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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 200 October, 2015.

www.chewton.net

The 200th edition of the Chewton Chat is here! Remem-ber the 100th edition back in June 2007? That cold night in the Chewton Town Hall, when we first had contact with CNAV – the Community Newspaper Association of Victoria? When the CNAV president, Dr. Mary Jo Fortuna, drove across from Rushworth to be our guest speaker? And a candle-lit Boston bun was shared? The July 2007 Chewton Chat recorded that occasion.

Well, time has moved on and another hundred is on the scoreboard, and to mark that milestone we have included a number of photos of our readers - taking time out with the Chat. Talk about creativity!

There are plans being formulated to hold an event on October 17th to mark this occasion too - more detail will be posted on noticeboards around the town as planning comes together.

200 already?

Who’d have thought that possible way back in 1999 when number 1 appeared?

CHAT’S 100TH CELEBRATIONSThe gas heater in the town hall was put to good use on a

chilly Chewton night as a gathering to celebrate the 100th

issue took place. In welcoming everyone, CDS President

Helen McGeachin made special mention of Edna Preece

who had chosen to celebrate her birthday helping out at the

Chat’s 100th! Helen mentioned the humble beginnings of

the Chat back in March 1999. She referred to other local

newspapers in the area, and welcomed Frances Cincotta

from the Newstead Echo (and who is a regular advertiser

in the Chat!).

Helen introduced

Dr. Mary Jo

Fortuna from the

C o m m u n i t y

N e w s p a p e r

Association of Victoria (CNAV). In congratulating the Chat Mary Jo spoke

of the value of community newspapers to the local community and how it’s a

widespread and ever growing movement. She spoke of the CNAVs role in

representing and being a lobbyist on behalf of the many community

newspapers. The CNAV hosts conferences and organizes annual awards.

The first one hundred issues of the Chewton Chats were boxed up and

presented to the gathering by Barbara

Dry. Barbara had made the original

suggestion that the State Library may be

interested in beginning a Chat collection

– and they were! The very heavy box

was then delivered to the State Library. Thanks Ben and Sheri!

On display were two congratulatory cards from Alex and Jessica Rhone, who

regularly appear in the Chat. A number of apologies were also read out (see

opposite page).

In thanking Mary Jo for her presentation and attendance in Chewton (Mary Jo

lives in Rushworth and works on the Waranga News) Frances made a presentation

of a bottle of local wine, a thank you card that featured the local crimson spider

orchid, and a hakea flower.

The 100th “cake” came out along with the 100th candle - and it fell to weather

reporter Keith Richardson to provide the wind to blow it out. (Because the Chat is

done on a shoestring budget our celebratory cakes are always Boston buns!)

Another highlight of the evening was the array of beautiful food – provided by

those attending who all brought something to share. And the last word for the

evening was provided by Edna – “It’s the best birthday I’ve had since my 70th!”

Photo Top Left: CDS President Helen McGeachin welcoming those who braved the cold to celebrate the

100th Chat. Photo Centre Right: The Chat's sometime Bushlands and Solomon Islands correspondent Paul

Maher in conversation with Guest Speaker Dr. Mary Jo Fortuna. Photo Bottom Left: Keith Richardson

about to reduce the temperature by blowing out the 100th candle.

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Like our roads, the journey of “A dream realised: Chewton Bushlands stories” has been long, steep and rocky. But the long awaited book has now arrived.

In September 2011, a Sunday community gathering of many Bushlands residents found itself discussing the local area and its environment. What was the history of its creation? How did this subdivision come about and when? What makes the Bushlands special apart from the spec-tacular views? There were many stories, recollections, agreements and disagreements. Some residents had been living here a long time, some were part-timers, some were ‘newbies’. But for everyone in this diverse group there was a love of the bush, the peace, the ruggedness, the sim-plicity of being off-the-grid, a strong sense of community and an emerging need to know more.

The Chewton Bushlands Association took on the task of finding out more! It was known that, in 1967, Brian and Merle Parsons had purchased a parcel of land near Chew-ton, which, when subdivided and sold became the entity known as the Chewton Bushlands. A group of volunteer members, starting with information passed on by Brian and his son Mick, began the formidable task of putting together the story. Volunteers came and gave much time, many others in the local and broader community were con-sulted, the material grew in volume, a website was set up and a plan gradually evolved. A Local History Grant from

A dream has been realised!

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

Everyone welcome...The last of the delightful Sunday afternoon concerts in this series will be held on Sunday 18th at 2pm. Thanks again to Julie and Gary for organising and guiding these concerts.

Come and enjoy...

the Public Record Office of Victoria set the wheels spin-ning for the production of “A dream realised: Chewton Bushlands stories”.

You’re invited to the launch!Christine Henderson, Mount Alexander Shire Mayor, will launch our book on Sunday 25th October at 2 pm

at the Chewton Hall.Photos and text tell the story of Brian Parsons’ epic

project of road building and subdivision, of stone and mud-brick houses, of the evolution of a community, individual personal journeys and the Bushlands flora and fauna, all within 112 colour pages printed on 100% recycled paper using vegetable-based inks in a 100% certified carbon neutral production.

To pre-order your copy, go to the Chewton Bush-lands website chewtonbushlandsassociation.org.au and follow the links to the Order form.

For more information or enquiries contact Karen Baker on 0439 714 665 or email baker@ms.unimelb.edu.au

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Pool AGMChewton Pool Inc will hold the AGM on Sunday 8 November at 2.00pm at the pool. A BBQ for all comers will commence at 1.00pm.

Nomination forms for Committee positions are available by contacting the Secretary on 0417 136 769 or emailing chew-tonsplash@hotmail.com

We encourage pool users and parents to “have a go” and get involved in the management side.

Signs of our times...Wherever you go in Chewton there are signs. Speed signs, advertising signs, real estate signs and even makeshift signs warning of kangaroos in the area or possibly a ga-rage sale. But there are other signs too - and usually with a story of some sort behind each one.

This is only a small collection - do you have any to add? Denise Button did - with her favourite sign. And only $6 a bag!

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Fire Brigades across Victoria experienced an increase in fire activity over September as temperatures began to rise.The CFA responded to over 40 grass fires between Friday the 11th and Sunday the 13th of September alone with warm weather seen across the state.

Locally, Chewton CFA was called out to a spread-ing grass and scrub fire in Campbells Creek on Sunday the 13th. The fire was located at the back of a property in Scott Court but was quickly brought under control by local brigades. Crews from Campbells Creek and Castlemaine Fire Brigades also attended the event.

This spike in fire activity, due to warming weather, should act as a timely reminder to the local community that now is the time to start preparing your properties for the upcoming fire season. Emergency services across the state are predicting an earlier start to this year’s fire season and are expecting above normal fire activity.

Residents can prepare their homes by doing simple tasks around the house like mowing the lawns, clearing the gutters and cleaning up sticks and leaves. Having a fire plan, and practising it, is also important for keeping you and your family safe in the event of a local fire this season.

When cleaning up around your properties please re-member to call the Burn Off Notification Line to register your burn. It only takes a couple of minutes to call and register your burn and doing so means that the CFA will not be mistakenly called to your house. The Burn Off No-tification Number is: 1800 668 511.

In other Brigade news, Chewton CFA is also proud to announce that they will be entering a team in this year’s Mount Alexander Relay for Life. All funds raised from the event go towards the Cancer Council so if you would like to sponsor our team you can do so by donating online. Just search for the Mount Alexander Relay for Life, find the Chewton Fire Brigade page (under teams) and then click on Donate.

October will also see Chewton Fire Brigade host its Second Annual Community Bonfire Night down at the Fire Station in Mount Street. Details for the event are still being organised so keep your eye out for further informa-tion.

The event is scheduled for Saturday October 24th so make sure you Save that Date! We look forward to seeing you there!Paige Mounsey, Chewton CFA Communications Officer.

CFA Update – October 2015For 2015 the Victorian Government has

decided to bring Fire Action Week forward...

Fire Action Week will be from Sunday November 1 to Sunday November 8.

Preparing Victorians for a summer of extreme fire danger

Victoria is one of the most fire-prone areas in the world and living with fire is a reality. Consequently the Vic-torian Government conducts a yearly Summer Fire infor-mation campaign aimed at educating the Victorian public about fire and fire risk to minimise injury and the loss of life. The campaign has traditionally focused on four dif-ferent threats Victorians faced based on their location and surroundings:

• Bushfires• Grassfires in rural and regional Victoria• Grassfires on the urban fringe of Melbourne • TravellersComplacency and familiarity with the ‘fire danger’

message are diminishing the mental and physical invest-ment ‘at risk’ Victorians make to ensure they are keeping themselves, their family and their community safe during times of high fire risk. There is a challenge to communi-cate with an audience that overestimates its capacity to respond to fire while also underestimating the risk of fire.

An advertising campaign is about to be implemented......remember last year’s campaign?

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We are now approaching the fire season in a very dry en-vironment. Expedition Pass Reservoir has been overflow-ing for about 6 months, but not because of rainfall. Leaks from the North Harcourt channel near Faraday feed the local reservoir. But 6 months of overflow into a dry val-ley means no water has reached Chewton yet! A series of serious warnings from different agencies are starting to appear..

Coliban Water’s website is showing that on Septem-ber the 25th the Upper Coliban Reservoir is at 60.6% of capacity (99.3% at the same time last year), Lauriston is at 82.9% (75.9% at the same time last year) and Malmsbury is at 44% (48.8% at the same time last year) giving a cu-mulative total for our three storages of 64.1% of capacity (down from 83.9% at this time last year).

Goulburn-Murray’s website shows Cairn Curran cur-rently at 30.52% of capacity (60.18% at the same time last year) and Eppalock at 40.66% (73.56% at the same time last year).

And then there’s this…“A preliminary investigation of factors affecting the

fire season outlook for 2015-16 point to an above normal season across most of Victoria. Key indicators of above normal fire potential are currently in place. They include an extended rainfall deficit, drying conditions in eastern central Australia that affect north westerly air patterns, and rain that dampens but doesn’t soak soil profiles. Dri-er conditions in key areas of the continent that affect Vic-toria’s weather, when combined with the normal course of spring warming and increasing day length, lead to a

What’s it been? Dry! And what’s the outlook? Drier!

OVERVIEW

The Seasonal Bushfire Outlook for southern Australia is used by fire authorities to make strategic decisions on resource planning and prescribed fire management for the upcoming fire season. The outlook is developed at an annual workshop convened by the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC and the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC).

At the 2015 workshop in Perth in August, the outlook was assessed and a range of broad climate factors were considered.

In assessing the bushfire potential for

any given year, it is important to take into

account not only the amount of rainfall in the

immediately preceding months but the long-

term rainfall deficit across southern Australia.

Leading into this year, many areas

have consistently received below

average annual rainfall across successive

years. This has produced a cumulative

reduction in soil moisture levels and

increasingly dry forests and grasslands.

In addition to these long-term trends,

other climate drivers, such as the currently

strengthening El Niño-Southern Oscillation

event across the Pacific and the warmer

waters associated with the Indian Ocean

Dipole, may further increase the severity

and duration of the upcoming fire season.

Such impacts will challenge the limited

resources of the fire and land management

agencies and have created the situation where

each fire season is likely to be more demanding

than the last, both in economic and human costs.

The above map shows the bushfire outlook

for southern Australia through to 2016. This map

has been combined with an updated outlook

for the northern Australia bushfire season,

which was first released in mid July, to show

SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA SEASONAL BUSHFIRE OUTLOOK 2015-16

1Share on: | All Hazard Notes are available at www.bnhcrc.com.au/hazardnotes

ISSUE 010 SEPTEMBER 2015TOPICS IN THIS EDITION | FIRE WEATHER | FUEL MANAGEMENT 

strong likelihood that the season will begin early. Significant rain would be required over the spring period to alter the outlook for an above normal fire potential for most of Victoria.”

These are ex-tracts from a report just released (Septem-ber 1) by The Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC. This is a na-tional research centre funded by the Austra-lian Government Cooperative Research Centre Program. It was formed in 2013 for an eight-year program to un-dertake end-user focused research for Australia and New Zealand.

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A local Chewton woman, Beverley Bloxham, has created a tour of India for those who would like to see India through the lens of Fair Trade, under the auspices of her organisation, Kasu Tours. The tour is planned for February 2016, and still has a few vacancies.

During her many visits to India, Beverley has researched and visited the places included in the tour, and would now like to share her knowledge and experiences there with like-minded people.

The itinerary includes a block-printing workshop in Rajasthan, meeting tribal artists in Madhya Pradesh, a visit to a traditional weaving village in the Himalayas and various other organisations, all practising fair trade principles.

They will also visit local sites of importance and museums, as well as some ancient rock art in Madhya Pradesh. They will travel by air and trains, rickshaws, buses and taxis, through cities, villages, deserts and mountains across four states to reach their destinations.

A percentage of profits from Kasu Tours will be donated to those charities that Kasu works with in India, to improve the lives of people living in poverty.

This is a special opportunity to get up close and personal to the ‘real’ India. For more information, connect with Beverley through the website www.kasutours.wordpress.com

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Know Your NeighbourHave you met Kieran Watson?

Keiran Watson-Bonnice was born in Greece to Australian parents. ‘I lived there until I was four. The family then moved to the US for a year, and after that to Australia.’ They lived in the Chewton bushlands for a few years, but moved to the US when Keiran was nine, ‘where I then lived for the next fourteen years.’

He has some graphic memories of his time as a child in Chewton. ‘My mother was building our house, but as it was unfinished we had fairly primitive living in the back of a truck body.’ Meanwhile his parents also built a small shack on the property. Keiran says, ‘it had no running wa-ter, no power, no toilet.’ He experienced a certain amount of anxiety living the way they were, but adds that ‘there was also the freedom we had to roam around.’

He says he and his younger sister had to constant-ly look out for snakes and redbacks, try not to get lost, and avoid the dam ‘although we had learnt to swim at the Chewton pool. We did a lot of unsupervised roaming around the bushlands.’ He attended school in Castlemaine and was also home schooled for a year. He then spent his adolescent years back in the US where his mother and step-father settled in Connecticut.

Keiran met his future wife Jamie at a wedding in New York. When his father died suddenly in Chewton, he returned with Jamie for the funeral and burial at the Chew-ton cemetery. ‘We stayed eight months, then decided to marry in the US.’ They then lived in New York for five years.

After a move back to Australia, when their first child Theo was due they chose a home birth at his mother’s house in Chewton, deciding to move there to live.

Keiran’s work is in the film industry. At seventeen he went to Film School in the US ‘and I’ve been working in the film industry ever since. He has worked as a camera assistant, a sound editor, a film and video editor, and in special effects camera work. ‘Today I mainly see myself as a film director.’ He has a studio in Melbourne where he does 99% of his work in film for a production company, doing documentaries, commercials and corporate videos.

Last year he made a six minute film called ‘Caravan’, shot in Chewton on the family property. He explains that he made this film ‘to try and get myself back into creative narrative work.’ The storyline is about two young boys

who come across a body in a caravan on what seems to be a deserted block of land. ‘The two boys were my son Theo and his cousin Jonas.’

He submitted the film to the Clermont-Ferrand In-ternational Short Film Festival in France, and it was ac-cepted. He then applied for a travel grant through Screen Australia to attend the festival, and got the grant. He and his wife Jamie then went to Clermont-Ferrand where his film was given eight screenings over nine days. ‘I also submitted the film to MIFF (Melbourne International Film Festival) and it was accepted.’

‘Caravan’ has screened at 20 international festivals around the world to date, including Flickerfest Interna-tional Short Film Festival, Perth International Film Fes-tival, and Adelaide Film Festival in October. At present Keiran has a lot of new projects in the pipeline.

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We have spent most of September looking at family his-tory and general history in Ireland and England. Conse-quently I haven’t got up to date comment on what’s going on in Fryerstown at the moment. I wrote this article before I left but will be back by the time it’s published.

In George Brown’s book ‘Reminiscences of Fryerstown’ it says, under the heading ‘CEMETERY’: “At a meeting held on September 6th 1859, the first Trust to control the present cemetery was formed. A trustee to represent each religious de-nomination was chosen. Those elected were: Mr Merson rep-resenting the Methodists, Isaac Moore representing the Pres-byterians, Mr Mann represent-ing the Episcopal, Mr Sullivan representing the Roman Catho-lics and Mr Carter, all other re-ligious sects.

In December that year, the trust applied for 15 acres of land to be set aside for a gen-eral cemetery. This request was granted and appropriation was then lodged with the Govern-ment for a sum of money to be used for fencing the area. This request was acceded to, and a grant of some 400 pounds odd, was advanced for the fencing of the area. The fenc-ing was completed and the first interments were made in 1860. Many bodies were exhumed and transferred from the original ground to the present site.”

The bodies exhumed were from the earlier cemetery in Deadman’s Flat along the road from Fryerstown to Campbells Creek and close to our house. This was quite an extensive cemetery close to Nuggetty Flat and Church-es Flat where there was obviously a lot of activity in the early days. Not all of the bodies were exhumed however and there remain some obvious graves with headstones along with many other unmarked graves. I am not sure why some were moved and not others, but I assume that if there was no family in the town to take action or the grave

Fryerstownwas very large as in the case of the Bamber grave, it was left, although it is possible that the body was moved but not the headstone and stone walling. There are a num-ber of other fragments of headstones but none is readable today. I think the Robert Bamber grave is interesting. It

is very well made and the head-stone well lettered without at-tribution with room for a second grave and headstone inside the stone wall. The inscription is: Sacred to The memory of Rob-ert Bamber Died July 18th 1854 Aged 62. Below this is a verse: To God the mighty Lord, Your joyful thanks repeat, To Him due praise afford, As good as He is great, For God does prove, Our constant friend His boundless love Will never end. At the base it reads: Erected by his brother William.

When I first saw this grave the inscription and verse were easy to read and I wrote it down and that is where this comes from. Now the inscription is no longer easy to read. Time and weather are eroding the mes-sage. This saddens me greatly because when it can no longer

be read we have lost part of our history. What is even more worrying is that this is happening everywhere. The ‘new’ cemetery also has a significant problem with the older graves; some headstones have been lost or broken, and some are unreadable through weathering. This is no-body’s fault. It is just inevitable over time unless some steps are taken to either preserve or record the wording. It is surprising how much history is contained in these in-scriptions on some graves. For example the number of children who died in a particular summer because of the contamination of the water or an outbreak of infectious disease or the incidence of house or bushfires or industrial accidents such as collapses of underground working in the diggings.

By coincidence one of my favourite headstones is the

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hand lettered inscription in the Fryerstown Cemetery over the small grave of William Bamber’s son James which reads: Sacred to The memory of James, the beloved son of William and Elizabeth Bambre (note the misspelling - KT) Who departed this life Dec 20 1859 Aged four years and six months and seven days. His poem reads: When mourning over some stone bend, Where sleeps a dear departed friend, and from his hand his voice his smile, Divides me for a little while.

These things will pass from liv-ing memory unless we have sources such as contemporary writings and legible headstones to remind us of the high infant mortality and the pain felt by parents who could nothing about it and who could do little for sick children on the goldfields. William and Elizabeth went on to have three daughters who reached maturity, a son, William was born in 1868 and died in 1869. Another son, Henry was born in 1872. William himself died in 1874 and was buried in the Fryerstown Cemetery.

The other factor of interest putting pressure on the importance of graves is the growing interest in family his-tories. People really want to see where their families are buried and often learn quite a lot of contemporary family history from these inscriptions, including the ones written by the family, or at their request at the time. A lot of fam-ily history is now available for the searching on web sites and often the gravesite is mentioned just with the name of the town. However when people travel, often coming con-siderable distances even from interstate, with the expecta-tion of seeing a particular grave and it cannot be found or identified, there is consequent shock and disappointment. I know this, because many people come here to see if I can help and usually I cannot. One I was able to help, was some of the family of Hannibal Richards whose headstone is still standing in Deadman’s Flat and was professionally made by Redfearn and Co, the well known monumental masons of Campbells Creek and surrounding district. In Hannibal’s case the headstone, which is still readable tells us he came from Hayle, Cornwall, the date of his death - 5th February 1855 and his age 45 years. Often the cause and place of death is also included. This is a lot of infor-

mation for a family historian, preserved in Hannibal’s case probably by the quality of the original workmanship and the sheltered position. Isolated graves and headstones such as Elizabeth Escott’s on the road between Chewton and

Fryerstown, also are getting harder to read and again, we are losing the his-tory. What I am concerned about here is a general problem. I am not sug-gesting it is only a Fryerstown prob-lem. I know it is a problem in many small old cemeteries where funds are short, work is done by volunteers and the headstones are weathering with the passage of time. Again it is not any one’s fault. Some graves do not have a headstone at all, some fall over, some break, some are moved to other places. I understand this, but I wish some one would come up with a way to record the inscriptions – they are part of our heritage.

The late Doug Ralph was a great trawler of the old newspapers and he passed them on to me when he encoun-

tered anything relevant to Fryerstown. Here is one of his last stories passed to me from the Geelong Advertiser, Fri-day 18th May 1855, and it tells of the notable bushranger Black Douglas who was well known around Fryerstown where he and his gang spent some of his time.

“Capture of ‘Black Douglas’. It will give very gen-eral satisfaction to the public to be informed that the ca-reer of this notorious character and his mates in crime, has sustained a check at the hands of the Maryborough

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diggers, whose assumption of the law in this instance is not likely to be condemned. The particulars of the affair have reached us to the following effect: The whole neighbour-hood of Simson’s, from Carisbrook to the Avoca and New Bendigo, has for several weeks past been kept in a continual state of terror and apprehension, by the depredations of gangs of scoundrels, whose mauraudings gradually increased in violence and brutality, as the intention of Government to reduce the police force became more known. The crowning act of barbarities com-mitted by these ruffians was the murder of a woman at Avoca, as reported elsewhere, and the diggers, became sensible that they must themselves take measures for securing their own lives and property. The first intelligence of their active operations for self-protec-tion reached the Camp at Maryborough about one o’clock on Sunday, when information was brought that a gang of bushrangers had been captured at the Alma. About an hour afterwards, Lieutenant Shearman took a party of po-lice to the spot, and found a party of 200 or 300 diggers about to sit in judgment on Black Douglas and eight of his companions, whom, after a severe contest, they had suc-ceeded in capturing, and all of whom were known to have been actively engaged in the outrages that had been committed. Lieutenant Shearman persuaded the diggers to surrender the culprits into the cus-tody of the law, and the whole body marched to the Camp, with their prisoners in a cart, and delivered them with three cheers to the care of the police. The injuries sustained by the gang in their conflict with the diggers, who fought with picks, shovels. &c., are said to be very severe; three especially were very severely handled, and one was so badly wounded that his life is in danger. About 5 o’clock on Sunday afternoon, two more of the gang were captured and taken to the camp. After giving their prisoners into the custody of the police, a body of the diggers proceeded to various tents which were known to be the resort of bushrangers, and gave notice to the owners that, unless they were removed by 4 o’clock on Monday, they would all be razed, and all the people thus warned are said to have de-camped. The diggers express their firm intention to rid the country of the rascals by whom it is infested, and are adopting measures for effectually carry-ing their object into effect. On Monday the pris-oners were examined before the magistrate, and five of them committed for trial on distinct charges of robbery. The others, including the redoubtable Black Douglas, were remanded for further exami-nation. Notwithstanding the reputation which this chief of robbers has obtained, it seems difficult to establish any serious charge against him, and it is thought that he will have to be proceeded against

under the Vagrant Act, as a consorter with thieves and vagabonds. Much excitement prevails in consequence of these movements at Maryborough, and the neighbouring localities, and it is feared that a long time will elapse be-

fore the peace of the district is restored. The district inspector, W. P. Davis Esq. with other of-ficers and men, have been out the whole week in the direction of New Bendigo, looking after bushrangers. The state of this district is described as positively frightful; crime of every descrip-tion being perpetrated unblush-ingly and unchecked in the open day. Mount Alexander Mail.”

The next Fryerstown Film Night is on 24th October at 7.30 at the Fryerstown Burke and Wills Hall. The film will be ALL THAT JAZZ (1979) with Roy Schneider and Jessica Lange. A musical drama based on aspects of Fosses’ life and career as a dancer, choreographer and director which won the Palm d’Or at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival. All welcome. Price is $5.00 pp and includes tea and coffee, and cake or biscuits if someone brings them..

Kay Thorne.Photos: Graves and headsones of Robert Bamber, James

“Bambre”, Hannibal Richards and Elizabeth Escott.

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Chewton Landcare regenerates

Over the last decade Chewton Landcare has successfully rescued and regenerated the Whitehorse Gully area. The gorse and blackberry is gone and the before and after pho-tos show an amazing transformation. Recently Chewton Landcare met and decided it was time to take on another area in great need of care. It’s been a long time between meetings but everyone present agreed that it was time to revitalise the group and take on a second area – the heri-tage listed Wattle Gully diggings area in the Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park.Until recently this historic diggings area was covered in impenetrable thickets of gorse – unlovely and mostly inac-

CHEWTON LANDCARE WALK AROUND WATTLE GULLY & WHITEHORSE GULLY MEET AT THE DIGGINGS PARK ON FRYERS RD NEAR RAILWAY BRIDGE

10AM THURSDAY 8 OCTOBER

cessible even for the kangaroos. Now it has been largely cleared thanks to Parks Victoria. Finally after many years it is now possible to identify the mining landscape. If you haven’t already checked it out, go and walk around.

There are still lots of remnant weeds to remove and eventually plantings to be done to make sure the gorse and blackberry don’t take over again. So there’s lots of work ahead. Which means Chewton Landcare needs lots of vol-unteers.

We already have offers to make nesting boxes to re-place the habitat the gorse provided for small birds. We need materials and volunteers to make the boxes and then mount them.

We plan to start with a walk around the Wattle Gully area, lead by the Parks Victoria Rangers, to see what needs to be done, where best to start and what to do first. There will be maps and plenty of opportunity to ask questions about the plants and birds and local history and make plans for our working bees. We will also be taking a walk around the White Horse Gully area to see what the dedi-cated band of Chewton Landcare members has achieved.

Chewton Landcare is open for new members. For an annual $10 per property ($5 concession) you can become a member and be covered by insurance at working bees.

Want to know more? Want to volunteer? Got some ideas about what to do, how to do it? Come along on the walk on Thursday morning 8 October. For more infor-mation, to join, share your ideas, volunteer - contact Pat Healy @ 0422 759 661 or pathealy1908@gmail.com.

12

Nurturing the whole child

in every child

Writing for the Chat in October focuses more about the future of our school rather than reflecting on our past term as I have just officially returned from leave. It is very difficult to completely shut down from school life even when you are camped in the most beautiful desert spaces of Australia. Some jobs need to be done and are very dif-ficult for others to complete and sometimes I just wanted to know what was going on. Having spent some time dur-ing these holidays back in my office, it quickly feels like I have never been away.

As always with our school, there is much to cele-brate. We have several children receiving awards at the Annual Castlemaine Poetry competition. Many of our past students are also well represented in the awards, once again highlighting the importance our school places on de-veloping strong writers using a range of genres.

Our science week calendars are at the printers. These calendars are a combination of art and story writing that summarizes some of the learning during last term’s As-tronomy focus. We were privileged to have been funded via a National Science Week grant, allowing our students to work with experts in the field as they developed their own enquiry questions.

In the second week of term I will be attending the Sustainability Awards in Melbourne with two students from our ‘Green’ teams. We have been shortlisted for the Biodiversity School of the Year. The submission we en-tered focused on the film we produced last year, as well the work we have completed in creating native habitat with the support of Post Office Hill Action Group. Jennifer Pryce has been a keen facilitator of our environmental program and has worked with many of our students during the year.

With just one term to go, plans for 2016 are well un-derway. With projected numbers of more than 50 students we will be running 3 full time classes rather than the 2

And a message just received...Schools Battery Competition

Congratulations! Your school is co-winner of a $100 Voucher from the Enviroshop in Castlemaine. Winter’s Flat was the other co-winner and both schools will get a $100 voucher.

Winter’s Flat has 4 times as many pupils, but the competition was based on kilos of batteries collected per head of children attending the school, and both schools collected 0.37 kilograms of batteries per child. A great effort!

Altogether the efforts of the participating schools di-verted 117 kilograms of toxic waste out of landfill. To put this in perspective, Mount Alexander Sustainability Group has 18 other collection points in the local area, and we re-cycled 350 kgs of batteries last year, of which 65kgs came from the schools.

The battery collection program will continue as be-fore, on an indefinite basis.

Regards, Kate Orr, Recycling Officer.

class system we currently have in place for afternoon ses-sions. This will provide more continuity for the middle class that was regularly split from the home group for spe-cialist programs. We are currently considering programs, staffing, and space usage. It is a very exciting time for our school.

Kate Ballantyne was our replacement principal when I was on leave. She was a fantastic addition to our team and was able to follow my long list of instructions as well as showcasing her own initiatives. Her impression of our school was that we have a strong team of teachers and sup-port staff and that everyone made her feel welcome and valued. She commented on our positive families and the way they involve themselves in our school operations. She would have loved to have stayed longer and was very keen to see what my retirement plans were. Sorry Kate, but I love working at Chewton Primary School as well.

Julie Holden.

The blacksmith at the school camp

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13

Logo designed

by Morgan

Williamson.

Real Estate GossipThis Chewton Chat marks the 200th edition. Congratula-tions to all who put so much time and effort into the pro-duction of our monthly mag. And to the readers, for it would be a hollow effort if there was not an audience. Here’s looking forward to another 200 editions. Happy Chatting to all.Properties 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 iron bark 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;

• 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:• 28 Eureka Street, 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom brick house

packed with features, set within landscaped gardens in a quiet position, for $410,000.00;

• 15 Dishpan Gully Road, craftsman built 3 bedroom stone cottage on 6 acres of bushland. Off the grid. $275,000.00;

• 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:• 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 3 ½ acres of land with a meander-ing seasonal creek, plenty of outbuildings, reduced to $295,000.00.

Waller Realty:• 16 Main Road, 1 acre of views over the Castlemaine

Diggings National 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 miner’s cottage which has retained the heritage character, 3 bedrooms, 3 living areas, adjacent to Castlemaine Diggings Na-tional Heritage Park, Forest Creek and The Res, for sale at $495,000.00.

For sale by owner:• 50A Fryers Road, vacant lot of a 982 sqm with ser-

vices, $129,000.00.Lindsay Hill Real Estate:• Lot 1 Bush Sanctuary Road, 4 hectares with planning

permit to build, $170,000.00 (UNDER CONTRACT).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: nick@wallerrealty.com.au

FOR ALL YOUR BUYING & SELLING NEEDS

14

Post Office Hill Action Group (POHAG) has a license to manage a large area of public land in central Chewton. At present one of the projects is to map the area, so signifi-cant sites and features within the reserve can be highlight-ed for walkers visiting or using the area. Jase Haysom is a cartographer working with the group and guiding them through the process. Jase has already produced invaluable maps of the Welsh Village and The Monk, maps that are downloadable from his website and a fantastic resource for anyone exploring this area. Free A3 copies of these are available in the Castlemaine Market Building.

It was part of this project that led POHAG members to be wandering across Post Office Hill Reserve taking GPS readings for features that may be added to the map. There was the rock well that pre-dates the gold rush, and a fantastic rock arch that is in Golden Gully. Then up on a rise are the remains of the Upper Barkly mine (some-times known as the New Francis Ormond mine) – this is just inside the boundary of a private holding but viewable outside the fence). Then walking towards the railway line there is the site of the former Chewton railway station –

Mapping Post Office Hill

Check the CCM website, cartography.id.au

for a Post Office Hill Reserve map!Thanks Cartography Community Mapping!

certainly a story in itself! Following the railway line, just before the Railway

Street bridge is an anticlinal fold – everyone knows of the one in Lyttleton Street Castlemaine but this one exposed by the railway cutting is much larger (photo on left).

Over Railway Street and the railway cutting exposes the massive Post Office Hill Reef – angled across the cut-ting with a hole hard against it. The hole is apparently from a drive following the reef that began in a shaft to the south of the railway line. Going north from there follows the line of Post Office Hill Reef and a depression under some vegetation marks the site of Post Office Hill Mine’s shaft, and nearby is the foundation for its infrastructure. And back beside Railway Street is the easily visible and well-known exposed iconic rock – the site where the first gathering of Post Office Hill Action group took place in 2008.

Not far from here is the spectacular rock surface where the surface soil has been obliterated – this is the specco scene that is visible to motorists coming down Golden Point Road.

And the re-vegetating mining area has many surpris-es - depending on where you explore and what the season is. Post Office Hill is a Chewton gem!

As the map-making continues it would be great to learn of any other features of Post Office Hill that could be considered for inclusion – please post any on chewton.net Facebook or forward to the Chewton Chat.

15

POHAG’s AGMThe President’s Annual Report

Natural forces have been visibly busy on Old Post Of-fice Hill, continuing to shape and clothe the land. In several locations native grasses are spreading. There have undoubtedly been losses, which is to be expected when considering the harsh conditions (ground, lack of water and vagaries of the weather), plus the many kangaroos camping here or travelling through to graze on the plants they prefer and break others which obstruct their access. Some great achievements have included:• Involvement with the Chewton primary school.• POHAG members made nesting boxes which were

given to the school for distribution.• Involvement with Loddon Prison work crews extract-

ing dumped rubbish and placing nesting boxes.• Works by contractors cutting and painting early black

wattle, stacking the waste and slashing and grooming.• Conservation Volunteers Australia helped with the re-

moval of hard rubbish. • Clive Willman shared time with us to accurately locate

important and interesting sites on Old Post Office Hill.• Participating with Golden Point Landcare along For-

est Creek on National Tree Planting Day. • Worked with Jase Haysom, producing a contour map

of Post Office Hill Reserve.• Removal of spent acacias in Ellery Park - with Chew-

ton Domain Society and Golden Point Landcare.POHAG could not operate without the support from the Chewton Domain Society for use of the town hall; our funding organizations (Communities for Nature and North Central CMA), our auditor Brenda Envall, contractor Bushco, Mt.Alexander Shire, DELWP and Parks Victoria. And special mention must be made of Connecting Coun-try for their support and advice, and especially from Max Schlachter who has offered invaluable assistance with the preparation of funding applications.POHAG’s efforts are aimed at improving the habitat on Post Office Hill through weed control and revegetation with local native species. Any future plantings will con-centrate on ground cover and low to medium shrubs to help with erosion control. These plants will also provide habitat for small birds, small mammals and reptiles.Thank-you to everyone for your continued support. Post Office Hill profits from your input and care!

Ian O’Halloran, President POHAG.

GPL walk and weed

A beautiful day for a Golden Point Landcare walk along Forest Creek in a loop from the Monster Meeting to China-mans Point and back along Ammans Road - the walkers shared their knowledge and interest in the history of the area from early times through the gold diggings to now, the bird and animal life, how to manage the ever present weed problem and where the different roads and tracks lead to.

Golden Point Landcare has just received the news that a recent grant application has been successful - this is to employ a weed control contractor to deal with the large infestations of gorse and blackberry and for the Landcare group to encourage locals to do the follow up method of “cutting and painting”. This method involves using seca-teurs or loppers to cut the plant at its base and then quickly paint the base of the stem with herbicide. This is mainly used in areas where there are newly emerging unwanted plants and can make a huge difference to the beauty of the landscape.

A wildflower walk at Expedition Pass Reservoir is planned for the October event - Sunday October 25th, meet at the carpark at Expedition Pass Reservoir at 10 a.m. Good walking shoes and hats and BYO water and snacks. For further details contact Jennifer on 0423 900 590 or Marie on 5472 2892

16

The landfill was in the news again last month, after the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) issued a media release announcing that it had fined the council for overfilling landfill cells. Thanks EPA.

Council stopped putting waste into the landfill nine months ago, and began carting it to Echuca, while waiting for the latest cell to come on line. So why wait until now to fine us? The trigger was that council self-reported to the EPA that the landfill cells were overfilled. To discover this, council officers commissioned a couple of drone flights over the landfill. The resulting aerial survey revealed that some parts of the old waste cells are higher than they should be. Back in the day, these things didn’t matter so much, and it’s fair to say that landfill management across Victoria used to be a pretty rough and ready affair.

Gates were always open, at least to those who had keys, and there are plenty of them, and no one checked too closely on what was being dumped. If it looked a bit dodgy it could always be burned, or buried. These days it’s a very different story and the journey from then to now adds up to a lot of money. The sins of the past are being paid for by the present day users, and that means us.

Back to the overfilled cells - why did council bother to find out that they’d been overfilled? Why not leave old sleeping dogs, or rubbish piles, lie? Apart from digging and lining expensive holes in the ground to put rubbish in, council must cap the old cells to the satisfaction of the EPA, who are the ultimate authority on what can and can’t be done at the landfill. Capping three old cells is the next big job on the list in the landfill master plan. It’s the EPA who decides what kind of cap is needed. Does it need to be high-tech fabric sheeting, covered with a layer of clay, or will clay alone suffice? What shape will the final hill of waste look like? That’s where the aerial survey comes in and that’s when it was discovered that some parts of the hill are too high.

The new cell is scheduled to last for four years and it’s a safe bet that by the time it’s full the EPA rules for capping it will be tighter and more expensive to comply with than they are now. Likewise the requirements for preparing the next new cell. Perhaps it’s just as well that the Castlemaine landfill has room for just two more cells after the current one, each only half its size. After that there’ll be no more room to dump waste in Castlemaine, or anywhere else in the Shire. There’s virtually no chance that the EPA will grant a rural council like Mount Alexander Shire a licence for a new landfill. Which means that all of the Shire’s waste will need to be carted to a commercial landfill on an ongoing basis. We have a short window of time to get our waste act together and by that I mean to seriously reduce the amount of waste that we put into our bins each week. About a third of our waste is so-called organics; that’s food scraps, grass clippings, prunings etc. How soon can council move to a third bin, for organics? Where could organic waste be processed, and how? How can we reward people who minimise their waste? These are urgent questions that councillors are asking our waste management team to investigate. Meanwhile I offer congratulations to everyone who composts their organic waste at home. You’re leading the way that we all have to follow sooner, rather than later, either by composting at home, or in a municipal facility.

Cr. Christine Henderson.

Councillor’s Chat

Above; from The Age of 6th March 1855, and below, from the

Mount Alexander Mail of 19th February 1897.

Advertising in the Chat?Call 5472 2892

or emailgoldenpoint2@bigpond.com

17

Mateship...In March, 1999, while patrons of the Red Hill hotel were discussing the contents of the first edition of Chewton Chat, Prime Minister, John Howard was struggling to have the term, Mateship, included in the Australian Constitu-tion. He wanted to insert: We value excellence as well as fairness, independence as dearly as mateship.

Howard reluctantly dropped the term, mateship, after the Australian Democrats refused to allow it to be passed by the Senate where they held the balance of power.

When Australian art critic and author, Robert Hughes, launched his book about Australia’s early penal colony years, The Fatal Shore, in 1987 at the Melbourne Press Club, he was asked: Is there one national charac-teristic that identifies Australians to the rest of the world? Hughes didn’t hesitate. “Yes,” he said. “The term, Mate-ship, has no international equivalent.”

He went on to explain that the English Chum, and the American Buddy, do not have the same depth of meaning that is incorporated in our Australian Mate.

Wikipedia dictionary is a little dismissive in its inter-pretation by claiming the word to mean, Equality, Friend-ship, Solidarity. But such a broad-based description could just as easily apply to community groups, business part-ners or marital couples, whereas Mateship has been found-ed on the deeply shared experiences of severe tribulation.

These range from the degradation of convict settle-ment, the bondage in war that was forged on the fields of Flanders, the beaches of Gallipoli and the jungles of Ko-koda, the soup-kitchen indignities of the Great Depression and the tyranny of outback drought.

Australian writer, Henry Lawson, captured the true spirit of mateship in several of his poems. He tells of a lit-tle ceremonial farewell to a mate in “the Glass on the Bar.”

They thought of the far away grave on the plain They thought of the comrade who came not again

They lifted their glasses and sadly they said ‘We drink to the name of the mate who is dead’

And the sunlight streamed in and a light like a starSeemed to glow in the depth of the glass on the bar.

While it is true that Mateship has come to be regard-ed as an exclusively male to male relationship, a wonder-ful example exists to demonstrate a broader application.

Henry Lawson was the first Australian writer to be granted a State funeral in 1922. Henry’s estranged wife

Bertha, as chief mourner, was seated in the front pew. While waiting for the ceremony to begin, her gaze drifted across to the public gallery where she spotted a face she knew.

Isabel Byers had become Henry’s sole comfort and support who sustained him throughout the 20 years of his decline into humiliation and degradation. Bertha knew this, as she stood and beckoned Isabel Byers to come and sit with her in the VIP enclosure.

In so doing, Bertha Lawson and Isabel Byers con-firmed the bond that is formed between two people who have shared equally in an experience of severe tribulation.

It’s called, Mateship.Noel Tennison.

We are indebted to Noel Tennison for this contribution. Noel has re-tired in this area, and his latest book “The Life of Every Party” was re-leased earlier this year. This book describes Noel’s life as “over eight decades in Queensland and Victoria during which he became probably the only man in Australian history to have served six different political parties and five trade unions, wrestled with the Catholic Church and enjoyed three marriages and six children! His experiences rang-ing from illegal bookmaker to top government adviser and Melbourne Press Club President provide a rich vein of humour and a unique view of Australian history start-ing only 30 years after Federation and extending to the present day.”

Noel is the editor of The Lawsonian, the official newsletter of the Henry Lawson Memorial and Literary Society Inc.

18

What a night! The first post-winter community BBQ brought people out in droves. Spring was obviously keenly anticipated.

A major hiccup though – the BBQ refused to fire up. Ed was despatched to sprint home over the highway to get a portable replace-ment but before he could return it was remembered that the power for the BBQ comes through the town hall and the circuit-breakers were located in there. In the blink of an eye the BBQ was heating, the BBQ light was illuminating and in another blink of an eye Ed was back with the now irrelevant replacement.

Spring was the theme and although Mo and Linda were adorned in wattle the rest of had asked ourselves “What’ll I wear” and found it too hard to answer. But there was spring in everyone’s step. The food filled plates and Ed’s rhubarb wine created conversation (but the wine did leave some tasters speechless) and the brazier attracted company as the evening cooled. And it was great to welcome Frank and Emma at their first Aussie BBQ . Having survived the National Tree Plant-ing Day along Forest Creek in sub-arctic temperatures, here they were sampling Chewton’s great outdoors in falling temperatures again.

When the food part was winding down, Mo pulled out the prizes and surveyed the scene – only two wattle garbed people and he was one of them! So the prizes were awarded to our visitors from Taiwan and some happy scenes followed. Then the big announcement – Mo’s birthday. Groans all around, and someone commented his birthdays last for weeks! Someone else added they run so long they almost run into each other! But nonetheless the cake and sparklers (and cande-labra) appeared amongst some raucous renditioning of a well-known birthday song (or two).

A great night – and is to be reprised in October when the theme will be Chewton’s mini-Octoberfest. Lederhosen or frocks for Fr-octo-ber were mentioned in passing, but all will be revealed on October the 3rd. 6 p.m. by the BBQ in Ellery Park.

And in the end it’s not the barbecues in your life that count. It’s the life in your barbecues – Abraham Lincoln

Buda Historic Home and GardenA property of national significance.

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

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

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

19

Poe tryCorner

An Asylum Seekers’ Curse on the authors and perpetrators

of the “Pacific Solution”.When stately pomp your carcase lays to rest Your soul by angel choirs shall not be blest. In purgatory we are forced to dwell Our curse on you and yours: Go rot in Hell.

David Watson 23 March 2014

Politician’s LamentNobody loves politiciansWhy do they treat us like scum?I only seek recognition;But everyone thinks I’m a bum.Life isn’t caviar and champers Life can be hard at the top. The heads of bureaucracy cramp us Work us hard like a dog ‘til we drop.Nobody loves politicians Journalists hate us to bits Just because we have lofty ambitions. Frankly they get on my tits.Nobody I know is spotlessWhy should they expect it of us?If we were do they think we would plot less?Of course not. So why all the fuss?Nobody loves politicians We lie and we squabble and squall Nobody loves politicians Nobody loves us at all.

David Watson.

Chew the FatChewton Chat is where it’s at All the news to keep you on track Dates for your diary, what weather we’ll see Who’s your new neighbour and which places to be Chewton Chat is where it’s atOver the years it’s become quite fat Tales from the olden days, stories galore Even some poetry! All this and more... Chewton Chat is where it’s at Two hundred issues – imagine that! Crack out the champers, let the party come on Congrats to the Chat team and editor John For every issue the Chat it comes out On the first of the month of that there’s no doubt Chewton Chat, our town’s favourite read Holds about everything you could possibly need Now where would we be at If there was no Chat.

.

Gan Ainm.

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 goldenpoint2@bigpond.com

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

And another launch...

Launch bookings are a must! Book via gloriame@mmnet.com.au

20

The versatility of the Chewton Town Hall was again dem-onstrated recently. The hall is already well-known for hosting meetings, workshops, exhibitions, working bees and the annual Chewton’s Biggest Morning Tea. On a n August Saturday night it was booked for an engagement party – and its many features were used to the full.

The BBQ in the park was used, as was the com-

A hall for all seasons - and all occasions!

Chewton Town HallAre you looking for a place for an afternoon tea,

a celebration, an exhibition, a meeting, a conference, a concert, a food preparation space?

The Chewton Town Hall offers a beautifully restored space available for a variety of events and uses.

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

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

contact Bettie on 5472 3892 or goldenpoint2@bigpond.com

mercial kitchen and in the main hall there was a band and dancing – apart from a stack of guests. A very impressive performance from an atmospheric 1858 building!

To discuss what you might need, what the Chewton Domain Society can offer and the costs of hiring all or part of the hall... contact Bettie on 5472 3892 or email golden-point2@bigpond.com

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

As reported in the May Chew-ton Chat, the land along the main road that was taken under adverse possession had been sold through CPG (Castlemaine Property Group). There was a lot of curiosity aroused at this time as speculation about the new owner and possible future

plans were discussed.This speculation has been further fuelled by the two signs that have appeared on the fence along the front of this site. Castlemaine Prop-erty Group has erected two signs advertising some of the blocks are now on the market again.http://www.castlemaineproperty.com.au/view.php?OID=9244384http://www.castlemaineproperty.com.au/view.php?OID=9244344

Land for sale again...

21

Michael Gillies-Smith turned 50! A Bushlander who has appeared in the Chewton Chat in many guises on many occasions during the latter part of those 50 years – campaigner for maintenance and upkeep of the Bushland roads, Castlemaine The-atre Company performer, singer and in 2014 the Red Cross media representative in ebola-stricken Sierra Leone. He’s also been on the Chewton Domain Society’s management committee, written for the Chewton Chat, made a name for himself in masters’ walking events – and is often seen walking through Chewton on one of his frequent “commutes” between the Bushlands and Castlemaine.

Friends and family gathered in the Chewton Town Hall for his 50th, and with lunch over it was time for the cake and speeches. In a clever twist, Michael had selected guests to share the speeches. So we met people who had been prominent during different stages of Michael’s life – his first media boss, a fellow Bushlander, family members, a stage director and a conductor/collaborator. During the con-tributions of these speakers and their interplay with Michael, snippets of his life were shared – childhood experiences, Gillies Pies, the Sandy Hook connection and, sadly, the euthanizing of Buck.

Michael then used this occasion to outline his next grand plan. Among his friends, he has prominent legal practitioners who are currently drafting a private members’ bill – one, that if passed by parliament, will prevent decisions to com-mit troops to war being the sole call of any prime minister. Instead, any such proposal will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny and debate – and the decision reached will be by the rep-resentatives of the people. The plan is to have this drafted, then leave the Chewton Town Hall with it in his back-pack and walk it to Canberra! There was sustained applause after Michael spoke passionate-ly about this forthcoming event.

And the timing of this walk? As they say -

50 reasons to be in the Chewton Town Hall

watch this space!

Wesley HillCommunity Market

Every Saturday7.30am – 1.00pm

An old fashioned Country MarketOpposite the Albion Hotel

New stallholders always welcome.Call the Market Manager

0418 117 953

22

A problem?A sunny Sunday September morning and there was a guid-ed Youth Walk starting from the Garfield Water Wheel. The group, with adult supporters, walked down Trapps Gully to Chinamans Point, then along Forest Creek to the old bridge at Welsh Street, along Welsh Street and returned to the Garfield along the marked Goldfields Track. Two hours of solid walking through some great bush scenery.

Back at the Garfield at midday – the walkers were right on time. The BBQ had been cooked and was quickly served to an obviously hungry group. All good so far…

Then the roar of trail-bikes shattered the peace. The walkers had come across two trail-bikes during the walk, and now had the trail-bikers (one young, the other older) back in the vicinity of their quiet lunch. After raising dust with noisy performances in the area of the sign-posted Cy-anide Tanks, the pair took a path that led beside the diners and past the base of the Garfield. It would be an under-statement to say the walkers were not impressed with the selfish display, and the trail-bikers themselves disappeared quickly after realising they had been photographed.

And this in an area that is signed, “Site protected un-der the Heritage Act 1995.” Mind-boggling!

But a post about this incident on chewton.net Face-book revealed another problem - the comments attracted by the post revealed both aggression (two had to be de-leted) and a lack of understanding of the rights and respon-sibilities of all those participating in any activities in the bush. Apart from statewide rules governing permitted ac-tivities, the Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park

has a more specific management plan that was adopted in 2007 after being developed through community consulta-tion. That plan is worth re-visiting from time to time...

On page 29 of the plan there is: The park is used regularly by visitors for trail-bike riding. This activity in-cludes both legal riding on public roads and illegal riding off roads and on unregistered vehicles. The noise asso-ciated with this activity can be a disturbance to wildlife, visitors and local residents. Illegal riding off roads causes loss of native vegetation and accelerated soil erosion.

And the management strategies outlined on page 35 include:

• Encourage trail-bike riders to adopt minimal impact guidelines outlined in the Trail Bike Riding Code (DSE 2003c).

• Support projects aimed at curtailing illegal off-road trail bike riding in the park in collaboration with Councils, Police, agencies, industry and the local commu-nity.

The Trail Bike Riding Code DSE 2003c states:1. When trail bike riding in parks and forests:• you must drive only on roads open to the public• you must be fully licensed• your motorbike must be road registered and roadwor-thy• vehicles must not be driven off formed roads2. Roads open to vehicles in forests and parks are public roads and so all normal road rules apply.3. Trail bikes and other vehicles may only use roads con-structed for the passage of vehicles with four wheels. Walking tracks or tracks created informally by vehicles are NOT roads. Some roads are closed to all but man-agement vehicles, bicycles and walkers.

23

Since the chewton.net Face-book post about “Foxy’s Hut” at Heron’s Reef (above) reached 24,100 hits, remain-ing relics of the past seem to resonate a little more.

There’s the obvious Chewton one in Walker Street but there’s another just beside the Great Divid-ing Trail as it passes through Chewton. And they often attract photographers… and Marion Williams has added to the growing collection with 3 from Fryerstown.

Just ruins? Or reminders of the past?

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

24

Bees - swarming to the taskIf you’ve been cycling or bushwalking out near Gold-en Point Road lately, you might have noticed that an enormous blue gum had fallen across the track.

In September it was organised for the tree to be removed but a European honeybee colony was found to be living in a hollow in its trunk. That section of tree trunk was left with the bees inside and Castlemaine’s Daniel BeeShepherd was called in to rescue them.

With the bee colony’s hollow exposed to the cold and rain, the bees could not have remained in the log for long. They would have

likely either died in the elements or absconded to find a new home; per-haps another precious tree hollow, wildlife box or possibly your chim-ney or wall cavity.

Once Daniel removed the bees from the tree, he put them into a hive and then moved that hive to a garden apiary where it will be man-aged responsibly using bee-friendly techniques.

Re-homing bees into managed hives is a far better alternative to poisoning them, especially in light of the current global threats to pol-linating insects that have been brought to our attention recently in the world’s press.

Daniel is available for honeybee swarm and feral colony removal. If you would like to keep your own honeybees, Daniel can also give advice on how to best set up and manage your own garden apiary using natural, chemical free, bee-friendly techniques. Contact Daniel on 03 5470 6216 or visit his webpage at

www.humehealth.com.au/beeshepherd

Phoebe Ward, Bee Journalist. Photo courtesy Vivienne Hamilton.

A Facebook post above led to a second Facebook post below

- and some rescued bees!

25

FOBIF Walks

FOBIF’s October walk18 October at Morgans Track c. 4-5km

Leader: Elaine Bayes 0431 959 085Come for a pleasant walk off track with local ecologists to see a stunning display of spring wildflowers and learn a little about their ecology. Or just stop and smell the “better than roses!”

Nioka Mellick-Cooper provided an account of FOBIF’s September youth walk:

What did you do on Fathers Day? Did you stay at home, did you go out for lunch? On Fathers Day, I ran a bush walk for youths and their fathers. It was a perfect day, and we got a total of 18 walkers. With sons, daughters, fathers and even mothers participating.

The walk took place at the Garfield Waterwheel, but we met and signed in at the Continuing Ed building. On the walk, we were lucky enough to have Marie Jones with us, to guide us along and give us extra information regard-ing the surrounding area. The walk took us roughly two hours with only one short snack and water break. We saw many things, including mine shafts, all sorts of birds, and of course, the esteemed wheel. As we returned to the start-ing spot, we could smell the cooked lunch waiting for us. It was very filling and was the perfect thing to finish off a day of walking. We took the walkers back to the Continu-ing Ed where everyone received a gift bag to take home with them. The gift bag included a flora guide, bird guide, torch, chocolate bar (great for bushwalking!) and a camp-ing spoon/fork. Overall, the walk was a success and it was a great way to finish the year.

The September FO-BIF walk in the Fryers Ranges was described by Noel Young:

True to its name the Wattle track was rich with flowering wattles. In pleasantly mild con-ditions, walkers cov-ered nine and a half kilometers through a variety of bush with many plants awakening to flower a little late after a cool dry winter. The flowers I managed to list were Downy Grevillea, Early Nancy, Hovea, Billy Buttons, Purple Cor-al-pea, Guinea flower, Handsome Flat-pea, Grey Parrot-pea, Common Heath, Common Beard-heath, Pink Bells, Gorse Bitter-pea, and the only orchid found – a patch of Nodding Greenhoods.

Birds were abundant along the way, their presence mainly indicated by calls. I listed those I could recog-nise as: Spotted Pardalote, White-throated Treecreeper, Crimson Rosella, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Grey Shrike-thrush, Fuscous Honeyeater, Superb Blue Wren, Long-billed Corella, and Grey Fantail. Other walkers added Ga-lah, Oriole, and Yellow-faced Honeyeater.

Liz Martin provided the photo collage.

26

Chewton Domain Society The newly elected CDS committee met for the first time and a review of the meeting night arrangements was made – committee meetings are to continue on third Mondays at 7.15 p.m. An acknowledgement to recently retired com-mittee members Sera Jane Peters, Gloria Meltzer, Phil Hall and Rose Darling for the contributions each has made to the CDS was minuted and thank you cards from the CDS are to be sent.

A communication sheet of phone numbers and email addresses was updated by committee members. This is to be copied and distributed to committee members.

Business arising from August meeting included:• Old Time Music Hall DVD has been reviewed and

found not to be technically suitable for public viewing but is an excellent People &Places resource.• Oversight of the heritage related works by Sera

Jane Peters is to continue with Sera Jane as the CDS del-egate. • Steve Rowe is now creating the front door hand-

rails for the town hall.• Side path installation to be done by Phil Mawson

very soon.The treasurer reported the balance to be

$31,422.91with accounts for payment totalling $3,147.69. Committed funds currently total $12,623.27 bringing the available funds down to $15,651.95.

Glen Harrison reported that memberships are at 91, with one new membership approved at the meeting.

Discussion about display arrangements for People and Places afternoons led to several suggestions that should be of benefit to visitors, with P&P volunteers being responsible for hanging the wall displays needed.

It was suggested that we have a calendar in the hall showing when and who has booked the town hall and a roster for committee members to be responsible ensuring the hall is ready for use, this system is to operate until we are in a positon to employ a hall hire manager.

Management of 2 large pictures was discussed at a

meeting with the heritage architect and the building con-tractor. Their assumption was that all the displays were to come down and that the previously used hooks were not necessarily strong enough to continue to hold them. A suggestion was made that because it is the photos them-selves that are significant they could be re-framed in a light weight frame, thus eliminating the issue of the weight of the frames and they could be hung using the cables and hooks. Elaine and Marion are to investigate options and report back to the next meeting.

Windows in the post office have been repaired and painted as per quote.

The 200th edition of the Chewton Chat comes up in October, and an afternoon celebration is being planned. More details to follow.

Pat Healy reported that a Monster Meeting planning meeting is taking place late in September. Due to changed circumstances the Monster Meeting sub-committee is in need of new volunteers.

CDS has auspiced the Chewton Community Plan (CCP) and the CDS committee has approved that Rose Darling as Chair of the CCP be the CDS delegate. Work in the park has seen dead acacias cut down and removed, Tim has brush cut and mown the grass areas and the paths have been sprayed.

A thank you card is to be sent to Tom Taft to acknowl-edge his donation of the music box for the CDS Raffle.

The next CDS Management Committee Meeting is on Monday October 19th 2015 at 7.15 p.m. in the Chewton Town Hall.

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maine@statewideirrigation.com.auMon - Fri: 8.00 am - 5.00 pm

Sat: 8.30 am - 12 noon

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54721135

27

Chewton - 100 years ago...The Argus – Saturday, 16 October 1915

NOTICE by MINISTER of PUBLIC WORKS of IN-TENTION to OBTAIN in ORDER IN COUNCIL UNIT-ING the BOROUGH of CHEWTON WITH THE SHIRE

of METCALFE.It appearing on the joint report of the inspectors of mu-nicipal accounts, dated the 28th day of January now just past, that the Borough of Chewton does not contain ratable property capable of yielding, upon a rate not exceeding one shilling in the pound on the annual value thereof, esti-mated under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1915, a sum of £300, notice is hereby given that it is the intention of the Minister of Public Works, at the expiration of three months from the date of this notice, to proceed to obtain an Order in Council, under the powers conferred by the said Local Government Act 1915, to unite the said borough of Chewton with the Shire of Metcalfe.

Dated at Melbourne this 8th day of October, 1915.

Bendigo Advertiser - Wednesday 20 October 1915Castlemaine, 19th October.Six Chewton soldiers who are up on final leave were on Saturday entertained by the residents and were each pre-sented with a shaving kit.

Bendigo Advertiser - Tuesday 26 October 1915IN HOSPITAL.London.- Pte. R. Biggs, Tarnagulla; - Pte. C.H.A. Bloch, Chewton; Pte. F.E. Poliness, Bendigo; Bristol.- Pte. G. Buckle, Corop.

Glen Harrison.

Landcare Camp Out again on The Mount in 2015

The Landcare Camp Out on The Mount is on Saturday 17th October. Last year’s Camp Out was a huge success with more than 150 people attending the big working bee to remove introduced pine trees from Mount Alexander. The working bee was followed by a special activity for the kids, talk on the history of Mount Alexander by George Milford, BBQ dinner cooked by the Harcourt Lions Club and wildlife spotlighting walk with a Parks Victoria Ranger. It finished with the incredibly popular Campfire Dessert Banquet!Camp Out is a project of Harcourt Valley Landcare Group and is supported by Parks Victoria and Connecting Country. It is organised by a group of volunteers from Harcourt and surrounding areas.

If you would like to attend this year’s Camp Out please register with Max Schlachter at Connecting Country

max@connectingcountry.org.au or 0422 130 055.Photo: The pine purge in 2014 taken from the

Parks Victoria Facebook page.

Connecting Country AGM

Connecting Country is holding its AGM on Tuesday 27 Oc-tober at the Castlemaine Golf Club. The AGM will be at 6.30 p.m. followed by a break with soup served at 7 p.m., and guest speakers at 7.30pm.

Further details will be on www.connectingcountry.org.au or by contacting Chris Timewell – Connecting Country Director

Connecting Country (Mount Alexander Region) Inc

03 5472 1594 | 0417 621 901 PO Box 437 Castlemaine VIC 3450 The Hub, Room 10/233b Barker St

(entry through glass door on Templeton St)

Connecting people and landscapes for a healthy, resilient and productive natural environment

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

eastendservo@outlook.com

28

HISTORICAL EXHIBITION Castlemaine circa 1915 when “our boys”

left to fight for King & Country 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!

View some brilliant research work done on some of the young men who answered the

call. Research done by year 9 students at Olivet College. This work is a credit to

the students and their school.

In the Faulder Watson Hall Barker St, Castlemaine for Melbourne Cup weekend - from Saturday to Tuesday 10am-4pm.

COST: A GOLD COIN DONATION.

Next door to the Faulder Watson Hall is the Old Telegraph Station (1857). It will

have a display of both old and new communication equipment, ranging from

Morse’s first to today’s modern computers. Send an “old fashioned telegram, watch operators at work

conversing all over the world, the world will literally be at your finger tips.

An event not to be missed and it’s all happening in Castlemaine.

History on-lineMaine Memories is a Facebook page devoted to local his-tory. This article and photo was posted by Anne Therese Courtney on the 20th of July...

A RELIC OF THE PAST. [The Argus Tues 5 March 1895] CASTLEMAINE, SATURDAY In the afore time police reserve at Elphinstone still stands the old, substantially-built, logged lockup that was used over forty years ago, when the locality was known as Sawpit Gully. The most desperate of criminals have been locked up in the weather-beaten structure, and about two hundred yards from it lie the remains of two troopers who were shot during an en-counter with bushrangers. It was the first logged lockup built on either the Bendigo or Forest Creek (Castlemaine) goldfields. During the picnic of Messrs. Thompson and Co.’s employees yesterday a large number of pioneers including Sir James Patterson and Mr. E. D. Williams, M.L.A’s) were photographed in front of the odd looking building on the door of which is a chain strong enough for use on a ship’s anchor. The photograph is to be presented for suspension in the new Faulder Watson hall of the pio-neers as a memento of the almost forgotten past.

Photo: Elphinstone (Sawpit Gully) Police Lockup, 1895. Pvt Collection. It has been pointed out that J.B.Patterson

is the man with the hat at his feet.

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.

October, 2015Saturday 3 RoseSunday 4 PRIVATE FUNCTION Saturday 10 JoanSunday 11 AllanSaturday 17 ElaineSunday 18 KenSaturday 24 IreneSunday 25 GlenSaturday 31 Frank

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

PLEA

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OUR O

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SWAP I

F TH

ESE D

ATES D

ON’T SU

IT.

29

Get outdoors around Bendigo and Castlemaine this Spring!Most of us already know that spending time outdoors feels good. A walk in the fresh air, a picnic with family and friends, or just some quiet time surrounded by nature seems to invigorate, inspire and calm us. This isn’t just a hunch– it’s backed up by research from all over the world. Nature really is good for us! Not only do we get the physical benefits of being outside and moving more, we also get psychological benefits –our mood improves, and we feel more relaxed and connected to others and our world.

“We know from research that time spent in parks is good for our physical, mental, social and spiritual health. This is why we must carefully manage our natural places and it is at the heart of our Healthy Parks Healthy People approach. This approach to managing Victoria’s parks ensures that everyone can benefit from time spent in nature,” said Parks Victoria Acting Chief Executive Chris Rose.

So given the winter weather is starting to break and getting out in nature will help you feel better in a whole range of ways, the only question that remains is - where to go?

Luckily the Bendigo and Castlemaine area has a whole range of options, with something to suit everyone. So check out some of the places you might like to visit locally this Spring.

Greater Bendigo National Park near Crusoe Reservoir – Park at Crusoe Reservoir in Kangaroo Flat then follow the walking track past the reservoir and into

Greater Bendigo National Park. If you take the time to sit quietly you will see some of the many birds in this section of the park, including the Powerful Owl if you are lucky.

Herons Reef – enjoy the peace as you walk through the bush and stumble upon the tiny miner’s cottage surrounded by mullock heaps in Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park.

Pennyweight Flat Cemetery – also part of Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park, this is a totally different experience and will shine a light on the toil

and sacrifice of not just early miners but also their families. Notleys – within Greater Bendigo National Park,

this camp ground is a great place to get away from it all and let kids explore on a nearby short walking track.

North British Mine and Mt Tarrangower – for a birds-eye view of the town of Maldon and surrounding Maldon Historic Area head to the old poppet head atop Mt Tarrangower. You will be well rewarded for your efforts. Then head down close to town and explore the many remains of the North British Mine, including kilns, vats and machinery. These are just two of an array of historic sites to enjoy in the Maldon Historic Area so come for an hour and spend the day.

For more information on Victoria’s parks and reserves, go to www.parks.vic.gov.au or call 13 1963. For more information about the link between nature and human health, go to www.hphpcentral.com or ‘like’ Healthy Parks Healthy People Central on Facebook.

Taken from a Press Release.

What does turning 200 mean?• Itmeansquestionslikehowmanypages?

Howmanywords?Howmanyads?Whichwasthebest?Whichhadthemostmis-takes?Itmeansalotofquestionsbutnotalotofanswers...

• Italsomeansthere’sagoodexcusetogettogetherandthankeveryonefromthewriters,poetsandphotographerstothereaders-allpartofasuccessfulteam.

•And the get-together is in the Chewton Town Hall on the 17th of October from 3 p.m. - a Surprise Afternoon Tea.

Hope you can make it!

30

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 chil-dren 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 by phon-ing 0413 563404.

Call for budding filmmakers of all ages...

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 Chew-ton. David is best known for his paintings of still life and larger land-scapes, however he likes to keep in contact first hand with his surround-ings and working on site. Its in his DNA to work spontaneously on site, capturing the effect of the light as it affects the landscape.

David has decided to exhibit his small studies done around Chew-ton as well as a few larger pieces. The exhibition is called Glimpses of Chewton will be held at the Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historic Mu-seum. It will be opened by Morag Fraser AM, on the 31 October from 2.00 pm to 6.00 pm running until 13 December.

David Moore exhibition... Castlemaine Art Gallery

The Chewton PinesThe neglected stand of pines behind Chewton CFA was the subject of strong debate earlier this year. Bendigo West M.P. Maree Edwards conducted a survey and many residents participated by posting re-sponses.

Some interim results were released but the survey was to run un-til the end of August. The survey presumably has closed and appar-ently there have been follow-up meetings. The Chat has no news to report at this stage. But watch this space...

31

Seniors Week 2015 - with activities all aroundCastlemaine District Community Health (CDCH) in partnership with Mount Alexander Shire Council will host a free morning tea on Tuesday 6th October to celebrate Seniors Week. Everyone is invited to attend, no matter how young, to recognise and honour the wonderful seniors that make up our community in Mount Alexander.

The morning tea will kick off at 9.15am out the front of the Tea Rooms in the Botanical Gardens, Castlemaine. Staff and volunteers from CDCH will be available to provide health advice and everyone is encouraged to participate in a walk around the beautiful gardens. All abilities will be catered for.

The CDCH Social Walkers meet every Tuesday and Thursday during school term. A CDCH Community Health Nurse is available to take Blood Pressure checks and volunteers assist with the walk. Everyone is welcome. For more information, contact Castlemaine District Community Health on 5479 1000 www.cdchcastlemaine.com.au

The ABC Central Victorian breakfast program has had a happy relationship with the Chewton Chat for many years, presenting a regular on-air wrap of what’s making news in town with one of the Chat team each month.

But aside from that, it’s a great local community publication that we’ll often pinch a story from and follow up on the radio! The Chat is a terrific example of community news sharing, and provides a voice for the community in the wider media landscape.

Congratulations to the entire team on your 200th edition.Jo Printz, Acting Regional Content Manager, ABC Central Victoria

Throughout this Chat there have been people and groups appearing with a Chat - can you name them all?

All will be revealed at the 200th “Surprise” Afternoon Tea in the Chewton Town Hall on the 17th of October - at 3 p.m.

32

OrphFund’s auction of gifts and promisesMark Saturday 17th October into your diaries for The ‘Maine Event, OrphFund’s auction of gifts and promises. Run by numerous local volunteers, this promises to be a fun-filled evening consisting of live music, great food, special treats, and a silent and live auction, with hundreds of amazing items up for grabs – a great chance to do some “feel-good” Christmas gift shopping.

OrphFund, founded by Steve Argent in 2005, helps build traditional homes, primary schools and sec-ondary schools for vulnerable children, mostly orphans, in poor parts of the world. 100% of the event profits will go towards numerous projects helping children in Sierra Leone, Uganda and Kenya.

Previously employed by a large aid organ-isation, Steve came to the conclusion there was not much money from the large charity organisations getting to the people they were meant to be raising money for - this was the impetus for OrphFund. “We want people to have faith in charity. People have now become very sceptical. If someone’s given OrphFund $10; it’s $10 towards our proj-ects,” Steve says.

The ‘Maine Event will be held at The Food Garden in Mostyn Street, Castlemaine and begins at 4pm, with the live auction from 7pm. To volunteer to help, or to donate items and services for auction, please contact Esther on 0429 900698. To find out more about OrphFund visit the website www.orphfund.org

Didyouknow?• TheChewtonChatispublishedbyanall-volunteergroup?

• TheproductioncostofeachChewtonChatismorethan$1?

• ThattoprovidetheChewtonChatfreetothecommunityanditsvisitors,theChewtonDomainSocietyreliestotallyondonationsandadvertising?

• ThatadvertisingintheChewtonChatisaneasyprocess?

• ThatadvertisingintheChewtonChatshowsyoursupportoftheChewtoncommunity?

Call54722892oremailgoldenpoint2@bigpond.comifyouareconsideringChewtonChatadvertising!

33

Get ready for The Biggest Event in Castlemaine since the Truck Show

Local Lives, Global Matters A Conference for Future’s Sake

The Conference will take place between the16-18 October.This is part of an ongoing series of international ‘Econom-ics of Happiness’ conferences organized by Local Futures all over the world. So far we have held conferences in Berkeley, California, USA in 2012, Byron Bay, Australia in 2013, Bangalore, India in 2014, Portland, Oregon, USA and Jeonju, South Korea in 2015.

The next one will be right here in downtown Castle-maine and it promises to be bigger than Ben Hur !

The conference will be all about local economies and livelihoods, equitable, re-democratised societies, social and ecological justice and our spiritual connections to the land and each other. Speakers are coming from all over the world to fill us in on ‘The Big Picture’, Connecting the dots, harnessing the synergy, channeling the Zietgeist, spreading the love. They will be joined by a plethora of local identities who are busy fermenting upheaval under our very noses right here in Sleepy Hollow. We will be canvassing grand visions for a better future and how to set about realizing our imaginings.

We will be tackling the manifold thorny issues that plague the modern world:- The concentration of power and wealth in the hands of

the few and the consequent erosion of demoracy. - The cult of Economic Growth: its exponential deple-

tion of our natural rescources, our clean air and water and and our very quality of life,

- and last but not least, the calamities of Climate Change. For more info about the conference, buying tickets

and volunteering go the website http://locallivesglobal-matters.org/ Local contacts are Nikki Marshall on 0432 232 073 or Ellen Madigan on 5472 1782.

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: cpatrick@impulse.net.au

34

The final performance for 2015 in Central Victoria of Jan Wositzky’s CANAKKALE. GALLIPOLI. LEST WE FOR-GET is about to take place. It’s one of the fabulous house concerts at Keith & Jenny McKenry’s place in the hills of Nth Harcourt (near Castlemaine), and it’s on Sunday after-noon October 11 at 2pm.

It’s a very convivial gig, with scrumptious arvo tea.And the show has been going really well, steering a

path through this story that connects with lots of different people, with its mix of Turkish and Australian literature, poetry and song.

To book please contact the hosts, Keith or Jenny McKenry...

WHEN: Sunday 11 October 2015 at 2 pmWHERE: Dandura Alpacas, 121 Fenton Drive Harcourt North Vic 3453 (map www.dandura.com)COST: $20. Includes afternoon tea (Primary school age kids and under are free) BOOK: Keith or Jenny: 03-5439 6525, or email: fangedwombat@bigpond.comOpening set from duo ‘Summer Rain’

CANAKKALE, GALLIPOLI. Lest We Forget

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Jai Baker 0419 364 815 Sharon Baker 0417 347 372Email store@vaultselfstorage.com.au

PO Box 410, Maryborough 3465949 Newstead Road, Guildford

35

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

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

FIELD NATSVISITORS ARE WELCOME AT CLUB

MEETINGS AND EXCURSIONSFri Oct 9th: Meeting:

Andrew Skeoch - “Listen to the wild”Sat Oct 10th: Field trip to

Fryers RidgeOrdinary membership: Single $30, Family $40, Pensioner or student: Single $25, Family $30. Subscription includes postage of the monthly

newsletter, Castlemaine Naturalist.

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

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

Vocal Nosh! Our last sing for the year!

A good sing & good food in convivial company

Sunday 4th October at 6pmAt Newstead Community Centre

Led this month by Jane Thompson and James RigbyTheme: Songs of Slow Travel

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

Songs in the folk style, mostly a cappella

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

Singing for the pleasure of it.

Whole session including food $15, concession $12, children $5, first hour only $5.

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

WHEEL CACTUS FIELD DAYSunday 25 October

The Tarrengower Cactus Control Group, aka Cactus Warriors, will meet at 10.00 a.m. on the last Sunday of October. The morning will start with a short demo for newcomers, followed by a couple of hours killing cacti. It ends with a free BBQ lunch (sausages/vegie burgers) at 12.00 and an opportunity to socialise over a cuppa.

Equipment will be provided for the day. Wear outdoor boots and a hat.

The location will be announced on the TCCG website (www.cactuswarriors.org) nearer to the date or ring Ian Grenda on 0412 015 807.

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Flowers aboundWhat a day the first of the month was. Chilly morn-ing, but a beautiful, almost cloudless day and ideal for a challenge match against Maldon croquet club. The fact that Maldon won did not spoil it too much. Temperature was just 15 degrees Celsius in the shade, but well into the ‘twenties’ in the sun. The beginning of the month showed little change from August, but the later weeks have seen real change-for-the-warmer.

Warmer though it has been, rain has continued at something of a premium. This month has yielded no more than 24 millimetres. September is usually respon-sible for more than twenty-four mms. A typical Septem-ber month may offer as little as 35 to 40 millimetres, but can get to as much as 70 millimetres. The fall this year is clearly on the low side for the month. Another quick look at the El Nino forecast for the coming spring/summer and 2016 autumn does not look good. Most of the usual El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) models continue to indicate a continuing El Nino event for the coming months. Our local rainfall conditions continue to reflect the low rainfall and higher temperatures consis-tent with the broader El Nino phenomenon.

It is a bit disturbing as this is the time that most plants need good drenching rains to get them ready for summer and later harvest. In company with many readers,we do not have a reticulated water supply. We are unlikely to be short of potable water for domestic

use, but I am planning our water use for the garden. This is when the wicking beds start to come into their own. By watering the scoria below the vegetable beds, the wa-ter does not evaporate from the ground surface.

Turning to the temperature, it is decidedly warm-er as I write. Our highest temperature this month has been 25 degrees C. and the lowest daytime temperature was 12 degrees Celsius. We have had 4 days in which we reached the “twenties”, all in the second half of the month. The average daytime temperature has jumped from 12.4 degrees last month to 16.7 degrees Celsius this month, mainly brought about in the latter half of September. The mode has risen from 12 degrees to 15 degrees C. The first two weeks continued pretty much like August (in the 13 to16 C. degree range) but the lat-ter half of the month has seen a promise of warmer days to come.

By contrast, the overnight temperatures have re-mained quite cool. The lowest overnight temperature I recorded was minus -3 degrees C., some may have re-corded even lower temps in lower lying spots. Again, this occurred in the earlier part of the month. The month’s average overnight temperature has barely changed from August at an average of 5.09 degrees C., compared with September at 5.17 degrees Celsius. Not a difference that I could detect!! The warmest nights were in the middle of the month, when it also rained. John Leavesley.

Calendar of EventsOct 2nd Public Holiday (Friday before the AFL Grand Final).Oct 3rd Service, 6 p.m., St. John’s Anglican Church, Chewton.Oct 3rd Chewton Community BBQ (the MoBQ!), 6 p.m., BYO everything (see page 18). Oct 4th Daylight Saving starts (put clocks forward an hour)Oct 5th School Term 4 starts.Oct 6th Opening of Seniors’ Week (see page 31).Oct 8th Chewton Landcare walk, 10 a.m., (see page 11).Oct 10th Service, 6 p.m., St. John’s Anglican Church, Chewton.Oct 13th MAS Council meeting, 7.30 p.m., Civic Centre, Castlemaine.Oct 25th Book Launch “A Dream Realised: Chewton Bushland Stories,” 2.00 pm, Chewton Town Hall. Oct 17th Camp out on the Mount, Mount Alexander (see page 27).Oct 17th Chat’s 200th Surprise Afternoon Tea, 3 p.m., Chewton Town Hall.Oct 17th Service, 6 p.m., St. John’s Anglican Church, Chewton.Oct 18th FOBIF walk at Morgans Track (see page 25). Oct 18th Sunday afternoon concert, 2 p.m., St. John’s.Oct 19th Chewton Domain Society Man. Comm. meeting, 7.15 p.m., Chewton Town Hall.Oct 23rd Chewton Bushlands Association AGM, 7.00 p.m., Chewton Town Hall. Oct 24th Chewton CFA Community Bonfire Night – see flyer in the Chat.Oct 24th Service, 6 p.m., St. John’s Anglican Church, Chewton.Oct 24th Fryerstown Film Night (All that Jazz), 7.30 p.m., Burke and Wills Mechanics Inst. Oct 25th Golden Point Landcare wild flower walk, 10 a.m., Expedition Pass Reservoir.Oct 27th Connecting Country AGM, 6.30 p.m., Castlemaine Golf Club (see page 27).Oct 27th MAS Council meeting, 7.30 p.m., Barfold Hall.Oct 31st Opening of the David Moore Exhibition, 2 p.m., Castlemaine Art Gallery (see page 30).Oct 31st Service, 6 p.m., St. John’s Anglican Church, Chewton.Nov 1st Fire Action Week begins.