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Twenty years on, the tsunami recovery continues

ON BOXING Day 2004 the Indian Ocean region experienced one of the deadliest disasters in recorded history.

A 9.1 magnitude eruption caused waves up to 30 metres high to crash violently into a swathe of countries encircling the region.

The Boxing Day Tsunami killed about 230,000 and displaced many more.

The tragedy prompted a huge international emergency response.

In the immediate aftermath, the Australian civil response saw tens of millions of dollars of relief funding pour into the region, as well as practical assistance from Australia’s military.

Army Engineer Don Hughes, now a Warrandyte local, was deployed to the recovery effort and was on the ground in Banda Aceh, providing practical support to those who had lost everything.

Don Hughes was part of the team deployed to Sumatra by Tasmanian Environmental Services to assist in restoring sanitation.

His team leader, Rob Patterson, provides a vivid account:

“The initial focus for the team was on providing basic sanitation facilities in a village some 80 kilometres from Banda Aceh.

A traditional fishing village, the fishermen were all at sea when the Tsunami struck.

They all survived as they were well out to sea away from the Tsunami.

The Tsunami struck the village on a Sunday morning.

The women and children were mostly on the beach.

Some 15 minutes before the Tsunami struck, the sea waters suddenly receded.

Fish were stranded and trapped in rock pools and shallows, which encouraged the villagers to rush into the tide pools to gather the fish.

The village owned six elephants that provided work as required.

When the waters receded, these elephants had a sixth sense of the impending danger. The elephants broke their chains and headed for higher ground.

Miraculously, on their way to higher ground two of the elephants seized a child each to take them to safety. The children’s screams however, alerted their mothers who thought the elephants had gone mad.

Sixteen women and children chased the elephants onto higher ground before the 10-metre Tsunami struck the shore.

Sadly, the village population after the Tsunami was the 700 fishermen who had been at sea, and only the 16 women and children saved by the elephants.

The rest had perished!”

With the village decimated and traumatised, international aid agencies had erected temporary tented accommodation and basic (long-drop) pit toilet facilities.

These measures were rapidly needing an upgrade.

Part of the solution required to prevent fly-borne disease from long-drop toilets, was to install a lightweight, easily constructed, septic-tank system.

Utilising sewerage grade liners and basic plumbing fittings it replicated the function of a standard Australian septic tank based on the age old anaerobic process.

An Australian standard ground absorption trench completed the treatment.

This simply installed Field Septic Tank system broke down the effluent safely and therefore protected the village from further disease.

Instinctively, the people of the village could see the benefit and set about installing their new sanitation facilities. Young Indonesian civil engineering students helped supervise, following the age-old humanitarian assistance adage: “do not just give a person a fish – teach them how to fish!”

It became a restorative exercise in rebuilding a community.

Ride for recovery

Now commemorating the 20th anniversary of this devastating event, the recovery phase of this disaster continues. Around 470 kilometres of Indian Ocean separates the devastated towns of Banda Aceh and Khao Lak, but the impact of the wave was of a similar scale.

Over 4,000 people were killed in Khao Lak alone.

Warrandyte resident, Nicola Hart, has contributed to the ongoing recovery by participating in the Hands Across the Water 800km bike ride over eight days, with 48 riders from Australia, New Zealand, UK, Italy and Dubai, from the sleepy resort town of Petchaburi to Khao Lak in January.

She said riding into the Baan Tharn Namchai home there was a mix of emotions.

This home was the first built following the devastating Boxing Day Tsunami.

It was a response from Australian Peter Baines, who was in Thailand identifying bodies when he witnessed 32 Thai orphans sheltering in a tent.

Nicola recounted that these children survived the initial Tsunami, but unlike adults, did not know how to begin to find the assistance they desperately needed.

So Peter began Hands Across the Water to give them that immediate help, but quickly realised there was an ongoing need for children who either had no family, or had families who could not afford to provide for them.

Hands Across the Water “gives children a life of choice, rather than chance” and currently supports 350 children that have no known carers, would otherwise be forced into exploitative employment options and would not have the chance to be educated.

Nicola sponsors two children who live in one of the Hands’ homes.

She said she decided to support Hands Across the Water after hearing about a young girl who had sought refuge with Hands after her older sister was sold into prostitution by her parents – for $10 – fearing her fate would be the same.

Nicola said the Ride to Provide wasn’t just a cycling event, it was a celebration of two decades of unwavering commitment to transforming the lives of children in need.

“It was an opportunity to honour the past, embrace the present and look ahead to a future filled with hope and happiness.

We were honoured to be joined on the ride by three survivors of the Tsunami and two other riders who were involved in the relief efforts following the Tsunami.”

If you wish to donate to Nicola’s fundraising effort visit handsacrossthewater.org.au/fundraisers/nicolahart/rtp-20th.

All donations of $2 or more are 100 per cent tax deductible.

Photos: Supplied

A chorus of connection

NAMED after the local purple and black wildflower that smells like chocolate, Dichopogon strictus, for three decades, community choir the Chocolate Lilies has been entertaining communities at events around the Green Wedge.
The choir celebrated its 30th birthday in November with a workshop day at the Warrandyte Mechanics’ Institute Hall.
Founder and Music Director for the group, Nerida Kirov, formed the Chocolate Lilies while studying for a Diploma in Jazz and Composition.
“We started at Allwood Neighbourhood House in Hurstbridge,” Nerida told the Diary.
“There were around 15 members at the time, and numbers grew strongly each year, to currently around 35 to 40 singing members.”
Over that time, the group has met in and ultimately outgrown a number of spaces across the Green Wedge.
In 2000, the group moved to Warrandyte Neighbourhood House.
Today, the Chocolate Lilies have two groups.
The Warrandyte group rehearse at the Warrandyte Mechanics’ Institute Hall, while the Hurstbridge group rehearses at the Hurstbridge Uniting Church Hall.
Nerida said other than location, there is no real difference between the two groups.
“We perform together as one choir and often come together for workshops and social events.”
Both groups rehearse on Mondays, the Hurstbridge group in the morning and the Warrandyte group in the evening.
With a background in community development, Nerida says the choir provides community connection and a platform for social justice.

“Being a community choir for me is important.
Being connected into the wider community and also bringing awareness to issues of social justice in all its forms is evident in our members and also a lot of the material I choose and write myself for the choir.
This also sometimes includes singing in other languages, including indigenous languages, with songs I have sought permission for the choir to sing.
A few years ago, someone local asked one of the choir members why we sing in other languages.
I feel, that not only does it connect us to the many different communities that now make up a rich diversity to this country, but also, I point out, it opens new neural pathways.
This can only be a good thing!”

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Today, community connect for the choir is best expressed through their performances at community events, festivals, and Anzac Day commemorations.
But after Black Saturday, Nerida said the choir was able to use singing to keep hurting communities connected.

“We ran singing workshops out in the St Andrews and Strathewen areas.
The experiences of that time will stay with me forever.
Music and, in my direct experience, voice can be a deeply profound way of giving space to people to rest, feel, slowly heal, and to find their ‘voice’ in a non-threatening way.
This led to members of these communities joining the Lilies on an ongoing basis, particularly Strathewen, where we have done performances at each memorial for the lives that were lost during and after that horrendous event.
Many deeply profound things happened to us during that time that are beyond words.
On the 10th Anniversary, we were invited to sing at the State Commemorative event for dignitaries, including the Prime Minister, Governor General, emergency service workers, and members from all the communities affected by the Black Saturday fires held at the Royal Exhibition Building.
There were a few thousand people, and it was a televised event.
We sang three songs — it was extremely difficult to emotionally keep it together.”

The hallmark of the towns that make up Manningham’s Yarra Ward and the Nillumbik Green Wedge is the connectedness of the people who live there.
For 30 years, Nerida and the Chocolate Lilies have demonstrated the power of community connectedness and the joy that being and singing together can bring, and judging by the turnout on November 10, this community choir still has a lot to sing about.

Classic tale returns to Warrandyte stage

Photos: JAMES POYNER

In late November, Warrandyte Theatre Company is staging the much-loved Australian Classic, Hotel Sorrento.
The Company first presented this work shortly after it was written in 1990 — and its subjects and characterisations have really not aged.
The focus on the family and the tensions arising from love, responsibility, and guilt are as relevant today as they were 30 years ago.
Set in what was the sleepy seaside town, Sorrento, it concerns the reunion of three sisters and the effect on their relationship of a semi-autobiographical novel written by the expatriate Meg, who returns from London with her English husband to see if the Australia she has left 10 years before has moved on.
Many will have seen and remember the 1995 film, based closely on the play, that starred Joan Plowright, Ray Barrat, Caroline Goodall, and many other famous Australian actors.
While sister Pippa is now a hard-edged advertising executive in New York, within she is still a frightened little girl, competing for the attention of her other sisters.
The eldest sister, Hillary, “chose” to look after her father after her mother died and has brought up her son, Troy, single-handedly.
She is accused by her sisters of just marking time, but counters by saying, “You may as well get used to life and make the best of it”.

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This production has attracted a cast of many Warrandyte Theatre Company regulars and some excellent new actors.
Dani Carey and Francesca Carl return to play sisters Meg and Pippa, and they are joined by newcomer Shivanii Cameron, who is playing Hillary.
Other regulars are Mason Frost playing Meg’s “steady” husband, Edwin, and Don Nicolson plays the argumentative journalist Dick, and Rosey Cullinan playing Marge, whose reading of Meg’s novel has “awakened her to feel again”.
Peter Smith returns to the Warrandyte stage after some years to play the chauvinist but now softening father, Wal.
And, in only his second stage appearance, Harry Gompertz joins the cast to play Troy in the demanding role of Meg’s son.
Jock Macneish has designed a wonderful set that cleverly provides many different scenes and acting areas on the one stage.

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This show is about the characters, their passions and pasts, and how, through family ties or coincidence, their lives become intertwined.
This show is a warm and, at times, funny drama that develops into moments of great poignancy.
The show opens on November 22 with three weeks of Friday and Saturday night performances and two Sunday matinees.

Tickets are already selling well.
Buy your ticket at trybooking.com/CPXME.
Warrandyte Theatre Company’s final production of 2024 will have café seating, making for an intimate theatre experience.

10 years of Now and Not Yet Café

An interview with Derek Bradshaw,
Founder of one of Warrandyte’s most iconic cafés

PHOTOS: GREG SWEDOSH

WARRANDYTE’s iconic Social Enterprise café, Now and Not Yet (NaNY), is about to celebrate its tenth birthday.|
Over the past decade, NaNY has become a much-loved part of the Warrandyte community as a place for people to dine, drink coffee, and foster community spirit.
To mark this milestone, I sat down with founder Derek Bradshaw to chat about all things NaNY.

Greg Swedosh: What does Now and Not Yet mean?
Derek Bradshaw: Now means that the community is good now, already beautiful.
There are already so many great features of Warrandyte.
But like everything, it’s not yet as good as it can be.
We wanted to embed ourselves in this place and try and do everything we possibly could to contribute to it continuing to grow and being the best that it can possibly be.

GS: NaNY is a not-for-profit café.
What inspired your decision to set it up, and what were your initial aims for the venture?
DB: The big reason for a cafe is that I’ve spent years sitting in cafes myself and I believe that there is something pretty special that happens there.
I don’t know what it is, but I love to walk into a cafe and hear it buzzing.
I love that feel and that vibe.
The initial aims were to try and set up something that was viable and sustainable, and that could generate some profit to be able to do some things that helped and supported people who were doing it tough.
I also wanted to employ people who may otherwise struggle to get a job in a place like this.
People who may have a history of not being able to get a job, who have been a bit used and abused by the system.
Why don’t we give them a chance and create an environment where they can flourish?

GS: What is the philosophy behind NaNY?
DB: We all need love.
It makes the world a much better place to live.
We will love an individual no matter what their circumstance, no matter their race or their sexuality, or their story.
None of us can go through life without, at some point, needing a helping hand.
When I was in my early teens, this girl knocked on our door at our home in North Balwyn and asked for money.
My Mum said, “No, I won’t give you money, but I’ve just cooked, and we’re about to sit down for a meal — so come in”.
So, she sat down and had a meal with us.
She ended up living with us for a couple of months.
And Mum and Dad ended up helping her mum.
My dad had a midlife crisis and decided to buy a cafe in the city, and then, after a couple of months, went back to computing, and Mum was sort of left with it.
So, Mum gave the girl work at the café.
Now, she’d been in jail for a whole lot of petty theft stuff, so people were saying, “She might steal stuff, or whatever”.
The easy thing for Mum and Dad to do would have been just to give her some money.
They would have felt good about themselves, and the problem would have gone away.
But instead, they said, “No, come in.
“We’ll get alongside you, support and help you”.
So much of what I was involved in before this was giving people money, and then the problem would go away.
And you feel good about yourself because you’ve given them some money.
But you actually miss out on the relationship and on learning a huge amount about yourself and your humanity through somebody else’s humanity and somebody else’s journey.
Like what Nige [who Derek helped come to Australia from Sri Lanka as a refugee] has taught me.
Now, that is love for your family, to escape in the middle of the night from civil war into the jungle and then to make your way to Australia to be locked up.
And to never, ever give up on fighting for your family to come to Australia.
Not just to come to Australia so that you can be reunited, but so that you know that they’re safe and at peace.

GS: Has NaNY evolved in a way that you thought it would?
DB: Oh no.
Quite intentionally, when we started this, I didn’t want to have a set agenda.
I wanted to work out who we wanted to be as people and what our values were.
I wanted to allow it to play itself out in its own unique way and for us to be nimble and flexible.
To become whatever it looked like in a Warrandyte context.
So, it’s had so many evolutions and iterations.

GS: What made you choose Warrandyte as the location?
Did you have a previous connection to Warrandyte?
DB: We lived in Donvale, and I used to come down and walk along the river regularly.
It was my place of solace and peace and where I felt like I really resonated with my Creator and people.
I always knew Warrandyte had such a special communal village sort of vibe.
I thought Warrandyte would resonate with who we were and what we wanted to achieve.

GS: What causes has NaNY been involved in over its 10-year history?
DB: Obviously, there’s the asylum seeker work.
And we’ve worked with people affected by domestic violence, where we’ve provided anything from housing and food support to emotional support.
We’ve provided employment pathways for local people who have barriers to long-term employment.
We’ve helped the Warrandyte Refugee Support Group and artists through the NaNY Gallery, and the space is often used by different community groups for meetings.

GS: Has the success of NaNY been what you expected?
DB: Success for us is what the community thinks of us, and whether the community feels loved and supported by us.
We’ve done all sorts of different things, and we’ve just changed and adapted as it’s gone along.
And the change and adaption haven’t been trying to chase success.
It’s been working out how we can best support this community.
So success, to a certain degree, is that we’re still here, and we have hundreds of stories that people share with us about what NaNY means to them and how it’s impacted their lives.
That’s been one of the beautiful things about the 10th birthday.
We had one couple who said: “You literally dragged us through COVID.
“We would come down every day just to get our coffee and chat to you guys.
“You were the only physical people outside of our house that we got to talk to”.
They often commented that they didn’t know whether they would have survived COVID if it wasn’t for NaNY.
We intentionally stayed open, not because it was financially profitable, but because we knew that was what we needed to do for the community.

GS: If you had your time over again, is there anything you’d do differently?
DB: Everything we’ve done, whether it worked or not, successful or unsuccessful, we’ve done with the same passion for people and community.

GS: What were you doing before you were running a café?
DB: So I am still technically a Baptist pastor.
I worked in what I call “church land” for 10 years.
Before that, I was a plumber.
I ran a mechanical workshop.
I managed a drum shop and worked in the music industry.
I worked in real estate.
I ran my own events management company.
I ran a motorbiking business.
I worked at Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in the maintenance department and then ended up working in my local church as the worship pastor.
Then, I worked for an organisation that did Community Development overseas for a couple of years.
And I wanted to do this because I met some of the happiest people I’ve ever met in the world in the slums of Cambodia and Indonesia.
And I thought there’s something really powerful in that.
I realised that the pursuit of more money, status, a bigger house, or a better car was a pointless and futile exercise.
I wanted to put all my time and effort into bringing to people or being part of something that was of true and genuine value.
And that is: relationship. 

GS: Has the success of NaNY given rise to other similar ventures?
DB: Yeah, we opened the Shared Cup café in Donnybrook five years ago, and that’s been really successful.
That came out of Mirvac, a big developer, seeing what we were doing in Warrandyte and approaching us because they wanted that same drive, ethos, and practice in a new development there.

GS: What do you have planned for NaNY over the next 10 years?
DB: Just trying to keep doing what we do.
We don’t have any grand plan.
We want to do some things to help ensure that we can continue to do what we do.
I think it’ll be more of the same and to be completely open to whatever.

GS: Last question, and most importantly, what’s your go-to order on the NaNY menu?
DB: Well, I do like a good smashed avo.

Crossing Supervisor of the Year

IF YOU HAVE driven through Warrandyte in the last 21 years, chances are you have seen Ian Hook in his high-vis traffic supervisor’s uniform.
Ian began his crucial role as a School Crossing Supervisor in 2003 at Warrandyte High School.
He now staffs the Yarra Street crossing in Warrandyte and has become an integral part of the school community.
His presence has made a significant impact on the safety of Warrandyte’s pedestrians, and now Ian’s dedication to his role as Crossing Supervisor has been recognised with a State accolade.
He was awarded Victoria’s highest honour at the School Crossing Supervisor of the Year Awards night in July and named the State Crossing Supervisor of the Year.
The award takes into account a professional demeanour, a supportive and encouraging approach to school crossing users, an excellent knowledge of the road rules, punctuality and a presence in the community.
The judges assess all seven regions that make up the School Crossing’s Victoria organisation.
After taking out the Region 2 award (Manningham), Ian was promptly named the State’s best, taking home two trophies.

“I felt so excited, I was over the moon,” said Ian.
“It’s very emotional and humbling to be recognised like this.
“I love helping the kids, and I love helping the people.”

Mayor of Manningham, Carli Lange, also congratulated Ian for his dedication.

“We are incredibly proud of Ian’s achievement.
“His integrity, kindness, and dedication have made a significant impact on the safety and well-being of students in our community.
“School Crossing Supervisors are unsung heroes — they keep pedestrians safe every school morning and night, through all kinds of weather.
“It’s fantastic to see their remarkable work recognised,” Cr Lange said.

Ian’s impact on the community is also felt at his local football club, Warrandyte, where he has been a key contributor for more than 60 years.

Our homegrown Olympians

FOR PARIS 2024, over 460 athletes will represent Australia across 33 sports.
More than half of that contingent are women.
Australia is also expected to have approximately 160 athletes competing in 16 sports for the Paralympics (August 28 – September 8).
Of the 740+ Australians striving for gold this summer, a handful you may be able to call neighbours.
Across Manningham and Nillumbik, six athletes will compete in either the Olympics or Paralympics in Paris:

Abbey Caldwell: Warrandyte’s very own Abbey Caldwell is running in the Women’s 800-metre athletics event, and as we go to print she is toeing the line in the Semi-Final.
Abbey has had a stellar season so far and won bronze at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022.

Stephanie Ratcliffe: The 23-year-old from Doncaster East and part of Doncaster Athletics Club, Stephanie will be competing in the Hammer Throw.
Stephanie recalls the beginning of her journey into athletics:

“I remember Dad taking me to the Doncaster track one Saturday morning to watch little athletics, and straight away, I told him I wanted to try it.
I was very disappointed when he told me I had to wait another year before I could start because I was too young!
I started athletics when I was five at Doncaster Little Athletics Club.”

She decided to specialise in the Hammer Throw at 16, and in 2023, she broke the Australian record, set by Bronwyn Eagles in 2003, by nearly two metres – throwing 73.11 metres.

Laura Paeglis: Yan Yean local, Laura is a member of Diamond Valley Archers.
While Laura was knocked out in her elimination round on August 1, she first made headlines by setting the highest score (640) by an Australian woman since the current 72-arrow ranking round format began in 1996.
Laura said this about shooting in her Olympic debut:

“I had so much fun out there.
I improved throughout the day and I think that’s the thing to really focus on.
It’s totally different to anything I’ve ever shot in any shooting conditions.
So going out there and actually learning from mistakes was good.
Getting better towards the end was really great, and I’m pretty proud of that,”

Tim Anderson: From Eltham, competed in Canoe Slalom and, in his Olympic debut, finished 7th overall.

“I am really happy with the way I conduct myself.
My paddling was really nice.
I made a few mistakes, but it’s pretty rare that you don’t make a mistake at some point in your Olympic campaign, especially in the final.”

Mitchell Iles: From Hurstbridge, Mitchell competed in Shooting: Men’s Trap.
Mitchell finished 9th in his qualification round.

Looking ahead to the Paralympics At the Paris Paralympics, Lina Lei will again represent Australia in Table Tennis.
Lei is a bit of a medal magnet, claiming her first Paralympic gold medal in Athens in 2004 for China.
Born with a deficiency in her right lower leg, Lei kept her self-confessed sweet tooth at bay to remain a force in her sport between 2006 and 2014, winning every gold medal up for grabs at Paralympic level and at World Para Championships, a truly extraordinary run of success.
Following the 2016 Rio Paralympics, Lei moved to Australia and was selected to represent her new nation for the first time at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, winning gold for Australia and ending a 37-year gold medal drought for Australia.

In Archery, 31-year-old Patrick French of Diamond Valley Archers will make his Paralympic debut.

Walter Magilton: A life’s journey in art

WALTER MAGILTON has been an artist for 80 years.
And that life in art is about to be celebrated in an exhibition at Montsalvat’s Long Gallery.
Walter sat down with the Diary editor, SANDI MILLER, to discuss his journey from farmhouse to gallery.
“This exhibition is a survey of my life as an artist.
It’s got some very early work I did as a kid, it’s got a lot of sculpture, it’s got some gold and silversmithing, and wood-turning.
I’ve been involved in printmaking, all sorts of paintings, and all sorts of subjects.
And it certainly has some recent work and some other big paintings.
There will be two glass-top cabinets — one will hold artefacts and some of the jewellery I made, and the other will hold cuttings.
I’m showing some of my early work, which is not necessarily my best work because people will say ‘gee Walter never knew you were that bad’ — but everyone has to start somewhere, and this is my journey.
A survey, you know, of my life.
It’s certainly blowing my own trumpet; there’s no doubt about that, but this will probably be my swan song.
I will continue to paint, but I’m 90 now; all sorts of things are catching up on me.”

Early life

Walter said his earliest work, which will be included in the forthcoming retrospective, was exhibited in Melbourne Town Hall in 1946 when he was 11.
He was the son of a dairy farmer and a student at the Cowley’s Creek school near Camperdown.
He said that sometimes there were only about 10 kids there — “it really was a bush school.”
His teacher, Lou Evans, talked his parents into sending Walter and his brother to Carey Grammar, where they each became boarders for a time.
“In those days, when it came to art, there was no art department at all, but Lou was now a teacher at Carey and became like a godfather to me.
“We remained friends for 65 years.
“He took a shine to me as a young artist and introduced me to artist quality materials, proper brushes, proper paints — otherwise, I was using kid stuff.
“So, I’ve often said, I would not have become an artist if it hadn’t been for Lou Evans.”
Walter said he struggled academically at Carey because his country school arithmetic didn’t prepare him for algebra, geometry, or trigonometry.
“The maths teacher cut me to shreds, and I just never caught up.
“In the other classes, I was a happy medium, but I had no motivation; I was going to be a farmer’s son.
“When I came home, I spent the next two or three years farming with my father and brother.
“I’d go out and paint, but I had no lessons, and I had lots of other interests: motorbikes, model aircraft, youth group, and church.
“But Dad came to me one day, and it was the best thing he ever said to me — he said, ‘Walter, your heart doesn’t seem to be in farming — have a think about it, and if you want to train for something I will pay for your training — if it doesn’t work out, you can come back on the farm’ .
“For the first time in my life, I had a serious think about what I wanted to do.
“I was friends with a primary school teacher, and he seemed to have so much time.
“Well, if I was a primary teacher, I could go out painting on the weekends, so I went back to school.”
He went and completed his high school as a boarder at Geelong High.
“I often say I was probably the first mature-age student because I was 18 or 19, I had a moustache, I had a motorbike — and they didn’t always insist I wore my school cap.
“Now, my results just went up because I knew where I was going.
“I had a very dear old man as an art teacher who was totally hopeless, but I was his golden-haired boy because I went out on weekends painting watercolours — he’d never had a student do that.”
After graduating, Walter went to Geelong Teachers College.
“Late in the summer, I got a notification there was a vacancy in the teachers’ college art and craft course, did I want it?
“Did I ever?!
“That just opened my life up.
“I couldn’t get enough of it.
“I used to go out there at night to do extra classes.
“I just lived a couple of blocks from the old National Gallery School, which is now the public library and took life drawing classes with the likes of Charles Bush.”
He said he worked hard and got very good results.
“Not because I was particularly good at anything, but I worked hard at everything.”
He said his studies eventually were in gold and silversmithing and sculpture, his main instructor was Lenton Parr.
“It should be a household name, but he got too involved in administration, art schools, and things, but he was a superb sculptor.”
While Walter said he enjoyed his studies, in those days he didn’t see himself as an artist.
“I saw myself as an art teacher and had 27 years with the education department.”
Walter resigned as a teacher a few years before retirement to focus on his art.

A booming arts career

“I did a few projects with architects in Melbourne.
“Each one was different, and I thought, ‘well, I’m going to be working in bronze, so I’ve got to learn about that’, and ‘I’m going to be working fibreglass, so I’ll learn about that’ .
“Around that time, I produced a sculpture at Carey Grammar—a big bronze portrait of William Carey.
“I was then approached by a big mining firm to do a sculptural panel for them.
“Then they said, ‘we want you to make something for the wall of the boardroom’ , and in my naivety, I spent a lot of time working on that and going into meetings discussing, without ever putting in a sort of charge as I went along.
“Then I got a phone call saying, ‘look, things are tough, we decided not to go ahead’ .
“Well, that hit me very, very hard.
“I thought ‘bugger it all, I think I’ll see if I can paint’.
“So, I got out my oil paints. “I think I used a coal chisel to clean the pallet and a hammer to soften my brushes and things like that had been dormant for so long because of all the years I was teaching.
“I was worn out on the weekends — my creativity was used up in class teaching students.
“I enjoyed it.
“I’ve got no complaints about that, and I had other things to do on weekends: my family, my church, the MJ Car Club, and sailing.
A return to painting Walter said in 1974 that he had planned to paint an old settlers’ cottage near present day Donvale Christian College.
“All covered in blackberries, very romantic, I thought that would make a great subject”.
But he discovered they had bulldozed the building a week before.
“It had taken a lot of courage to break the ice to even go out after all these years.
“It was easy to put the things away again for a while, but then I went to an old cottage in Port Campbell and started to paint.
“Gee, I couldn’t stop!
“It was like setting a match to a barbeque.”
Around this time,
Walter and his first wife Alison moved to Warrandyte.
“We started to look around. “
I missed out on a property over at Eltham for about four or five acres with an orchard and an old house, which must have been on the market for about 10 minutes.
“It got me thinking, and I kept coming back to Warrandyte.
“We looked and looked and looked, and I had to turn a lot of places down; they were on a steep hill, and you couldn’t use the land.
“About the fourth agent, I said, ‘are there any other places?’ and we had a look in the map.
“‘There’s two-thirds of an acre here, with a riverfront and a creek front and only one neighbour.’
“‘Give me three minutes while I ring my wife.’
“It was just what I wanted,” he said.
For more than 50 years, he continued to paint and teach in the home studio they built in Warrandyte, and more than 400 students have attended his classes.
As prolific as he is talented, he has held many solo and group exhibitions in various Australian capital cities and five in England and has won many awards for his work, including Best of Show.
He has been asked to judge many art shows, act as an art critic, and demonstrate to art societies.
He is a versatile artist who works with various subjects — portraits, landscapes, still life — and in various media, including oil, watercolour, gouache, and pastel.
He said some artistic highlights include designing windows for the Warrandyte Uniting Church.
“I didn’t make it, but I designed every piece of glass and numbered it, and we had two local women and one of my students put it together.
“An anonymous donor gave money so we could afford the very best glass because some glass colours are very expensive.
“It was a fantastic project, and I’m very proud of the design.”

Painting Jags

He said he also had a commission from Bib Stillwell’s Silverstone Motors for a series of five large paintings of Jaguar cars in action.
“I did five paintings for him, but Bib never realised how much work and research went into each piece.
“I said there’s two I want to do, one racing at Le Mans in twilight when the lights are coming on, but there’s still enough daylight to see the tents and the crowd, and one is the fabulous era in England where they brought out the big Jags and raced them door handle to door handle, with some of the top drivers of the time, Stirling Moss and racing Jags.
“And I said, I want to do it in the wet, so you got the reflections, spray, and all sorts of stuff.
“The Albert Park one was set in 1956, the birth of television, so I had to research what the loudspeakers looked like those days, what the breakdown truck and the ambulance looked like, and what the early television cameras looked like.
“I painted myself in that one because I was actually there, and occasionally, I took a bit of artistic liberty and changed some of the signage.”
But he said the amount of research that went into each one was just enormous.
“I said to Bib, they’re going to be absolutely anatomically correct because they are going to be looked at by car buffs, and Lord help me if I don’t have the correct number of rivets, and they’re also going to be looked at by artists, so in terms of composition and perspective they have to work as paintings.
“People have asked if they were copies of photographs — don’t insult me!
“There’s a whole lot to create in that composition; they’re all very authentic — we know the make of each car, we know the driver, and there is a great deal of authenticity.”

Forthcoming exhibition

Walter’s forthcoming exhibition highlights selected works from his extensive career as a professional artist and art teacher.
The collection includes oils, watercolours, gouache, prints, sculptures, and pieces of gold and silver smithing.
The exhibition will be opened by Eltham artist and good friend of Walter, Chris White.
“Chris and I have a sort of joke — if Chris and I go to a Rotary kind of exhibition, the best I can possibly do is come second.
“But there have been times when I’ve knocked Chris off, and he’s knocked me off, but we’re very good friends, and we have a lot of respect for each work and have similar ideas as to what is good painting and good composition.”
Opening night is Thursday, July 24, at the Long Gallery, Montsalvat and Walter will host a “Walk and Talk” on Saturday, August 3, and Sunday, August 4.
The exhibition runs until the end of August.

Three times is a charm

REVIEW

THE LATEST offering from the Warrandyte Theatre Company was Three Award Winning One Act Plays.
These three plays were the winners of a recent writing competition, selected from a total of 21 original plays.

  • The Midnight Muse by Michael Olsen, directed by Grant Purdy;
  • Mockingbird by Alison Knight, directed by Ruth Richter;
  • Double Booked by Adrian C Rice, directed by Michelle Reeves.

The first play, The Midnight Muse, was a two-hander with the characters of Stephen (Mason Frost), a writer suffering from writer’s block, and Calliope (Danielle Carey), the Greek goddess and muse who comes to offer him some advice and suggestions.
In the second play, we are introduced to Ella (Jackie Barber) and her husband Jake (James Poyner), who have recently moved to the area and are trying to impress Jake’s new boss, Phillip (Craig Willis) and his snobbish wife Genevieve (Jo Lippold).
Phillip and Genevieve warn Jake about the strange man, Tom (Pablo Robert), who lives in the area.
As the story unfolds over several different locations and days, we explore some complex social issues around how people are judged by others, and we see the tensions that this can bring between the characters.
The final show, Double Booked, is a quirky story set in the small bedsit of Simon (Adrian Quintarelli), who has returned to university to study law and whose apartment is above Pam’s (Eleni Karandinas), a sex worker who occasionally needs Simon’s assistance to “entertain” her clients by providing a cup of tea and some biscuits as they wait while she is otherwise engaged.
In this instance, the client who arrives is Marco (Pablo Robert), who Simon recognises as an old acquaintance from his hometown.
After discovering the reason for leaving town, Marco, together with Simon and Pam, sets out to resolve the situation from Marco’s past.

Photos: MICHELLE REEVES

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It was wonderful to see the return of some of the actors from previous WTC productions, along with some new faces in this series of plays.
Overall, the three plays were quite different, and each had its own interesting story to tell.
There were scenes and stories that certainly made you think and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments within this wonderful evening.
The sets, costuming and props were simple but easily put you into the scenes taking place and the lighting was evocative of the events taking place.
The use of lights and soundscape, especially in Mockingbird, gave the sense that there were more than just the five main characters, with some very effective use of recorded voices and activities taking place off stage.
The order in which the plays were presented also worked very well.
The first and last shows offered some lighter moments, while the second play had a more gritty and thought-provoking feel to it.
Congratulations to everyone involved on stage and behind the scenes in what has been another fabulous production from WTC.

The last two performances of this suite of play are at 8pm on Friday, July 5 and Saturday, July 6.
Tickets available via Trybooking and are only $25 per person ($20 Concession).

A triple treat at the Mechanics’ Hall

THE LINES are learnt, the lights are lit, and the choc-tops are on ice as Warrandyte Theatre Company (WTC) prepares to showcase three thoughtful One Act Plays at the end of June.
The three plays are a product of the recent WTC One Act Play Writing Competition.
The competition received 21 submissions, of which three were chosen for performance.
The winning plays are:

  • The Midnight Muse by Michael Olsen
  • Mockingbird by Alison Knight
  • Double Booked by Adrian Rice

Returning to the stage in The Midnight Muse is Mason Frost and Dani Carey.
This young and energetic pair flourish the stage with the whimsical musings of their characters directed by the thoughtful and meticulous Grant Purdy.
Steven (Mason Frost) is a young writer.
Calli, an Ancient Greek Muse (Dani Carey), has visited Steven, but he doesn’t want her help.
Calli thinks otherwise. She’s inspired writers for centuries.
Tonight, on this special night, she’s determined to help him — whether he wants it or not.

Mockingbird is directed by Ruth Richter, who has carefully crafted this sensitive piece, making sure that each scene is given the attention it deserves to portray this heartbreaking story.
This busy one-act play has multiple locations, action, heartbreak, philosophical discussion, and enough light and shade to keep the audience engaged and entertained.
With some returning actors, Pablo Robert, Craig Willis, James Poyner and some fresh faces to WTC, Jacky Barber and Jo Lippold, this play is sure to leave you contemplating society’s snubs and kindnesses. Tom (played by Pablo Robert) lives in a run-down house in a prosperous suburb.
Jake (James Poyner) and Ella (Jacky Barber) discuss how to support him, but this grates with some. Mockingbird looks at how society treats misfits. Ignore them, get rid of them, or show compassion.
But you might find something you can’t handle.

Double Booked sees an Under the Table (Sean Guy, Season 1 2023) reunion of Eleni Karandinas, Adrian Quintarelli, and Pablo Robert, and is directed by Michelle Reeves with Kerry Walsh (Assistant Director) to bring this hilarious and extraordinary true tale to life (well, true the end).
A sex worker (played by Eleni Karandinas) finds herself with one more customer than expected (played by Pablo Robert) and needs the help of the student (Adrian Quintarelli) who lives in the upstairs apartment.
The client, down on their luck, caused by an egregious wrongdoing, and the student discover a common past and hatch a plan to set things straight for the client.

Behind the scenes, WTC has a dedicated team ensuring everything is coming together smoothly.
Lou Phelan is producing and co-ordinating Front of House, Sandi Miller and Grant Purdy are creating sound and lights (and a big thanks to Pam Ford for programming the audio) Simone Kiefer as Stage Manager, Denise Farran and Noelene Cooper curating costumes, and Kerry Walsh and Michelle Reeves creating and posting on social media.
WTC would love you to join them for this wonderful celebration of Warrandyte’s flourishing talent and entertain you with these three well-written, directed and performed One Act Plays.
Performances Opening night is Friday, June 21, for eight performances (including two matinees) over three weekends.
Tickets cost $25 for adults and $20 for concessions. www.trybooking.com/CRFEH.

Warrandyte Festival 2024

Even with a new date and shorter program, our community partied hard at this year’s Warrandyte Festival. From the Billycart Derby run “under lights” in its new time slot of Friday evening, to the colourful Festival Parade and a Saturday crammed with music, food, and friendship, the 2024 Festival will be one to remember.

A Festival of fun and local charm

By CLAIRE HARRISON
FESTIVAL-GOERS were able to enjoy all the usual fun and frivolity at this year’s one-and-a-half-day Warrandyte Festival.
Being held in April meant many of the usual favourites were held under lights for the first time — which was a welcome novelty for the kids turning out for the Billycart Derby and Kid’s Market.
The riverbank was bustling with families enjoying the activities, live music, delicious food, and illuminated giant snails! Saturday’s busy schedule started off with our beloved Street Parade, where Monarchs “sailed” their yacht down Yarra Street and local kids got to showcase their sporting talents and creativity, including plenty of imaginative river creatures.
Both stages were a feast of musical talent all day, including school groups, local choirs, Open Mic, Battle of the Bands, as well as plenty of emerging and professional bands.
Highlights included last year’s Battle of the Band winners, BOTH, performing just before Festival stalwarts The Scrims.
This was followed by high-energy blues and roots band 19-Twenty, who invited a group of youngsters up on stage to rock out with the band. 13-year-old Pearl said she loved it so much she didn’t want to blink, for fear of missing something!
Of course, none of this is possible without the amazing contribution of hundreds of volunteers, some of them visible, some of them behind the scenes.
“Did you know that three local families have been quietly collecting the plastic yellow Duck Race ducks out of the river from their kayaks for years?” asks Dwayne Schuyler, Committee President.
“It’s people like them, together with the volunteers who run the community stalls, the sports groups who run activities, the school communities cooking food, the emergency services crews providing logistics, and the volunteers who set up and pack up the event that make our community event so special.”
Thank you to everyone involved for celebrating Warrandyte in such a grassroots way.

Photos: STEPHEN REYNOLDS

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From Battle of the Bands to Triple J

By AHREN TAMPIYAPPA

BAND MEMBERS from BOTH were back on stage this Warrandyte Festival, a year after winning the 2023 Warrandyte Festival’s Battle of the Bands.
And what a year it has been — recording a single and music video that has since been played on Triple J and streaming services.
BOTH are made up of Melbourne Rudolf Steiner School students Ahren, Banjo, Declan and Sam. Sam and Banjo grew up and live in and around Warrandyte, with the rest of the band hailing from the Dandenong Ranges.
The band started in 2020 during lockdown, when Sam and Ahren, then in Year 8, decided to write a musical about the life of Martin Luther King (inspired after watching Hamilton).
After writing 10 songs throughout 2020, there was really no reason to stop once the project ended. Soon joined by Lelu and Declan, the band heard about Warrandyte Festival’s Battle of the Bands through the music department at school and thought it would be a great way to take what they had been recording at home to the live stage.
Battle of the Bands 2023 was the first time BOTH had ever played live together.
Their expectations were not high, especially with the band only being able to showcase two of their three songs prepared due to various technical and instrumental issues.
So, you can imagine the shock when the MC announced, “First place — BOTH!” Off the back of this euphoric debut performance, and now joined by bassist Banjo, BOTH soon played their first headline show to a sold out Sooki Lounge in Belgrave.
This is a well-established venue, having hosted the likes of Josh Pyke and the late Archie Roach. Following this show, BOTH hit the studio — their prize from Battle of the Bands — and recorded their now much-loved single Keeping Me Around.
ABC Triple J presenter Sara Glaidous described the tune as “…kind of mind blowing [with] subtle intricacies that keep me listening and wanting more.”
BOTH recently released a music video for that same track, with Keeping Me Around now having amassed nearly 10,000 streams on all streaming platforms.
Being invited to play Saturday night on stage at Warrandyte Festival this year was an honour, and a kind of full circle moment — the place where they played their very first show — now playing to a huge, electric throng of cheering and supportive people.
“It’s so heartening that Warrandyte Festival can provide seed opportunities like this for young people who are passionate about music,” said a Festival representative.
Looking forward, BOTH hope to venture into exciting new and uncharted territory in the next year, including recording an EP at the state-of-the-art studios at RMIT.  Well done, BOTH!

Film Feast is like a box of chocolates

By MARC BARRETT

ATTENDEES OF the Film Feast this year will no doubt have relished the new Warrandyte Festival design.
The decision to place most of the Friday night festival attractions along the banks of the Yarra River, next to the open-air tent used for film screenings, had the effect of placing the Film Feast at the very epicentre of the festival.
The result was a Film Feast experience which seemed more festive and community-centric than previous years, the peak of the evening’s festivities, rather than an adjunct to it.
And the crowd seemed to respond accordingly.
Warming up the throng, in the lead-up to the film screenings, was Australia’s Got Talent runners up, Sisters Doll, with their energetic rock.
Giant wandering snail puppets had the kids enthralled (and a few adults), a plethora of stalls and a billy-cart racetrack kept families occupied, and the wonderful variety of food trucks kept everyone happy.
By the time screenings began, most folks were already jumping with anticipation.
Our MCs for the night, Emma Jury and Kyle Shelton (ventriloquist) welcomed us all to Wurundjeri land and introduced our illustrious judges, many, household names.
But before the films began, the crowd were treated to a uniquely spiritual performance from flautist AwareWolves.
With the soundscape gently taking hold, the festival crowd quickly relaxed into the perfect mindset to start viewing.
The out of competition local film Number 11 kicked things off with a heart-warming reminder to take the positive road in a world of troubles.
And micro-doco Gem Amongst the Gold kept the local vibe going as it succinctly explored the issue of Warrandyte development.
One line in the film, uttered by a local, “Leave the bloody thing alone”, seemed to land well with the crowd.
The film showed just how effective a micro-doco can be.
Next, Phone-Nomenon gave us an inventive genre mash-up of sci-fi and historical drama, as a mad scientist’s mobile phone is mysteriously transported back in time to the day before the Titanic is due to set sail (and somehow, still seems to maintain its wi-fi connection…).
What would you do if you could warn someone not to board the doomed ship?
Local film, Favour on the Fourth Floor was a tight thriller with a terrific hook — a man in a hotel room asks the hotel cleaner for a very strange favour.
With solid performances, writing that keeps you guessing and a visceral impact, the film achieves a lot in its few minutes of screentime.
The animation Bearzebub warmed audience hearts with the story of a lonely teddy bear willing to literally make a deal with the devil to regain the love of its owner.
Needless to say, things don’t quite turn out as expected.
The no-dialogue film The Tallest of Tales played like a vampire-rock-a-billy video clip (I didn’t know that was a thing either), as we witness a vampire working her way through her victims in a local pub, only to meet another vampire doing the same thing.
Naturally, it was love at first sight.
Killing the Love Emoji attempted to solve the problem of finding and expressing love in a time of social media domination of human interaction.
The film took on a little more than it could chew but was a valiant effort with a tangible style of its own.
Intermission allowed the audience to re-fill and re-charge and groove a little to the debut performance of Disney cover band, The Dalt Wisneys.
The band somehow managed to successfully rock-ify many Disney classic songs in a performance that was able to please both the kids and nostalgia-seeking adults in the audience.
There are probably few bands that could pull off such a feat, apart from maybe, The Wiggles… And The Wiggles never sounded as cool as the Dalt Wisneys.
Some more “guided meditation” from AwareWolves, eased the audience into the next set of films.
Local film, Stranded began the final session, a film about a young woman alone in the bush at night and her interaction with a stranger.
Drowning beneath her sense of vulnerability, the young woman makes some tragic decisions.
Experimental film Inspire used a mixture of sumptuous imagery and cross-cutting to explore an artist’s relationship with inspiration.
Poetic and confirming, the film gave us a unique glimpse into the mind of an artist.
Tradies was a bit of a comic romp, about a woman who calls in a procession of tradies to her house for her to indulge her sadistic impulses… I will certainly never enter the home of a woman who answers the door by saying “I think I’ll call you Bob” ever again!
A bossy mermaid suddenly appearing in a man’s bathtub is the hook for local film Mira’s Tale.
Quickly recovering from this odd event, the man must then transport the mermaid back to the sea before a couple of crusty (yet strangely loquacious) fishermen capture her.
Their Heaven is a Warm Underworld was an experimental film that played a bit like one part “Furry fantasy” and another part “lost video clip from The Cure”.
Quite incomprehensible (at least to this little black duck), the film was strangely hypnotic and satisfying. It must have tapped into my inner Furry.
Animal Work rounded out the Film Feast for 2024, a short drama about the curative power of immersion. Shunning conventional group therapy, a young, conflicted man joins an acting class to explore his “inner animal”.
Somehow, the process releases his ability to express himself and confront his issues.
Fine performances anchor the film, supported by some effective camera placement.
After one last beverage and a few door prizes, judges announced the winners, this year including prizes for Best Director and Actor/ess.

The Best Director award went to the director of Animal Work, Zak Marrinan, for their confident handling of both actor and camera.
While the Best Actor award went to Jesse Bouma for their cooly calculating performance of The Cleaner in the film Favour on the Fourth Floor.
The 3rd place prize, from The Grand Hotel Warrandyte, went to the charming time-travel film Phone-Nomenon written and directed by Aylee Sunstrom and produced by Aylee Sunstrom, Jack Mason and Tom Vogel.
While the 2nd place prize of $300, from Palace Films, went to the deserving Animal Work which was produced by Bre Sims.
The unanimous winner of the 1st place award of $1,000 went to tight thriller Favour on the Fourth Floor, which, I must admit, was my personal favourite.
It turned out to be quite the night for Favour on the Fourth Floor as the film makers, Harry Quinlan (writer and director) and Lawrence Phelan (producer) also received the coveted “Wazza” People’s Choice Award.
So great to see a local filmmaker receive some very deserving acknowledgments for their efforts!
With the excitement of the new festival format and the growing impact of local films in the festival, the Warrandyte Film Feast is looking set to be even better next year.

Royal Proclamation to the people of Warrandyte

TODAY, WE stand before you with great pride as we celebrate the timeless virtues that define what it means to be a Warrandytian. In this remarkable village on the edge of the city yet nestled in a bushland valley, we find ourselves bound together by a shared spirit that sets us apart. We say that your willingness to volunteer and contribute selflessly underscores the true essence of Warrandyte. Whether in times of celebration or adversity, we come together, embodying the spirit of community that makes our village flourish. We firmly believe that, while we differ in talents, beliefs and cultural history, this place is sacred to all of us. In this place, fortunes have been won and lost, great men and women live, and remarkable children play. Music, art, and social discourse flourish here. The Monarchs of Warrandyte remind you that our unique culture is valuable. People of Warrandyte, continue to support your friends and neighbours whenever there is a need. Take joy from volunteering or just saying g’day to a fellow Warrandytian. Smile, and pass your cheerfulness on at the Festival and every other day of the year.

H.R.H Andrew, Chris, Don and Zeus Warrandyte Festival Monarchs 2024

Time to Celebrate

By CLAIRE HARRISON

WE ALL KNOW it takes a village.

This is especially true when it comes to hosting the Warrandyte Festival.

This year’s event will be celebrated on Friday, April 19, and Saturday, April 20.

“Our cherished community event is only possible thanks to the hundreds of volunteers and contributors behind the scenes who make the weekend so special,” says Festival President Dwayne Schuyler.

This year’s 2024 Monarchs are community volunteers Don Hughes, Chris “Chewy” Padgham and Andrew Yen, who serve to represent all the other fabulous volunteers who make make our community what it is.

“A big thanks to the mums and dads who are making costumes and have volunteered at the school stalls, the emergency services volunteers on site all weekend, the Scouts and local sports clubs running activities, and the artists taking time to make the reserve look amazing,” says Dwayne.

A new activity this year, Clay play: community art making, is being hosted by Gabie Mello from Warrandyte Pottery.

“I’m really excited to give people the chance to be creative with clay. “Imagine all of the amazing creatures that will come to life over the weekend,” says Gabie.

Clay play will be held on Friday night from 5pm to 7pm and Saturday from 10am to 2pm in the rotunda on the Riverbank.

Gabie is also the honorary guest judge for the en plein air painting competition hosted by NaNY Gallery.

Artists can sign up on Friday, April 19, from 9am at the NaNY Gallery tent before spending the day creating their unique artwork.

Completed artworks will be on display and for sale on Saturday at the NaNY Gallery tent on the Riverbank.

Money from sales (less processing fees) will go to the artist.

Claire Bloom from Warrandyte High School will once again host the Dog Show and Pet Parade.

A beloved event for 30+ years thanks to Claire’s dedication, you are invited to show off your cuddly, cute, and curious household creatures at the new time of 5pm–7pm on Friday.

As always, local schools, community groups and emergency services will get the chance to be cheered, celebrated and thanked as they promenade down Yarra Street for the annual Street Parade on Saturday.

Starting at Mitchell Avenue at 10am and ending at Stiggants Reserve, the Parade is a colourful and quirky celebration of all things Warrandyte.

“We have a long-standing joke that there are more Warrandytians in the Parade than watching it,” says volunteer Parade organiser Kerrie Boyle.

“Seeing the Parade participants enjoying themselves is a heart-warming reminder of all the amazing teachers, volunteers, activity leaders, emergency services volunteers, artists, sports people, local kids, and their parents who contribute to our community.”

Festival organisers would like to remind everyone that Yarra Street will be closed to traffic (including buses) between Warrandyte Bridge and the Harris Gully Road roundabout from approximately 9:30am until 11am on Saturday for the Parade.

Please plan ahead.

On Saturday, Monarchs Andrew Yen and Chris “Chewy” Padgham, both Scouts leaders, will coordinate their volunteers to help run the Scouts inflatable climbing wall on the grass below the Community Church and the Scouts giant waterslide, which runs down the hill adjacent to Stiggant Street.

Both will run between 11am and 4:30pm.

“There will be something for everyone this year,” says Andrew.

“There’s nothing quite like sliding down the hill in river water to bring a smile to your face.”

Members of the Warrandyte Netball Club will run Jellybean races from 1pm to 2pm on Saturday.

Younger kids are invited to test their skills by balancing a jellybean on a wooden spoon.

Our town’s very talented Warrandyte Artisans will have artwork to view and for sale in the foyer of the Community Church from 10am to 5pm.

Away from the Festival precinct, Warrandyte Historical Society Museum will welcome the public on Saturday between 10am and 5pm and Sunday between 1:30pm and 4:30pm at 111 Yarra Street.

Festival organisers would like to thank Jenny Drummond and Peter Hanson for offering to run the Gold Mine Tour following John Hanson’s recent passing.

John ran tours for more than 45 years, starting from his home, where he and Peter uncovered an underground mine shaft and side tunnel in the 1970s.

This year, Jenny and Peter welcome anyone interested in Warrandyte’s rich gold history to join them on Saturday from 2pm at 104 Webb Street.

Please wear sturdy footwear and bring a hat, sunscreen, and water.

See the full program on Pages 16–17, or find out more about the Festival at warrandytefestival.org.

Enjoy short films on the banks of the river

A TOTAL OF 12 short films have been selected for the 2024 Warrandyte Film Feast on Friday, April 19, at Stiggants Reserve.

“It’s always an entertaining evening showcasing the talent of emerging and experienced independent filmmakers,” says event host Rosalie Ridler.

“The films are diverse and eclectic, ranging from comedy to drama, thriller, surreal, abstract, and documentary.”

Rosalie, from local film production business Striking Productions, volunteers to organise the event for the festival.

She will kick off the screenings by presenting a short, simple film titled Number 11 (not in competition).

The Film Feast will feature four local filmmakers in the mix this year.

Jamie Kulin is part of the team that brings you Gem Amongst The Gold, a heart-warming documentary set in Warrandyte.

Stranded by Stephen Jenkins is set in the Yarra Valley — a precautionary tale of a lone young woman whose motorbike breaks down in the remote Australian bush.

She encounters a good Samaritan.

Is he what he seems, or does he have nefarious plans?

Lawrence Phelan has produced Favour on the Fourth Floor.

It is set late at night at a hotel where a guest solicits a cleaner for a rather unique favour.

Miras Tale, written, produced, and directed by Gary Hegedus, follows a lost mermaid who attempts to escape two seedy fishermen.

Come on down

Food trucks and bars will be open from 5pm, including during the 30-minute interval.

Tickets are limited and usually sell out, so please get in quickly to secure your seat.

Ticketing information and the full lineup of films is available on the Warrandyte Festival website at warrandytefestival.org/filmfeast.

Dust off your dancing shoes for this year’s Festival line up

With Autumn in full swing, Friday night at the Warrandyte Festival will feature live music on the Riverbank Stage from 5pm–7pm in the twilight.

One of Australia’s leading rock bands, Sisters Doll, will play an acoustic set in the Now and Not Yet Festival Lounge on the Riverbank.

With over 700 shows under their belts and crowned runners up on Australia’s Got Talent, they have toured and shared the stage with past KISS members Peter Criss and Bruce Kulick, along with many other rock legends.

Supporting Sisters Doll is local lyrical artisan, Emma Jury, who effortlessly weaves Taylor Swift’s storytelling finesse with the raw emotionality reminiscent of Lizzy McAlpine and Ethan Cain.

Infused with R&B and jazz nuances, her authentic voice crafts melodies that blend folk, pop, and soul influences.

On Saturday, high energy blue-billy-grass-rockin’-roots band, 19-Twenty will headline a solid line up of mostly local musicians for a fun day and night on the Main Stage.

This will include locals the Riffmasters, an eight-piece blues, soul and R&B band, as well as Cath Rutten, Tall Dan & the True Story’s, and festival-favourites, the Scrims.

Shine your dancing shoes!

On the Riverbank Stage, discover emerging talent when young bands and musicians aged 12 to 25 complete in the Battle of the Bands from 2:30pm–5:30pm.

Would you like to have a go on stage too?

This year there will be two Open Mic sessions from 9:30am–11:30am and 12:30pm–2:30pm.

Performers of all ages and capabilities are welcome to perform two to three songs each.

You can sign up in person half an hour beforehand (i.e. 9am and 12pm) at the Riverbank Stage — it’s first in, best dressed.

Down-to-earth business changes hands

Warrandyte’s favourite soil shop has changed hands.
It now has a new name — Wonga Garden & Building Supplies — with new owners committed to continuing to provide the service that has had locals returning to Mahoneys Court, time and again, for their landscaping supplies.
Since the site first opened in the 1980s, avid gardeners and landscapers have made use of Warrandyte’s “soil shop” on the corner of Warrandyte-Heidelberg Road and Mahoneys Court when it was time to load up on sand, soil, mulch, and stone.
It also boasted a plant nursery for a short time, but when Ron and Jan Day purchased what was then called the Soil Shop in 1992, they focused the business on garden supplies and being a community-focused business.
“We had a thriving business here for 20 years,” Jan Day told the Diary.
The Days then sold the Soil Shop to local excavator Sean Ramak, who ran the business for a short time, and it was then known as Supersoil.
In 2008, the baton was passed to Shane McMullin and Leisa Dabrowiecki, who rebranded as Riverside Sand & Soil in 2019. Shane and Leisa’s customer service has won a loyal and loving following from Warrandyte residents and customers who are further away.
That legacy is set to continue as Shane and Leisa pass on the business to a new family — albeit under a new name.
The Thompson family, Craig and Deb, and their son Ben, along with Craig’s brother Russell, who own Wonga Garden & Building Supplies in Warranwood, took over the business at the start of February.
Shane and Leisa put on an event to say farewell, and to welcome the new owners.
The event was attended by owners, past, present, and future, as well as many of Riverside’s loyal customers, where everyone enjoyed a few bevvies (with the bucket of the loader pressed into service as an esky) and some delicious Bocca pizzas.

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Leisa told the Diary she and Shane were sad to go.

“I want to thank the Warrandyte community — the Cricket Club, the kindergarten, the primary school, and everyone that’s supported us — and I do really want to thank our drivers — we wouldn’t be anything without them,” she said.

Leisa reflected on the huge learning curve she had when she started 15 years ago.

“I had no idea about the industry — I had my first customer ring me on my first day, asking me for some bar chairs*, and I had no idea what they were.
“But I know everything now, and the tradies love when they walk in, and they say, ‘Where’s the man?’ and they’re quite impressed that I can drive the loader,” she said.

But Leisa said it was time for her and Shane to have a new adventure.
“We are going to have a break for the moment, and a little bit more work/life balance for us, and to be available to be there for the grandkids — I’m looking forward to being able to be a nan”.
Shane agreed that some work/life balance is needed.
“Six days a week, you have no real holidays, no weekends.
“But the business has been really good, and I have loved the people — I will miss the people — we’ve formed friendships, real friendships.
“A fellow brought me a bottle of wine on our last day, and another customer brought us a TattsLotto ticket.
“That’s what it’s like; we have friends out of it, and it’s hard to get that,” he said.
Shane said there was no question that the team at Wonga were the right fit for the business.
There was a synergy — we didn’t even advertise, Leisa just made the call and spoke to Craig, and one afternoon, they were looking at it, and we came to an agreement, and that was it — they loved it, they loved the area and are a fantastic fit,” Shane said.
Craig Thompson said his family has been running Wonga Garden & Building Supplies for over 40 years.
“I’ve been in the industry since I was 18, and it has always been something I enjoyed.
“It gives you a lot of outlets for meeting people, but I have always loved machinery, and I’ve always loved landscaping too, and I get to deal with all those products as well as dealing with people, so it’s good.
“Shane and Leisa spoke to us last year about the possibility of being interested in Riverside.
“We thought it would complement our existing business,” Craig told the Diary.
Craig said despite the name change, they are not looking at changing too much about the business.
“We’ll bring it all under the one banner, so it’ll be one business with two depots.
“But we want to keep the feel of the Warrandyte business because I think it’s really good, and the yard looks great.”
Craig said they will continue offering the same staple of products — of all the garden and building supplies — sand, cement, stone, soil, and mulches.
“But we will also probably have more, specialty pebbles and decorative stones, and so forth.
“We would love to expand our range too,” he said.
Leisa said the community can still get all the special blends that Riverside has been famous for.
“We have handed over all the secret recipes,” she said. So, drop in to say hi to the Thompsons next time you need a metre or two of sand, soil, pebbles, mulch, or even a couple of bar chairs.

*[Editor’s note — bar chairs are clips used to hold concrete reinforcing bars in place]

Balance is the key to a successful sporting life

THE “GREAT WALL of Warrandyte”, Rachael Lynch OAM was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2024 Australia Day Honours for her services to hockey.
Rachael was awarded for her distinguished career on the hockey pitch, alongside her significant work off the pitch as a mental health ambassador, and as a nurse.
Australia’s “most capped goalkeeper ever”, the two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Rachael was also a dual Olympian, a World Cup silver medallist, and played 233 games for Australia across her international career.
Off the pitch, she is a nurse at Austin Hospital, a hockey coach, a Performance Lifestyle Advisor with the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS), and a passionate advocate for mental health, serving as an ambassador for RUOK? Day.
Rachael told Warrandyte Diary she has followed the different honours and awards given to Australians over the years and some of the incredible things that they do.

“It is something that is very special and highly regarded, so I am absolutely privileged and honoured to receive one,” she said.

She said she has always tried to keep a life balance, which she is trying to instil in the athletes she supports at the VIS.

“I have four different sports I am looking after at the VIS, none of them being hockey, so I get to share some of my experiences around — like the importance of having a bit of life balance as an athlete.
“I was working as a nurse throughout my whole career, and it was something I was incredibly passionate about, because having those other areas and those other identities allow you to become a better person and a better athlete as well,” she said.

She said while the gender pay gap was a reality, having employment away from elite sport was grounding.

“It was something that gave me perspective, and health is good for that, but I think every athlete is going to go through those ups and downs in their career, and it just allows you to keep you grounded.
“Having something else that you are good at as well, if things aren’t going well in your sport, you have also got those other areas and those things that you are passionate about.
“If I ever met someone for the first time and they asked what I did, I always said that I was a nurse — I didn’t say I was an athlete — I am equally proud of my sporting career, but nursing is something I think is a bit more relatable to people.
“As much as we want the pay gap to close and we want female athletes to have some equality, it would not matter what someone was getting paid; I would always suggest or encourage them to have those other areas outside of their sport.”

Rachael said while she has many highlights on the pitch, it is her legacy of life balance she instilled in the Hockeyroos during her time on the squad she feels most proud of.

“Normally, in an Olympic year, you don’t work or study, just because of the increased load, but I pushed hard to be able to work in that year because it was really important to me and gave me the perspective and balance throughout the year helps me play better.
“At the time, there were only three of us who were working, but then, for the leadup to the 2020 Olympics, nearly everyone in the team was working or studying, and that was a bit of a legacy for me, and I wanted to encourage and educate the importance of that.”

Her hockey career has not always been smooth sailing. In the leadup to Tokyo, players’ lack of confidence in the off-field leadership of Hockey Australia was brought to a head by a decision by selectors to drop Lynch and fellow Hockeyroo Georgie Morgan from the team, only to have the decision reversed on appeal, and the selection panel resign.

“I did six months in the lead into the Tokyo Olympics training by myself because I wasn’t in the team; I had to go through a legal battle to get my spot back, which I did.
“There was a lot that needed to change in the sport, which is what happened, and it was just great to see the group so happy and able to be themselves.
“It was unfortunate how it all played out, but I was happy to be a part of it,” she said. She said the challenges leading up to the Tokyo Olympics made the event even more sweet.
“To be able to get there and go away with a group of girls who felt we were doing something really special, and I guess that was what allowed me to retire feeling pretty content because the sport was in a much better place by that point.”

Rachael has been an ambassador for RUOK? Day, Lifeline, Live to Give, Donor Mate, and also coaches and mentors rising athletes.

“I like to keep myself busy and do several different things, and certainly, in my coaching, I have been fortunate.
“I have got so much out of hockey over the years and to have the opportunity to give back, whether through different mental health activations or my coaching — looking after up-and-coming goalies.
“I am always trying to grab opportunities to share some of the special things that I got from the sport with other young athletes or even older athletes; I really enjoy that,” she said.

Rachael took the opportunity to give a special thank you to her mum, dad, and brother.

“Because they have been there for every step of the journey with me, and I know there were a lot of sacrifices very early on for them to allow me to travel and compete, and so I am also very grateful for that.”

Rachael’s mother, Anne Lynch, spoke to the Diary and said she was very proud of her daughter.

“She is just a beautiful person, she works very hard, and does a lot of community work — she deserves it.
“We are just so excited for her, and based on the messages I have received, the rest of the community are too,” Anne said.

Rachel still gets out on the pitch, playing in local and national competitions.

“I play for Camberwell in the Melbourne competition, and then I also play in the Melbourne team in the national league, so nothing international, but I still love the sport.”

She said she doesn’t think the honour will change things too much for her. “I try to have a positive influence in any environment that I am in, whether it is work or coaching sport.

“The thing I value the most is having balance, perspective, and just being kind to people.”

Rachael joins a number of athletes who were recognised for their services to sport in the 2024 honours.
Commonwealth Games Australia President Ben Houston noted their recognition and congratulated all on their service to sport and their community in Australia.

“Commonwealth sport is at the heart of Australia’s story, and we welcome the continued acknowledgement of those that have contributed to the green and gold at the Games,” said Mr Houston.
“Our congratulations to those who were elevated to and received a Member of the Order of Australia, as well as the recipients recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia.”

The Governor-General congratulated the 1,042 Australians who received honours this Australia Day.

“Recipients have made a difference and had an impact at the local, national, and international level.
“Individually, they are inspiring, and collectively, they speak to the strength of our communities.
“Recipients come from all parts of the country. “They have served and had an impact in just about every field you can imagine; their stories and backgrounds are diverse.
“We value their service, thank them for their hard work and selflessness and celebrate them.
“To each recipient: know that you have the thanks and respect of your nation. “In my experience, most are humble and often try to deflect attention or praise — please enjoy the moment because your country has decided that you deserve recognition,” the Governor-General said.

Five million reasons to celebrate

WHEN THE GOING got tough, and the last bank left town, the Warrandyte locals of the early 2000s made a plan to start their own bank — and I don’t think they could have imagined that just two decades later it would result in more than $5 million invested back into the community.
This year, Community Bank Warrandyte celebrates 20 years of banking in Warrandyte; that is, 20 years of building an institution that has become a consistent funding source for our community.
While 20 years is a milestone on its own, recently, at our annual Grants and Presentation night held at the Warrandyte Sporting Club in November, Community Bank Warrandyte committed another $400,000 to local projects and initiatives, bringing the total contributions to over $5M, since the bank has been in operation.
Looking back on history, there have been some significant impacts over the 20 years, and here is how we have given back to the communities of Warrandyte, Wonga Park, and Park Orchards:

  • Arts — $520,262
  • CFAs — $574,321
  • Charities — $179,982
  • Community defibrillators — $64,812
  • Community services — $270,891
  • Education — $455,968
  • Environment — $222,654
  • Other — &890,495
  • Scholarships — $140,595
  • Seniors — $158,775
  • Sporting clubs — $1,582,269
  • Youth — $168,025

Chair of Community Bank Warrandyte, Aaron Farr, explains that banking with your local, community bank is a win for the whole community.
“Our profits come from accounts opened at the local branch.
“Then we return up to 80 per cent of these profits to the community through our grants and sponsorship program.
“It’s a win-win for everyone”.
This social enterprise model of banking not only benefits the community with funding support but keeps local retail banking in town, together with staff that you get to know by popping into the branch whenever you like.
As 2023 draws to a close, we reflect on some incredible achievements from our community investment.
This year alone, we have helped create new classrooms, playgrounds, saved heritage buildings, improved training facilities for our CFAs, provided new sporting uniforms and equipment, and continued the support of local institutions like the Festival, Art Show, and Pottery Expo — not to mention the new initiative of Pinking Up Warrandyte.
From our volunteer Board of Directors and staff, Community Bank Warrandyte wishes all our customers and community partners a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.

Celebrating two years of NaNY Gallery

IT IS HARD to believe that NaNY Gallery has only been a part of the Warrandyte community for two years.
It came into being during the end of the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2021.
In the true community spirit he is well known for, Now and Not Yet Café’s Derek Bradshaw offered to provide the space when I was looking for somewhere to host my exhibition.
Then came the idea to start exhibiting local artists’ work every two months.
A grant from the Bendigo Bank allowed for a gallery hanging system to be installed, and NaNY Gallery was officially founded.
I then invited local artist Jacinta Payne to have the first show.
Jacinta’s Bushscapes and Moonlight exhibition featured her atmospheric abstract landscapes and included some pieces made on reclaimed denim, with many works snapped up by local art lovers on opening night.
We hit it off, and Jacinta joined the team.
My award-winning show Can You See The Beauty In It? was exhibited next, and I also found many new collectors during my show, proving the idea of a gallery wall in a café in the heart of town was one that the community would embrace.
Relaxed and accessible, the opening nights have become highly anticipated by regulars.
With no shortage of local talent, the calendar quickly filled up into the following year.
NaNY Gallery has supported many first-time exhibiting artists, such as Kim Charbonneau, who discovered her photographic talents during lockdown and has gone on to contribute to many group shows.
Wildlife illustrator Sarai Meyerink has a YouTube channel and offers online drawing courses.
As well as an exhibition of his natural ochre paintings, established artist Gary Upfield also offered up two very interesting ochre workshops in the space.
Bron Elmore’s bird & bloom exhibition was incredibly successful, selling many pieces and cultivating her growing following.
This year started with the nearly sold-out show of Warrandyte-born Michaela Bumpstead with her beautiful bush and riverscapes.
David Hewitt also had great success with his first show.
We did a Salon hang for oil and watercolour painter Leanne Savory with over 50 pieces on the wall.
She has joined the stable at Tacit Gallery in Collingwood.
Local living legend Bill McAuley filled our walls with portraits from his fantastic career as a photojournalist.
NaNY also held its first book launch with Bill McAuley’s Portraits of the Soul, which was a huge evening.
The October/November show features established ceramic artists Chris and Mary-Lou Pittard, Jane Annois, and prints from Angela Nagel, gracing the wall in their combined show What Feeds Me.
Finally, our last show for 2023 is an open-call group show — from December 3 to February 3.
We have put together an exhibition of 30 artists, which we feel will captivate the NaNY crowd — we received over 79 submissions by artists from all around Melbourne.
Once again, the Bendigo Bank has generously donated money to help us with some proper gallery lighting, which will be installed soon.
Jacinta and I are very proud of what NaNY Gallery has become and the calibre of artists we have attracted. It is so sought after that we have decided to go monthly with our exhibitions next year to give more artists a chance to show their work.
Our exhibition opening nights will be held on the first Sunday of every month in 2024.
Come along, have a glass of wine and some nibbles, and meet our exhibiting artists.
We cannot wait to see how NaNY Gallery will flourish into the future with exciting artists such as Tim Read, Ant Owen, Deb Mawdsley, and touring motorbiking artist Christine Keeble, to name a few for 2024.
Watch this space!

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NaNY Gallery is volunteer-run, and Now and Not Yet Café is a not-for-profit community organisation.
If you would like to donate to the Now and Not Yet organisation, contact them via their website www.nowandnotyet.com.au. For artwork enquiries, contact nanygallery@gmail.com.

Gathering Circle takes shape at wonguim wilam

VISITORS TO wonguim wilam will notice a stunning new installation, with the completion of a Gathering Circle as the first part of an Indigenous art installation at the riverside park.
The work, by prominent Melbourne-based fine artist, muralist and creative, Simone Thomson, will be installed this year and includes an entrance sculpture and Gathering Circle.
This new addition highlights the significance of the area to Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people and reflects the preservation of culture.
“The Gathering Circle is a place where community comes to connect with one another.
“This is how our oral history has been passed on for thousands of generations,” said Simone.
The gathering circle takes advantage of sightline across to the Birrarung and is three metres in diameter, to invite the community to come together.
Edged by stone seating the gathering circle is organic in form and features Simone’s intricate design in stone and paint, mirroring the natural palette of the surrounding environment and reflecting on themes of country, culture and community.
A sculpture will be installed during the summer months, making up the second part of Simone’s artwork at wonguim wilam.
Simone is a Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and Yorta-Yorta Traditional Owner through her mother, and her art is inspired by her, “spiritual connection to Country and the rich colours and textures of the earth and sky”.
Simone said, “In the Aboriginal way, the Gathering Circle or meeting place is a place where community comes to connect with one another, to sit down and discuss cultural business and family matters and to learn and share stories.”
“This is how our oral history has been passed on for thousands of generations — by facing one another with respect and hearing our songlines and men’s and women’s business from our Elders, our knowledge holders and leaders who are our teachers.”
Simone added that the Gathering Circle would represent the importance of community and the preservation of cultural practices significant to the oldest continuous culture on Earth.
“It will be a place of reflection on country and offer a peaceful connection to the lands and waterways in which it sits along the beautiful Birrarung, the river of mist and shadows.”
Manningham Mayor, Cr Deirdre Diamante, touched on the significance of stories to public art.
“When it comes to public art, it’s so important that we consider the works’ appearance within the context of what inspired it and the story it is telling.
“Through the Gathering Circle, Simone is extending the whole community an open invitation to come together, connect and reflect on the incredible cultural significance of Warrandyte.
“This art is also functional and immersive, providing a special place for residents and visitors to do just that,” the Mayor added.
The entrance sculpture will be in the form of a boomerang to be installed in the coming months.
It will be situated at the entrance of the park and standing tall from hand carved cedar pine, the boomerang sculpture will welcome all visitors to wonguim wilam while also acting as an invitation to return as visitors depart.

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Photos: CHARLIE KINROSS

Council conducted the commission in consultation with Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation.
Find out more about the work at www.manningham.vic.gov.au/news/wonguim-wilam-public-art-commission.

Supporting young artists

A CELEBRATION of the next generation of artistic talent saw friends and family gather recently at the Warrandyte Community Centre for the 2023 Warrandyte Arts & Education Trust’s Youth Arts Award.
This biennial event is a chance for the Trust to support an aspiring artist with a significant financial contribution of $10,000.
The money for this award was funded solely with profits from Warrandyte Diary’s newspapers (Warrandyte Diary and Manningham & Nillumbik Bulletin), which means advertising in the Warrandyte Diary and Manningham & Nillumbik Bulletin, by extension, supports a young Warrandyte artist.
The evening’s guest speaker was Yarra Ward Councillor and teacher Carli Lange, who spoke about Warrandyte as “the home of the artist” and the importance of nurturing artistic endeavours in today’s youth.

“We are here, this evening, supporting young artists through this community arts award.
“We are actively encouraging young artists in their endeavours while experiencing the enjoyment of their art from a young person’s perspective, and that is one of the best perspectives to have.
“You have made an incredible success, and you are incredible, every one of you.
“You took the courage to nominate yourselves to go through and express your ideas and your heart through an expressive and creative art form.
“With joy, we say what an outstanding achievement you have made in the expressive field you have chosen.
“You are an incredible example to young artists in our community, and tonight is a tribute to each one of you.
“Youth community arts awards like this one provide a vital role in providing opportunities for young people to engage with the arts and develop their skills and talents.
“I am honoured to be here tonight, I can see the work, the journey, of young, professional artists, and I am honoured to be celebrating, joining in, and embracing their wonderful sense of the world, because we are all the better for it.
“You, as young people, as young artists, are vital to our community’s longevity and sustainability and to the arts, and with joy, I say congratulations,” said Cr Lange.

Award recipients Agnieshka and Bridie with Youth Arts Award Committee members David Tynan, Mary Ann Gibson, and Jock Macniesh

Since 1989, the award has helped talented artists such as Bridgett Liddell, Gabrielle Davidson, Peter Daverington, Loughlan Prior, and Ruby Martin. Now, we can add and celebrate Bridie Frances and Agnieshka Markwell to this list of recipients. Bridie and Agnieshka shared the $10,000 prize, taking home $5,000 each.
Bridie and Agnieshka were two of five finalists who were met and assessed by up to three talented experts in the young artists’ discipline.
Bridie, a singer/songwriter who listed amongst her influences Ruby Fields, Jack River, Missy Higgins, Gang of Youths, Slowly Slowly, and Spacey Jane, met with her musical mentors Heather Jamieson, Cath Rutten, and Lisa Young for her assessments.
Bridie’s assessors said:

“Bridie has a strong sense of the sound and artistic qualities that she is aiming for.
Despite her age, she is, in the truest sense, an artist moving very authentically towards her own sound.
Her dedication and love of all aspects of music is commendable.
Her volunteer work, songwriting, and singing show her experience and creativity.
Bridie is a warm and passionate young musician, committed to recording and performing her original works and working in other music industry roles.”

Agnieshka is an opera singer and listed Amy Manford, an Australian-American soprano singer, among her influences.
Her assessors, Carrie Barr, Jamie Moffat, and Nina Korbe, described her passion as:

“Agnieshka’s voice is very lovely, with her technique developing well. I was impressed with the vocal maturity in one so young.
She showed musicality in expression and connection to the text, good range, extensions, nice stagecraft and facial expressions communicating her character.
I am confident that Agnieshka has great potential, and if her training and career are correctly guided, she will emerge as a very fine singer.
She has an unusually strong connection with the music she sings, which is rare for someone so young, and I am impressed by her musical intelligence.
Agnieshka has a sweet, warm, youthful tone with a good sense of line and poise.
Her natural musical instincts and diverse experience in her career so far have served her well.”

After the award presentation, the Diary spoke with both Bridie and Agnieshka about what winning the award means to them.
Both recipients spoke about the excellent opportunity to meet with and be mentored by talented artists and experts in their preferred artistic discipline.
“Just talking with them, asking for advice about my future, and getting their advice on my performance was just incredible — that process alone was enough,” said Agnieshka.
Agnieshka will use the $5,000 prize to help give her a chance to study at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
“The whole thing is just awesome,” said Bridie.
“Even this event, just being able to meet all the other finalists.
“There are so many people in the music and arts community in Warrandyte, and they all have so much talent and knowledge to give, so it is just amazing to be able to recognise that as well.”
Bridie went on to say she would use her share of the prize to book some studio time and record an EP. The Diary would also like to congratulate the other finalists, Isabel Khong (painting — abstract, contemporary and surreal), Eddie O’Rourke (monochromatic figure drawing), and Ariel Price (painting — nature, buildings, people), for going through the assessment process.
The Warrandyte Arts & Education Trust Youth Arts Award will return in 2025.

Fireball Finale and the reincarnation

THE DANCE FLOOR was heaving, with sparkle and glitter everywhere, then add a touch of Elvis and feathers, made for the perfect Fireball finale showstopper.
On Saturday, July 29, Fireball held its fourth gala ball with almost 300 locals in attendance. Bramleigh Estate — the queen of the evening — put on her best show with delectable food, impeccable service, and the most generous sponsorship the event has ever had in donating the complete venue, staff, food, beverages, table settings, and flowers; completely free in aid of raising money for our CFA volunteer firefighters.
Viva Las Vegas, did we have a performance!
Showgirls and boys carved up the dancefloor, but the highlight was special guest dancers — our local Fireys. For several weeks now, these firefighters have been adding a new skill set to their résumé, and we don’t think they’ll ever jump out of a fire truck with so much pizzazz ever again.
And boy, did their efforts deliver.
Thanks to their fancy footwork and feather-filled booty-shaking, the sparkly red Fireball hats were passed around and raised $2,900 cash from the audience.
A $5,000 diamond was won from the Quinton’s and Grand Hotel Champagne Bar.
A wine fridge completely stocked with Boat O’Craigo wines also went home with one lucky winner.
And if you did not get the chance to win a prize, well, you had the opportunity to bid on absolutely nothing, with the successful bidder paying $2,000 just for the glory of donating to the cause.
The Fireball Committee have outdone themselves again, with a total of $60,000 raised on the evening, which will go towards purchasing a new light tanker for Wonga Park CFA.
Captain of Wonga Park CFA, Aaron Farr, said:

“To raise this amount of money, in the short time frame we had, is not possible — Fireball have made it happen in one amazing night.
“This reduces the burden for our members, who already spend significant time carrying out essential duties as volunteer firefighters.
“The efforts of the Fireball Committee cannot be overrated,” he said.

Fireball started with the groundswell from the Warrandyte community to thank the CFA volunteers following the 2014 fires in Flannery Court.
Since the inception of Fireball in 2014, the Committee have run four events, each resulting in the purchase of an appliance for each of the Greater Warrandyte CFAs:

  • 2014: Closed the final gap in fundraising for a new tanker at North Warrandyte CFA.
  • 2016: New Slip-On for Warrandyte CFA.
  • 2018: New Forward Command Vehicle (FCV) for South Warrandyte CFA.
  • 2023: New light tanker for Wonga Park CFA — coming soon.

Over the four events, Fireball has raised over $260,000 and celebrated the volunteer Fireys in a way unmatched by any other fundraising initiative for fire services in decades.
Each event has been continually supported by some major sponsors and donors that have stayed with the event time and time again.
The contributions from local businesses have been integral to the event’s success.
But the major sponsors allow the Committee to turn smaller amounts of sponsorship dollars into hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to the CFA.
Special heartfelt thanks go out to Community Bank Warrandyte, The Grand Hotel, Quinton’s IGA, Warrandyte Diary, Dyason Legal, Olivigna, and the former MP Ryan Smith for consistently valuing the efforts of our local volunteer Fireys.
The 2023 event welcomed some new contributions from Moonstone Photography, Kellybrook Winery, Lions Club, and the Riverside Market Committee, who also found it in their hearts to recognise the efforts of our CFAs. And then there was the special announcement.
The Fireball Committee has been working hard to package up Fireball in a Box.
A complete suite of all their learnings, documents, and templates, ready for another community or entity to fundraise for emergency services. During the event, community member Sandi Miller announced that she would helm a new committee, using Fireball in a Box as an initiative to fundraise for Manningham SES.

“We’re going to make orange the new red with Thunderball in 2025,” she said.

We have loved every minute of our journey as a committee — the laughs, the tears, the awe in generosity, the pride we feel to support the original vision of Julie Quinton, and the support of our wonderful community to make such a difference to our local brigades; will stay with us forever.
But for now, this is Fireball signing off: “Over and out”.

Photos: SANDI MILLER

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Glamour, sparkle and firefighters

THE DIAMOND of the Warrandyte social calendar, Fireball, is less than one month away.
This grass-roots gala event is coming home, offering a chance for valued guests to don their sparkliest frocks or their most dashing duds for a night of glitz, glamour, great food, and amazing entertainment, right on your doorstep.
Love is in the air for our volunteer firefighters, the place to be is Bramleigh Estate, and the night of nights is July 29, when the who’s-who of our amazing community will be Strictly Fireball.
Prepare to immerse yourself in an evening of splendour as you step into the beautiful Bramleigh Estate.
Throughout the night, guests will be treated to an uplifting array of entertainment, carefully curated to ensure an enjoyable, inspiring, and enchanting evening.
Prepare to be mesmerised by breathtaking live performances, from talented musicians and dancers.
No gala ball is complete without a delectable culinary experience.
Bramleigh’s expert chef has meticulously crafted a four-course menu that will tantalise your taste buds.
Savour the sumptuous flavours of gourmet cuisine, indulge in delightful desserts and raise a glass to toast the power of community.
All food, drinks, and entertainment are included in the ticket price.
The evening will feature various opportunities to further contribute and support the cause that lies at the heart of the ball.
Returning guests will be familiar with the event’s champagne bar; this year, featuring delicious Pommery Champagne and offers all purchasers an opportunity to win a diamond valued at $5,000.
Don’t miss out.
Secure your tickets now to ensure your place at the gala ball of the year.
They really are the hottest tickets in town.
Ticket sales will not only grant access to an unforgettable evening but also contribute directly to fundraising efforts.
Visit Fireball Warrandyte’s website, www.fireball.org.au, to secure tickets and obtain further information about the event.
Please note, ticket availability may be limited, and it is encouraged to act swiftly to secure a spot.
Fireball is the local Fundraising Gala Ball of the year, where elegance meets philanthropy, and together, we can make a real difference.
Let’s make this evening one to remember.

Even if you are little, you can do a lot!

WHS presents Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical

WARRANDYTE High School’s Matilda will captivate an eager audience with high energy dance numbers, catchy songs, and a wonderful production.
On stage for four performances, from June 16-18, this is one production not to be missed.
Living with unappreciative and uncaring parents, Matilda Wormwood (played by Sophie Dibb) is sent to an excessively olde-worlde school – Crunchem Hall.
Armed with a sharp mind and a vivid imagination, Matilda dares to take a stand at this cruel and oppressive school, with miraculous results.
With the help of a kind hearted teacher, Miss Jenny Honey (played by Rhianna Cummings and Amber Gedge), Matilda uses her telekinetic abilities to settle the score after her tyrannical headmistress, Miss Agatha Trunchbull, brutally bullies her and her fellow students.
The diabolically evil Miss Trunchbull is superbly played by Curtis Konynenburg.
Bullies, however, can’t take on people who put up a fight.
The audience will be taken on a heroic journey of intrigue and wonderment as justice is restored.
Highlighting the senses, the visual glamour of the production will bedazzle an audience with sets and lighting by Gavin D Andrew, music by Tim Minchin, and an all-star cast from Warrandyte High School.
An array of fun effects has been added with pigtails being thrown around, magical chalk writing on black boards, and students (in particular, Bruce Bogtrotter played by Stephanie Lawry) being forced to eat whole Scrumdiddely chocolate cakes in three minutes.
The costume department, under Jho Suckling and Lilli Rose Lawrence, help showcase the fun, raucous and exciting characters with a smorgasbord of wonderful garments.
Keep an eye open for the injection of genuinely sourced local garments in When I Grow Up, a song that sees the young children looking at themselves in the mirror reflecting their grown-up selves.
See if you can guess what they become from just what they are wearing.
It is a truly touching moment in the show.
The overall student cast is superb.

Miss Honey, played alternately by Rihanna Cummings and Amber Gedge, is a heartening character and the epitome of the teacher we all wish we had.
Miss Honey is the only role which has been “doubled”.
Not because of any COVID protocols but simply because they both just suited the role perfectly.
Rhianna said “the production has been a lot of hard work but it’s worth it”.
As Matilda, Sophie Dibb, in Year 7, found herself in the title role in her first year at high school.
In this massive role, her beautiful singing voice, willingness to work hard and an innate cheekiness, makes her the ideal hero of this production.
“I feel lucky that I get to experience being part of such a great community and that I am able to be involved in this really fun performance in Year 7.
“I have worked very hard and I am excited to get the show on the road, and I really hope others will enjoy it as much as I do,” Sophie said.
Matilda Wormwood’s parents are truly horrible.
The audience will be teetering on the edge of their seats whether to laugh out loud, or just boo them off stage.
Playing the horrible Mr and Mrs Wormwood, Amber Robertson and Chloe Minogue, were both sceptical.
“We didn’t even like each other’s characters, but being part of this production has formed a new-found friendship.”
The hilariously evil Miss Trunchbull is superbly played by Curtis Konynenburg.
His wonderful blend of comic timing and portrayal of tyrannical brutality is reason alone to experience this production.
Bringing together this fine cast and ensemble is Director Gavin D Andrew.
Gavin said, “Matilda is an absolutely inspirational and fun show to direct.
“Roald Dahl can start off and then slowly (and often without you realising it) enter a heightened reality that if you sat and thought about it – couldn’t really happen – but somehow in a Dahl story it does.”
Gavin added, “Dahl makes a clear distinction between the heroes and villains and always makes sure the villains get their just desserts.”
A wonderful production is not just about a superb cast and a timeless story.
Gavin was quick to point out the enormity of the production encompassing not only the technical aspects of the show.
Broader support is required by not only students, parents and teachers and staff of the school, but also tentacles reaching into and strengthening relationships with the Warrandyte community.
Warrandyte High School uses its home advantage well.
“Having their own theatre is an absolute blessing,” said Gavin.
“It greatly assists with all aspects of the show, allowing students for example, to develop skills in lighting and audio over the course of the production.
“Many schools can spend thousands on these aspects of a production.”
Great support from parents turning up at working bees, handing out flyers or helping with hair and make up greatly enhances the overall production.
The plethora of support provided by school staff and teachers underpins and enhances the production in both a practical and magical way.
Lisa White, an art teacher, along with her band of students make regular visits to the theatre and keep adding to the fun and playfulness of the set.
Linga Naidoo, another teacher at the school specialising in woodwork, has been creating the foundation of the set along with some fun props that greatly assist in telling the story.
Gavin said, “Working closely with Jake Newton, Linga Naidoo and Lisa White has been an absolute joy for me.
“Even just walking into reception and the warm greetings from Bev, Anne and Sandra is always a lovely way to start a day.”
“Principal Rachel Lynch has been wonderfully supportive and even the intrepid groundskeeper, Bucky, seems to appear from nowhere whenever I need rescuing from a blown fuse or other calamity.”
Overall, an enthralling production not to be missed.
Well done Warrandyte High School.
For tickets, head to: trybooking.com/events/landing/1052960.