April 2014 1 April 2014 1 Forrest blitzed the opposition to win the Polwarth and District Tennis Association A-grade grand final for the first time in the Association’s 76-year history on Saturday 22 March. Forrest defeated Kawarren 6 sets 41 games to 2 sets 27 games in a strong performance by a hungry team, desperate to create their own piece of Forrest sporting history. ‘It was the perfect day,’ Team Captain and Club President Mark Murnane said after the match, which was held at Beeac. ‘Everything went to plan both on and off the court, as our players were really spurred on by the amount of support they received from members of the Forrest community who were present.’ Anne Murnane and Khan Beckett were the two stand-out performers on the day, winning their three sets each, with support from Zoe Beckett and Michael Absalom, who claimed two sets each. ‘I was pretty confident all day we could win as we had beaten them two weeks earlier in the qualifying final by three games. We won the first three sets, lost the next two and then Anne and Louise steadied the ship by claiming the final women’s set before afternoon tea. At the tea break we were up by seven games and I told the guys to go out and give it to them, which they did! Khan and Anne won 6-2 and Michael and Zoe won 6-3. We didn’t have to play the last set as we were already up by 14 games,’ Mark said. ‘In all it was a great team effort by all 11 players of the core playing group, the five non-playing members were all present and offered full support from the sidelines. We had a great group of players this year who all gelled and were prepared to travel from the likes of Inverleigh, Moriac, Geelong, Colac and Irrewillipe each week. The commitment was fantastic, the social side was the best I can recall, especially as a lot of the members have young families.’ The premiership has been a long time coming, though Forrest won the A reserve title in 2001- 02, and the B grade in 2000-01. Since then there have been a lot of different faces at the club, with huge efforts each year on behalf of the committee to gather players. The club hopes to field a junior team next year. ‘I’d like to thank Jim and Rose from the Forrest General Store for their continued support over many years, and the other businesses who have also helped with funding the new courts recently, including Forrest Brewing Company, Forrest River Valley B&B, Evans Earthmoving and the Lions,’ Mark said. Back row, L to R: Mark Murnane, Julian Fleming, Josh de Jong, Michael Absalom, Khan Becke; Front row, L to R: Terri Colless, Debbie Bell, Anne Murnane, Louise Blersch, Zoe Becke, Stephanie Ryan Photo courtesy of The Colac Herald Winners are grinners! From the Editors Welcome Laura! The Forrest Post is excited to welcome Laura McKinnon to the editorial team. We introduced Laura and her partner Luke in our March edion and we are now lucky to coopt her graphic design and publishing experience to help pull together and present The Forrest Post. This issue highlights the volunteering spirit which is alive and well in Forrest. All editorial and contribuons to The Forrest Post are offered voluntarily and we would not have a publicaon otherwise. We appreciate the me and commitment of Laura and our regular contributors, which make each issue a pleasure to produce and read. Please send through your story ideas and let us know of news to share and what’s happening around town and beyond. Police appointment APRIL 2014 Senior Constable Dale Menzies is moving to Forrest with his family to take up the role of our local police officer, starting this month. Having worked as a detective in Geelong and Torquay in recent years, Dale is making a tree change and a return to the uniform branch. ‘Dale is a really nice chap,’ said Surf Coast Inspector Peter Seel. ‘I think you will be really pleased to have him in Forrest.’
Transcript
April 2014 11April 2014 11
Forrest blitzed the opposition to win the Polwarth and District Tennis Association A-grade grand final for the first time in the Association’s 76-year history on Saturday 22 March.
Forrest defeated Kawarren 6 sets 41 games to 2 sets 27 games in a strong performance by a hungry team, desperate to create their own piece of Forrest sporting history.‘It was the perfect day,’ Team Captain and Club President Mark Murnane said after the match, which was held at Beeac.‘Everything went to plan both on and off the court, as our players were really spurred on by the amount of support they received from members of the Forrest community who were present.’Anne Murnane and Khan Beckett were the two stand-out performers on the day, winning their three sets each, with support from Zoe Beckett and Michael Absalom, who claimed two sets each.
‘I was pretty confident all day we could win as we had beaten them two weeks earlier in the qualifying final by three games. We won the first three sets, lost the next two and then Anne and Louise steadied the ship by claiming the final women’s set before afternoon tea. At the tea break we were up by seven games and I told the guys to go out and give it to them, which they did! Khan and Anne won 6-2 and Michael and Zoe won 6-3. We didn’t have to play the last set as we were already up by 14 games,’ Mark said.‘In all it was a great team effort by all 11 players of the core playing group, the five non-playing members were all present and offered full support from the sidelines. We had a great group of players this year who all gelled and were prepared to travel from the likes of Inverleigh, Moriac, Geelong, Colac and
Irrewillipe each week. The commitment was fantastic, the social side was the best I can recall, especially as a lot of the members have young families.’ The premiership has been a long time coming, though Forrest won the A reserve title in 2001-02, and the B grade in 2000-01. Since then there have been a lot of different faces at the club, with huge efforts each year on behalf of the committee to gather players. The club hopes to field a junior team next year.‘I’d like to thank Jim and Rose from the Forrest General Store for their continued support over many years, and the other businesses who have also helped with funding the new courts recently, including Forrest Brewing Company, Forrest River Valley B&B, Evans Earthmoving and the Lions,’ Mark said.
Back row, L to R: Mark Murnane, Julian Fleming, Josh de Jong, Michael Absalom, Khan Beckett; Front row, L to R: Terri Colless, Debbie Bell, Anne Murnane, Louise Blersch, Zoe Beckett, Stephanie RyanPhoto courtesy of The Colac Herald
Winners are grinners!From the EditorsWelcome Laura!
The Forrest Post is excited to welcome Laura McKinnon to the editorial team. We introduced Laura and her partner Luke in our March edition and we are now lucky to coopt her graphic design and publishing experience to help pull together and present The Forrest Post.
This issue highlights the volunteering spirit which is alive and well in Forrest. All editorial and contributions to The Forrest Post are offered voluntarily and we would not have a publication otherwise. We appreciate the time and commitment of Laura and our regular contributors, which make each issue a pleasure to produce and read.
Please send through your story ideas and let us know of news to share and what’s happening around town and beyond.
Police appointment
APRIL 2014
Senior Constable Dale Menzies is moving to Forrest with his family to take up the role of our local police officer, starting this month. Having worked as a detective in Geelong and Torquay in recent years, Dale is making a tree change and a return to the uniform branch.‘Dale is a really nice chap,’ said Surf Coast Inspector Peter Seel. ‘I think you will be really pleased to have him in Forrest.’
April 20142 April 2014 131
Snowing again! The weather has turned! After nearly 2 weeks of sunshine, +7 degrees and dry ground it snowed heavily and made everything white again.
Today it snowed in the morning and decided to rain really hard and have strong wind in the afternoon. My host dad said ‘This is Australian weather! What is it doing here!’ Which is so true! I felt like lighting the fire and complaining about it raining in Forrest again.
Jasmine Walsh is a local schoolgirl on a 12-month Rotary exchange in Finland.
Finnish line!
A draft report released by the Colac Otway Shire is proposing to streamline bushfire planning requirements for large areas of Forrest township, and highlights an area directly north of the town as suitable for residential rezoning from a bushfire perspective to allow subdivision and building if significant thinning of vegetation was to occur.About 30 people attended a meeting in Forrest on 15 March to hear about proposed amendments and to discuss the issues with consultants and Colac Otway Shire planning staff.The proposals are part of a shire bushfire planning project for towns with high bushfire risk, in response to new State Government policies. The council has developed planning schedules for lower risk parts of Forrest. This means developments in those areas may be built to pre-determined Bushfire Attack Levels (BAL) rather than needing to have a detailed individual bushfire risk assessment, as is currently required.
In Forrest township, two different levels of risk have been identified (those areas with light and dark blue shading
in the map on the left). New buildings will need to comply with BAL ratings of 12.5 in the lighter areas and 29 in the darker areas.To the north of Forrest, the area at 2324-2330 Birregurra-Forrest Road (the pink shaded section on the map below) has been identified as an area for potential residential growth, provided vegetation is thinned considerably.
Aside from allowing Forrest’s population to increase, this proposed development is intended to reduce the fire risk to the township.Council is seeking submissions on the proposal by 17 April. For further information, contact Colac Otway Shire Planning Unit on 5232 9400.
Maps supplied by Colac Otway Shire.
Proposed planning changes to ease residential development in Forrest
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Mandy: We came for a ride with friends about 4 years ago and loved the bush and the peace and quiet. We bought our block with the idea of building luxury holiday apartments, but can’t bring ourselves to share it now. I remember thinking that first drive from Geelong seemed to take forever. Now we drive in and out every day!
Michael: A lot of reasons came together at once. Our home in Mt Duneed was in the centre of the Armstrong Creek development and our children were adults and getting on with their own lives. We decided to live in Forrest for a year to see if it felt like home. I developed a bit of an addiction to riding mountain bikes and introduced Mandy to the sport as something we could share and enjoy together.
What do you like most about living here?
Mandy: At first it was the bush and the open spaces, but it’s become all about the Forrest folk. We have gotten to know such wonderful people and the fact that many of them enjoy a chat, a beer and a red wine is a bonus! We had a business in Lorne years ago, but never felt part of the community. Here you get that welcome feeling within a couple of hours.
Michael: We have made great friends in a short amount of time. A 7am ride can finish at about 11 after a few hellos, a chat and a cup of coffee. The town has an active, friendly feel. Visitors are out riding bikes and the town itself has a great involvement in the various community groups and clubs. I step outside the door and I’m right on the mountain bike trails, which for me is fantastic, and a night out to anywhere in town is just a walk home.
Plans for the future?
Mandy: At the moment we are building a space to pursue some of our hobbies and passions. Mike has a ‘man cave’ for bike maintenance and other secret men’s business,
and I have a space for photography, printing and sculpture. Our fabulous neighbour Wal gave me a pottery wheel and I’m really looking forward to getting back into ceramics.
Michael: Once we get the studio/workshop finished I’ll try to get a little fitter and get my times down going up track 2 and back down Red Carpet. Mandy and I have a couple of business ideas which are Forrest-based and would mean we could live and work in the town.
Mandy: We’re both looking forward to the day when we don’t drive out of town in the morning.
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How long have you been in Forrest, and what brought you here?
Rose: We moved here 31 years ago – we came because of an ad in The Weekly Times! We drove down here on the one sunny day in June, and thought Forrest looked lovely. That was when the general store was over the road, and they owned this shop as well, so we bought the two of them.
Can you tell us why the shop crossed the road?
Rose: We were over there for 4½ years, then we sold that shop and set up a plant nursery in this one. There was no house on this block so we bought the old police house and transported it here in two halves. Then Coverdales who bought the shop sold to Karen and Peter Hunt, who sold it to Janelle Johnson, and she went broke. Australia Post asked us if we’d have the post office here, but Forrest didn’t have a shop for about 6 months, so we thought we’d put one in here. We’ve been here ever since – that
was 20 years ago!
Jim: (laughing) Yeah, putting the shop in was our biggest mistake! But we thought we were only going to be in it for 6 months.
What are the major changes you’ve noticed in your time here?
Rose: It was a busy little shop over the road: we had petrol, and we sold a lot of fish and chips and hamburgers. Marj Fox used to work for us, and Karen Hunt. We had all our kids working in the shop at different times. One Easter Josh peeled 8 big bags of potatoes for chips!
We did a lot of banking through the post office, because everyone had bank books then. Then petrol started to get a bit expensive and people would come in for $5 worth to get them into Colac where it was 10c cheaper.
Forrest was a real little country town then. Just before winter, Paddy O’Connor used to bring his cows up from Wild Dog to Birregurra, herding them along the
road. You’d hear them coming for miles! I suppose the town’s grown up now, with the Brewery and the bike tracks. I didn’t think we’d ever see anything as sophisticated as kerb and channelling here!
The type of mail has changed a lot too, now there are fewer letters, but so many parcels we often can’t fit them in the post office.
What have you enjoyed about Forrest?
Rose: We love the area, and Forrest’s got such a different, quirky lot of people. There are the arty ones, and the older ones, they’re all interesting. I love the climate and countryside around here, and I love being able to grow maples and azaleas.
I’ve been on the Hall Committee for 20 years, which has sometimes been a challenge, but I’m proud of what we’ve done there over the years. There have been so many improvements in that time.
Jim: We’ve made a lot of friends over the years. It’s great having a chuckle with old Frank every morning! And it’s been good for our kids. They’ve all got jobs involving customer service now. My son learnt about nursery work here, and then got an apprenticeship with a big nursery in Brighton. He could sell the tits off a bull now!
And where will you go when you sell?
Jim: I just love it up on the Murray, I’d like to go there. Who knows?
Rose: I’m not sure where we’ll go, but I’m looking forward to not working 7 days a week, spending more time in the garden.
Who’s
Who Wh
o’s New
Owners: Karen and Peter Hunt
Names: People often say Possum is a strange name for a kangaroo. It’s an endearing name, we used to call her ‘little possum’ and she became Possum. Annie is named after the lady who found her, Annie Heritage.
How they came to the family: Possum was a joey, about 4 months old, when her mother was killed and we reared her. She always loved a bottle, and Peter used to nurse her on his knee until she was quite big, though she was always free to roam where she liked.
Annie was about 6 months when Annie Heritage found her in the grass near Seven Bridges Road. Her mother never came back for her so she gave her to us to rear with Possum, who was maybe 4½ by then. They became very close and then about 12 months ago they just left. Our neighbour Ben has seen them with a big mob of kangaroos in the bush – he recognised Possum because she’s got a floppy ear that was damaged when she was attacked by dogs a few years ago.
Best trick: I think Possum thought she was one of the dogs.
She used to climb into their beds with them. She would take over the neighbours’ dogs’ beds as well, and scare them off!
Notable misadventure: One day we had a phone call that she was in a chook house all the way across the Colac road, eating chook pellets! She used to eat anything: bread, biscuits, even dog food. Our neighbours Jo and Grant used to tell their international visitors they had a friendly local kangaroo, but they had to watch out for Possum because she would take the meat off their barbecue if they weren’t watching!
Karen Hunt
Four-legged locals: Possum and Annie
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im F
ell
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April 20146 April 2014 17
Purely on a voluntary basis
Forrest’s thriving on the community’s
volunteering spiritIn a recent survey, visitors to Forrest commented on the warm and welcoming people who live here and cited it as one of the reasons they return. That interest in others shows in the way the community gives of their time and skills to improve the life and amenity of the town.
According to ABS data, 41.3% of the
Forrest community aged over 15 undertakes voluntary work. This compares with 28% for the Colac Otway region.
Working for an organisation or community group on an unpaid basis can be as rewarding for individuals as for those it serves and benefits. Volunteering enhances social networks and is a great way to get to know others. Not surprisingly, volunteering rates are significantly
higher in rural areas than in capital cities where people live much closer to one another.
Despite being a town of only a couple of hundred people, Forrest plays host to a variety of communities, organisations and sporting groups which rely on unpaid labour to prosper.
‘The Forrest Football/Netball Club is solely run by volunteers,’ says club president, Bob Brooks. ‘On a
game day we need volunteers in all areas from officials, umpires, time keepers and water boys, and the canteen is run by volunteers. Outside game days there is the running of the club – upkeep of the ground and courts, training nights to organise, fundraising, purchase of supplies, etc.’
Forrest School Principal, Tara Hulonce, welcomes the diverse input of the community.
‘Volunteers make many things possible in a small school, from fundraising through to enriching our learning experiences,’ she said. ‘Recently volunteers have assisted us in
maintenance works and in certain curriculum programs, including art and crafts.
‘We are hoping to expand upon this in the future by running a “Parent Helper” program to train parents for working within the classroom setting.’
Committees for the Hall, Men’s Shed, Mountain Bike Club, the Pony Club and even the Yaugher
Warren ‘Wal’ MillerWal is a member of the Lions Club, football club, CFA and Yaugher C e m e t e r y T r u s t . Or ig ina l l y, he joined the CFA back in
1979 for something to do. He and a group of friends (male and female) got together at the pub, but there wasn’t much else for them to do.‘Bob Butt (Brigade Captain) was amazing. He was like a Sunday school teacher,’ said Wal. ‘He was well-travelled and told us stories about things from all over the world. We learnt heaps and had great fun.’‘The Lions Club is the same – it’s a really social thing,’ said Wal. ‘You’ve got to make it work for you, take the opportunity to mix and enjoy.’Wal said the trick to volunteering is to choose activities you like doing. ‘The footy club goes to the Falls Festival every year. I prefer to work really hard there for 5 days than sell raffle tickets,’ he said. Left The school bus stop built entirely using
volunteer support
Above First Lieutenant Warren Miller, with new recruit Michael Bishop
Susan first joined the Forrest Public Hall Committee in 1993, and is the current secretary. She has served on the Forrest and District Community Group, Harvest Festival
C o m m i t t e e , School Council and Kinder Committee. Susan was also a key player in a tiny commi t tee that raised
$110,000 to build the highly popular Birregurra Skate Park.‘When you live in a small town, if you want something to happen, you have to do it, because no-one is going to do it for you.’ ‘With the hall, it’s important to keep it going. If we don’t have citizens willing to go on the committee we’ll lose the hall, and it’s an important facility for the town.’The hall committee was the first one Susan had ever joined. She stepped up because she was new to Forrest and thought it was a way to
meet people. She was immediately made president.She joined the Kinder Committee and School Council because she wanted to take an interest in her daughter Eva’s education. ‘A lot of the time back then in the 1990s was spent in making sure the school stayed open.’Susan wanted to take this opportunity to tell people that the Forrest Hall Committee elections are coming up in June, and they would love some new volunteers!
Susan Langridge
Cemetery manage the day-to-day running of the facilities that locals and visitors share.
The Forrest and District Lions Club is a very proactive group, boasting 21 members who give of their time to raise funds for community projects. Forrest local Graeme Day has been an active member since 1972. Delwyn Seebeck has been with the club for 20 years and club President Nellie Shalley was recently recognised for 10 years’ service. It’s not all work, however. Regular meetings at the Wonky Donkey and other social events are a great way for people to mix and have fun together.
Forrest CFA Captain Allan Winter is pleased to report five new recruits this year.
‘For me, being a member of the brigade is a self-interest decision – we have to look after the Otways and our homes and know how to survive in a bushfire.’
The CFA gives as good as it gets, with volunteers receiving extensive training. ‘Recruits are trained in map reading, radio work, basic first aid and how to read weather conditions, as well as pump operation and safety and survival in fires,’ said Allan. ‘After that they can choose to take part in a range of specialised skills programs offered by the CFA.’
Two common threads run through conversations with organisation organisers. The first is the appreciation and high value they
place on the contributions of volunteers, and the second is that they would love to have more numbers in their ranks.
Volunteers not only help others, they help themselves. If you can spare even an hour or two once in
a while, there is a group in town who would love your support. The bonus is you will spend time with those warm and welcoming people our visitors appreciate so much.
Joyce has helped with Riding for the Disabled (Colac) for 10 years. She has been an active member and secretary of Forrest & District Lions Club for a similar amount of time. She runs a gentle exercise class on Thursday mornings and bingo once a month at the Neighbourhood House. She is also the Neighbourhood House treasurer, and helps out in the kitchen for Thursday community lunches. Joyce said initially she became
involved in volunteer work because she was new to Forrest and wanted to feel more a part of the town. Her work at the Neighbourhood House grew from participating in the exercise class. ‘Some problems arose and Cliff Barley, who used to come to the class too, said “We could do this ourselves – you know what you’re doing, Joyce, why don’t you run it?” So I did.’ She said with the Riding for the Disabled, ‘It’s to be able to help somebody who’s less fortunate, and to see the kids – they love it, they get a real kick out of riding the horse.’
Joyce said she was surprised and thrilled to receive a Community Service Award from the Lions Club last year, ‘But I’m sure there are others who do as much as I do!’
Joyce Howcroft
Volunteering is a great way to get to know others
Volunteers not only help others, they help themselves.
April 20148 April 2014 19April 2014 April 2014
Family budgets are always tight and a bit of supplementary income has always been welcome. In the old days, many will know that Forrest once had extensive hop fields and families looked forward to the annual harvest for a couple of months of extra income. There were also potatoes, peas and onions to be harvested at different times in the district.
Just over the road from where Turner Drive meets the Colac Road was the nearest hop paddock. It was called the stile paddock as there was a stile over the fence for access to the picking area.
Even in quite recent times some older residents could remember arriving at the hop fields in the dark to get an early start and calling out to see who else was around.
Bruce Neale recalled how sometimes he would wag school and head straight for the hop fields. He would try to work for the lady who gave him the most lollies.
The vines with the ripe hops were pulled down from the tall wire frames and suspended over hessian bins while the hops were picked. Pickers were paid by weight and there was plenty of cheeky banter with the man responsible for weighing and recording to get the best deal. Hops were dried in a kiln and dispatched to the Geelong brewery to flavour the beer.
In his latest book, A land of milk and onions, local historian Norman Houghton states that around 1934 the Colac district was producing half of Victoria’s onion crop. But it was the massive local pea crop that required most casual help. For 12 weeks each year during the 50s, for example, up to 50 pickers were needed for each paddock and pickers were able to earn five pounds ($10) a day, getting 12 shillings ($1.20) a bag.
But we should never think this work was just for the pocket money. Work days were also
social occasions, with plenty of local gossip over the hop bins. The happiest memories of those times were the fun, the stories and the practical jokes that helped to pass the time. These were sadly missed when they ended.
Ken Widdowson, PresidentForrest & District Historical Society
YOURRIDESTARTSHERE
CNR STATION ST & BLUNDY STBIKES - COFFEE - CULTURE
Pocket money for Mum and the kids
Article for Forrest Post.
Pocket money for Mum and the Kids.
Family budgets are always tight so a bit of supplementary income is always welcome. However, opportunities are rather limited in Forrest these days beyond helping out in one of our local businesses or undertaking cleaning or helping work. But things were different in the old days. Many will know that Forrest once had extensive hop fields and families looked forward to the an-nual harvest for a couple of months of extra income. But there was also potatoes, peas and onions to be harvested at different times in the district. Just over the road from where Turner Drive meets the Colac Rd was the nearest hop paddock called the stile paddock as there was a stile over the fence for access to the picking area. Even in quite re-cent times some older residents could remember arriving at the hop fields in the morning in the dark to get an early start and calling out to see who else was around. Bruce Neale used to recall how sometimes he would wag school and head straight for the hop fields and work for the lady who gave him the most lollies. The vines with the ripe hops were pulled down from the tall wire frames and suspended over hes-sian bins while the hops were picked. Pickers were paid by weight and there was plenty of cheeky banter with the man responsible for weighing and recording to get the best deal. Hops were dried in a kiln and dispatched to the Geelong brewery to flavor their beer. In his latest book, A Land of Milk and Onions, local historian, Norman Houghton states that around 1934 the Colac district was producing half of Victoria's onion crop. But it was the massive local pea crop that required most casual help. For 12weeks each year during the 50’s for example up to 50 pickers were needed for each paddock and pickers were able to earn five pounds ($10) a day, getting 12 shil-lings ($1.20) a bag. Norman’s fascinating book is available from our book store $25. But we should never think that it was just the pocket money. These were great social occasions with plenty of local gossip over the hop bins. The happiest memories of those times were the fun, the stories and the practical jokes that helped to pass the time. These were sadly missed when they ended. Ken Widdowson F&DHS.
Giant Odyssey mountain bike race road closuresThe Otway Odyssey mountain bike race is on again on Saturday 27 April, with around 1000 riders expected to compete.
Events include a 100 km, 50 km and 15 km handcycle race, all on loops starting and finishing at or near the Forrest Recreation Reserve.
The Forrest-Birregurra Road and the circuit from Yaugher Road to Hennigan Crescent and Station Street will close from 7 to 7.45 am on Saturday 27 April, to ensure safe passage for the bulk of cyclists as they start their races.
Cyclists will be on these roads and others in the Forrest area all day, and drivers are asked to take extra care on the routes indicated on the map at all times between 6.30 am and 4 pm.
The event will be centred at the Forrest Recreation Reserve, where there will be food and sports stalls, sponsors’ stands and children’s entertainment. Map supplied courtesy of Rapid Ascent
April 201410 April 2014 111
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FORREST EARLY LEARNING CENTRE
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Afternoon (2-6pm) sessions available
Contact Forrest Primary School for more information
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Forrest Learning Centre played host to over 140 visiting school students from Alvie Consolidated, Deans Marsh and Carlisle River to celebrate Harmony Day on March 21.
Initiated by the Federal Government in 1999, the message of Harmony Day is ‘everyone belongs’, from the traditional owners to those who have come from many countries around the world. The objective is to learn and understand how all Australians equally belong to and enrich our nation through sharing cultural experiences.
‘Dressing up in either orange, the colour of harmony, or traditional multicultural clothing was optional, but having fun was compulsory!’ said Forrest School Principal, Tara Hulonce.
‘Students participated in a range of activities, including science, Indigenous craft, multicultural dance, sport and international
music,’ said Tara. ‘The activities reminded us that we are all different and to be celebrated.’
The Forrest Pre-School also participated by painting their own totem to celebrate our rich cultural heritage.
Consistent with national statistics, 45% of the Forrest community was born overseas or had at least one parent born overseas. Whilst 200 countries of origin make up the Australian population, Forrest’s heritage is predominantly Anglo-Saxon.
‘The children thoroughly enjoyed the socialising the day offered,’ said Tara. ‘We finished with the song ‘We are Australian’, and a group celebration of what it means to live in our multicultural society.’
Living in harmony
Jaxon Kurzman and his pre-school friends paint their totem to celebrate our rich cultural heritage
Emma Ashton, Gavin Brien, Veronica Roache, Lorraine Cosgriff, Tye Meesen and Dean Meeson took on a team from Elliminyt in the B-grade tennis grand final on the Forrest courts on Saturday March 22.
The odds were stacked up against them when Dean had to withdraw after pulling a calf muscle early in the final.
Max Troughton was called on to step up to the seniors game, but unfortunately the team couldn’t rack up enough winning sets to take out the match.
Emma Ashton reaching high for a serve for Barwon Downs in the Polwarth District Tennis B-Grade Final against Elliminyt
Barwon Downs goes down to Elliminyt
C o m m u n i t y C a l e n d a rFootball & NetballApril 5
April 12April 19May 3
Irrewarra/Beeac (Away)Lorne (Home)Easter (Bye)Apollo Bay (Home)
Congratulations to Matt Bradshaw and Sarah Masny on the birth of Aurora Helena on March 9.
The third baby girl in Forrest in 3 months!
April 201412
Did you know that there are over 1500 species of native bees in Australia? They come in all shapes, sizes and colours. They can be black, yellow, red, metallic green or even black with blue polka dots!The smallest native bee lives in Cape York and is less than 2 mm in length; the largest also lives in the tropical north and is the ‘Great Carpenter Bee’ which can be up to 24 mm long.One of the most beautiful of our native bees is the ‘Blue Banded Bee’ which can be found in gardens in and around Forrest. They are about 11mm long and have bands of metallic blue or white fur across their black abdomens.Blue banded bees, like most Australian native bees, are solitary bees. They don’t have a queen and form swarms like honey bees. Rather, the female blue banded bee mates
and builds a solitary nest by herself normally in a shallow burrow in clay soil or sometimes in mud bricks. Often several blue banded bees may build their nests next to each other like neighbouring houses in a village.Blue banded bees perform a very special type of pollination called ‘buzz pollination’. Quite a few of our native wildflowers such as Hibbertias and Sennas hide their pollen inside tiny capsules. The blue
banded bee can grasp a flower like this and shiver her flight muscles, causing the pollen to shoot out of the capsule. She then collects the pollen and carries it from flower to flower, pollinating as she goes. So watch out for this fascinating bee in your garden. And remember, native bees are important pollinators of our unique wildflowers and a vital part of the Australian bush.
John Price
Buzz Buzz!
Bike racks blend Forrest’s past and present
Three new sculptural bike racks are due to be installed in coming weeks, with designs reflecting the heritage, future and environment of the town.Planning commenced a few years ago on steel sculptures, but stalled when the contracted company folded. The designs could no longer be used as they were the intellectual property of the defunct organisation.The new concept by Geelong company Challis Design incorporates
steel and timber sculptures, with the adjacent rack cut into a log set on steel supports. The three sculptural elements include a saw mill blade, a mountain bike rider and a platypus.‘We are really pleased with the way the designs reflect the unique combination of Forrest icons,’ said Mandy Bishop of the Forrest and District Community Group. ‘Using logs for racks is not only gentler on expensive bikes, it brings together mountain biking and tree trunks,
blending Forrest’s past and present.’The platypus sculpture will be located on Hennigan Crescent, adjacent to the picnic shelter, and the saw blade will be installed near the tennis courts by the old mill site. The bike riding sculpture will be at the hall next to the community notice board, which will soon be given a makeover. Colac Otway Shire will install a drinking fountain in the same area.
Client Forrest Community GroupProject Signage and bicycle racksJob NAContact Mandy Bishop
Drawing type concept visualDrawn MMDate 26/02/2014Scale 1:20 (A3)All measurements in mm
