Gippslander - March 2012

MARCH/APRIL 2012Distributed in 6 Shires Circulation: 20,000

The Gippsland Experience

Shaun King

April 4-10 will welcome the Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia to Sale, East Gippsland.

The CMCA was founded in 1986 as a social and support net-work for motorhome owners. Their current membership stands at 60,000 members, and growing daily.

The CMCA holds two Rallies every year, rotating between all the States and Territories.

“An expected 900 motorhomes are to converge on Sale this April,” says Colin Gard, the Rally Man-ager.

“They will make the Sale Showgrounds, the Greyhound Club and the Gippsland Grammar School their home for the duration of their stay.”

This year marks the 26th An-niversary Rally of the CMCA,

promising to bring 1000s of visi-tors to Gippsland.

“This event is a great opportu-nity for local business and tourism operators,” said Mr Gard. “Whilst here, rally participants will have to purchase fuel, food and all manner of supplies. It’s a fantastic boost to a region in an otherwise quiet period.”

Rally Members will also be participating in a variety of activi-ties while here.

“We put on a great show for our Members. We keep them en-tertained with seminars, craft ses-sions, disc bowls, competitions and some major entertainment.”

Opportunities will also be available for local businesses to promote their products and ser-vices to the RV Travellers. CMCA will have a Trade Exhibitor Area setup specifically for this purpose.

Monday, April 9 will be an Open Day where members of the public will be able to visit the Ral-ly Site and mix with the CMCA Members.

“You’re welcome to come along on Monday, sit and chat with us, hear our tales and ask our advice,” said Colin. “With such a

large and varied group, all com-ing together in one place, we’ve got some real expertise amongst us, when it comes to “living on the road”.”

Sale, along with the Wellington Shire have worked tirelessly to bring this event to Gippsland.

Sale is an RV friendly town,

which means facilities have been provided, by the Shire, for dump-ing points and off-street parking facilities.

If you’re a local business, wanting to participate, or have a stall at the market, then call Colin on 0488 136 868 or email him at [email protected].

www.facebook.com/gippslander Twitter @gippslandernews FREE

Riding Rodeo’s in theHigh Country

East Gippsland has it’s fair share of Rodeo’s this year, with both Omeo and Buchan putting on Easter shows back-to-back.

High country lovers will be off to Omeo over the Easter break, with their Rodeo kicking off early on Easter Saturday, April 7.

Entries are looking good with some old-time regulars making appearances.

Buchan puts on it’s show the following day, Easter Sunday, April 8, with a huge show planned for the 2,000 odd visitors who make the annual pilgramage to

Buchan in East Gippsland.Both these events are offical

Rodeo events sponsored by the Australian Professional Rodeo As-sociation.

Events held will include Saddle Bronc, Bull Ride, Bareback, Rope and Tie, Steer Wrestling, Team Roping and the ever popular Bar-rel Race.

Last year’s winner of the Bull Ride, Tony Cross, took home over $1,500 in prize money.

Junior events planned are the Steer Ride and Barrel Race.

See www.prorodeo.asn.au.

CMCA Rally inside6 pages of travelling destinations

Lakes Entrance Discount Dealsfor March See our spotlight on Lakes Entrance, pages 12 & 13.

Cobb & Co.Market Opensin Sale

See full storyon back page.

Visit RosedaleGippsland’s hidden Gem

Full feature Page 16-18.

All Roads

Lead to Sale

As a retail shop owner, do you find it difficult and expensive to maintain your loyalty card system? Printing cards, stamping them, handing out free goods?

Well there’s a new iPhone app in town that’s about to change all that.

In partnership with the Gipps-lander, Wealie is offering you an economical, easy to use Loyalty Card program based around the use of the iPhone and Android phone.

The scenario is simple. A cus-tomer walks into your store, makes their purchase, then swipes their phone across your “code”. Their purchase is then recorded in your system.

Each swipe of your “code”, gives your customer points. Whether that’s a sixth coffee for free, or a discount on further pur-chases. It’s up to you.

For the customer, it’s easy. No more loyalty cards to keep track of, no more missing out on “points” because you forgot your cards.

The real benefit of the system, is that retailers will then be able to “push” instant messages out to their loyalty card users phones.

If you’re interested in setting up your own Loyalty Card program, without the cards, contact Mark at the Gippslander on [email protected].

Hi-tech Cafe’s utiliseiPhone application

2 - www.gippslander.com.au March/April 2012

Shire News

Baw Baw Shire East Gippsland Shire

Latrobe Shire

Latrobe Library annual Book SaleDon’t miss out on the Friends of Latrobe City Libraries next Book Sale. Saturday 24th March at

Kernot Hall in Morwell. The doors will open at 9 am. Surplus book stock, used Hear-a–Book tapes, CD’s, videos and magazines from the Latrobe City Library

service, as well as donations will be available at $1 each or sold by the bag. Customers are advised to bring their own environmentally friendly bags.

Since 2003 the Friends of Latrobe City Libraries have raised over $28,000.

DashwoodConsultingD

Lardner Park is to host this years 4WD Muster to raise funds for Variety, the Children’s Charity.

The Muster is a family friendly event to be held on April 20-22, 2012 for the broader 4WD com-munity. Not only will they raise funds for Variety, but also attempt a world record.

The idea is to parade as many 4WD’s as possible, as well as have entertainment and activities over the weekend.

Exhibitors will display their goods, along with a 4WD test track, for those willing to test the latest and greatest on offer.

Friday night entertainment will include the Rockits and Saturday will be a packed line up, with Doug Bruce and the Tailgaters, The Sunny Cowgirls and Pete De-nahy.

Events such as this don’t hap-pen without hard work from a di-verse group.

Tickets can be obtained by visiting their website at www.4wdmuster.org.au or email [email protected]. All in-clusive prices of $150 for 2 adults (children are free) with additional adult tickets for $50 each. This includes a camp site and entry of your 4x4 into the Muster Parade.

More please!

Why can’t we have more of the same? That was the call from one of the locals after the Rippon Lea Renaissance Danc-ers performed in Warragul last year.

Event organisers, the Early Arts Guild, took the request to heart. Their response is Renais-sance Warragul – Australia’s only regional concert series to feature renaissance and baroque dance, music, costumes, instruments and gesture.

The opening program, on March 25, will be Shakespeare and the Highwayman. Performers will be the Rippon Lea Baroque Dancers, Early Music Consort and two of Australia’s finest exponents of gesture – vocalist Caitlin Noble and actress Annabel Green.

See the show at Wesley of War-ragul, 62 Victoria St, Warragul. Each performance is 1 hour and commences at 2:15 pm. Bookings phone 9699 8417.

Choices for Living ExpoLocal community organisa-

tions present the Choices for Living – Health + Wealth + Wellbeing Expo, March 26th – 30th at the Community College East Gippsland.

It will include a week of work-shops, seminars, displays and activities culminating in a Grand Expo day on Friday 30th March, showcasing all East Gippsland has to offer for Over 50’s living.

The Expo day will be a getting together of services, facilities and businesses that offer opportuni-ties for people planning retire-ment.

CEO of Community Col-lege East Gippsland, Ray Ferres

said “This will be a fantastic op-portunity for local businesses to showcase their products, and for people who are thinking about their choices for having a healthy lifestyle in retirement to find in-formation.”

The Program for the week will include:• Monday 26th March - Women’s Health Day• Tuesday 27th March - Men’s Health Day• Wednesday 28th March – Legal & Financial Information Day• Thursday 29th March - Technology Day• Friday 30th March - Expo Day 10:00am – 3:00pmFor more information and contact details, see their advertisement

on page 11 of the Gippslander.

Swap MeetThe Latrobe Valley Branch of

GHAC Inc , are having their an-nual Swap Meet at

Toners Lane Morwell on 25th March 2012. Cars, Bike Parts, Collectable,Antiques, Tools and Equipment are all on Sale. Ad-mission $3.00 Under 16 Free. No Additional charges for sites. For more details contact Alan 0351274397 or Ken 0351261414.

4WD Muster takes off again at Lardner Park

3www.gippslander.com.au -March/April 2012

Shire News

AffordableHousing

South Gippsland Shire

Bass Coast Shire

Wellington Shire

In-Step Dance School has been providing dance tuition in Sale for the past 9 years under current Principal Melissa Hall.

Melissa said they offer a range of classes for students aged from three right through to adult classes.

“We have special Tiny Tots and Prep Dance classes which are designed to introduce young girls and boys to dancing and free movement in a fun and nurturing environment.”

Classes are also run in Classical Ballet and Jazz, and the brand new Dance Fusion for teenagers which covers a range of dance styles in-cluding Contemporary, Hip Hop, Bollywood, Musical Theatre and Jive to name but a few.

Melissa’s aim is to provide stu-dents with many opportunities to perform through local Eisteddfods

and the annual End of Year Con-cert.

“We have many students who will be performing at the Sale Ei-steddfod in many Solo, Duo and Troupe Sections beginning March 31st. For more information con-tact Melissa 51442336 after hours.

Midday Saturday 24th March to Midday Sunday 25th March 2012.

Visit www.weif.org.au General Enquiries 0411 265 401 or 0428 348 345

Human Powered Grand Prix24 hours of endurance, skill, design & teamwork

Free Entry - See you there!Wonthaggi Recreation Reserve, Korumburra Road, Wonthaggi

Wonthaggi Human PowerWonthaggi Human Powered

Grand Prix Race Teams get into Top Gear!

Local teams are gearing up for what looks like the biggest race field with 90 teams booked in for this year’s Wonthaggi Hu-man Powered Grand Prix being held at the Wonthaggi Recreation Reserve track on March 24th and 25th, commencing at 12noon on Saturday, running 24 hours non-stop until the thrilling race finish at 12noon on Sunday. The push carts will run on the Friday morning.

For the past 6 years, the Wonthaggi HPV was part of the Wonthaggi Energy Innovation Festival, which brought in revenue in order to run the event. The event has now outgrown the festival and is proudly now able to fund itself. The Energy Innovation Festival will not be going this year, but the organising committee say that the HPV is still very orientated with an energy efficient and renewable energy focus still on our race with

business and community displays. See Swinburne University and their highly competitive electric powered F-SAE race car on dis-play!

The event is fully catered with great new range of food and cof-fee, with the new food area right in front of the Wonthaggi pool, giving our spectators a great view

as they enjoy the friendly at-mosphere of our race. This is a thrilling ride with great corners, requiring lots of clever manoeu-vring by all riders. Entry to race and festival is free.

For further details, visit their website at www.weif.org.au or call Michelle 0411 265 401.

The Bass Coast Shire has taken the inititive of producing an Affordable Housing Plan to address the perceived increase in house prices in their Shire.

With the construction of the Victorian Desalination Plant in Wonthaggi, the Shire claims there has never been a more important time to ensure affordability for new and existing residents alike.

Introduce your kidsto dance

Paddy’s Market

Coongulla Paddy’s Market &

Boot SaleSaturday, April 7, 2012 at

9am sharp sees the annual Pad-dy’s Market at the Coongulla Hall.

Every Easter Saturday sees the market well attended, with visitor numbers last year ex-ceeding organisers expecta-tions.

All funds go to the Coongul-la Reserve Committee for the local hall and reserve.

Stallholders are required. If you’re interested, call Paula on 5148 0235.

Letters to the [email protected]

199 Raymond St, Sale.

Fun classes for all including:Tiny Tots

Prep DanceClassical Ballet

JazzDance Fusion Adult Ballet

All Classes are held at Gregg Hall, Sale.Exams and Eisteddfod work available but not compulsory.

End of Year Concert for all students.New Enrolments welcome – first class FREE.

Family and Multi-class discounts apply.

Enquiries to Melissa 5144 2336 (ah) or 0438 441 959Email: [email protected]

Artistic delightsSouth Gippsland has an amazing spread of artists, galleries and

exhibitions, right under our noses.Just a short drive through the

district, reveals galleries in towns like Fish Creek, Foster, Meeniyan, Leongatha, Kongwak and Korum-burra, to name a few.

Art shows are another strong point of the region, with regular exhibitions being held in the most unlikely places.

Browsing the internet, I stum-bled upon a great website, listing all this information and more.

www.south-gippsland.com, has

a huge amount of useful informa-tion for visitors and locals alike.

Local markets, accommoda-tion, points of interest and even a very interesting page about their local community vegetable gar-den, situated in Foster, behind the community house.

A very informative website, and a must if you’re thinking of travelling to the rolling green hills of South Gippsland.

Naturally Magic.

Korumburra is home to the Coal Creek Museum Park.

Initially, the park was created to preserve the unique history of coal and the Sth Gippy Railway.

Ghost Tours are now on, with the next planned for April 7. As night falls upon the village your senses come alive, and in to-tal darkness, with the help of a guide, wander the streets of Coal Creek with fellow adventurers and those who call Coal Creek home.


Gippslander’s Country Life

Women on FarmsA Gathering in Buchan - March 2012

Buchan Neighbourhood House

Women from across rural Australia are invited to Buchan for the 23rd annual Women on Farms Gathering, which will run from 16 to 18 March 2012.

This year’s gathering, hosted by Learn Local organisation Bu-chan Neighbourhood House, will feature workshops, tours of the region, socialising and keynote presentations from prominent ru-ral women.

Evelyn Schmidt, Buchan Neighbourhood House Centre Coordinator, says the Buchan and District steering group have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to bring together a very ex-citing program.

“This is the first time this event has ever been hosted in East Gipp-sland and we will be showcasing some of the best of East Gipps-land,” Ms Schmidt said.

“There will be tours into the stunning countryside north east of Buchan, including visits to W Tree, Gelantipy, Seldom Seen and Mc Killops Bridge.

“We will also have tours to Marlo with a trip on the paddle steamer Curlip, a heritage drive around the Buchan district and a visit to the Buchan Caves,” Ms Schmidt said.

Speakers at the event will in-clude Angela Betheras, Victorian Rural Woman of the Year, Profes-sor Kate Auty, Commissioner of Environmental Sustainability and Carol Clay, President of the Vic-torian Country Women’s Associa-tion.

In addition to hearing keynote speakers and learning about the local area, the gathering will give attendees the chance to learn new skills across a wide range of areas.

There will be practical work-shops on solar power, social networking, finding out about funerals, financial literacy and community planning – as well as arts and crafts activities, including jewellery making, singing, floral art, pampering, textiles, relaxation and sewing.

Ms Schmidt says this year’s Women on Farms Gathering is go-ing to be a fantastic event.

“I encourage women living in rural Australia to make sure they don’t miss out on this great net-working and development oppor-tunity,” Ms Schmidt said.

The Buchan Women on Farms Gathering is sponsored by East Gippsland Shire Council, Vicfor-ests, Murray Goulburn, Gippsland Women’s Network, Parks Victoria, Powercor, Centre for Rural Com-munities, Beacon Solar, Toyota, Victorian Farmers Federation, Avon and Gippsland Lakes Com-munity Health. Support for the project has also come from Tim Bull, State Member for Gippsland.

Buchan’sicon for 2012

Each year, the Women on Farms Gathering has an icon produced by a local artist.

These icons have been chosen by the organisers of each Gath-ering to symbolise and celebrate the leadership, unity, diversity and resilience of rural women.

The Museum of Victoria has a collection of over 450 items, collected from various Women’s Gatherings over the past 20 years.

Ann Jarvis, an inaugural member of the Women on Farms Heritage Group, says, “We are creating living history. It’s the first time Museum Victoria has attempted to collate a collection such as this.”

The collection now has State and National significance.

The clock (above) was made by local artist Dennis Gilbert out of Buchan Black Marble.

Dennis Gilbert’s Clock

By Wendy ReeveS

There is a serious reason why more single vehicle fatalities occur on country roads – and it isn’t because we’re all bad drivers.

Federal Parliamentarian Andrew Robb told Gippslanders last month that there were still so many people struggling to cope with mental ill-ness who don’t seek help before it’s too late.

Mr Robb shared his own personal story of depression with more than 180 people at a dinner organised by the Rotary clubs of Sale and Sale Central at Greenwattle Racecourse on 20 February.

A cross-section of the local community listened intently to Mr Robb’s account of his journey from a 12-year-old boy when he first began to experience anxiety and depression, to some four decades later when he was finally freed from what is often referred to as “the black dog”.

“Every night since I was 12 years old I’d go to sleep taking on the world and I’d wake up a different person,” he recalled.

“I just thought I wasn’t a morning person.“In the mornings I’d wake up pessimistic, I didn’t want to talk to

anyone, I didn’t want to interact and I’d avoid making decisions until I got over it about 8.30am and then I’d get on with it.”

“Politics was the perfect vocation, especially during election campaigns.”

Mr Robb explained that just as any other ‘disability’, he learned cop-ing strategies over the years.

One was to immerse himself in stressful situations where adrenalin would take over his body – making politics the perfect vocation, espe-cially during high-drama election campaigns.

But as the years wore on, Mr Robb found that his ‘morning problem’ became progressively harder to cover up and was getting worse.

“My morning problem took longer and longer to resolve, until it wasn’t lifting until about midday and was then extending into the af-ternoon.”

As a Member of Parliament, Mr Robb knew he wouldn’t be able to keep this problem covered up forever, but feared his career in ‘public life’ as it is referred to, would be in jeopardy if he sought help.

“For me, that little black dog concerned me because of the stigma.” “I was worried it would be seen as a character weakness and that you’re likely to let your team down.

“At the time, the stigma horrified me.”However there came a time when enough was enough.“I thought going public would be the end of my political career but

in the end I didn’t care, it was my life and if I could get better, how great would that be?”

Andrew Robb did seek help and what followed was a long and frus-trating path that led him into the most extreme depths of his illness, but eventually to recovery.

Mr Robb told the group that his recovery involved trying many medi-cations and experiencing some horrendous side-effects, but ultimately it was worth every minute of angst to finally be free from depression for the first time since he was a child.

He implored everyone at the event to get over the stigma of mental illness and seek help if you need it; and also support others who need help because for some people it can ultimately be the difference between life and death.

“I feel for the first time in four decades that I’m making the most of my abilities and my life,” he said.

“All I know is my experience but there are lessons from my story – if you have a problem, face it.

“You have to tell somebody, you need love, support and understand-ing.”

Mr Robb has written a book about his experience with depression titled Black Dog Daze – Public Life, Private Demons.

Anyone struggling with personal issues can find out more about men-tal illness at www.beyondblue.org.au or call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Federal Parliamentarian Andrew Robb (centre) with Sale Central Rotary Club president Brian Norris and Sale Rotary Club

president Daniel Smolenaars.

Black Dog Daze ... one man’s story


Campervan & Motorhome Club Rally - Sale

The Wellington Visitor Information Centre’s are open every day over Easter to help you explore our

wonderful area. They have an extensive range of maps and souvenirs including hat pins,

cloth badges and local produce. Wellington Visitor Information Centre

8 Foster Street, SaleTel: (03) 5144 1108

Maffra Visitor Information CentreJohnson Street, Maffra

Tel: (03) 5141 1811

Food, Wine and WeinersGreat food, fine wine, cheerful music, wonderful weather and

very pleasant company, was enjoyed at the Austrian Heurigen event held at Captains Lodge International Motel, Sale on Sunday.

On arrival, our host, Elisabeth Staberhofer, greeted us dressed in traditional Austrian costume.

The outdoor garden surrounding the pool was filled with people chatting, drinking, enjoying the music and soaking up the sunshine.

The smell of the barbeque had us all excitedly waiting for the food to arrive, and in a short time we were treated with several courses.

First, entrees of dips, breads and a traditional jellied pork terrine. The mains followed with sausages and side dishes of sauerkraut, potatoe salad and more dips. Next was what we had all been wait-ing for, the Austrian Wiener Schnitzel, with yet more sausages, side dishes and dipping sauces, and just when you thought you had tried it all, Elisabeth produced the most succulent roast pork and gravy.

A beer and a wine, as well as great company from local people, showcased Sale as an interesting and diverse community.

By 4pm we were ready for the finale, the famous Strudel, and a delightful chocolate Torte, a traditional Viennese Sachertorte and coffee.

It seemed such a short time from when we had arrived, and it was time to thank our wonderful host Elisabeth, and head off home feel-ing perhaps a little over full but very happy.

And the music, it wouldn’t have been an Austrian Heurigen after-noon, without Renee Groiss on his Styrian Harmonica.

Tarra Bulga National Park

Tarra Bulga National Park is one of the most stunning parks you’ll discover in Gippsland.

Hidden within the Strzelecki Ranges, it’s a pocket of untaint-ed rain forest. The remnants of a magnificent rainforest that once covered the entire ranges.

The park covers over 1625 hec-tares of Mountain Ash forest and cool temperate rain forest.

Easiest way to access the Park, is to leave the M1 at Traralgon and follow the road to Balook.

All roads in this area are narrow and windy, so take care and prac-tice patience.

There are several walks avail-able. The pictured Corrigan Sus-pension Bridge is a 1.2km walk of astounding beauty. Alternatively there are shorter walks leading from the Information Centre.

Cynthia Falls is accessed by taking a bus to the other side of the Park.

The park has two picnic areas. One at Balook, and the other at the historic Tarra Valley picnic ground, complete with fireplaces and toilets.

Onsite camping is not al-lowed, but there are several cara-van parks nearby.

Touring aroundGippsland

Wellington Shire is offering a Touring Fest when it comes to get-ting to know Gippsland. On offer is a huge selection of half day and full day tours, available to CMCA members.

Most of the Tours available are within 1 or 2 hours of Sale, and include Winery trips, fun parks, cave dwelling and a robotic dairy for milking cows.

Beginning on Thursday, April 5, the first of the tours takes off to Walhalla.

Walhalla: Enjoy a scenic drive through the picturesque landscape of Central Gippsland as you head to the historic village of Walhalla, which was a major goldmining town in the gold rush that swept the area in the 1800’s and is now a quiet little village.

During this tour you will ride on Walhalla’s Goldfields Railway, and you’ll also take a tour through the Long Tunnel Extended Mine.

Port Albert Cruise: Port Al-bert is a beautiful as yet undis-covered historic village. This tour takes you on a leisurely cruise around the Nooramunga Marine and Coastal Park, joining Captain Wynne Hobson aboard his cata-maran, the Nooramunga. He has many years of fishing knowledge and sailing is in his blood.

Winery Wander: Sample spectacular Sauvignon Blanc, crisp and clean Chardonnays and some refreshing Rieslings.

This tour showcases some of Gippslands best wineries. Start-ing with Avon Ridge Winery and Blue Gables Winery in Maffra. Then along the rolling farmlands

of Tinamba to Glenmaggie Wines. Continuing on to Briagolong Es-tate then onto Mt Moornapa Wines in Stockdale. Stop in and explore Stratford on the way home.

Sale-Maffra Heritage Tour: Visit the Gippsland Armed Forces Museum which preserves the Mil-itary history in Gippsland. Tour the West Sale Immigrant Museum and discover the hardships that they endured. On to Maffra and the Gippsland Vehicle Collection that showcases over 100 classic cars. Then visit the Pino Deriu Gemstone Collection.

Gippsland Art Gallery: The Gippsland Art Gallery in Sale houses some fantastic work from local artists. Relax with an in-cluded coffee and cake at Rel-

ish @ the Gallery and take in the views of the Port of Sale. Take a walking tour of St Marys Cathe-dral and onto the nearby entertain-ment centre to view some Anne-mieke Mein Bronzes.

Stratford: Visit historic Strat-ford, home to the Stratford on the Avon, Shakespeare Festival. Checkout the Courthouse and Gal-lery featuring local artists, and meander on to the Wa-De-Lock Cellar Door for some scrumptious local food and wines.

All tours are available by con-tacting the Wellington Information Centre on 1800 677 520.


New Gippsland Cycling MapDestination Gippsland has

just released their new, updated Gippsland Cycling and Touring Map.

A very detailed and comprehen-sive map showing the entire Rail Trail network across Gippsland.

You can cycle your way through the network of disused railway lines, transformed into gently graded paths through bush-land and rainforest.

You can challenge yourself at one of the mountain bike parks or hit the road for a long, scenic ride through some of the best scenery Victoria has to offer.

It is possible to cycle from Phil-lip Island, along the Bass Coast, through West Gippsland and on-ward to the far reaches of East Gippsland and the rainforests.

Mountain Bike parks are lo-cated at Erica, Walhalla, Mt Baw Baw, Gippsland Lakes Discovery Trail and Nowa Nowa.

Country villages and historic townships such as Walhalla, Loch, Omeo and Port Albert, make those well earned rest-stops an experi-ence in themself.


Bunurong Marine and Coastal Park The rugged sandstone cliffs, broad rock platforms

and underwater reefs of the Bunurong Marine and Coastal Park represent some of Victoria’s most spec-tacular coastal scenery.

Stretching along the coast from Harmers Haven to Inverloch, the park provides for boating, fishing, swimming and snorkelling or a quiet walk along a se-cluded sandy beach.

The park contains one of the most significant fos-sil sites, where dinosaur bones over 115 million years old have been excavated.

State Coal Mine At its peak the State Coal Mine at Wonthaggi was

a bustling network of underground tunnels filled with men, pit ponies, dust and dim lights.

Operating from 1909 to 1968, some seventeen mil-lion tonnes of coal was mined in underground opera-tions during the life of the Wonthaggi mines.

Today visitors can inspect the original East Area workings and take a self-guided tour of the relics.

Wonthaggi Heathlands Reserve Walking tracks lead through this reserve

linking the rugged ocean beach to the extensive coast-al heathlands and scrubs.

During spring, the heathlands host a spectacular display of wildflowers.

The reserve is a bird watcher’s paradise being home to over 80 species of birds.

Bunurong Marine National Park The Bunurong Marine National Park’s underwater

reefs are home to a multitude of plants and animals that flourish in a richunderwater ‘garden’ of seaweeds.

Found amongst the seaweeds are an abundance of brightly coloured sea-stars, feature stars, crabs, large marine snails and many smaller animals.

The park provides opportunities for snorkelling and diving or exploring the marine life of the inter-tidal rock platforms.

Marine National Parks are protected areas of the sea, like national parks on land. They are “no take” areas, ensuring preservation for future generations.

Last year marked the 20th anniversary of the discovery of the Flat Rocks site, near Inverloch and the 18th Dinosaur Dreaming field season.

It is hard to believe that 20 years have elapsed since a group of researchers discovered a four metre wide conglomerate layer exposed on the rocky shore plat-form, just south of Inverloch, Victoria.

The discovery caused great excitement as it was the first time that a number of bones had been found, along the Victorian south coast, so close together in one fossil layer.

Twenty bones were discovered exposed on the surface of the fos-sil layer, but they proved to be just the “tip of the iceberg”. A test dig, which took place in 1992 to explore the potential of the site, resulted in the recovery of over

300 fossil bones and teeth and so the Dinosaur Dreaming site was born.

In the past 20 years many thou-sands of bones and teeth have been recovered from the Flat Rocks site, making it the richest Early Cretaceous site in Australia.

Although it has not produced articulated skeletons, like those from Dinosaur Cove and Eric the Red in the Otway Group, it is the only site in Australia where evi-dence of three groups of mammals has been found, alongside the bones of at least six different types of dinosaurs.

Information courtesy of Monash University. You can find out more by visiting their website.

PYRAMID ROCKPHILLIP ISLAND

Bass Coast walking trails Dinosaur DreamingA Monash University Dinosaur Dig near Inverloch.

www.destinationgippsland.com.au



Prom Country Simply beautiful... naturally!

12 Popular Things to See & Do• Explore Wilsons Promontory Na� onal Park• Cycle the Great Southern or Grand Ridge Rail Trails• Sample farm fresh food and wine• Visit our local art galleries• Ride the South Gippsland Tourist Railway• View the Loch Suspension Bridge• Walk the Lyrebird Forest Walk• View na� ve birdlife at the Toora Bird Hide• Picnic at the Korumburra Botanic Park• Visit Agnes Falls waterfall• Explore Coal Creek Community Park• Discover the historic Cape Liptrap lighthouse

The Prom Country region is located an easy 1.5 hour drive from Melbourne....

www.visitpromcountry.com.au

The Prom Country region is located an easy 1.5 hour drive

Phone 1800 630 704 for your FREE Information Pack

tiful... naturally!

The Prom Country region is located an easy 1.5 hour drive

Prom Country Visitor Information Centres

1800 630 704infocentre@southgippsland.vic.gov.auwww.visitpromcountry.com.au

Korumburra:South Gippsland Hwy (Coal Creek)

Foster: Cnr McDonald & Main Streets

Prom Country is renowned for spectacular scenery, unspoilt beaches, lush rainforests and farm fresh produce. Home to Wilsons Promontory Na� onal Park and other pris� ne natural a� rac� ons, the Prom Country region is Gippsland’s southern secret. To plan your next visit to Prom Country, please visit our website or contact our friendly Visitor Informa� on Centres for assistance.

Back to Charlie Brown’sPicnic Day

The Fifth Annual ‘Back To’ Charlie Brown’s Picnic Day. This is an old style family picnic sports day that we experienced fifty years ago.

Festivities will include the old favourite Sand Castle competition, an Easter Egg hunt, 3 legged races, egg and spoon races, sack and flat races for all age groups, culminating in a Tug of War event for the adults and a lolly scramble for the children.

Participants will be allocated into two groups - the Waratite’s (vil-lages) and the Parkers (Caravan Park dwellers). Day trippers will be ‘adopted’ by the Waratites. Music, food and drink will be available on the day, supplied by local vendors.

The Picnic Day starts on Saturday April 7 at 10 am. Waratah Bay Recreaction Reserve, Cnr Gale & Moongana St, Waratah Bay.

Wilsons Promontorysimply beautiful ... naturally

Prom Country is located a leisurely two hour drive from Melbourne, and approximately 3 hours drive from Sale. The Prom region is renowned for spectacular scenery, unspoilt beaches, lush rainforests and plenty of farm-fresh produce. It is a must to see on your travels.

Wilsons Promontory National park covers over 50,000 hectares of wilderness, and is host to some of Victoria’s most spectacular scenery.

Striking and beautiful, the “Prom” as it is known, features over 30 self-guided walking tracks that showcase the natural aesthet-ics of this popular holiday destina-tion.

You can start the day with lei-surely strolls through gently slop-ing terrain. Or, you can up the ante with serious treks that can be as relaxing or physically invigorating as you choose.

The abundant wildlife is a fea-ture of the Prom. With clearly marked viewing areas, you’re guaranteed to get some great holi-day pics of kangaroos, wombats,

emus and koalas.Accommodation at the Prom

consists of camping, cabins, lodg-es and wilderness retreats. Plenty of room for a motor home and a fully stocked shop ensures you’ll not run out of supplies.

There are 20 powered sites and 484 non-powered at Tidal River.

Easter at Stony Creek -Races, picnics & prizes

It’s on again this Easter, the Stony Creek racing season, Sun-day, April 8, 2012.

This is the last meeting of the season, and the emphasis will be on families picnicing together.

The six race program will en-tertain everyone.

Krackers and Jessiekins will be on their Easter Egg patrol, and in-tend to select six family groups as winner of the special Stony Creek picnic rugs.

The MS Auxillary will finish it’s season of crayfish raffles, with the prizes being the freshest cray-fish in South Gippsland.

Free entertainment for the chil-dren will be supplied by Camp Australia. They’re bringing a bundle of activities including the Chair-O-Plane, Tug of War, Face

painting and more. Entry for chil-dren under 17 is free.

A bus service will operate from Wonthaggi, Cape Paterson, Inverloch, Tarwin Lower and Ve-nus Bay. For bookings, contact Ross Wise on 0407 343 451, or Darell Verdon on 0400 573 344.

Promises to be a great day for everyone.



Latrobe Valley Latrobe City is a thriving

rural region located an easy 90 minute drive from the CBD of Melbourne. It encompasses the major towns of Traralgon, Morwell and Moe / Newbor-ough as well as a number of smaller rural townships. La-trobe City is recognised as Victoria’s centre for electricity production.

Enjoy alfresco dining and great shopping by day and fine dining and live entertainment by night. With a string of excellent bars, pubs and clubs, there is a venue to suit everyone.

Latrobe City has a rich his-tory which can be discovered at one of the many museums in-cluding Old Gippstown - Gipp-sland’s Heritage Park, the Old Brown Coal Mine Museum and PowerWorks Energy Technol-ogy Centre.

Get closer to nature and me-ander through one of the many parks and gardens or view the native and rare orchids at the Morwell National Park. En-joy the beauty of the world re-nowned Morwell Centenary Rose Garden which showcases over 3 000 rose bushes spread over four acres.

Hazelwood Pondage, the cooling pond for Hazelwood Power Station, provides warm water all year round.

PowerWorksPublic Tours

Discover the vast energy tech-nology complex centred on Vic-toria’s Latrobe Valley.

See energy systems of today and tomorrow in interactive dis-plays at the Energy Education Visitors Centre.

Tours are available Tuesday and Thursday at 11am, with a minimum of 8 persons required. Bookings essential on 5135 3415 or www.powerworks.com.au.Pricing for tours: Adults: $25.00 Children: $7.50 Seniors/Concession: $15 Family: $55 (2 adults, 2 kids)

Strezlecki Trail - Route 94

Route 94 marks the scenic drive through Latrobe Val-ley into the Strzelecki Ranges, through villages, past manicured farmland to magnificentforests.

With two distinct loops, fol-lowing Route 94 will take you past Loy Yang power station and open mine, to the splendour of Tarra-Bulga National Park, famous for its dense mountain gullies, sus-pension bridge, Cyathea Falls and wildlife.

Route 94 will lead you past the warm waters of Hazelwood Pond-age, great for all year round water sports, past galleries too numerous to mention, to the ‘Mural’ town of Mirboo North.

Stroll through this country town to enjoy the many murals. This route takes in many walking and cycling trails.

What’s on in Latrobe?There’s plenty to see and do throughout the Latrobe Shire this

April, with many events planned across the region.Gippslife Alternative Lifestyle Festival - Starts Saturday, March 31

for two days. A showcase of Psychics and Reiki practitioners. 10 am till 4pm. Contact 5127 3082 for details.

Gippsland Car Club Multiclub Hillclimb - Sunday, April 1. Based at Bryant Park in Yallourn from 9:30 am till 4:30 pm. Phone 5174 1473.

All Ages Music Event - Old Gippstown - Saturday, April 14 from 1:00 pm till 11:00 pm. Old Gippstown can be accessed via the turn-off on Princes Hwy near McDonalds. Phone 5127 3082 for details.

REH Cork Club Family Day - Good Friday Appeal - Friday, April 7, at the Royal Exchange Hotel in Traralgon. Phone 0413 134 350 for details.

Traralgon Farmers Market - Kay Street Gardens, Traralgon, Sat April 21, starts at 8:00 am till 1:00 pm. Phone 0409 232 715.

Antique & Collectables Expo - Old Gippstown, Moe. Runs from 10:00 am till 5:00 pm on Saturday, April 28. There’s sure to be some interesting collectables on display.

Victoria’s Powerhouse

Old Gippstown Historical Village. Step back in time to relive Gippsland’s heritage.

Open every day 9-5, with home baked fare available in the cafe.

Peterson’s Lookout. Situated in Tyers Park is a crag of conglomerate rock

overlooking the Tyers Gorge.Access by car is just north of Tyers on W2 track.

Places to stayon the LakesLatrobe City has two Cara-van Parks suitable for Motor homes and Caravans.Both are situated on the shores of lakes, and close to major shopping centres.Lake Narracan ParkSet on the shores of Lake Narracan, there are BBQs, toilets and picnic tables, as well as shower and washing facilities. No powered sites.A kiosk at the park is open on weekends for snacks.Phone 03 5127 8724.Hazelwood PondageWith a minimum tempera-ture of 22 degrees, the Ponds are perfect for all year round activities.Non-powered and powered sites are available.Facilities include BBQs, pic-nic tables, playground and toilets on the foreshore.Phone 03 5163 1566.



Tour deep under the mountain in Walhalla as you venture on a fasci-nating tour in the original workings of the Long Tunnel Extended Gold Mine.

This mine is one of the most successful mines in Victoria’s history. The mine is basically as is was when it closed in 1911 and tours today take approximately 45 minutes.

Just over an hour’s drive east of Melbourne, you will find the West Gippsland region. Diver-sity is the region’s strong point. West Gippsland offers a wide range of activities and accom-modation styles and choices to suit any taste or budget. It is great in any season and its close proximity to Melbourne makes it a wonderful choice for a day trip, short break, or an extended holiday.

From emerald pastures and fields of golden hay, to clear riv-ers, waterfalls, temperate rain forests, green rolling hills, alpine landscapes, public and private gardens and vineyards, you are reminded that truly spectacular scenery still exists. Here you will find the food and wine treasures of West Gippsland. You can fill your esky with the freshest variety of local produce, including cheeses, fruits, olives, vegetables, fish and free range meats.

Enjoy a picnic at the pictur-esque Tarago Reservoir, stroll through Neerim South, taking in the art and craft, and savour the food and wine. Take a walk through Glen Nayook, visit the Historic Noojee Trestle Bridge – the only remaining of seven tres-

tle bridges between Nayook and Noojee, and rumoured to be one of the largest of its type in the South-ern Hemisphere.

The Walhalla and Mountain Rivers area incorporates the towns of Erica, Rawson, Walhalla His-toric Township and localities such as Coopers Creek, Aberfeldy, Moondarra and Tyers Junction. This region is like an island in the sky and sets itself apart from other parts of Gippsland by providing year-round activities that suit all tastes and budgets.

Meet the locals in a country pub, go skiing on a choice of two mountains in winter, camp at the numerous sites dotted throughout the region, enjoy the many hik-ing trails, mountain bike in Erica and experience fascinating gold-era heritage in the beautiful Wal-halla Historic Township – defi-nitely a ‘must do’. Experience the spectacular Walhalla Goldfields Railway or take a deep tour un-derground at the Walhalla Long Tunnel Extended Gold Mine. With easy access from either Moe, Traralgon or South Face Road, the Walhalla & Mountain Rivers re-gion is perfect as a day trip, but it’s best enjoyed when you stay in the region overnight. Wake up to

sounds of birds and the smell of the bush. It’s a real Aussie expe-rience that cannot be beaten.

Mt Baw Baw Alpine Resort is nestled high amongst the Great Dividing Range, and is the closest downhill ski resort to Melbourne. The resort is situated on the edge of the Baw Baw Plateau and of-fers spectacular views across West Gippsland towards Bass Strait and Westernport Bay. There are colourful wildflowers throughout summer and an abundance of ani-mal life, making it a spectacular year-round destination.

The village, with its friendly atmosphere and modern facili-ties caters for the day tripper and long-term visitor.

Trekking throughWest Gippsland

For further information on living in Baw Baw Shire, please visit:

www.bawbawshire.vic.gov.au

Turn a daytrip into a weekend getaway...Explore the four seasons, indulge your five senses...Explore a region of diversity and beauty, from the alpine majesty of the Baw Baw Plateau and the rich gold mining history of Walhalla to lush valleys and gourmet country pastures. A feast for the senses awaits with breathtaking scenery, adventure, history and a myriad of events. Quality local food and wine with excellent accommodation options, all wrapped up in genuine warm country hospitality. Have we enticed you to extend your stay yet?

Want more information?Yarragon Visitor Information Centre - 1300 133 309 or Baw Baw Shire CouncilW: www.bawbawshire.vic.gov.au/Things_to_doE: [email protected]

Long Tunnel Gold Mine

Walhalla Railway

In 1993, a group of enthusiasts started to rebuild the most spec-tacular section of this line from the Thomson River up Stringers Creek Gorge to Walhalla. Trains returned to Walhalla in 2002 and now the Walhalla Goldfields Railway operates every Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday.

Contact the Baw Baw Shire for departure times on 1300 133 309.



West Gippsland is a diverse and exciting part of Gippsland. Mt Baw Baw offers a unique Alpine experience all year, the historic township of Wal-halla gives you insight into the county’s rich his-tory and the green rolling foothills offer charming villages, fine produce and cosy B &B’s.

Mt Baw Baw may be renowned for skiing and snowboarding in winter however the mountain is just as spectacular in the warmer months. Blessed with twisted snow gums, alpine meadows, native wild-flowers, pre-historic Myrtle Beech and stunning geo-logical formations the mountain is a nature lover’s paradise. The Resort offers 10km of walking trails and a walk to suit every fitness level. The best views are found along the summit trail, from the summit lookout there is a beautiful view over the Australian Alps. For those seeking an easier walk Beech trail follows the Tanjil Creek and is a much shorter and less strenuous. The beautiful Baw Baw National Park can be accessed via the Resort trails, guided walks from Mt Baw Baw to Mushroom rocks at Mt Erica or

even an overnight walk to Walhalla can be arranged. Mt Baw Baw’s Sea to Sky Restaurant offers great

food, friendly hospitality and stunning views over West Gippsland and the Mornington Peninsula. Head Chef Brett Marshman has won numerous Mel-bourne awards for his cooking and has really lifted the profile of the restaurant. The menu has been developed to showcase Gippsland’s fine produce and terrific local wines have been sourced to match. Sharing a Gippsland Grazing Platter and a glass of wine on the sunny deck is the perfect way to spend an afternoon. Stay overnight in the Alps in one of the Resort’s cosy cabins of family friendly lodges.

The nearby towns of Erica, Rawson, Walhalla, Noojee and Neerim South are definitely worth ex-ploring. The Walhalla Goldfields Railway winds its way through the lush fern scattered valley and is a great family experience The Erica Pub is famous for its hot rock, cook it yourself steak and the Outpost at Noojee offers a unique Aussie Pub experience with a big a big open fire and is definitely worth a visit.

Nature Lovers ParadiseAlpine meadows and twisted gums

Mount Baw Baw is hosting the inaugural TR FM Baw Baw Fun Run on Sunday, March 25, to raise money for the West Gippsland Hospital Emergency Department.

The whole family can be in-volved with various events being planned.

As with all Cross Country Fun Runs, this one is sure to get the heart pumping and the legs burn-ing.

First off the line will be the 10km Run event at 10 am. At 10:15 am the 5km Run event leaves, and 10:45 am the 5km Walk leaves.

The course is a 5km loop, with the 10km runner doing 2 laps of the circuit.

Registrations are available from the Mount Baw Baw web-site, or on the day from 8:30 am.

The course is not suitable for

prams and strollers, and pets are not permitted.

A BBQ will be provided on the day, along with spot prizes and a raffle, with all proceeds going to the hospital.

Entry fees for the Fun Run are:$20 - 10km run$15 - 5km run and walk$10 - all kids.

Mount Baw Baw would like to express thanks to their sponsors, TR FM, Athletes Foot, Sports Co, CJA Lee Property, PFD Food Ser-vices, PV Meats, Carmens, Mac-cas Megasports and Cactus Black.

See you there in your runners.

Mount Baw Bawa place for all seasons

Mount Baw Baw is just 50km north of the Latrobe Valley, itself one of several peaks on the Baw Baw Plateau. Other peaks on the plateau include Mt Whitelaw, Mt St Phillack (highest) and Mt St Gwinear.

The Baw Baw Plateau is actu-ally seperated from the rest of the high country by the two main riv-ers, the Thompson and Aberfeldy.

For those interested in it’s geol-ogy, most of the plateau consists of granite type deposits.

The lower areas are covered in eucalypt forest, including cool temperate rainforests of myrtle beech, with the higher plateau

consisting of snow gums and sub-alpine grasslands.

With snow cover from June to September, the rest of the year enables hikers and sightseerers to marvel at the breathtaking land-scapes and views.

Cycling is well catered for, with the approach into Mt Baw Baw considered one of the toughest hill climbs in Australia.


Spirit, Mind & Body

Creating a New EarthShWami KingSley

This being the first of our Spirit, Mind & Body columns, I’d like to begin by talking about a great spiritual teacher of our time, Eckhart Tolle.

Over the last few years he’s written two major pieces of work. The first being The Power of Now and the second, A New Earth.

Both, in my eyes, are spiritual masterpieces. Both required read-ing for anyone serious about mov-ing on from this ego centric world we find ourselves in.

Eckhart sees the world very simply. Insane. War, poverty, greed, competition, economics, media, they’re all products of in-sane minds, imposed upon socie-ties as the “normal way” of living.

Those of us who have started questioning this “normal way”, are wondering, “If this isn’t “normal” then what is?”

And that’s the question Eckhart attempts to explain in his last two books.

He takes you through the first big realisation that any human be-ing needs to realise, and that is, “you are not your thoughts.”

All those thoughts you think

during the day ... greed, jealousy, selfishness, self-centred uncaring thoughts. He shows you through simple examples, that is not you.

Not in an airy fairy way. But a solid, explanation of who you are and who you are not.

All those thoughts you have, that you don’t like, are not actually you. Meaning, you don’t have to deal with them, analyse them and heal them, but instead, very sim-ply, you see they’re just thoughts.

His explanation of who you re-ally are is very simple, and easy to

digest. You are simply the being or presence that is able to observe those thoughts. No attachment to them, no guilt, no regret, just an acceptance that those thoughts are simply thoughts, and you, the real you, exists with or without them.

It’s a breath of fresh air to all those who are tortured with men-tal thought processes.

You can pickup his books, CD’s and DVD’s from Purpose in the Hub, 10 Myer St, Lakes En-trance.

“Look Into Me Eyes”Let us help you unlock your

unconscious mind.Virtual Gastric Banding, Smoking,

Relaxation, Phobias and more.

Gift vouchers available!

“We will not make you bark like a chicken”Practitioners of hypnosis

Jacinta 0401 353 939 Mandy 0428 887 839

84 Elgin Street Morewell 3840ABN: 360785106

Mind, Body or Soul?The age old question still

haunts us today. Am I a Body? a Mind? or a Soul? Or am I all three?

Christians began the Triology of Father, Son, Holy Ghost.

All three were taught as very seperate entities, to be dealt with differently.

How about we merge the three together. Using the other ancient Christian perspective that All Is One. There is no other, just One.

That would suggest, that my Soul, or my Spirit, is also my Body and also my Mind. So if I’m looking for my Soul, I’ve only to look to my body to find it.

Quantum Physics is catching up to Spiritulism, with the discovery that there is no physical. Only en-ergy. And the mind has now been discovered to be entirely energy. So we have the Body as energy, and thoughts (Mind) as energy, then that just leaves the Soul.

If you practice meditation, you’ll be aware of the existence of your Soul, or your core Being. It’s usually that awareness you have when you stop thinking.

Next time you’re meditating, take time to connect with your body. Entertain the thought that it’s an outward expression of who you are. Not a seperate entity.


East Gippsland Lakes & Fishing

Tambo Gourmet Foods rel-ish and jams are handmade in small batches using fruit and vegetables sourced locally from growers using organic principles where possible.

Our range of pre mixed gour-met spices allows the customer to conveniently add taste and vari-ety to their cooking. Our range is growing weekly.

We have a selection of over 20 flavours of traditionally made Gluten Free fudge. The smooth, creamy, non grainy texture will really excite your taste buds.

Dukkah is the latest addition. We have 6 different varieties to choose from and the biggest prob-lem our customers have is “which one will I buy, they are all so good.”

Look for our stall at local mar-kets in East Gippsland and south-ern NSW or visit us online at www.tambogourmetfoods.com.

Fishing the Lakes, Oceanand Rivers in Gippsland

Some folk just love to fish, it may be the escape from daily routine or to take on the chal-lenge of person versus nature. Fishing is a great family hobby, and it can be as cheap or as ex-pensive as you want. You do not have to be an expert to catch dinner.

Lakes Entrance is historically a popular fishing destination be-cause it offers a diverse range of fishing experiences with ample ac-commodation for all budgets .The whole family can fish from jet-ties, go prawning on summer and autumn nights, collect mussels from rocks, fish from river banks, lakeside & surf, or venture out in a boat.

The Gippsland Lakes & Rivers cover 400 square kilometres - it is the largest protected inland water-way in the southern hemisphere.

The Gippsland Lakes is pro-tected from the ocean by sand dunes and runs parallel to the 90 Mile Beach. Seven major rivers run into the lakes. The region is a mecca for water sports.

Fishing this year has been a

prosperous King George Whiting season, with good flathead being caught at Lake Tyers. The warm ocean currents have drifted further along the coast, allowing King fish and Marlin to be caught off shore.

Described as Victoria’s Riviera, the weather is warmer in winter and cooler in summer.

Keeping all the family satis-fied when you take off fishing is easy when you stay locally. Lazy Acre Log Cabins, Kickback Cot-tages and the Central Hotel are all

located centrally, not too far from boat ramps and an easy walk for non fishers in the family to visit shops, cafes, beach & clubs.

Helen MacCubbin, from Lazy Acre is an avid fisher, and has all

the local fishing hot-spots up her sleeve. She & Nikki Bryant won the Females Pairs Prize in the re-cent 2012 Lakes Entrance Fishing Classic.

Lakes Entrance well suits all the family - whether fishing, shop-ping or relaxing.

What SUP at Paynesville

With the opening of the new Cactus Black store in Paynes-ville, Jamie Malady has intro-duced the new water sport craze, Stand up Paddle Boards.

The waterways around Paynes-ville are perfect for stand up pad-dle boards.

To ensure you get the most out of the sport, Jamie has introduced paddle board lessons.

“It’s important that you learn the correct techniques from the start,” says Jamie.

“Our instructors will have you

paddling effectively in a short space of time and ensure you will be able to paddle on your own.”

There are group lessons and in-dividual lessons.

Group lessons usually begin at 9:00am and 10:30am, continuing throughout the day, weather per-mitting. Cost is $60 per person, or $50 if you bring a friend.

If you’re not standing up on your own after your lesson, it’s free.

Call 5152 2857 or 0419 504 707 for bookings.

Accommodation andmeal deals to tempt you

Lakes Entrance, as it’s name implies, is the gateway to the Gipps-land Lakes waterways. A national treasure renowned for it’s prolific bird and marine life.

Locals and visitors alike use the Lakes as a playground for a range of water activities, including sail-ing, kayaking, cruising, jet skiing and fishing of course.

This month, many Lakes En-trance accommodation and tour-ism operators are offering you tempting deals to come and enjoy the Lakes.

The Central Hotel, on the Es-planade in Lakes Entrance, has a two night accommodation and meal package on offer.

For just $249, you can stay for two nights on the waterfront, sam-ple local seafood and produce with a dinner for two in their Bistro, and enjoy a continental breakfast.

Their chef, Heath, has joined the Central Hotel after cooking in Canada, Japan and New Zealand.

If you’re looking at a longer stay, Lazy Acre Log Cabins are offering a special pay for 4 nights and stay for 5 deal.

Lazy Acre Log Cabins are situated in the heart of Lakes En-trance, walking distance to shops, beaches and clubs. Plenty of room for boat parking with your own self contained log cabin.

Helen MacCubbin, from Lazy Acre, will give you the latest fish-ing news, best fishing spots and fill you in on the recommended baits or plastics.

Helen knows fishing, just ask the locals.

Kickback Cottages, just across the road, is another cosy, fully self contained cabin style accommoda-tion, suited perfectly for families or couples wanting to get away from it all, and relax.

Alison, at Kickback, has 1, 2 and 3 bedroom cottages in a tree-lined setting, and a huge entertain-ment area for those group gather-ings.

Kickback are offering rates starting at $100 per night.

Chris & KateFudge, Coffee, Relish,

Spices and DukkahGluten Free Products

Tambo Gourmet Foods

P O Box 21 Swan Reach 3909Ph: (03) 5156 4274

Email: [email protected]

Organicrelish & jamsyummy ...

Darren Chester MP presenting Helen MacCubbin andNikki Bryant with their Fishing Classic prizes.


Lakes Entrance Package


Creative Gippsland - be inspired


Creative Gippsland - be inspired


Visit Rosedale

Rosedale AntiquesBooks & Collectables

Antiques, Old Wares, Records, English China, Linen, Furniture, Pottery, Crystal, Depression Glass, Mantle Clocks and a Good Selection of Antique Reference and Local History Books

Thursday, Friday 10:30 am - 3.30pm Saturday: 10:30am - 4pm

Public Holidays: 10:30am - 4pm34B Princess Highway, Rosedale Phone: 0488 244 751

Aus Caravan Repairs

Stop those Water Leaks

Mention this ad for a Free Roof Inspection!

“Authorised Insurance Repairer”Brakes & Servicing

82 PRINCE STREET ROSEDALEPhone Rod: 5199 2798 FAX: 5199 2886 MOB: 0457 604 930

Nestled between Traralgon and Sale is the bustling township of Rosedale, originally known as Blind Man’s Hut.

Filled with country charm, this small and inviting town has come together to form a new “Rosedale

and District Tourism Associa-tions” pulling local business own-ers and individuals interested in tourism together to show case what Rosedale has to offer and provide future events.

With a growing population,

Rosedale is the central point be-fore heading off to the Gippsland Lakes, Holey Plain State National Park, Alpine National Park or the ninety mile beach.

On the east entry of Rosedale you will be first meet with the Aboriginal Canoe Tree. The ca-noe Tree is historically listed. The indigenous people over 170 years ago used the bark for their canoes. The tree displays the original curv-ing of the canoe.

Rosedale also is a RV Friend-ly location with a national well known camping area Willow Park . Willow park is located less than 1km out of town and has an easy walking track directly into town. There is a dump point and a po-table water available in the town with easy access.

Highlights of the town include the huge variety of antique and collectables shops, Tearooms, Bakery, craft shop, local preserves ,butcher, patchwork shop, nurser-ies and two hotels.

Rosedale prides itself on these shops and the fact that some have won awards for their local pro-duce or homemade work.

The town is also home to a large wood carving display. Locat-ed in the famous Rosedale Bakery is a array of unique wood carvings with more wood carvings located in various spots around the town. The main large sculpture of a hand crafted eagle was carved by a lo-cal man and can be found a short scroll from the CBD

Rosedale has all the facilities required for a thriving community including reasonably price hous-ing, an excellent Primary school, doctors, senior citizen, neighbour-hood house, early learning centre , and preschool. There is also a number of sporting facilities such as bowling club, football club, basketball ball club and transport facilities.

Prince St Reserve located on the Princes Highway offers free BBQ, playground and skate park . The Reserve also holds a monthly market on the 2nd Sunday of every month.

Rosedale is the only town in Gippsland to have a Melbourne Cup winner. Patrobus’ owner was

to become the first woman owner to take the prize cup in 1915. A full size statue of Patrobus and rid-er is located in Prince St Reserve and is a must see for all visitors.

A Historic walk starts at the Prince Street reserve, site of the Rosedale State School from 1870-1989. Then past the Mechanics Institute, Bank of Australasia, Masonic Lodge, original post of-fice, the Rosedale Hotel, The Tav-ern Rosedale/Royal Hotel, Old Bridge, Willow park reserve, Tan-ning Pitts and Stock Route.

Local winery close by will tempt your palate, so why not sample what is on offer. Just a short drive out of Rosedale is Tom Caps Winery located off the Hyland Highway, Willung South. Toms Cap Winery not only offers a huge range of wines, but also fine dining and luxury self con-tained accommodation located on the vineyard.

Rosedale has an international speedway which features great lo-cal and international racing.

Rosedale MotorsSpecialists in Quality Motor Vehicles

Lot 13 Princess Highway, RosedalePhone Colin: 5199 2016 Mobile: 0409 167 105

(PO Box 81 Rosedale LMCT 7653)

Rosedale Pharmacy9 Prince St, Rosedale. Ph: 5199 2230

Tuscan TanNOW AVAILABLE

Gifts for alloccasions

SupermarketServing the community with a wide range of groceries,

fresh meat, fruit and vegetables.Our deli has a large range of cold meats, salads, gourmet

cheeses and more.

And the liquor at everyday low prices!

OPEN 7 DAYS 7:30 - 7:30 Ph 5199 2211

“Nobody does itbetter”

L.J Hooker services all your Real Estate Needs.Call us and see how we can help you!

Rosedale 5199 2766

Rosedale township - gateway toEast Gippsland & beyond

RosedaleMarkets

2nd Sunday of Month

Variety Charity Market

Prince St Reserve

Upcoming market:

Rosedale Community

is organising a new

Harvest Market.

To be held on the

1st Saturday of

each month.

Watch this space!


Visit Rosedale

Victoria RoseBakery And Tearoom

Come and enjoy our Delicious Food and Friendly Services

Ph: 5199 208242 Prince Street, Rosedale

Lily LaneExtensive range of

Patchwork, Fabrics & Patterns and Quilts on Display

“Quilt show in a shop”

26 Prince Street RosedalePhone 5199 2777

Open 6 Days 10 - 4pm

www.lilylane.com.au

New Location!

Larry’sRosedale Auto Care

Servo

We’ll take care of you!Caltex Star Card Available

*Fuel *Bait *Fishing Supplies *Convenience Store *Tyres *Just About Everything!

73 Prince St, Rosedale, Ph 5199 2471

Rusty’s

Collectables Shop54-60 Prince Street, Rosedale

Ph 5199 2251

Stocking Coins, Stamps, Militaria and Sculpture.Large range of Giftware, Jewellery, Toys and China.

Drop in or shop from home on www.rustys.net.au

The Tavern @ RosedaleTake a Break at...

From Dandy to the Snowfields to the Gippsland LakesWe are one of the Last Major Hotels on the Highway

Phone 5199 2460 Pizza 5199 2294Fax (03) 5199 2254

Eat In or TakeawayBoth Pizza’s and Counter Meals

BizOnline is proud to be involved with helping rural towns such as Rosedale with marketing, advertising and creating their online identity, as well as then promoting its presence.

Rosedale has taken to a web presence like duck to water. Their newly launched website, www.visitrosedale.com.au is a perfect example of what small towns can and should do.

The website promotes many lo-cal businesses, advertises the fact that they’re an RV friendly town, and promotes the many unseen as-pects of Rosedale.

The skatepark is mentioned, along with the large variety of an-tique and collectible outlets.

The About Us page gives a thorough and interesting read to potential visitors about the begin-nings of Rosedale and the current state of the township today.

BizOnline says this is an ideal way to promote your town as a tourist destination, or as a possible destination for living and working.

A co-operative website is a great place for all the businesses in the town to advertise for a small fee. Most small towns have a lot of hidden businesses which do not have a shop front. Also, new visi-tors to town can easily find what they are looking for in one place.

Interested in creating a website for your town, then contact the experts at BizOnline for more de-tails – 041 209 3285.

Online presence boostsbusiness and tourism

Why should rural towns get a website?

Next meeting April 6, April 21Hot Rods, Sprintcars, Mini Sprints


Visit Rosedale


Rotary Club of Maffra Mardi Gras

In 1957 a Back to Maffra was held which was very successful. During this event six local busi-ness men got together and de-cided to start and raise money for the Maffra District Hospital.

These men were Arthur Watts, Ken Davies, Lex Leslie, Athol Ralph, Harry Van der Mewe and Max Jennings. It was first held on the long weekend in March and became known as the Rotary Club of Maffra Mardi Gras.

The fund raising started off with a couple of entrants who were nominated. They raised money for the hospital with penny votes. The entrant getting the most votes and money was the winner with all proceeds going to the hospital.

The committee often had to im-provise having to borrow tarpau-lins from the factory one year to shelter them from the rain.

They also had train rides in Johnson street for the children.

The format has changed a little since 1958. The entrants still raise money over a 6 week period.

The entrants represent com-munity groups from throughout the Wellington Shire. The money raised goes towards special pro-jects that the community groups are working on.

The Mayor of the Wellington Shire hosts a Civic Reception at Duart where the President of the Rotary club of Maffra Mardi Gras committee introduces the entrants. Each entrant makes a speech spec-ifying which Club they represent and what their special project is. The Mayor then announces that

the fund raising may begin. Typi-cally on the Friday evening of the launch there are lots of raffle tick-ets being sold.

The next 6 weeks brings about a flurry of social functions within the Wellington Shire. This entails a lot of hard work for the entrants and their committees, but is also a lot of fun for all concerned. The culmination of all this is a street festival on Saturday afternoon and evening, March 17, 2012.

This year the inaugural Maffra Idol competition will be held dur-ing the afternoon with the Winner announced during the evening.

The winner will also be in the parade. During the afternoon there will be carnival rides, mar-ket stalls, food stalls and street entertainment where families can gather in the beautiful tree lined main street of Maffra.

The street parade commences at 7pm with our Patron Arthur Watts leading.

The writer of this article, Liz Shepard has since passed away.

Recently the Rotary Club of Maffra held a “This is Your Life” to honour their oldest serving member Arthur Watts.

Arthur was asked to join Ro-tary by Herman Rautman and was inducted into Rotary in 1953. Ar-thur was an electrician.

Arthur went on to be Chairman of various Rotary committees be-fore becoming Rotary Club Presi-dent in 1958.

A highlight of Arthur’s involve-

ment with Rotary was having a Paul Harris Fellow bestowed on him in 1984. More recently he has been awarded a Sapphire Pin.

Initially, Arthur was subject to a mock interview, to see if he was a worthy candidate for Rotary.

Rotarian, Ross Neilson then an-nounced that this was a “This is Your Life” Arthur Watts. Arthur thanked Dulcie, his wife of nearly 68 years, before becoming totally speechless.

Maffra’s own Motoring Museumdisplays British classics

The Maffra Shed is one of those places, that un-lcess you stop and check it out, remains a bit of a mystery. It’s not what you expect.

“The Maffra Shed” Is becoming a regular must do visit for Gippsland residents as well as tourists, with its changing displays each four month’s and an increasing number of Car Clubs and Vintage Rallies now coming to Gippsland to visit this attraction. It is really worthwhile watching out for their special events. These are a treat for all, not just car enthu-siasts.

Their current “British” display will run March through to June and this display is a ripper with a va-riety of Vintage through Classic British marques on display .

Early in July the display will change over to a Holden display with some really exciting cars prom-ised. With such an iconic range of vehicles produced by Holden this will also be a must see, and after the earlier Fabulous Fords display we have high expec-tations.

Gippsland Vehicle Collection who run the Shed are growing quickly with over 400 members and at-tracting over 10,000 visitors last year. The commit-tee are now considering the purchase of the building they have been leasing from dairy Co-Operative, Murray Goulburn. This small not for profit group have now won Wellington Regional Tourism awards 3 years in a row, they are a real success story right here in Gippsland, so drop in and have a look.

Arthur - this is your life ...

MaffraMardiGras2012Last years entrants, from left, Jason Langshaw, Jacelyn

Shields, Tricia Newgreen and the winner, Lynley Bertacchini.

136 Johnson Street Maffra, 3860

Phone: 5141 1489 Mobile: 0408 595 004Email: [email protected]

Leader in dairy and beef genetic improvement, serving the needs of its clients by providing the highest quality

Australian proven genetics.


Home & Garden

Solar technology just got smarterMicro-inverter solves shading issues

Traditional inverters typically shut off or reduce output considerably when partly shaded or in low light conditions. The new Micro-

inverters are individually connected to each Panel, storing up the small trickle of power coming in during low light conditions, then

letting it go in bursts, maintaining a highly efficient operation.

Traditional inverter systems typically shut off during low-light conditions, such as the morning and evening or during thick cloud cover. This is due to the fact that they require a mini-mum amount of incoming power to operate efficiently. Micro in-verters fix this issue.

A micro inverter system goes into generation mode during low-light conditions. During these times, the micro inverter stores up the small trickle of power com-ing from the panel, until there’s enough to send a burst of energy. By doing this, the microinverter is able to maintain highly efficient operation, even during low-light conditions.

The micro inverter solar system package was created to allow cus-tomers access to quality products that provides a higher electric-ity generation yield, returning in-creased benefits for customers.

Solar systems are constantly af-fected by environmental factors, such as shade, dust and debris.

Using a traditional inverter means that everything is wired in series and the lowest performing module determines the perfor-mance of the entire series. This is commonly known as “The Christ-mas Light Effect,” and can signifi-cantly decrease the energy produc-

tion of the system.Micro inverters allow each so-

lar panel to operate independently and control the power from each with 99.6% accuracy. This results in a significant increase in the per-formance of the entire system.

The micro inverter is highly re-liable, has a 25 year life expectan-cy which matches the solar panels. The inverter designs to operate in real world conditions from -40OC to +85OC and achieve a peak ef-ficiency of 94.1% for high reliabil-ity over the temperature range.

The Micro Inverter Solar Sys-tem Package from Metro Solar includes: Monocrystalline Pan-els, Inverter Monitoring System, Mounting Accessories, Electrical Accessories and Servicing.

The micro inverter is installed at the back of the every solar panel and offers a unique and excellent value proposition compared to conventional string or central in-verters.

• Significantly increased en-ergy harvest

• Lower lifetime cost of so-

lar photovoltaic systems• Increased inverter reli-

ability to match the life of solar modules

• Comprehensive web based monitoring

• Communications systems that analyzes and reports the performance of each solar module with the PV array to enable system performance optimization

• Simplification of PV array design

• Ease of installation.

Wind Powerrequiresplanning

Noise seems to be the major issue when planning Wind Pow-er Generator Farms.

The Victorian Government has introduced new guidelines and regulations to restrict locations used for wind farms.

The changes appear to make it more difficult for Victoria to even-tually ween itself off fossil fuel power generation, in preference for renewable energy sources.

Victoria has seen an ongoing debate over the development of wind farms, despite the impor-tance of meeting our global reduc-tion in green house emissions.

A Senate Committee, setup to investigate sound and shadow flicker, concluded there was no scientific evidence to suggest the wind farms caused adverse effects.

However, they did adopt New Zealand’s noise limit of 40 deci-bels for dwellings in close prox-imity.

Extensive new no-go zones have also been created. Original-ly they consisted of all National, State and Coastal Parks (43% of our coastline). New excluded zones include the Yarra Valley, Dandenong Ranges, Mt Macedon and Mc Harg Ranges.


Home & Garden

Out with the foam andin with the inner spring

Gone are the days of driving for hours, only to bed down on a tired, worn, foam mattress in the caravan.

The team at Signature Bedding have revolutionised the way we sleep when we’re travelling on the road.

For a minimal price, you can now replace the tired old foam mattresses in your camper van, caravan or camp trailer, with a comfortable, slim inner spring mattress.

The Bonnel spring system they use, offers great support and it’s even possible to have custom shaped ends. Straight cut corners, round cut corners, pillow tops and bolsters.

They use needled felt pads and

layers of “Joyce” comfort foams with quality quilting and the choice of cream damask, or Aztec print cottons.

Camper Trailers sometimes re-quire a lower profile spring unit, which comes complete with foam layers and quality quilting.

Another addition to their prod-uct range are the semi trailer sleep-er cabin mattresses.

They’re specially engineered for long haul drivers, using zoned pocket springs for pressure relief, topped off with comfortable foam layers.

Of course, they’re all washable with zip-off quilted covers made from high quality commercial grade fire retardant fabric.

Specially designed to squeeze

through small openings, making it a breeze to fit them into your sleeper cabin.

Pocket Spring mattresses are another new range. With individ-ually wrapped coils, they contour to your body shape, making them perfect for distinct weight differ-ences.

Forget that bouncing feeling when sleeping with your partner, as these springs move only when the springs are contacted.

Signature Bedding’s range of RV Master custom made mat-tresses can be viewed at their showroom. Fitting one for your campervan is easy, just turn up at their Sale store, and Mandy and the team will measure, quote and manufacture your mattress.

What a pretty little weedyou are, Oxalis

Almost every garden in Vic-toria would be home to our friend commonly referred to as Soursob.

How do you deal with it? One option is to leave it, and enjoy it’s masses of small white or pink flowers.

However, it does tend to smother any smaller plants close by.

My experience has been the only way to eradicate it is to pull the tops and bulbs out. Meticu-lously, one by one, it’s the only way. Poison should never be an option living near waterways.

Bananas down south?Our bananas have just

thrown their first bunch, after a three year wait.

I’m told it takes three years before they will fruit.

After shooting plenty of suck-ers, and making a fine clump of banana palm leaves, it’s wonder-ful to finally see some fruit devel-oping. They may not ripen, but that’s okay.

I’ve found heaps of compost, manure and plenty of water is all that’s required to get a good clump thriving. A north facing wall helps too.


Travelling in Gippsland

The little things you can miss

There is more to the Gippsland Rail Trail than an easy pathway, big trees and wonderful rivers. Take the time to look at the ground, move quietly and keep a sharp look out and some amazing little critters can catch ones attention. This small lizard was spotted taking in the morning sun near a vegetation clean up site. It was about 12 cms long and quite unfazed by a close up camera.

50 Years on at Lardner ParkGippsland’s premier agricultural event Farm

World will celebrate its 50th birthday next month, attracting more than 50,000 to Lardner Park in Warragul.

Held March 22-25, this year’s event has been themed “50 Years of Farm World” and will show-case its progression from humble beginnings in 1963 through to its growth and success to become the largest regional agricultural event in Victoria.

Arguably Gippsland’s most anticipated annual event among the agricultural sector, the 50th Farm World field day won’t disappoint, with more than 650 exhibitors from all around Australia scheduled to take part – promoting and displaying their prod-ucts, services and information for everything from All Swiss tractors to Zenten website design.

As usual there will be plenty of toys for the boys.In the Lardner Park Exhibition Centre, the theme

for the event will be “A Focus for Information and Technology in Agriculture 2012”, with exhibitors focussing on new technologies, extension and ag-ronomic services, hardware, software and telecom-munication suppliers.

There will also be plenty of fun activities to keep

the kids amused, along with the opportunity to sam-ple some of the best food and refreshments Gipps-land has to offer.

The 50th Farm World field days will begin Thurs-day, 22 March at 8.30am and will close Sunday, 25th March at 4pm at Lardner Park Warragul.

A V/Line bus service will run between the Drouin train station and Lardner Park on all four days.

Camping in a Trailer?

Stop over at any caravan park these days and you’ll see more than just motor homes and caravans.

A new way of camping has tak-en hold throughout Australia, and it’s all based around a trailer.

Now, it’s possible to go cara-vaning without carting a full sized caravan along.

The camper trailer consists of a full sized tent setup, a portable kitchen, storage for fuel and water, as well as a full electrical system for plugging in those kettles or heaters on chilly nights.

All the comforts of a caravan,

without the size, fuel consump-tion and a 4WD to tow.

Setting up is supposed to be relatively pain free, however, af-ter reading many reviews, most campers prefer to only setup when staying put for more than a few days. Otherwise it’s sleep in the car for overnight stops.

They sound like a great idea for budget conscious campers. If you’re considering one, drop in and see Paul at Gippsland Cara-van Centre.

They stock only Australian Trailers, manufactured and ser-viced in Australia.

New Sales Used Vans Hire Vans Camper Trailers

Paul AbbottPrincess Highway, Stratford.

Phone: 5145 7188Mobile: 0409 512 825

Email: [email protected]

Supreme Executive 206020th anniversary edition,

leather interior, full ensuite with washing machine, CD/

DVD/MP3/Digital TV, double bed, outside table, BBQ +

many more extras

Coromal Capri 535 20042 x 80 Watt BP solar, multi

crystalline panels, front kitchen, ‘L’ shaped dining area, 2 seater lounge, reverse cycle air conditioner (roof model)

2006 Supreme Territory Off Road Pop Top

Island bed, battery pac, simplicity suspension, twin gas bottles/twin water tanks,

awning, great lay out

1998 Pedigree EliteIn immaculate condition,

island bed, nice/roomy layout, full annex, pop top, nice/light

$63,000

$30,990

$36,990

$18,500

Brand New!

andy - SpineStacKle

Andy, from Spinestackle, ex-plains the intricate details and benefits of using a new hook with which to fish with.

The “Spine” and “W” hook combination came about due to the frustration of short strikes and wasted bait caused by the fact that the actual hook on a traditional “Jig-Head” protrudes through the shoulders of the bait within the first one third of its length.

This leaves the remaining two thirds of the bait prone to being bitten off or mutilated by the tar-get fish, resulting in lost tails and the frustration of missed fish. I fish for fun and relaxation, not frustration.

The “Spine” was developed in Northern NSW by Andy and Sue. It consists of a coated high carbon steel wire and has a lead weight cast onto it which sits in-ternally in the bait and prevents the bait being pulled off.

There are five different lengths in the “Spine” which suits a large variety of baits.

The “Spine” uses a super sharp “W” hook, which I learnt about from an article written by the Gun Fisherman and Fishing Journalist, Brett Geddes, whom is a Gipps-land local. Brett has carried out

extensive testing of the “Spines” and has written several favourable articles about them.

For more information on, and how to purchase, please visit www.spinestackle.com.au

Fishing in Gippsland

Thinking about it ... takes the frustration out of fishing for fun


Markets & What’s OnLATROBEREH Cork Club Craft Market2nd Saturday of the month(Sept to May)Kay Street Gardens, TraralgonContact 0487 342 675

Latrobe Country MarketEvery Sunday 8:30am - 1:30 pmLatrobe Road, MorwellContact 0407 532 957

Traralgon Farmers Market4th Sat of the month 8am-1pmKay Street GardensContact 5174 2279

Old Gippstown Market - Moe3rd Sat of the month 9am-2pmOld Gippstown Heritage ParkContact 5127 3082

BAW BAWDrouin Craft & ProduceCivic Park, Drouin3rd Sat of month 8am-12:30pmContact 0428 252 440

Rokeby Community MarketMain Road, Rokeby2nd Sat of month 8am-1pmSeptember to MayContact 56 26 8523

Longwarry Fire Brigade MarketBennett St, Longwarry1st Sunday of Month 8am-1pmMarch to DecemberContact 0419 158 946

Yarragon Community Craft & Produce Market4th Sat of the month 9am-2pmYarragon Public HallCampbell St, YarragonContact 5634 2209

EAST GIPPSLANDFarmers MarketSecondary College Oval,McKean St, Bairnsdale1st Sat of month 8am-12pmContact 5156 9342

Surf Club MarketForeshore Rotunda,near the FootbridgeLakes Entrance1st Sun of month 9am-3pmContact 5153 1916

Metung Farmers MarketVillage Green, Metung2nd Sat of month 8:30am-1pmContact 0458 431 844

Paynesville Lions Club MarketGilsenan Reserve, P’ville2nd Sun of month 8am-1pmContact 0400 327 526

Bairnsdale Uniting Church Car & Boot MarketGreat Alpine Road, Lucknow3rd Sat of month 8:30-11:00am

Bruthen Village MarketBruthen Mechanics HallMain Street, Bruthen4th Sat of month 9am-1pmContact 0428 501 634 or03 5156 4148

Lucknow MarketHowitt Park, Lucknow4th Sun of month 8:30-1pmContact 5152 4662

WELLINGTONHeyfield MarketJohn Greaves Memorial Park,Temple St, Heyfield1st Sat of month from 8amContact 5148 0505

Wellington Farmers Market3rd Sat of month 8am-1pmCobb & Co. StablesRaymond Street, SaleContact 0408 057 772

Maffra Variety & Farmers Market1st Sun of month 9am-1pmContact 0408 057 772

Stratford Variety & Farmers MarketApex Park, Princes HighwayStratford4th Sun of month 9am-1pmContact 0408 057 772

Rosedale Community MarketPrince St Park, Rosedale2nd Sun of month 7am-1:30pmContact 5199 2818

Sale Charity MarketThompson River Canal ReserveSale, Gippsland3rd Sun of month 7am-1pmContact 5144 1258

Yarram Variety MarketGuide/Scout HallCnr Church Rd & Sth Gipp Hwy1st Sun of month 8am-1pm

Additional markets in Yarram:Port Albert Regatta - April 8Rutters Park. Yarram Tarra Festival - April 9 Monster MarketShowgrounds, Buckley StPort Albert Hall, Victoria St,5th Sun in monthContact 5183 2649

SOUTH GIPPSLANDProm Farmers MarketFoster Showgrounds, Foster3rd Sat of month 8am-12pmContact 5682 2654 or0427 809 509

Promontory Home Produce & Craft MarketSundays - April 8, 8am-2pmFoster Showgrounds, FosterContact 5682 2654

Prom Country Farmers MarketMain St, Foster3rd Sat of month 8am-12pmContact 680 8509

Tarwin Lower MarketTarwin Lower Memorial HallTarwin LowerContact 5663 7345 or5663 7505

Venus Bay Farmers MarketVenus Bay VillageJupiter Bvd, Venus BayEvery Sunday in JanuaryContact 5664 0096

Mirboo Nth MarketBaromi Park, Mirboo NthLast Sat of month, 9am-2pmContact 5668 2465

Sth Gippsland Farmers MarketKoonwarra Memorial ParkKoonwarra1st Sat of month 8:30am startContact 0408 619 182

Kongwak MarketKorumburra-Wonthaggi Rd,KongwakSundays 10-2:30pmContact 0417 142 478

Coal Creek Farmers MarketCoal Creek Community ParkKorumburra2nd Sat of month 8am-1pm

Toora MarketFormer Bonlac Store,Jetty Road, Toora2nd Sat of month 8:30am startContact 5686 2690

Loch Public Hall - Winter MarketLoch Public Hall,Smith Street, Loch2nd Sun of month 9am-1pmMay to September onlyContact 5659 4305

Loch Village MarketRailway Siding, Loch2nd Sun of month 8:30am startContact 5659 0212

Inverloch Farmers MarketThe Glade, Inverloch3rd Sunday of month 8am-1pmContact 5664 0096

Fabric Sculpture Workshops - Cobb & Co Stables, Sale

Come along and make your own beautiful outdoor fabric sculpture with Rhonda Hunt from “Faeries with Attitude”.

Rhonda is an Accredited Workshop Instructor with Pow-ertex, as well as the Victorian Distributor and Instructor Trainer.

Sculptures are made using Powertex, a water-based, non-toxic, fabric hardener, that has the AP ACMI award.

You are able to choose from a fisherman, faerie, cultural-ly based figures, or elegant lady. A wide selection of colours and fabric are available for the sculpture, as well as a choice

of bases, such as rocks, treated pine or natural timber.Workshop is on Sunday, 27th May, 9.30am – 4.00pmAll materials are supplied for the workshop, just bring

your creativity. You will need to wear old clothing or bring a protective

apron and it is best not to wear jewellery. Tea and coffee available. BYO lunch or purchase at near-

by venues.Cost for the workshop is $120. Book with Mark by tele-

phoning 0408 057 772 or email [email protected]. Places are limited, so please book early.

mailto:squirtmark%40bigpond.com?subject=Fabric%20Sculpture%20Workshop


Gippsland Market News

Berwick Clothing and Homemade MarketSunday April 22, August 19 & November 18, 9-2pm.

Berwick Leisure Centre, Manuka Rd, Berwick, Mel Ref 111 H7.

Lots of Clothing, Homewares, Art and Jewellery for all the family.

Enquires Sue 0401031043 [email protected]

Berwick Clothing AndHomemade Market

Micro Business Centre20 Micro Shops & an Indoor Market

The old Cobb & Co Stables in Raymond Street Sale, has found a new breath of life. A far cry from it’s days as stables and warehouse used by the Cobb & Co stagecoaches of old.

The concept of combining per-manent minishops in a heritage building with a weekly themed market, came from listening to the wishes of those visiting existing markets around Gippsland.

Mark Watson, advertising man-ager and partner of the Gipps-lander, has brought the idea to life from rather humble beginnings.

Mark has been co-ordinating the Sale Farmers market, among others, for the past few years, and saw the need for a multi-use shop-ping precinct in Sale.

His idea was to bring back to life, the old Cobb & Co. stable warehouse in Raymond Street, for the benefit of market goers and stallholders alike.

Micro Business Centres have been operating in other towns for some time, successfully. Cobb & Co. is going to house up to 20 small retail shops, which other-

wise would not be able to afford the rent and overheads of their own independant shop.

With this idea in mind, Mark has gathered a group of interested parties together, and will open the Cobb & Co. Stables Market in late March, 2012.

Twenty small shops will oper-ate within the actual centre. Each shop will have a 12 metre square space for setting up their own, in-dividual store.

“Twenty indoor shops

and an indoor market”

A roster system will then oper-ate, with one cash register to ser-vice all 20 shops. Shop owners will be rostered on at least 1 day per week for manning the register.

Shared marketing and advertis-ing campaigns will also benefit the smaller operators, previously un-able to afford the cost of advertis-ing on their own.

Not stopping there, Mark has also created an Indoor Market themed event, happening every

weekend within the centre. There should be at least 20 extra sites.

On the first Saturday of each month, there will be a Variety Mar-ket, running from 8am till 1pm.

The second Sunday of each month will see a Craft Market operating. The third Saturday, the Wellington Farmers Market will move from it’s old digs at the skate park, into the Cobb & Co. Stables Market.

And finally, on the fourth Sun-day of each month, there will be an Art and Wine market.

These indoor markets will be setup in the centre of the Cobb & Co. building, with the permanent micro-businesses operating from the old “stalls” down the side.

Outdoor stalls will also be available on those weekends.

Being a walk-through from the supermarket carpark through to Raymond Street, foot traffic is anticipated to be regular and high volume, benefiting both the per-manent businesses as well as the temporary market stall holders.

Casual market stalls cost $20 and measure 3m x 3m.

Documents

Gippslander - March 2012