Times
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TUESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2021
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& MAFFRA SPECTATOR
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LOCH SPORT UNVEILS
MAFFRA’S NEW COMMUNITY
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ART TRAIL uesday Partly Mostlycloudy sunny- -Min: Min:5 4Max: Max: Tuesday 2114
Traralgon case found, lockdown to be extended
A POSITIVE COVID-19 case has been recorded in Traralgon, lockdown will be extended and case numbers continue to climb. On Sunday, COVID response commander Jeroen Weimar confirmed the positive case, who lives in Traralgon, travelled to Melbourne for a funeral. Four tier two exposure sites have been identified across Traralgon. On Sunday, August 22, the case visited Coles from 11.45am until 12.25pm, and then the Traralgon Centre Plaza foodcourt until 12.45pm. On Friday, August 27, the case visited the foodcourt again from 11.10am until 11.15am, and on Monday, August 23, they visited Woolworths from 5.20pm until 5.45pm. Anyone who visited these exposure sites during these times should urgently get a COVID-19 test and isolate until they receive a negative result. There are no other people at risk within this person’s household. The Traralgon case features among the 92 new locally-acquired infections recorded on Sunday, with only 19 cases in isolation for their infectious period and the source of 31 still under investigation. On Sunday, Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed lockdown would be extended beyond Thursday, but said it was too early Continued page 7
PropertyGuide GippslandTimes
INSIDE
Thursday Sunny - Min: 6 Max: 27
Crippled by COVID Sarah Luke
MEWBURN Park, an historic homestead on the outskirts of Maffra, has proven a popular choice as a wedding venue for regional and metropolitan couples in recent years. The home’s expansive gardens and red brick stables provide a picturesque backdrop for ceremonies, and its drawcard clear marquee has hosted numerous wedding receptions, parties, soirees, dinners and even champagne brunches. Now, the gardens, marquee and champagne glasses are empty, after regional Victoria was dragged back under yet another lockdown. The owners of Mewburn Park — the business, not the homestead — are husband and wife team Adam and Julia Vardy. Along with their booking list of soonto-be newlyweds, the Vardys have been crippled by the uncertainty of COVID19, with lockdowns and restrictions smothering weddings and events and the Vardys’ income. Currently, weddings cannot be held unless there are compassionate reasons — such as for end-of-life reasons — and then, only five people can attend (the two people getting married, two witnesses and a celebrant). So far, the Vardys have been ruled out of the majority of government financial support because of a categorisation oversight. They submitted a grant application on June 3 when the fourth lockdown was announced, and it took 11 weeks to receive any form of funding. The pair is trying to remain operational off the bare minimum. “It was an eye-opener last year that the wedding industry is not even an
accepted industry,” Julia said. “It’s really shown there’s no overall body or association or anything for that non-existent industry, even though it’s a big and important industry in people’s lives. “We’re either tucked under hospitality or events, but events in like big events — thousands of people, nothing between 50 and 300 or so. “We’re just falling through those cracks.”
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Despite Mewburn Park being a licenced hospitality venue, it missed out on a major liquor licence grant support package last year because it does not have an on site commercial kitchen, outsourcing catering for weddings and events. The pair then missed out again in February, then lockdown four came, and grant conditions were changed to allow applicants to use a third party food supplier.
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The wedding industry has been brought to its knees by the pandemic, lockdowns and restrictions. Owners of event venue Mewburn Park, Maffra’s Julia and Adam Vardy, are feeling exhausted, exasperated and helpless. Photo: Sarah Luke
YES, WE ARE OPEN!
“I think that the most important thing a woman can have - next to talent, of course - is her hairdresser” Joan Crawford
Raymond Street, Sale
Wednesday Mostly sunny - Min: 7 Max: 21
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The Vardys’ hopes were dashed eight weeks later, when they received notification they were ineligible again. The fine print stipulated the third party food certificate caterer needed to have the same address as Mewburn Park’s liquor licence. Because of the delay in notification, the Vardys missed out on being able to Continued page 5
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