Mail - Ferntree Gully Star Mail - 20th January 2026

New canvas for Skubz

By Tanya Steele

Connection and art have driven a somewhat special project that saw two artists from different worlds come together across mediums.

Cole Becker, a Monash PhD student, visited the Dandenong Ranges late last year to get a tattoo in November, after spotting the work of local artist Skubz Mope’s work by chance.

He said he thought it would be really cool to get inked with Skubz’s work and this led to another Hills local and seasoned tattoo artist Sammi coming onto collaborate.

The fun part? Sammi and Skubz are good friends and have known each other for years. Read more on page 15

Artist Skubz and local tattoo artist Sammi, longtime friends and first-time collaborators. (Stewart Chambers: 522198)

Key signs missed

By Shamsiya Hussainpoor

A coroner’s report has revealed that the murder of a pregnant mother from The Basin followed a pattern common in intimate partner violence, but warning signs were underestimated because she had not experienced prior physical abuse. The coroner stated that the risk was treated as a mental health issue rather than family violence, despite research showing physical abuse is often the last stage, not the first.

The woman was killed in October 2021 by her long-term ex-partner, Benjamin Coman, while 12 weeks pregnant.

Coman, who had a history of obsessive jealousy, controlling behaviour, and rapid mood instability after the relationship ended, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years in prison, with a 20-year non-parole period.

His appeal for a reduced sentence was dismissed in December 2025.

The report highlighted that systems continue to misread danger in coercive relationships, especially when the perpetrator appears mentally unwell.

Coman had attempted suicide a month before the killing, which was treated as a mental health crisis rather than a warning of potential fatal family violence.

Pregnancy, separation, obsessive jealousy, and prior suicide attempts are recognised red

flags for lethal risk.

The coroner recommended reviewing pregnancy as a risk factor in family violence assessments and requiring hospitals to screen for family violence when patients present with suicidality after relationship breakdowns.

Support services include Triple Zero (000), 1800 Respect, Lifeline, Women’s Crisis Line, and Kids Helpline.

Read the full story on page 3

Allegedly stolen vehicle smashes Olinda stores

An allegedly stolen vehicle crashed straight into the front of Rubies and Rust and Touchstone Craft Gallery on Olinda-Monbulk Road in Olinda in the early hours of Friday morning, 16 January.

The car hit the post separating the two shops, knocking beautiful glass from the shelves and causing significant damage to Touchstone. The other store was also impacted, though the damage is believed to be less costly.

Both shops, owned by Marquita and Glenn Telford, suffered significant damage, with the

front largely destroyed and the roof temporarily supported. Ms Telford said her first reaction was “holy crap.” The car was still there, and debris had flown from the front window through more than half the shop.

“It was a massive impact - just crazy,” Ms Telford said.

“This is our livelihood. No trade means no money, yet the bills keep coming.

“We’re hoping insurance helps, but it’s early days and there’s still a lot of uncertainty.”

The crash happened just before 6am, no one was inside the shops at the time, and for-

tunately, no injuries were reported.

“The structural damage is massive, the fronts of both shops are basically destroyed, and we’re still holding up the roof.

“It’s pretty significant,” Ms Telford said.

According to nearby CCTV footage, Ms Telford said two people fled the vehicle.

Police confirmed that after the vehicle struck the store, two offenders fled the scene.

The crash is currently under investigation and Ms Telford, concerned about business interruption and financial impact, is awaiting insurance assessments.

Warning signs were missed: Coroner

By Shamsiya Hussainpoor

A coroner’s report has found the murder of a pregnant mother from The Basin followed a well-recognised pattern of intimate partner violence, but warning signs were underestimated due to no prior physical abuse.

The coroner stated the danger was treated as a mental-health issue rather than family violence and that physical abuse is often the last step, not the first.

The victim was murdered in October 2021 by her long-term ex-partner, Benjamin Coman, while she was 12 weeks pregnant.

Coman pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment with a 20-year non-parole period.

In December 2025, the Court of Appeal dismissed his argument for a reduced sentence.

The couple had been in a relationship since 2015 and shared two children, with the third on the way when she was murdered.

The report found the couple had a troubled relationship where Coman had “obsessive

jealousy” and repeatedly accused her of infidelity without evidence, controlled finances and decision-making and became rapidly unstable after the relationship had ended.

The coroner found that systems continue to misread danger in coercive and controlling relationships, especially where the perpetrator presents as mentally unwell rather than violent.

A month prior to killing his ex-partner, Coman attempted suicide, which the health services treated as a mental health crisis, not as a red flag for potential fatal family violence.

Additionally, the coroner stated that obsessive jealousy, separation, pregnancy and attempted suicide are identified as fatal warning signs, not peripheral issues.

The coroner found the pregnant mother’s death occurred in the context of family violence and revealed several high-risk indicators recognised in family violence research, including substance misuse, emotional control, mental illness, coercive control, and obsessive jealousy.

No ‘direct causal’ finding was made against health services; however, the coroner identified there were many missed opportunities to recognise and respond to escalating risk.

The coroner made two recommendations: that the Family Safety Victoria review the removal of pregnancy as a specific risk factor under the Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework (MARAM), and that Victorian public hospitals require family violence risk assessments when patients present with suicidality following relationship breakdown.

Family and domestic violence support services:

If you need help immediately, call emergency services on Triple Zero (000).

■1800 Respect National Helpline: 1800 737 732

■Women’s Crisis Line: 1800 811 811

■Men’s Referral Service: 1300 766 491

■ The Kids Helpline: 24-hour support on 1800 55 1800

■Lifeline: 131 114

Mature age driver caught drink-driving

Local police have taken to social media recently to describe both the arrest and charges of a man allegedly caught “stopping short” of a breath test in Rowville on Friday 16 January.

Eyewatch Police reported that they found a 71-year-old male driver hiding in bushes on a strangers property after stopping short of a Preliminary Breath Testing site in Rowville.

Police said that his licence had been previously cancelled for drink-driving offences and the man returned an Evidentiary Breath Test (EBT) result of 0.050 that evening. The man had his vehicle was immediately impounded for 30 days at a cost of $1016. Police said via social media that he will be charged on summons to attend court. Copper theft crackdown

Three males were arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into numerous copper thefts and commercial burglaries in the Yarra Ranges Police Service Area.

They were found by police after a stolen Toyota Landcruiser was located in Warburton East with approximately $100,000 worth of stolen copper cabling. The investigation is ongoing and more arrests are expected.

Hard rubbish pick-up

Hard rubbish collection is just around the corner, so now’s a great time to start preparing your items for a smooth pickup.

To help Yarra Ranges Council crews collect everything safely and efficiently, please:

Separate your items into clear, distinct piles

Keep each pile under 3 cubic metres

Place your hard rubbish where you normally put your bin out for collection

Getting organised early means you’ll be ready once your collection week arrives.

For your collection date and a full list of FAQs, visit the website: yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Our-services/Waste/Hard-rubbish

Pet rego check-in

Yarra Ranges Council are encouraging residents to do a quick check-in for their furry friends to update their pet’s registration details.

Updating your details means residents will be set before renewal notices are sent, and if your pet ever goes missing, council officers can help reunite yourself and your pet even faster.

Residents could be eligible for fee savings if your pet has been desexed recently, if you’ve had to farewell a much-loved companion, or if you’re now eligible as a pensioner.

Visit the website to update your pet’s registration information before 10 February 2026: yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Our-services/Animals/ Pet-registration.

Wellness walks kick-off

Summer brings with it the Yarra Ranges Council’s Wellness Walk Series.

A series of relaxed, guided walks will be run monthly along some of Yarra Ranges’ most beautiful trails.

Developed with 18–25-year-olds in mind, they are open to all, please register interest online.

The first one is at Lillydale Lake (meet at the toilet block) on Saturday 31 January between 9.30am and 10.30am.

The Mt Evelyn walk will be held at the same time on Saturday 28 February, with a final walk will be held in Belgrave, again at the same time, on Saturday 31 March meeting at the library.

Family’s sanctuary lost to blaze

By Mikayla van Loon

Memories of riding motorbikes, fishing in the dam and playing hide-and-seek among the trees of Victoria’s Highlands are what remain for a Lilydale family after the Longwood fires.

Shaun Jacob’s parents purchased a property in the Highlands 26 years ago, so he and his siblings could camp, enjoy nature and ride motorbikes. It lovingly became known as The Block.

As Shaun and his siblings had children of their own, the property developed and changed into a bushland sanctuary, where the families would gather and make incredible memories.

Over the course of two and a half decades, cabins were built, boats and caravans were stored and gardens were established, all adding to the true joy of the place.

The fire that raged on Friday 9 January saw all of this wiped away.

Shaun said while a traditional house wasn’t built on the property, it was home to five cabins, an indoor camp kitchen and storage sheds.

And it was home away from home for his parents.

The Montrose-based grandparents, who asked to be named Nan and Pa, spent the majority of their time at their beloved property, returning to the eastern suburbs only when needed for health appointments or family events.

“We knew there was fires everywhere, but thought the block was OK. And then Saturday morning, we got the call from Nan and the neighbour had been down and said, we’ve lost a lot of stuff, but we didn’t know, and she hadn’t come all the way down,” Shaun said.

“It’s a steep driveway down to the main area. So we were optimistic and hoped some stuff would be left and then we waited till Monday, and then drove up on Monday, followed my parents up and just found nothing.

“To go in the driveway and just see that there was almost nothing left. Nothing was saved. And just bizarrely, it just seemed to target anything that was man made, the fire just chased any kind of structure. The best way to describe it is like a war zone. It’s very heartbreaking.”

Shaun’s daughter Charlotte said “not knowing what you’re going into, was a very nervous and sickening feeling”.

“When you’re expecting something to still be standing and it’s not, it’s even worse. It wasn’t easy.

“You never expect something like this to happen to you. The chances of this happening to you are so rare, so when it does, it’s hard to come to terms with.”

Shaun and Charlotte estimate that over the 26 years, the block would have welcomed over one hundred different people, if not more, with so many friends and family using the property.

“Everyone would come and stay. Friends, family, our friends, the kids’ friends, cousins. I reckon it’d be in the couple of hundreds of people who have come and stayed,” Shaun said.

“(My parents) don’t ask for anything. They remove all the rubbish for everyone. They supply the gas bottles for the barbecues and things like that, the water everything, they don’t ask for anything. It’s just ‘come and have a good time’.”

From playing backyard cricket to sitting around a campfire chatting or playing games, Charlotte said growing up at the block was full of adventure and learning new things.

“It’s hard to put into words, the property, because it’s just so many things all at once,” she said.

“It’s endless entertainment. When we’re little, all our cousins, we would go out and play tiggy at nighttime with our torches, or we have little radios up there.

“If we didn’t know what to do, we’d go make something up. We made a cubby house out of bits of wood and nails, Pa gave us hammers, and we just went and made a tree house.”

That was always the intention of purchasing the property, to provide a space where the family could disconnect from the world and enjoy the time together, but also their hobbies.

“Pa’s just built tracks everywhere for kids to ride. And they’ve got a dam up there that they restock with fish,” Shaun said.

“I’ve been going there since I was probably about 23 or something, I’m now 48 and the kids were just brought up there. They’d ride their mini bikes there and step up to the bigger bikes.

“It’s just been a safe place to bring your family and your kids, and you don’t need to think or worry about them. They’ll be safe.”

The quiet moments of days and evenings at the block were spent watching nature’s television, as kangaroos, echidnas, wombats, the occasional koala and deer would fill the property.

(Supplied)

‘You never expect something like this to happen to you. The chances of this happening to you are so rare, so when it does, it’s hard to come to terms with.’

Charlotte Jacob

This was a much loved past-time for Nan and Pa.

“They called it deer o’clock. They’ve got a spot down in the valley where they drive down quietly and park, and then they walk another couple of 100 metres or so.

“There’s a rock that they can sit on and they can see into and out of a valley,” Shaun said.

“They can watch the deer come past. They say just before dusk is deer o’clock. They always love and enjoy seeing that.”

While all of the property’s structures were burned, Shaun said one surviving aspect was Nan’s “Covid garden”, a beautiful rock garden she created during the pandemic lockdowns and some of her vegetable garden.

“When we got to the property on Monday after it all, one of the first things she said was, I’ve still got my fruit trees.”

Shaun couldn’t believe this positivity but then again he said, “they’re old school, they’re tough as nails, they’re so resilient”.

With so much accumulated over the years, either second hand or for little cost, Shaun said his parents didn’t have insurance and therefore, the cost of replacing everything would be expensive.

Looking over at Charlotte, Shaun said “this little gem as we were driving home decided she was going to do a GoFundMe page. It’s been amazing”.

Initially hoping they could get $500 to replace some of the tools or buy a chainsaw, this quickly grew beyond expectations.

In just four days, it surpassed $10,000, an “unbelievable” total.

“It’s this rollercoaster of gratefulness but also why do we deserve this?” Shaun said.

Charlotte said, with her grandparents being in their seventies, the world of the internet and social media is somewhat foreign, and they can’t grasp how widespread the help has been.

“I don’t think they knew that this many people support them. So they’re a bit overwhelmed,” she said.

All the money that has been donated to the family will initially be used to clear the property of the debris.

The idea is to then rebuild, providing a granny flat for Nan and Pa that is easily accessible as they get older.

“There’s so much to rebuild. So much to clean up. That’s one side of it you don’t even think

about. But the cleanup is just unbelievable,” Shaun said.

But the generosity of people willing to help, donate and offer equipment has been overwhelming, and is what is keeping the family going.

“(Fires) can take your property and take all the buildings, the structures, but it can’t take the memories or the views, that’s what we’ll rebuild on.”

The GoFundMe can be found here: gofundme.com/f/please-help-re-build-our-familys-serenity

Community steps in to help fire-affected areas

By Mikayla van Loon

In the aftermath of a disaster, communities rallying for other communities, most of the time unknown to them, showcases the goodness of humanity.

Lilydale’s Meat Inn Place was quick to offer support, at first thinking they could cater and cook bacon and egg rolls for firefighters deployed to suppress the Longwood fires.

This quickly shifted to taking loads of donations to fire-affected communities after a single social media post reached around 150,000 people.

The overwhelming number of people wanting to give back came as a shock to owners Jacinta and John, as donations of bottled water, snacks and essential items flooded their doorstep.

“With one simple post asking for a contact, our community and wider network responded immediately, trusting us to ensure supplies were delivered to the right people, in the right places, as quickly as possible,” Jacinta said.

“Within two hours of our very first post, our initial plan of cooking bacon and egg rolls completely changed. Instead, we became a central drop-off point and began delivering essential goods directly to affected communities.

“Every day since, we have had between one and four vehicles on the road delivering necessities.”

The Lilydale CFA were able to put Jacinta and John in touch with the CFA’s catering division to ensure they could deliver what was most essential to firefighters on the ground.

“When we first spoke to them, they said, the things we need are water, electrolytes and easy snacks to eat in the truck. So that’s what we asked for, and that’s what we got,” Jacinta said.

The first lot of donations collected on Friday 9 January filled a van to the roof and were delivered on Saturday morning to Yarra Glen, to then be safely distributed to the fire grounds.

On the Saturday alone, they were able to deliver 180 slabs of drinks, alongside food and snacks.

Jacinta said that throughout Saturday 10 January, until about 11pm that night, donations from the community were being dropped off for them to deliver.

“We felt honoured that people trusted us to make sure that it got to the right places,” she said.

Requests from the CFA volunteers evolved into needing sunscreen, baby wipes and lip balm, which were all generously donated.

John headed to Alexandra once able and was met with immense gratitude.

“When John got to Alex the second day, there was a line of firefighters, like a production line, just unloading from the cars. And at the end, he said it was like they all just got together and had a big hug and thanked him.

“He said they are so thankful for everything we’re doing. It’s great that our little community can help their little community.”

Once the fire was further contained and controlled, Jacinta said they were able to turn their attention to supporting the relief centres.

The list of groups and locations John and Jacinta have helped, visited, or been in direct contact with includes: Whanregarewen Station, Molesworth CFA, Yarck Station, Yarck Community Hall, Yarra Glen Relief, Lilydale CFA, Salvation Army, Fawcett Community, Yea Community House, Seymour Relief Centre, the Highlands Hub, Alexandra CFA and Menzies Support Services.

The aim for Friday 16 January was to pro-

vide support to the Euroa Relief Centre, Euroa FoodWorks, and Ruffy Hall.

“Whoever reaches out, that’s where we go. We just open up our cars and vans when we get there, and they take what they want, then we drive on to the next destination,” Jacinta said.

Although Meat Inn Place issued the initial call out, Jacinta said the snowball effect of people wanting to help was phenomenal, with many businesses stepping in financially but also with time, resources and energy.

The Fine Food Merchant’s Ethan and Jack, Jacinta said, had been instrumental in this, offering to do deliveries, seeing the two businesses take it in turns.

Baker’s Delight provided unlimited bread whenever required, and the team at Rural Trade and Fencing in Coldstream supplied

materials at below cost, playing a vital role. Jacinta said with most of the relief centres now well supplied, she, John, Ethan and Jack would be delivering a truck’s worth of fencing materials on Saturday 17 January, as working bees get underway over the weekend.

“Our aim at the moment is to get fencing and fuel for these communities. That’s a big priority now,” she said.

Not taking cash donations, Jacinta said fuel vouchers would be welcomed, or people can purchase a $50 fencing bundle from Rural Trade and Fencing, to be gifted on behalf of the family or individual.

All other donations can be dropped off at Meat Inn Place during business hours, or contact them via Facebook or Instagram for different arrangements.

In a single week, Meat Inn Place, supported by the broader community, was able to provide 700 slabs of water plus other drinks, 500 cases of snack foods and non-perishable supplies, 1000 bread rolls and 400 loaves of bread, 100 cases of medical and hygiene supplies, 100 bags of clothing and bedding and around $5000 worth of fencing supplies.

“The response from affected communities has been incredibly moving. We have been welcomed with open arms, hugs, and genuine gratitude on every delivery.

“One community told us they had been living on biscuits and chips before we were able to provide a barbecue dinner one night.

“Firefighters who had only had access to snacks jumped out of their trucks when they saw fresh sandwiches being delivered.

“We’ll just keep going as long as we can, as long as they need us, and as long as we can get stuff to take to them.”

Bulk-billing expansion works

By Callum Ludwig

Healthcare directory Cleanbill’s first Blue Report since the Australian Government expanded the bulk-billing incentive to non-concession patients has been released.

The government’s decision appears to be vindicated with the report finding that over 40 per cent of GP clinics nationwide are fully bulk-billing.

Cleanbill chief executive James Gillespie said they were able to collect data for 6877 GP clinics across the country and compare thepricing and availability data against the same data that have collected over the last few years.

“What we’ve seen, at least in the headline findings, it is a significant uptick in the number of fully bulk billing GP clinics across the country, in fact, the proportion of fully bulk billing GP clinics across the country has almost doubled since last year, which is a massive increase.

“We’ve also seen a surge in average out-ofpocket costs so if you’re not able to go and see one of the 40 per cent of GP clinics across the country that are fully bulk billing, your average out-of-pocket costs have increased substantially over the last year as well.”

In the three years prior, Cleanbill found bulk-billing rates had been on a steady decline from 35.1 per cent in 2023 to 24.2 per cent in 2024 and 20.7 per cent in 2025.

The government incentive appears to have helped address bulk-billing rates in ‘deserts’ such as Tasmania, where a third of clinics are now bulk-billing (37 throughout the state) compared to none last year, while the Northern Territory rose 47.6 per cent to 57.1 per cent of clinics.

Victoria experienced a 24.5 per cent rise to 43.6 per cent of clinics bulk-billing, while Western Australia (19.8 per cent, up 13.6 per cent) and the Australian Capital Territory

(11.5 per cent, up 8.2 per cent) are the only states or territories with a bulk-billing rate below 20 per cent.

Mr Gillespie said it’s an encouraging sign and they’re always keen to see there being more bulk billing on the ground.

“With Tasmania it’s a really interesting case study, Tasmania and the Northern Territory as well, in that we’ve often seen these less urbanised jurisdictions with higher increases in fully bulk billing proportions when compared with more urbanised jurisdictions like WA and the ACT,” he said.

“The Northern Territory and Tasmania saw two of the highest increases in the proportion of fully bulk billing clinics, and they are almost entirely made up of rural and regional areas, whereas you compare that to the ACT which is entirely made up of metro and WA where a large proportion of the clinics are concentrated in metro areas and for those jurisdictions you’ve seen some of the lowest increases in proportion of fully bulk billing clinics.

“That’s an interesting reflection on how the incentive changes are playing out amongst clinics across the country.”

Minister for Health Mark Butler was asked about the report in an interview with ABC Radio National, and despite previously holding and maintaining a view that Cleanbill’s data ‘should not be relied upon’, said if there are other parts of the country that also are finding it difficult to see levels of bulk billing that we enjoy in other parts of the country, then they’re open to looking at intervention.

“It’s really hard to tell why ACT clinics charge such high gap fees and have such low bulk billing rates compared, for example, to Western Sydney where it’s pretty expensive to find property and run a business, but they have bulk billing rates over 95 per cent,” he said.

“That’s why we’ve decided to intervene in

the market in the ACT and to support the establishment of a number of new general practices which bulk bill all of their patients, because we frankly think there needs to be more competition in a market like that.

“Since 1 November, only 10 weeks or so ago when that record investment took effect, more than 1200 general practices across the country have moved from charging gap fees, which is what they were doing just in October, to bulk billing all of their patients all of the time and that number of general practices is increasing every day.”

Nationally, Cleanbill found the average out-of-pocket cost rose 13.5 per cent up to $49.23, likely impacted by lower-charging clinics being those most likely to make the switch to fully-bulk billing. The same figures applied to Victoria a rise of 14.7 per cent, up to $48.18.

Mr Gillespie said noticing this, they also completed an analysis that controlled for these changes.

“We removed all the clinics that have become fully bulk billing in 2026 from our 2025 numbers and then recalculated our 2025 numbers so that we were effectively doing it on the same clinic spaces and only seeing the average out of pocket cost increase for clinics that have remained private or mixed billing over both years that we’ve been considering them,” he said.

“What we found is that there was still a 6.8 per cent increase in average out of pocket costs over the course of 2025, which is a fairly substantial increase, even over and above what we regularly see, the increase between 2024 and 2025 was only 4.1 per cent. So it’s partly due to that statistical difference, but also it’s partly due to the reality on the ground.”

Mr Butler was also asked about this in the interview with ABC Radio National.

“That’s always been the case, and gap fees

have been rising for several years, which is exactly why we’ve put this focus on increasing bulk billing rates,” Mr Butler said.

“We want to make sure that as many Australians as possible feel able to go to a GP when they need to rather than when they feel they can afford to.

“Yes, those gap fees have been increasing for years now, that’s precisely why we’re putting such an effort and such significant investment into turning bulk-billing rates around.” 6877 clinics were included in Cleanbill’s data collection, while 286 clinics did not respond, which has been a criticism of the health minister.

Cleanbill will release an electorate breakdown of the data collection later in the year and Mr Gillespie said it will be really interesting to see how these newly fully bulk billing clinics across the country stack up in different areas, as well as see how many clinics retain bulk-billing in 2026.

“What’s been really interesting is over the course of this collection period, our researchers and callers have come across clinics saying that they had switched to fully bulk billing, but that they were only doing so for a 6 to 12 month trial period,” he said.

“Each of these clinics has to make the decision on their own billing based on the economic factors that they’re facing, and their perception of those…which makes it very, very difficult to predict how many clinics will take up these changes in future, how many will hold on to them, and how many will drop them.

“Now, we don’t have exact numbers on that, but the fact that we were hearing it at all means that there’s still some uncertainty amongst clinics as to what the impact of these changes will be on their bottom line, and so as a result, uncertainty as to where we’re going to see these numbers go in future.”

Outer East at risk of a Los Angeles-style fire disaster

By Callum Ludwig

A new report by the Climate Council and Emergency Leaders for Climate Action has investigated the impact of a Los Angeles-style (LA) bushfire event that hits the outer-metropolitan areas of Australia’s capital cities.

The recent Longwood fire has seen the Victorian government provide $52,000 grants to people whose homes were uninsured and lost in the blaze.

Mr Mullins said insurance premiums have jumped 78 per cent to 138 per cent since 2020 in bushfire-prone LGAs in Sydney, Melbourne and

evacuation options and refuges that can cope on the worst days.

“Third, boost frontline capacity at the edges of our cities with more local crews, land management staff, and better warnings and hazard reduction burning, because these are the growth corridors now in the firing line.”

According to the report, the growth in populations for outer-metropolitan areas like the Outer East also presents significant risk, with the figure having more than doubled in Melbourne in the past two decades and more than 6.9 million Australians now living where suburbs meet the bush.

“In Los Angeles, a modern city with well-resourced fire services, more than 16,000 structures were lost in a single firestorm when extreme

Despite being in the middle of winter in January 2025, the firestorm in LA killed 31 people and destroyed more than 16,000 structures despite a very well-resourced fire department doing their

The record dryness, non-arrival of a typical annual wet season and wind gusts up to 160 km/h contributed to the disaster, which the report argues are evidence of the impact of climate pollution and not dissimilar to the extrme fire condi-

Mr Mullins said they have three priorities for

“Cut climate pollution from coal, oil and gas, because burning more fossil fuels is like pouring

“Second, make homes and neighbourhoods harder to burn: targeted retrofits for older houses, safer planning at the urban fringe, and clear

A large number of these people may also be living in homes that are not built to bushfire-resilient standards, just like many in LA. 90 per cent of Australian homes in high-risk fire zones were also built before modern bushfire standards existed, increasing their chances of ignition due to ember attack and house-to-house fire spread.

Mr Mullins said climate pollution is driving more explosive fire conditions and more frequent serious fire seasons in Victoria.

“This increases the risk of bad fires turning disastrous, just like Victorians experienced over the past week when intense fire weather hit. The old rules no longer apply,” he said.

“Fire seasons are longer, fires are behaving more violently and erratically, and warmer nights often rob firefighters of the cooler conditions they once relied on to control blazes. We cannot keep expanding into risk and then act surprised when disaster hits.

“Protecting lives on the fringe of cities and large rural centres means turning off the tap on climate pollution, and better preparing communities and emergency services for the more frequent and intense fire weather we are already living with.”

Psst .... Kallista CFA’s 2016 Amarok is up for sale

By Shamsiya Hussainpoor

Kallista–The Patch CFA is offering its 2016 Volkswagen Amarok FCV for sale through a tender process, with submissions closing at 12pm on 8 February.

The brigade’s captain, Luke Maclean, said the sale was part of a plan to fund a newer, safer vehicle.

“We were lucky enough to receive a grant for a new vehicle,” Mr Maclean said.

“The grant, coupled with the sale of the cur-

rent FCV and some community donations, will go towards a standard-built vehicle, identical to others CFA operates, and much safer for our crews.”

The Amarok is in excellent condition, with just over 19,000 km and regular servicing to CFA specifications.

All CFA-issued equipment and lights have been removed, and the vehicle comes with a dual cab, 4WD, automatic transmission, four cylinder 2.0 DTT engine, and a canopy featuring three gull-wing doors, a trundle drawer,

two slides and internal racking.

“The vehicle will be sold ‘as is’,” Mr Maclean said.

“It won’t come with registration or a roadworthy certificate, and the successful tenderer will need to arrange those themselves. A reserve price applies, and all submissions will be treated confidentially.”

Anyone interested can download the official tender form here and return it via email to Karen.Somerscales@cfa.vic.gov.au, with the subject line: ‘Confidential - vehicle tenders Kallista

FCV’.

Mr Maclean said those who want to inspect the vehicle can arrange a viewing by emailing the brigade directly at kallistathepatch.capt@ cfa.vic.gov.au.

“All proceeds from the sale will go towards purchasing the new vehicle, which has already been put into service responding to incidents such as the Longwood fire,” he said.

For more information about the vehicle, visit the Kallista–The Patch Fire Brigade CFA Facebook page.

$7000 boost for Queer Youth Writers Collective

By Callum Ludwig

54700The Yarra Ranges Queer Youth Writers Collective (QYWC) formed in 2025 and is making a return this year for keen young writers in the LGBTQIA+ community.

The group has also received a $7000 grant from the Youth Affairs Couincil’s latest round of Healthy Equal Youth (HEY) grants to help facilitate their activities this year.

Workshop facilitator Sophia Thomas said this year’s grant will go towards the young people making their own workshops and leading group sessions, as well as four author sessions.

“We started with an expression of interest to find out what the prospective participants wanted to talk about, and where they wanted it to be and I established a connection with Mooroolbark Library to set up as a home base, with satellite sessions at Healesville and Belgrave,” she said.

“The Yarra Ranges Council Youth team supported me throughout the process, and for me to lead the first session, we had a local zine group run by young people lead a session about zines, and another group member led two sessions about character design.

“Last year was my first time leading a group and workshop, this program has helped me and other young people to build the skills and confidence to talk about our creative practice and teach others.”

Throughout 2025, QYWC participants has opportunities to lead workshops and activities, with sessions on zine making by a local zine group, two sessions on character design by a group member, mini-presentations from everyone in the group about themselves as writers before two editing sessions at the end of the year to refine their stories with the help of a member of the Voiceworks Editorial Committee.

Ms Thomas said having a regular LGBTQIA+ group has helped create a sense of community.

“Learning and writing together has increased their motivation and skills to write, increasing their wellbeing through enjoyment and fulfillment,” she said.

“We had five author sessions last year, these really helped connect us to the local queer writing community, as well as learning from professionals, our author sessions covered talking about identity, giving and receiving feedback, writing about queer history and editing our work.

“Our authors also gave us reading recommendations and let us know of project opportunities like the Emerging Writers Festival and Voiceworks.”

Ms Thomas combined the young people’s stories into an anthology and printed as a zine/ booklet and the group ended the year with a celebration where they sat and read each other’s stories.

Ms Thomas said the sessions follow a loose structure of around two to three activities with a lot of discussion.

“The first session we started with an icebreaker of ‘What’s our favourite book or genre?’, we

then discussed our favourite aspects of stories and wrote them down and made a collaborative list, and by the end, we came up with our own prompts or blurb using words from the list to write a story about,” she said.

“I also ran a session on comics/graphic narrative, we started with a discussion about storyboards and beat sheets, about how they are used to outline and show important story moments and then took a paragraph from our own stories and separated it into ‘beats’ or actions, and drew a grid of panels to separate these actions out.

“I talked about how panel length and height can convey a sense of time, as well as the gutter in between, we discussed how we can put emphasis on certain moments using this technique, and had a go laying out a page of panels.”

In 2026, the group intends to run more collaborative sessions where multiple group members run activities, lead discussion or give presentations.

Ms Thomas said it doesn’t matter where you are at with your writing, the group is all about learning from each other and having time and space to write.

“Additionally it doesn’t matter whether you write non-fiction, plays, fantasy etc, we can have discussions about different writing forms, and see about getting an author to run a workshop on it,” she said.

“Or if you want to, you can run an activity or workshop teaching the group about it, or workshopping your writing.”

The HEY grants have been supporting community-led projects by young LGBTQIA+ Victorians for 15 years, with 15 initiatives sharing in $100,000 this year.

“We’re building a Victoria where everyone is welcome and celebrated - these grants are supporting young LGBTIQA+ Victorians to live their best lives,” said Minister for Mental Health Ingrid Stitt

“These projects help ensure LGBTIQA+ young people feel safe, supported and empowered in their communities,” Minister for Equality Vicki Ward said.

Rock star shocks Upwey

By Tanya Steele

Cafe owner and operator from ‘Cafe Have ya Bean’ in Upwey, Paul had a bit of a surprise in store when a regular work day saw an Aussie icon pop in for a casual lunch on Monday 12 January.

Gary ‘Angry’ Anderson was out in the Dandenong Ranges this week, much to the delight of locals and was spotted taking in a relaxed lunch at a local cafe while he was there.

The Australian rock singer, songwriter, television personality and actor has been the lead vocalist and longest remaining member of the hard rock band Rose Tattoo since 1976.

Best known for his international hit “Suddenly” from 1987, as a solo artist, he happily posed for a photo with Paul, chatting to the cafe owner towards the end of his visit.

“He was a really nice, genuine bloke,” said Paul.

Initially busy working, Paul said he hadn’t realised who the celebrity was, noticing him towards the end of a busy lunch rush and said the younger staff certainly didn’t clock who Mr Anderson was.

“They had no idea,” he said.

The shared pictures by the cafe on social media read “Look who rock n’ rolled in to Cafe Have Ya Bean yesterday.”

“The legend himself, Angry Anderson from Rose Tattoo.”

It was back to business as usual after the Angry left and despite having seen a number of local legends stroll through his cafe doors, Paul said he’d never had anyone quite so famous pop in for lunch before.

“It made my day, that’s for sure,” he said on a quick phone call to the Star Mail later that week.

Thoughtfully

Don’t miss out – inspect

Final run home for Jake

By Shamsiya Hussainpoor

A Belgrave runner will begin a journey that has never been attempted before on Friday 27 February, taking on six loops of the Megasaw, a brutal 100-mile endurance challenge with more than 15,000 metres of elevation, not for records or statistics, but for his beloved friend, Jake.

Dvid Gatt’s run, known as ‘Jake’s Last Run Home’, will see him attempt to complete the course in under 55 hours, starting at The Basin Theatre (Yellow Gate) and finishing at Jake’s family home in Olinda.

But Mr Gatt said the numbers were not the point.

“This challenge is not about the distance or the statistics, this is about Jake, and finishing where he should have always been able to finish: home,” he said.

The event honours Jake Wolfe, a registered mental health, drug and alcohol coach based in Olinda who ran his own business and devoted his life to supporting others through mental health challenges, addiction, trauma and hardship.

He worked with clients from all walks of life and was widely respected for his compassion, commitment and ability to help people find hope when they could not see it themselves.

Mr Gatt said the scale of the run reflected the realities of mental health journeys.

“For me, this felt like the most honest way to honour Jake,” he said.

“An endurance challenge of this scale reflects what mental health journeys often look likelong, difficult, unpredictable, and sometimes overwhelming. Jake dedicated his life to supporting people through those moments, and I wanted to do something that carried real weight and meaning.”

The Megasaw course consists of 28 kilometres per loop, with 2500 metres of elevation each time, across six loops, that adds up to 100 miles and more than 15,000 metres of climbing.

Mr Gatt said the steep, technical and relentless terrain mirrored the struggles Jake helped others navigate.

“There are good moments and really hard ones, and sometimes the only option is to keep moving forward,” he said.

“Jake helped people through exactly that, without judgement and without pretending it was easy.”

The run is also raising funds for the Black Dog Institute, supporting mental health research, early intervention, suicide prevention, and programs for young people and families.

Mr Gatt said supporting the organisation felt right given Jake’s life’s work.

The local community has already rallied behind the cause, Mr Gatt said an initial fundraising goal of $5000 was reached within just over a week, with donations now surpassing $8000.

“I hope people understand that mental health challenges aren’t always obvious or dramatic, they’re often quiet, ongoing battles,” he said.

“I also hope people see how much community matters. Turning up, checking in, or supporting someone, even in small ways - can make a huge difference.”

Jake’s mother, Mariann Wolfe, said the fund-

raiser meant more to the family than words could express.

“Jake dedicated his life to helping others, especially those struggling with their mental health, and he did so with compassion, dignity, and without judgement,” Ms Wolfe said.

“Helping people wasn’t just his work - it was who he was.”

Ms Wolfe said seeing Jake’s kindness and commitment continue in his name brought both comfort and pride to the family.

“We miss him more than words can say, but his legacy lives on through every life touched by this cause,” she said.

“We are profoundly grateful and deeply moved by the love shown in his name, and we know Jake would be so humbled by this all.”

The Wolfe family, who live in Olinda, described Jake as a dedicated and loving son, a protective brother, a deeply adored uncle to Roczen and Sakara, a friend to all, and a devoted partner to Rachel.

“Jake was our greatest joy but now our greatest heartache,” Ms Wolfe said.

“Just knowing how widespread he was loved brings us such comfort. For Dave to have organised this all in Jake’s honour means more to us than words could ever express.”

Mr Gatt said finishing the run at Jake’s family home was essential to the meaning of the challenge.

“Home represents safety, love and support

Support Monbulk CFA with non-operational roles

The Monbulk CFA, like most brigades across the state, has recently been contacted by local residents eager to support their fire brigade. Monbulk Fire and Rescue (CFA) wrote on Facebook, “While the brigade always welcomes new volunteers for firefighting and rescue operations, there are also a range of non-operational roles available for those who want to contribute in other ways.”

Opportunities include assisting with community safety advisory programs, supporting CFA catering efforts, and helping at local events such as the Monbulk Car Show, Merry Monbulk, and Anzac Day commemorations. These roles provide a way for community members to be involved and support the CFA without being on the frontline.

Anyone interested in joining the Monbulk CFA team can send a message via their Face-

the things we all need when life gets heavy,” he said.

“Ending there makes it personal and grounded, rather than just crossing a finish line somewhere.”

Community members are invited to join Mr Gatt for any part of the journey, whether that is a loop, a climb, a few kilometres, time at the aid stations, or simply cheering at the start or finish.

Mr Gatt said the presence of others carried a message Jake lived by - that no one should feel alone on their hardest days.

“This run isn’t about pushing limits for the sake of it,” Mr Gatt said.

“It’s about remembering Jake, continuing the work he cared about, and reminding people that support exists, even when it doesn’t always feel that way.”

book page or complete the online form here: www.cfa.vic.gov.au/volunteers-careers/volunteer-with-cfa/apply-to-volunteer Every contribution, big or small, helps strengthen community resilience and support for local emergency services.

Monbulk CFA is inviting locals to support the brigade through non-operational roles. (Stewart Chambers: 442246)

Awards 2026

Cardinia Shire Council is excited to announce the nominees for the Cardinia Shire Australia Day Awards 2026!

These awards celebrate the outstanding contributions and achievements of individuals and groups within our community. The nominees in the 2026 Australia Day Awards are:

Citizen of the Year

Brijal Parikh

Caroline Roff

Coral Belrost

Kim Thomsen

Lisa Ann Hicks

Moira Eveleens

Queyea Tuazama

Renuka Vijayakumaran

Robb Evans

Stephen Paul Hicks

Sonya Boloski

Vanessa Kewish

Senior Citizen of the Year

Maureen Timms

Merle Mathisen

Ted Godwin

Young Citizen of the Year

Eliza Owen

Keilah Joy Dewar

Priyansh Parikh

Event of the Year

Emerald Arts Society Annual Art Exhibition

Officer Community ANZAC Day Dawn Service

Sing for Unity

The Australia Day Award winners will be announced and celebrated at a special ceremony on Thursday 22 January 2026 at the Cardinia Cultural Centre in Pakenham.

Cardinia Shire’s nominees announced for the big day

Cardinia Shire Council is proud to announce the nominees for the Cardinia Shire Australia Day Awards 2026.

The annual Australia Day Awards celebrate and recognise the exceptional contributions and achievements of individuals and groups within our community.

Award categories include Citizen of the Year, Senior Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year and Event of the Year.

This year’s nominees have demonstrated outstanding dedication, leadership, and commitment to making a difference.

The nominees for 2026 are:

For Citizen of the Year: Brijal Parikh, Caroline Roff, Coral Belrost, Kim Thomsen, Lisa Ann Hicks, Moira Eveleens, Queyea Tuazama, Renuka Vijayakumaran, Robb Evans, Stephen Paul Hicks, Sonya Boloski and Vanessa Kewish.

For Senior Citizen of the Year: Maureen Timms, Merle Mathisen and Ted Godwin.

For Young Citizen of the Year: Eliza Owen, Keilah Joy Dewar and Priyansh Parikh.

For Event of the Year: Emerald Arts Society Annual Art Exhibition, Officer Community ANZAC Day Dawn Service and Sing for Unity.

Cardinia Shire Mayor Cr Brett Owen extended his congratulations to this year’s nominees.

“Cardinia Shire Council is proud to recognise the efforts and contributions of all nominees for this year’s Australia Day Awards,” Mayor Owen said.

“Your hard work and commitment has made a positive impact on our community, and we thank you for your valuable contributions.

“Congratulations to all nominees, and we wish you all the best of luck.”

Mayor Owen thanked the community members who submitted nominations for this year’s awards and for highlighting the remarkable con-

Citizens will be celebrated and local heroes honoured

With Australia’s national day fast approaching, Yarra Ranges Council is preparing to name and award excelling community members for their achievements and contributions, while also welcoming new citizens to the municipality.

For more than 20 years the council has presented community-nominated and driven awards to people and groups who have shown leadership, commitment and been a role model.

“Each year on Australia Day, we present awards to community members who are outstanding in serving their communities through volunteering, leadership and environmental action, following our Citizenship Ceremony,” council’s corporate services acting director Kim O’Connor said.

Yarra Ranges Council is preparing to award its exemplary citizens who have made outstanding contributions to the shire. These were last year’s winners. (Dongyun Kwon: 385465)

“Nominations are reviewed by a panel including the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and a delegate from the CEO. Council has a selection criteria document and all nominations are checked against this for eligibility.” work. Unfortunately, we can only select a few each year for an award,” he said.

from across the shire.

These are Citizen of Year, Young Citizen of the Year, Environmental Achiever of the Year, Young Environmental Achiever, Community Group of the Year, Mayor’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Ian De La Rue Award for Community Leadership.

On the same day, a group of people are officially acknowledged and welcomed as citizens of Australia, a special and emotional moment for many.

“This day is celebrated by people who are proud to receive their citizenship, and we’re proud to bestow it upon them.”

While this is just one of the citizenship ceremonies held throughout the year, Australia Day is a proud day for new citizens.

“Our Australia Day Citizenship Ceremony, like our other Citizenship Ceremonies through the year, follows a legislated guideline from the Department of Home Affairs.

Due to limitations on numbers, the awards and citizenship ceremony is invite only but

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Cloud Time comes to Healesville, with warm, zen feeling

By Gabriella Vukman

You can feel the space even before you cross its threshold.

It is almost like a grandparent’s kitchen, or a meditation circle. The cloud time exhibition certainly has a warm, zen feel to it.

Local artists Mandy Pickett and Amanda Ruck have come together to create an exhibition that explores the questions: ‘How do we respond to and care for each other during times of crisis and conflict?’ and, ‘How can we maintain inner peace, social cohesion and deeper connections within our natural environments, public spaces and communities?’

The exhibition merges various practices, including dance, circus, physical theatre, painting, projection, film, storytelling, poetry, digital art, and soundscapes.

Project Manager and artist Mandy Pickett said, “This project has been quite a while in the making and it’s evolved into various versions.”

“It has been exciting to finally have it up and running here in the gallery space,” Ms Pickett said.

“In this exhibition, I am particularly focussed on our relationship with the environment.”

Tree imagery and artist Amanda Ruck’s paintings of vast cloudy sea scapes line the walls of the gallery.

Ms Pickett said, “I have been inspired by Amanda’s work for a long time, but as a performing artist, I was really looking for a way to involve my visual art.”

“I started having dreams of dancing in the sky and then I imagined myself in Amanda’s paintings, flying and dancing.”

“I knew what I was going to do then.”

The concept of ‘Cloud Time’ wherein one sits down and gazes up at the sky, also informs this exhibition.

“Taking yourself into another space is really what we are trying to do with this exhibition,”

Ms Pickett said.

“We want to practice and explore how we can bring ourselves into a space that is present,

and our own, but it is also more than that. It is the power of the imagination” she said.

The Cloud Time exhibition is also about collaboration and the sharing of community and personal insight.

In collaboration with the community, both Ms Pickett and Ms Ruck will be constantly creating an evolving installation in the gallery space.

Visitors are welcome to contribute their own items to the exhibit as time passes, providing for an immersive and sensory experience.

“And I focus on, in this exhibition I’m particularly focussing on our relationship with the environment,” Ms Pickett said.

“I want to know how we relate to nature and how we relate to and care for each other,” she said.

“Anyone can come in and share how they nurture themselves. The space is all about that.”

Ms Pickett will be performing in the exhibition, and will venture outside onto the streets of Healesville for some experimental pop-up art installations.

The Cloud Time exhibition will be on display at the Memo in Healesville from 8 January until 29 March.

Open hours are from Tuesday 5 to 9pm, Wednesday 12 to 9pm, Thursday 12 to 4pm, Friday 12 to 9pm, Saturday 12 to 9pm and Sunday 12pm to 4pm.

Phoenix’s queer Naarm exhibition her biggest yet

By Oliver Winn

Warburton-based photographer Suzanne Phoenix’s biggest exhibition yet will showcase 13 years of Melbourne’s queer community at the Midsumma Festival.

The Queer Naarm exhibition takes place from 20 January to 1 February at the SOL Gallery in Fitzroy, where 50 photos act as a celebration of queer identity and history.

Ms Phoenix said the body of work documented Melbourne’s biggest queer events and the strong culture within them.

“From 2013 to 2025 I’ve been documenting some of the biggest queer events in Melbourne over that period of time, including Pride March and Midsumma Festival and Victoria’s Pride Street Party,” she said.

“It feels pretty exciting and it feels a bit nerve-wracking as well.”

Ms Phoenix released a book for the exhibition and was also nominated for the Midsumma Art Award.

The exhibition depicts colourful scenes of unfiltered joy and people expressing themselves freely, surrounded by likeminded people and shielded from the hate and discrimination the LGBTQIA+ communities are often subject to.

There’scertainlyasenseoffreedomthroughout the series. Exaltation beams from the faces of those pictured, not bothered by gender conventions.

The extravagant outfits worn are a fashion statement as much as they are an act of resistance. From risque fetish fashion to the defiant drag wear, the outfits themselves represent physical freedom.

Ms Phoenix said it was crucial to have the consent of those pictured.

“The main thing that I photograph is people in these scenarios. It’s all about people, so consent is really important to me. It’s really just representing them and putting them out into the world,” she said.

“I’m excited because these photos are people showing amazing sides of themselves and that they’re happy for those to be put out into the world.”

When the State Library Victoria approached Ms Phoenix to acquire her esteemed International Women’s Day (IWD) series, they were also interested in her documentation of queer communities in Melbourne.

“Rather than the photographer not being

part of that community and just documenting from outside, one of the boxes I ticked was they really wanted the artist to be part of the community they were documenting,” she said.

After reviewing the initial 2000 photographs, the State Library settled on a final cut of 50 photographs which make up the exhibition.

Ms Phoenix identifies as queer herself and when she moved to Warburton in 2013, she would regularly travel back into the suburbs to attend queer events to strengthen her connection with her own community.

“There’s multiple reasons why I go to the events but certainly being able to connect and be part of something much bigger, which doesn’t happen a lot out here.

“It definitely was a way for me to be part of a community.”

The exhibition teems with positivity and Ms Phoenix said a lot of the photos are in moments of celebration.

“When I watched someone go through the

book the other day, they laughed and certainly a smile was on their face most of the time.

“I think the work creates an uplifting feeling,” she said.

“The marriage equality rally was probably not celebration, it’d been a hard week for everyone.

“But even in those photos I think they’re showing strength and they’re positive images,” Ms Phoenix said.

Iconic figures of the queer community are also seen, such as Australian drag artist Reuben Kaye and the much-loved Miss Candee who sadly died in 2022.

With one of Ms Phoenix’s photos being nominated for the Midsumma Art Award, the Warburton photographer is hopeful she’ll take home the prize.

“It’s one of the things I’ve long hoped one day I’d be in, I’ve applied for submissions for years and years and years, so I was very excited as this is the first time [I’ve been nominated],” Ms Phoenix said.

Project has bit of everything

By Tanya Steele

Connection and art have driven a somewhat special project that saw two artists from different worlds come together across mediums.

Friends with long-term creative parallels worked together for the first time on a beautiful collaboration when a client decided to get the work of a local artist inked as a tattoo.

Cole Becker, a Monash PhD student, visited the Dandenong Ranges to get the tattoo in November, after spotting a local artist Skubz Mope’s work by chance.

He said he thought it would be really cool to get inked with Skubz’s work and this led to seasoned tattoo artist Sammi coming onto collaborate.

The fun part? Sammi and Skubz are good friends and have known each other for years.

“I thought the designs were really cool. It’s the exact kind of art that I like,” Cole said.

“The experience was really nice, and I definitely couldn’t have chosen better people to work with.”

Outer East mixed media artist Skubz Mope is currently an artist in residence at Burrinja in Upwey.

Coming from a long-term love of both painting and pottery, to grassroots graffiti art in Gosford, NSW, Skubz said he has always been interested in a little bit of everything.

“It feels pretty awesome,” he said of having his work move through media into the tattoo realm.

‘Sammi Side up’ or Sammi Edney, is a longterm local tattoo artist working from Sassafras and said the chance to both collaborate on and tattoo Skubz’s work was exciting.

“His work is translatable; it was very fun and exciting that we could work together,” she said.

Sammi has been a tattoo artist for nearly 18 years and met Skubz in NSW in a community music-based space known as ‘Rhythm Hut’.

While people often gets well known works or images tattooed on themselves, it’s rare to have on-ground involvement between a client, the tattoo artist and the original creator.

As tattooing gains more and more recognition in the fine art world, Cole’s choice to contact Skubz for his work made the experience positive all the way around.

Sammi said she had never worked with a local living artist before, so using Skubz’s work with permission and collaboration was a privilege and a special moment.

“This is my first local living artists collaboration, which is amazing,” said Sammi.

“I really tried to keep it as true to his work as possible,” she said.

While Skubz has done some designs before, he said the concept of designing for tattoos had always been something he was a bit nervous about, but working with Sammi had expanded his curiosity in the field.

“It was the permanency,” he said.

With tattooing adding an extra layer of process, Sammi said that longevity is often key, and noted that Skubz’s use of contrast and colour lent itself really well to the art form. With his help, the two played with the original and streamlined it to prepare it to be a tattoo.

“There were minimal alterations, “ she said.

Sammi herself has always been quite artistic and came to the world of tattoo artistry after a lightbulb moment with a friend.

With a family of painters and her own interest in body modifications, Sammi said the industry has evolved a lot since she began, as tattooing has become more and more mainstream.

“I love every part of it, and the longer I’m in it, the more excited I get about it,” she said.

“There’s an element of trust that you have to develop with that person initially, before you even get to marking their bodies; it kind of goes across all boundaries.”

Cole, the person who got the tattoo, came to Skubz’s work with the help of some serendipity, or chance, reaching out to Skubz through social media.

“He reached out to me, just curious about getting a tattoo,” said Skubz.

An assistant to Anthony Breslin had shown a friend (another student) some of Skubz’s work, who happened to live around the corner from Cole, who then saw it and connected with the style.

Anthony Breslin was an icon from the arts world and a former Burrinja artist in residence, who sadly passed away in April 2025 after a long-term battle with leukaemia and Skubz said he was ‘amazing’.

Skunz met Anthony whilst he was at Burrinja

and the artist also got to know his assistants as well.

“His fortitude. He never really let it (his illness) get him down,” he said.

After picking a piece from Skubz’s portfolio, Skubz connected Cole with Sammi, and the collaboration began in earnest, with the tattoo completed in a couple of sessions in Sammi’s studio.

“I love all the colours and the composition and the way that it’s a combination of abstract but realistic,” said Cole.

Skubz said of the final print chosen by Cole that it came from his current series and style evolved after a particularly rough year for him personally.

“It’s just very it’s all very loose, very non-try-

ing to be anything in particular,” he said.

“I think the beautiful thing about them is that people see different things in them.”

The selected artwork Cole chose and now wears has a kind and watchful energy to it, along with a saturated colour feel, and he said he likes the way that the lines flow and that it draws the viewer’s attention in a guided way around the piece.

“So, it flows very well,” he said.

Already quite established and dedicated to her custom process, Sammi said it was really quite nice to do her best in a technical application sense, to do the work justice in the tattoo form.

“The work itself has opened up possibilities for future collaborations, which is very exciting,” she said.

Skubz was, in turn, inspired by Sammi and said to Star Mail in early January that he’s going to begin learning some tattoo skills from her.

“Tattooing is a way to integrate my creativity, expression and art,” he said.

Skubz said he has been quite interested in the process and treated the opportunity as another way to evolve.

“We’re both very passionate makers, and it’s just a lovely thing that we’ve come together and collaborated after so long and in such an interesting format,” said Sammi.

Reducing rubbish in Ranges

By Gabriella Vukman

Severe fires are not the only environmental threat to the Yarra Ranges.

A group of committed locals has banded together to combat another ecological hazard that hides in plain sight.

This threat is scattered sporadically throughout the Yarra Ranges, harming wildlife and polluting waterways.

This threat is litter. Rubbish. And Cindy de Luca and Kylie Shorter are waging a war against it through the creation of their not-for-profit organisation ‘No Reason for Rubbish.’

What started as a few neighbours with gloves and garbage bags has grown into a fully fledged organisation that is making a real difference across the Yarra Ranges.

Co founder of No Reason 4 Rubbish Kylie Shorter said, “The beauty of No Reason for Rubbish is that it is volunteer led.”

“A lot of people ask ‘do you get paid to do that?’, and we definitely don’t, but anyone can do it,” Ms Shorter said.

“We provide the gloves, and the grabbers, so everybody’s kitted out.”

No Reason for Rubbish was founded in 2020 during Covid by both Kylie and her friend Cindy De Luca.

“Cindy and I bonded over a social media post someone had made mentioning rubbish at Maroondah Dam,” Ms Shorter said.

“We saw each other’s comments on the post and we reached out to each other and formed a Facebook group.

“In the very early days, it was just Cindy and I picking rubbish up during Covid for a few hours a day within a five kilometre radius.”

It wasn’t long before the founders were joined by others. Now the No Reason 4 Rubbish Facebook group has over 600 members, with regulars who turn up every Sunday to collect rubbish together.

Ms Shorter said, “We have been fortunate to have been supported by Bendigo Bank and the Yarra Ranges Council in terms of grant funding.”

“That has helped us buy safety vests, logos, stickers, and rubbish grabbers.

“We have also worked with the council to help with a rubbish dump site. Now we have someone that comes and collects all the rubbish that we collect ourselves.”

In 2025, No Reason for Rubbish received a $500 donation from the Healesville Lion’s Club for equipment, however the organisation is keen on some extra funding and government support.

“It needs to be advocated probably from a government level to put a really good, strong campaign in place. There needs to be a stronger emphasis on waste management,” Ms Shorter said.

“We are just a small volunteer group. We’re just doing what we can, but I think there needs to be a bigger focus on the rubbish. There needs to be a statewide campaign.

“Victoria is no longer the garden state. It is the rubbish state.”

Reflecting on previous years, Ms Shorter has noticed a dramatic increase in rubbish in the last 20 years.

“It doesn’t seem to be like it was maybe 20, 30 years ago,” Ms Shorter said.

“I remember when I was growing up as a kid, we would have to do litter pickups during recess and breaks.

“You had litter monitors, and it was instilled in us as young people that you don’t litter, that’s a bad thing to do. That kind of thing just doesn’t seem to be happening anymore.”

WhiletheVictorianGovernmenthaslaunched an $8.5 million Illegal Dumping Clean-up Rebate Program to help land managers, such as councils

and Crown land Committees of Management, clean up waste in public spaces, Ms Shorter believes that the focus should be on educating the public.

According to Ms Shorter the No Reason 4 Rubbish’s focus in 2026 will be on spreading awareness.

“2026, will be a bit more about educating probably our younger generation of people, working a little bit more closely with the Council on different things we can do,” Ms Shorter said.

“We need more cash for cans deposit sites. They just don’t seem to be working very well out here in the Ranges.

“Parks Victoria also needs to look at how they dispose of their rubbish.”

According to Ms Shorter, while Parks Victoria do a surface clean, it is left up to the No Reason 4 Rubbish volunteers to conduct a deep clean of Maroondah Dam and Thatcher Weir, among other areas.

As for 2026, No Reason 4 Rubbish are already planning their ‘Ground Cleanup Australia Day.’

For information on how to volunteer, head to the No Reason 4 Rubbish Facebook Page.

A spokesperson for the Victorian Government

told Star Mail “We know illegal dumping is a big issue across Victoria.”

“To catch more people flouting the law and hold them to account, we have boosted funding for EPA to establish the Illegal Dumping Taskforce to ramp up surveillance, compliance and enforcement across Victoria,” they said.

“Everyone has a part to play in preventing waste dumping and littering.”

Studies show that today’s increasing rates of pollution are having catastrophic effects on Victoria’s ecosystems.

According to the Yarra Ranges Council’s Community Waste and Resource Recovery Plan, all kinds of waste including plastics, electronics pose a contamination threat to the natural environment and community health.

At the moment single-use plastic drinking straws, cutlery, plates, drink stirrers, cotton bud sticks, plastic shopping bags and expanded polystyrene food and drink containers were banned from sale and supply in Victoria.

In addition, Rubbish dumping and littering on public land is illegal with the maximum penalty for individuals being $800,000 and, or five years imprisonment.

Monbulk’s problematic roundabout’s origins revealed

Monbulk Historical Society has answered questions that many hadn’t thought to ask about the town’s interesting roundabout and the origins of Baynes Park Road.

Monbulk’s roundabout, located between Woolworths and Aldi, is known for its tricky traffic flow. Drivers negotiating the junction where Main Road meets Emerald-Monbulk Road will notice Moores Road emerging just 20 metres away, alongside a Woolworths exit, creating a challenging merge for motorists.

The origins of this unusual layout date back more than a century. According to the Monbulk Historical Society on Facebook, the story begins in the 1890s when the Village Settlement was established in the Dandenongs.

Surveyors divided the land into roughly 10acre blocks, giving most plots access to creeks and surveying roads primarily along ridges for firmer ground.

However, few of these roads actually existed at the time, and planners did not account for communal areas that could develop into townships.

Where Monbulk township now stands, only two roads existed initially: Boundary Road (now part of Main Road) and Moores Road.

Other roads, including Monbulk-Silvan, McAllister, and Baynes Park Roads, were added later.

Surveyor A.E. Tobin mapped Baynes Park Road in 1895, but a slight misalignment at the top of the road - starting from Block 77C rather than directly opposite Moores Road - meant that the junction we see today is offset by about

20 metres.

As the township grew, early settlers shaped the area further. George Leach’s abandoned block was converted into public space, eventually housing the Monbulk Football Club oval and later a school.

By the early 1900s, shops, churches, and community halls solidified the road layout, preventing any future corrections to the junction.

Meanwhile, what is now Baynes Park Road evolved from a series of early paths. Land dona-

tions from Herbert Masch and John Baynes in 1896–97 created a connecting route from The Patch to Monbulk.

Known first as The Patch Road, then Masches Hill Road, and Old Patch Road, it finally became Baynes Park Road in 1964.

“The roundabout and road alignment we see today are the result of over a century of planning, settlement, and development,” the Monbulk Historical Society wrote on a Facebook post.

“What may seem like a quirk of traffic engineering is really a window into Monbulk’s early history, reflecting the growth of a township from scattered farm blocks to a bustling community.” Images of the roundabout and Baynes Park Road through the years showcase this unique evolution, reminding residents and visitors alike that even small streets have stories to tell.

Story sourced from the Monbulk Historical Society Facebook page.

Hamnet deserved better

The 83rd Golden Globes took place on January 12, and I have mixed feelings about the results.

Nikki Glaser hosted the ceremony for the second time this year, and once again did an excellent job, delivering plenty of biting, risque humour without being too mean.

My favourite gags were Glaser comparing Sean Penn to a ‘sexy leather handbag’, poking fun at Leonardo Di Caprio’s trend of very young girlfriends, and a naughty pun I can’t repeat here about Michael B. Jordan in Sinners.

Stellan Skarsgärd won Best Supporting Actor as Gustav in Sentimental Value, and his charming acceptance speech espoused the magic of cinemas, where the lights go down and you ‘share the pulse’ of the rest of the audience.

Teyana Taylor won Best Supporting Actress for One Battle After Another, but I wish Amy Madigan from Weapons or Elle Fanning from Sentimental Value won instead.

Taylor is alluring and terrifying as the unhinged revolutionary Perfidia, and is the counterpart of fellow psychopath Colonel Lockjaw (Penn), but Madigan and Fanning have a greater presence in their films and portray more interesting characters.

As the witch aunt Gladys, Madigan’s doddery, even goofy moments give way to horrifying sadism, but she retains a weary, vulnerable aura. Fanning is a very talented actress, so as Rachel Kemp in Sentimental Value, she does a great job roleplaying as a kinda bad actress, with an engaging arc of deeper emotional understanding.

One Battle After Another won the most Globes (four): Supporting Actress for Taylor, Best Screenplay and Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson, and Best Picture, Comedy/Musical.

One Battle After Another is a very good film that I don’t like: it’s highly-suspenseful and full of dry humour, but a very harsh film in which even the ideologically good guys are egotistical jerks.

Bugonia took home nothing, and while it’s also a dark film that I have problems with, it’s much funnier (which is important for a Comedy category) and the cutthroat CEO and conspiracy theorist abductor main characters are somehow less hateable.

While it hadn’t come out yet in Australia when the Golden Globes aired, I wish Hamnet, in hindsight, had come out ahead of One Battle After Another, although two Globes — Best Actress for Jessie Buckley and Best Picture, Drama — are nothing to sneeze at.

Based on the 2020 novel by Maggie O’Farrell, Hamnet dramatises the life of William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal), his wife Agnes (Buckley), and how the tragic death of their son Hamnet informed Shakespeare’s iconic play Hamlet.

Presented mostly from Agnes’s perspective, Hamnet is an achingly moving portrait of love, loss and healing through art. Buckley is a captivating lead of sorrowful resolve and earthen wis-

Democracy without freedom of speech?

dom as Agnes (her Oscar is almost guaranteed), Mescal is dashing but down-to-earth as William, and Noah Jupe delivers a heartwrenching standout performance as Hamnet.

Chloe Zhao’s slow, measured direction captures Agnes and William’s touching relationship and the growing schism between them due to family tragedy and William’s long absences for work.

The film has gorgeous period costumes and sets, the Globe theatre is a bridge between the Shakespeares’ rural, rustic home and the bustling grime of London, and it’s refreshing to see a modern film with steady camerawork (as opposed to the shaky-cam so common even in other historical dramas such as Train Dreams).

The soaring, intimate final act will leave you misty-eyed, and brilliantly recontextualises the play Hamlet as a grand tribute, atonement and symbolic farewell.

Hamnet, a sumptuously-made, heartbreakingly beautiful film that deserved more Golden Globes but will hopefully rake in the Oscars, is playing in most Victorian cinemas.

Seth Lukas Hynes

By Maria Millers

WOORILLA WORDS

January is when we start easing back into our yearly routines. The chaos of Christmas behind us,.

Xmas leftovers finally eaten; newly minted New Year resolutions most likely already breached, the return to school or work looming and perhaps a last trip to the beach to test out that latest ‘must have’ beach accoutrement the cabana.

Disturbing news from overseas still continues but for many hovers only at the edges of their concerns.

The tyranny of distance even in this connected age allows a feeling of complacency.

This year however these summer routines are shadowed by the December 18th Bondi tragedy and its aftermath; followed in the last two weeks by devastating fires and floods.

For me personally the Bondi tragedy brought back innocent childhood memories.

Growing up, Bondi was my closest beach and I can still taste the strawberry ice cream cones from the Pavilion, feel the hot sand under my feet and smell the suntan oil on my skin.

But now this loved local beach and tourist mecca will always be remembered for the murder of 14 innocents celebrating the Jewish Holiday of Hanukkah, clearly targeted for who they were.

The shock has been felt not only in that community but also in the wider community and seen across the world.

These were confronting alien scenes.

We pride ourselves as the world’s most successful multicultural country and in most respects we are but prejudices still persist.

Antisemitism is a long-standing form of prejudice, hostility, or discrimination directed at Jewish people.

Its history stretches over more than two thousand years and has taken different forms in different times and places.

But it is not the only one that …. As a shocked city, indeed the whole country, watched, the questions came thick and fast.

How and why did it happen? So too the calls for government action and answers.

What was a human tragedy very quickly became a political one.

The immediate unedifying behaviour of politicians as one after the other made appearanc-

es of performative grief, laying flowers on the growing mound, has now grown into a partisan jockeying for political expediency.

Our political culture does not allow for time to reflect, to weigh up the national good. The media plays a part in promoting hyper partisanship, loudness leading to knee jerk reactions.

There is no time to reflect, to change your mind.

So after weeks of escalating public, political and community pressure — from business leaders, victims’ families, Jewish community groups and even former Labor MPs, the Prime Minister was pushed into calling a Royal Commission and then to abandoning his all - encompassing Omnibus Bill, which combined several major reforms into one package: hate speech and crimes, migration, gun law reforms.

This is being strongly challenged and at the time of writing a consensus on issues like gun restrictions and hate crimes and speech are still unresolved.

It is hoped the debate which is necessary will not be just motivated by politics only.

And though the tragic deaths at Bondi were clearly aimed at those of Jewish faith and the government focus has revolved around antiSemitism, Islamophobia is an equally disturbing problem as seen by the attack on an Imam and his wife last week.

Time and time again we hear of Muslim women accosted for wearing hijabs.

Attacks on mosques do not receive the same coverage as other crimes.

Independent MP Allegra Spender has rightly argued that any legislation should protect all minority groups not only on the basis of religion but also gender, sexuality and disability.

A democracy doesn’t weaken by protecting minorities —it weakens when protection becomes selective, politicised, or incoherent.

It is timely to remember that unlike other countries freedom of speech is not enshrined in our constitution.

And as a society we do not have a culture of deep and uncomfortable conversations in social settings.

Universities have always been places where the contest of ideas took place.

But lately this has been threatened and certain courses where controversial ideas could be voiced and debated have been downgraded or cancelled.

Equally culpable is mainstream media which does not foster public debate on substantive issues or give space to dissenting voices.

However, throughout history writers and poets have always been the strongest defenders of free speech and across eras have written powerfully—sometimes directly, sometimes obliquely—about freedom of speech, censorship, and the moral duty to speak truth.

Defending free speech isn’t just legal or institutional — it’s also deeply cultural and humanistic.

Many of these figures argued not just for their own right to speak, but for the right of ideas they despised to be expressed.

As French philosopher Voltaire put it: I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

John Stuart Mills’s On Liberty remains one of the strongest philosophical defences of free speech, especially of unpopular or minority opinions: Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience.

And in the 20th century George Orwell was perhaps the clearest literary defender of free speech: If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”

If you watched or read Margaret Atwood’s

The Handmaids Tale, Atwood consistently links literary freedom with democratic survival, warning that censorship often arrives disguised as protection or morality: The moment when freedom of speech becomes restricted is the moment when a society starts sliding toward authoritarianism.

Australia has a strong group of contemporary poets whose work engages directly with democracy, free speech, protest, and who gets heard. Some are indigenous poets such as Lionel Fogarty, Ali Cobby Eckermann, Ellen van Neerven and Samuel Wagan Watson : We learned early how to speak quiet in a loud country.”

Today Writers Festivals have often been left to provide safe spaces for wide ranging discussions to take place.

The Adelaide Writes Week is the premier event of this kind, attracting writers and speakers from across the world.

SO what happened at the Adelaide Writers week should send a warning to anyone who values free speech as foundational to a democracy.

This year Australian Palestinian writer Randa Abdel Fattah was ‘disinvited’ with the reason given that it would be ‘culturally insensitive’ to have her attend following the Bondi shooting.

An outspoken supporter of the Palestinian cause, her latest book Discipline explores the experience of Australian Palestinians during the Gaza War.

By January 13th around 180 writers had withdrawn from Writers Week in protest and all members of the board bar one had resigned, including the director Louise Adler who said she could not be party to silencing writers.

Writers and writing matters, even when they are presenting ideas that discomfort and challenge us.

We need writers now more than ever, as our media closes up, as our politicians grow daily more cowed by real power, as Australia grows more unjust and unequal.

This week Parliament has reconvened to debate the proposed bills.

We hope that foremost in their sights will be the need for national cohesion and the ability to put aside personal political and partisan politics to achieve this and build on the positives of our much lauded multiculturalism.

For the rest of us we must stay informed and involved.

Silence is a political act and democracy is eroded when language itself is regulated or suppressed.

For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it.

If only we’re brave enough to be it.

From The Hill we Climb by Amanda Gorman

The poem insists that free speech is not merely permitted in a democracy—it creates democracy.

Crucial steps

It’s been a difficult and anxious week for many as bushfires rip through the state, inching close to our own community on Friday 10 January.

Marked the worst fire danger day since the Black Saturday bushfires, the sweltering heat, gusty winds and smell of smoke in the distance brought to the surface the traumatic memories of that fateful day on 7 February 2009.

Victorians are heartbroken by news of the loss of life in the Longwood fire, and my thoughts remain with the family and friends of all those who have been impacted by these ferocious fires.

Amid the tragedy and heartbreak, we saw the very best of our community spirit.

CFA volunteers from across our region met the call and ran towards the danger, spending countless hours defending property and protecting life in and around Yarck, Alexandra, Longwood, Mt Lawson, Cudgewa and other parts of our state.

Volunteers were also quick to jump on fires here in our own community – swiftly bringing under control fires in St Andrews, Warburton and Seville and preventing larger incidents here on home soil.

But the experience of those on the frontline also exposed flaws in our emergency preparedness – in particular, in our communications network that is supposed to keep Victorians connected when it matters most.

We’ve seen reports of CFA volunteers losing phone service while on active firefighting duty on the worst day Victoria has seen since the Black Saturday bushfires.

There were volunteers left finding other trucks on the ground to relay vital information, and reports of locals evacuating towards town with no reception and no knowledge of which way the fire front was heading.

I witnessed firsthand the impact of communications going down during the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, and again in the June 2021 storms that ravaged through my community in the Yarra Ranges.

As a tree fell across the driveway, I remember the frightening realisation that if another tree dropped through our home and injured us, we wouldn’t have been able to call for help.

It’s a feeling I won’t forget. The panic of losing access to information and help during a natural disaster is something I don’t want any Australian to experience.

A connected phone line can be the difference between life and death.

From my From my desk

Federal Member for Casey

Telstra has confirmed a power outage near the Natimuk bushfire temporarily cut services, with a back-up generator suffering a mechanical fault in the extreme conditions. Optus also underwent outages in some areas.

It is for this reason that the government must prioritise the implementation of Temporary Disaster Roaming (TDR).

This would allow customers of one mobile network to temporarily connect to another network in a disaster affected area – regardless of who they normally pay their bill to.

This means if your provider’s network is down, but another provider’s network is still available, your phone would automatically connect to use basic services, like making a call, during an emergency period.

This technology already exists in countries like the United States and Canada.

In April 2024, the former Communications Minister told us that she was ‘optimistic’ that a workable capability of TDR would be available ‘by the end of the year.’

Well, the end of 2025 has come and gone, and we now approach the historically hot and humid month of February with no solution in place.

Providers have been doing their part to make TDR a reality. They’ve undertaken successful testing and they’re working together to make this capability feasible.

It’s now the Government’s responsibility to ensure that this emergency capability is rolled out across the country.

The best time to act was months ago. The second best time is now.

We must do all we can to ensure Australians remain safe and connected during times of disaster. Will the Communications Minister answer the call?

Aaron Violi is the Federal Member for Casey and Shadow Assistant Minister for Communications

Guest article by Leanne Margaret

Lilydale Lakeside Writers Group open for all PASSION FOR PROSE

Christine’s Note: Many thanks to local author Leanne Margaret, of Croydon, for sharing her experiences and insights of hosting the Lilydale Lakeside Writers Group. Leanne also teaches a Thursday writing class at the Coonara Community House in Upper Ferntree Gully.

Back in 2019, Lilydale Library called for expressions of interest from writing enthusiasts who would like to meet and form a new group.

I had recently self-published my second book; but, like many writers, the path was as lonely as it was arduous.

So this sounded like an ideal way to meet like-minded creators.

Around thirteen writers attended the first meeting, and I volunteered to maintain a spread-sheet of participants and send them a monthly reminder.

At first it was just an admin role, and I referred to myself as a facilitator.

But I have gradually stepped up into the role, and participants have enjoyed my writing prompts and inspiration.

The first couple of years were challenging, with work commitments and Covid restrictions.

Eventually we found our rhythm, and the group has been thriving ever since.

Initially it was a Monday group. As time went on, I felt that a Friday afternoon group would be a great way to start the weekend –and so it was.

On the fourth Friday of each month, we meet at the library at 3:30pm; sometimes going out for a drink or a walk around Lilydale lake – which is just next door. Some writers come in early with their laptops to grab some precious writing time before group.

The group has become one of the highlights of our month. Not everyone is writing actively all the time, coming just to listen, providing feedback and encouragement.

Some writers perform their poetry, while others read us a bit at a time of their current

book manuscripts.

We have watched some projects evolve from their infancy into completed works and self-published books. We have also watched each other’s performance skills and confidence grow.

Some writers show up every single month, while others drift in and out sporadically –like our writing muses! Most months we have between six and thirteen in attendance.

Library facilities include disabled access, computers, soft chairs and lovely staff who set up every month.

Lilydale Lakeside Writers Group is made up of writers of all levels: recreational writers, poets, authors, content writers, writing teachers and even a journalist.

We are light on criticism, preferring a nonjudgmental atmosphere that is welcoming to new writers.

I want to create a safe space for beginners, as well as an interesting space for emerging and established writers. We care more about community than quantity or even quality. There’s laughter, tears, understanding and support.

Interested writers can find us in the What’s On guide, produced seasonally by Your Library.

We welcome new members and you can book your place in the group via the Your Library website.

Let’s write!

Discovering Dunedin

By Kylie Mitchell-Smith TRAVEL WRITER/PODCASTER

www.travellingsenorita.com

Having explored the tourist meccas of the South Island of New Zealand (Queenstown and Christchurch) I thought it was time to venture further afield and head to the more hidden gem that is Dunedin in the Southeastern region of Otago.

Dunedin often likened to a mini-Edinburgh (the Edinburgh of the south), complete with Scottish vibes, the four seasons in one day weather and even it’s own castle. And that was our first stop on our ‘Discover Dunedin’ itinerary - Larnach Castle perched high in the hills above Otago Harbour.

The surrounding Peninsula is a hilly slither of volcanic land, abundant in flora and fauna – a place to see Sea Lions and Penguins and one of the few accessible places where Albatross nest.

Larnach Castle is like stepping back in time and swapping hemispheres. Commissioned in 1871 by local character William Larnach, the castle is a gothic masterpiece with plenty of stories to tell. The property was derelict for quite some time after William’s passing with a New Zealand couple - the Barkers – buying it in 1967 and bringing it back to life.

The library and dining hall host long table dinners showcasing all the South Island has to offer. While the tastefully decorated stable and lodge accommodation offers breathtaking views across the harbour. There’s also a garden cafe and exquisite grounds to wander making the castle a true ode to the past.

Following our tour we check into Distinctiona downtown hotel in the centre of the city before we head out again to admire the colourful murals that adorn the streets. We wander the high street and devour a classic cheese roll at Good Oil Cafe, a locals juice at Buster Greens and a hearty pub meal at Speights Ale House. We are getting the sense that this city is all about bakeries and breweries.

The next day we plan a trip on the Taieri Gorge Train. The train leaves from the Dunedin Railway Station – one of the city’s most prominent landmarks. Built in 1906 it’s famed for its renaissance architecture. The train takes us across Otago’s sweeping countryside, with towering viaducts and the gushing Taieri River below-while the onboard storyteller recounts tales of a gold rush era. As the sun sets over Otago Harbour, we take a

short trip to the surf beaches, stopping at St Clair for Cocktails at Piccolo, Pasta at the Esplanade and Dessert at Sorello-housed in an iconic beachfront location. We stroll along the promenade and admire the locals as they brave the newly opened (heated) saltwater pools.

The next day we jump on our trusty e-bikes and take on the newly opened bike and pedestrian path that follows the harbour to Port Chalmers, a quaint port town. From there we book a water (bike) taxi across the harbour to pretty Portobello, passing Quarantine and Goat Island along the way.

Lunch is served at the local Portobello Pub, fresh Blue Cod and chips washed down with a local Speights ale and Central Otago wine, which really hit the spot. After lunch we cycle up the road to a new farm gate cafe, Augustine, for the tastiest of scones with lashings of berry jam and local cream.

We take in the sights of the University of Otago - billed as a leader in education it ranks in the top 200 Universities in the world. There’s a vibrant student population living on the outskirts which has attracted cafes like Strictly Coffee - a roaster with one of the best brews around.

We take a bespoke tour to the tip of the Otago Peninsula with local guides, Clearwater Wildlife Tours. Walking through a working farm to the rugged clifftops and pristine beach of Cape Saunders, spotting sealions and yellow-eyed penguins

along the way.

A trip to Dunedin isn’t complete without a visit to the Otago Farmers Markets, held each Saturday in the carpark adjacent to the railway station. We taste Dunedin Craft Distillers Gin made from bread scraps and sample a delicious Short Black chocolate from local makers Ocho (Otago Chocolate Company).

Rug up and discover the delights of Dunedin, it’s the ideal stopover to explore the South Island, with direct flights from the East Coast it’s fast becoming the next ‘go to’ New Zealand destination.

EAT-

• Larnach Castle dining

• Portobello Hotel

• Piccolo St Clair

• Noble Dunedin

PLAY-

• Speight’s brewery tour

• Clear Water Wildlife Tours

• Tairi Gorge Train

• Otago Farmers Market

STAY-

• Larnach Lodge

• Distinction Hotel

The last great wilderness

The Kimberley - Discover Australia’s Last Great Wilderness with PONANT Explorations

While Australia’s east coast is celebrated for its beachside cities and lush coastal landscapes, another side of the country awaits that is wilder, more remote and profoundly humbling. To the far north-west lies the Kimberley region, a vast ancient landscape shaped by time, tide and story. For travellers seeking something beyond the expected, PONANT Explorations invites you to this extraordinary frontier in unmatched style.

PONANT Explorations’ Australia’s Iconic Kimberley expedition offers one of the most seamless and enriching ways to experience the region. This all-inclusive, small-ship journey brings together expert-led exploration, rare access and refined comfort aboard the elegant vessels Le Jacques Cartier or Le Soleal. With just 184 or 264 passengers respectively, you’ll enjoy an experience that feels personal, immersive and effortlessly curated for you.

Sailing from June to September in 2026 and 2027 between Darwin and Broome (or reverse), this 10-night voyage reveals a land of towering gorges, powerful rivers and cultural significance dating back tens of thousands of years. You’ll explore the dramatic King George River, cruising by Zodiac beneath sheer sandstone cliffs to witness the thunderous Mitchell Falls, one of the Kimberley’s most awe-inspiring natural spectacles. Along the way, you may even be surprised by a signature Champagne moment on the river; a distinct touch to elevate your adventure.

What truly sets PONANT Explorations apart is access. Guided by onboard expedition leaders, naturalists and local Indigenous experts, you’ll gain privileged entry to ancient First Nations rock art sites, including the sacred Gwion Gwion paintings, estimated to be more than 12,000 years old.

These moments of connection that are quiet, respectful and deeply moving will transform your journey from sightseeing into genuine discovery.

Each day brings a new perspective on this untamed coastline: navigating the crocodile-rich waterways of the Hunter River, drifting through the remote Montebello Islands, or exploring secluded reefs and waterfalls inaccessible by land. Zodiac landings and small-group excursions ensure an intimate encounter with the environment, while the

ship remains your constant sanctuary of comfort. Onboard, PONANT’s signature French-inspired hospitality elevates every moment, offering the perfect balance of refined yet relaxed service. Enjoy gastronomy across two restaurants, including alfresco poolside dining under the balmy Kimberley sky. The experience is complemented by inclusive beverages, elegant staterooms (with room service if you’d like to enjoy breakfast on your private balcony) and a serene onboard spa of

fering Clarins or Sothys treatments to refresh and unwind after a day of exploration.

The Kimberley may be close to home, but it feels worlds away. With PONANT Explorations, this great wilderness unfolds in a way that is seamless and deeply meaningful, where true luxury lies not just in comfort but in the privilege of rare access and the thrill of being completely in awe. For bookings and enquiries please contact Exclusively Cruising on 03 9762 2799.

Iconic Experiences, Expertly Escorted

Full day Barossa Valley tour with lunch and wine tastings including: Saltram wine estate, lunch and wine tasting at Lambert Estate, visit to Barossa Valley Chocolate Company, photo stop at Menglers Hill Lookout, vineyard tour & wine tasting at Jacob’s Creek visitor centre, stop at Beerenberg Farm, and free time in Hahndorf to explore the historic German settlement

Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park, and Flinders Chase

National Park

Full-Board River Elegance

3 night Murray River cruise on board PS Murray

Princess with all meals and sightseeing

Tour of Murray River Bridge and historic Roundhouse

Guided nature walk of Salt Bush Flat

Taste Riverland food and wine

Dragon-Fly flat-bottomed boat wildlife tour

Hand-Picked Hotel Stays

3 nights four-star hotel stay in Adelaide with breakfast

1 night four-star hotel stay in Kangaroo Island with breakfast, lunch and dinner

2 day Kangaroo Island tour including: Emu Ridge Eucalyptus Distillery, Clifford’s Honey Farm, In-Flight Birds of Prey Display at Raptor Domain, Seal Bay Conservation Park guided beach walk, lunch at Emu Bay Lavender Farm,

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Army Duck tour of the rainforest

service and entertainment Iconic Experiences, Expertly Escorted Kuranda Scenic Railway and Skyrail Rainforest Cableway tour including^: Kuranda Village, Rainforestation Nature Park, Pamagirri Aboriginal Experience, Tropical Fruit Orchard, Dreamtime Walk, Koala and Wildlife Park, and Amphibious

‘Reef Magic’ Great Barrier Reef cruise, including: Airconditioned catamaran transfers, 4 hours of reef time, marine life touch tank, underwater observatory, and fish feeding presentations

Hand-Picked Hotel Stays

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5 night four-star hotel stay in Cairns at the Crystalbrook Bailey

All hotel stays include breakfast

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EUROPEAN SOJOURN

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BREATHTAKING VIEWS, STYLISH LIVING ON SIX ACRES

BREATHTAKING VIEWS, STYLISH LIVING AND A GREAT LOCATION ON 6 ACRES

NESTLED in one of Emerald’s most coveted locations, this exceptional property offers the perfect balance of convenience and serenity. Just a short stroll from schools, cafes, transport,  sporting facilities and all conveniences you’ll enjoy every moment of this great location while coming home to a private retreat that feels worlds away from the hustle and bustle.

At the heart of this home lies its stunning backyard—a true sanctuary with uninterrupted views of Emerald’s picturesque landscape. Overlooking the scenic Pepi’s Land and offering front-row seats to the historic Puffing Billy steam train as it chugs past, this outdoor haven is designed for both relaxation and entertainment. Whether you’re cooling off in the pool, unwinding on the deck, or hosting gatherings in the covered alfresco area, every moment spent here is special.

Set on over six acres, this property is a dream for horse lovers and animal enthusiasts alike. Thoughtfully designed facilities include three stables, five paddocks, and a floodlit arena, all supported by with ample water to ensure effortless care for your animals.

Inside, the home radiates warmth and sophistication, with an inviting open-plan living area enhanced by stylish plantation shutters. The beautifully updated kitchen offers ample storage, sleek stone benchtops, and breathtaking backyard views, making it a delightful space to cook and connect.

The master suite is a private retreat, complete with a walk-in robe and a newly renovated ensuite, while the additional bedrooms are tucked away in their own wing, serviced by a spacious main bathroom. Designed for both comfort and functionality, this home effortlessly blends contemporary living with country charm.

This is more than just a property—it’s a lifestyle. A rare opportunity to own a piece of Emerald’s beauty, where nature, history, and modern living come together in perfect harmony.

Don’t just take our word for it — come and experience it for yourself! ●

HOME FOCUS

WHERE SPACE, PRIVACY AND LIFESTYLE COME TOGETHER

SET privately within the picturesque surrounds of Macclesfield, this exceptional lifestyle property spans approximately 10 acres, delivering the space, flexibility and infrastructure so many families are searching for, yet rarely find.

The home welcomes you into a large openplan kitchen, dining and living zone, where a grand brick open fireplace with an impressive mantle creates warmth, character and a natural gathering point for family and friends. Positioned off the main living area, the study / fifth bedroom offers outstanding versatility, ideal as a home office, guest room or additional bedroom for growing families. The kitchen is designed for both everyday living and entertaining, featuring stone benchtops, generous cabinetry, two stainless-steel ovens, a 900mm gas cooktop, dishwasher and an expansive butler’s pantry, ensuring functionality at scale.

A separate hallway leads to the main accommodation wing, comprising four generous bedrooms, all fitted with built-in robes. The central bathroom is modern and well appointed with a stone vanity, bath and shower, while the spacious master suite enjoys peaceful backyard views and is complemented by a luxurious ensuite with floor-to-ceiling tiles and stone vanity.

Entertaining continues outdoors with a purpose-built area designed for cooking and hosting, complete with a setup ideal for BBQs and gatherings, the perfect space for family and friends. Adding further flexibility is a separate portable dwelling, complete with one bedroom, living space and bathroom, ideal for teenagers craving independence, guest accommodation or extended family.

For tradespeople, hobbyists or car enthusiasts, the garaging and workshop facilities are exceptional. A four-car garage with power and water incorporates an impressive built-in bar, creating a unique space for entertaining or unwinding after a day’s work. In addition, a separate single garage and workshop, also equipped with power and an attached water tank, offers ample room for tools, equipment and prized vehicles.

Located in the heart of Macclesfield, this property delivers the rare combination of privacy, expansive land, family focused living and outstanding storage, all within a welcoming lifestyle setting. Whether you’re accommodating a growing family, supporting teenagers who need their own space, or seeking room for business, hobbies or vehicles, this is a home that truly adapts to every stage of life. ●

PRIVATE RURAL RETREAT ON 22 ACRES – HOME, BUNGALOW AND SEPARATE COTTAGE

PRIVATELY set on nearly 22 picturesque acres in one of the area’s most sought-after locations, this exceptional property combines quality living, natural beauty, and outstanding versatility. Just 6km from the heart of Emerald, you’ll enjoy the convenience of town nearby while being surrounded by serene bushland, open pastures, and abundant local wildlife.

The character-filled main residence has been built and renovated to an exacting standard, showcasing high ceilings, ornate ceiling roses, beautiful timber floors and premium fixtures throughout plus there is a 6.6KW solar system. Inside, you’ll find three spacious bedrooms, including a master suite with walk-in robe and 2 new luxurious bathrooms with heated flooring. The brand new kitchen is both a statement of style & sophistication with quality 2 pac cabinetry, a walk in pantry, falcon oven, integrated dishwasher & beautiful stone bench topsperfect for entertaining or family living.

Two large living zones provide space and comfort for all seasons - the main lounge and dining area features a Coonara wood heater, while the separate rumpus room offers a charming open fireplace and French doors opening to the covered alfresco area. There is also gas ducted heating for added convenience.

A separate studio/teenagers retreat or home office offers a versatile fourth bedroom option, ideal for guests or those working from home.

Outdoors, the property is equally impressive with a mix of cleared paddocks and natural bush providing privacy and rural charm. A huge 28m x 8m shed with concrete floor and power is perfect for trades, storage, or hobby enthusiasts. The land also includes a veggie patch, a spring fed dam, an original barn and plenty of privacy plus there is sealed road access.

Adding even more flexibility is a selfcontained two-bedroom cottage located just down the road - ideal for extended family, guests or possible extra income.

Offering privacy, lifestyle, and space in a truly beautiful setting, this unique property provides the perfect balance between rural living and modern convenience.

An outstanding lifestyle opportunity - an inspection will impress. ●

THE ULTIMATE HOBBY FARM AND TRADIE HEAVEN

IF you’ve been dreaming of space, freedom, and a whole lot of lifestyle perks, this is it. Set on 2.5 glorious acres in Pakenham Upper, this brilliant 5-bedroom, 3-bathroom home was built in 2010 by the current owners—and it’s got all the right ingredients for country living with a luxury twist.

Electric gates open to a private world of peace and potential. Step inside and you’re greeted with a warm brick feature wall, loads of natural light, and slab heating underfoot (yep, throughout the whole house—your toes will thank you). Add in a wood fire with heat transfer, ducted vacuum, and reverse-cycle heating/cooling and you’ve got comfort sorted in every season.

The kitchen? A dream. Granite benchtops, gas cooking, a large walk-in pantry with automatic lighting, and a bi-fold servery window that opens to the sunroom—perfect for morning coffees or sunset snacks with a view. The open-plan living and dining area is ideal for family hangs, while a second lounge adds that much-needed extra space.

The master suite is your private retreat, perfectly positioned to soak up the peaceful outlook. Large glass doors let in plenty of natural light and open directly to the outdoors, giving you that morning coffee-in-the-sun moment every day. Inside, you’ll find double walk-in robes and an open-plan ensuite that feels more like a personal spa—complete with

a deep spa bath, oversized shower, and loads of space to unwind at the end of the day. Four more bedrooms (with robes) and a central bathroom offer flexibility for every setup. The laundry even includes a shower and toilet—no queues here!

Now let’s talk outdoors: a huge undercover entertaining area, fully fenced salt and chlorine pool, fire pit zone, and all the shedding you could hope for. There’s an 18m x 9m powered shed with 4.3m walls, double garage, 4-car carport, and even a generator plug for backup.

Need more? How about a separate studio with a split system, wood fire and kitchenette— perfect as a teen retreat, guest space or workfrom-home setup. There’s also a fenced dog run, veggie gardens, a massive chook pen, two stables, hay storage, and two paddocks with water and shelters.

Tucked between Emerald and Pakenham, this is more than just a home—it’s a lifestyle upgrade waiting to happen.

This property has it all so don’t miss outcall to arrange a private inspection today. Please note: All property details shown are correct at time of publishing. Some properties may have been sold in the preceding 24 hours and we recommend that you confirm open for inspection times with the listing agent direct or the listing office. ●

CharmingHomein aTranquilGardenSetting. Setonalmostone-thirdofanacre,thischarmingdouble-storeybrickhomeofferspeacefulliving surroundedbybeautiful,bird-filledgardens. Awideundercoververandahwrapsaroundthreesides, creatinginvitingoutdoorspacestosit,relax& enjoythenaturalsetting.Inside,9ftceilings,polished floorboards,gasductedheating& double-hungwindowsenhancethehome’swelcomingfeel. Thecentraltimberkitchenincludesanislandbench,greatstorage, adishwasher,walloven &gas stovetop,flowingtobothformal& informallivingareas.Upstairs,theprivatemastersuitefeaturesa walk-inrobe,ensuite& studynook,whiletwoadditionalbedroomswithtriplerobesshare acentral bathroom.Outside,thefullyfencedyardisidealforchildren& pets,withanundercoverentertaining area,circulardriveway,remotedoublegarage &highcarportperfectfor acaravanorboat.

MudbrickCharmonOveranAcreinCockatoowithDualRoadAccess!

Seton5,060sqmwithdualroadfrontagein apeacefulCockatoosetting,this4-bedroommudbrick homeofferswarmth,space& timelessHillscharacter. Awraparoundundercoververandahsets thetoneforrelaxedindoor–outdoorliving.Inside,themainliving &diningzonefeaturesslatefloors, pitchedceilingswithexposedbeams,leadlightwindows& anopenfireplace.Thekitchenincludes agascooktop,excellentbenchspace& amplestorage.A secondsittingroomwithtimberfloors, woodfire &verandahaccessaddsflexibility.Themasterhasbuilt-inrobes &outdooraccess,with 2furtherrobedbedroomsplusa flexiblefourthorhomeoffice,allservicedby acentralbathroom. Outside, acoveredentertainingareaoverlooksestablishedgardens,complementedbyunderhousestorage,a doublegarage &circulardrive.

ARare40-AcreHoldingwithWater,Views &EndlessPotential. Spanning40gentlyundulatingacres,thissun-filledruralholdingdeliversspace,watersecurity& seriouspotential.A windingcreek,3 dams &a valuable2-megalitrewaterlicenceprovide arocksolidfoundationforlifestyleliving,livestockorfuturevision.Elevatedpointsacrossthelandcapture sweeping360-degreeviews,creatingthosepostcardmomentswherethecountrysiderollsawayin everydirection.Atthecentresits aneat& original2-bedroomhome,comfortablenow& readyfor renovation,extensionorreinventionovertime.Practicalinfrastructureincludesa machineryshed, garage &establishedcattlerace& yards,makingthepropertyimmediatelyusableforfarmingor hobbystock.Withsunnypaddocks,naturalwatersources& multipleaccesspoints,everythingisin placeforeasyruralliving.

5CurtisRoadEmerald

$1,400,000-$1,520,000

ABotanicalWonderlandSurroundinga TrulyUniqueHome. Thisextraordinaryresidenceis araremasterpiece,shapedbydecadesofcraftsmanshipandset withinbreathtakingstorybookgardensonnearly1.5acres.Everydetailreflectstimelessartistry— fromcorbelsandtessellatedtilestoleadlight,bluestonefeatures,andsoaringceilings.Atitsheart, acircularbluestone-and-glassconservatoryinvitesyoutopauseandtakeinthelushgardenviews. Twoprivatewingsinclude amainsuitewithwalk-inrobe,ensuite,anddeck,plus aguestsuitewithits ownensuite.A formalloungewithopenfireplace,elegantdiningroom,officewithJarrahcabinetry, anda granite-toppedkitchencaterbeautifullytodailylivingandentertaining.Additionalspaces includea rumpus,cellar/workshop,studio,secondgarage,and5kWsolar.Despiteitsserenesetting, thehomeisjustmomentsfromEmerald’scharmingvillageandPuffingBilly.

AaronDay M 0407365994

BrennanMileto M 0422996451

3 A 3 B 4 C

COMPRISING 3 substantial structures on a spectacular, sunny 7.5 acre ( approx.) allotment, this unique offering is what property dreams are made of.

Featuring a dramatic 4-bedroom family dwelling, an original 2-bedroom miner’s cottage brimming with potential, and an expansive workshop/studio with private drive and abundant parking, the possibilities are endless at this exceptional property.

In addition to boasting a whisper-quiet landscape featuring level gardens, 2 paddocks, greenhouse, 2 creek lines, dam, and 3-phase power for a previously pondered Airbnb venture, this property is also entirely private. Situated at the end of a no-through road, this parkland setting is a one-of-a-kind pocket of the Dandenong Ranges.

The primary residence is an artists’ oasis with 4 generous bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a central courtyard garden. Recycled bluestone, clinker bricks, cabinetry, open fires, and leadlight evoke the feel of a faraway destination, while the family-friendly layout with 2 living areas and a sprawling studio can be configured to suit your needs.

With so much on offer, this unparalleled property must be seen in person to be fully appreciated. Guaranteed to inspire, prompt viewing is advised. Join us for a tour today.

• Completely private 31,100sqm (approx.) property

Unique family residence with dual living areas, versatile studio, and charming central courtyard

• Original miner’s cottage ready for refurbishing

• Sprawling shed/workshop with kitchenette, office, and wood fire

Gorgeous gardens with level lawns and parking, greenhouse, paddocks, creek access, dam, playground, and abundant local wildlife. ●

To solve a Sudoku puzzle, every number from 1 to 9 must appear in: each of the nine vertical columns, each of the nine horizontal rows and each of the nine 3 x 3 boxes. Remember, no number can occur more than once in any row, column or box.

1 Spiritualists’ meeting (6)

Tramp (8) 9 Elicit (5)

10 Accept reluctantly (9) 11 Gather piecemeal (5) 12 Talents (9) 13 Tollway (8) 15 Lifts balloon (3,3)

16 Help (6)

18 Emblem of Islam (8)

23 Relating to the body (9)

24 Low woody plant (5)

26 Hosiery (9)

27 Person of English ancestry (5)

28 Astonishment (8)

29 At one (6)

1 Dexterity (7) 2 Dwelling (5) 3 Make a big profit (5,2) 5 Pronounce not guilty (6) 6 Japanese emperor from 1989–2019 (7) 7 Stubborn (9) 8 Sideboard (7) 10 Startled, disconcerted (5) 14 Storage tank (9)

16 Charges (7)

17 Cue sport (7)

19 Guidelines (5)

20 Support (7)

21 Forbidden (7)

22 Sport (6)

25 Just (5)

Young Montrose cricketers shine on MCG in Big Bash

By Damian Ford

A group of Montrose Cricket Club’s youngest players enjoyed a night they will remember forever, stepping onto the hallowed turf of the Melbourne Cricket Ground as part of a special Big Bash League experience with the Melbourne Stars.

On Tuesday night, 13 January, the Montrose Cricket Club was invited by Cricket Victoria and the Melbourne Stars to have 13 boys and girls take part as Woolworths Cricket Blast mascots during a Big Bash clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

For the children, aged between four and eight, the excitement was instant and infectious. From the moment they arrived, wide smiles and wide eyes told the story of how special the opportunity was. Walking onto the MCG, standing where cricketing heroes have played, and soaking in the atmosphere of a packed Big Bash crowd created priceless memories for the young cricketers and their families.

Each child received an Indigenous-designed Melbourne Stars playing shirt, along with a cap and flag to keep as a lasting memento of their experience. The night included two unforgettable on-field moments. While the Stars were fielding, the children paired up with players, meeting them face-to-face and having their caps signed. Later, they returned to the field to form a guard of honour as Tom Rogers and Sam Harper walked out to bat, waving their flags as fireworks lit up the stadium.

As mascots, music and fireworks filled the ground, the joy on the children’s faces said it all. One young participant could hardly contain their excitement after meeting a Stars player, beaming with pride as they took it all in. For parents watching from the stands, it was a powerful reminder of how sport can create moments that last a lifetime.

Montrose Cricket Club said it was incredibly proud to be able to offer such opportunities through its strong relationship with Cricket Victoria and the Melbourne Stars. The invitation reflects the club’s commitment to junior development and providing positive, memorable

experiences for young players starting their cricket journey.

Families interested in giving cricket a go are encouraged to take part in Montrose Cricket

Club’s upcoming five-week Pop-Up Cricket Blast program. The program costs $49 and runs on Friday evenings from 5pm to 6pm on the back oval at Montrose Reserve, including a presentation event at the conclusion.

Registrations are available via PlayHQ or through the Montrose Cricket Club website and Facebook page, giving more local kids the chance to discover the fun, friendships and excitement that cricket can offer.

Bowlers hit ground running

By Rob Wilson

After closing the book on 2025 with plenty of momentum the Monbulk Bowling club were keen to set in place some positive energy to kick start the back half of the season. This was achieved in style during the break firstly by Jenny Holmes who represented in the ladies Eastern Region side that took to the greens in Ballarat as part of the State Regions sides Championships. The Eastern Region team performed well, however Jenny did herself and the club proud by performing brilliantly well personally and playing in an undefeated side.

The Notable Region performances continued for the club but this time at the development end of the club by our newer bowlers. The club is excited to have introduced a number of new bowlers to our pennant ranks this season and even more excited to have 6 of those bowlers represent the club in the Region novice championships.

John Casamento, Tristan Berry, Peter Higgins, Ray Aarts, Mark Johnson and Louise Thomas all stepped up and participated in the singles. Excitingly Louise managed to win her way through to the Semi Finals of the ladies section and although going down she produced a great fighting effort for a player that has only been playing bowls for a handful of months.

Midweek Pennant Round 9

Team 1 Division 1

The Monbulk top side took to the green at home against Donvale with a point to prove, after having been beaten convincingly earlier in the season revenge was sweet in their 14/2 69/55 win. Jim Bras (25/14) was at his damaging best being supported by Jim Anderson and Greg Myers who had great games that rink was too good. As was Brian Smith (28/16) rink, Brian no doubt appreciated the fine form of Eric Markham in his dominating performance against the visitors. Rob Wilson (16/25) was unable to join the winners list

but was happy to help celebrate the first up team win, and the move to 2nd position on the ladder.

Team 2 Division 3

Also finding some early 2026 form was the Hawks 2nd team that welcomed Chirnside Park to Monbulk. However making their visiting opponents feel anything but welcome the rink of Ray Pike (31/11) Don Barnetson, Andrew Mackie and Ray Aarts delivered a resounding result. Graeme Goller (26/12) Margaret Obrien, Ray Pund and Peter Koomen were also too good for their opposition. Andrew Smith (17/12) was the only losing combination going down in a close one. That fantastic 14/2 74/44 win against the previously top side in Chirnside Park has Monbulk grabbing that number 1 spot on the ladder.

Team 3 Division 5

Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be a clean sweep to start the year for the Midweek Hawks as the clubs 3rd side came up against a very formidable side on their own deck. But despite not taking away any points from the contest our very impressive team produced a strong performance in their loss against the second placed and highly fancied Ringwood. Bruce Cockerill (14/24) fought hard

as did Graeme Seymour (9/25) and Mike Harris (13/27) but a loss to a better side on the day ensued 0/16 33/76. The team is placed 6th on the ladder after round 9. Saturday Pennant Round 10 Team 1 Division 2

Coming up against the ladder leaders Mooroolbark this was always going to be a tough assignment for the Monbulk 1st team. In tricky conditions at Monbulk with the wind making life hard for the players a good start was required to put the visitors under pressure, however that quick start did not eventuate with the Barkers acclimatising faster scooting out to a 17-shot lead and maintaining that to the break. Monbulk full of steel and determination came out from the break well, pulling the margin back to as close as 5 shots on the overall board close to the end, however Mooroolbark just had too much poise when the game was up for grabs, and the visitors were to come away with victory. Monbulk will rue their slow and loss 1/17 65/80 in a game that was there for the taking. Brian Smith (16/16) produced the only point for the game in his exciting draw. Jim Bras (18/22) Shaun Wilson, Irma Turner, Tony French produced a great performance despite losing against Frank Limb who is possibly the best player in the grade. Dion Addison (19/21) went to the wire against his opponent to ultimately get beaten, Dion and his Rink of Jenny Holmes, Rob Espernberger, and Kylie Bailey would be disappointed but should be proud. Rob Wilson (12/21) rink just could not get the contest to go their way throughout, however Ray Pund in his lead position was outstanding in his role.

Team 2 Division 5

Sitting 3rd on the ladder the Monbulk 2nd 16 travelled down to the flat lands to play the lower placed Vermont South. Never easy playing away from home on an unfamiliar green but coupled with unfriendly winds making life hard and a

motivated opposition desperate for a win this was a potential banana peel in the making. But despite the inevitable slip the team managed to keep their balance to come away with the chocolates 12/6 83/77. And it’s fair to say most of those chocolates were being eaten by the architect of the win that being the only winning rink of Calvin Connell (23/9) Graeme Goller, Peter Higgins, and Norma Clerke. A great performance and they should be rightly proud. But in all team sorts it takes a whole of team performance to win and no doubt despite the other 3 rinks going down the fact that all 3 of those losses were close and that minimising of their defeats helped complete the winning aquation. Case Broekhof (24/27), Andrew Smith (18/21), Mark “Candles”Hoefer (18/20) well done.

Team 3 Division 8

Playing at home against the amalgamated side of Chirnside Park / Eastwood Golf the 3rd side carried out a demolition job on the visiting opposition 16/0 91/40. Having taken some pain early in the season themselves this newly formed Monbulk side were happy to make the most of their improving form and inflicted some pain of their own on the visitors. Mike Harris ( 47/8) winning performancewasseriouslybrutalinhisone-sided thrashing. Mike and his team of Graeme Godkin, Kaye Lee, and Kelly Machin were magnificent in their win with the 39 shots margin being the biggest winning margin of any rink for the club this season. Seemingly paling into to insignificance the Frank Mileto (26/15) win was anything but with Brendan Griffiths, Peter Dowsett, and Louis Thomas inflicting their own brand of discomfort on the opposition. Rounding out the full collection of points for the day Ron Bishop (18/17) rink they did their job and will be well pleased to be part of the big win.

4 out of 6 wins for the week was not a bad haul for the Hawks this week, to kick off the new Year.

Tough weekend all round

A tough weekend for the cricketers in maroon as victories were hard to come by.

The Mounters were only able to post one win as the teams battled against tough opposition, whilst injuries and absences meant the club could only field five teams.

The Community Bank - Mt Evelyn 1st XI travelled to East Ringwood in a game that promised to be a shoot out after the teams put on over 700 runs in their two day clash at Mt Evelyn earlier in the season.

In a bid to get a feel for the contest and what would be required of the run chase, East Ringwood sent Mt Evelyn in to bat.

Considering their top order woes, the Mounters started cautiously with newly promoted Brad Westaway combining with Daniel Fraser to give the visitors a wicket-free opening ten overs of the innings.

Praying for an opening wicket, the visitors feasted when the partnership was broken.

Instead of the innings flourishing after the steady start, the batting lineup was squeezed with regular wicket to see the innings stutter to 5/92 in the 30th over.

If the Mounters were going to compile a decent score, they would need a big finish to the innings.

Dan Giblin (44) and Jett Hartman (27 not out) would beef up the innings to help the Mounters score 80 runs over the closing ten overs, but one would imagine that a score of 8/172 would be slightly under par.

The Mt Evelyn attach would be disciplined enough to keep things in check, but with a required run rate of just over four an over, they needed to make some inroads into the opposition’s batting order and quickly.

Unfortunately, regular wickets weren’t forthcoming, and each time a wicket feel, they would need Kangaroos were able to steady the ship with another useful partnership.

Eventually the hosts would chase down the total with the loss of just four wickets and four overs still in hand.

A comfortable chase. All the bowlers would battle manfully, but none could capture the bag of wickets required.

Coming off a comfortable win against top of the table Wandin, the Professionals Outer East 2nd XI were chock full of confidence to take on the high flying Seville Burras, another stern challenge.

Mt Evelyn elected to bowl first and were promptly put to the sword by a dominant opening partnership.

Jackson Merrett was thrust into the action after a long lay off and wasn’t disgraced bowling his eight overs up front, and despite being economical, he couldn’t provide the breakthrough.

The rest of the bowling order would then be put to the sword as Seville openers Leigh Aitkin and Caleb Frankovic would master the conditions to put together an amazing partnership of 236 on the way to helping the visitors to a monumental total of 2/288.

Luke Jones’ spin option was the only other bowling spell than Merrett’s to contain the score under a run a ball.

Although the chase looked out of hand on paper, all and sundry knew that of the Mounters could keep wickets in hand, then the required run rate would be more than achievable on a ground that has conceded some massive totals this season.

Unfortunately for the Mounters, wickets would be the costly factor in their run chase.

There would be an even contribution of runs across the entire innings however the fact that no batters would achieve a half century points to the fact that when the run rate needed to be ramped up, a new batter was taking the time to establish themselves at the wicket.

Eventually stumps would be called on the innings with the score at 7/245, by no means a terrible result, but a disappointing one nonetheless the less.

Adam Smith would continue his good form at the top of the innings scoring 46, whilst Chris Morrow would try his best to accelerate the innings with 44 off 30 deliveries, but this innings needed a big individual total or a decent partnership if the Mounters were going to mount a significant challenge to Seville’s total.

The Rhead Group 3rd XI have had a tough return to cricket in the new year.

Last week they were put to the sword by a

dominant batting performance from Warrandyte and if they thought things would get easier, they would soon be tested by a trip to Templeton to take on the league leading Taipans.

The Mt Evelyn bowlers would acquit themselves with more discipline this week beginning with tight spells from openers Daniel Meades and Luke Shepherd.

The innings would ebb and flow throughout. A significant 3rd wicket partnership of 111 for the Taipans threatened to blow the contest open when it was time to ramp up the run rate, but regular wickets to Alex Whiting (4/46) and Sam Van Hoogstraten (2/38) meant the eventual damage was limited even though the final total of 9/228 would be a tough one to chase.

The chase could not have got off to a worse start as the visitors quickly stumbled to be 5/49 to almost end the Mounters chances before they could muster any resistance.

The shining light in the batting gloom was opener Campbell Finch who held his nerve, and his wicket, and when Meades joined him at the wicket, they started the rescue mission.

A half century partnership followed giving the visitors an outside chance at victory.

Meades would raise a half century of his own, and when Finch departed, Whiting would prove a useful ally.

Eventually the cost of early wickets would prove fatal as the task became too large at the back end of the innings as the asking run rate became too large.

Although the Mounters wouldn’t be disgraced against top opposition, they would be disappointed their top order didn’t fire. The eventual total would be 9/194, 34 runs shy of the Taipans.

The Hop Hen Brewing 4th XI have enjoyed a good run of form, and despite a blip on the radar last week against Ainslie Park, they entered their clash against Yarra Glen in good shape.

The Mounters would bat first and even contributions throughout the top order would ensure the hosts would compile a big total. Kadyn Newport would be the star of the innings compiling an unbeaten score of 66 leading the team to a score of 7/244.

Yarra Glen would have to bat well to chase this

total down.

For much of Yarra Glen’s innings, Mt Evelyn controlled the pace of the innings and it looked as if the River Pigs wouldn’t have enough time to chase the total despite some intermittent lusty blows.

Wickets would be shared for the bowlers as they strangled their opponents. With 60 required off the last six overs, the win was almost in the bag for the hard working Mounters. Yarra Glen would have none of it and captain Matt Donnelly would lead his team to a remarkable victory courtesy of some late order big hitting. The visitors would secure victory in the last over of an amazing game.

The Lilydale Tyres 5th XI have been quietly going about their business sitting mid-table and after last week’s tough loss against a strong Croydon North lineup, the Mounters travelled to North Ringwood in what appeared on paper to be a much easier challenge.

That couldn’t be further from the truth as the game would turn out to be a classic going down to the last ball of the game.

Mt Evelyn would bat first and would struggle to gather momentum due to regular wickets. The scoreboard would tick over, courtesy of a steady knock from Paul Flavel, but innings needed a much needed scoring injection.

This came in the form of young gun Ben Dunstone who would real off a near run a ball 63 featuring 10 fours and a six to boost the score beyond 200, after it looked as if the innings wouldn’t get beyond 150. The final score would be 9/213, what looked to be a challenge too far for the bottom of the table Bulls.

North Ringwood probed they would be up for the fight and with Paul Wheatley anchoring the innings with a masterful century it was challenge few saw coming for the Mounters.

Harry Dunstone’s performance would belie his young age as he would lead the attack with figures of 3/31, but the rest of the Mt Evelyn bowlers would struggle to contain Wheatley’s brilliance. Eventually, it would all come down to the last over of the game with Ben Dunstone given the duties of defending the last 15 runs, Wheatley the Bulls last hope. Dot, six, four, one, Wheatley century, game on, four needed off the last two balls for victory.

The Mounters would hold their nerve in the field and with Wheatley run out on the penultimate ball of the innings trying to regain the strike, Dunstone would close the game out and hand the visitors a heart stopping victory.

Welcome to Clovelly Cottage. Nestled in the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges but still within close proximity to the Boronia Junction shopping precinct and amenities, it is a place our residents are proud to call home. Featuring abundant indoor and outdoor spaces with a choice of private sanctuaries and communal living, we are dedicated to delivering excellence in care and services that enable residents to live well and celebrate the autumn years of their life.