diamond creek news summer 2012

masonwh itemcdougall

Diamond Creek Diamond Creek 208 Main Hurstbridge Rd 3 Mindara Court

Diamond Creek 25 Felicia Rise

Shop 10/67 Main Hurstbridge Road, Diamond Creek

0419434111

Diamond Creek 2 The Parkway

0419373009

Henry Hurst built a wooden bridge in the1860's on the family property, Alwood. Itbecame known as Hurst's Bridge and pro-vided access into the early 1900's.

A new reinforced concrete bridge, whichbecame known as the Monash Bridge, wasconstructed in 1917.

It was named for Sir John Monash whosecompany produced the design and con-structed the bridge. His company had be-come experts in bridge construction andintroduced the Monier method of reinforc-ing concrete to Victoria.

Sir John, however, had left for active serv-ice during the early years of the First WorldWar so the design was provided by one ofhis talented engineers.

The bridge may have been built for Hurst-bridge's residents, but it also has a con-

nection with Diamond Creek. It providedemployment for a number of men from thetown and surrounding area during its con-struction.

Below is a photograph that shows thebridge under construction in 1917. Themen providing their skills and labour arefrom Diamond Creek - L to R (foreground)Arthur Luxford, W Hatch, RW Harrington,Jack Godber, Ted Pepper, Jack Grandy

The township near Alwood can be viewedbehind – the railway station and WattleCafe, not visible, are behind trees to theright.

The original wooden bridge is still fully vis-ible to the right, just downstream to thesouth of the new one.

The bridge has carried all types of roadtransport since it was opened in 1918.Until the 1960's and 70's, the pace andspeed of traffic allowed two cars to passeach other on the bridge without giving

way. Difficult to imagine today as thebridge is now single lane.

In early days, children on their way homefrom school often wondered if they couldget from one side of the arch to the otherbelow the road. The gap is so narrow thatit seems hardly possible, who knows ifsome did make it through!

Jean Verso, Nillumbik Historical Society

HURSTBRIDGE'S MONASH BRIDGETHE DIAMOND CREEK CONNECTION

Diamond Creek News

A number of men from Diamond Creek worked onthe construction of the Monash Bridge in 1917

now online www.diamondcreeknews.comSummer 2012

View of the Monash bridge soon after construction, looking west

Original wooden bridge spanning the Diamond Creek at Hurstbridge – the levelpiece of land on the west side of the creek where the house stood is still used today

Diamond Creek News

DISCLAIMER

The Diamond Creek News provides the opportunityfor each of the elected Nillumbik Councillors in theWards surrounding Diamond Creek to publish a re-port to their constituents, as well as reports fromState and Federal Government Members. The viewsexpressed in these reports are those of the authorsand not those of the Committee of the DiamondCreek Progress Association. The Diamond CreekProgress Association reserves the right to edit anyarticles supplied for any reason they see fit.

The Diamond Creek NewsThe Diamond Creek NewsP.O. Box 38

Diamond Creek

Phone: 0419 337 933Email: [email protected]

Design & LayoutPeter Clarkson Ph: 0419 337 933 Email: [email protected] & DistributionBelinda Clarkson Ph: 0439 755 411 Email: [email protected] Thompson Ph: 0423 531 370 Email: [email protected]

Distribution: 3500+

Apollo Parkways Arthurs Creek, DiamondCreek, Doreen,

Eltham North, Greensborough Complex,Hurstbridge, Kangaroo Ground, Panton Hill, Plenty, St Andrews,

St Helena, Smiths Gully, Yarrambat, Wattle Glen.

This issue Printed & Distributed on 13/12/2012Deadline for next Edition

21st February 2013

Advertising Rates for Diamond Creek News(as of January 2013)

Advertising Rates¼ page B/W $80 (pre paid)½ page B/W $125Full page B/W $240Colour Full page $480

Artwork for Adverts¼ page B/W $20 (pre paid)½ page B/W $25Full page B/W $35Colour Full page P.O.A

Alterations for Adverts¼ page B/W $15 (pre paid)½ page B/W $20Full page B/W $25Colour Full page P.O.A

Colour Full page adverts are only available if room permitsin that edition.

The Diamond Creek Progress Association

The Diamond Creek Progress Association has been aroundsince the 1930s. Its main objective is to ensure improvementof the township of Diamond Creek and the advancement ofthe interests of ratepayers and residents.

The Association meets Bi-Monthly at 7.30pm on the secondThursday at the Diamond Creek Scout Hall, 45 ChallengerStreet, Diamond Creek.

Membership is available on application to any resident orratepayer within the township of Diamond Creek, and thosenot within the township at the discretion of the Committee.

Membership enquiries are welcome. Please contact thePeter Clarkson on 0419 337 933, or write to PO Box 38 DI-AMOND CREEK VIC 3089.

Summer 2012

Diamond Creek News Summer 2012

Since the last article submitted to the Dia-mond Creek News, the Club has been in-volved in both the Legacy Appeal and thePoppy Appeal.

I am pleased to announce that well over$4,000 was collected for Legacy Week whichis a very good result given the number of vol-unteer collectors we had. With regard to thePoppy Appeal, I do not yet have the final fig-ure but at this time believe it will be over$10,000. The Diamond Creek and Doreencommunities were again very generous.

On Sunday the 11th of November the Clubconducted a Remembrance Day Service atthe Diamond Creek War Memorial. This wasvery successful being supported by local dig-nitaries, school members, Police, CFA,Scouts and members of the local community.

Whittlesea City Council has approved theClub’s plans for a War Memorial and the Clubis currently obtaining quotes prior to seekingfunds for this project. The Memorial is to bebuilt on land adjacent to the Laurimar PrimarySchool at the corner of Painted Hills Roadand Armidale Road. It is hoped that this proj-ect will be completed by ANZAC Day 2013.However this will be dependent upon the

availability of funds but regardless the Clubwith the support of the Laurimar PrimarySchool does plan to hold an ANZAC Servicefor the Doreen community similar to that heldthis year, as well as our usual ANZAC DayService at the Diamond Creek War Memorial.

On Tuesday 20th November I attended the1st Birthday party of the First Doreen Scoutgroup. For me, this was a great pleasure andit was good to see that the group is growingrapidly. I believe this is very important for thechildren of the Doreen community.

On Thursday the 22nd of November it was mygreat pleasure, together with Mr Bill McKennaPresident of the Montmorency – Eltham RSLSub Branch and in the presence of his sonsMichael and Grant, to present the Club’s in-augural President Mr Des Vincent with hiscertificate and badge elevating him to LifeMembership of RSL Australia. The award isrecognition of his dedication and service bothto the RSL and the community. Congratula-tions Des it is an honour duly merited.

The Diamond Creek-Doreen Sub Branch ofthe RSL though strong, and has a very activesupport group in The Friends of Diamond

Creek-Doreen RSL, but there is always roomfor new members. We would particularly liketo see some new members from Doreen. Wemeet on the last Monday of the month at theDiamond Creek Bowling Club at 6.45 pm.Should you be interested in becoming amember please contact our Membership Of-ficer and Vice-President, Mr. Rhys ThomasC/- Post Office Box 365, Diamond Creek,3089

John LangfordPresident - Diamond Creek-Doreen RSLPhone: 9438.6054. Email: [email protected]

R.S.L. DIAMOND CREEK - DOREEN SUB BRANCH NEWS

A.D. RyansBar & RestaurantCnr Hyde & Main Street

Diamond Creek

9438 4111

Open: Wednesday 4.00pm to lateThursday – Sunday’s 4.00pm – late

�Fantastic counter lunches for $15.00 or less on Thurs, Fri & Sat

�Award winning Pot’s N Parmas Wed & Thurs nights

�Brilliant local entertainment Friday & Saturdaynights with lazy Sunday arvos.

Bookings recommendedNo function to small or large to cater for.

www.adryans.com.au or follow us on Facebook

A SMART SOLUTIONBOOKKEEPING

Professional prompt bookkeepingPreparation and lodgement of BAS

All aspects of bookkeepingTotal confidentiality

OH&S SYSTEMInclusive and easy to use system for any sized businessOH&S Procedures, Legislation & RegulationWorkplace PolicySafe Work Procedures Safety Signs

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATIONAdministration solutions

Office organisationTenders, general correspondence etc

For a no obligation consultation contactVicki 0417 385 046 or Colleen 0421 342 261

www.asmartsolution.com.au

Diamond Creek News

What a busy few months we have enjoyedat DCE Preschool.

The children in one of our four year oldgroups was visited by a bee keeper, whocame dressed in her protective gear. Shedescribed to the children how it kept hersafe from stings. We were able to see andsmell the “smoker” that is used tostun/slow down the bees for easy collec-tion of honey. We could see the intricateand amazing ability of bees in construct-ing their hive. We then learned how im-portant bees are for our environment.

In addition to this silkworms have beendeveloping over the past few weeks andnow that they are easily visible have pro-vided children with opportunities to askquestions as well as make their own ob-servations. Outdoors we have delightedchildren discovering snails, millipedes,

slaters and the odd centipede. Togetherwe look at where they have been found- isit light or dark under the stump? Is thesand where you found all the snails? Weencourage the children to make their owndeductions from their observations.

We recently celebrated Children's weekwith many fun activities. One of our fouryear old groups dressed in their finestPrincess and Pirate costumes and pre-pared and baked delicious pizza. Ourthree year old group celebrated Children'sweek with a visit from the Drama Toolbox.We celebrated the Circus with costumesand music supplied by our presenter. Wepranced and jumped like ponies aroundthe ring. The pretend lions and tigers keptsneaking out of their cage because thering master kept forgetting to lock theircage! We all cheered as the tight ropewalkers balanced on the tight rope and

laughed as the children dressed asclowns entertained us and those naughtyelephants sprayed us with water. It waswonderful to watch as the childrenlaughed and smiled as they waited to takethe floor to perform. This dramatic play isa great opportunity for the children to usetheir imagination and express themselves.

Diamond Creek East Pre-School

Summer 2012

The Diamond Creek News needs new advertisers.Contact Oliver Thompson on 0423 531 370 for more info

Support your local Community Paper!


Ugh Your Lighting, Sound, Av and Staging Partner

www.lightandsound.com.au

(03) 9445 5800

Lighting Sound Audio Visual Stages Hire Sales Events Installation

WORKSPACE :::: • • ••• opt1ons ••••

Office and School furniture fitouts, made easy

www.workspaceoptions.com.au

School furniture solutions Project management Ergonomic Assessment Facilities Management Interior Design Environmental Solutions Workspace furniture assessment Information Technology Audio Visual Design and Installation

(03) 9445 5800


Danielle Green MP - State Member for Yan YeanTime To Prepare For The Fire SeasonThanks to the rain we’ve had over the last cou-ple of years, experts are predicting a higherrisk of bushfire this year. It is vital that localskeep their fire plan up to date. As with previousyears, on code red days, leaving early is theonly safe way to survive a bushfire. As part ofyour written fire plan you should arrange in ad-vance with friends or family a place you canstay in event of an emergency. We live in oneof the most fire prone regions in the world andsadly we know better than most the damagebushfire can do, so it is important we take ac-tion in advance to reduce our risk.

The CFA are conducting local communitymeetings to raise people's awareness and towork with residents to turn awareness into ac-tion. For more information please go tohttps://www.communityprograms.cfa.vic.gov.au/cfa/landing/default.htm. Alternatively eitherphone the CFA District Headquarters on (03)8746 1400 or Diamond Creek CFA on (03)9438 1457.

Ride To Conquer CancerI recently joined forces with AD Ryans in Dia-mond Creek to raise money to fight cancer forVictoria’s Ride To Conquer Cancer. I would liketo thank everyone who came along to thefundraiser in support of Peter Mac. In total Iwas able to raise over $700.

Special congratulations must go to local teamPippa’s Peddlers with team captain PippaMcGeachie-Parker who raised over $7,300.Next year they have set an ambitious target of$27,000 to help fund breakthrough cancer re-search, treatment and the discovery of newtherapies at Peter Mac. If you wish to supportPippa’s Peddlers please log onto www.con-quercancer.org.au.

Walk To Work DayAs part of the national ‘Walk to Work Day’, Iwalked to work from my home in Doreen to myoffice in Diamond Creek along Yan Yean Roadto highlight the need for this road to be up-graded. As anyone will testify this road is anightmare for car users at peak hour, and a no-

go zone for pedestrians due to lack of foot-paths. On my walk, aside from the lack of foot-paths, I also spotted numerous examples oflitter, broken manholes, storm water drains notclearly marked, drainage problems and un-kempt grass verges. I also spoke to residentsen route who tell me how severe problems arebecoming getting into and out of their proper-ties due to heavy traffic.

I have written to both Whittlesea and NillumbikCouncils and VicRoads asking them to worktogether to fix the problems on this road. How-ever this would still require major funding fromthe Baillieu Government which has so far com-pletely ignored our area for infrastructure im-provements. On a positive note, I understandthat developer monies from Whittlesea willallow Nillumbik Council to fund some minor up-grades between Bridge Inn Road and KurrakRoad soon.

Breastscreen VictoriaI had the pleasure of attending BreastscreenVictoria’s annual event to promote free breast-screening services in Victoria. The take-up ratein our local area by women in the target agegroup of 50-69 increased slightly to 54% (from51%). However this is still slightly below theVictoria average of 55% and well below the tar-get rate of 70%. Given the Baillieu Governmentcuts to women’s health, I fear that monieswon’t be available to adequately promote theservices of Breastscreen Victoria in futureyears, particularly among some critical demo-graphic groups of women, whose take-up isbelow average.

The facts are stark. 75% of women diagnosedwith cancer are aged over 50. This is the rea-son why BreastScreen Victoria invites womenaged 50-69, who do not have breast symptomsor changes, to have a FREE screening mam-mogram every two years. Regular screening isthe best way to find breast cancer early, beforeany symptoms are noticed, and when treat-ment is likely to be most successful. A highparticipation rate among women aged 50-69years is necessary to achieve substantial re-

ductions in mortality from breast cancer acrossthe Victorian community.

No doctor’s referral is needed. To make an ap-pointment ring 13 20 50 or book online atwww.breastscreen.org.au. The local screeningcentre is located at 25 Grimshaw Street,Greensborough. Alternatively if you are visitingthe city you can visit The Rose Clinic which islocated inside the David Jones women’s store.

Congratulations to Recently Elected Nil-lumbik CouncillorsCongratulations to all those who were electedto Nillumbik Council in the recent elections! Iwas pleased to see that most of the success-ful candidates pledged ongoing support for theretention of our amazing green wedge. I lookforward to continuing to work positively withCouncil over the upcoming few years. In addi-tion, I would like to also congratulate DiamondCreek’s own Cr Peter Perkins who was re-cently elected Mayor. He follows Cr MichaelYoung and Cr Helen Coleman, who bothserved with great distinction as Mayor of Nil-lumbik in recent years. Congratulations also toboth Cr Young and Cr Coleman who are nowNillumbik’s longest serving Councillors.

And Finally…I would like to wish everyone a safe and relax-ing break over the Christmas and New Yearperiod! Here’s to 2013!

Danielle Green MPState Member for Yan YeanElectorate Office:Suite 3, 14 Yan Yean Road, Diamond Creek, 3089PO Box 376, Diamond Creek, 3089Ph: 03 9432-9782 Fax: 03 9432-9793E: danielle.green@parliament.vic.gov.auwww.daniellegreen.org.auwww.facebook.com/daniellegreenmptwitter.com/DanielleGreenMP


naturally tasty

Christmas is just around the corner, so sit back and relax, let us do the cooking for you.

ORDER NOW TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT.

All orders placed for Christmas Daymust be Pick-up before 12 noon.

naturally tastynaturally tasty

naturally tasty

Mr Rooster and staff would like to thank the com-munity for their kind support throughout this year, we

wish everyone a happy and safe 2013

We also cat

er for in

dividual

orders for an

y occa

sion and

we will b

e pleas

ed to help you

prepare

for your n

ext party

ChickensTurkeys, Salads

(Christmas Only)Conditions Apply - Xmas Day Only

No Senior Discount, No Deals

Chickens served cold.

No Cutting


Our newly formed Association has madegreat progress since its inaugural meetingin November 2011. We haven’t looked backsince the initial response. We have outgrown our current shed at Diamond ValleyBaptist Church and now Nillumbik ShireCouncil has offered us the former guide hallin Challenger Street, Diamond Creek. Ourchallenge is to rejuvenate the hall and turnit into our new home. We plan to move-induring late November with an official open-ing in Feb/ Mar next year.

We will be fitting out the building with a pas-sive recreation area and a workshop.These improvements will suit those that

wish to be “hands on” and those that areseeking to meet in an informal atmospherewith other like minded men. You don’t needto be a “tradie” to join; we have membersfrom many interesting backgrounds.

You may be interested to know that Dia-

mond Creek Men’s Shed Asso-ciation is an independentlyformed and run group. It isfounded on the principles of theAustralian Men’s Shed Associ-ation which represents theMen’s Shed movement nation-ally. A key focus of the Men’sShed movement is men’s wellbeing. The National Associationoperates in all states of Aus-tralia and is rapidly growing;860 plus sheds are currentlyoperating. Sheds are also oper-ational in Ireland, Scotland,

England and New Zealand.

We have been busy with a number of proj-ects for several Pre-Schools, Parks Victo-ria, Nillumbik Historical Society, an Agedcare Facility etc. Our Members have also

enjoyed interesting speakers and had lotsof fun on outings together.

We had a busy time at the recent RotaryTown Fair and won the price for the bestoverall float in the procession. It gave ourmembers a real boost to receive suchrecognition from the judges.

Our Aims:• Building friendships and having fun

as we work together• Contributing to the wider

community• Promoting and encouraging

healthy living for men

Visitors are always welcome or simply giveus a call and have a chat. We’re alwayslooking for new members - that might beyou.

Gary Burke – Secretary

Diamond Creek Men’s Shed has arrived!!“Working Shoulder to Shoulder, Contributing to our Community”


DISCO DATES

FOR 201315th February 9th August15th March 13th September10th May 8th November14th June 6th December

7pm - 10pm

$6 admission

NO PASSOUTS

We don’t just dance!

VanillazHair Studio

“At Vanillaz we love helping you look and feel your best!”

Shop 118 Chute Street, Diamond Creek

9438 2244

now online www.diamondcreeknews.com

2012 is nearly over and what a year it hasbeen! With the countdown now on toChristmas and the end of the school year,it’s time to reflect on the year we have hadat Diamond Creek East Primary School.

We’d like to start off by congratulating ourgraduating grade 6 class, who will saygoodbye to primary school in a few shortweeks and begin their secondary schooljourney next year. We are so proud ofeverything you have achieved during yourtime at Diamond Creek East, and we hopeyou come back and visit us next year!

Our Grade 6 Graduation is always a spe-cial night for our grade 6 students, theirfamilies and teachers, and for the first timethis year it will be held in the Bendigo BankCommunity Stadium on Tuesday, Decem-ber 18.

We have had much to celebrate recentlyat Diamond Creek East Primary School.Our grade 6 girls’ volleyball team hasreached the State Final, which will be heldon Friday November 30. By the time youare reading this, we will already know theresult! We are very proud of the girls andtheir superstar coach Mr Michael Evanson this terrific achievement. Go DCE!

Not long ago, our grade 3 and 4 studentsreturned from a fun-filled 3 days at CampManyung in Mt. Eliza. For the grade 3s, itwas their first school camping experi-ence...and what a great time we all had!The 3 days were sunny and warm and stu-dents spent time on the giant swing, theflying fox, learning archery, snorkelling,swimming and exploring rock pools at the

beach.

We are very proud of our ‘DCE Live’ pro-gram, which has been inits inaugural year thisyear, involving our Grade5 and 6 students andDCEP’S Assistant Princi-pal Mrs Marg Chapman.‘DCE Live’ is a televisionshow that is broadcast liveto the entire school andviewed in each classroomvia the interactive white-boards every Wednesdayduring lunch eating timebetween 1:30pm and1:45pm. Regular items in-clude: the weather, birthdays of the week,sports reports, Feeling Fabulous adver-tisements, reports on excursions andschool activities, live interviews, musicalperformances, and a segment called ‘Howwell do you know DCE?’. The students areinvolved in planning, writing, rehearsing,performing and producing the program.The program has been a great showcasethis year for the terrific, hard working andtalented students we have at DCE and welook forward to watching it again everyweek next year. Stay tuned for ‘DCE’s GotTalent’!

Our school yard is looking tidier than ever,thanks to the hard work of our JuniorSchool Council (pictured above) and somevery lively student performances duringassembly (featuring a character calledRubbish Man!). These performances en-courage the students to keep the yardclean, and earn points for their school

‘house’ team at the same time! RubbishMan’s message must be getting throughto the students because the school yardlooks great!

Coming up at DCE, is our Christmas dressup day and end of year celebrations!

There’s always something interesting hap-pening at DCE,and still time left in 2012 tosee our school in action. Please contactour helpful office staff on 9438-1413 if youwould like to book a time for a school tour.

From all of us here at Diamond Creek EastPrimary School, we would like to wish you

and your loved ones a very Merry Christ-mas and a safe and happy New Year. Seeyou in 2013!

Kassie Papuga

DIAMOND CREEK EAST PRIMARY SCHOOL


Summer 2012 Diamond Creek News

Meet Santa, face painting, miniature train ride, caricature ... all free

FREE Tommy the Trackless Train Thursday 20th, Friday 21st, Saturday 22nd 1 Oam-3pm

Jump on board Tommy the Trackless Tra in who will be taking children on free r ides around Diamond Creek Shopping Station.

Roaming Santa* Wednesday 19th - Monday 24th December (excluding Sunday 23rd December) 10am-2pm

Look out for Santa and his elves looking for nice [not naughty) children.

FREE Diamond Creek Community Carols Sunday, 16th December Coventry Oval

6pm-10pm

Star ting at 6pm be entertained with roving performers and children's activities. At 8 pm the community carols will commence.

FREE Christmas Caricature Thursday 20th Decem ber Diamond Creek Plaza, 11 am-1pm

Fr iday 21 st December Between Deganis and The Vines Cafe 11 am- 2pm

What better way to capture Christmas than with a caricature. Br ing your l ittle ones down to Diamond Creek at the locations above and have a caricature done for free.

Well it is certainly hard to believe that yet an-other year has almost gone by. The dedi-cated staff, and students in their care havehad an action packed year with so manyachievements and great things happeningwithin our school. We have new iPads andother fantastic electronic equipment whichassists and enhances the children’s learning.Our senior school children have enjoyed par-ticipating in the Summer School InterschoolSports on a Friday. Our participation in theDiamond Creek Town Fair highlighted ourclubs; these are just a few of the many activ-ities and creative learning opportunities of-fered to our students.

The new post pads added to the courtyardshade sail posts were kindly donated by Ro-tary and have been a great addition to ourschool ground making it much safer for allconcerned. Thank you to the Rotary Club fortheir hard work providing this for our school.

We have been fortunate enough to have thehistoric brick pathway fully completed at theentrance to our school. Many past pupils,families and staff members were keen to pur-chase their commemorative pavers.

Our programs at Diamond Creek PrimarySchool continue to flourish. The Visual Artsprogram run by Mrs. Isabelle Mignuoli nowhas great new display cases in the schoolfoyer which showcase the students’ out-standing work. The School Band has beenperforming at different events at school andhas been lead by Mrs. Dickinson. KirstenDickinson has been a part of our school formany years. She has decided to leave herworking life behind and pursue travel instead.We wish Mrs. Dickinson all the very best inher new ventures and thank her for all shehas offered us as a community over theyears as a classroom teacher, Reading Re-covery Teacher and Performing Arts Teacher.Good luck Mrs. Dickinson and thank you.

Our swimming program is currently being en-joyed by all of our students. It is fabulous tothink that we are entering into the summermonths and all of our children are beinggiven some water safety tips and shown howto keep themselves safe around water.

Our new Preps for 2013 have met their Year6 buddies and madesome great posters totake home with a drawing

of their buddy. Theextensive transitionsessions have beena marvellous way for the new families andtheir children to experience what life at Dia-mond Creek Primary School is like. I mustsay that the new Preps all look so keen andeager to start school. I overheard one newPrep say “I wish that Christmas would hurryup so I can go to proper school.” This enthu-siasm is sure to continue until Grade Six!

We would like to thank all the local busi-nesses who have supported our school dur-ing 2012. We wish you all a happy and safeholiday and look forward to a prosperous2013.

If you would like a tour of our school or toknow anything else about our school pleasecontact our Principal Mrs. Helen Micallef9438 1108.

DIAMOND CREEK PRIMARY SCHOOL



This is a summary of Incidents the brigadehas attended between June and November.

The Brigade attended a total of 58 calls assummarised below:

False Alarms and False Calls 16Fire and Explosions 17Hazardous Condition 12MVA, Rescue, EMS Calls 12Service Calls 1

The biggest of these jobs was the fire in theHurstbridge Hardware Store in June wheresignificant damage was sustained to the struc-ture and contents, and a fully involved housefire in St. Helena.

The brigade has also attended a number ofburn-offs that were out of control. Please notethat Fire restrictions come into force in theShire of Nillimbik on 10th December.

MembershipNew members Mick Brown, Howard Jeffrey-Wright and Ashley Joy continue their devel-opment and training within the brigade, havingcompleted their minimum-skills training andpushing on with structure fire related skills.

Ex-Captain to MayorThe brigade would like to congratulate Ex-Captain Peter Perkins for recently beingelected Mayor of Nillumbik Shire Council.

Service AwardsThe brigade held its Annual PresentationNight in August. Annual Awards were pre-sented to:

Ross Kummer - Fire-fighter of the YearChris Droge - Most Valuable MemberThe Bury Family - Captain’s Award

The recipients of Service Awards were:Jess Murphy 5 Year ServiceLenny Pritchard 5 Year ServicePeter Clarkson 10 Year ServiceLubo Petrnousek 10 Year ServiceCharles Potter 10 Year ServiceWilliam Pritchard 25 Year ServiceDarren Kirkbride 30 Year ServiceBruce Holland 50 Year Service

The Brigade congratulates and thanks thesemembers for their years of dedication to theDiamond Creek Community.

Training Activities

Bush fire training for our members has com-menced for the upcoming fire season.

We have 3 members who have just completedwild fire crew leaders just in time for the up-coming fire season Anthony Rogers, RossKummer and Brett Skiffington Moretti.

Diamond Creek is now training for the UrbanState Championship which will be held at War-rnambool in March 2013 which includesMarching/Discipline Squad, and Hose Run-ning Competition.

New Equipment AcquisitionsThe brigade recently purchased the followingequipment. The purchase of these items,which enhance our ability to service DiamondCreek and to support our neighbouringbrigades would not be possible without thegenerosity and support of the Diamond CreekCommunity through the Ritchie’s CommunityBenefit Card scheme. If you would like to sup-port the Brigade via this excellent program,please contact the brigade [email protected] and we will have a card orkey-ring tag delivered to you.� Battery-powered LED Work Lights� Protek Branches for black-out

operations (reduced water usage)

New BrigadeA new fire brigade has been formed in ourarea - District 14 HQ Brigade East - with thetask of supporting the Incident Control activi-ties that occur in the Kangaroo Ground Inci-dent Control Centre. This new brigade was

formed using existing members from otherbrigades in the area (dual membership) aswell as members that are completely new toCFA.

The intent of this new brigade is to play a vitalrole in providing a large team of well trainedand exercised volunteers needed to supportthe management of major incidents. It is en-couraging to see how evenly applicants arespread across the Kangaroo Ground ICC foot-print. One important reason for having thisumbrella brigade is to ensure that personnelspread across different geographical loca-tions, competencies and know each otherfrom having trained and exercised togetherfrequently in the past.

Christmas TreesDiamond Creek Fire Brigade will again be sell-ing Christmas trees through the first threeweeks of December. The brigade would liketo thank the greater Diamond Creek commu-nity for their support of this valuable fund rais-ing event.

FacebookDiamond Creek Fire Brigade is now on Face-book. You can now like us on Facebookhttp://www.facebook.com/

Photos below are from CFA Sunday(25/11/2012) Left - Members of the commu-nity and Right - A future Fire Fighter test drivesthe pumper.

DIAMOND CREEKFIRE BRIGADE


I would like to thank my constituents for yoursupport over the last four years. I have en-joyed working with you despite the apparentlyfalse allegations made against me by sectionsof the Victorian government.

I would also like to thank the NillumbikRatepayers Association, for commissioningthe two, independent, CFA endorsed, Bush-fire Assessments in 2003. Those two Assess-ments, “Bushfire Threat to Nillumbik Shire” byDavid Packham, and “Fire Hazard and Vege-tation Controls in the Shire of Nillumbik” byRod Incoll, warned the Victorian governmentthat a Black Saturday bushfire was coming. Ibelieve most of the lives lost on Black Satur-day, would have been prevented, if the Victo-rian government had acted on the expertadvice of the CFA endorsed Packham and In-

coll Assessments. Indeed, the first book pub-lished about Black Saturday was “Inferno”.That book stated “…the threat of catastrophicfire was dismissed with what now seems aculpable disregard for life and safety”. Theword culpable means “deserving of blame orcensure”. My heart goes out to the families af-fected by Black Saturday, and I wish those ofyou who are still struggling with the conse-quences, all the best. Almost ten years afterthe CFA endorsed Packham and Incoll As-sessments were personally delivered to a Vic-torian government formal Hearing, they areeven more relevant now, because bushfirefuel loads have increased since Black Satur-day. Unfortunately the full consequences ofBlack Saturday will only be determined afterthe court cases about damages are settlednext year. The cost for all of us taxpayers is

expected to be well over one thousand milliondollars. Hopefully the Victorian governmentand the generally unquestioning media willthen accept expert advice, that it is cheaper toreduce landscape fuel loads in the vicinity oftowns and suburbs, than leaving those fuelloads at levels where people cannot escapean extreme bushfire.

Belinda Clarkson.Former Blue Lake ward Councillor 2008 - 2012

Thank You!

now online www.diamondcreeknews.comDiamond Creek News Summer 2012

Jets Gymnastics has just completed its firstyear in the new Community Bank Stadiumand wow what a year it has been. The sta-dium has been widely acknowledged as thebest gymnastics centre in all of Australia,ahead of both the Australian & Victorian In-stitute of Sport - right here in Diamond Creek,quite unbelievable !!! The venue was given abig stamp of approval as it hosted 3 majorcompetitions early in 2012 including the EliteVictorian Championships which had many ofthe girls who trialled to make the OlympicTeam competing at the venue and VIP's in-cluding the National Coach. The centre alsowelcomed back many of the people whohelped establish the foundations of the Com-munity bank Stadium including Bo Bendtsen,Janice Crosthwhite, Malcolm Hackett, BarryHenwood and Belinda Clarkson - we werevery lucky to have such wonderful support atour Club.

Jets Diamond Creek has had some signifi-cant performances by our gymnasts in 2012,notably Isis Lowery was selected to competefor Australia in an International Competitionagainst Japan. Isis finished 9th at AustralianChampionships in July and just last weekwas crowned the National Clubs Championon Vault where she also finished 3rd Overall.Isis is the first ever Senior International Gym-nast from the shire to remain training in theshire and represent Australia, she is an in-

spiration to many of the young gymnasts atJets and is set for bigger and better things in2013 with World Championships firmly on theradar.

The State Level 8 Team consisting of PaigeGoodwin, Leah Stangherlein, BrittanyGreen and Darcy Moore also had a huge

year winning the Victorian Championships,with Leah going on to win the VictorianChampionships on Beam and placing 3rd onFloor. The Level 4 Girls (Chloe Manuel, EmilySaunders, Imogen Richards, Romy Gardam& Georgia Siderov) just capped off a won-derful competition season being crowned Na-tional Champions on Floor, 3rd on Beam and5th Overall in all of Australia, earlier in themonth Romy Gardam was crowned VictorianChampion on Floor and Georgia Siderovplaced 2nd on Floor in Victoria and the Teamplaced 3rd in Victoria.

In May Jets had 4 girls selected to representVictoria at National Championships (Isis Low-ery, Brianne Allen, Teliah Farren-Price andEmily Dean) this was a fabulous effort fromthe girls and due reward for their hours ofhard work in training. Brianne was alsocrowned Victorian Champion on Bars andjust recently placed 2nd in Australia on Bal-ance Beam at the National Clubs Competi-tion held in Geelong.

We are very proud of the girls achievementsand the wonderful sportsmanship which theyhave showed throughout the year. Jets has afabulous training environment which encour-ages each and every gymnast to be theirvery best and at the same time learn to be agreat team-mate, friend, role model and im-portantly enjoy the wonderful challenges thesport presents each and every training ses-sion. We welcome gymnasts from ages 3and up and have programs to suit every levelfrom beginner to Olympic Level. Call Jets Di-amond Creek on 9438 8940 to book a FreeTry out class today.



HAVE YOUR SAY ON CAR PARKINGCouncil has prepared draft car parking strategies for the Shire’s major activity centres – Eltham and Diamond Creek.

The draft strategies consider current and future car parking needs within both centres and provide recommendations for best practice parking management. This work supports Council’s commitment to promoting economic development, improving the amenity and functionality of our major activity centres and encouraging sustainable transport.

View both strategies at www.nillumbik.vic.gov.au.

Make a submission

Write to: Alison FowlerSenior Strategic PlannerNillumbik Shire CouncilPO Box 476 Greensborough VIC 3088Email: [email protected]

Extended deadline: submissions on either strategy close 5pm 1 February 2013.

www.hurstbridgefarmersmarket.com.au

Get your quality, fresh and seasonal produce from local producers!

Sunday 23 December 2012 3pm-8pmFergusons Paddock, Hurstbridge-Arthurs Creek Road, Hurstbridge

HurstbridgeTWILGHT

Farmers’ Market

COME AND MAKE A SPLASH!Keep the kids cool over the summer holidays at the Diamond Creek Outdoor Pool.

The outdoor heated pool complex features a 25 metre shaded pool and separate toddlers play pool with shade structure.

Diamond Creek Outdoor Pool offer swimming lessons, birthday parties and hiring options.

Swimming lessons are run after school on Mondays and Wednesdays, and on Saturday morning for children aged 3-5 years old, 5-15 years old and adults.

Diamond Creek Outdoor Pool is located at 1 Elizabeth Street, Diamond Creek and is open:

2013 COUNCIL AND COMMITTEE MEETINGS

ORDINARY COUNCIL MEETINGS

26 February 201326 March 201330 April 201328 May 2013

27 August 201324 September 2013

6 November 2013*26 November 201317 December 2013

POLICY AND SERVICES COMMITTEE AND PLANNING COMMITTEE

12 February 201312 March 201316 April 201314 May 2013

13 August 201310 September 201315 October 201312 November 201310 December 2013

*(Wed) 2013 Special meeting to elect the Mayor

Meetings will occur on Tuesday nights throughout the

Committee meetings start at 7pm followed by the Planning Committee meetings at approximately 8pm. Ordinary Council

are held at the Civic Centre, Civic Drive, Greensborough. For further information visit Council’s website.

www.nillumbik.vic.gov.au

l

ool offer

Great

school holiday

fun!

Even our toddlers and preschoolers joinus for a walk on the Walking SchoolBus. It is a great way to socialise theyoung preschoolers who feel such apart of our Walking School Bus Com-munity. This has also become an unof-ficial prep orientation activity as inDecember each year we allow our nextyear’s preps to walk with us in their uni-form and we give them a special ticket

and show bag to welcome them to theWalking School Bus.

The culture of exercise being a greatway to start the day has been firmly en-trenched in our Walking School Bustraveller’s way of life. The children justget a real buzz out of waiting for the Busand walking all together. It has been agreat way to meet children from differ-ent grade levels and also for parents to

meet up and have a casual chat whilewalking to school as a group.

Congratulations to Matthew who walked1173 walks with the walking School Bus.We will have your star photo in the nextaddition Matthew!

Thank you to for volunteering to walkwith the Walking School Bus. We lovehaving community members walk withus on the Walking School Bus.

Our school program is continuing togrow and we are proud of all of our par-ticipants – keep up the great walkingchampions!

Diamond Creek Primary School Walking School Bus.

In November each year at least 200schools meet to compete in the RACVHuman Powered Vehicle Challenge inMaryborough Country Victoria. Thewhole of the town is abuzz with this mar-vellous opportunity to present the bestthere is in each of the competingschools. This challenge compromises of

several different elements. The teammust be both girls and boys and theyneed to present reasons that they havebeen able to save the environment fromthe build up of green house gases andprotect us all by using green energy.

The team for 2012 were champions!!Well done to all of our team who hap-

pened to win for thesecond year in a rowand who are also win-ners in the tenth an-niversary year.

Our enthusiastic team ofteachers continue tosupport the studentswho represent ourschool at Maryborough.A great deal of commu-nity effort goes in to the

Human Powered Vehicle Challenge withfamilies and children needing to give acommitment for at least 30 weeks in theyear to train and achieve excellence.

Thanks goes to Ian Hartwig andMichelle Chubb who are such dedicatedpast parents who continue to travel upand offer vehicle support, training andcatering to the current Human PoweredVehicle team even though their childrenleft Diamond Creek Primary School atleast 3 years ago.

Well done to this year’s team you arechampions! Two years in a row and onthe 10th anniversary we salute you!

Diamond Creek Primary School Human Powered Vehicle - 2012



The Diamond Creek Rotary Town Fairwas held on Saturday 24th November andwas yet again a resounding success. Un-fortunately the extremely hot weather didkeep some people away but those who at-tended had a great time! This year’stheme was Life in the Green Wedge andone of the new activities was the En-chanted Forrest which was a place of

magic and wonder for all who visited it.Charming fairies captivated the visitorswith stories and activities. This year the Grand Parade through MainStreet was the largest ever with many par-ticipants from schools, kindergartens,community organisations and local busi-nesses. Congratulations to the DiamondCreek Men’s Shed for winning the best entrant in the parade. Whilst the heat

may have kept the crowds at home in theafternoon, the warm evening certainlybrought them out for the CFA’s torchlightparade and the fantastic fireworks displayaccompanied by music. The Rotary Club of Diamond Creek wouldlike to thank all of the local organisationswho participated in the Town Fair and welook forward to seeing everyone backagain next year!

The Diamond Creek Town Fair


1st Diamond Creek Wakoola Scout TroopThe past couple of months has been ex-tremely busy with almost half of the Trooppreparing for AJ 2013,(Australian Jamboree),being held in Maryborough, QLD, in January.

In October, 38 out of 40 Scouts attendedMafeking Scout Park out of Yea for the an-nual EDAC camp. 200 Scouts from aroundthe district were there enjoying the activitiesand fun. We camped with Lower Plenty asanother opportunity to get to know theirScouts before we all head off to Jamboree.

The theme was based around the 100th an-niversary of Mawson's trek to the South Pole.

A fortnight later, the Jamboree Scouts at-tended a Pre-Jamboree Camp at Noon-ameena, at Kyneton. Here we joined LowerPlenty again, and also had our fellow Jam-boree Scouts from 1st Maiden Gully (out ofBendigo). Patrols were mixed up and con-stantly rotating, allowing all of the Scouts toget to know each other. All 6 patrol leaderswere chosen from Diamond Creek, which isimpressive and shows the leadership quali-ties our Scouts possess.

The Troop have also enjoyed nights with aHalloween Theme, a Karate Theme, and alsoa visit by the Diamond Valley Women’s' Foot-ball League.

We have also had an evening Barefoot Bowl-ing at Diamond Creek Bowling Club, wherewe welcomed Laurel into the pack.

1st Diamond Creek Wolf CubsLike the rest of the Group, the Cub pack hasenjoyed many varied activities in the last cou-ple of months, sharing their Halloween Discowith the Joey Scouts and the Venturers, andalso participated in a joint Karate night withthe Scouts. The Joey Scouts, Cub Scoutsand Venturers all enjoyed dressing up in theirscariest costumes ever.

The Cub Scouts have also spent weeks ontheir Scouting skills, with Knotting, First Aidand Hygiene, and Navigation on a bike ridefrom the Scout Hall. The pack will completetheir year with a swimming night and hope toinvest 2 new members to the pack.

1st Diamond Creek Joey Scout MobThe Joey Scouts have enjoyed being out ofthe hall this term, with a visit up to GMAC inYarrambat, and also a walk to the Wetlands inEltham North.

‘Kookaburra’ (Helen) was explaining each ofthe native plants as we walked along, and wewere pleased to see that there was actuallywater in the wetlands thistime, so we saw wildlifetoo - a duck, her duckling,and some frogs and fish.

We will also welcomePaige to the Mob whenwe invest her at the Dia-mond Creek Town Fair.

We celebrate our 19thbirthday this week, with awalk through DiamondCreek, ending up at theCoventry Oval for a TeddyBear's picnic.

We have also participatedat Mc Happy Day, wherewe had 2 new friends jointhe mob. Sadly, we must say goodbye to KookaburraHelen, who is headed interstate to take up anew work role.

1st Diamond Creek Scout Group Commit-tee and LeadersThe adults of the group have been just asbusy as the others! We have been repre-sented at Pet Expo, Mc Happy Day and alsoat the Remembrance Day service held at Di-

amond Creek in the last few weeksalone.

Our small but determined Committeehas embraced a year of Jamboreefundraising and also have purchaseda couple of new tents for the group touse.

The leaders have had support fromthe committee to continue with theirtraining modules and program eachweek, which is vital to make sure thateach and every one of us is havingfun Scouting.

The whole group sends everyone SeasonsGreetings and wishes for a safe and happybreak, and thanks each and every person andorganisation that has been helped Scoutinglocally in the last 12 months.

And also, as always, if there are any boys andgirls, aged between 5.5 and 26 years of age,or any adults looking for a new challenge, ei-ther in a Leadership or Support role, pleasefeel free to come and chat to us when you seeus out and about in Diamond Creek, comeand see us at the Scout Hall in Challenger St,or else give me a call on 0411 719 812.

Yours in Scouting

Natarsha JacobsJoey Scout Leader & Leader in Charge1st Diamond Creek Scout Group

Scouting Around Diamond Creek


Players and coaches come and go but onefootball icon has remained the same. Nextyear the Diamond Creek Football Club willcelebrate its 125th year.

In order to commemorate the occasion for-mer committee members, coaches, playersand supporters will be invited to join in thecelebration at a gala event which is not tobe missed on Friday, April 26th. 2013 atIvanhoe Town Hall.

HistoryDiamond Creek can boast a long, illustri-ous history which has seen us enjoy pre-miership success, in four distinct eras, inseveral different competitions. Formed in1888 the club competed in the Whittlesea

District Football Association without win-ning any premierships. In 1906 the clubwas a founding member of the Bourke Eve-lyn Football League. The change of stamp-ing ground obviously did the side good asit promptly claimed the inaugural BEFL flagfollowed by a second place finish in 1907and another premiership in 1908. This waseffectively the first of Diamond Creek's foureras of success. The second such era oc-curred during the 1920s. In 1922 DiamondCreek was one of seven foundation mem-bers of the Diamond Valley FootballLeague. The club was a force in this newleague from the outset, and went to takeout the premierships in both 1924 and1926. There then followed more than half

a century of predominantly mediocre show-ings which were finally brought to an endby the club's first, and to date only, back toback premiership triumphs in 1981 and1982. The 1981 season had seen theDVFL split into two divisions, with both ofthe Demons' successes coming in the topflight. However, the last of the club's foureras of success involved a trio of seconddivision flags, in 1992, 1998 and 2005.

PremiershipsBourke Evelyn Football League

1906, 1908 Diamond Valley Football League

1924,1926,1981,1982,1992,1998,2005

DIAMOND CREEK

FOOTBALL CLUB

Celebrating 125 years - 1888 - 2013

If you have any information, photos or memorabiliathat you would be willing to share or for any further in-formation on the event please contact either, Glenn'Mushy" Walle: 0438 024361, Caliem O'Connor: 0408090 378 Brian Harvey: 0414 235 302 or Club Histo-rian -Gary "Tarax" Marchant: 0413 458 516

Be a part of history in 2013 and help celebrate

125 years of the Diamond Creek Football Club


Diamond Creek News

Eltham GlassPty Ltd

� Mirrors � Laminated Safety Glass� Tabletops � Shower Screen Repairs� Shop Fronts � Broken Windows Repaired� Insurance Work � Leadlights made to Order� Splashbacks � Leadlight Supplies

� 7 Days a Week �� All Areas�

� Same Day Service�Trevor & Sue Constance

49 Chute StreetDiamond Creek

Phone: 9438 1970Mobile: 0419 354 858

Summer 2012

Hurstbridge Saddlery

942 Main Rd, Hurstbridge, 3099 Phone: (03) 9718 1988

Horse Rug Repairs

Stock & Pet FeedNOW AVAILABLE!!!

CHAFF/PELLETS LARGE RANGE OF ALL THEPOPULAR BRANDS for your horse Chook, bird, Cat & Dog Food etc

You will be pleasantly surprised at our prices!

Combined carols service at the DiamondCreek church at 10.30am, Sunday 16 De-cember (preceded by morning tea at 10.00am).

Christmas Day ServicesTuesday 25 December9.00 AM at Hurstbridge10.00 am at Diamond Creek

Community Christmas Day LunchOnce again there will be our CommunityChristmas Day Lunch in Diamond Creek.Last year, at our sixth Christmas Lunch, wehad 105 people sit down together to alovely, festive meal in warm and welcomingcompany.

When: Christmas Day, Tuesday 25 De-cember, 2012 at 12.00 noon.Where: Diamond Creek Uniting Church,Main Hurstbridge Road, cnr WensleyStreet, opposite the Emergency ServicesCentre.

Who: These days, for all sorts of reasons,many of us find ourselves at a bit of a looseend on Christmas Day. Everyone is mostwelcome to join us for a friendly Christmasmeal. There is no charge.How: Transport readily available to andfrom the lunch if required.

Give us a call to have a chat about maybe

coming or to say "yes". Diane 9718 2035Community use of church buildingsOur centrally-located suites of buildingshave a variety of venues available for hire,both at Diamond Creek and Hurstbridge.For Diamond Creek – contact Barrie Cole9431 1740For Hurstbridge – contact Robert Joynt9438 4107

For further information about the UnitingChurch in Diamond Creek and Hurst-bridge, please contact Rev Loni Vaitohi on9438 1107. Also please see our informa-tive website www.diamondvalley.unit-ingchurch.org.au

UNITING CHURCH IN DIAMOND CREEK AND HURSTBRIDGECHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS

Diamond Creek News

WGPS Turns 90!!!!Tuesday December 18 from 7.00pm

It is now November and the countdown hasbegun! This night will include our graduationceremony, the school end of year class per-formances and the special cutting of WattleGlen Primary School’s 90th birthday cake!

Please feel free to invite past students andparents to the event so that they too can cel-ebrate!

Portsea Camp 2012Year 4, 5 and 6 students attended the 3 daycamp to Portsea and came back with won-derful memories! Thanks to Andrew Bullerand Jess Johnston for their valuable time!ART @ WGPSAs part of a Modelling unit in Art, grade 1 / 2

students created plasticine pictures (now ondisplay in the foyer) inspired by well-knownAmerican children’s author/ illustrator BarbaraReid. The children’s work is amazing!! I was

so impressed with the art that I sent a letterand a picture of the children’s work to BarbaraReid herself and got a wonderful response;

Dear Barbara,I am a primary school Art teacher at WattleGlen Primary, Melbourne, Australia. My grade1 and 2 students (6-8years old) completed aunit of work inspired by your amazing books.We also loved watching your 'how to' instruc-tions on youtube.The students and I wanted to share their workwith you so I have attached a photo.

Thank you for the inspiration!!

Cheers

Eliza VenostaArt Teacher Wattle Glen Primary School

This is Barbaras response;

Hello Eliza and your talented students!Thank you very much for sharing this beauti-ful artwork. I love to hear from readers, but itis even more exciting to learn about fellowplasticine artists.

You have all done an excellent job in design-ing your picture and using colour, shapes and

texture to set a scene and create lively char-acters. Each one is different, and each pic-ture tells a story. I feel I have learned a littleabout each of you. Best of all, it looks likeyou had as much fun with plasticine as I do!

Artists learn from other artists, and I know youwill inspire me as I work on future projects.Thank you for connecting through books andartwork from one side of the wold to another.

Best wishes and happy reading,

Barbara Reid

2012 GraduatesCongratulations to our 2012 Graduates, Is-abelle, Alexandra, Nathan, Leif, Dane,Matthew, Blake and Adam. You have beenwonderful students and we wish you all thebest for the future at secondary school.

THANK YOU STAFFA huge thank you to all the staff of WGPS onan outstanding year. Your efforts and supporthave been greatly appreciated! From imple-menting quality programs, to helping atfundraising activities and participating in pro-fessional development courses – you are anamazing team! Thank you Allison Birkett, Si-mone Natoli, Keren Wakefield, Jessica John-ston, Tracey Fay, Elizabeth Murray, DebraAnderson, Natalie Tyrrell, Donna Seivers,Petra Cox, Joy Turner, Tracie Shallard, DaniSyzmanski, Anita Da Silva, Anna Volodina,Eliza Venosta, Kerryn Pilkington, Kerry Bullerand Angie and Joe Robassa. Looking forwardto a prosperous 2013!

Merry Christmas and Have a Safe Holidayeveryone!!!!

2013 - Mark this date in your calendar – Sun-day March 24, Wattle Glen Family Fun Day

If you would like a personalised tour of the school, please contact Gerard on 9438 1259. For more information, please visit us at - http://www.wattlegps.vic.edu.au/

SMALL SCHOOL ………. BIG OPPORTUNITIES!!

Summer 2012


Diamond Creek News

SANDRA SHELL0417 525 696

NO JOB TOO BIG OR TOO SMALL

ARE YOU STRUGGLING WITHYOUR BAS/TAX LODGEMENTS?

WE HAVE THE SOLUTION FOR YOU• COMPLETE BOOKKEEPING SERVICE - INCLUDES

PAYMENT OF YOUR ACCOUNTS IF REQUIRED

OUR OFFICE OR YOURS• COMPETITIVE RATES – NO EXTRA COSTS INVOLVED• AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE REGISTERED &

QUALIFIED• ALL WORK GUARANTEED• WE LIAISE WITH YOUR ACCOUNTANT AT ALL TIMES• ORGANISATION AND RETENTION OF YOUR RECORDS IF

REQUIRED

CONTACT SANDRA FOR YOUR FREE CONSULTATION

COMPLETE OFFICE ASSISTANT

ATTENTION ALL TRADIES & SMALLBUSINESS OWNERS IN THE

DIAMOND CREEK/ELTHAM AREA

Summer 2012

COMMUNITYCHRISTMASLUNCH

If you are at a loose end orjust plain lonely on Christmas

Day then please join us at theUniting Church Hall Cnr Hurstbridge Rd and

Wensley Street, DiamondCreek

12 Noon on Christmas DayNo Charge

Transport available if neededRelaxed and friendly atmos-

phereEveryone welcome

If you would like to chat aboutcoming, or simply to say

“yes”then call

Diane on 9718 2035 or Loni on 9438 1107

Diamond Creek News

Mural to celebrate 50 yearsOn Sunday 18th November, 2012 SacredHeart School celebrated its 50th Anniversarywith an Open Day. The school was open toall past and present members of the Parishand School community to view memorabiliaand to see the expansion and improvementsto the school over the years.

To commemorate this special occasion theschool commissioned artist Russell Danbyfrom ‘Muralmaker’ to paint a mural on the re-bound wall depicting what our studentsthought were the strengths of Sacred HeartDiamond Creek. Towards the end of Octo-

ber, Russell outlined the artwork and spenta day painting the top section that was toohigh for the children to reach. A number ofschool children, who had submitted designs,were chosen to work with Russell helping tofinish the mural.

At the planning stage, staff and students hadthe opportunity to have some input as to thefinal product. A draft watercolor of what thefinished product would look like was providedand after some adjustments to the plan it wastime to paint the final product. As part of the design, a large eucalyptus treewas placed on each side of the mural so thatwe could attach ceramic leaves on the trees.

On the celebration day, past and presentschool families were given the opportunity togo into the Visual Art room to glaze and addtheir family name to a ceramic gum leaf to beattached on the mural. It was a wonderful op-portunity for past and present members ofthe school and parish community to perma-nently record their name in Sacred Heart’shistory. The mural was officially unveiled on the 50thBirthday Celebration Day on Sunday 18thNovember. Thank you to our enthusiastic Visual ArtTeacher, Andrea Williams, who spent manyhours planning and overseeing this project.

SACRED HEART

PRIMARY SCHOOL

Summer 2012

Sacred Heart ParishChristmas EveChildren’s Mass - 6pm Diamond CreekMass - 9.30pm Diamond Creek Christmas DayMass - 8.30am Diamond Creek

**No Midnight Mass

St Thomas ParishGreensboroughNthChristmas EveChildren's Mass - 7.30pmChristmas DayMass - 10.30am

**No Midnight Mass

CHRISTMAS MASS TIMES


What has 150 years done for the battlers?

The Gold Rushes of the early 1850’s had pe-tered out. There were tens of thousands ofex-miners – mainly from Europe – who faceda parlous future. Economic and politicalevents in Europe had wiped out any prospectof a prosperous and free life. Australia hadland – thousands of hectares of it but it waslocked up by the squatters who had capitaland influence For a modest licence fee theycould access and hold these vast areas ofvirgin land. For the diggers and other freesettlers such areas were effectively out ofbounds.

Take Major Anthony Beale, late of the EastIndia Company, whose regiment wascharged with guarding Napoleon on St He-lena in the south Atlantic Ocean. As a squat-ter, he controlled a station which stretchedfrom Greensborough in the south to Kinglakein the north - a distance of about 40 Km. Andhis footprint is still seen today in the (Mel-

bourne) suburb of St Helena and Beale Av-enue in Kinglake.

Come the 1860’s and a more representativeparliament was anxious to do something forthe thousands of men, some with their fami-lies who had been locked out of access tothe land. It fell to the Irishman, Charles GavinDuffy to do this with his Duffy Land Act of1862 which opened up tens of millions ofacres for selection in parcels of from 40 to640 acres. The land, held as freehold, waspurchased on generous terms, but requiredthe construction of a residence as well asother improvements.

One of those districts which rejoiced in thisfar-sighted legislation is the area of ArthursCreek, north east of Melbourne in the hillssouth of the Kinglake Ranges. On October13th and 14th 2012 the community cele-brated the opening up of this district to“closer settlement” 150 years ago under theDuffy Land Acts. And, no doubt, many otherdistricts throughout Victoria are also cele-brating.

This legislation represented a victory for thecommon people to claim a part of their her-itage as pioneers and adventurers. It alsolaid the foundation for the establishment of amore just and equitable economy in whichthe destitute and marginalised could share.

The irony is that under successive VictorianGovernments, these farmer-settlers havefound that their modest holdings have beenfrozen, allegedly in the interests of the urbanareas which are said to require space andrecreation. The fundamental problem withthis is the land’s questionable viability to gen-erate a liveable income in the present envi-ronment. For many older landholders a fairvalue for their land in fact represents theironly “superannuation”.

So why have recent Governments, in an un-just twist, chosen to turn the clock back anddeny small landowners the right to a fair re-turn on the capital value of their land? Peo-ple with holdings near urban areas should beable to sub-divide them into 8 H. blocks toform an intermediate zone between the sub-urban and the rural, while still meeting ex-pectations of a “green landscape.” Moreoverthere would be thousands of people in ourcities who would value the chance to live on,and work a small hobby farm.

Reported news of the current Governmentreviewing regulations about the size and de-velopment of our rural districts is indeed wel-come. Let us see if they have the will todeliver. While justice delayed is justice de-nied, after 150 years it is indeed time thatlandholders can hope for a better deal.

C. Malcolm Macmillan - Arthurs Creek.

1862 .......and all that

DIAMOND CREEK OSTEOPATHIC CLINIC

27 BLACKGULLY ROAD, DIAMOND CREEK

SPORTS INJURIES, MUSCULAR, SKELETAL PROBLEMS, NECK & SHOULDER, STRESS AND HEADACHE ETC.

TAC & WORKCOVER

For Appointment Phone 9438 1404 or 0412 403 293


Local GirlsParty for a Cause

Diamond Creeks Girls Night InFriday 26 October was the night for over180 local ladies to ‘party for a cause’ at theDiamond Creek Community Centre. Witheveryone dressed well and truly ‘in the pink’those attending enjoyed some great musiccourtesy of local band Amanda & the Jetswho volunteered their time to be involvedand set the scene for a fun night. The ladiesat Gigliola also put on a great fashion pa-rade to showcase their new season’s rangeof mother / daughter ‘frocks’ suitable for allthose festive parties ahead. Local supportfor the evening was once again over-whelming and the event committee wouldlike to thank all those who so generouslydonated products as raffle and silent auc-tion prizes. Just over $5100 was raised tobe split between the Victorian Cancer

Council Girls Night In and our local cancersupport network the 4C’s. Watch out for in-formation about next year’s event early in2013 and contact Living & Learning Nil-lumbik on 9433 3766 or via [email protected] if you are interested inbeing part of the event management team.

GatheringsDay venue - 2nd Tuesday of the month atSt John’s Anglican Church Diamond Creek.The Church meeting room is opposite ADRyans on Main Street. The group gather inthe meeting room from 1-3pm. Please bringa small plate to share. A warm welcome isassured.

Night venue - Degani’s Bakery Café MainStreet Diamond Creek. Last Thursday ofthe month. From 7pm – about 9.30pm. Wegather for tea in the private function room;new members welcome. If you would liketo come and have a coffee with us feel freeto join us a meal is not necessary.

We do not meet again until February how-ever, if you wish to contact one of our mem-bers for information or support please feel

free. We guarantee a listening earand support even though we have nomore official meeting for this year.

The Committee will be meeting inJanuary to plan the day and eveningmeetings and look at the topic thatwill be discussed as well as arrangeguest speakers and special events.This is all made possible through thegenerous support from our commu-nity.

The 4C’s are indebted to our localcommunity for their support throughraising awareness and funds for new

members. Recently Contours and Curvesof Diamond Creek held candle sales andgreen teas hand wash sales with SandraDavies from Dominant Home Care. We re-ally appreciated your support in raisingawareness of women’s cancers.

Sandra Davies also kindly approach manybusinesses to make up a welcome pack fornew members. This pack has been grate-fully accepted by our new members and itcontains many treats and vouchers fromlocal businesses. We would like to thank allbusiness for their contribution to the 4C’swelcome pack. Our thanks is also extendedto Sandra who has coordinated this greatinitiative as a volunteer.

A big thank you to Mitre 10 and staff fortheir Ladies Night in September thank youonce again for your great efforts. I love mypink shovel!!

Living and Learning Nillumbik deserve an-other big thank you for the Girls’ Night Inheld in October at the Diamond CreekCommunity Centre. The room was deco-rated beautifully, a fantastic meal was con-sumed by all and we danced the night awayto Amanda and the Jets. Thank you to thegirls at Living and Learning Nillumbik andto Amanda and the Jets.

4C’s can be contacted through NillumbikCommunity Health Service on 9430 9154

Linda Hammond is our Community HealthNurse.

We wish you all a joyous Christmas andNew Year and thank you for your supportas a Diamond Creek community.


SAVE THECHILDREN

DIAMOND CREEK BRANCH

Christmas Blessings and Greetings to all ofour supporters and their families and may2013 bring you all Good Health and GoodCheer. The year of 2012 seemed to flash bywith extreme alacrity, so to our surprise hereis our last newsletter for the year.

Stalling News: We held a three day stall outside Coles Su-permarket in Eltham. We sold a lot of knitwearfor babies and toddlers and sundry craftitems. We raised $1,000.

We have just delivered two bags knitted babywear from our ‘Ladies of the Manor’ who re-side on the Mornington Peninsula.

Though these talented Knitters have cele-brated their 90th Birthdays, they keep thoseneedles clicking, and our supply for our nextventure is always there only to disappear offthe table by the end of the week. We thankall those who knit and donate craft work, yourcreativity and industry are the ‘engines’ thatkeep us stalling around.

Our 49th Annual General Meeting was heldon the October 8, 2012 at the home of Mrs.Carol Randle. President Mrs. Pam Markus,Secretary, Mrs. Lorraine Ramplin, TreasurerMrs. Val Greer were all re-elected.

In the last newsletter we reported that someof the money raised was sent over to Fiji asthey had a devastating cyclone. Pam Markus received a thank-you letter justas this newsletter was being completed, fromJennifer Keys of Save the Children Australiato thank our Branch for the donation. Theyhave purchased Early Learning Equipmentwhich had to be replaced due to cyclone, andnow can start the Early Learning Class in2013 with replacement equipment.

We were delighted to receive this feedbackand pass it on to our donators, and all thefriendly people who buy our merchandise.

“From little things big things grow” as thesong goes, if everyone does a little we canSave the Children all over the world fromhunger, disease and lack of education. Wish-ing all our readers a Happy Christmas andmay you all enjoy safe and enjoyable holi-days. We will be back with more news in2013.

Jill Pittle

Diamond Creek News

� Peace of mind� A clean, safe and loving environment for your child� A Personalised, Clean Centre� Highly Qualified Staff Committed to the Care and Development

of Children.� Open from 7.00 am to 6.30 pm (Monday to Friday)� Long Day Care – 6 weeks – 5 Years � Kindergarten program provided by a qualified Kindergarten

Teacher promoting a wonderful literacy and numeracy program� Nutricious Meals, Cooked on the Premises

(Breakfast, Morning Tea, Lunch, Afternoon Tea)� Multilingual and Bilingual staff members� Our Centre has an Open Door Policy� Privately Owned by a local family

Enquiries welcome: Director, DeborahPhone: (03) 9435 5104 or Mobile: 0433 379 430

www.sutherlandchildcare.comSummer 2012

AGE 3+ GROUP VACANCIES FOR 2013

Contact us;Call our enrolment officer Leanne on 0401 974 442

Email the Pre-School [email protected]

or call in to see us at 28 Coniston St Diamond Creek.



The Rotary Club of Diamond Creek re-cently presented their annual Pride ofWorkmanship Awards. The recipients ofthe award are all nominated by their work-place or by the community for a job welldone. Each one of the awardees has ex-tended themselves and “gone the extramile”.

Proud recipients were Andrew Knight whois employed by Nillumbik Shire Council,Travis De Silva from Lloyd Plumbing andJeremy Georges from Vines Café, (whounfortunately could not attend on thenight). Each were given a plaque and acertificate to commemorate their award.Andrew Knight was nominated by Nil-lumbik Shire Council because of his tire-less and dedicated approach on erosionrehabilitation and drainage improvementworks after the Black Saturday fires andrecent storms. Travis De Silva was nom-inated by both a local builder and a resi-dent for whom Lloyd Plumbing had donesome work. His meticulous work, greatcustomer service and professional atti-

tude earned him his award. JeremyGeorges was nominated by his managerfor the way that he has enhanced themenu at Vines Café.

The Awards were presented by local res-ident, Ken Crompton, founder and formerCEO of the John Monash Foundation, aformer Agent General for Victoria in Lon-don and former CEO of the AustralianChamber of Manufactures. Ken made asignificant keynote speech about the im-portance of taking pride in one’s work.

In the past the Rotary Club of DiamondCreek has made awards to staff from

banks, schools, childcare centres and re-tail establishments. If there is any busi-ness or organisation within the Shire whowould like to participate in next year’sawards please call Alan Jones on 0414861 558.

Pride of Workmanship Awards

Diamond Creek News

Hall’s Funeral Services15 Station Street,Diamond Creek.

An Australian owned and operated family Fu-neral business for three generations that un-derstands the needs of people at a time ofgrief.

Pre-arranged and Prepaid Funerals

Telephone: 9438 5416

24 Hours a Day7 Days a Week

Summer 2012


Diamond Creek News

Now the Pennant Season is underway ourTuesday and Saturday teams have been ex-periencing some great games. At the time ofthis report, two of our Tuesday Pennant andthree of our Saturday Pennant teams are inthe top four. Our bowlers have pennant prac-tise every Thursday afternoon with drills andcoaching advice and are confident they willcontinue to improve.

SUMMER BOWLIINGEvery second Monday, bowlers from our club,and visiting bowlers, are competing in our‘Hot Cash” Triples Competition. While the on-looker may think these afternoons appear re-laxed and informal, this is a strong anddetermined competition, and with eachbowler having three bowls, there are manytight good shots.

BARE FOOT BOWLS…Our Friday night Bare Foot Bowls competitionis underway. With a BBQ meal when they ar-rive, and then 16 ends of bowls, we have 14teams of mixed ages having a great time.

There will be a short break over Christmasand then the fun will continue again. If youhave any queries please contact GrahamGuy on 0411 798546 or email [email protected]

SOCIAL COMMITTEE…After a very special Launch Dinner that trans-formed our lounge area into a 5 star restau-rant, our Social Committee organised ajourney back in time with our first 60/40 Sup-per Dance on Saturday 27th October. Theband ‘The Two of Us’, provided fantasticmusic and members and their friends dancedthe night away. A major highlight was whenthe floor was filled with couples waltzing andthe more adventurous doing the ‘Pride ofErin’. As with a Supper Dance, dancers tooka break halfway through the night to enjoyand share a mammoth supper that filled six

tables.

On the Monday night before the MelbourneCup, members enjoyed what is becoming aDiamond Creek tradition, The Cup Eve Cal-cutta. There was a variety of games for all toenjoy and the winners of ‘Fashions on theField’ were Peter Crocker and Jean Robin-son. Winner of the 2010 Diamond Creek Cal-cutta was Ted Landy.

Diamond Creek Bowling Club is a friendlyplace to come and enjoy a game of bowls.If you would like to visit our club you wouldbe made most welcome.

For any Information… please phone the clubon 9438 1717. Our Clubrooms are at Recre-ation Reserve, Diamond Creek.

Sandra Darling - Media.

What’s Happening at the… Diamond Creek Bowling Club

Summer 2012


The North East Region Volunteer Re-source Centre (located in Heidelberg,also known as Volunteers of Banyule)provides information to groups and in-dividuals about volunteering, assistsmembers of the community to find suit-able volunteering opportunities, andsupports non-profit community organi-sations with recruiting volunteersthroughout Banyule and Nillumbik.Nillumbik residents have shown a lot ofinterest in this service, so a local out-reach service has been developedthrough a partnership between theShire of Nillumbik and Volunteers ofBanyule.Volunteers of Nillumbik will run aweekly outreach volunteer service on aMonday, across different townships inNillumbik including Eltham, DiamondCreek, Hurstbridge and St Andrews. Ifyou are interested in volunteering inyour local area and would like some in-

formation about what is available, thisservice is a great place to start.For more information about this excit-ing new service please feel free to con-tact myself, Emily ScottCoordinator- Volunteers of Nillumbik on0400 052 172 or 9458 3777 es-

[email protected] us on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Volunteer-sOfNillumbik

INTRODUCING:The Volunteers of Nillumbik

Become a CFA Volunteer today

and make a difference in more ways than one.

Free call 1800 232 636 for more information on

how to join or call into your local CFA Station

Merry Christmas and a Happy andSafe New Year from everyone at

the Diamond Creek News

From all of us at Diamond Creek Community Bank® Branch, best wishes for the holiday season and thank you for your loyalty and support.

We look forward to seeing youSaturday 22 December - 9am to noon

Sunday 23 December - Closed

Monday 24 December - 9am to 5pm

Tuesday 25 December - Closed

Wednesday 26 December - Closed

Thursday 27 December - 9am to 5pm

Friday 28 December - 9am to 5pm

Saturday 29 December - 9am to noon

Sunday 30 December - Closed

Monday 31 December - 9am to 5pm

Tuesday 1 January - Closed

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited. ABN 11 068 049 178 AFSL 237879. S41322L (170740_v1) (12/11/2012)

Diamond Creek Community Bank® Branch

With over 45 years in building excellence you can entrust your next building project with LP Warren Homes, a company who pride themselves on delivering premium building solutions.

Boasting a leading reputation in superior quality and workmanship, our professional and experienced team can offer specialist advice for sloping blocks, difficult sites, knockdown and rebuild projects, multi developments and alterations and additions to existing homes.

Discover LP Warren Homes today ...

diamond creek news summer 2012

Documents