BAIRNSDALE
NATIONALS MEMBER FOR Eastern Victoria, Melina Bath, is demanding the Victorian Government provide a firm commitment that Gippsland’s V/Line train services will be fully reinstated. Bath has written directly to the Minister for Public and Active Transport, Gabrielle Williams, raising concerns that planned changes to Melbourne’s metropolitan train network could result in Gippsland trains losing direct access to Southern Cross Station. With the release of new metro train maps ahead of the Metro Tunnel opening, there is growing alarm in Gippsland, with the maps suggesting the Pakenham line will no longer run through to Southern Cross or Richmond, traditionally the same route followed by Gippsland’s V/Line service. Gippsland commuters are now left wondering whether they will be forced to disembark at Pakenham, rather than continue directly into the city. Bath is calling on the Minister to provide a clear guarantee that a direct, reliable and timely train connection between Gippsland and Southern Cross Station will be preserved.
MOST THIEVES ARE opportunistic. Half of all thefts from motor vehicles reported to police show no signs of forced entry, and around 80 per cent of aggravated burglaries involve offenders entering through unlocked doors or windows or give up when they find the home is secure. Simple habits can make a big difference, including always lock your doors and windows at night, never leave your car unlocked, even in your own driveway, don’t leave valuables in your car and if you must, hide them out of sight. Never store house keys or garage door openers in your car.
ON JUNE 21 at approximately 8.30 pm, Bairnsdale and Lakes Entrance Police members attended a collision on Main Street, between a motorcycle and 4WD.
Witnesses stopped to assist the motorcycle rider and the driver of the 4WD left the scene. Police attended the 4WD owners address and conveyed a 42-year-old Bairnsdale man to the Bairnsdale Police station where he blew over three times the legal limit on the evidentiary breath test. The driver’s licence was immediately suspended for 12 months, and he will be summons to court at a later date, thankfully there were no injuries to anyone involved.
AUSVEG IS INVITING vegetable and onion producers and industry stakeholders to lodge their expression of Interest for four international study tours to be held over the next financial year. The first tour to New Zealand will be held in August 2025, followed by tours to Europe in September 2025, and for Fruit Logistica in Berlin in February 2026. These industry study tours provide increases to awareness and knowledge of the research and innovations in the global horticulture industry through the delivery of tours to strategic vegetable and onion growing regions, conferences, facilities, and innovation centres around the globe. AUSVEG is the national peak industry body for Australia’s over 3600 vegetable, potato and onion growers, has welcomed the new Hort Innovation funded, five-year international study tour program. The study tours are aligned to the Vegetable and Onion Industry Strategic Investment Plans, in particular to improve industry capability and foster an innovative culture that maximises investments in productivity and demand and builds resilience across the sector. The Vegetable and Onion Industry Study Tours have been funded by Hort Innovation using the vegetable and onion research and development levies and contributions from the Australian Government.
ALMOST ALL MEDICAL imaging performed at Bairnsdale Regional Health Service (BRHS) is now bulk billed and free of charge in a major boost for medical services across the region. This exciting development makes high-quality medical imaging much more accessible for East Gippsland people. It gives access at no cost to a wide range of medical imaging services at BRHS, as long as those services are eligible for bulk billing under Medicare and that the patient is eligible to use Medicare. The few exceptions to bulk billing include medical interventions that require medical imaging guidance and some complex obstetric scans.
FLU CASES ARE rising, especially among young children, who are experiencing the highest flu rate so far in 2025. Every year in Australia, hundreds of kids, mostly under five, end up in hospital with flu. Free flu vaccines are available from your doctor and local council immunisation services for children aged six months to five years.
EAST GIPPSLAND WATER are advising customers to not to forget to “tuck in” your water meter. They are sure you have noticed recently that winter nights in East Gippsland can be pretty chilly, cold enough, in fact, to freeze your water meter. So, if the temperature’s predicted to hit zero or less, it’s a good idea to tuck your water meter ‘under the covers’ for the night. To do this, simply find an item that can trap the air around it, like an old blanket, plastic storage container, box or bucket, and place it over your meter to keep “Jack Frost” at bay and your water running.
NAGLE COLLEGE RECENTLY held its year seven public speaking finals. One student from each core class was selected to present their speech on what they believe is the most liveable city in the world to the entire year seven cohort in the St Dominic Savio Centre. All finalists were exceptional, with Eadie placing third, Ollie coming in second and William being crowned the best public speaker in year seven in front of a crowd of 150 people.
UNIQUE SKIN AND BODY has been named as a finalist in the Australian Beauty Industry Awards (ABIA) Sole Operator of the Year award. The ABIA are a benchmark of excellence across the Australian and
BENDOC
DUE TO SNOWFALL in the region, East Gippsland Shire Council had to cancel the mobile library/customer service bus to Bendoc and Delegate River last week. The mobile bus service provides an opportunity to use the library service and engage with the Council on matters.
BUCHAN
THE NEON HULA Hoop Dance Party at the Butter Factory this Friday from 5.30pm will be bringing colour, beats and fun and the kids are going to love it. Glowing hula hoops are ready for them to spin, swirl, and dance the night away. It’s all about colour, movement and pure joy under the stars.
BUNDALAGUAH
FAMILIES AT BUNDALAGUAH Primary School are rightfully frustrated after learning the school’s long-awaited toilet block upgrade has been downgraded to a partial renovation, despite receiving more than $425,000 in funding. The Nationals’ State Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, said the situation is unacceptable and he has raised the matter directly with the Minister for Education, Ben Carroll, in State Parliament, requesting a full explanation and urged the Minister to commit to building what was promised to the school. Last year the Victorian School Building Authority allocated $425,366 for the project and the school community was invited to choose between two designs, a renovation or a full rebuild. The school community made it clear they wanted a complete rebuild of the toilets. Now, months later, they are being told the project will only involve renovating the existing structure due to cost constraints and the school is expected to contribute $20,000 of its own funds. The State Government’s refusal to deliver the rebuild as promised has let the school community, especially the students, down.
HEYFIELD
LOCAL COMPANY AUSTRALIAN Sustainable Hardwoods representatives were all smiles, after the Cowes Cultural Centre at Phillip Island won the Australia Timber Design Awards Sustainability Prize. The centre extensively features hardwood timber from Heyfield, specifically the glue-laminated timber product, which involves pressing hardwood timber planks together with special glue under high pressure to produce a product that is as strong as steel.
OVER THE KING’S Birthday long weekend, Heyfield Police together with Parks Victoria conducted highly visible patrols, vehicle intercepts and roadblocks achieving public education and enforcement activities in remote areas of the Victorian High Country. Significant early season snowfall increased the risk to the high number of visitors and drivers to the area.
MAFFRA
REMEMBER HOW YOUR mum or nan made delicious meals when the pantry looked bare? Well the local Neighbourhood House is going to run a meals from scratch workshop on July 9 from 10am-2pm. They will show you to use what’s on hand to prepare simple, delicious and nutritious food. Learn how to make some new family favourites with pantry staples. Recipes include lentil and veg soup, cottage pie, beef and noodle stir fry, sweet and sour with rice, family pasta and baked rice pudding.
ON JUNE 24, LOCAL police received information from the community in regards to a suspicious vehicle. Police were able to ascertain the registered owner’s details from the CCTV footage provided and attended the owners address. Checks revealed that the owner/driver of the vehicle was unlicensed and was seen driving without a seatbelt on. The vehicle was also unregistered with a false numbers affixed, thus the vehicle was not compliant with the standards of registration. The vehicle has been impounded for a period of 30 days and the driver will appear at the Magistrates Court at a later for several traffic offences. Maffra police would like to thank the community for the information and helping to keep the community safe.
THE OXFORD ENGLISH Dictionary has included 11 new words that are quintessentially Australian in its latest update. Unsurprisingly, the new words have a lot to do with alcohol and football. The full list of Australian English words are balanda, best and fairest, carn, cask, custodian, don’t argue, goon, gunzel, regional, slab and spew.
MARLO
THE SECOND MARLO Bush Dance will be held this Saturday night from 7pm at the Marlo Angling Club. Bring your best dress and dancing shoes or just watch and laugh.
NYERIMILANG
AS PART OF THE East Gippsland Winter Festival, Dr Derek Russell, president of Birdlife East Gippsland, is giving a talk on the Sea Eagles of the Gippsland Lakes, biology and breeding success. The event will take place at Nyerimilang Heritage Park on July 6 from 2-4pm.
OMEO
THE MEMBER FOR Benambra, Bill Tilley MP is angered that for the second successive winter the Omeo Highway has been closed by snow, in both cases road users have had to wait for the resumption of a normal working week before contractors were dispatched to clear the road. On King’s Birthday Weekend it took until after the public holiday Monday for road crews to attend.
ORBOST
MONDAY WAS A big day for the Orbost Taxi Service, finally ticking all the boxes with an official Taxi plate now issued
and fitted.
PAYNESVILLE
BACK BY POPULAR demand in 2025 is the Paynesville Football Netball Club’s Black-Tie Night, a glamorous evening where punters dress to impress and dance the night away to great music. This year’s event is on Saturday, July 19, at the AJ Freeman Reserve clubrooms from 7pm. This years theme is “Think Hollywood glamour – Met Gala style”, don’t miss a night of elegance, energy, and entertainment.
SALE
STREET FEAST IS coming to the Sale Showgrounds on Saturday. It will be a night of food trucks, dessert stalls, boutique retail stalls and music from 4pm to late.
THE STAFF AT the Wellington Shire Council hosted Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea at council last week, bringing staff together to raise funds for the Cancer Council and show support for those impacted by cancer across the shire and beyond. It was a simple idea: bring a plate, join a trivia round, guess how many lollies are in the jar. But behind the laughter and friendly competition was a shared commitment to something serious, supporting the research, prevention programs and services that help real people through one of life’s toughest challenges.
THE GROW YOUR Own Fungi workshops recently held at Nakunbalook were a sell-out success, hosted by the the amazing team from Flooding Creek Fungi. From layering buckets to prepping grow bags, participants learned the full process of growing tasty oyster mushrooms right at home. Every participant left with a starter kit, the confidence to grow their own crop and access to ongoing support to help their fungi flourish. These workshops fill fast, but they will be back, so keep your
eyes peeled.
MEN’S SHEDS PLAY an important role, providing an interest and social outing, aiding mental health and well-being of men throughout our region. The Victorian Men’s Shed Association recently held conference in town, with local MP, Tim Bull one of the presenters, Victoria currently has 335 men’s sheds.
GIPPSLAND GRAMMAR SCHOOL is humbled with the amazing Gippsland Grammar community, with Giving Week 2025 having raised more than $25,000. More than double the original goal, with every single dollar going directly to projects that support students, including a new Early Years precinct at St Anne’s, campus improvements at Garnsey and Bairnsdale and scholarships for students who may not otherwise be able to afford a Gippsland Grammar education.
SEASPRAY
OPTUS HAS APOLOGISED to customers in Loch Sport and Seaspray areas who experienced service disruption impacting their mobile and data services in early to mid-June. Optus said the outage was caused by a transmission hardware fault affecting two sites in the region, which had to be replaced.
THE SEASPRAY GENERAL Store recently unveiled the latest string to its bow, the Saltythong Laundrette.
SWIFTS CREEK
THE GREAT ALPINE Art Gallery’s Community Scarecrow Competition is underway and offers a great chance to get creative this winter. All you have to do is build a scarecrow and display it proudly in your front yard or on your mailbox. Take a photo of your scarecrow and email it to alpinescarecrow@gmail.com between June 20 and July 12. Entries will be displayed on the Great Alpine Gallery’s Facebook page. Get your friends and family to vote by liking and sharing your photo on the page, with the scarecrow with the most engagement winning. The winner will be announced on July 20 and is entry is open to everyone in the Alpine area.
TAMBO VALLEY
For last week’s training the local SES unit had guests from the State Learning and Development team, who conducted a session on the usage of the domestic rescue kit which is for helping remove objects stuck on the body like rings stuck on fingers, fingers stuck in drains and even hands stuck in handcuffs.
WOODSIDE
BEGINNERS LINE DANCING is returning to the local hall on Saturday, July 12
from 1-3pm.
YARRAM
THE RECENT DEPARTMENT of Transport and Planning session at the Regent Theatre saw a healthy turnout as part of consultation process to improve the Yarram to Melbourne V/Line coach service. Locals were given the chance to discuss with State Government representatives the proposal for more services to run on the Yarram, Leongatha, Koo Wee Rup to Melbourne coach service.
FOLLOWING A REVIEW of evolving customer preferences a reduction in business activity and an increase in costs, Bendigo Bank has made the difficult decision to permanently close its its Yarram branch and ATM on Friday, September 26. The Bank apologises to its customers for the inconvenience. Bendigo Bank is proud of its regional heritage and operates Australia’s second largest regional branch network. To preserve their ability to continue delivering for customers and communities, they must ensure that branches are adequately supported and resourced. The Bank is in the process of communicating this change to customers, and invites Yarram customers to continue to transact at Community Bank Toora and District, located 39 kilometres away. Customers can also choose to bank in-person using Bank@Post at any of the 3500 Australia Post outlets across Australia. Bendigo Bank maintains more branches per customer than any other Australian Bank. The Bank is committed to its branch network and the personalised interactions that occur in branch every day.
THE LOCAL SES is reporting that parishioners should avoid entering the front entrance at St Mary’s Catholic Church on Commercial Road due to a safety issue on the steeple. They have taped off the area for public safety until the problem can be rectified.
YARRAM POLICE ARE investigating an incident involving a blue Ute that was driven dangerously on Commercial Road on the morning of June 24. Police looking for witnesses and dash camera footage.
A 40-year-old South Melbourne male was spoken to regarding the incident, and is assisting Police with their inquiries.
