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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 185 July, 2014.

www.chewton.net

It was a conversation in the Red Hill that started it. Had I seen the heritage stone wall along Forest Creek behind the fire station lately? Worth a look I was told.

The history of the wall is well documented in the former Metcalfe Shire Heritage Study. The re-alignment of Forest Creek away from the rear of the buildings lining the Pyrenees Highway retained the original buildings and the line of the road. The retaining wall indicates the need to restrict Forest Creek to a defined course in the face of a demand for gold and water which had earlier led to the removal of much of the creek bank. The extension and solid construction of the walls are a reminder of the 1889 flood when the creek swept past an earlier retaining wall, trapping two men in the Francis Ormond mine. This was Chewton’s worst mining disaster and, since little else now remains of the Francis Ormond mine, the wall is the only significant built reminder of the disaster.

J. W. Sparks worked for the Chewton Borough Council from 1863 to 1908 and was employed as a quali-fied engineer and surveyor from 1879. In 1880 he was directed to erect a retaining wall in order to divert Forest Creek. The reason for this is explained in Spark’s Auto-biography, “Forest Creek had long been a source of great trouble to the residents of Main Street especially at the back of those living on Main Street from Mount Street to the Francis Ormond, washing away large quantities of land at the rear; and strong influence was brought to bear in order to obtain a grant for the purpose of diverting the creek through the rock near Walkers residence.”

Heritage - ours to protect?

The stone wall built to separate Chewton from the Forest creek floodwaters, the section that is collapsing

and the earth cracking above the collapse.

Continued on page 2...

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are half a metre thick and bounded together by a hard mortar. The re-taining wall is in good condition.”

The retaining wall is built of coursed rubble local slate with roughly dressed large capping stones. The bridge abutments, in contrast, are of regularly sized and dressed stones.

The retaining wall is signifi-cant for its length, the use of local materials and the alteration to the

landscape caused by its construction. These changes in-cluded the new alignment of the creek and the retention of the original road through Chewton and the houses that abutted it.

But 1990 is almost 25 years ago and the wall is cer-tainly worth a look now. In parts it is showing the ravages of time – one section is showing signs of dramatic sagging with multiple cracks appearing. A close look at the top of this section shows deep cracks where the earth is follow-ing the wall downwards.

What will happen if this continues? Maybe stones from the wall washed into the creek and opening the rest of the wall to erosion from behind? Maybe the sands under the pines will fall or wash into Forest Creek with whatever mining contaminants they retain?

There are many organisations that have a vested in-terest in this area so hopefully help will be at hand, but unless a community makes those organisations aware of situations like this we all have a problem. It’s probably a shame that a landcare group isn’t still actively working in this area. Yes, the creek that they worked so hard to reha-bilitate is filling with gorse and blackberry again – and the historic wall is crumbling away.

The recent community planning survey brought for-ward many responses about the need for a landcare group and the need to address our weed problems. Responses on paper or on-line are great – but what if no-one steps for-ward? Clicktivism is no replacement for activism!

John Ellis.

St. John’s in July13th July, 9.15am Morning Prayer.27th July, 9.15am Morning Prayer.

At the Anglican Christ Church Cas-tlemaine on Sunday 6th July, 10.30am there’s a special children’s service celebrating NAIDOC week with mu-sic and special songs for children.

The Council was able to ob-tain a grant of £750 and Sparks prepared plans for a retaining wall, with a cutting through rock and earthworks, in order to divert For-est Creek to the other side of the Flat. The contract was let to M. McCarthy, a resident of Golden Point. He employed only local men and completed the wall satis-factorily for a cost of £780.

On the 1 January 1889, the Chewton area experienced a severe flood. There was a cloudburst on Mount Alexander and water rushed with such force down into the valley that it broke the banks of Commissioner Gully Reservoir and swept into the town-ship washing everything away in its course. An earthen embankment, preventing water from reaching the Francis Ormond mine shafts on Argus Flat, was washed away and the mine shaft was swamped, drowning two men. This became Chewton’s worst mining disaster.

Chewton was given £1400 by the Government to help repair the flood damage. Sparks was given the task of repairing the retaining walls and replacing all the bridges that had been swept away in the flood. The present North Street bridge base structure probably dates from this pe-riod.

In 1903 it was discovered that when the creek reached the end of the Walker Street retaining wall it was threaten-ing to breach the bank and flood the Francis Ormond mine again. It was proposed to extend the wall from the cut-ting at Walker Street in a straight line to the North Street bridge. The Public Works Department allocated £250 to the project and the new stretch of retaining wall was de-signed and completed by Sparks.

J. W. Sparks in his Autobiography, in 1910, described the retaining wall he designed in 1880 in these terms, “I prepared the plans for a retaining wall 6 chains long from the bridge to the rock, and for cutting through the rock for 45 feet in width and earthworks in cutting averaging 5 feet deep along the side of Argus Hill, diverting the creek to the other side of the Flat.”

David Bannear in his Assessment of Historic Min-ing Sites in the Castlemaine-Chewton Area, May 1990 de-scribed it as, “A stone retaining wall that runs from Mount Street, Chewton, west to just past the 1950s stone crushing plant, a distance of approximately 250m. The wall, at its western end, measures 1.9m above the current creek level, top stones varying in length from half to one metre. All

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Fellers felling trees...

The chainsaw training of SES personnel continues in Chewton. A large number of SES vehicles were again on the private land along Main Road tackling the al-ready felled pines. SES logos on the vehicles were accompanied by names like Glen Eira, Wyndham, Knox, Hastings, Brimbank and Footscray. Obviously the training here attracts participants from the metropolitan area.

During the weekend’s op-erations the scenes shifted to the area behind the swimming pool, to the west of the soccer ground. For more information on this, see Councillor’s Chat on page 3.

In 1974 the Castlemaine Soccer Club entered its first team in the newly founded Bendigo Soccer League. This year we are celebrating our 40th Anniversary with a weekend of events on August 9th and 10th and we are inviting everyone to help us celebrate.

Our club has an annual membership of 250 players from 5 to the 50s, all playing the World Game. In this World Cup year when Australia made their presence felt on the world stage, we believe our sport has made its mark on Chew-ton and the country as a whole. Let’s celebrate!

Thanks to 40th Anniversary

Sponsors

Mt Alexander Shire

Top Dog Pet Food

Chewton General Store

Maree Edwards MP

Coffee Basics

213 Hair Design

Stephen Breheny Solar & Electrical

GoldenHope Foundation

Lisa Chesters MP

CASTLEMAINE SOCCER CLUBCelebrating 40 years

CASTLEMAINE GOLDFIELDS F.C. 1974 - 2014

You’re InvitedWEEKEND ACTIVITIES

AUGUST 9th and 10th - Displays of memorabilia and photos in the clubroomSATURDAY 9th - Junior Celebration Day : Jumping Castles, BBQ , gamesSATURDAY 9th - 7pm ‘NewNorthern’ Barker St Castlemaine $25 per headCelebration Function & Reunion: Launch of Club History book, All Star teams.Bookings Mick 54743001, Robyn 0438724025, email cgfcpresident@gmail.comSUNDAY 10th - Senior games @ home: Women @ 11, Div 2 @ 1, Div 1 @ 3pm

N.B. Sunday July 13th(not the first Sunday this month)

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The Chewton Community Planning process is gaining mo-mentum, with a draft plan gradually emerging from the combined efforts of interested Chewtonites. It’s apparent that one of Chewton’s top priorities is the restoration of its Community Centre, in particular the old church which is currently closed for safety reasons. The floor and sup-porting timbers need replacing, the plaster on the inside surface of the walls is crumbling due to damp, and quite a few of the bricks in the walls are in an advanced state of decay. Repairing these problems is not going to be cheap. However, if the community plan includes having a re-stored Community Centre, then Council has to take notice. One of Council’s legacies of the gold mining era is the number of buildings in our district, including many public buildings, which are well over 100 years old. These days, Mount Alexander Shire Council faces the consequences of this heritage. Last year, in response to a Council deci-sion to install solar panels on the Castlemaine Town Hall roof, builders inspected the roof structure to ensure that it was capable of supporting the additional weight. They discovered that far from being ready to take the load of a large number of solar panels, the roof, supporting timbers and ceiling, as well as associated electrical installations need to be replaced, at an estimated cost of over $800,000. This was an unexpected addition to our budget consider-ations, meaning that other items have had to be postponed. Across the road, the library floor has been partially re-placed, after collapsing due to termite damage. Last year, emergency works had to be carried out on the Taradale Hall floor, to repair termite damage and unsatisfactory

under-floor drainage. This year, Metcalfe Hall floor has been scheduled to be replaced, having worn dangerously thin after repeated polishings and sandings, to remove the warped edges of boards. Guildford Hall also needs a new floor. Baringhup Hall is currently closed. Once again, those busy termites have been at work. Baringhup resi-dents are waiting to hear when their turn might come for a new floor.

It’s easy to wonder why our infrastructure depart-ment isn’t more ahead of the game. Why do these prob-lems surprise us? Surely our infrastructure department should know the state of our public buildings, and have a program of maintenance and repair in place? The an-swer is yes they should, and Council has been aware of this lack of knowledge for a long time. Since its forma-tion in 1996, Mt Alexander Shire Council has mainly di-rected its resources towards urgent repairs, maintenance works in response to management committee requests and allocated funds in the capital works budget each year for major works on a handful of buildings. This year, for the first time, the budget allocates funds for an asset manage-ment plan. This will begin a two to three-year process of inspecting and documenting the condition and current use of all 170+ public buildings in the shire. Once this work is done, we’ll have a much clearer picture of what we’ve inherited, what we have to do to maintain and/or restore them and what our priorities should be.

On a separate matter, people have probably noticed that trees are being felled in the plantation which lies be-tween Adelaide Street and the Soldiers’ Memorial Park. Council is the land manager for this piece of Crown land. The trees are non-indigenous species, including Tasma-nian Blue Gum, that were planted by a work gang in the 1930s. The Shire’s Fire Management Planning Committee which includes senior members of local and regional CFA, Victoria Police, DEPI and SES, has long been concerned about the potential fire threat that this plantation poses to Chewton. It is seen as a more significant danger than the pine plantation. The works are being carried out as part of a TAFE chainsaw training course, overseen by trainers from Holmesglen TAFE. Removal of the timber and tidy-ing up of the area, including disposal of the tops, will be managed by Council. I’ve discussed this with some lo-cals, including local Landcarers, but I’m aware that there hasn’t been widespread consultation, so if anyone wishes to ‘pick a bone’ with me about it, please do so. My next Listening Post in the Chewton Store will be on 13th July rather than the first Sunday of the month. I invite you to come and have a chat with me about any council-related issue that concerns you. Cr. Christine Henderson.

Councillor’s Chat

www.lifecyclegym.net

We offer 1 free trial spin class or workout on Monday & Wednesdays at 6.30pm

(You may need to book in for spin class, please arrive around 6.15pm)

For membership message Maree or Carl on 54705500 or email lcg@aapt.net.au

For Massage contact Libby Mayes 0439 653389

For Muay Thai contact Jim Moran Classes at the old Gaol, For Kids & Adults

0418 377930

Gym Operating hours Monday to Friday 6am - 8.30 pm & weekends 8.30 am to 4.00 pm.

732 Pyrenees Hwy, Chewton Lifecycle Gym is a pin code entry system for members & staffed part time.

Lifecycle Gym proudly supports

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Know Your NeighbourHave you met Vaughan Greenberg?

Vaughan Greenberg was born in Perth, WA, where he grew up. ‘The whole family and I moved to Melbourne when I was twenty. After some years of being ‘an enemy of the state’ involved in a lot of political activities, including anti-Vietnam war rallies, I decided to go to Sydney where I also had friends.’

In the mid-60s Vaughan and a couple of mates did a year long car trip round Australia. ‘We worked in the Mt. Isa mines, on the railways, taking various odd jobs here and there.’

In 1969 he headed overseas to explore the world. ‘I hitch-hiked and back-packed through Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, stayed in London for a while work-ing, basically seeing the world as so many young men and women did and still do.’

On his return he settled in Sydney for the next 15 years, working in the print industry. ‘I taught students ele-ments of graphic design and printing at Sydney University of Technology.’ During this time he married and divorced, eventually moving to Nimbin. Why Nimbin? ‘I had be-come interested in growing things, plants, permaculture and the environmental movement, as part of my political education, and decided to go and live on a commune up in Nimbin. I was there for 12 years and that was a won-derful experience. I helped establish a permaculture com-munity on the outskirts of Nimbin. I jokingly tell people I was once a drug-soaked hippy, but I never actually was. I never inhaled,’ he adds with a grin.

I met some wonderful people there, who are still friends. It was during that time that I re-met the love of my life, who had been my girlfriend in the early 60s, but she left me to roam the wilderness for 40 years whilst she ran off and married and had kids. It was only much later on that she realised her dreadful mistake and came back begging. I played hard to get for about two minutes and we’ve been together ever since.’

What brought them both to Chewton? ‘We both have large extended families in Melbourne, and that plus the heat and humidity in northern NSW which was getting to us, we decided to come back to Melbourne. Realising that we couldn’t afford Melbourne anymore, and not re-ally wanting to live in the city, we looked all over the state for somewhere that would have us, somewhere we could

afford that was nice, and we hit upon Cas-tlemaine as being a place which seemed similar to Nimbin without the overt drug scene, and where there are lots of interesting, cre-ative people. And so we then discovered little Chewton, and thought YES, this is IT, this could be home. And now nine years later, so it has proved to be. A lot of our friends have now moved here and we love it to death.’

What is it about Chewton that Vaughan loves so much? ‘It’s the warmth of the community. People stop and say hello in the street. There’s always someone to talk to. We’ve got lovely neighbours who look out for us as we do for them. It’s easy to get around.’ He com-ments, tongue in cheek, ‘although all those city newcom-ers should be banned now as it’s harder these days to get a car park in Castlemaine.’

He adds that ‘like any community there’s some who’d like a boom gate and visas at the entry to Chewton unless you’ve been here since the ‘50s, but there are very few malcontents who complain about newcomers moving into Chewton. By and large the acceptance of us newcomers is wonderful. We couldn’t want for a better community.’

Gloria Meltzer.

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27 July is National Tree DayPlanet Ark is calling for people to connect with nature by

getting involved in National Tree Day, Australia’s largest tree-planting and nature care event.

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VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT FUNDS THE GAP

The Victorian Government is guaranteeing that eligible low income households will keep receiving existing concessions for energy, water and council rates.

The Victorian Government will put in the money the Federal Government has withdrawn to ensure all Victorian concession card holders continue to receive the same discounts as they do now.

By fi lling the gap created by the Federal Government, the Victorian Government is helping those who are most vulnerable to manage cost of living pressures.

GAS WATER ELECTRICITY RATES

For more information about concessions visit www.dhs.vic.gov.au/concessions or call the Victorian Government Concession Information Line on toll free 1800 658 521.

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CFA Update – July 2014Chewton Fire Station has been a busy place over the past month with the number of turnouts and training ses-sions increasing significantly. Members from the brigade at-tended a wide range of events from gas leaks to structure fires.

On the 14th of June the brigade turned out to a truck fire along the Midland High-way in the Campbells Creek area with brigades from Cas-tlemaine and Campbells Creek also attending.

Our volunteers were also called to an incident closer to home with a call out to a prop-erty opposite the Chewton Post Office. Thankfully there was no fire to be found with the cause of the call out been a faulty fire alarm that was go-

ing off in a shed.Chewton CFA was also called out to house fires in

Hunter and Farran Streets in Castlemaine, one in which involved a car on fire in a garage that was threatening the house. Members also turned out to a gas leak in Barker Street and a car accident in Castlemaine but were stopped as our response was no longer required.

Training has also been in full swing over June with the number of our members attending being very good. On the 29th of May Chewton hosted the inter-brigade training session which involves brigades from Chewton, Castle-maine, Campbells Creek and Harcourt. On this occasion a crew of fire fighters from Bendigo also came down to as-sist the session. The training was held at the Forest Creek Diggings in Wesley Hill and those involved undertook training under the assumption that they had been called out to a chemical spill and fire in the old mining area. It was a hugely successful evening with the number of participants been one of the highest ever.

Chewton CFA also completed Motor Vehicle Acci-dent (MVA) training in conjunction with the Castlemaine SES as well as training for chimney fires with the Castle-maine CFA. This wide range of training environments has been designed to increase our volunteer’s skills in a wide variety of areas.

Chewton CFA is also very happy to welcome three new members to the brigade who have recently been ap-proved as members.

Paige Mounsey, Chewton CFA Communications Officer.

The June MoBQ has been run and won. A night that wasn’t as cold as some feared, in fact the people who stayed to the end said it didn’t really get cold until nearly 10! Nonethe-less, the brazier had a lot of friends during the evening.

There were lots of highlights at this BBQ. Fifteen at a winter community barbecue for starters! The hats worn displayed great variation and the gigantic mudcake shared for Susan’s birthday could have fed half of Chewton. It came complete with sparklers and poppers so was a visual and auditory feast as well as the usual gourmet one.

The hat prizes were taken off (the prizes, not the hats) by Wazza with his sophisticated bowler and Dash in her flamboyant red beret. The judge himself was resplendent in a French kepi, and handed out the key-ring prizes amid much guffawing. Inscriptions on the key-rings will have to remain with those at the MoBQ because the Chewton Chat aims to be a family friendly publication.

And it’s here again – first Saturday of the month - July 5th – and the MOBQ this month is a wig party! You don’t have to wear a wig but if you do the prizes are getting better and better. So come along and bring your friends and enjoy the com-pany of the locals at Chewton. Don’t forget BYO the lot – and if it’s cold (and it will be) we have the brazier to keep you warm – see you there!

The inevitable MoBQ

Next POHAG meetingSunday, 13th of July , Sam’s shed at 10:00am.

All welcome.

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The Business(es) of ChewtonLissanne Oliver, Declutterer

Hello! I’m Lissanne. I work as a Professional Organiser. This entails hands-on organ-ising for any space – retail, offices, homes, sheds – you name it! I’ve been doing this my whole life but for-mally as a business for the past 12 years, helping oth-ers get organised at home or work. My business is called

SORTED! organising & decluttering. We service Mel-bourne, Sydney and Adelaide.

Organising for clients is diverse and while it’s very hands on (my favourite part) it encompasses problem solv-ing, maximising space, setting up systems and procedures to maintain organisation, decluttering, archiving, time management etc. Every day is different. It’s an intimate job and I really enjoy delivering the service and helping create positive change. I love people’s stories too, it’s a privilege to be trusted in someone’s personal space, par-ticularly when we come across sentimental items. My pri-mary role is to assist others make good decisions about the physical stuff in their lives. I don’t make anyone discard anything, but having said that I am the voice of reason and not emotionally attached to your stuff.

I’ve assisted people from all walks of life and of all ages and have around 35,000 hours of experience, so cli-ents are in good hands. Wrangling paperwork is one of my favourite tasks and given it’s tax time, I welcome dealing with any mess or chaos you might have. I’m completely non-judgemental, and trust me, I’ve seen it all.

People tend to contact us when they are overwhelmed or situationally disorganised, eg they have experienced an illness, house move, business growth etc. These are my favourite situations, folks who are generally somewhat or-ganised but things have gotten on top of them. Clearing the spare room or storage space is also a favourite project – most people use that space as a dumping ground! My skill set means I am really good at marrying function and form, so it’s very important to me that a space looks as good as it is functional. I love to share ideas about beautification of a space on a budget too.

Clearing space and creating order is such a feel good thing to do, it’s very liberating. Being in control of your paper, stuff and time really underpins everything you do. I’m no neat freak, but I do like to have a handle on the important things.

In May this year, I spoke at the National Association of Professional Organisers (Napo.net) in Phoenix, Arizo-na. Over 700 delegates attended from all over the world. I’m a qualified trainer and have trained almost 200 stu-dents. I adore teaching in an interactive way and helping them skill up. I’ve been fortunate to speak about organis-ing around the country including massive gigs in Sydney with thousands of people and even the outback, catching a station plane 2 hours from Mt Isa and then driving 90 minutes just to get there! I’m a lucky gal.

You may recognise me also from Better Homes and Gardens in 2005, I presented craft and decorating on 43 episodes. Spray painting doilies and sticking them on the wall. That kind of thing. Which was not my kind of thing! I was also the organiser on a TV show called Your Life on the Lawn in 2002 on Channel 7. We made 13 episodes and I’m still surprised when peeps remember it. I didn’t think too many people saw it until I was watching Comedy Inc one night on TV in 2003 and saw our show parodied!

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

Trenches Site Cuts Drainage Foundations Driveways RetainingWalls Septic Land Clearing Erosion Control Explosives

We also supply & deliver a variety of large rocks, crushed rock & gravels

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

PO Box 410, Maryborough 3465949 Newstead Road, Guildford

Before and after examples of decluttering

9http://sorted.net.au/

AAPO Founding MemberNAPO member

NAPO Golden Circle Member

It was hilarious to see someone play me! That was super funny. I’m also fronting a new campaign for Officeworks in July and August so if you don’t know my face yet, you may soon

Prior to starting SORTED! I worked in media pro-duction (film, video, publishing, advertising) in adminis-trative and producing roles. I also worked as a theatrical agent and a professional rock n roll dancer – in fact 25 years ago when I was a fully fledged rockabilly chick driv-ing an FC Holden, I came to Castlemaine from Adelaide for a hot rod party! I never thought I’d end up living in the area.

I was also lucky enough to have the opportunity to write a book that is now a bestseller! That’s a pretty cool thing I reckon (readers can order from my website and score free postage using the code chewy). It’s called SORTED! The ultimate guide to organising your life – once and for all and it’s sold over 100,000 copies. Plus, it’s been translated into four languages, I’m quite proud of that.

I’ve lived in different parts of the world including Hong Kong, London, Sydney but the beautiful Melbourne has been my home for 15 years now. I recently arrived with my committed other, Mark, from Northcote, hahahha yes, we know, it’s predictable. We still sometimes call Chewton Big Northcote! We’ve completely fallen in love with everything on offer in the area and in particular the community spirit. I LOVE the Chewton Chat and I read every word each issue. Maybe I love the area so much because I grew up in similar surroundings in the Adelaide hills.

We arrived at our 20 acres with just a pair of seca-teurs and didn’t manage to leave the house for 3 days be-cause we were overwhelmed with all the space. Ironic for someone who deals with stuff and space.

Please check out our website and if you’re curious about our services, do give me a call for a chat. Otherwise, I look forward to meeting you in the ‘hood!

Lissanne Oliver.

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Seen the chewton.net Facebook page yet?

Maybe not, but others surely have. And lots of them! Numbers have been steadily growing for some time but a recent posting has seen more than 600 people look at the page within three days of the post going up.

600 and only 13 from Chewton? A look at the fig-ures is interesting - we are lagging behind Castlemaine 18, Bendigo 43 and big-time behind Melbourne.

Then come Sydney 10, Geelong 10, Brisbane 6. Wer-ribee 5, Perth 5, Gold Coast 4, Ballarat 4, Hobart 3, Mal-don 3, Murtoa 2 and Birmingham 2 and then lots of single figures. But Birmingham? Yep, England’s Birmingham!

Internationally we have had 15 people look from places in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands 9, United States 9, Canada 3, New Zealand 2 and solitary people in France, Sweden, Italy, South Africa, Thailand, Fiji, Nige-ria, Indonesia and Poland!

1 - 31 July is JulEYEGet your eyes tested this JulEYE.

75% of vision loss is preventable or treatable if detected early enough, yet every 65 minutes

an Australian loses part or all of their vision.

10

FryerstownThe weather is getting colder but there are still some love-ly sunny afternoons to enjoy in the garden or reading on the verandah, in a sunny, sheltered spot. It is also lovely weather for walking well rugged up. The days got notice-ably shorter as we neared the winter solstice and the short-est day. The small birds are very active flitting around in the bush and garden where there are still flowers.

Once again I am indebted to Doug Ralph who told us about a book written in 1854 about the Victorian goldfields covering the period from the discovery of gold in 1851 to 1854. The book, entitled THE GOLDEN COLONY: or VICTORIA IN 1854 was written by George Henry Wa-then and was published in London in 1855 by Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans.

George Henry Wathen was born on 21 November 1816 in Surrey, England. His father was a wealthy cloth-ier from Stroud, Gloucestershire. He studied architecture as a young man and travelled as part of his education to Egypt, where he spent much of 1839 making observations on ancient Egyptian architecture. This resulted in the 1843 publication of his book on The Arts, Antiquity and Chronology of Ancient Egypt, which contained his own illustrations. Wathen next sailed about 1850 to Port Phillip in Victoria, arriving prior to the 1851 Victorian gold rush, and explored the gold fields in the colony. This resulted in his second book, The Golden Colony, or Victoria in 1854, which again was sparsely illustrated with some of his own sketches, one of which is reproduced here. Despite his lack of training as either a geologist or mining engineer, the release of The Golden Colony was perfectly timed to capitalize on the excitement of both the Australian and Californian gold rushes, and it was widely read by “arm-chair adventurers” in both England and the United States. Wathen returned to England in 1854 to marry. Following a period in South Africa he retired to England but generally spent his winters in the south of France, and Italy, where he died 10 November 1879 at the age of 62.

The thing I found very exciting is that The Golden Colony is available on request in facsimile, and it is repro-duced in India and arrives by mail. It appears to be a quite thorough account, by an observer, of the discovery of gold and the early gold rushes through to the steadier days of the gold diggings in 1854 when things had settled down and the diggings were more regulated. As I have decided to do with other authors recently where contemporary ac-

counts of a person actually there at the time, are available, I am passing the accounts along in their own style and lan-guage without editing. Occasionally this leads to some odd grammar and obscure references but on the whole the sense of immediacy seems worth it. Here is George Wa-then’s account of how ‘towns’ are set up following discov-ery of new goldfields:

“The general character of the auriferous country is so distinctly marked, that the eye of the most unobservant soon becomes able to recognize it. The rocks are more or less slaty; they are almost or quite vertical; and their direction or strike is always nearly due north and south. Indeed, so uniformly is this the case, that, if lost in a forest you might make your way out simply by noting the direc-tion of the beds of rock. There are vast tracts to which this description is applicable; but the spots yielding gold in abundance are, of course, comparatively few. Of those known, the richest were the first discovered, viz., the val-leys of Forest Creek and Fryer’s Creek, near Mount Al-exander, the Bendigo district; and Ballarat. These still form the great centres of the mining population. The most important of the goldfields since discovered are, the Ov-ens River, about 150 miles from Melbourne, on the road to Sydney, a favourite resort during successive summers, and scarcely second to any other gold district in extent and population; the MacIvor diggings, about 42 miles N.E. from Forest Creek and 38 from Bendigo Creswick Creek north of Ballarat; Mount Korong, and the Avoca River, west of Bendigo, and verging on the plains of the Mur-ray. The last discovered, and one of the most important at the present moment, is the valley of the Avoca. These various gold-fields range over an area of about 24,000 square miles, being 240 miles in length from east to west, and 100 miles in breadth. Of this area large portions are, indeed, non-auriferous; and of the remainder, the greater part yields gold to such a limited extent that it could not be profitably extracted. Still, as a whole, it forms the rich-est gold-bearing region in the world, having produced the largest average yield to a given number of miners, and the largest nuggets, or lumps of gold; while the gold pro-duced is equaled in purity, sometimes yielding 98 or 99 per cent of pure metal. Even on the spot it is often very difficult to learn when, by whom, and in what manner, a new gold district is first discovered. When the yield of an old working begins to fail, the diggers throw out small

11

“prospecting” parties of twos and threes, to explore prom-ising localities. These prospectors may occasionally make important discoveries; but far more frequently they are the result of chance, or of the desultory efforts of shepherds and other servants of the settlers resident in the particular locality. It sometimes happens that a digging party, travel-ling from one district to another, camp for a night in a val-ley which they may think looks very promising. Being de-layed here, perhaps, by the loss of their horse, or some other accident, they sink a pit or “hole” in a “likely” spot. The result may prove not favourable enough to induce them to remain, and they proceed on their way. Other parties are subsequently struck with the same appearance, ob-serve also the pit, and sink another, and another. At length someone strikes a rich deposit. If so, it can-not long remain a secret. A few dozens or scores are shortly at work on the adjacent ground; and if these, too, are successful, the news spreads like wild-fire, and within a week all the roads and tracks leading to the spot are covered with diggers and their carts, on the way to the new Dorado the newest being always by report the best and richest. In a few days the hills around the new working are dotted over with white tents; the forest around them quickly disappears, being felled for firewood. Gov-ernment, on hearing of the discovery, sends down a Com-missioner with a body of horse and foot police. These es-

tablish a camp on some central elevated position, and an irregular wide street of tents springs up like magic in the valley below. There are stores, large and small; butchers’ shops; doctors’ little tents; and innumerable refreshment booths, where, under the guise of selling lemonade and home-made beer, an extensive illicit trade is carried on in vile adulterated and often poisonous spirits. The black-smith is always one of the first on the ground, and pres-

ently extemporises a forge out of a few loose stones or turf-sods. Flags are flying from the stores and shops, and give a gaiety to the scene. The union-jack floats proudly above the Government camp on the hill, and military senti-nels are on duty before the gold-tent.

As the diggers reach the spot they pitch their tents on the lower slopes of the hills or in the green flats. At night their watch-fires gleam far and wide, and from a neighbouring height the place has the

appearance of a large town illuminated. A new gold-field is the favourite resort of horse-stealers, thieves, and mis-creants of all kinds, who, lost in the crowd and confusion, here find ample opportunities for carrying on their nefari-ous practices. Their common haunts are the “sly grog-shops”, which spring up like weeds on all sides. Here they rendezvous, and concoct those deeds of darkness which have given the colony such an unenviable fame. These grog-shops are traps for the unwary, dens of iniquity, where the drugged draught is administered; and the vic-tim, thus rendered insensible and helpless, is stripped of every article of value. Not a night passes without some act of depredation. Horses are stolen, and ridden off to Melbourne, Geelong, or to the nearest goldfield, and sold by auction. The roads leading to the new diggings be-come infested with bush-rangers; stories of being “stuck up” (or robbed) are more and more frequent; till at length a cartload of ruffians, heavily handcuffed, is seen moving towards the Government camp, well-guarded by mount-ed troopers, and followed perhaps soon after by another

View on Campbells Creek, Mount Alexander.Diggers washing out the gold by George H Wathen.

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guarded cart, containing two or three gaily dressed females. These are the bushrangers and their wom-en, who have been hunted down and just captured by the troopers. And now for a time the roads are safe.”

One other story that intrigued me because I am always fascinated by the difficulties of communi-cation is his description of the Forest Creek post-al service. “At this time (1851) there was but one wretched Post Office at Mount Alexander, kept by a private, irresponsible individual, in a tent. Here you might every week have seen a crowd of stur-dy, bearded, rough clad diggers; many had walked some weary miles from a distant gully on the same errand before, and that several times. After much crowding and battling, they make their way up to the little hole in the tent where letters are delivered, and ask for letters for such a one. Then there is a long pause, while the man within is looking over a number of greasy, unclassified letters. At length the same oft-repeated chilling answer is given, “No letters for that name today.” And the anxious hus-band trudges back again, thinking as he goes of his distant home in the Bush, and of her he left behind there; and concluding with a bitter curse on the post-office and every one connected with it.” I hope with the cut backs in Australia Post we will not go back to this!

The next Fryerstown film night is Saturday July 26th at 7.30 pm in the Fryerstown Mechanics Institute Hall. The film will be Schindler’s List, in colour, 1993. An epic drama based on Thomas Ke-neally’s novel which drew on the true story of Oskar Schindler, an Austrian business man who, during the Second World War saved 1100 Polish Jews from extermination by the Nazis. Cost $5 per person in-cludes supper with tea and coffee and cake if some-one brings some. Kay Thorne.

Boxing on...Chewton people, and those driving through Chewton, are famil-iar with the woodwork items Tom Taft makes and displays for sale outside his Main Street house. Some would also be familiar with the crafted box Tom donated to the Chewton Pool during those frantic fund-raising times that were so necessary to save that Chewton asset. Less familiar will be Tom’s other activities. Australian Wood Review recently ran a box-making competition and more than 60 entries came in from across Australia. Tom en-tered one of his boxes (above) and although he didn’t win a ma-jor prize he won an inspirational book on box-making (below).

Now the entries have been judged they are on display for a People’s Choice Award. We can vote! 62 fantastic entries from the competition AWR Boxmaker 2014 are on the Austra-lian Wood Review Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/Woodreview/photos/a.674676522604651.1073741829.126465104092465/674676819271288/?type=1&theater

Tom’s box is number 53 in the display. Voting for People’s Choice Award is now OPEN and closes midday on July 2. The entry with the most LIKES wins. Please consider liking Number 53!

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13

Well known Chewton identity Edna Preece turned 90 on the 8th June. Family and friends gathered at St. Johns on the 27th May for a ser-vice, conducted by Rev. Ken Parker, in her hon-our. Father Ken and those gathered, acknowl-edged Edna’s wonderful service to St. John’s. Edna has provided beautiful flowers from her garden for every service for many years. Fa-ther Ken presented Edna with a book on roses. This was the last service conducted by Father Ken in St. John’s before his retirement.

“Mum was extremely honoured and proud to have been offered this service in her hon-our, and it was attended by family, friends and fellow worshippers,” according to Edna’s daughter Alison Maltby.

Photos of the service (left) were taken and provided by Max

Lesser. The photos on the right were taken at the celebration on the day of Edna’s birthday - Sunday 8th June. Edna’s family came from all over Australia to celebrate such an important milestone in the Preece/Scoles family. They had an informal dinner at the New China Restaurant on the Saturday evening, followed by a family party at the Harcourt Tavern for Sunday lunch. Edna’s family are humbled and grateful that their family unit is completely intact, and every member and their partners were able to attend to celebrate such a happy event.

90th birthdays don’t happen every day!

VICTORIAN PREMIER’S VOLUNTEER

AWARDS NOMINATIONS OPENNominations for the 2014 Victorian Premier’s Volunteer Awards

are now open. These awards present an opportunity to recognise,

thank and celebrate the signifi cant contribution of Victoria’s

volunteers. The awards recognise those people who give their

time to enhance the lives of Victorians.

In addition to recognition, winners of the awards will receive a

donation for their chosen charity.

The nomination period will be open until Friday 1 August 2014.

For further information please visit

www.premier.vic.gov.au/volunteerawards

or phone 03 9651 5005. ZO44

0426

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

14

What do you do when you are en-trusted with a diary of a relative’s war-time experiences? Joan Scott was faced with this question and for years pon-dered the appropri-ate answer. Now she has found the right answer - and turned the diary into a book!

Joan takes up the story...

A SOLDIER ON THE SOMME - The diary of Private Edwin Henry Need 59th Battalion 5th Division.My uncle Private E H Need was at the Great War for

three years and in all that time he made notes of all that he saw and did. This was illegal but he sent them home by various means and on his return wrote them up. This makes this book strictly not a diary but a memoir.

It is a remarkable piece of work for such a young man with so little formal education who writes dispassion-

A SOLDIER ON THE SOMME - The diary of Private Edwin Henry Need 59th Battalion 5th Division.

ately almost as if he were merely reporting these events. There is no self-aggrandisement or glorification of Austra-lian troops.

I have had this precious document for more than sixty years and it has begun to deteriorate so to preserve it, my daughter, son and I have prepared it for publica-tion. The original goes to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. It is an authentic ‘voice’ from a century ago and is presented now exactly as he wrote it, unedited.

Together with the Castlemaine RSL we will launch the book on Sunday 6th July at 3pm in the Uniting Church hall Lyttleton St, Castle-maine. There will be speakers followed by afternoon tea.

For further in-formation call Joan Scott on 5470 6628.

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When the June Chat was being distributed it was interesting watching some of the volunteers organising the distribu-tion. It caused a moment of reflection on the essen-tial volunteer input that has gone into each of the 185 editions so far. Each volunteer has an essential role, be it someone writing an article or a regular column, someone providing a photograph, someone counting the bundles of twenty, someone driving the Chats to the distribution points, someone posting the Chat on the website – and then doing the same thing the next month, and the next, and the next…

Another Chat

goes out...

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Local photographer Marion (Maz) Williams, a resident of Fryerstown, has produced a series of Photo Cards of the region, particularly focussing on Fryerstown, Chew-ton and Castlemaine. A selection of these cards is now available locally in the Chewton General Store as well as the Castlemaine Market building. Marion’s card making project ‘Images of the Goldfields’ is a work in progress as new vistas present themselves constantly, particularly with the changing seasons.

As a photographer based in East St.Kilda, Mel-bourne, Marion’s particular passion and interest was the photography of urban and natural landscapes. She subse-quently produced of a series of Photo Cards of Melbourne and coastal Victoria which sold in retail outlets around Melbourne and beyond, such as the Victorian Arts Centre, St. Kilda Pier Kiosk and the University of Melbourne. Af-ter some time in the Community Services field, Marion is

re-igniting her strong passion for photography and art, now inspired by the visual and his-torical richness of the gold-fields region.

The photos are well worth a look next time you are near the shop - and are a great way to showcase our area to your friends! Some examples of Marion’s work accompany this article.

Images of the Goldfields - Marion Williams Photography

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Reports have been written and parent interviews complet-ed, and so we end yet another term. We have much to celebrate from 10 weeks of work, with one of our more significant achievements being accredited our first star to on the way to become a five star ResourceSmart school. To gain this star it was necessary for us to complete the Core Module which involved uploading over 40 docu-ments to demonstrate our commitment to minimise waste, save energy and water, promote biodiversity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This would not have been pos-sible without the support of our dedicated group of parents who have helped guide our ‘green teams’ and enter bills and articles onto the ResourceSmart website. Our next challenge is to complete the ‘Energy Module’ which we hope to achieve by the end of the year. We have already completed much of this work with some draft proofing happening during the holiday break.

Another of our school’s strong commitments is to student welfare. I recently attended the ‘Positive Schools Conference’ in Melbourne. One of the clear messages was the important link between student’s mental health and academic performance. The big question then is how do we improve the mental health of our children? One of the many ideas discussed was valuing achievements and allowing children the space to take risks and get it wrong. In short; ‘Don’t worry. Be Crappy.’ Not my words, but a great concept all the same.

As a follow up to this Nicole and I completed com-ponent 3 of ‘Kids Matter’ with the key focus being on developing strong, positive relationships with our school families. We will continue working with the whole staff in the delivery of this module during term 3. The repeated theme is that the more families are involved with school the more secure children often feel. Not all families are able to be at school during the day so we need to be cre-ative about how we can welcome and involve our families at Chewton Primary.

With ‘World Cup Soccer’ in full swing, the 3-6 maths class has completed a unit on maths in Soccer. The chil-dren have been learning about the teams in the cup as well as the history and origins of the game. We were lucky to be invited to attend the Soccer Club grounds with Glenn

Springate. Glenn was able to share his knowledge with our 2-6 class but was very surprised about how much they already knew. The children had a kick around the field before heading back to school. On the last day of term we held our own ‘World Cup’ followed by our annual cookout at the back of the school grounds.

Next term rehearsals start for our whole school “Creek” performance. Staff will be busy putting the fin-ishing touches on the script and musical score over the holidays. We will start the term with a study of the bio-diversity in creeks and rivers with a special visit from lo-cal author Trace Balla who has written a the book ‘River Time’ which tells the story of the rich and expansive range of bird and animal life in a river. And, of course, I must not forget the many hours of English and Maths we will be teaching ensuring a balance at all times.

Julie Holden.

Nurturing the whole child

in every child

Glenn with Monte (above) and others (below) just trying out their skills at the soccer club.

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Poe try

Corner

ElephantI didn’t know the difference between Epiphany and Elephant Until I went to the circus With its brassy smells And its rancid band.Clowns were my epiphany.Rolling in the sawdustLeaping over liberty horsesStanding on benchesOn endOn one toe -Hup!!No sweat. Nothing forbiddenDefying gravity with sequins.Elephants(On the other hand)Made the circus tent Seem small.

David Watson.

Gardens never stay the sameMy gardener, Graeme has moved away

Oh woe is me. Oh lack a day.I wondered ‘Oh what shall I doI’ll have to find somebody new;

But suppose they’re not as good as him.’My garden’s future looked quite grim.

I asked around amongst my friendsTo see who they could recommend

I tried a few, but deary me,They were all busy as could be.

Then someone mentioned Helen,I’m glad I heard of Helen.

So life is looking brighter nowThat Helen is my gardener.

So Helen came on Friday morn.My garden sat there all forlorn,

All overgrown with mint and balmAnd oxalis, doing lots of harm.

Then Helen like a whirlwind worked Removing weeds from where they lurked,

Cutting back to clear a path,And loading up the aftermath

To take the excess plants away.She promised to come another day.

So life is looking brighter now,My life is very much brighter now,My garden is looking better already

Now Helen is my gardener.

Rae Hawkins. June 2014.

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Logo designed by Morgan Williamson.

Real Estate GossipPlenty of new offerings this month but better snap them up quickly! Properties for sale around Chewton are: Cantwell Property Group:• 59 Pitman Street, unfinished but showing its potential,

offering 2 or 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms on 2000sqm on the edge of Chewton, for sale at $349,000.00;

• 5 Sinnett Street, 3 bedroom Edwardian with 2 living areas and north facing deck, on 1151sqm, $374,000.00;

• CA 80 & 81 Albert Street, 8180sqm vacant parcel with services available, $149,000.00;

• 101 Bush Sanctuary Road, self-sufficient 3 bedroom brick veneer on 6 acres in the Bushlands, to be auc-tioned 12 July;

• 16 Pitman Street, 1023sqm vacant land with all ser-vices available, $129,000.00;

• 49 Commissioners Gully Road, light and bright Cali-fornia bungalow on 7.5 acres, with established gar-dens, orchard and historic ruins, located on the fringe of the bushlands, $498,000.00;

• 4 Prior St, “Amber House”, large family home in quiet rural setting of just over 2 acres (9091sqm). A charm-ing blend of old and new, with beautifully renovated stone cottage with two storey extension creating mag-nificent family living. Featuring four bedrooms, plus study, two living areas, well-appointed kitchen dining room plus powder room, European style laundry heat-ing and cooling. Also fully renovated self-contained cottage, generous bed/living, gas cooking, bathroom & European style laundry. Good shedding park-like gardens, for sale for $859,000.00;

• 72 Steele Street, 1541sqm, views and all services available, for sale at $175,000.00;

• 225 Sparks Road, 58Ha undulating parcel with his-toric remains, $679,000.00.

Cassidy Real Estate:• 564 Pyrenees Highway, 3 bedroom character home on

5 acres with shedding and stables, $365,000.00. Castlemaine Property Group:• CA129, Fryers Rd, elevated vacant lot of 1320sqm,

$135,000.00;• Pyrenees Highway, rare offering of 10 residential ti-

tles, with all main services available, being sold as a group in the one package. Situated in the midst of the historic gold mining village of Chewton, the al-lotments are only a short stroll to hotel, general store, school and sports amenities. Allotments vary in size from 244m2 to 427m2 approx, for sale at $209,000.00;

• 77 Pioneers Road, single bedroom log cabin set high in the Bushlands with views over Chewton and onto Castlemaine, $315,000.00.

Keogh Real Estate:• 11 Monks Hill Road, renovated 1800s cottage set on

nearly 6000sqm of park like gardens and seasonal creek, $510,000.00.

Stuart Real Estate:• 94 Fryers Road, 1610sqm vacant lot with services

available, $135,000.00.Waller Realty: • 6 North Street, 2 bedroom fully renovated home in the

heart of town with views over Forest Creek and great outdoor spaces, $379,000.00;

• 85 Main Road, 2 single bedroom cottages on 1538sqm, each let for $210 pw, $345,000.00;

• 173 Main Road, 1800s 2 bedroom timber cottage, re-styled and updated, within walking distance of every-where, $339,000.00;

• 6 Fryers Road, 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom, craftsman built stone home, located in the heart of town, ex-tensive landscaping and plenty of vehicle storage, $675,000.00;

• 103 Golden Point Road, renovated 3 bedroom home with self-contained unit, no neighbours and views across Forest Creek, $469,00000;

• 7 Railway Street, fully renovated 4 bedroom, 2 bath-room home on large allotment of 1120sqm, lovely shade trees and vege garden, $375,000.00;

• 9 Church Street, 1371sqm lot, dotted with gums, in the heart of town and adjacent to historic church, $155,000.00 (UNDER CONTRACT);

• 732 Pyrenees Highway, ultimate family lifestyle with indoor pool and generous family room, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. Set on an elevated 3 acres with expansive views, the exterior is well set for entertaining, $525,000.00. Lynne Williamson.

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A fishy business…The fish in Expedition Pass Reservoir tend to keep to themselves because no-one seems to know what is in there. From time to time there’s fish-stocking observed and occasionally that becomes a media event so we all get to hear about it.

Doug Ralph recently brought to light (Castlemaine His-tory group) an article from The Australian on 10 Novem-ber 1894 which gave details of codfish, and big codfish at that, at the res. Of late there has been plenty of native fish stocking there as this table shows…Feb 1997 1,000 Golden PerchMar 1998 1,000 Golden PerchMar 2000 1,000 Golden PerchMar 2002 250 Murray CodMar 2003 250 Murray CodFeb 2004 250 Murray CodApr 2005 3,000 Golden PerchFeb 2006 1,000 Golden PerchMar 2006 250 Murray CodFeb 2008 250 Murray CodMar 2008 1,000 Golden PerchFeb 2010 2,800 Macquarie PerchMar 2010 500 Macquarie PerchFeb 2011 3,000 Macquarie PerchJan 2012 3,620 Macquarie PerchJan 2013 5,000 Macquarie PerchFeb 2014 5,000 Macquarie PerchHow many of those have been caught? Or taken by birds? Or cannibalised? Who knows – but stocking figures are readily available at http://www.depi.vic.gov.au/fishing-and-hunting/fisheries/fish-stocking-reporting

Letter to the editorI read with interest, the recent report of the centenary of the placing of the plaque at the reservoir at Golden Point. Your readers may find the details of this post card of inter-est and some one may just be able to shed some light on its origin. I grew up at Golden Point about half a mile from the reservoir and attended Faraday school. The area has special significance to me. Graeme Ralph.

Old photos bring connections...

This 1932 Faraday school photo appeared in the Castle-maine Mail. It led to a phone call to the Chat. Fascinating! But a lack of space means it will have to be in August...

Has anyone any idea who Gus and Etty are?

20

As we move towards testing our priority projects for fea-sibility by mid-August, here are some comments from the Chair of the Chewton Community Planning Group shared at the get together at the Red Hill on Wednesday 25 June.

A plan is a means to an end. It helps us to get organ-ised. It helps us to focus on our end, which is to leave Chewton a better place than when we arrived ... whether that was at birth or when we moved here last year.

Before we begin to create a plan for future Chewton, we need to remember what we are custodians of and al-ready carrying into the future. We hold responsibility for our common wealth – all the elements that make a com-munity and a community worth planning for.

What is our common wealth? Is it government ad-ministration or a parliament of politicians? No! It is all the spaces, causes, projects, assets, groups, resources, heritage and stories from this place. Think of things that haven’t been co-opted by private interests or governments. It is the parts in our trust, as citizens of this town. Things that we all share – assets, groups, events, things we use in com-mon.

We need to think about how we can make the most of these things, to make a better place for our kids and grandkids and future generations.

We have power. You might not feel that often, as government regulation and private interests seem to domi-nate our lives; but you do. Can you imagine what this town would be like if we all downed tools and stopped volunteering or if we all stopped sharing with our neigh-bours? We wouldn’t have a CFA to help save us from bushfires; no town hall or post office; no pool; no POHAG etc etc... it would be a lesser place and we would be lesser people.

This plan is for us to grow our common wealth, not to diminish it, not to benefit private interests; not to pander to government ambitions. We want to grow our common wealth and pass it forward, like a town trust.

We can use our talents to contribute interest to this town’s trust fund. We can contribute in our own way by finding a project or action that matches our individual tal-ents and passions.

Don’t limit yourself to thinking the community plan is all about things the Council should be doing, or the State or Federal Governments, or some corporation. Maybe they are waiting for you to come along and persuade them to help. Maybe there are other ways to harness our talents and create more common wealth for Chewton.

Ask yourself – am I a contributor to our com-mon wealth? Am I help-ing to carry it forward, or am I standing on the side and whinging? Am I get-ting in the way, or stealing from our common wealth?

You might not feel confident to lead a proj-ect. You may lack time, resources and energy. We can help you to find one small thing you can do to contrib-ute, so in years to come you can say, “I paid it forward in Chewton; I used my talents; I added to our common wea-lth.” Rose Darling.What are the projects you can help with?Team 1: Vibrant & Healthy Community • Updating Welcome to Chewton Kit with a local directory• Developing a Chewton walking & cycling map• Development of a community garden Team 2: Better Community Facilities • Lobbying for funds for restoration of local assets, espe-

cially the Community Centre ** (highest priority)• Improving bus transport through improving publicity/

availability of bus timetables; extending the weekend bus service from Castlemaine to Chewton PO; and lob-bying to enable school buses to transport children within 5km of schools

• Seeking funding to create a master plan for central area of Chewton

Team 3: Thriving Local Economy • Improving local telecommunications including lobbying

for improved mobile phone coverage and lobbying for better internet connectivity

• Assisting local business development through updating the local business listing in Chewton’s official website, distributing local business listing through local outlets & the welcome to Chewton Kit and publishing an annual business listing in Chewton Chat

• Building/upgrading accessible local toilets • Information boards & interpretive material that are eas-

ily accessible and creating a register of available spaces for entertainment, workshops, lectures and private func-tions

• Improving Main Rd signage to local facilities and Chew-

The Common Wealth of Chewton

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www.goldfieldelectronics.com.au

21

ton township features and placing distinctive signage to Chewton at strategic points

Team 4: Building Sustainable Communities Waste management -• Lobbying the Council to reduce tip fees for disposal of whitegoods/

appliances; • Arranging a hard rubbish collection day • Providing larger/more rubbish and recycling bins in key public areas • Enforcing high penalties & promote awareness of illegal rubbish dump-

ing • Establishing a Spring Clean Up DayCaring for land -• Promoting activities and participation in weed control • Reinvigoration of Chewton Landcare Group to undertake education

and promotion within community and act in protection of local flora and fauna

• Working with land managers to restore Forest Creek to identify and remove invasive species and engage the community to participate/at-tract resources

• Promoting and developing environmental awareness by encouraging participation in outdoor activities such as planting days

Team 5: Built Environment • Advocating for reduced speed limits along Golden Pt Rd, especially at

Expedition Pass Reservoir and lobbying to divert heavy vehicles from Main Rd

• Lobbying MASC to remove pedestrian hazards on Main Rd • Updating government agency maps to show new roads/streets• Working with MASC to determine where foot & bike paths are needed

& providing them and improving accessibility of community facilities through footpaths, bike & ramp infrastructure

To get in touch with a team working on one of the projects, contact Meredith Robinson, Mount Alexander Shire Council on 5471 1781, or telephone Rose Darling on 0418 306 900.

The next step......planning continues at the Red Hill

The meeting began with dinner, and the first discussions and decision-making of the night involved the pleasant task of food selection. Tables, big and small, gradually filled and the noise level rose. With the food and socialisation over, the topic became the community planning process.

Rose led off with the The Commonwealth of Chewton (previous page), followed closely br Cr. Henderson who ran through the process and progress to date. Then it was off to the specific topic tables and down to serious discussions.

Table talk at the Red Hill...

22

The month of June was certainly more cheerful than its predecessor, beginning with an art show at the Comma featuring works by some of our local female artists. The show was put together by Melissa Scott and Jan Paletho-rpe and was officially opened by Jennifer Kanionis, Direc-tor of the Castlemaine Gallery & Museum.

“Hooked on Bossa” provided the music which as al-ways created a warm and affable vibe to a very pleasant evening of art, conversation and music. Thanks to James, the Comma is proving to be a warm hearted venue where the crowd is friendly and the events diverse – very Castle-maine!

A few days later we attended the opening of a photo-graphic exhibition at the Phee Broadway foyer as part of the “Scar Stories” project (once again Hooked on Bossa provided the music). Some of you may remember the Cas-tlemaine launch of this wonderful project which resulted in a “surprise” concert at the Theatre Royal by “Hunters & Collectors”. The project continues with the launch of a book with photographs and the stories of participants; so check it out and support this great initiative by visiting http://www.scarstories.org/.

Next came a very busy weekend with the opening of a survey exhibition of paintings and sculptures by Dean Bowen at the Castlemaine Gallery, which certainly added even more cheer to the month. Dean’s work is a delight to behold, so if winter is bringing you down, just pop into the gallery and I’ll bet you will leave there a happier soul. The exhibition runs until 27th July.

Of course that was also the weekend of the inaugural Castlemaine Jazz Festival. Although we only got to see a small part of it, the diversity of music and the generos-ity of all the musicians and volunteers was a pleasure to witness. Congratulations to all concerned and may your success keep you steaming ahead!

Winter Solstice saw a wintery change in the weather but it didn’t dampen the spirit of those attending the winter village festival at Victory Park, even our dog Max got to see a bit of action in the dog show. Later that night we adjourned to CASPA for some serious soul dancing at the

Chatting about the arts with Phil & Debbie Hall

The Scar Stories

Project

Scenes from the Comma opening

Gallery copy

23

“Heatwave” event. There is another one coming up in July so if you like soul music and a good dance in great com-pany, this is a must for your diary.

We intend to end the month (27th June) with that oth-er great winter warmer “Hooked on Bossa” at the Comma, these guys must be Chewton’s version of a sun lamp to keep the winter blues at bay and warm the cockles of your heart! They will be playing the 3rd Friday of the month @ the Comma starting at 6.30, the next couple are 25th July & 29th August.

The Winter festival

Jazz Jam @ the CommaCorner of Forest and Hargraves Streets, Castlemaine.

Following the success of the inaugural Castlemaine Jazz Festival on June 7-8, we invite you to keep up the impetus at our regular jam, which has been going for 14 months.

We meet on the first Sunday of each month at The Comma. The jam runs from 3.30pm until about 7pm, and everyone who wants to sing or play gets a go. Please bring charts. Weighted-action 88-key Yamaha digital stage pia-no, drum kit and PA provided.

Please support our advertisers......and let them know you’ve seen their advertisement in the Chat!

24

Did you know?• The Chat began in March 1999.• The Chat is published monthly by the Chewton Domain

Society.• The Chat is guided by a Chewton Chat sub-committee

of the CDS.• The Chat circulation is now 800.• The Chat has all paper donated by Ewen and Linda Mac-

Donald (Mooroolbark Excavations).• The Chat still costs more than a dollar for each copy

printed.• The Chat is funded solely by advertising and donations.• The Chat costs about $10,000 a year to keep being pro-

duced.• The Chat is available in colour each month on www.

chewton.net• The Chat is now available like commercial publications

on www.issuu.com each month and getting international readers.

• The Chat in colour is emailed directly each month to a network of people who have requested that service.

• The Chat relies on local input with an ever-widening network of regular contributors.

• The Chat welcomes articles and photographs about Chewton events and Chewton groups.

• The Chat is a member of the Community Newspaper As-sociation of Victoria (CNAV).

• The Chat has won several prestigious annual awards with CNAV.

• The Chat is a completely volunteer operation!

...and the Chat currently needs volunteers to:• Join the sub-committee• Assist in design and layout• Manage the advertising operation• Assist with folding some copies• Assist with keeping information on www.chewtom.net

up to date• And to assist with keeping the Tourist Information Board

at the corner of Golden Point Road up to date Volunteers are always needed so

there are always vacancies! Either call 5472 2892 to discuss any of these

possibilities or email your interest (or query) to goldenpoint2@bigpond.com

BilarniJan ‘Yarn’ Wositzky’s new show, Bilarni, will be

performed in Castlemaine at Lot 19 on the weekend of 8-10 August. This piece of story theatre is based on the life of WE (Bill) Harney (1895-1962) – the greatest yarn-spinner of them all and the man who was known as the ‘expert’ on Aborigines.

For Jan, the Bilarni story began in the mid-80s when he heard the arresting voice of Bill Harney on the radio.It was a voice that set a new path in Jan’s life and took him ‘up north’.

In Bilarni Jan tells of his adventures tracking Bill Harney through a beautiful and brutal land, and of his encounters with many weird and wonderful incidents of black and white relations, where nothing is black and white.

Scripted from Harney’s books, radio broadcasts and papers, Bilarni tells of an ‘uneducated’ Northern Terri-tory bushman - a soldier who returned from WW1 to live amongst Aborigines: as a lover, husband and father who lost it all – and that’s only the beginning of a truly epic tale.

Tickets are available through Maine Shoes, 174 Barker Street, Castlemaine, or online through www.try-booking.com/exvd.

There’s lots happening in the region, and it’s easy to miss out. Remember to check out http://massculture.com.au/ to keep up with what’s happening in the region.

If you have any arts news, events, exhibitions, op-portunities or if you are a local artist wanting to show-case your work or get involved with arts initiatives in the Chewton Community please contact us on 54725396 or email debbie@otterycottage.com .

For all your LPG requirements call

Alan & Heather HarrisEast End Servo

25

Chat feedbackThe June Chat had been out a week when a message was left on the answering machine. A Bendigo resident who subscribes to have the Chat mailed each month had called.“Thank you for the comment in the Chewton Chat about Chewton School being Chewton’s future. Thank you for the comments. Although I’m an ex-Castlemaine Pri-mary School kid I reckon you are spot on.”

It was great to receive your comments too Ken. Thank you!

Other feedback from the June edition includes the fact that really high numbers are now being taken from East End Servo and the Chewton Post Office. Both dis-tribution points have needed supplementary supplies and a re-organisation of the placement numbers is going to be needed. And the last emptying of the donation tins at the various distribution points totalled a record amount! The posting on chewton.net FB that the June Chat in colour was available has attracted 155 looks and 5 likes! These monthly posts used to average about 30 looks, but the average jumped to about 70 for the last few months – and now 155 and rising!

Chewton Domain Society Correspondence received at the CDS meeting included an invitation to the forthcoming Castlemaine Bus Lines open-ing and a letter from the Public Records Office informing the CDS of an unsuccessful grant application submitted by the Monster Meeting Sub-committee.

Correspondence out during the month included a let-ter to MAS re the cleaning of the toilets/BBQ and accept-ing the offer of developing an MOU for future manage-ment.

The Chewton Town Hall restoration work has been nominated in the MAS Heritage Awards in the Specialist Heritage Trades Section. The complete restoration work of the Chewton Town Hall has not been finished as yet so the CDS has withheld an application for that section of the award until 2015 when it is open again.

The treasurer’s report showed a balance of $34,698.74 with accounts for payment worth $6,681.63. These included $4,509.63 for town hall fittings and $715 for removalists to return stored fittings to the town hall. At this stage there is $18,975.00 already committed for specific grants received and an allocation for the town hall painting.

Remittance advice received from the Department of State Development, Business and Innovation indicated the grant has been successfully acquitted and the final in-stalment of $17,600 (inc. GST) for the Restoration of the Chewton Town Hall Project will now be made available.

The CDS now has 88 financial members. An updat-ed membership form is to be included in the July Chat and the membership list updated in preparation for a mailout in August. This form is to include the increased membership of $10 per person.

Pat reported that work is nearly complete on the writ-ten narrative of the archives of the Monster Meeting – this will go on the website and the P&P Collection. John will make recommendations to Elaine about the content of the CD she made of the Monster Meeting before it goes to the MM Sub-committee.

The restoration of the interpretive sign on the PO property is now a priority because of the hole it has left, and to enable the PO residents to complete the garden.

Sera Jane reported that Morgan Kurrajong has in-stalled the bright lights in the town hall kitchen, and the kitchen cupboards are to be installed in the coming week. Painting is anticipated to start within the next 2 weeks.

The Chewton Chat reported that state government advertising is now starting to come through regularly which is a help to the paper’s bottom line.

Golden Point Landcare is planning a planting day in the park beside the town hall on National Tree Day – the 27th of July. In General Business: • Rose reported that the Chewton Community Planning

group had accepted the offer of the CDS to auspice the group.

• The Volunteer Awards notice is to go on the Chewton.net Facebook page.

• A membership mailout is to be organised

• Nominations for the AGM under the new constitution rules will take place on 24th August at 2.00 p.m. – the venue still to be decided! Suggestions for speakers were discussed.

The meeting closed at 7.40 p.m. The next CDS Management Committee Meeting is

on Tuesday July 15th 2014 at 7 p.m. in the George Archer Pavilion.

40 Lyttleton Street (P.O. Box 632) Castlemaine 3450Ph: (03) 5472 4622 Fax: (03) 5472 4315

Email: shop@castlemaineofficesupplies.com.auProps: Andrew & Sue Thomas

STATIONERY IS OUR BUSINESS

Call in and see Andrew, Sue and Lindafor that “special” service

PROUD TO SUPPORT THE CHEWTON CHAT

Castlemaine OffiCe supplies

ABN 99 464 754 995

A busy life?Work - Open 9.00 Mon-Fri 9.30 SatRest - Close 5.15 Mon-Fri 12.00 SatPlay - Closed Sunday and P/Holidays

We’d love to see you to put a face to your purchase!

26

A month ago there was 34 millimetres overnight - a good soaking rain that translated into runoff into Expedition Pass Reservoir. By this morning the spillway was starting to roar, and was showing signs of an increased waterflow.

As the rain eased off after lunch a check of Forest Creek upstream of the res showed a healthy inflow coming through Faraday from the foothills of Mount Alexander. And a walk over the res wall to check the spillway showed a small but steady overflow. Another 4 mms. the next day and with more rain in later June days the spillway should continue to pick up in intensity. And the water down For-est Creek into Chewton and Castlemaine will increase, and when the increased flow reaches those population centres the spillway comes alive with people, kids and conversa-tions. Why is it that people converse so loudly when they are near running water?

Spilling over...Mount. Alexander Mail - Friday 3 July 1914

BOROUGH OF CHEWTON.

TENDERS, returnable up to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, 7th July, 1914, are invited by the council for the erection of a timber bridge at the cemetery. Plans and specifications may be seen at the office. Hours: 9 to 11 a.m.

W. EBBOTT, Town Clerk (Actg.)

Mount. Alexander Mail - Friday 17 July 1914The financial position of the Chewton Borough Council is apparently highly satisfactory, as at the last meeting the Treasurer reported a credit balance of £10. Councillors were almost speechless with the joyful surprise this an-nouncement provoked, as it is fully a quarter of a century since a Treasurer of the Borough of Chewton has been in the happy position of reporting a credit balance. It is a long lane that has no turning. Prosperity has often the ef-fect of making people reckless, but Chewton Councillors have learned wisdom in a hard school, and a saturnalia of extravagance need not be apprehended by the ratepayer.

Chewton - 100 years ago...

For sale at $450 ono

Norseman solid fuel convection heater with electric fan. In excellent working condition with minimal external wear. Some lengths of flue also available if required.

Call 5470 5598. Payment on collection.

Bold Café will be closed from Monday 21st July For a well-deserved rest

Reopening on Friday 8th August at 10am

We serve a variety of delicious, handmade food. Our specialties include

A curry every day. Laksa on Sundays. Monk Dish on Friday & Saturday.

Gluten free & Vegetarian selections

REGULAR TRADING HOURS Thursday to Sunday

10am – 4.30 pm Bold Café Gallery

146 Duke Street, Castlemaine Telephone: 54 706 038

Your Host: Onn Ho

Chewton Senior CitizensOur programme for July is...• Tuesday 1st: Echuca/Moama.• Thursday 10th: 1.30 p.m. at the Centre for Bingo.• Thursday 17th: No activities today.• Thursday 24th: 10.30 a.m. meet at the Castlemaine

Market for a coach to a “Christmas in July” lunch at the Tangled Maze in Creswick.

• Thursday 31st: 12 noon for lunch at the Chinese restaurant in Castlemaine.

For more information on the above ring the Secre-tary Dot Pollard on 5472 3297 or President Nigel Cas-bolt on 5473 3357.

27

Post Office Hill Action GroupEarlier this year Chewton Primary School children and members of Post Office Hill Action Group (POHAG) spent a couple of Friday afternoons constructing and painting nesting boxes. These were for phascogales, bats, rosellas and pardalotes. When the boxes were complete a small working bee of POHAG members placed the boxes at suitable sites on Post Office Hill. The sites chosen were all close to the school fences so the children could do some casual visual monitoring.

Last Friday some intensive monitoring of the nest boxes took place. President of POHAG, Ian O’Halloran, had invited Chris Timewell and Tanya Loos to lead the children through the process. Chris is the Director of Connecting Country, a landscape restoration project, and Tanya is Connecting Country’s Habitat for Bush Birds Project Co-ordinator . They brought a Global Positioning System (GPS) tracker with them, as well as an inspec-tion camera. GPS is a space-based satellite navigation system that allows the exact nesting-box locations to be recorded, and the inspection camera has a long flexible arm that allows the camera to be pushed into the nesting-box so the image from the camera can be read by those on the ground. The children were introduced to these concepts and devices in their classroom, along with the techniques of recording the information gained. Armed with pens and clipboards the children then went out to join a gathering of POHAG members.

One by one the nest-boxes were visited. The nesting box number, the east and north GPS co-ordinates were read, the waypoint number recorded and the all-important informa-tion – what, if anything, was inside the box. By the third and fourth nesting-boxes the chil-dren were taking it in turns to read and dictate the GPS numbers, and were milling around the ground level camera screen to interpret what they could see in the box. There was high excitement when a feather was claimed – only for it be a leaf upon closer inspection. Un-fortunately no animal life was observed in any of the nine nesting-boxes but, as was pointed out, the boxes were very new in their locations and their discovery and use takes time. Plans are in place for further monitoring to regularly take place in the future.

What a great learning experience it was – especially for the POHAG members there. Education and classroom experiences have changed an awful lot since we were in school!

And there was a “birdhouse” that had been hanging near the school toilets for many, many months. As the group passed by it was suggested to put the camera in it – and guess what? A nest inside indicated it had been in use for some time in the past. And no-one had noticed!

Thanks to Chris and Tanya for sharing their knowledge with us and to the Chewton Primary School community for joining in.

The next meeting of POHAG will be on

Sunday, 13th of July at 10:00am at Sam’s shed.

Ian O’Halloran for POHAG.

28

FOBIF’s June walk to Ka-limna Park was led by re-tired geologist Julian Hollis. There were twenty walkers. Luckily the rain held off and the morning was good for brisk walking.

This was the second of Julian’s walks with the group to Kalimna and this time he concentrated on the northern end of the park ending up in the Karrook Bushland Re-serve. This reserve was pur-

chased by public donation and added to the park over 10 years ago.

Julian pointed out numerous geological features and evidence of mining along the way. Two points of interest towards the end of the walk were an aqueduct and several quarries.

Being June, there were few plants in flower. Howev-er there was plenty of moss, lichen and fungi, some flow-ering Downy Grevillea (Grevillea alpina) and many low sprouting leaves of Greenhood orchids.

Downy Grevilia, an unknown fungiand Triquetrella Papillata

Thanks to Julian for leading another informative and authoritative walk in our local area.

Taken from the FOBIF website.

...and the next FOBIF walk? It’s on 20 July in Muckleford South

Next month we’ll have a look at some of the bush at the south end of the Muckleford block. It’s a bit exploratory, and some scrambling and climbing may be involved. c. 8 kms. For more information contact Bernard Slattery on 5470 5161.

For these third Sunday of the Month Walks we meet at 9.30am outside 30 Templeton Street, Castle-maine (Continuing Ed.) and carpool to the start of the walk. Bring water, morning tea and lunch for all walks. Walks normally finish mid-afternoon. People of all ages and non-members welcome. No cost.

Walking with FOBIF - A walk in Kalimna Park

Trenches ExcavationsLandscaping

Posthole Digger Rubbish Removal

Driveway Construction

Phone Colin on 5470 5975 or 0417 509 699

LIC 24063

W.R. Plumbing are pleased to announce we are now agents for Edson Solar Hot Water Systems.

Gas boosted, Electric boosted and Wet back systems are available.

Panel replacement for existing systems also available.Edson Panels are frost resistant to -15°c.

Contact Simon for more information and design advice.

0419836423

edson

Chewton Domain SocietyAGM 2014

Sunday August 24th at 2 p.m.,Venue and speaker to be confirmed

29

FIELD NATSVISITORS ARE WELCOME AT CLUB

MEETINGS AND EXCURSIONSFri July 11th: Meeting - speaker David Hollands on his latest book on waders

Sat July 12 excursion: Ellis Falls Ordinary membership: Single $30, Family $40, Pensioner or student: Single $25, Family $30. Subscription includes postage of the monthly

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

PO BOX 324, CASTLEMAINE 3450Website: http://home.vicnet.net.au/~cfnc

Vocal Nosh a good sing & good food in convivial company

Sunday 6th July at the Newstead Community Centreled this month by Fay White and Judith Tragear

Theme: The Peple’s Nosh• 6.00 - 7.00 pm Vocal entrée - warm up/easy stuff

• 7.00 - 7.30 pm 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 and no need to read music

Singing for the pleasure of it Bookings by email: faywhite.music@westnet.com.au or phone Fay 5461 5471

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 Auto-motive Enterprises and Tourist Information Board, as well as the Bold Cafe, Castlemaine Library, Market Building, CHIRP, CIC, Castlemaine Copy Centre, Castlemaine Camera Shop 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. Circulation is now 800. 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 manage-ment team or the Chewton Domain Society and no endorsement of service is implied by the listing of advertisers, sponsors or contributors.

Introduction to High Speed Broadband

To register your interest in participating in this Digital Enterprise workshop, please visit www.ibendigo.org.au

A free workshop delivered by theiBendigo Loddon Mallee Group as part of the Bendigo Digital EnterpriseProgram, to highlight the importance of becoming digitally ready.

Learn how high speed broadband will transform the way we live and work. Whether you’ll be on fixed wireless or fibre, find out what you and your business can do to get ready for the digital economy.

In this information session you will discover the benefits of high speed broadband and learn about some of the ground-breaking innovations that organisations in our region are already putting in place.

WHEN:

PLACE:

RSVP:

Tuesday 8 July 5.30 pm - 7.00 pm

Ray Bradfield Room, Victory Park, Forest St Castlemaine Friday 4 July

Like: www.facebook.com/iBendigoFollow: @iBendigo

BusinessMountAlexander

Firewood collection season closed!The Autumn 2014 Firewood Collection Season closed across Vic-toria on Monday 30/6/14. Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) Statewide Land and Fire Coordinator Rob Price said, “From the 1st of July 2014, all designated firewood collection areas will be closed over the winter period and it won’t be legal for people to collect firewood on public land until the start of the Spring Firewood Collection Season. The public will be able to start collecting firewood again from designated firewood collection areas from the 1st of Sep-tember 2014.”

DEPI and Parks Victoria staff will be patrolling parks, forests and reserves during winter to ensure people are doing the right thing.

Firewood collection is only permitted during designated times of the year and from designated firewood collection areas.

On the spot fines are around $577. Offences that go to court may be liable for fines up to $7218, one year imprisonment or both.

Join Golden Point Landcare

on National Tree Planting Day

in the park at the Chewton Town Hall.

Help plant 200understorey plants.

10 a.m. Sunday 27th July followed by a BBQ lunch.

RSVP for catering to 0423 900 590

30

Winter is here, but for those of us on a few days ‘grand-parenting duty’ to the north have been blissfully oblivi-ous to its actual arrival. Sitting here in Cairns this week, we are not looking forward to leaving the balmy 27 de-grees Celsius, for temperatures in the low teens, rain and wind so obvious on the television news. The brassicas are now gracing the cabbage patch and clouds and rain are promised for our return to southern climes.

Once again, discussion about the weather is turn-ing to El Nino and its effect upon the weather across the continent. El Nino brings less rain to S.E.Australia. The ABC Landline program is a weekly contributor to this discussion as rain is so important to agriculture. Whilst El Nino is particularly associated with northern Australia, the phenomena also exhibits weather characteristics to many parts of the world. Foremost for us is Queensland and New South Wales, but it has drought-like effects on us here in the south. The Eastern Pacific Ocean has ef-fects in Peru and Ecuador. It does not however end there, but also affects the United States and even the Indian monsoons.

Turning to the Bureau of Meteorology for assis-tance, this body has just this week declared its hand after months of discussion and indecision. It has now declared a 70% chance of El Nino conditions during the coming months. The months of June to August are significant in the formation of the El Nino Southern Oscillation effect (ENSO). The peak effects are felt in the months of De-

cember to April – obviously significant for our summer fire regime; but equally as significant for our fruit-grow-ers and vintners in nearby Harcourt. Significant too, to our local gardeners, for both vegetables and flowers. As a committee member of our upcoming Festival of Gar-dens, I am acutely aware of their need for good spring rains.

El Nino and La Nina effects are caused by changes in the sub-surface temperatures of the waters of the Pa-cific Ocean. The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) quotes rises of up to 6 degrees Celsius in these sub-surface tem-peratures as a strong indication of an upcoming El Nino event. According to the Bureau (BOM), generally warm-er temperatures are seen in winter/spring temperatures in South-east Australia and our recent string of late-autumn 20 degree days is interpreted as yet another indicator of a forthcoming El Nino.

Those of us that regularly visit the Mount Alexan-der Fruit Garden website will know that they advise that good spring rain is the most important water for a good fruit crop. Same goes for our summer vegies. Knowing that we can expect less rain in late spring/early winter is nice to know but only useful if we can use the informa-tion to our benefit, and to minimise negative effects. In terms of my simple activities, conserving the water by ensuring our tanks are full as Spring approaches is per-haps the best thing I can do. John Leavesley.

It’s Winter and El Nino is predicted

Calendar of EventsJul 1st Senior Cits (SC) Trip to Echuca/Moama, 8.30 a.m., Castlemaine Market Building.Jul 5th Chewton Community BBQ (MoBQ), 6 p.m., Ellery Park (BYO everything!)Jul 6th Special Children’s Service for Naidoc Week, 10.30 a.m., Anglican Christ Church, C’maine.Jul 6th Launch of A Soldier on the Somme, 3 p.m., Uniting Church Hall, Castlemaine (see page 14).Jul 8th MAS Council meeting, 7.30 p.m., Civic Centre, Castlemaine.Jul 10th SC Bingo, 1.30 p.m., Chewton Senior Citizens Centre.Jul 13th Morning Prayer, 9.15 a.m., St. John’s Anglican Church, Chewton.Jul 13th POHAG meeting, 10 a.m., Sam’s Shed.Jul 13th Listening Post with Cr. Henderson, 1 p.m., Chewton General Store.Jul 14th School Term 3 starts.Jul 15th Chewton Domain Society Man. Comm. meeting, 7 p.m., George Archer Pavilion.Jul 20th FOBIF walk at Muckleford South, 9.30 a.m. Contact Bernard Slattery on 5470 5161.Jul 22nd MAS Council meeting, 7.30 p.m., Taradale Hall.Jul 24th SC Christmas in July (Creswick), 10 30 a.m., Castlemaine Market Building.Jul 25th Deadline for the August Chat.Jul 26th Fryerstown Films (Schindler’s List), 7.30 p.m., Fryerstown Hall (see page 12). Jul 27th Morning Prayer, 9.15 a.m., St. John’s Anglican Church, Chewton. Jul 27th National Tree Day planting, 10.00 a.m., Ellery Park.Jul 31st SC Lunch at Chinese Restaurant, 12 noon, Chinese Restaurant, Castlemaine.Jul 31st Folding the Chewton Chat (Thursday), 2.30 p.m., Chewton General Store.

Win

ter i

s nat

ure’s

way

of s

ayin

g, “

Up

your

s.”

Bad weather always looks worse through a window.Wintry musings...People don’t notice whether it’s winter or summer when they’re happy. Anton Chekhov

31

Why not??Why not become a member of the Chewton Domain Society and help us to...

• Complete the upgrade and maintain the Chewton Town Hall?

• MaintainthePostOfficeandparkproperties?

• Keep the properties in public ownership (each CDS member becomes a part-owner of these historic properties)?

• Supportourgrantapplicationsthatenableustolookaftertheproperties?

• Promote the history of our area?

• Keep the Chewton Chat chatting?

Chewton Domain Society (Incorporated)Reg. No. A0034364L

Town Hall, Chewton 3451.

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP/RENEWALTo: The Secretary, Chewton Domain Society, P.O. Box 85, Chewton 3451.

I/we, (name of applicants)wish to apply for/renew my membership of the Chewton Domain Society.

Address Phone No.

I enclose the sum of $10.00 (or $20 for dual memberships) for membership.

As a member I agree to honour the Statement of Purposes of the Society, and to be bound by the rules of the Society. The secretary can be contacted for copies of these documents.

Signature of Applicant Date

Two members of a family can fill out the one form but dual membership is $20. Extra forms can be obtained from any of the committee members. Please include your updated mail address (PO Box number) for any mailout that may be necessary. Membership fees can be can be paid to any committee member or mailed to PO Box 85, Chewton, Vic 3451. Receipts provided on request.

Email address

32

Chewton Domain Society (Incorporated)Reg. No. A0034364L

Town Hall, Chewton 3451.

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP/RENEWALTo: The Secretary, Chewton Domain Society, P.O. Box 85, Chewton 3451.

I/we, (name of applicants)wish to apply for/renew my membership of the Chewton Domain Society.

Address Phone No.

I enclose the sum of $10.00 (or $20 for dual memberships) for membership.

As a member I agree to honour the Statement of Purposes of the Society, and to be bound by the rules of the Society. The secretary can be contacted for copies of these documents.

Signature of Applicant Date

Two members of a family can fill out the one form but dual membership is $20. Extra forms can be obtained from any of the committee members. Please include your updated mail address (PO Box number) for any mailout that may be necessary. Membership fees can be can be paid to any committee member or mailed to PO Box 85, Chewton, Vic 3451. Receipts provided on request.

Email address

AND the CDS welcomes new members!The CDS is about to complete much needed restoration works on the Chewton Town Hall...

The CDS launched a comprehensive Monster Meeting package in December 2012...and the CDS is seeking support through its membership base...

IF YOU AREN’T ALREADY A CURRENT FINANCIAL MEMBER......PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING NOW

A1l Chewton residents and friends are eligible (and encouraged) to become a valued CDS member! Membership is only $10 per person each year. Complete the form on the back and return with the $10 membership fee:* give it to any current CDS committee member* or simply mail to Chewton Domain Society, PO Box 85, Chewton, Vic 3451.

Be part of a successful team - become a CDS member today!