi-

bilities towards the local area and population• To promote conditions where varied forms of learning

can occur on both formal and informal lines• By physical activity, both on and outside the site, the

group members will experience new skills and activi-ties which should benefit general well being and health

• To gain knowledge of local industries, farming meth-ods, history, etc. by gaining the confidence and friend-ship of local people through personal contact and as-sistance.

The involvement between the School Camps and the local community seems to have worked very well and lo-cal residents who were here at the time speak highly of the camps and the children’s interest in the town’s history and flora and fauna. The overall plan was for children to at-tend a camp in each of their last three years at Gardenvale Primary. The Fryerstown School camps became a large part of their primary school memories.

I asked Margaret Callister who lives in Fryerstown, and who organised Guide and other camps there, to de-

Fryerstown School no. 252 CentenaryThe Fryerstown community is celebrating the centenary

of the opening of Fryerstown SchoolJoin us for reminiscences and afternoon tea on

Saturday 14th November, 3.30pm

Were you a student at the Fryerstown School? Come along to visit the restored building; we’d love to hear your stories.

Fryerstown School is located on Camp St in the heart of Fryerstown. Find us on Facebook.

scribe the camps and explain their obviously favourable impact on the participants. This is her email to me, “For one weekend each month, and sometimes during school holidays the Fryerstown school camp was available for use by groups other than those associated with Garden-vale Central School, and bookings had to be made months ahead as it was such a popular and convenient place for families, friendship groups, Scouts and especially Girl Guides who used the school as often as possible for week-end camps for girls and training for leaders. Laughter and sometimes the lovely sounds of children singing echoed around the valley. Many of the groups organised some form of treasure hunts around Fryerstown and very often teachers and other adults were surprised to find how inter-ested the children were in the information on the graves in Fryerstown Cemetery - so much so that, for many years, directions for one of these discovery sessions in the cem-etery sat on a shelf in the camp kitchen for anyone to use. The Fryerstown School Camp was loved and used by many, many people and it is delightful now to continually be reminded, by returning “campers”, of the joy that it brought into so many lives.”

The next Film night is on Saturday 28th November at 7.30 pm in the Fryerstown Mechanics Institute Hall. The film will be THE SEARCHERS made in 1956 and starring John Wayne, a middle-aged civil war veteran who spends years looking for his abducted niece (Natalie Wood). Di-rected by John Ford, it was named the greatest American Western by the American Film Institute in 2008. It should be entertaining and fun. $5.00 per person, tea and coffee included. Bring a comfy chair if you wish.

Kay Thorne.

LICENSED FOR ROADWORTHY

VEHICLE TESTINGPetrol and Gas

Ring 5472 3469Main Road, Chewton

CHEWTON GARAGE

Page 15: Chewton Chat November 2015

15

President’s Report - October 2015With player numbers at CGFC surging to a record 299 reg-istrations in 2015, on the back of an outstanding junior small-sided program, the future looks to be very strong for football in the Castlemaine area in the coming years.

Indeed the season has been book-ended by demon-strations of the breadth of appeal of football in Castle-maine and surrounds; the pre-season featured some of the club’s soon to be U10 players tackling the challenges of the state-wide Boys FC tournament at Epsom in March, and the gOld Spice Masters team (with current and former CGFC players & coaches) are currently competing in the over 45’s category at the Australian Masters Games in Ad-elaide, Oct 4 - 10. In fact, they brought home SILVER!

The year has also been bracketed by appearances for some of our club’s best in the Victorian Junior Country Championships in Albury in April this year - those play-ers receiving valuable experience, and winners medals, in the U14s and U16s, and with BASL League Cup finals for some of those players in late September.

On the pitch the Small-Sided Program run by Glen Springate and his team, with the generous sponsorship of Waller Realty, began their season the week after Saturday Anzac Day commemorations and started every football weekend with over 100 players, late on Friday afternoons, at Chewton.

On Saturdays we had 8 junior teams this year, two each in the new BASL age-group divisions of U10s, U12s, U14s and U16s. The U12Bs under Maurice Kennedy end-ed the season as Championship winners and League Cup runners-up, the U14As under Aaron Shooter were runners -up in both the Championship and League Cup.

With both Men’s and Women’s teams featuring a blend of youth and experience in the squads, Senior Sun-days had the Women facing stronger teams, playing up a

grade this year, in State League 3 in Melbourne, whilst the Men’s Division 1 and Division 2 teams had a ‘develop-ment’ year, again playing in Ballarat.

Behind the scenes it has been a relatively smooth year. The pre-season BASL reorganisation of age-di-visions created a bit of confusion in the various parent-groups, and the usual number of late registrations made for a very busy start to the year (the early Family Fun Day registrations process not withstanding).

Coaches who attended last year’s training course have had the year to practise what they learned, and have recently given valuable feedback to the club on how to as-sist and further improve the coaching ranks.

This year saw the launch of the club’s new look website, which with further post-season refinements will continue to provide a platform for general club informa-tion, along with a raft of other features. Find us at: www.castlemainegoldfieldsfc.net.au

In closing the season last month, I was moved to witness the dedication and care of all our club coaches at the Junior Presentation Day. I was proud of them and the wonderful ways in which they acknowledged their teams - both as individuals and players. The players have been wonderful ambassadors for the club this year, and I would like to thank the whole parent community for their support of all those children, and for their assistance to the club throughout the year.

Moving forward, clearly the quality of the Chewton grounds will need to be a significant priority for the club, and Council, in the coming years. Should playing num-bers remain static, or more likely continue to grow, there will be even greater pressure to maintain safe, high-quality pitches for the large number of young men and women wishing to stay fit and healthy and enjoy their football with friends. It is a testament to the commitment and passion of our club’s volunteers that we can provide a footballing op-portunity for all ages and genders in the Mount Alexander Shire. I am confident that there are many who will lend a hand to continue the clubs growth.

Lastly, I would like to thank the current committee for their support. The last two years have been harmo-nious and cohesive and have immeasurably added to the pleasure of my role.

See you on the pitch, Ian Flavell.

Castlemaine Goldfields Football/Soccer Club

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: [email protected]

Advertising in the Chat? Call 5472 2892 or email [email protected]

Page 16: Chewton Chat November 2015

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The term is well under way and students are all busy with their new inquiry units of study. Term four is a time when we move away from the more prescribed units set by the Victorian Curriculum. We still need to cover all of the required skills but we allow ourselves more freedom with the topic and tap into students’ interests. I am always in-trigued to find out what the grade 4-6 class has planned as Scott finds a new twist on a traditional topic. This year he has chosen ‘The Blueprint’ and by reading the outline below, I am sure you will be impressed with the learning involved.

The year is 2045. The world is in turmoil. Grade 4-6 are an elite group chosen by President Purdon and his team to travel back through time to gather valuable information from the past in order to create a new and bet-ter future. The elite group will spend 10 weeks studying The Celts, Romans, Egyptians, Aztecs and all their innova-tive practices and how they harness resources. They will decide on the best practices these civilisations offer and present a Blueprint of a new world they want to create. To have a future they must learn from the past!

Not to be outdone, the P-3 class are following the ever popular discovery of dinosaurs and fossil and are off to the Melbourne Museum. To complement this learning

the 2-3 class are investigating changes in weather and we were very privileged to have a visit from our own Chat weather contributor, John Leavesley as he shares his knowledge and observations with our children.

Our school has a history of encouraging strong writ-ers. Each year we have students compete in a range of writing workshops and competitions. We are consistent contributors to the Castlemaine Children’s Poetry Awards and never fail to come home with a winning entry. This year Samuel Butterworth was the winner in the under 12 section and we had 12 other students shortlisted for their entries. This is the 4th year in a row we have taken out a major prize.

Sustainability ReportWe are also known for our strengths in supporting

learning through sustainable practice. This time last year we were frantically finalizing the crowd funding for our solar panels that are currently producing over 50% of our energy needs. This year our focus turned to improving the biodiversity of our school grounds and under the guidance of Jennifer Pryce, we had made sufficient changes to jus-tify a submission to the Sustainability Awards. We were one of 4 Victorian schools shortlisted for the biodiversity awards so I travelled to Melbourne some of our students to the Sustainably Conference. We will feature regular articles on our sustainable journey with this week’s article written by Tav and Luke. We will also be receiving recog-nition for our ‘Battery Collection’ efforts with our school collecting the most batteries for recycling in the district.

Term 4 is traditionally one of the busiest, and I guess that is why it is the longest of the year. We will have two school camps this month and we have already begun plans for 2017. All is great at Chewton Primary.

Julie Holden.

Samuel Butterworth. was the winner of the under 12 section of the poetry awards at this year’s Children’s Lit. Festival. He is pictured here being congratulated by the

Mount Alexander Shire CEO Phil Rowland.

Nurturing the whole child

in every child

The Chewton Chat’s weather columnist John Leavesley was great with the kids - John with Erlin and Max.

Page 17: Chewton Chat November 2015

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Tav, Luke and Emma with our Biodiversity AwardVictorian Sustainability

We went to a sustainability conference in Melbourne on the 14th of October 2015. As we crept in we were guided to our seats, we were then told to go over to room 103. In room 103 we learnt about the Red Tailed Black Cockatoo and we learnt some facts like: the male has two lines of just red whereas the female has orange and red stripes. It was time for the awards so we trotted over to the main room and listened carefully. Win-ters Flat in Castlemaine had won Best Teacher of The Year and the Best Primary/Secondary Sustain-able School of The Year. We nearly won the Bio-diversity of The Year Award but didn’t.

Tav and Luke.

Another CNAV Award for the Chat!

The Community Newspaper Association of Victoria (CNAV) con-ference was held over the weekend of the 10th and 11th of Oc-tober and judging by the feedback received it was the best yet. Passionate presenters in all fields were an inspiration. The venue in Mooroolbark (The Foothills) was a gem and the organisation by Caroline Roff (CNAV secretary and Editor of the Kooweerup Blackfish) was superb. There’ll be another CNAV conference in October next year - anyone who contributes to, or even reads, the Chewton Chat is entitled to go.

The awards showed papers of an incredibly high standard (best community newspaper 2015 was the Warrandyte Diary) - and the Chewton Chat was a finalist in the best editorial category! With one winner from the three finalists in each of the nine catego-ries there are only 27 gongs altogether. To achieve one is marvel-lous - and it set me searching through our record of achievement since the Chewton Chat joined CNAV in 2007...2007 - Winner best editorial comment2008 - Finalist in best hard news reporting2009 - Finalist in best history article2010 - A special mention in the best community reporting2011 - Finalist in best editorial comment2012 - Winner best editorial comment2013 - Winner best news feature story and a finalist in best edito-rial comment2014 - Winner best history article2015 - Finalist in best editorial commentThe Sunday after the conference and Awards Dinner allowed a visit to the home of the nearby Ferntree Gully News. There the 6 community newspapers from the City of Knox hosted an impressive display of their op-erations. Knox is a hotbed on community-owned newspapers with Rowville-Lysterfield Com-munity News, Boronia & The Basin Community News, The Foothills Magazine, Studfield-Wantirna Community News, Ferntree Gully News and Bay-swater Buzz all covering their respective communities. All 6 have much bigger circulations than the Chat!

COMMUNITY CIRCLE DANCING

Spend a joyful Saturday afternoon, learning a range of circle dances that are easy to pick up and are accompanied by lovely tunes

– some meditative, some, more lively.

Circle Dancing has developed from the traditional dances of many cultures and gives a feeling of connection and ‘community’.

All levels from total beginners to those who’ve danced before – there are no mistakes in Circle Dance – only variations!

When: Saturday 5th December 2015Where: Chewton Senior Citizens Hall, Main Road, Chewton

Time: 2pm – 4.30pm (tea, coffee, bikkies provided)Cost: gold coin donation

Enquiries to Judi: 0431 180 105

GOOD FOR THE BODY, GOOD FOR THE SOUL

Page 18: Chewton Chat November 2015

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Octoberfest in Chewton brought a touch of the Tuetonic to the town. Or should that be Chew-tonic, or even Chewton-ic? German beers sourced from goodness knows where, stacks of steins secured and who knew lederhosen could be acquired easily and cheaply from the inter-net? And genuine acrylic ones too! Such quality.

Bad German accents and knee slapping routines punctuated the serious business of cooking and eating. But as darkness fell and the BBQ light failed to respond it was Rob and his hat that coaxed it to life – even one Hans can make light work it seems. And the jokes came thick and fast – someone doing their “wurst” by putting German sausages on the hotplate for starters. And when Ed took centre stage there was an eerie silence until the explosion after the punchline of his third joke.

A rattling good time was had (and heard) when the entertainment was provided by a seated Can-Can performance which set the scene for an impassioned plea for Chewton’s sister-city status with Germany’s Grevenbroech. The connection being Norbet, a sometime Chewton community BBQer who resides in that part of Germany. Grand plans were outlined as to how this “twinning” could occur – twinning being a gender neutral expression favoured by the proponent.

Lederhosen wearing obviously unleashes inhibitions. But after winter it comes with downsides too. “Your legs look like two straws drawing up milk,” was one comment – and a vulnerability to mozzies was revealed along with the flesh. Fortunately, Buffy the Mozzie slayer was at hand and the errant mosquito was despatched without ceremony – but with a torrent of jokes, one-liners and suggested Chewton Chat headlines. Australia Post may soon be providing a new sub-editor for that publication.

“Barbecue isn’t about finding yourself. Barbecue is about creat-ing yourself,” as George Bernard Shaw may have said had he been in Chewton on Saturday night. Octoberfest may be over but the Novem-ber MoBQ will provide another opportunity to create oneself – in an appropriate shirt.

If you don’t lose your shirt on the Cup wear it to the next MoBQ.

Ozzies in cozzies are vulnerable to mozzies…

ADVERTISEMENT

Authorised by M Edwards, 8 Panton Street, Golden Square.This material has been produced by Maree Edwards MP using her Parliament’s Electorate Office & Communications budget.

Listening Post held in Castlemaine last Friday of the Month 10am to 2pm.Please phone for appointment.

8 Panton Street, Golden Square VIC 3555P: 5444 4125

@mareeedwardsmp mareeedwardsmp

www.mareeedwards.com.au

Page 19: Chewton Chat November 2015

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Poe try

Corner

Social MediaA roundelay of Chimericks

(the monstrous form of limericks).

Do egotists live in an “I”-pad? Do rock spiders thrive in the Web?

Forget the literatiYou must join the Twitterati

If you don’t want to seem like pleb.

When you want the whole world to take notice Use Facebook to broadcast your news:

“This is ME here in Bali“Posing somewhat bizarrely

“This is ME with my mates on the booze”.

Send your selfie to friends. Do they “like” it? (There isn’t a box that says “No”).

You’ve five hundred “besties”?What a load of old testes!

That’s more than most people can know.

Is history the demon that drives you? Wikipedia has all the facts.

If you’re irked by what’s writtenDon’t be such a meek kitten

Correct it: or give it the axe.

Trolls have blackened your reputation? Just tweak a few words ‘til they’re right.

Ah! the sweet mysteryOf DIY History:

One keystroke and black turns to white.

Want to be known for smart comments,Opinions both pithy and strong?

Be it happy or bitterJust get onto Twitter

140 strokes long.

They talk of the Social Media Do they bind us or rip us apart?

Surely someone must see:What is all about “ME”

Bytes a hole in society’s heart.

David Watson, September 2015.

Eternal LoveLines on a statue of Cupid and Psyche

in the Bendigo Art Gallery

Have pity on the youthful Cupid This sculpture makes him look quite stupid. While he grasps Psyche’s pointy bits Her fingers search his scalp for nits.

What words of love his lips may garble She’ll never hear. Her ears are marble. And when she sighs “I’m yours alone” He won’t respond. His heart is stone.

David Watson 8 November 2006.

YOUR TURN NOW?The Chewton Chat welcomes contributions

to Poetry Corner each month; just as news, articles, letters, photographs

and ideas are welcomed. Email to [email protected]

or leave in the Chat box at the Chewton General Store.

TRADING HOURS FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY

10am – 4.00 pm Laksa on Sundays and Mondays

A curry every day Monk Dish on Friday & Saturday

Vegetarian & Gluten free selections 146 Duke Street, Castlemaine

Telephone: 54 706 038 Your Host: Onn Ho

CHEWTON SERVICE STATION

* Trading hours 6am - 7pm every day* Winter diesel additive available on request* Premium 98 available* BULK FUEL DELIVERIES* Firewood, Ice, Swap N Go gas bottles, Grocery items* $1 SOFT DRINK CANS* Photocopy services* Slushy & Coffee now available* Like us on Facebook for a chance to win monthly fuel vouchers

37 Pyrenees Highway, Chewton, 3451.Phone: (03) 5470 5444

[email protected]

Page 20: Chewton Chat November 2015

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CDS Letters of thanks:To Carol and Rod Hadfield,

The Chewton Domain Society Inc. Committee of Management and members would sincerely like to thank you for storing objects from the Chewton Town Hall for the last two years during the restoration of the hall.

It was greatly appreciated by all involved.Thanking you again,

Bettie Exon, (Secretary CDS Inc.)To Tom Taft,

The Chewton Domain Society Inc. would like to thank you for your generous donation of a handmade musical jewellery box to use as a fundraiser for ongoing works at the Chewton Town Hall.

It was greatly appreciated by the Committee of Man-agement and members.

Thanking you again,Bettie Exon, (Secretary CDS Inc.)

Chewton Domain Society Membership

The CDS Management Committee would like to thank all the people who have renewed their memberships or applied to become CDS members and acknowledges the many donations to help with the management of the so-ciety and its associated program. Membership numbers are now at 153 with the recent mail out adding to this number every day.

Your contributions can be considered in many ways - you become a part owner of these heritage listed prop-erties and help to pay insurance, annual rates and service costs as well as keeping the heritage buildings in good condition. A healthy memberships allows us to access other support funding. You can help promote the signifi-cant history of the area and can also become involved in CDS programs and be an active part of your community:• Chewton Chat monthly newsletter• People and Places Display• Monster Meeting• Welcome to Chewton kit• Chewton Community Planning group

For further information please contact the CDS Secretary on 5472 3892 or [email protected]

Chewton Domain SocietyBusiness arising from the September meeting included:• Thank you letters have been sent to the recently retired

CDS committee members thanking them for their sup-port, to Carol and Rod Hadfield for storing the Chew-ton building models, to Tom Taft for the donation of the music box for the recent raffle and to newly joined CDS members.

• The new front door handrails for the town hall are nearing completion

• The new side path to the back door of the town hall is now completed, and a landscaping contractor has provided a quote for drainage and compacted gravel around the edges of the path.

• A roster for committee members to check/clean town hall in preparation for events/hiring has been com-pleted. October - Marie, November - Judy, December - Bettie, January - Glen, February - Jo, March - Helen, April - Margot, May - Judy, June - Marion, July - Pat.

• A town Hall hire calendar is to be prepared and placed in TH kitchen for CDS committee members to check.

• A committee member contact list is being circulated amongst members.

The treasurer’s report showed a balance as at 8.10.2015 of $30,222.50 with accounts for payment to-talling $810.09. Other committed funds total $12,623.27 leaving an available balance of $16,789.14

CDS membership was reported to be now at 145 with the recent mail out proving very successful. The data base of members is being updated to include email addresses. Four new members were added to the membership list at this meeting!

Elaine Appleton reported that visitor numbers have been very low at the People and Places display lately. The Chewton Chat’s 200th edition celebration went off well – and thanks were expressed to Barbara Dry and Judy Cobb for their beautiful catering yet again!

Pat Healy reported that the commemoration event for the Monster Meeting in 2015 will be on Sunday 13th De-cember. A display will be put in town hall in preparation for visitors on the day and offers of help would be appreci-ated. The cost of publishing hard copies of the Monster Meeting book is being investigated. The need to provide a number of copies free to libraries etc would mean this cost would need to be covered by commercial sales of books. The CDS has agreed to provide up to $400 to get copies of the book printed. The remaining Monster Meeting CDs are

to be made available for $20.00. It was noted that the Chewton Pool committee has

requested an invoice for the use of the town hall for its previous 9 meetings. It was moved and carried that the CDS make this a donation to the pool and that no invoice be issued.

At the end of the meeting Pat Healy used her com-puter to show committee members the Monster Meeting book.

The next CDS Management Committee Meeting is on Monday November 16th 2015 at 7.15 p.m.

Page 21: Chewton Chat November 2015

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Logo designed

by Morgan

Williamson.

Real Estate GossipProperties for sale around Chewton are listed as fol-lows:Cantwell Real Estate:• 41 Gallway Street, 2 bedroom mud brick with stone

facing home in peaceful setting not far from the centre of town on 5.26 hectares of Box-Ironbark trees. Trust for Nature protected adjoining Crown land. Well set up for off grid living with organic vegetable garden. Additional architecturally designed plans for an 8.5 energy rated dwelling by local Architect Geoff Crosby available upon negotiation, $415,000.00;

• Lots 1 & 2 Archers Road, each lot measures 1600 – 1700 sqm, spectacular views and planning permits for a dwelling on each, $185,000.00 each lot;

• 59 Pitman Street, environmentally sustainable, yet elegant, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom contemporary de-signed home on 2000sqms in a quiet end of street lo-cation. Orchard and vegetable gardens. For sale at $595,000.00;

• 14 Church Street, elevated 1050 sqm lot with north-ern views to Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park, services to front boundary, $160.000.00;

• 562 Pyrenees Highway, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms with multiple indoor and outdoor living areas. Multiple shedding on 2 hectares. $695,000.00;

• 1/72 Steele Street, north facing vacant allotment of ap-proximately 2234sqm. Backing onto state forest but with services available. $190,000.00;

• 4 Prior Street, 5 bedrooms & 3 bathrooms, 2 storey sandstone and weatherboard set amid huge garden, $848,000.00;

• 225 Sparks Road, 58 hectares on the edge of the Bush-land for sale at $579,000.00.

Cassidy Real Estate:• 15 Dishpan Gully Road, craftsman built 3 bedroom

stone cottage on 6 acres of bushland. Off the grid. $250,000.00;

• 97 Pyrenees Highway, 2 bedroom, 2 living areas and plenty of period features. Large allotment of 1500sqm

with workshops and room for several cars. For sale at $515,000.00;

• 29 Mount View Road, 2 bedroom stone home nestled in 6 acres of the Bushlands, offering views over Chew-ton itself, $359,000.00.

Castlemaine Property Group:• 160 Main Road, central village location, 4 bedroom

residence constructed during the goldrush, north fac-ing rear yard overlooking the creek flats below, for sale at $368,000.00;

• 23 Archers Road, light filled contemporary home de-signed around environmental principles, 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, with professionally designed gar-dens and spectacular views, $740,000.00;

• 77 Pioneers Road, single bedroom log cabin set high in the Bushlands with views over Chewton and onto Castlemaine, $295,000.00.

Keogh Real Estate:• 4 Pitman Street, 2 bedroom weatherboard with de-

tached bungalow set on 1200sqm. Plenty of shedding, land to spare and attractive views towards Golden Point. For sale at $345,00.00 (UNDER CONTRACT);

• 576 Pyrenees Highway, 2 bedroom weatherboard with character, set on 3½ acres of land with a meander-ing seasonal creek, plenty of outbuildings, reduced to $295,000.00 (UNDER CONTRACT).

Waller Realty:• 107 Sinnett Street, interesting vacant parcel of

2711sqm with some services connected, for sale at $195,000.00;

• 6 Baker Street, charming early goldrush miners hut sympathetically restored and extended, 3 bedrooms and a north facing verandah, located in the heart of town, $395,000.00;

• 16 Main Road, 1 acre of views over the Diggings Na-tional Heritage Park. With a sealed road frontage and the walking track into Castlemaine at rear. Connected to the reticulated sewerage system and with all other services available. For sale at $250,000.00;

• 218 Golden Point Road, extended miners cottage which has retained the heritage character, 3 bedrooms, 3 living areas, adjacent to Castlemaine Diggings, For-est Creek and The Res, for sale at $459,000.00.

Lynne Williamson.

NICK HASLAM

167 BARKER STREET, CASTLEMAINE 5470 5811

Thinking of selling? Want to know what your property is worth?

Call Nick for an obligation free market appraisal. www.wallerrealty.com.au

M: 0418 322 789 E: [email protected]

FOR ALL YOUR BUYING & SELLING NEEDS

[email protected]

www.goldfieldelectronics.com.au

Page 22: Chewton Chat November 2015

22

The 200th Chewton Chat published for October 2015 was celebrated in style. A cake, sparklers, contributors, readers and a guest speaker gathered in the Chewton Town Hall to mark the occasion.

President of the Chewton Domain Society, the Chat’s auspic-ing body, Helen McGeachin welcomed everyone and brought smiles to faces when she waved around the very first attempt at a Chewton community newspaper from way back in March 1999. And, believe it or not, some people have a collection of every single edition!

The Chat’s editor then outlined some of history of the Chat – and the magnificent contributions made over the years. Contributions that included award winning articles, poems, photos – and the generosity of advertisers and communities that fund the publication costs that now reach close to $10,000 a year! This generosity allows the Do-main Society to distribute the Chat for free each month. A priceless publication maybe? That’s the title many community newspapers use on their masthead. John went on to explain how the Chat became in-volved in the Community Newspaper Association of Victoria (CNAV) – believed to be the only network of community-owned newspapers in the world. Framed awards won by the Chat since joining CNAV in 2007 adorned the town hall walls for the occasion.

In acknowledging the many volunteers that the Chat needs, a special award was presented to the Chat’s youngest volunteer. Tarryn

Knights later cut the celebratory birthday cake. And gold crowns were presented to Barbara Dry and Judy Cobb to acknowledge their golden hearts – not only are these two at each end of the month gathering to prepare each Chat for distribution

but they cater superbly for occa-sions like this one in the town hall.

An open mic session fol-lowed, giving audience members the chance to voice an opinion or observation about the Chat. Sev-eral did – including the Chat’s original and popular weather man Keith Richardson. It was great to see him back in Chewton again. Keith had won a Golden Pen Award for his Chat achievements many years ago – these awards are

the Chat’s equivalent of the Walkleys! The Chat’s impact on the school was men-tioned as was it’s involvement in recording and acknowledging local history. Mayor and local councillor Christine Henderson, a regular Chat contributor, spoke as well.

Noel Tennison then had a turn in the spotlight. He has had

Two hundred not out...

Photos: The 200 cake, the sparklers, Keith Richardson

and the cutting!

Page 23: Chewton Chat November 2015

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Footnote:“In early January 1861, Forest Creek, the former eastern suburb of Castlemaine, became the Municipality of Chewton. Optimism was the order of the day as the new councillors set about establishing an orderly transition to independence for the most important min-ing area within the Mt Alexander goldfield. Ideas were boundless, and the possibility of establishing a Chewton newspaper was brought to a head on Monday of the last day in January 1861 when a meeting to discuss the issue was held in the Red Hill Hotel. The Mount Alexander Mail reported that, ‘a majority of those present believed the project to be both advisable and feasible. Eventually, it was resolved that a prospectus of the pro-posed journal should be drawn up and submitted to an adjourned meeting on Monday.’

The population of Chewton at that time was 3,353 and was large enough to support a modest publication. However it appears that the idea never reached fruition for no fur-ther reference to this promising prospect appears in the extant records.” So wrote The Batteryman in 2003. It is now 2015 and Chewton has a community owned newspaper that is now 200 editions old.

a lifetime of being an intimate observer of Australian history in the making, and is the editor of The Lawsonian, the official newsletter of the Henry Lawson Memorial and Literary Society Inc. Amongst many lifetime experiences, Noel had been Melbourne Press Club President. He began with a famous quote before making some perti-nent observations:

“William Randolph Hearst said: ‘News is something that some-one somewhere never wants to see in a newspaper.’

As far as metropolitan newspapers are concerned, he was right. But for community newspapers the reverse is true. News is something that everyone, everywhere wants to read in their local newspaper.

The daily press tells you what the world is doing to you but your community newspaper tells you what you are doing for yourselves.

How does it do this?• It provides news which is more local than any other medium.• It allows people who may be physically isolated to keep in touch

with their community.• It encourages people to become involved in their community by

learning what is happening in case they want to join in.• It helps people to keep in touch with each other by discovering

what other people that they know are now doing.• It provides local business with affordable advertising that gives

readers information about what they may want to buy.• It supports local sporting, cultural and recreational groups by giving them a

means of publicising their events.• It maintains an outlet for

every resident to share their ideas, their anxieties and their hopes as well as prov-ing a showcase for their liter-ary skills and artistic accom-plishments.

• It creates a permanent record of local history - as it hap-pens.

Just how well the Chewton Chat lives up to that list of crite-ria is a matter for your judgment, but I’m inclined to think that the 2015 CNAV award coupled with your presence here today is sufficient evidence of the fact.”

Judy and Barbara’s catering was then put to the test – and again passed with flying colours! And thanks to Glen Harrison who photographed this event.

...for the Chewton Chat

Photos: Tarryn’s award, the Mayor speaking,

Noel Tennison and those crowning glories.

POHAG Meeting

November 8th10 a.m.

Chewton Town Hall

Page 24: Chewton Chat November 2015

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MsssGuided is a new Trio with a lineup of talented lo-cal musicians, playing music to suit all genres. A little bit of blues, rock, pop, soul, and jazz this band is quite diverse in the music they play and would be suitable for any occasion requiring entertainment.

Simon, also known as “Sly”, is on keyboards. He is from Castlemaine, he has been playing around Cen-tral Victoria for over 30 years, he is well known on the music circuit for his versatile keyboard playing, he has played in several original, blues and cover bands and his smooth vocals add something special to the trio.

Matt, on guitar and backing vocals, is from North-ern New South Wales. He has recently settled in Cas-

tlemaine, and is a local tradie. Matt has played in several line-ups up the coast and is also well known for his promotional work with some of Australia’s top comedy acts. Matt’s guitar work and vocals truly complement the trio.

Marianne, on lead vocals and percussion, is from Fryerstown. Marianne has been singing for many years, fronting rock bands and in duos. She is also the resident singer at Castlemaine Health where she performs for the elderly throughout the week. Marianne loves to sing and has quite a reputation as a versatile great singer.

Marianne was once one half of the local duo “Remedy”, or Mezz and a Daz as they were also known. They played around Central Victoria for the past 10 years and were reg-ulars at the Red Hill. Sadly, Darren who was a well-known respected musician and music teacher passed away in 2013 from Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Marianne says that continuing to play music will always be a tribute to Daz. Finding the right combination of musos to play with takes time, and it’s been a while since Darren’s passing.

As Marianne said, “I’m so happy to be play-ing again with Simon and Matt, they are gorgeous guys and great musos. We have a lot of fun to-gether, doing what we love....playing music.”

She said it’s great to be gigging again and she thanks Dianne Baird from the Red Hill Hotel for always supporting her musical ventures and giving them their first gig as MsssGuided. Mari-

anne also thanks all the locals for their support throughout these past years. “It has been awesome. We have a wonderful community here. I am so glad to be part of it,” she adds.

MsssGuided will be playing at the Red Hill for Sunday sessions in the Beer Garden throughout the summer, the next gig being on November 15th, from 4.30, with meals available for dinner... be there or be “MsssGuided!

Bookings for MsssGuided can be made on 0400 592 258. MsssGuided - perfect for weddings, parties, anything!

Marianne from MsssGuided.....

Page 25: Chewton Chat November 2015

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2015 acoustically done and dusted... but 2016 awaits

The last 2015 Acoustic Afternoon at Chewton’s St John’s Anglican Church was held on Sunday the of 18th October.

Our first performer, Rohan from Newstead, was granted permission to break the rules. He plugged his marvellous electric guitar into a Roland amp. so it could be heard balanced with his strong vocals. All original songs kept the audience tuned in, relating to Rohan’s heart felt and occasionally funny tales.

Castlemaine couple Gus and Steph returned to show their abilities on an eclectic range of instruments: hammer dulcimer (sometimes played at Wesley Hill market) wooden recorders, flute and guitar. They presented early music with hauntingly beautiful harmonies. In the second set Chewtopian Jan Palethorpe in a stunning traditional Indian outfit joined them on violin.

WHITE RABBIT featured poetry recited by Tegan which was enhanced by music on guitar by Sha and Dave, who also played bass guitar. They choose their favourite poems, poems that took us beyond our own lives and absorbed us within the tales.

Many thanks to all who have volunteered to sing, play, dance and perform in our last functioning church in Chewton. Most will return next year and others have offered their skills as well. We have been well entertained in the relaxed and comfortable old church building. Feel welcome to join the audience, otherwise they are just rehearsals. You can meet friends and neighbours and for the small fee share food and drink and raise funds to help maintain St John’s.

Please contact Julie 0497 231 209 if you want to get involved in 2016 - providing refreshments, promotion or entertainment.

Page 26: Chewton Chat November 2015

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Between a rock and a hard place... The walk around Expe-dition Pass Reservoir last Sun-day with Golden Point Landcare had both good and bad sights. The good was that despite the extremely dry conditions there were still tinges of colour through the bush with some wildflow-ers still putting on a show. The bad was where someone had dug

up and removed red spider orchid plants..... this orchid is on Victoria’s endangered species list and only grows in certain areas. We find the balance between people being able to discover and appreciate these beautiful orchids in this recovering bushland and giving others the information about where the plants are located and hence the opportu-nity to steal the plants is always tenuous. We looked at the disturbed soil and ruled out echidnas (usually pretty dis-tinctive and quite messy) and prospectors (often a similar scene) and as the orchids had been seen there a few weeks ago but couldn’t be found on Sunday we figured that that’s what had happened.

We came across a bird observer recording bird sight-ings for the Celebrate National Bird Week 2015 - the big-gest citizen science project to hit Aussie shores! From 19-25 October, thousands of people from across the country headed out into their backyards, local parks, or favourite outdoor spaces to take part in the second annual AUS-SIE BACKYARD BIRD COUNT! This is an initiative of BirdLife Australia; Connecting Country is an affiliate group of this fantastic organisation. and has a data-sharing agreement with BirdLife Australia – which means that the Aussie Backyard Bird Count helps us keep track of how woodland birds are faring in the Mount Alexander region.

The November meeting was to be a native grass identification and seed collection workshop BUT with this ongoing dry weather there are few grasses that haven’t been eaten down to ground level making them hard to identify and impossible to collect seed. Instead we’ll have a working bee to manage the mullein that is appearing through the valley - if we can stop the seed spreading then we should manage to control it over the next season.

Golden Point Landcare Managing MulleinSunday November 22nd at 10 a.m.

Meet at the Welsh Street bridge (Golden Point Road opposite The Terraces).

Mullein removal working bee in areas between Welsh Street and Commissioners Gully Road corner.

Native Grass identification on the walk.Bring a digger/secateurs, wear suitable gear,

BYO water/food.Contact Jennifer Pryce on 0423 900 590

or [email protected] for further details.

Golden Point Landcare

Pining away!For the third year in a row local volunteers have taken to the slopes of Mount Alexander armed with hand saws, lop-pers and abundant enthusiasm to tackle the problem of in-vasive pine trees in the Mount Alexander Regional Park.

A whopping 300 Pine trees were cut down at the big ‘pine-purge’ working bee as part of the annual Landcare Camp Out on The Mount, on Saturday 17th October.

While volunteers concentrated on the smaller pines, Xavier and Stu from Mount Alexander Quality Tree Care

Page 27: Chewton Chat November 2015

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A typically strong group rocked up for FOBIF’s October walk on Sunday, expertly and entertainingly led by Elaine Bayes and Damien Cook through the Morgan’s Track area of the Diggings Park. In spite of the dry season there was plenty to see, as the group meandered on and off track in the area of DELWP’s thinning trials.

An easy pace was maintained to enable plenty of ex-amination of sightings along the way. On show were Grey Everlasting, Matted Bush Pea, Grey Parrot Pea, Small leaved Parrot Pea, Grevillea alpina, Leptorhynchus, Dig-gers Speedwell, Heath Tea Tree, Bendigo Wax, Sticky Ev-erlasting…plus a minuscule Common Froglet, and a sur-prisingly unfazed Tree Dragon.

And what they said...1/ This was a wonderful walk. I learned so much and was completely impressed with Elaine and Damien’s wealth of knowledge. I can’t wait until the next walk. Thanks so much!2/ My partner and I really enjoyed the walk. Damien and Elaine’s knowledge of the plant life and animals in the for-est was amazing. Hope to have another walk with them in the future. Taken from a website.

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came along with some more serious equipment and felled two of the large trees at the site. They dropped with a crash and a cheer from the spectators on the hill.

The organisers of the Camp Out are hoping to even-tually eradicate invasive pine trees from the Park by ‘drill-ing and filling’ the larger pines that remain scattered over the mountain. They would also like to thank the Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests for their support of this year’s event.

Anyone interested in helping with the pine eradica-tion work over the next few years is encouraged to contact Local Landcare Facilitator Max Schlachter on 5472 1594 or [email protected].

Pine photos: Happy campers, moving through the site, Xavier and Stu assessing a tall pine before felling and

counting the growth rings after felling.

MAINfm can be heard on 94.9 MHz on the FM band

or with the TuneInRadio app on your smartphone, or use the Listen Live page to stream over the internet.

www. http://mainfm.net/

Spring prowl - walking with FOBIF

GreyEverlasting

Common Froglet

Page 28: Chewton Chat November 2015

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Parks Victoria’s Noel Muller welcomed us all to the Cas-tlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park at Wattle Gully on Fryers Road. He spoke of bringing back the natural values and possible future uses of this site. The immedi-ate goals are to keep the area clean and open and for risk mitigation as a fire break. Blackberry removal is planned along with possible replanting with local indigenous spe-cies. Noel was joined by another Ranger, John, who is part of the Dja Dja Wurrung Parks Vic team and knows the Indigenous History of the area.

Parks Vic would keep this area clean and mowed, requested that a register of hours worked by volunteers be kept and offered to pick-up and burn cuttings if they were raked into piles. There was discussion about access to the creek and plans for a walking track with connection to the other side.

We were reminded that the stand of wattles was planted nearly 20 years ago, originally as a spiral which went out from the railway embankment to the sculpture design that made up the stone seats. Unfortunately, a work crew who had been clearing weeds there had recruited the assistance of a bulldozer that removed many of the trees and the spiral no longer exists! Noel said that if a volun-teer group sprayed and hand weeded around the seats a Parks Vic team would cut and remove the fallen and dead trees.

The group walked through the tunnels under the rail-way line and admired the brick and stone work and won-dered about the risk of using these as access to the other

Excavators 5 &13 tonne Backhoe Grader Tip Trucks 6 & 10 metrePost Hole Auger Rock Grab Roller

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Chewton Landcare’s Wattle Gully walkside. There’s no doubt of the interest they would create!

We noticed old nesting boxes placed by earlier mem-bers of Chewton Landcare about 15 years ago. Damien commented that they were made of pine which does not last well, and he is exploring construction from other types of wood and researching linings to stop bees nesting in the boxes.

There was also talk of how to deal with the pampas grass - Max Schlachter suggested checking the Connect-ing Country website for e-news. Connecting Country also has a website for community grants that are available for groups like ours to consider.

We then crossed Fryers Road to observe the fabulous job done in Whitehorse Gully by Chewton Landcare group over the past 10 years. We were joined there by Michael and Jackie McMaster who invited us to drive around and look from the other side.

Anyone interested in helping should contact a mem-ber of the Chewton Landcare Executive:

Pat Healy President 0422 759 661 [email protected]

Damien Thrum: Vice-President 0412 339 617 [email protected]

Maggie McLeod: Secretary 0428 396 733 [email protected] Sue McCallum: 5472 3025 [email protected]

Page 29: Chewton Chat November 2015

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December 18, 1857 Mount Alexander MailFOREST CREEK. (from our own correspondent.)

The Scotch Thistle. Two years ago there existed a very small plot of thistles adjoining the soap and candle manufactory, Pennyweight Flat. It was nobody’s business to cut them down, or adopt means to prevent further increase, but everybody prophesied that if the this-tles were not cut down before seed time, that in a year or two they would become very troublesome; and everybody in this instance prophesied very truly, as a visit to Wesley and Pennyweight Flats will at once render apparent. An hour’s work at the commence-ment would have sufficed to eradicate the evil, but as several acres are now covered with a most luxuriant crop in full blossom, it will be a very difficult task indeed. Of course the diggers imagined that it was the duty of the pro prietors of the soap boiling establishment to destroy the obnoxious weed. A very wrong idea certainly, and one which the soap boilers showed their contempt for, by feeding the thistles with large quantities of sheep and bullock offal, which they deposited on the ground beside the thistles, thus punishing the diggers through their olfactory organs, and at the same time adding to the strength of the thistle, and increasing its powers of propagation ; and so well has this patriotic conduct on the part of the soap-boilers succeeded, that next year all ingress or egress to or from Pennyweight Flat will probably be put a stop to. As this luxu-riant crop of thistles is situated within the municipal boundary, the Municipal Council may probably be induced to do something and that immediately to eradicate the evil. If, however, they have any particular desire to see Forest Creek one grand field of thistles, they have only to wait a little longer; the first gale of wind will suffice.

An amusing tale? Couldn’t happen these days could it? For-est Creek is safe from environmental weeds isn’t it?

Well, no! Been up in the Welsh Village area lately? Seen the feral pines “marching” out of the pine plantation, advancing on Forest Creek and moving towards Chewton? Pines that are as-sumed by too many people to be the responsibility of the managers of the pine plantation?

And seen the colourful garden gazanias that are escaping from their beds? Establishing themselves on the roadsides? Mov-ing ever closer to Wattle and Forest Creeks? The gazanias that we assume are the responsibility of council, or VicRoads or anyone else?

Maybe Forest Creek has avoided being “one grand field of thistles” but will it become one grand field of pines punctuated with patches of gazanias?Footnote:

In January 2015 South Australia declared gazanias a weed, banning their sale and making the destruction of some of them en-forcable. Anyone caught bringing gazanias into South Australia, transporting them on public roads or offering them for sale could face a $500 fine or court-imposed penalties of up to $10,000.

Golden Plains Shire has listed them as an environmental weed, Pittwater Council in Sydney has them listed as an environ-mental weed, there is concern in the Wedderburn area at the grow-ing problem and in the Great Ocean Road area there are constant working bees arranged to tackle the gazania spread. And the City of Greater Bendigo lists gazanias as one of their Bushland Bullies.

The evidence is mounting…

Chewton’s susceptibility to environmental weeds...

Page 30: Chewton Chat November 2015

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In December 1851 fifteen thousand gold miners held Australia’s first mass protest. meet-ing here in Chewton. They gathered peacefully at Forest Creek to defy the government’s attempt to double the gold miners’ licence fee – from thirty shillings to three pounds. The miners were prepared to pay a reasonable amount for a licence to dig for gold but three pounds was too much for miners who were mostly working hard to just make a living. Only a very few made a fortune.

That Monster Meeting of the Diggers sent a clear and unanimous message to Gov-ernor La Trobe – we will not pay. And in the face of their opposition, La Trobe withdrew his plans to double the licence fee. And so began a cascade of struggle and protest that continued throughout the Victorian goldfields, through the Red Ribbon Movement in Bendigo and finally to the bloodshed at the Eureka Stockade three years later.

The Diggers’ mass protest meeting is now a proud part of Chewton’s history that we celebrate in December every year. And it is also an important part of Australia’s history. It marks the beginnings of people’s struggles to build a new society free of the inequalities and injustice that they left behind them. They wanted to mine for gold without unreasonable licence fees. But they also wanted social equality and civil rights, to vote for a democratic government and to settle on the land locked up in the squatters’ great runs. Like Castlemaine’s Wild Colonial Boy they scorned to live in slavery, bound down with iron chains.

The Monster Meeting of Diggers at Forest Creek in December 1851 was the peace-ful first step on the road to Eureka and the beginnings of democracy in Australia. It deserves a celebration.

The 1851 Digger’s Monster meeting

Five Flags Hotel

155 Main RdCampbells Creek

54721010

* Open 7 days for Lunch and Dinner

* Monday to Friday $15.00 lunch menu available

*Sunday Roast

*Warm cosy fires

*Tab and Keno

*Drive through bottleshop

CELEBRATE THE 1851 MONSTER MEETING ON SUNDAY 13 DECEMBER.Gather @ 4pm @ the Monster Meeting site in Golden Point Rd.

Or meet at 3pm @ Chewton Town Hall & march to the site with flags flying.

A different way of seeing

Forest Creek! A balloon drifting serenely across the

Chewton Bushlands, floating up the Forest Creek Valley, above

Expedition Pass Reservoir, across the house on the hill atop

Llewellyn Road - then disappearing

beyond the trees as it headed towards

Specimen Gully Road and Barkers Creek.

Not something seen here every day!

November 11thRemembrance Day

Page 31: Chewton Chat November 2015

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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 ARRANgE yOuR OWN SWAP If THESE dATES dON’T SuIT.

November, 2015Sunday 1 Rose Saturday 7 JoanSunday 8 Closed – Private FunctionSaturday 14 AllanSunday 15 ElaineSaturday 21 FrankSunday 22 MarionSaturday 28 GlenSunday 29 Irene

Mount Alexander Mail - 9 November 1915AUSTRALIAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE

LETTERS FROM THE FRONT - PRIVATE N. M. BRAYWriting to his parents at Golden Point, Chewton, Private N. M. Bray says:- I did not have a long stay in Egypt, as we were all needed to make up the companies in the Battalions. The work that has been done on these hills is something wonderful. They are all covered-in trenches, and we have places dug out to sleep in, just like a lot of rabbits. Just where I am now it is not very nice, as there are a couple of dead bodies a few yards away, between our trenches and the Turks, and cannot be buried. The Turks are very fair fighters, and good shots, but we have them under the whip. I don’t think they will last long. I could not sleep the first few nights; the noise of the guns would keep anyone awake. There is plenty of shrapnel flying about, and bombs bursting in the air, but we do not take any notice of that, unless it gets too close, and then we crawl into our dug outs as quick as rabbits. I have never received any letters from Australia.Mount Alexander Mail - Saturday 20 November 1915

WOODMAN SPARE THAT TREE BREACHES OF FOREST REGULATIONS

POLICE COURT PROCEEDINGS.… Robert Martin was the next defendant. Forest Officer Bail said on 6th November he saw Martin and his son cut-ting live timber between Moonlight and Chewton. He had no license. Altogether defendant had cut 76 trees measur-ing from 3 inches to 6 inches in diameter, and the damage was estimated at £2.

In imposing a fine of 10/, with £2 damages, the P.M. said the Defendant was utterly wrong in cutting timber without a licence, but his colleagues (Messrs. Arkinstall, Van Heurck and Latham, J’s.P., thought a fine of 10/ would meet the case. These penalties were lenient, and were im-posed as a warning. Similar cases in future would be dealt with much more severely, as the forests must be protected, and so far as the bench was concerned they would be pro-tected. Glen Harrison.

Chewton - 100 years ago...News (Adelaide, SA : Friday 21 May 1937

CHEWTON LEASES STILL BEING PEGGEDLeases are still being pegged out in the Chewton. Castle-maine, and Fryerstown districts, Victoria, says the “Age” (Melbourne).

From east to west in the parish of Chewton 13 dis-tinct lines of reef exist in a mile and three-quarters. Every one has produced gold. Some have been proved gold bear-ing for a length of six miles north and south in Chewton, and a further four miles to Fryerstown. The main saddle reef formations are the Burns-Nimrod line to the east of Chewton and the Chewton-Garfleld line in the centre.

The three deepest mines sunk were the Francis Or-mond. 1,200 ft.; the Forest Creek Gold Reefs (Garfield), 1,100 ft., and the Forest Creek Wattle Gully (old Wattle Gully), 800 ft. Apart from these three mines, no shaft was sunk over 300 ft. (N.B. This was written in 1937).

When the results of deep sinking at Bendigo on the saddle reefs and the present yields being obtained from the Wattle Gully mine at the 650 ft. level are considered, the possibilities of deep sinking are emphasised. There is possibly much gold still to be won at the shallower levels, as for instance, the strike of the Wattle Gully Extended at 168 ft.

Surveyors and geologists of the Victorian Mines Department are making a comprehensive survey of the Chewton field, and when their reports are compiled the re-sources and possibilities of the district will be brought up to date. The last survey was made by Mr. W. Baragwanath in 1902 - 35 years ago.

How deep is deep?

Let the music begin Now taking students for this

next term. If you have ever wanted your child to take piano lessons or

have thought of it for yourself, NOW is the time. I have thirty

five years of teaching experience here in Castlemaine, so if you seek lessons in a quiet and relaxed studio atmosphere

please give me a call. Christopher Whitehead

5470 6668

Page 32: Chewton Chat November 2015

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Destructive FiresA fire broke out in the British and American Hotel, Chew-ton, yesterday forenoon about 1 o’clock, and it was not checked till the whole buildings of the hotel were in ruins.All that remains now of that old establishment, which un-der the former proprietor, Mr Meredith, was the scene of many enlivening amusements, with its pleasure gardens, are the bare walls. About the hour Mrs Glendenning, was at the rear of the building, when an alarm of fire was given, Mr Glendenning being a short distance from home at the time.

Though in a state of much confusion, Mrs Glenden-ning made it her first business, to secure the safety of her baby; and in the meantime one or two persons who had noticed the smoke rising tried to put out the fire, without avail; though it is believed that had even a small jet of wa-ter been procurable to direct against the flames they would have been overcome before they got a firm hold of the building. This, however, was not at hand, and the water thrown from buckets failed to reach the flames, which by this time were playing about the ceiling, and ultimately caught the roof; after one hour and a half’s possession the building was totally wrecked. Luckily the direction of the wind enabled those present to save the wine cellar, stable, and an old shed; and with the assistance of willing hands a considerable portion of the hotel furniture was also saved, though the work of rescue was conducted at considerable danger through heat and smoke.

The property was insured in the Colonial Mutual Society, but again re-insured by that office for half the amount. The amount of the risk was lately reduced by £200, and as the salvage on the furniture is considerable, the loss between the two offices interested will be com-paratively light. The origin of the fire is supposed to have been over the kitchen roof, where there must have been a lot of dry leaves collected, which a spark from the chim-ney ignited.

A cottage belonging to Mr Nicholas Temby one of the tributers on the Eureka, was burned down yesterday morn-ing between 10 and 11 o’clock. Mrs Temby had prepared something for her husband’s dinner, which was placed in the oven to bake, and then she went to Wesley Hill to visit

a friend, leaving the house as she thought perfectly safe. Shortly after this one of the neighbours noticed the

place in flames, and sent word to Mr Temby, who was at work on the reef close by; but before he could reach the place the fire had got so strong a hold as to preclude the possibility of saving the house or with the exception of a few trifling articles anything within it.

The house and furniture were not insured, and their destruction will prove a severe loss to the owner. Mrs Gamble, a poor widow who lives close by, had a box con-taining what few clothes she is possessed of - which she had left at Temby’s for security - totally destroyed also.

(M.A.M. 16.2.1881 p2)Extra notes: 1./ Where exactly the Temby house was is unknown but it must have been close to Eureka as the article states, and Mrs Temby walking into Wesley Hill on a visit while leav-ing a meal in the oven suggests it may have been along the Fryers road. A tributer is a word possibly originating from a Cornish mining arrangement. First there were dig-gers, prospectors and fossickers until the mining compa-nies moved in. It would have been hard to fight that sort of money so the men had a choice of either becoming em-ployees of the companies or moving on. But there was this ‘tributer’ thing where a team or gang of men were given a certain area to work and received payment for what they produced, so they were not working for wages yet they weren’t employees. 2./ It was common in those days to talk about working on such-and-such a reef, rather than working in a mine. Before the Eureka Mine there was, and still is, the Eureka Reef.3./ Elaine Appleton has drawn attention to the graphic of the British and American Hotel included in Ken Mckim-mie’s Chewton Then and Now book, in the Chapter headed Chewton Tea Gar-dens.

An article posted on Maine Memories Facebook by James Taylor on October 10th

History on-line

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The arrival of Spring weather in the Loddon Mallee region means peo-ple are getting outdoors at the same time snakes are starting to become more active.

Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) Wildlife Officer Glenn Smith said, “Snakes are emerging from their winter hibernation to bask in the sun and to search for food and a mate. The recent sunny weather also means more people are spending time in their gardens or in parks and forests. As people and snakes become more active it is quite possible they’ll encounter each other while enjoying the outdoors. Eastern Brown Snakes are most common in the north west of the state with the occasional Tiger Snake or Red Bellied Black Snake encountered around wetlands, creeks and riv-ers. These three species are all highly venomous but it is rare for them to bite people. However, they are known to bite animals when disturbed. If you are a pet owner and your dog or cat encounters a snake causing you concern, the best course of action is to remove your pet from the area or tie it up while the snake passes. Being aware that snakes may be around and being informed about how to react to them is very important at this time of year.”

Some key points to remember about living in or vis-iting an area with snakes: • If you see a snake – keep calm and try to move your-

self, anyone with you and your pets away from the snake.

• Never touch or attempt to capture or hurt a snake – instead call DELWP Customer Service Centre on 136 186 who will provide you advice or put you in contact with your nearest licensed snake catcher

• Have a spring clean – clean up around the house and cut lawns regularly. Snakes are attracted to shelter such as piles of rocks and timber, sheets of metal, or building materials.

• Undertake first aid training, ensure your first aid kit contains several compression bandages, and if some-one is bitten call 000 immediately.

• Snakes are protected under the Wildlife Act 1975. It is illegal to capture, kill or harm them. Bites can occur when people try to kill snakes.

Taken from a Press release.

Be aware...HISTORICAL EXHIBITION

See old photos, old letters, documents, maps, artifacts and memorabilia plus the recently

unveiled refurbished WW1 montage which is a direct historical link to some of

the district’s best!

In the Faulder Watson Hall Barker St, Castlemaine

for Melbourne Cup weekend - from Saturday to Tuesday

10am-4pm.COST: A GOLD COIN DONATION.

An event not to be missed.

Some ISSUUs for the ChatChewton Chats have been posted on the www.issuu.com website since November 2013.

www.ISSUU.com

Page 34: Chewton Chat November 2015

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Call for budding filmmakers of all ages...The Castlemaine Local and International Film Festival (CLIFF), now in its third year, will be held at the iconic Theatre Royal in Castlemaine from 20-22 November 2015. CLIFF is a volunteer-run community organisation dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences in film.

A feature of the festival is the local film competition – open to adults and children living within a 100km radius of Castlemaine. Primary and secondary school students are invited to grab a smartphone, an iPod or some other filming device, and make a short film up to 4 minutes’ duration to enter into the competition. Adults are invited to submit a film of up to 10 minutes’ duration. There are great prizes to be won and finalists will have their film shown on the big screen at the film festival on Sunday 22 November.

Competition details and entry forms can be found at http://www.cliff.net.au/clifftop - or call 0413 563404.

David Moore exhibition

Over the last 3 years local artist David Moore has been producing small paintings along the roads, tracks and around the hills of Chewton. He has established, with his partner Jenny, a cottage haven for the purpose of painting and exploring the region around his favourite hamlet of Chewton. David is best known for his paintings of still life and larger landscapes, however he likes to keep in contact first hand with his surroundings and working on site. It’s in his DNA to work spontaneously on site, capturing the effect of the light as it affects the landscape.

David is exhibiting his small studies done around Chewton as well as a few larger pieces. The exhibition is called Glimpses of Chewton and is on at the Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historic Museum until 13th of December.

Castlemaine Art Gallery

now...

...until 13th of December

Trenches ExcavationsLandscaping

Posthole Digger Rubbish Removal

Driveway Construction

Phone Colin on 5470 5975 or 0417 509 699

11 November - Remembrance Day10.50 a.m. at the Park gates - for the minute’s silence at 11

Page 35: Chewton Chat November 2015

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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 [email protected] 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.issuu.com - 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 EXCURSIONS

Fri Nov 13th Meeting:Speaker:

Julie Whitfield on butterflies

Ordinary 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/

Are you interested in

PLAYING THE BLUES?

You are invited to a monthly Jam Session at Elphinstone

This is a non-professional, informal get-together

of people who want to make some noise and have some fun!

If you are into blues music and sing or play an instrument

you are welcome!

For more information: Email: [email protected]

Then in January (22nd - 25 th) it’s time for Newstead! Like Maldon just over an hour from Melbourne, via Castlemaine, this festival has a really intimate village feeling and mixes great international and interstate acts with the best of the locals. At the time of writing the line-up is far from complete, but you can expect Vin Garbutt, The Ugly Uncles, Suzannah Espie, Scott Cook, The Beez, Paul Wookey & Philomena Carroll, Joe Dolce, Michael Waugh, Cat Canted and many, many others. For all festival info and for the complete program as it evolves go to www.newsteadlive.com where tickets can be purchased too.

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No longer is there any doubting that the the “Little Boy” (El Nino) has arrived. The threatened warmer, drier weather is right with us, right now.

The British New Scientist periodical headlines an article 'El Nino Looming”. It goes on to say “El Nino has contributed to hundreds of deaths already in an In-dian heatwave, but the worst is yet to come”. In sub-Saharan Africa flooding is expected to exacerbate food shortages, and Kenya has issued a flood alert. Here at home we continue to experience near-record tempera-tures and lower rainfall that is making worse an already severe Queensland drought. CSIRO researcher Wenju Cai states that we can expect tropical storms to add to the difficulties up north, and may be expected to peak in February. So I am looking at my storm water tanks and hoping that the care I have been taking to minimise consumption will last the distance. Community concern covers both the volume of water and the temperatures that dries out the soils and vegetation that are liable to burning.

First to rainfall. This month, I have recorded just 3.5 millimetres that fell over just four days. The highest fall being merely 1.5 mms. The average annual monthly fall in October is some 35 millimetres. This year is a significant variation to that norm. The smallest annual Chewton rainfall recorded since AD2000 was 338 milli-metres in 2012. The current total for the first ten months

of this year is 210 mms. and looks like being the lowest annual total recorded by the Chewton Chat weathermen.

The number of rain days experienced to date this calendar year is 71. The typical year sees some 105 to 115 rain days each year. So, we are behind on this count too, and unlikely to catch up in the next two months. Our only record is the number of “NSR days”, (not suf-ficient to record). These are days when you can feel the moisture on the skin and in the air, but doesn't collect in any rain gauge!

Next the temperatures this month. September saw a monthly average temperature of 16.7 degrees C., the October average has jumped to 27.7 degrees C. The highest high last month was 25 degrees C, and has risen to 35 degrees C this month. I think some residents re-corded almost 40 degrees, but I am on land a bit higher and 'breeze-prone'. Our October mode (most common) October temperature was 30 degrees Celsius.

The overnight low temperature (as you would ex-pect) has also risen. This month the average overnight low was 10 degrees Celsius, last month it was only 5 degrees. The overnight mode has also risen to 10 de-grees C. which compares with October's three degrees. We had a few single digit nights at the beginning of the month, including a ‘one-off'’ zero degrees celsius, but since the second week we have been in the warmer zone.

John Leavesley.

Flowers and grass no longer abound

Calendar of EventsNov 3rd Public Holiday – Melbourne Cup Day.Nov 7th Service, 6 p.m., St. John’s Anglican Church, Chewton.Nov 7th MoBQ (Chewton Community BBQ), 6 p.m., Ellery Park (BYO everything!).Nov 8th POHAG meeting, 10 a.m., Chewton Town Hall.Nov 8th Chewton Pool AGM, 2 p.m., Chewton Pool.Nov 8th Kasu Tours Information Meeting, 4 p.m., Chewton Town Hall (see page 35).Nov 9th Fire restrictions begin.Nov 9th CPR and First Aid Training, 9 a.m., Chewton School (see page 10).Nov 10th MAS Council Meeting, 7.30 p.m., Civic Centre, Castlemaine.Nov 11th Remembrance Day, 10.50 a.m., Soldiers’ Memorial Park Gates.Nov 14th Centenary of Fryerstown School, 3.30 p.m., Fryerstown School.Nov 14th Service, 6 p.m., St. John’s Anglican Church, Chewton.Nov 15th MsssGuided at Red Hill, 4.30 p.m., Red Hill Hotel.Nov 16th Chewton Domain Society Man. Comm. meeting, 7.15 p.m., Chewton Town Hall.Nov 21st Service, 6 p.m., St. John’s Anglican Church, Chewton.Nov 22nd Golden Point Landcare Managing Mullein, 10 a.m., (see page 26).Nov 23rd deadline for the December Chewton Chat.Nov 24th MAS Council Meeting, 7.30 p.m., Elphinstone Hall.Nov 27th Chewton Pool opens for the 2015/16 season.Nov 28th Chewton Pool celebration, about lunchtime, Chewton Pool.Nov 28th Advent Quiet Afternoon, 2.30 p.m., St. John’s Anglican Church, Chewton.Nov 28th Service, 6 p.m., St. John’s Anglican Church, Chewton.Nov 28th Fryerstown Films (The Searchers), 7.30 p.m., Burke and Wills Mechanics Inst.Nov 30th Folding the December Chewton Chat, 2.30 p.m., Chewton Town Hall.