Life

Chris Oldfield. A high-ranking and prestigious SA Country Fire Service (CFS) award has been bestowed on Lucindale group officer Patrick Ross by State Chief Officer Mark Jones. The rare Chief Officer’s Commendation was awarded for Mr Ross’s leadership, decision making and keeping a cool head during critical emergency situations, while under intense pressure.

Chris Oldfield. A medal reflecting 60 years of incredible service has been awarded to our distinguished CFS member and author, Rex Hall. Since the launch of his successful book, Forty Flaming Years, in 2007, Mr Hall has penned three more. Mr Hall, one of Naracoorte’s favourite icons, was also a major force behind the town’s SA Volunteer Fire Fighters Museum.

Nancy Whittaker. Don’t miss visiting the David Moore exhibition at the Cascade Art Gallery in Fountain Street, from now until 13 November ... Red dots abound as the works are so popular and covetable. David Moore is a delightful interview subject, erudite and somewhat self-effacing, given his long and dedicated artistic career, which started with a teacher training course at Hawthorn Tech (now Swinburne).

Last Saturday’s Castlemaine Emergency Expo at Castlemaine’s Camp Reserve was a runaway success, with over 30 organisations on the ground giving information and advice on how best to prepare for an emergency. It was a family day out, with many children enjoying the chance to enjoy a range of activities on offer - as well as the opportunity to get up close and personal with big trucks and men and women in interesting uniforms.

When you’re at the Maldon & Baringhup Agricultural Show this Sunday, you’ll see local farmer Bill McKnight quietly going about his business as ringmaster: he’s in charge of the horse events. It’s not an easy job, with 100 to 140 horses competing in a range of events. At the age of 87, is Bill the oldest ringmaster in Australia?

Fltlt Nick O’Connor. Employers throughout Australia who went above and beyond to support their Army reservist employees were officially recognised as part of the state-based Employer Support Awards ... For Barkly-based physical education teacher Sergeant Pam Dillon, consecutive civilian employers have paved the way for her distinguished military career.

Kirstin Nicholson. Ros Dwyer likes to think of herself as a social historian. She has been collecting clothes, accessories, memorabilia and ephemera for longer than she realises – and it’s all on display for you to soak in the memories alongside Ros. The Cohuna Art and Craft Gallery has opened its latest exhibition, ‘One Woman’s Collection’ featuring a portion of Ros’s collection.

It’s just a kilometre or two off the New England Highway at East Greenmount and easy to miss if you don’t know it’s there, but Steele Rudd Memorial Park is a must visit attraction for locals and tourists. Arthur Hoey Davis, better known by his pen name of Steele Rudd has certainly left a legacy, not just for the our local area but for the whole nation as his fictional work ‘On Our Selection’ has helped shape Australian culture.

Patricia Gill. Dr Pratha Prathalingam shrugs off working until 82 as ‘easy’ because he has loved his job. “It’s never been a burden to me,” says the Sri Lankan born ‘Pratha’ who was recruited from eSwatini (Zwaziland) to come to Australia via the forerunner organisation to the State Government’s Rural Health West.

The Moulamein Bowling Club hosted a Gourmet Fare on Saturday, October 8. This was the second event, the first was held during a short reprieve in the Covid-19 clamp down. The government rules of being allowed to stand but not sit, as apparently Covid-19 knew the difference, was a distant memory.

This prize winning garden of Lynn Close took 1st place in the Large Home Garden category - Warwick Horticultural Society Shield.

And she’s off! Jeanette ‘Netty” Foy-Wilson left Kyogle on Monday morning, October 10 on her ride to the Gold Coast ... The Stop it where it starts tour aims to raise money to buy education courses for local schools to teach children about safe relationships.

After 14 work related deaths in the WA agricultural industry over last 18 months, far more than any other state, serious questions need to be asked about why our Ministers have put all their faith in the impact of draconian new industrial manslaughter laws when it's clearly not working.

Time traveller  provides a glimpse into Murray Walker’s vast output of collage and assemblage sculpture over the past 40 years. Born in Ballarat in 1937, Walker has worked in diverse media including painting, printmaking, ceramics and tapestry design. ...with limited access to a studio, he began creating collages to diarise his travels.

Stow Gardens on the Geraldton Foreshore will mark the final stop on adventurer and philanthropist John Elliot’s odyssey across the heart of Australia to raise awareness about skin cancer. Before Mr Elliot’s departure in 2019, he undertook a routine skin check that revealed a melanoma on his back, which had it gone undetected may have proven fatal.

Following the success of her recent Queensland tours, British singer-songwriter Emily Maguire is touring community halls in northern NSW in November/December 2022. A contemporary folk artist whose songs have been described as 'music for the soul' (Maverick Magazine), Emily has released six albums and toured the UK extensively with American legends Don McLean, Dr Hook and Eric Bibb.

Samuel Davis. The private medical records of Cape York patients may have already fallen into the hands of crime syndicates lurking on the dark web, a cyber security expert has warned. Apunipima Cape York Health Council confirmed on Thursday that a third party had accessed its data and possibly downloaded medical records after leaked emails revealed a major data breach.

Mike Berry. With wet conditions over the past few years there has been significant growth, particularly of grasses which can quickly dry and cure if we have a burst of hot and particularly windy conditions, increasing the risk of fire ... A few months ago members of Dunoon RFS who were involved for extended periods in the 2019/2020 fire season were presented with a National Medal in recognition of their efforts.

The remarkable Lee family is proof that a love of horses means a healthy and happy lifestyle. Paul and Lyn Lee, and their four daughters Sherrie, Tamara, Brynie and Ebonie have created a show horse training complex at Whittlesea that has built on their already strong success in the very competitive horse world. This week at Royal Melbourne Show, Ebonie, the youngest of the four girls, won the famous Garryowen trophy in its 88th year riding Simone Padoin’s Wynara Signature.

Kim Woods. Retired station cook and fruit picker Di Looker has battled her way through flood water to make a two and a half month trip from Bendigo to Barellan in a horse drawn drover’s cart. Di, of Lockwood, Victoria, with her Blue Heeler Rhonda and Jack Russell cross, China, has made the trip in an old drover’s cart pulled by her nine-year-old Clydesdale Harry.