March 2017 Volume 73

Starting the school year, ready to go!

Photo: Elphinstone Primary School students start the school year

NEXT EDITION
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Amity Bradford, Editor

Elphinstone Fire Brigade
The latest news from the weather female and male, so some new event to so please come along, have
bureau is that our fire season is younger blood will be very well a laugh, a drink and great tucker
going to be protracted through until accepted by the brigade and if prepared by Marni and try your luck
well into March. We need to be ever anyone else feels that volunteer fire with raffles and big ticket draw. Past
vigilant on fire prevention and fighting is for you, please contact evenings have been great fun and
suppression. the brigade captain or secretary very successful.
Tracy Franze .
The brigade still trains hard and very Once again thank you all for your
regularly with our small but very I once again thank our very valued continuing support and a huge
dedicated crew. community members who are thank you to the Elphinstone
constantly and annually donating brigade crew for their endless
We have seen the brigade take part money for the brigade. commitment to keeping Elphinstone
in strike team duties to Mildura, safe.
Swan Hill, Bridgewater and On Friday 17 March, Marni and
Glenhope and still being able to Chris at the Elphinstone Hotel will Yours sincerely,
keep our great little town of be hosting a St Patricks Day Captain Andy.
Elphinstone covered with fire fundraiser for the brigade, starting
protection . at 6:00pm for drinks and the best
Irish stew that will ever pass your
We are very hopeful of recruiting lips. This evening is now the
two new members soon being a brigades only major fundraising

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Elphinstone Progress Association
The Elphinstone Progress Association create a more inviting and residents connected within the
is an incorporated community community orientated landscape to community and as a space to share
association whose activities are the area surrounding the war ideas and information. The
focused on advancing the memorial and hotel. Elphinstone Progress Association
Elphinstone Town Plan. intends on using this page to keep
This plan has received a great deal of residents up to date on events and
The Elphinstone Town Plan is a support from our local Councillor plans. It is a closed group but all
document that was put together Christine Henderson, Gaynor Atkin residents are welcome to join and
during a community consultation (Manager of Community share to it. This page can be found be
process with the Mount Alexander Partnerships MASC) and from the searching Elphinstone Victoria in
Shire Council (MASC) four years ago new CEO of MASC, Darren Fuzzard. Facebook.
and since that time the Elphinstone
Progress Association has been busily Recently Darren Fuzzard attended a Finally the Elphinstone Progress
working to implement a number of meeting of the Elphinstone Progress Association meets bi-monthly on a
the goals identified by the Association and was keen to hear Monday night at the Elphinstone
community. about and see firsthand the plans Hotel and all those interested in
intended for the town centre. A copy attending are welcome. For further
The plan itself can be found at : of the Elphinstone Town Centre Plan information contact Mani Heck on
www.mountalexander.vic.gov.au/ can be viewed at the Elphinstone 0414 478 563.
Files/ Hotel. We look forward to keeping
Elphinstone_Community_Plan_2014. the community updated on the
pdf progress of these plans.
Many residents of Elphinstone may
Currently we are liaising with MASC be unaware of the existence of a
engineers to finalise the Town Centre Facebook page that has been
Redevelopment Plan which aims to specifically created to keep local

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 Elphinstone Hotel Update
All of us at the Elphinstone Hotel The Big Ticket. The prize for the which we broadcast the Shrine of
would like to thank our locals for the winner is $1250 and the way it works Remembrance Service. We request
fabulous support over the past three is that only 50 tickets are available at a that attendees arrive before the
and a bit years. We have truly enjoyed price of $50 a ticket. The total prize commencement of the service at
every event that we have hosted and pool is $2500 with half going to the 6:00am as it is very distracting having
continue to enjoy being a part of this winning ticket and half is donated to cars parking and moving through the
little community. the Elphinstone CFA. area during the service.

Over the next few months we will be In the past money raised by this night Following the commencement of the
hosting two major events which we has gone towards purchasing a service, breakfast and coffee will be
would like to not only invite the defibrillator for the community and provided. The hotel will open at
community to, but that we would high powered torches for use during 3:00pm as usual on Anzac Day.
implore that the community support. night operations. So make sure your
night on Friday 17 March is free. Come For further details of these events or
The first event is our annual fundraiser down to the hotel, enjoy a cheap any other information, please feel
for the Elphinstone Fire Brigade. Every meal, meet some of our local CFA welcome to either drop into the hotel
year on the 17th of March, which falls volunteers and try your luck. or call Chris or Mani on 5473 3165.
on a Friday this year, we celebrate St
Paddys Day. It is a day to wear green The second event is the Anzac Day
and try your luck; we have lucky door Dawn Service which starts at 5:30-
prizes, raffles, and the major prize 6:00am. It is a very informal service in

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 A message from our Councillor
Does it make sense? Whats missing? council, not only in running the
Whats in there that shouldnt be collection itself, but in dealing with
there? Hopefully therell be a good the rubbish at the landfill. Air space in
response from the community. We a landfill is expensive.
want as much feedback as possible.
In this time of restraint and belt-
While the plan comes together over
tightening I was very pleased that
the next few months, councillors and
council has finally awarded the tender
senior staff will be meeting to put
for the construction of new netball
together the budget for 2017-2018.
courts at Wesley Hill Recreation
The current range of services that Reserve. It has been a very long road
First of all Id like to sincerely thank council delivers includes maintaining with years of debate about the siting
everyone who filled in a council plan roads and footpaths, community halls, of the courts and the overall design of
survey, either online or on paper. public toilets, parks, playgrounds and the new netball facility.
Without input from local people, its sporting facilities; providing support
hard to know what the most In the lead up to the federal election
for elderly citizens, youth and early
important items are to include in the the Liberal candidate for Bendigo
childhood. Planning services, waste
four year council plan. secured a promise of $1.9 million
management, the library, cultural
towards the development of the
There were six questions, the first development and a couple of tourist
reserve, should the coalition be
being What do you love about living information centres are all in the mix.
returned to office and council has
in Mount Alexander Shire? Not The hope is that information from our
been told that this promise will be
surprisingly, common responses were communities will tell us how best to
honoured by the government. So the
the natural environment and the spread our financial resources across
very good news for Wesley Hill is that,
friendly communities, as well as these services.
with this money, council will be able
cultural aspects and accessibility to One service that attracts plenty of to move to stage two of the
Bendigo and Melbourne. comments is waste management. The redevelopment and build a multi-
Later questions focused on what opportunity to take garden waste to purpose stadium.
council does well, could do more of, the landfill free of charge last
Then at last the junior footballers will
could do less of and could do December was very popular, with
be able to move out of their old shed.
differently. It was harder for people to suggestions made that this should be
That leaves female change rooms for
come up with suggestions for what allowed all year round. This would
Campbells Creek Reserve and
council could do less of, going by the have the benefit of keeping garden
Harcourt, upgrades to pavilions at our
smaller number of responses to that organic material out of the landfill,
minor reserves, new tennis courts for
question. This is a concern, given that which is a good thing, but it would
Elphinstone. The list of other much-
the rate cap imposed by the state come at a cost to council, with the
needed improvements goes on, and
government means councils effective need to mulch the material and
thats just for our sporting facilities.
income will decrease progressively manage its disposal.
year by year. Eventually some services Another common request is for a six
will have to be cut. monthly or annual hard rubbish Continued over page...
The results of the surveys will be used collection, as happens in urban
to put together a draft four-year councils. Once again, this could help
council plan. In March well be asking reduce illegal dumping in bushland,
people for their opinions on the draft. but would be a considerable cost to

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A message from our
Councillor continued
The list of wants and needs will during that time, please come
always be much bigger than the and talk to me about them, and
size of our resources. Lets hope Ill do my best to follow up on
we can direct the money wisely, your behalf.
and that includes having good
input from local people. Otherwise you can always phone
me on 0466 004 628 or email
Finally, please note that Ill be [email protected]
holding a regular listening post at v.au
the Elphinstone Post Office on
the first Friday of each month,
between 8:30am and 10:00am. If Christine Henderson
you have any council-related Coliban ward councillor
issues, concerns or ideas and are
able to come to the post office

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Elphinstone Land Management
Association (ELMA) Update
Its wonderful to see our claret ash area, however, are unable to across the region will be available
trees in town doing so well since we allocate funding to remove it over the next couple of months.
planted them in August. The rainfall completely at this stage.
over winter really gave them a good We are currently working on our
start and we will continue to water You may have noticed our Facebook page so stay tuned for
them over summer and watch their environmental contractor, Marty details.
progress over the coming months. Hyland, treating the cape broom
along Diggers Way (south side, from The next Elpho Info edition will
We met with Council the church to the Pyrenees Hwy) feature a story on our Bird & Habitat
representatives recently to discuss before Christmas. It has died away Walk.
the debris along the roadside in since then and will require further
Wright Street (from Cemetery Road treatment over the next few years On a more formal note, at our AGM
to Harmony Way). It has been our to keep it under control and allow held in November, office bearers
intention to clear this area for the native vegetation to re-establish were re-elected as follows: Wayne
months given the amount of fallen itself. Tuckerman, President; Gerard Kelly,
trees and branches which multiplied Treasurer and Sue McLennan,
over winter, however, there are Next time youre driving around Secretary.
council regulations regarding the Elphinstone, look out for dead
removal of fallen trees as some are blackberry and gorse along the Our meetings are very informal and
deemed remnant vegetation which roadsides (as theyre easy to take place at the pub over dinner
was preventing us from actively identify) which is a result of the and/or an ale so feel free to join us
making headway in this area. A close work Marty (and ELMA) has at our next meeting. Our meetings
inspection of the area took place undertaken over the past six years are held quarterly and are
and after consultation, Council has to significantly approve the advertised on the noticeboard at the
agreed to take ownership of this appearance of our roadsides and post office/shop.
project and will commence work to prevent the spread of invasive weed
clear the roadsides in the coming species. Its an exciting time for Landcare
weeks. across the country and a privilege to
Our local Landcare Facilitator, Asha be involved in ELMA. If you would
In November, volunteers undertook Bannon from Connecting Country, like to become a member, the cost
work in the area along Wright Street visited a couple of private properties is $20 per household per year -
(cnr McCrae) to physically remove in Elphinstone recently to monitor membership forms are available at
Texas Needle grass. As the weed is roofing tiles which were set up in the post office.
very difficult to identify, the process winter as part of their frog and
was very labour intensive, however, reptile monitoring program. Sue McLennan,
a small area was removed after Unfortunately, nothing of Secretary
many hours of painstaking work. significance was found but a full
Council promises to monitor the report covering what was found

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Rainfall by Wes Watson
Nov Dec Jan
mm mm mm
AVERAGE RAINFALL
Elphinstone 1988-2003 48 47 39
Castlemaine 1966-1994 44 44 39
Harcourt 1968-1994 52 46 49
RAINFALL RECEIVED 2016
Elphinstone 60 28.5 30

Our heartfelt thoughts are with our diligent rainfall recorder

Wes Watson whose wife Peg recently passed away. Wes
himself is unwell and if you would like to visit him, please
stop by Castlemaine Hospital.

This is likely to be Wess last rainfall update. Many thanks

to Wes for keeping the rainfall records and sharing them to
be published in this newsletter.

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Your Guide to Power Outages
As the summer heat light
continues, the Victorian * A phone that doesnt rely on
Governments summer electricity (such as a fully-
campaign, Your Guide to charged mobile phone)
Power Outages, is seeking to * A battery powered radio for
help Victorians keep safe news and updates
during a power outage in * Fresh water (if you rely on
bushfires and extreme an electric pump for water)
weather conditions. * The faults and emergencies
contact number from your
While Victoria has very latest bill.
reliable electricity supply,
power outages can happen Theres a lot of useful advice
particularly during heatwaves, online on how to be energy
bushfires and grassfires. safe with resources to
download.
A guide has been produced, Visit delwp.vic.gov.au/poweroutages
Your Guide to Power Outages, for more information on how
with a call to action: It only to get prepared, or call the
takes a few simple things to Customer Service Centre on
prepare. 136 186. Hard copies of the
guide are also available at
Some simple tips include your Council offices.
having access to:
* A torch or battery-operated

LOCAL HORSE DENTIST

Bob Franze (Dip Equine Dentistry)

Phone 0418 346 830
Prompt and reliable service covering all areas

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News from the Elphinstone Facilities Committee
The EFC is a Section 86 committee undertaken in mid-February and will find it somewhat ironic when you
of the Mount Alexander Shire take about two weeks. hear about people in high-rise
Council with responsibility for the developments complaining about
Elphinstone Hall and Recreation Considering its age, the Hall is in lack of open space we have got
reserve and the Sawpit Gully good shape and I suppose in some open space in spades here but
Reserve. ways this reflects the fact that it people dont seem to have much
doesnt get a lot of use these days use for it.
The Hall and recreation reserve are apart from the carpet bowls,
located at 2 Olivers Lane and to be playgroup and the occasional family Sometime last year we also received
honest, if I had $10 for every time reunion or party. In relation to the a donation of a broken trampoline
someone asked me why it is there I recreation reserve and tennis which was left behind the cricket
would have enough to keep me in courts, last year saw the demise of club building. It needs to be said
beer and spirits for a number of the cricket club and the tennis club, that the committee members are
years it is part of the history of due largely to lack of interest and unpaid people who give up their
the town. In 1978 when the hall was sustainable numbers. This has been time to keep a council facility and
built it cost $60,000 about half a setback for the committee, who recreation reserve going for the
was raised by the community back are trying to figure out ways to benefit of the community they
then. So, if you think there should make up for the financial and arent there to dispose of other
be one built in the town somewhere practical in-kind contributions that peoples unwanted and broken
then perhaps someone can crunch these sporting clubs made to the goods! So, if you know the owners
the numbers to see what $60,000 Hall and the recreation reserve. of this, could you perhaps politely
looks like in 2017 dollars. ask them on our behalf to take them
In this respect I would like to thank away again? There is a business in
Last year we were very pleased to members of ELMA and other Elphinstone which will take all the
hear that the Shire will be including individuals who have helped out metal parts to be recycled for free,
the Elphinstone Hall in its budgeted with maintaining the grounds and I dare say the fabric parts could
Program of Works, which will mean around the hall which has been a go to land fill in small pieces. Look
the Hall will get a spruce-up and an big job over the past year with all forward to seeing it gone, thanking
upgrade to meet various new the rain we had, and the weeds still you in advance for your
regulations in switchboards, signage want to keep growing! I have been understanding and pride in your
etc. Some of the toilet equipment looking for a registered business community.
and lighting will also be replaced who might be interested in doing
which will be very welcome, with some garden maintenance for us, so Cheers,
the Hall being nearly 40 years old. if you know someone interested Mike Reeves
The work is planned to be please get in touch with us. I always Chairman for the EFC.

Photo: Elphinstone Hall which is soon to receive a facelift

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