Rotary Are Feeding The Many Every Monday Night

It began with a good idea to help the needy and grew into a great success. Now, you can give the kitchen a little help with a simple vote.

Photograph by the Rotary Club, Working in the kitchen

In September 2013, the Rotary Club of Sunbury started a community kitchen to feed people with hardship. Rotarian Neil Williams with his wife Maryanne ran the first free weekly three-course meals for people in need. Only two customers turned up on that first evening.

Now the Monday nights are packed with people with full tummies and good friendship. It has brought new hope and changed lives. People are enjoying healthy meals and have hope of defeating depresion and loneliness. They talk, engage and laugh as they sit in good company.

The community kitchen is run by volunteers but still costs money. With ongoing costs exceeding $4,500 they need help financially to make it viable. Recently, the Sunbury Rotary Kitchen entered a competition to win a  $1,000 grant from the Leader newspapers and are asking for everyone's vote to win.

The Rotary Club do a lot of work outside of the kitchen to makeup the finance shortfall. You would probably see them around town at sausage sizzles, raffles and events to continually raise funds that are needed for all sorts of charities.

It's a great cause run by great people who care. Give them a hand by voting online.

Vote for the kitchen at the Leader Newspaper
or follow the project on Facebook

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Primary School Highlights on Diggers Rest Talk

The primary school has a lot to offer to the growing community of Diggers Rest.

In support of the school that we love a news highlight section has been created for everyone to see how the teachers and students interact with the community. We know that this section will continue to grow and hope that it helps everyone to see the good work of our school.

View the new Diggers Rest Primary School News Highlights section;
Take some time to look through the Diggers Rest Primary School website; and
Visit the Diggers Rest Primary School Facebook page.

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Diggers Rest Primary School on YouTube

The primary school has compiled a promotional Youtube video

Diggers Rest Primary School is a small community school that provides a caring, family-friendly learning environment. The school has fabulous facilities that are the envy of local schools. Set on a large allotment, the school has modern buildings surrounding a central courtyard. The school grounds and playing areas are extensive, attractive and well maintained.

There has been a large amount of interest in our school so far this year and it will be great to see our 2015 Preppies wearing their new enrolment t-shirts around the community. If you are intending to enrol for prep next year, please don't wait until the last minute!

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Our Tennis Champions Take The Finals

Two teams triumphed to win the finals this week.

Photograph by Michelle Mackay of B Grade Team

The B Grade Two Ladies team with Tayla Gill, Michelle Mackay, Susan Mackay, Mara Cassar and Pamela Allan won the flag. Their season began very slow. They struggled to make an impression on ladder in the first three quarters of the season and thought they had no chance of making the finals. Then, with only four games left and sitting second last on the ladder, the team came together. They won every match including beating the number one team. Before they knew it, they made the semi final then took the grand final with a score of 31 vs 18.

Photo by Kathy Skinner of the D Special Team

The D Special Ladies team (Lauren Skinner, Cassidy Mihalenko, Emma Skinner and Emer O'Connell) formed at the beginning of the season but were rusty at the start. Most had not played since junior tennis, two girls had never played competition before and the team only had once chance to practice before starting the comp. They immediately got along well and it wasn't long before they became the team to beat- losing only two games. Cassidy Mihalenko was the gun of the team and improved even further throughout the season. The ladies really enjoyed the friendship and loved the after games suppers. Hopefully they will play again next season in a higher grade. An impressive grand final win of 36 to 15.

Related Article:

• New Diggers Rest Ladies Team Played This Week

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Primary School Looking Forward To Population Boom

Article by the Leader Newspaper / Herald Sun

Diggers Rest Primary School is relishing the town’s growth and expanding its services to meet the demands of new families to the area.

Photograph: Kris Reichl, Source: News Limited
Diggers Rest Primary School principal Rachelle Hedger with Cody, 11, Abbey, 6, Skye, 7 and Ninos, 12. 

With a new residential estate booming in Diggers Rest the local primary school is ready to embrace a bigger population and is already working to accommodate the growth. New residential developments in the area such as the 1600-lot Bloomdale estate, which includes a future town centre, will see the population in the town boom in coming years.

Principal Rachelle Hedger said with 76 students and room for more than 300, the school was ready, willing and able to accommodate the influx.

And she has made a personal pledge to have before and after school services running from next year to make life easier for working parents.

The first two stages of Bloomdale have already sold out and Ms Hedger said future residents were already making enrolment inquiries.

Read the full article on the Herald Sun

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Athenry of Diggers Rest - A History with a Fiery End

In the early morning of Monday, 26th May 2014, a building of heritage and dispute was burned to the ground under suspicious circumstance.

Photo by Saskia Spahn of Athenry at the time of dispute

For over two months the fate of the building divided the community, while the Melton Council rejected an application from property owner DivCorp to demolish the house to make way for a roadway into a planned residential estate.

Photograph by Paul Stanley - Approximately 3:00 am Athenry burns

Why was the building important and what happened on that balmy Autumn night?

A History In Brief

Athenry  (Named after Athenry  of Ireland - meaning "Ford of the King") was designed by Englishman Albert Tame some time before 1935 to resemble a castle.  The house included medieval and nautical characteristics and it is believed adaptations Mr Tame made after the 1930s came from materials salvaged from the Edina, one of the longest serving steam vessels.

Photograph of the SS Edina 1854

The house was owned by the Kilgariff family from 1951, the house was sold in 2001 after years of drought and low wool prices and is now earmarked for demolition to make way for residential development. Mr. Mike Kilgariff was distinguished community gentleman being a former Mayor of Melton and President of the local Lions Club.

The house was vacant from that time.

The Dispute

The building was owned by DivCorp who submitted an application to demolish the house to make way for a roadway into a planned residential estate. However the council was denied access to the property by the owner to conduct a heritage assessment until early 2014.

Div Corp Pty Ltd, project manager Charlie Watson (a former Melton Councillor) said the house was beyond repair and inhabitable.  

Mr David Kilgariff, son of Mr. Mike Kilgariff, said that, “We need to retain some of the little history Diggers Rest has left.”

Some local residents took sides on the arguement and formed lobby groups to approach the Melton Council who then sort an amendment to the Victorian State planning scheme to protect the house.

The application was in progress when the building lit up the night sky. 

Eyewitness Accounts Of The Fire

Around 2:30 am, Monday 26 May, an unidentified lady drove pass Coimadai Road property to see flames lighting up the sky and threatening the surrounding trees. She immediately called 000 then, fearing for the safety of adjacent people, roused them from their sleep. By the time the neighbourhood was awake, approximately 10 emergency units were battling the fire. The blaze was well contained by the fire crews and continued to smolder until after sunrise. 

Diggers Rest Talk has been informed that all people living in the adjacent houses were asleep when the fire was reported.

Suspicion

Melton Criminal Investigation Unit Sergeant Ron Briz said given the house had no electricity or gas connected, early indication were the fire was suspicious. He said, “The house has been completely destroyed and CFA investigators are on their way to determine the cause, but it looks suspicious.”

Do you know more about the history or fire?

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Lions At Work at the Gisborne Steam Rally

The Lions Club cooked and served at the Gisborne Vintage Machine Society 2014 Rally

Photo: Lions Kathy and Kevin Skinner by Monty Russell

It was a busy day and a huge crowd came to see the antique engines, car show, tractor pull and many other exhibitions. The event has been running for many years and has been one of the primary fund raisers of the Lions Club of Diggers Rest. It is a hard days work, everyone is exhausted at the end and they always feel good about being part of a fun day.

View the photo gallery at the Gisborne Vintage Machine Society website

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A Photo Gallery of the Sunbury Electrification Project

Take a look through the photographs of the Sunbury Electrification Project in Wongm's Rail Gallery.

Electrification of the Bendigo line between Sydenham and Sunbury started in 2008, and was completed in 2012. Diggers Rest and Sunbury stations were upgraded, a new stabling yard built at the end of the line, overhead wires were installed above the tracks, and four new traction substations were built.

About Wongm...

Wongm first started taking photographs of trains back in 2005, when he was a student commuting daily from Geelong to Melbourne, and started to take an interest in the trains that were taking him to university daily.
In the years since he has taken over a hundred thousand photos, with tens of thousands of them uploaded to this site - as someone who never knew the limitations of film, he took far too many photos of the same thing and need to cull them down!

His early photographs were taken around Geelong and Melbourne in his downtime between classes, but soon after he branched out into chasing trains across the Victorian countryside in his clapped out Ford Laser.
After a few years on Railpage, he became known as 'the guy who takes lots of train photos around Geelong', but that changed in 2010 when he moved up to Melbourne. With that move came full time work and an end of gallivanting across the state, resulting in trams and suburban trains becoming his usual photography targets.

View Wongm's Rail Gallery

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Old School Teaches New School Some Tricks

Students from the Diggers Rest Primary School stepped back in time to find out what it was like at the first school house.

It was a great experience when one of the old school students, Charles Watson, met the kids to tell his stories.

What happened that day...

VISIT TO THE OLD SCHOOL SITE

When we got there, the train came and half of the grade was on one side of the crossing and the other half was on the other side. Charlie said that he rode to school on a horse....Matt

On Friday the Grade 3 /4’s went to the old school house. On the way there, we were half way through the train crossing. The train was about to come. Most of us were on the other side, but some of us got stuck on the other. When we got there Charlie and Betty were there talking to us about their school life. My favourite part was when he told us that they used to ride horses to school and sometimes he was kicked off by his cousins. Then he had to walk home!.....Sophie

On Friday we went to the old school house. I learnt that Charlie went to school on his cousin’s horse. There were 20kids when Charlie started school. They used to write with an ink pen….Hannah

I learnt that the old school house was built in 1882. Charlie’s dad’s principal had Anderson in his blood. Harry Houdini flew over Diggers Rest. Diggers Rest was named after where the diggers rested on the way to the gold fields….William

We went to the old school on Friday. Matt, Hannah, Simone and I got stuck on the other side. We met Charlie. He is a nice person. We got to look around the old school house….Noelle

On Friday we went to the old school. There was a guy there. His name was Charlie. When he was little, he had to write with an ink pen. Charlie did not have a horse, but his cousins lived close by and they had a horse. They kicked him off the horse….Jaymee

When we we

We went to the old school house on Friday. Charlie told us about the school in the old days. Charlie let us look around. When Charlie was little, there were too many people on the horse, so they pushed Charlie off the horse….Carter

nt to the old school it was a long walk. We got to see lots of stuff. When we got to the train station, some of us got trapped on the other side. When we got to the old school, the number was 2476. They didn’t smile in the old photos…Jesse

On Friday we went to the old school house. It is next to a sign where an American digger was buried. It is also next to a plane showing the first flight. Charlie told us that if you were naughty, you would put your hands out and the teacher would smack your knuckles with a ruler….Daniel

On Friday grade 3 /4 went on an excursion to the old school house. We learnt heaps of information from Charlie and Betty Watson about the old school house. I learnt that he rode a horse to school with his 2 cousins….Cara

Last Friday we went to the old school house. Charlie told us about when he was going to school and coming back from school. If Charlie was naughty, he would get dropped off at the corner and he had to walk back….Kayla

Last Friday we went to the old school house. Charlie Watson was there. The boom gate closed and half of the grade was on one side and the other half was on the other side. I loved the old school house…Lisa

On Friday we went to the old school house and saw Charlie and his wife. Charlie used to go to the school when he was a kid. Charlie told us that at the start, school finished at 3:30pm. When we were walking, there we were crossing the train tracks when the boom gates went down! We were only half way across! It was really fun!....Kirsty

When we went to the old school house, we learnt lots of things. Firstly, if you were bad, you would have to out your hand on the table and you would get hit on the knuckles. On the way to the old school house, we saw Harry Houdini’s plane. It wasn’t his real plane though. When Charlie was at school, he had no homework…Robert

It was a terrific day organised by teacher, Lyra Benbow

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Melton Botanic Gardens Features On ABC Gardening Australia

Jane Edmanson introduces Costa to the President of the Friends of the Melton Botanic Gardens

Jane brought Costa out to Melton, a Melbourne suburb on the fringe of the western volcanic plain, to visit a garden that's very close to her heart - the Melton Botanic Garden.

Excerpt from the Gardening Australia Fact Sheet: A New Botanic Garden

Presenter: Costa and Jane, 24/05/2014

SERIES 25 Episode 10

Jane and Costa visit Melbourne's west

Jane has brought Costa out to Melton, a Melbourne suburb on the fringe of the western volcanic plain, to visit a garden that's very close to her heart - the Melton Botanic Garden.

She points out some of the lovely plants on display there - like the eremophilas or Emu bushes. "Look - see the spots on the flowers," she says. "You know the emu has such a part to play in these bushes. They eat the seeds, passes through their system and that's how the seeds germinate." Costa asks about a small eucalypt. "That's the Eucalyptus woodwardii (Lemon-flowered mallee or Woodward's blackbutt) and they have really big yellow flowers. Quite spectacular," says Jane.

Jane's been involved with the development of the garden for a number of years - and they asked her to be the garden's patron. "I'm really thrilled," she says. "It's made up of people who are so passionate about their gardens - locals, local people from Melton - they wanted a Botanic Gardens and they've got it and it's due to their work. It's incredible. There was nothing here 10 years ago. It was a desolate sort of area and they've put all their passion into it and that's why I'm so excited you're here because, you know, this will really excite you."

Jane introduces Costa to the President of the Friends of the Melton Botanic Gardens, John Bentley - undercover, as it's started to rain in the ordinarily very dry area. "I'm happy to say, I'm developing my reputation as a rain bringer," says Costa. "It's coming down!"

"We thank you very much for doing that because we've hardly had any rainfall for the last three months," says John. "On average, we get about 450 millimetres of rainfall and a good year is 500 millimetres. We've focused on having dryland species with the rainfall that Melton gets. We can't afford to irrigate the area, so we're doing hand watering until plants establish themselves and then they just have to survive."


Choosing Plants
Jane adds, "It's impressive because you've got people really close by who've got new houses, new gardens - they can come here and get really good ideas of what suits the Melton area."

"That was also part of the reason for the choice of trees," says John. "With blocks shrinking in size, many of the trees here are suitable to plant in small gardens, so a lot of these dryland eucalypts don't get too tall."

Despite the dryland planting, the park is by a waterway. "We originally had about ten sites suggested to us," says John. "Out of that, we chose this site because it has a lake, it has Ryans Creek running through it, it had established trees, it had a concrete path and other really good natural aspects about it. We've got 250-year-old River Red Gums (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) and Yellow Boxes and Red Boxes, so there was a great infrastructure."

"We've got 25 hectares here. It's going to take a long time to develop that. That might take us 20, 30, 50 years, so a lot of our members know that they won't live to see it to fruition. But they're planting seeds now for the future and that, we feel, is really exciting," says John. "We've got a great range of volunteers and we have a fantastic team. We do have a tagline that we use, 'Growing Plants, Growing People.' "

One of those volunteers shows Costa around. David Pye, with his wife Barbara, has propagated most of the garden's new plants. "Many of the eucalypts in this garden are quite small-growing and suited to home gardens. For example, this plant here, Eucalyptus albida (White-leaved Mallee) only grows to about three metres," says David.

Costa admires the grey-white juvenile foliage and asks David how to keep it coming, rather than developing into the green mature leaves. "Just prune the tree back," says David. "Cut it as hard as you like."

"Now the good thing about these small trees is you can get a few of them in your garden, but will this grow in a pot?" Costa asks David.

"Oh, certainly will. Big enough pot, it should do really well," David says.


Dryland Shrubs
David explains the prevalence of Eremophilas in the garden. "They're dryland shrubs that thrive in Melton and the western suburbs of Melbourne. There's a huge number of them. They're very colourful - many of them can be easily propagated and they really do suit gardens in general. This one's known as Eremophila subteretifolia. It's a low-spreading groundcover. It'll spread to a couple of metres wide, it flowers most of the year. A lot of the Eremophilas flower after rain rather than being seasonal, they'll flower freely at all sorts of times of the year. This is Eremophila glabra 'Kalbarri Carpet' - one you'll often see in nurseries."

"It's combining beautifully with the plant next to it," says Costa. "What's that one?"

"That plant is a Western Australian plant, Gastrolobium sericeum - often seen on the market as Brachysema sericeum."

Costa asks if pruning, maintenance and getting trodden on is a problem with the many groundcovers. "Not with the Kalbarri Carpet," says David. "You can prune that really hard. If a dog or child jumps in and makes a mess of it, you can tidy it up quite nicely.

After chasing funding, creating a design, consulting with the local community and finalising a concept plan, the first plants were put in the ground in 2011 and the Friends of the Melton Botanic Gardens - like David and John - haven't looked back.

It's a truly local effort that promises decades of pleasure.

---

 Read the original article and watch the video

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Lydia Meets Prime Minister Tony Abbott

Lydia Lassila shakes the PM's hand at the official welcome home celebration for olympians.

Photo by Zimbio of Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott (R) and AOC President John Coates (C) acknowledge 2014 Sochi Australian Olympian and silver medallist Lydia Lassila (L) during the Official Welcome Home Celebration For The 2014 Sochi Olympians And Paralympians at Museum of Contemporary Art on 9 May 2014 in Sydney, Australia.

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Bee Keeping Classes

The The "J" Bee Keeping School is holding classes.

Are you interested in Beekeeping?

Join information classes about Bees and the Art of Beekeeping.
Second Thursday of each Month,
7.00pm – Beginners Classes
7.30pm – Regular Classes
Guest speakers, major topics, club news, buy & sell, field days, current hive activities, supper, social chat

35 Duncans Lane, Diggers Rest, Victoria 3427

Read more at the "J" Bee Keeping School

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Sunbury Welcomes Masters Home Improvements

It was a gusty, chilly day when Masters opened its doors for the first time in Sunbury.

Photo: Store manager and staff at Sunbury Masters Home Improvements

On Sunday, 4 May 2014, visitors were invited to see the new store and say hello to the staff. The aisles were fully stocked and there was an air of excitement as the new staff took the first purchases at the counters. The locals almost filled the car park as they saw the commotion from Vineyard Road.

Overall, the opening was a great success, it demonstrated how much Sunbury looked forward to a second hardware store.

Masters will open its doors permanently from Thursday, 8 May 2014.

Related Article:

• Masters Opening In May

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Lions Make Noise At The Burras

Lions Club of Diggers Rest proudly donated funds for the Burras PA System.

Photo: Smiling President Chris Payne using the new PA System at Selections Night

Many events are hosted at the Burras club but, until now, the facility was without a good sound system. President Chris Payne is glad that the clubs and the wider community will benefit from the system and thanked the Lions for their hard work in raising the funds.

Chris said, "No longer will we be yelling over a room full of people on Selection Nights, Presidents Luncheons and other events in the Club Rooms, or eating into the valuable profits of major functions by paying for the hire of equipment and working out who’s going to return it on the Monday. A powerful and portable system with two speakers on stands, cordless microphones and music connectivity will allow us to set it up whenever and wherever we need it."

Read more at the Burras

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Lydia At Home With The Community

Winter Olympic medallist Lydia Lassila has unveiled a new library collection at Diggers Rest Community Centre.

Photo by Joe Mastroianni - Lydia Lassila with Diggers Rest Primary School pupils at the library

Lydia read to primary school pupils as part of yesterday’s launch of the Melton library outpost service.

Diggers Rest Primary School principal Rachelle Hedger said the outpost was a welcome addition.

“We know the importance of reading to our students and to the community as a whole, so we’re very excited for this to begin.”

The collection includes more than 300 books, magazines, DVDs and audio books for children and adults.

Residents can access the outpost every Tuesday from 9.30-11.30am and Thursday from 2.30-4.30pm.

Library staff will be on hand to answer queries. Items in the collection will change on a monthly basis.

Article by Priscilla Moca of the Melton & Moorabool StarWeekly

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Kids are Kicking at Diggers Rest

The boys and girls pulled on their boots to have fun with Auskick this weekend.

Photograph: Diggers Rest Auskick kids 26 April 2014 by Josh Logan

AFL Auskick is the good way to introduce football to children aged from five years old. It is safe and fun with skill games, activities and modified match practices. It may even lead to one of our kids becoming a future champion like: Joel Selwood, Scott Pendlebury or Gary Ablett.

Our Auskick clinic runs from 26st April through to the 16th August on Saturdays from 9:00 am to 10:30 am at the Plumpton Road Reserve oval. Boys and girls can come along to learn ball skills such as kicking, passing, and team work. They will have fun, make new friends and find out how to have a go. We hear that there's even a chance of meeting real AFL players sometime during the year.

Approximate cost per child for the 14 weeks of Auskick clinic is around $73.00.

Contact coaching co-ordinators Paul and Kim Davis on 0400 320 456.

Read more about Auskick

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2000 Attend Sunbury ANZAC Service

Report by Barry Kennedy of the Leader Newspaper, Sun shines on Sunbury Anzac day celebrations

Anzac Day service at the Sunbury cenotaph. Pictures: Kylie Else Source: News Corp Australia

Sunbury's Anzac Day celebrations were bathed in sunshine today as more than 2000 residents paid their respects to Australia’s servicemen and women.

The event saw dozens of schools, emergency service volunteers, service clubs and other community organisations lay wreaths at the cenotaph, by the Village Green.

Earlier a march travelled from the Sunbury Post Office to the township’s commemorative centre.
Children from the Sunbury Air League assisted in ceremonies guarding a series of flags, while guest speaker retired Major Michael Hoffman spoke about Gallipoli and its indelible impact on the country’s psyche.

This year’s Anzac celebrations across the country have honoured the sacrifices of World War I which broke out in 1914.

Next year will mark a century since the Gallipoli landing.

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Cricket Gallery - Bulla Diggers Rest vs Gisborne

Diggers Rest Bulla is in control after the first two days of the Gisborne and District Cricket Association B-grade grand final against Gisborne.

By Photographer Shawn Smits 23 March 2014  

Gallery provided by the Melton & Moorabool Weekly

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Diggers Rest Likely To Miss Out

Melton Council chief Kelvin Tori says a submission to the Sunbury out of Hume Panel suggested Diggers Rest not be included in the new council area.

Diggers Rest residents are unsure about whether they want to be part the proposed Sunbury Council and, without decisive action, the communities may be split for the foreseeable future.

Reality dawned when a listening post about Sunbury’s imminent split from Hume Council was held in the town on April 4.

Several townsfolk presented their concerns that Diggers Rest has not been properly consulted. There have been no briefings about implications of rate fees, policing, overall town planning, and coordination.

Unfortunately, without more confidence and better local leadership, Diggers Rest maybe aligned with the wrong council for many years. Diggers Rest Talk do not know why the Diggers Rest Residents Association has not engaged in the negotiations and representations and would welcome opinions from the group and broader community.

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Victoria's Slovenian Consulate Opens In Diggers Rest

In Diggers Rest, Victoria, a new Consulate of the Republic of Slovenia was opened on 7th March 2014, with Mr Derry Maddison as the first Honorary Consul.

 Photo by The Slovenian - Mr Derry Maddison, the new Honorary Consul, third on the left

The ceremony was well organized under the scrutiny of His Excellency Dr. Milan Balazic.

Mr Maddison said, "It has been long coming for Slovenians in Victoria to have their own Consulate. I was the privileged one to be nominated and then appointed."

"In all matters I engage myself to follow the instructions of  honorary consular officers of the Republic of Slovenia and to consult with the supervisory diplomatic mission and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia."

The list of invited guests, complied by the Embassy in Canberra and approved by the Ambassador Dr Milan Balažic, included in addition to foreign diplomats and leaders of the Slovenian community Mr Nicholas Oman.

Read the full article at The Slovenian, 7 March 2014

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