ISSUE 112

PO BOX 147, GARFIELD, 3814 I INCORPORATION NO: A0053615E I ABN: 59 328 075 826 I ISSUE 111 MARCH 2020 FREE

Garfield Spectator is proudly supported by

Now and Then: One year after the fires

At the going down of the sun

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Front cover: Once again a fantastic image by Garfield's own talented

photographer John 'on your bike,' Graham

Please check out our website to appreciate John's work in colour!

TO THE FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OF THOSE WE HAVE

LOVED AND LOST THROUGH MARCH – THE GARFIELD COMMUNITY OFFERS

YOU SYMPATHY AND SUPPORT

R.I.P.

PLEASE SAY YOU SAW THE AD IN THE SPECTATOR! PLEASE SUPPORT ANY OF OUR

LOCAL BUSINESSES THAT ARE

PERMITTED TO STAY OPEN.

THEY NEED US AS MUCH AS WE

NEED THEM.

PLEASE STAY SAFE EVERYONE.

Mob: 0448 803 499 Email: airconrus@hotkey.net.au

Email: airconrus@hotkey.net.au

81-83 MAIN STREET GARFIELD - PH 0407 151 202

Homemade cakes, slices & take home meals.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND BOOKINGS

CONTACT BREWSTERS

INFO@BREWSTERSCAFE.COM.AU

OPEN AS NORMAL

FRESH DAIRY PRODUCE

FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

HOT AND COLD DRINKS

CAKES AND PASTRIES

TAKE-AWAY MENU

COUNTRY STYLE

MEATS Thanks for voting for us & making us No.1 Butcher in

Gippsland

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Home made pies

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House made artisan

hams and bacon

Free range products

available

GARFIELD BUTCHER,

89 MAIN STREET,GARFIELD. PH: 5629 2593

Trading Hours: Monday to Friday 7am-6.30pm. Saturday 7am-1pm.

HOME DELIVERY CAN BE ORGANISED FOR THE SELF-ISOLATED OR THOSE UNABLE TO

GET TO THE SHOP

Local Milk

Brewster’s Food Store

....... a very pleasant Sunday afternoon recently was held at

Brewster’s Food Store.

It was called burgers, beer, Brewster’s. Approx 30 people came

along and enjoyed a variety of sliders, delicious deserts and lis-

tening to duo Peter and Sam.

Photo of local couple below

Kirsty and Warren ...... the first to “like” the advert for the func-

tion on Social Media

and they received complimentary tickets to the event.

"Love Your Sister”

On February 29th Columba School in Bunyip hosted well known

actor, Dancing With The Stars winner, Logie winner, “unicycler”

and most importantly fund raiser for cancer research ...Samuel

Johnson.

Samuel lost his sister Connie to cancer in Sept 2017 and has

been spending much of his time travelling around Australia rais-

ing money for Cancer research. He unicycled around the coun-

try which took nearly a year.

This year he is on a speaking tour (travelling around in his Avan

motor home). At Columba the whole school gathered together

and he spoke to the children and even unicycled for a short dis-

tance. The children went back to class and he then spoke to the

parents and grandparents. Samuel was a great, passionate

speaker and explained his goals of raising money for

“personalised” medicine for all cancer patients.

Read about Samuel’s endeavours by looking on

Google ....Samuel Johnson or Love Your Sister, by Connie and

Samuel. Samuel’s tour is currently suspended.

After his serious talk, Samuel relaxed for photos

On behalf of our readers, we thank the Cardinia Shire for

their contribution to the cost of publishing this community

newsletter

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Last year the Garfield Community Association received a grant from the Pakenham Racing Club, to purchase a portable PA for such events as ANZAC Day and the Christmas Festival.

Bluetooth streamed music can also be broadcast through the system.

Currently the unit and microphone are located at Brewsters Café and is available for community use. Please contact Greg if you wish to borrow the PA.

We wish to thank the Pakenham Racing Club for their generos-ity.

Photos Submitted by Denise Van Der Veer

On behalf of our readers, we thank the Pakenham Racing Club

for their contribution to the cost of publishing this community

newsletter

WWW.PAKENHAMRACING.COM.AU

Call Matt: 0411 881 814

Annie is a local resident of Garfield and has lived in Garfield for 15 months. Although not a long time local, her husband Dave is a 3rd generation Berwick/Beaconsfield resident and Annie joined him when they got married in 1975. Dave was President of the Beaconsfield Football Club from 1992 – 1995. In that time Dave steered the club in the transition from the South West Gippsland Football League to the West Gippsland Football League where they have great memories with the Beacy/Garfield games, thinking that one day they would like to live in Garfield to return to the country and enjoy community life again. Annie has just published her first book – The Strength Within – which is a memoir, published by Austin Macauley Publish-ers. Annie is a 3 times cancer survivor and writes about overcoming challenges, adversity and building her resilience. The mem-oir does not focus on the disease, but on her strategies on overcoming the illness. Here is a small extract from her book. ____________________________________________________ “ It was 1979 – when I was 3 months pregnant with my second child. I was suffering excruciating pain in my left leg - I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t stand, I couldn’t sleep. The pain had started a year earlier and was getting progressively worse. In just a year, I’d gone from being an active young woman to being almost entirely incapacitated. The journey to find the crux of this pain was going to be almost as diabolical as discovering the diagnosis. Another three months passed and I went for my six-month check-up to my obstetrician at the local hospital. He told me every-thing was fine… but it definitely was not!! I weighed 42 kilos and my left leg was abnormally swollen. I’d been dealing with chron-ic pain every day for almost 18 months. On the 1st April 1980 - I underwent a biopsy - the lump, the size of a tennis ball on the inside of my knee, was identified as a tumour - Ewing’s Sarcoma - a rare form of bone cancer. It was such a relief to finally discover the cause of the pain because I could now tackle and overcome this obstacle and move on with my life or could I? The surgeon advised it was operable, fortu-nately… but at the cost of my leg and almost in the same breath said the baby may not survive due to the trauma of the sur-gery. I was 26 years old and 26 weeks pregnant. That was my first confrontation with cancer - two more to follow. The strength is within us all. There is light at the end of the tunnel, even when you think everything is hopeless. You just have to keep going, especially when it seems like you have nothing left.”

Annie’s book is available from the usual websites – Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository. It is also available at Amazon Kin-dle if you prefer an ebook. Alternatively, you can purchase a copy from her website www.anniepatemanauthor.com.au, where she will be happy to personally sign it for you. Or if you have any queries you can contact Annie at email annie.pateman.author@gmail.com or on Facebook - anniepatemanauthor. Front cover Author Annie Pateman

Photographer Five Castles Portraits - Arek Rainczuk

Dead trees restored to life in the form of attractive and hard-

wearing rustic furniture.

Coffee tables, side tables, dining tables, mantelpieces

Mob: 0448 803 499 Email: airconrus@hotkey.net.au

Email: airconrus@hotkey.net.au

Specialists in : Commercial,

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Domestic Air Conditioning

Sales, Service & Repairs

Refrigeration Service and Repairs

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Mob: 0448 803 499 Email: airconrus@hotkey.net.au

www.kinglegalgroup.com.au

After much speculation about the Overland Train to Adelaide being discontinued, 4

of us locals decided we needed to do this trip before it does stop.

So, on Valentines Day we caught the VLine train to Southern Cross where we stayed

for the night before catching The Overland at 8.00am on Saturday morning. The

journey takes approximately 10 hours.

Once the train got going and we were making our way out of Melbourne, the dining

car opened for the day and we had a delicious breakfast. We then settled in to enjoy

the scenery, read, chat, snooze and most of all to relax. The time passed easily in the

company of some lovely fellow passengers we met in the dining car throughout the

day. We enjoyed lunch, afternoon tea and even a glass of wine whilst we made the descent into Adelaide. This part of the trip is

especially beautiful coming down through The Adelaide Hills. We arrived in Adelaide right on time just before 6.00pm. One of us

stayed with her son and family, one with friends and 2 of us stayed in central Adelaide and the evening and most of the next day

was spent having a good look around, including lots of walking, the Adelaide Oval, shopping in Rundle Mall and the lovely arcades.

We took the tram to beautiful Glenelg where we went on the Wheel, walked lots, listened to a talented busker, and had a delicious

lunch at the Stamford Grand hotel looking out on the Glenelg Beach.

Photos .......

1 Adelaide “City of Churches”

2 Royal Arcade, Adelaide

3The Stamford Grand, Glenelg

4 Glenelg Beach

We did the return trip home on Monday 17th Feb. Whilst it was a short trip to Adelaide, it was more about enjoying the train trip

which we all loved.

Is the Overland discontinuing? We don’t really know for sure, but we are all very happy we got to do the trip and look forward to

more short trips together.

Cheers

Gwen, Jenny, Nola and Joan

1

2

3

4

Well thanks to Ivan Martin, I do. I spent a very enlightening visit to him a couple of weeks ago when I found out so much about the activities that used to go on around our little town.

What does TQ Mean? It means Three-Quarter, as in Three-Quarter Midget. "Midget" race cars were first developed in the late 1930s, single-seat open-cockpit open-wheel machines of a size smaller than seen before. The engines were 500cc motor-bike engines, so you knew they could fly!

The cars round here, as you will see from the pictures, were largely made from old spare parts found around the sheds and garages. Garfield and surrounds had many car workshops and motor mechanics at the time.

What started as just a bit of fun for the local lads to whiz around the local footy ground soon became much more than that. There were about 50 members of the TQ club and the local farmers, including the Zappoulas got their tractors and machin-ery over to the Garfield North road where they cleared some council owned land. It was near the site of the old Pig and Whistle staging post on the Old Sale Road. They built a small kidney shaped track on the side of the Black Snake Range, which went up and downhill and was quite difficult to drive. It soon sorted out the men from the boys.

Around 1956 Mr. Simcock, the newsagent, suggested that this style of racing could be done to raise funds for a much-wanted swimming pool.

Word had soon spread about this exciting sport being held in Garfield and people started coming from all over Victoria.

It was decided to hold a full-day one off carnival over the Queen’s Birthday weekend to help to swell the coffers. 120 cars started in the races and by the end of the day there was only one winner. The prize money of $1600 was donated by Mr Simcock and the money raised that day was largely responsible for the successful swimming pool fund.

One eyewitness described the day “ Cannibal Creek held an Aus-tralian Title for tqs. There were about one hundred and twenty cars in the pits. South Australia's "Lucky Foot" won the title as per usual, celebrations afterwards went long on into the night, we stood around the bon-fire most of the night having a few quiet beers while the wonderful ladies in the canteen kept the food coming. One of the ladies had been complaining about the ladies' toilet, they had been complaining to the committee for some time but nothing ever got done. The drivers decided to assist the ladies in their cause. The old timber toilet had shrunk in the weather and it was said that the "p" had been deleted from privacy. Piece by piece the ladies toilet ended up in the fire and the warmth was felt by one and all. The issue had been forced and the ladies got their new toilet for the next meeting."

The Creek only ran for a few years firstly as Cannibal Creek Speedway, and some-time later the track’s name was changed to Garfield Speedway and then the interest faded. Cannibal Creek (Garfield Speedway) was the fore runner within the dis-trict to the Wattle Park Venue. Wattle Park Speedway was a nearby existing Speedway that was operating at the time. It was later decided to close Garfield Speedway and the club would amalgamate with the Wattle Park Speedway club and rename the venue Garfield Wattle Speedway.

All of this was fore-runner of Nyora and Drouin Speedways which are still very active supported today.

By Linda Evans

With grateful thanks to Ivan Martin for your time and loan of photos.

Mob: 0448 803 499 Email: airconrus@hotkey.net.au

Email: airconrus@hotkey.net.au

Weekdays 9am – 5:30pm Saturday

9am-1:00pm

MEDICAL CLINIC OPEN Tues, Wed & Fri

9:30am -1pm

73-75 Main St. Garfield 3814. Ph 5629 2408

Fax 5629 2885

Your Local Chemist

GARFIELD PHARMACY

Main Street, Bunyip Shop 2/2-6

With the Corona Virus/Covid 19 impacting on our lives, I thought we could look at other diseases from the past and their impact on the community. Infectious diseases had to be notified to the Board of Health and the Shire Council Medical Officers included a list of the diseases in their Annual Report. In his 1948 annual report, the Shire of Berwick medical officer, Dr Farrell, reported there had been seven cases of scarlet fever, one each of polio, malaria, puerperal fever and tuberculosis and none of diphtheria.

If a person was sent to hospital with an infectious disease then it was reported to the local council and this became part of the medical officers report at Council meetings, thus we learn that in July 1910 Mr. T. Roper from Cora Lynn had typhoid and that in March 1917 Harry Evans from Cora Lynn had pulmonary tuberculosis. No privacy in those days.

Before antibiotics, other drugs and vaccinations communities tried all sorts of methods to slow the spread of diseases including the hot issue of the moment - Should we close down the schools? In July 1919, Bunyip and Longwarry State schools were closed due to Influenza. The Spanish influenza pandemic infected forty per cent of Australia’s population, and caused the death of 15,000 Aus-tralians. The Australian population at the time was just over five million.

Children were also kept home from school due to chicken pox outbreaks. The Dandenong Journal of October 2, 1930 reported that An epidemic of chicken pox is raging in the town, and over 20 children are away from the school - enjoying themselves, playing in the street. This was in Cranbourne, clearly the concept of self-isolation wasn’t being heeded.

In August 1937, Bunyip school was closed due to polio or infantile paralysis as it was known. 1937-1938 was an especially bad time for polio in Australia and the majority of the cases were children. Once again, the Dandenong Journal reported on parents whose children were home from school, but not isolated. A feature of the later stages of the epidemic of infantile paralysis has been the co-operation given by parents to the expert Consultive (sic) Council in its effort to restrict opportunities for the spread of the dis-ease. When the schools were first closed, complaints were made that parents were permitting their children to go into crowds, thus negativing the purpose of closing the schools. Since then, however, most parents have been careful to keep their children at home - in the danger area at any rate. There have been some individual cases of parents becoming panicky, but in the great majority of instances this is not so. Even in Parliament care has been taken not to encourage panic (Dandenong Journal, August 19, 1937)

In the summer of 1949/1950 my Dad, Frank Rouse, and other members of the Cora Lynn Scout Group had a camp on Fraser Island in Queensland. One of the boys at the camp developed polio and the whole camp had to be quarantined for a week; because Dad was only young, he thought it was great - an extra week’s holiday, however polio was a serious disease with lifetime consequences.

Another way to prevent the spread of disease was the suggestion in 1913 that all trains should have an ‘ambulance’ carriage attached. Before cars people would travel to hospital on the train. The Shire of Berwick’s Health Officer, Dr Oliver said that in 90 per cent of cases the infection is contracted in the germ-laden railway compartments. Thus, isolating the sick in the ‘ambulance’ car would help alleviate this.

Scarlet fever was one disease for which there were local reports for decades. One episode of scarlet fever was apparently trans-mitted by post - In one instance the malady was traced from an infected house in Melbourne to a house in South Gembrook, and it was transmitted by a letter through the post from one person to the other, The Age reported in September 1909. Typhoid was also prevalent.

One of the causes of infectious diseases was insanitary drains. In March 1914 there was a series of reports in the papers regarding the drains at Bunyip. Apparently, the drains were not cleaned during the summer months and thus they became a catchment for refuse water and odorous filth and this caused disease. The Berwick Shire disputed the state of the drains and said there had been no infectious disease in the town and that statements that disease had entered every house in the town were untrue. The newspa-per reports of the state of the health of the town of Bunyip led to a drop in tourism numbers - The Easter holidays passed off very quietly in Bunyip, not half the number of visitors of previous years coming to the town or district. The reason for this is hard to un-derstand, unless it be that many people stayed away because of the absurdly false reports spread by one or two "ratty" individuals that infectious diseases were rampant in Bunyip. (Bunyip Free Press, April 16, 1914)

There were some interesting cures written up in the newspapers in the 1880s and 1890s including drinking absinthe to cure chol-era. Absinthe had a very high alcohol content, so maybe if you drank enough the pain of the symptoms such as headaches, nausea, abdominal cramps just went away. Another interesting cure was tobacco smoke which could be used as a disinfectant to kill the cholera germ. Of course, we at the Garfield Spectator do not recommend taking up the consumption of absinthe or tobacco to pro-tect yourself from cholera or any other infectious disease.

By Heather Arnold harnold@dcsi.net.au

Quality local mixed Gum

A local family business proudly supplying the local communities with quality firewood for over 10 years

1 meter $110 2 meters $200

5 meters for $450 plus delivery

Redgum also available Ph Brendon on 0437192402

To John Collier, a Director of Urban Poly Tanks, Pakenham, who responded to the article regarding the theft of the wa-ter tank from the Community Garden in Beswick St recently.

Whilst he acknowledged the timely and generous donation of a tank by Brendon Sheedy from Bunyip, he realised that it was not the optimal model for the needs of the garden.

In another act of generosity for the Garden, he has donat-ed a specific type of 1000 litre tank that will be much better suited to the purpose.

John from Urban Poly Tanks and Meg Platte from the Com-munity Garden have been in contact and he has also been able to offer her invaluable advice. They hope to have the new tank delivered and in-stalled in the very near future. We will keep you posted.

Update – 28th March the new tank was installed today with its own security system.

Brendon’s tank will be invalua-ble as a demonstration model for people to learn to create their own wicking beds ‘ when life gets back to normal.” Thank you again John.

By Linda Evans

Dead trees restored to life in the form of attractive and hard-

wearing rustic furniture.

Coffee tables, side tables, dining tables, mantelpieces

Stock items or made to order

SOME ITEMS ON DISPLAY IN BREWSTER's CAFÉ FOR A LIMITED TIME

The Garfield Community Garden 'seeded' at a public meeting in 2015. Until the conditions were right and the seed sprouted at the end of a cold, wet winter, August 23rd, 2018. Ground was broken- and plants were planted. Fast forward 18 months and it is now a thriving garden. Garfield Community Garden (GCG) is an all inclusive garden, with no allotment beds. This community garden is for you, me, and all our neighbours. GCG endeavours to nurture a community oasis, growing a pro-ductive and beautiful garden for everyone to enjoy. Walking through the garden, one word can summarise it: quirky! With many influences- this space is not short of creativi-ty and artistic expression. With “Bob” the tractor sitting proudly at the entrance, there are many wonders for young and old. There's a tractor, tyre sandpit, equipped with shovels and trucks, plenty of hidey holes from the bean teepee to the sun-flower house. A hidden pond, and seating galore. Donations to the garden have been generous. With too many to be able to mention in such a short paragraph- be it an object or effort, each one has been a wonderful and welcomed addition. In May 2019, as part of a capital works grant through Cardinia Council, the gardens communal pergola was erected. This is shared and enjoyed by all; the tennis club, local picnicers, play-group, and of course for cuppas with the “Green Team.” The “Green Team” consists of a core team of 10-15 local resi-dents who undertake committee duties. We meet at the garden each weekend. Dates available on our Facebook page. Commu-nal gardening days are filled with updates to the garden, little

projects, weeding, weeding, harvesting, some weeding, and always a warm cuppa under the pergola. Whilst some days in the garden may give you whip lash, it won’t be long until our indigenous plantation grows to provide a wind break to our production beds, granting habitat for local birds and bandicoots. In July 2019 the indigenous area was planted out in conjunction with Planet Ark national tree day. Students from Garfield Prima-ry School & locals joined together to plant, utilising a grant through Westernport Catchment Landcare as part of the Nectar Feeders Project. Composting at the garden is ever evolving. We are in the pro-cess of building a new bay system., moving away from our ex-isting black plastic bins. According to “Foodwise Facts Australia” – 40% of the average Australian household bins are comprised of compostable food scraps. The issue with putting compostable material into our household bins is that they end up in landfill. The garbage is so tightly packed that the conditions do not allow those scraps to breakdown but stores them in anaerobic conditions which then produces methane gas. In short, binning scraps is really bad for our environment. The GCG team are passionate about changing the stats. We welcome your kitchen scraps as part of our “share waste” ideal. Whilst lots of projects are on the horizon, the garden is still young, but as any gardener knows, the work is never done. The weeds will continue to grow, the beds will continue to need tending, and the cuppas will be forever warm. By Ash McComb Bunyip resident, GCG Volunteer.

Mulch Top up mulch on your veggie patches, herb gardens and flower beds, especially important for weed suppression at this time of year. Mulch after watering - to a depth of about 7cm. Keep mulch clear of plant stems… especially young seedlings. Choose a mulch that will enrich your soil as it breaks down. Plant Food Plants need a feed at this time of year. A seaweed tea, or any low envi-ronmental impact liquid fertiliser, great for the seedlings you’ve just planted. Apply to the soil early in the morning, and in the concentrations as per the packet. Weeding A necessary job - good to do at this time of year. Cut down the competition between your plants and tidy up your patch. Water Smart Water first thing in the morning - a nice, deep drink a couple of times a week is far more beneficial than a quick watering.

Planting for March

Sow Seeds direct in soil

Broad beans, Beetroot, Carrot, Chives, Coriander, Daikon Radish, Endive,

Florence Fennel, Leeks, Mizuna, Mustard Greens, Oregano, Pak Choy,

Parsley, Radish, Rocket, Shallots, Silverbeet, Spinach, Turnip

Start in seed trays or plant out (transplant) seedlings or sow seed

Lettuce

Start undercover in seed trays to plant out in 4-6 weeks

Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage, Kale

Planting for April

Sow Seeds direct in soil

Broad beans, Beetroot, Carrot, Chives, Endive, Florence Fennel, Leeks,

Mizuna, Mustard Greens, Oregano, Pak Choy, Parsley, Peas, Radish,

Rocket, Shallots, Silverbeet, Sno Peas, Spinach, Turnip

Start in seed trays or plant out (transplant) seedlings or sow seed

Lettuce

Start undercover in seed trays to plant out in 4-6 weeks

Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage, Kale,

Plant out – Transplant Seedlings

Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Kale, Leek, Lettuce,

Onion, Garlic – Plant Cloves

Courtesy of the Garfield Community Garden

Happy Planting­

J

There was a good attendance

at our AGM. The President

outlined his experience of

the past year and thanked all

of his Committee for the

support given to him and

wished the incoming Com-

mittee all the very best for

the coming year.

The walking group met early

one morning to travel down

to ERICA for this month's

walk, lunch and some had a

look at the Thompson Dam

before heading home.

A group of us went the West

Gippsland Art Centre to see

the show 'Partners in Crime

'staring Rhonda Burch-

more and Lara Mulcahy. It

was full of fun as they fea-

tured duos like Sonny and

Cher, The Blues Broth-

ers,Dolly and Kenny. It was a

great show. We then had

lunch at the Golf Club.

The Fantastic Flicks of the

40’s and 50’s film group

looked at An Ace in the Hole

starring Kirk Douglas (due to

his death).

We were all sadden with the

loss of our member

Frank Regan and send our

condolences to Therese and

her family. At one stage,

Frank held the position of

Treasurer for 2 years and

joined in the many activities

along with Therese his wife.

Frank was a quiet and friend-

ly man who will be missed by

many.

By Helen Peggie

Following the Australian Government directive on 22/3/2020 that all places of worship should close there will be no worship services or other church gatherings until further notice.

Website: www.bunyipdistrictunitingchurch.wordpress.com/home

For further information please email: bduc.uca@gmail.com

To all the parishioners of Corpus Christi Church and all

who read this, we highly encourage the Holy rosary of

Mary in these times of trial. Meditate on the Passion of

Our Saviour Jesus Christ in these last wo weeks of Lent.

Trust Mary and Jesus. Lay hold of miraculous medals

for protection against evil. (Contact 0488994323 for

medals and Scapulars).

May God bless you

BUNYIP DISTRICT UNITING CHURCH

'‘Linking God and Community’.

BUNYIP – GARFIELD – LONGWARRY

WORSHIP SERVICES

Well known local Russell Loughridge was playing golf on March 21st with 3 of his mates at our beautiful Garfield Golf Course. He hit off on the par 4 2nd hole and the almost unbelievable hap-pened. The ball he hit landed in the hole in ONE shot. A rare occurrence, (12,000 to 1) however it was also an ALBATROSS very much rarer- (3 under Par). In fact stats tell us that is a 6 MILLION to One occurance.

Congratulations Russell!

By Gwen, O info & photos by Jenelle

Hello, Sorry for not making the monthly editions every time - the

figures in our industry definitely look better when you only do it for

one month.

Please look after each other and keep talking to each other about

things - sometimes it makes the difference that you don’t even

know about.

It looks like we have a couple of our trusty thieves back and active

again and previous lessons taught appear to have only been tem-

porary. You know your area as good as anyone, so please keep

aware and report stuff if it doesn’t seem right.

On the statistical side, locally we have been involved in the follow-

ing:

135 preliminary breath tests conducted.

31 people assisted and referred to other agencies for treat-

ment and counselling.

19 people and vehicles field contacted for suspected crimi-

nal behaviour; eight in Nar Nar Goon Nth; four each in Gar-

field Nth & Bunyip; two in Tynong Nth and one in Tynong.

14 Family Incident reports; five in NNG; three in Iona; two

each in Tynong Nth & Bunyip; one each in Nar Nar Goon Nth

and Garfield.

Nine Family Intervention Orders issued and served.

Seven separate instances of Intervention Order breaches

investigated and people charged.

Eight people arrested and thirteen going to court for crimi-

nal or traffic related matters.

Seven local collisions on major roads involving seven cars;

two trucks; an unregistered quad bike; a cow; and a pedes-

trian – resulting in 6 people going to hospital or worse –

and which were caused by a variety of things including hu-

man error; a medical condition; drug and alcohol consump-

tion.

Five traffic infringements notices (fines) issued.

Three people arrested on outstanding warrants.

Two searches for missing people.

Two firearms storage inspections conducted.

The term ‘Recividist’ is very relevant to police when applied in

Family Violence situations and Intervention Orders.

Other things reported during this period and under investigation

have been:

Theft of motor cars; two in Garfield that had toolboxes in

the back; and one from Bunyip which was recovered locally

the following morning.

Thefts from vehicles; tools and number plates from separate

cars in Garfield; wallets and ID in Bunyip and Longwarry

Nth; wheels from a car on the Hwy near Maryknoll; batter-

ies, wheels & complete undercarriage from electronic sign-

age trailers on the Hwy near Garfield Nth.

Thefts; two canoes from a property in Tynong Nth; a water

tank from a community location in Garfield; food from a

shop in Bunyip; from unattended rural properties in NNG

Nth and Bunyip Nth - motor bikes and a trailer from one & a

motorbike and tools from the other.

Burglaries and thefts; from community locations in Garfield

and Tonimbuk - a cash register and cash from one and vol-

unteers tools from the other; food items from a volunteer

storage premise in Bunyip; cash and alcohol from a retail

premise in Garfield; an online theft of money as a result of

electronic transfers by victims for false sales.

Lost property; purses in Bunyip; jewellery in Garfield Nth;

number plates near Garfield and NNG.

Some locally significant crime solutions were:

A 28 yr old Bunyip woman being arrested as a result of the

investigation into a theft from a Bunyip shop after which a

male threatened an employee with a knife.

A 30 yr old Pakenham man arrested for trespassing and

other issues at a property he thought he was related to in

Maryknoll.

16 yr old Pakenham youth arrested for the burglary at a

local hotel, as well as a series of other non-local burglaries,

and remanded in custody (again).

A man was interviewed in relation to a Tynong Nth theft.

It looks like things are pretty active locally according to above info,

but they are pretty good when you consider the size of our area

and the timeframe. The respect that most locals have for the area

and people is considerable and very noticeable to metropolitan

people.

We enjoy being involved in the community side of things, assisting

with long term planning and strategies for the local area, and help-

ing fix things before they get out of hand. Please contact us if

you’ve got any ideas.

For any immediate emergency service assistance and attendance

please ring 000. Victoria Police also have another number –

131444 for any other police assistance or reporting - or you can

contact us on any of below details.

There were some kids from Nar Nar Goon that were going to con-

tact me – has anyone seen tPks?

Danny Hower, Victoria Police Sergeant 26184, Bunyip Police Station, 4 Pearson St, Bunyip, 3815, VIC

BUNYIP-UNI-OIC@police.vic.gov.au daniel.hower@police.vic.gov.au

PH 5629 5205 F 5629 5999

EASTER GREETINGS

The Covid-19 Virus or the Corona Virus has changed our lives very dramatically over the last few weeks

and will continue to do so over the next few months. We will not be able to carry out our normal way of

celebrating Easter, whether that be Easter holidays, Easter family celebrations or even going to our

church at Easter for our customary religious celebrations. This is not a

pleasant prospect.

Perhaps now is a time to reflect upon the true meaning of Easter. It is

far more than Easter eggs, the Easter bunny and Easter holidays. Easter

is a time to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead to save us

from the evil we have committed. It is the joyful part of the Easter sea-

son.

However it is also very important to remember the lead up to Easter.

On Good Friday we commemorate Jesus dying on the cross for us. There

could be no Easter Sunday without Jesus first having died.

At present, as we are experiencing the very extreme measures which

have been put into place to fight the Corona Virus, we need to remem-

ber the agony which Jesus experienced as he was dying on the cross.

He cried out with great anguish, ‘My God, my God, why have you for-

saken me?’ (Mark 15:34) Perhaps we are feeling very much like that at this time.

It is important for us to remember when we are feeling down that, just as for Jesus his suffering and

death led to the joy of the resurrection, our present very trying time will also come to an end and lead to

happier times. As going to Good Friday and Easter services will not be possible this year you might like to

contact your local priest, minister or pastor to find out details about podcasts or streaming of Good Fri-

day and Easter services on the internet.

In conclusion, I would like to wish you all a very Blessed and Happy Easter. May we make it a more happy

Easter by being on the look-out for and more ready to help those caught in desperate situations because

of the effects of the Corona Virus.

May God bless you,

Fr. Peter Kooloos.

Parish Priest - St John the Baptist, Koo Wee Rup, and St Joseph’s, Iona-Maryknoll.

P.S. Catholics who wish to follow Mass on Demand on line may access it on this link at a time suitable

for you: https://www.youtube.com/user/cathnews

SOME ITEMS ON DISPLAY IN BREWSTER's CAFÉ FOR A LIMITED TIME

BUNYIP SINGERS Meet every Monday at 9.30am in the supper room at Bunyip Hall. Contact Dorothy Myers. PH: 5629 5601

BUNYIP SLIMMERS CLUB Meets Wednesday 5-15 pm. Uniting Church hall Nash Rd Bunyip. Maree McRae – 0468 411 144.

GARFIELD ANGLING CLUB Meet 1st Monday of the month at the Garfield Golf Club. P.O. Box 145, Garfield. Contact Tony 0409 189 989.

GARFIELD BOWLING CLUB P.O. Box 85, Garfield. Club House PH: 5629 2384

Phone Gordon; 0432 355 352

Tournament or Twilight Bowls Mob. 0409 154 149

GARFIELD COMMUNITY HALL For bookings PH: Melva - 5629 2748 or 0427 292 748

GARFIELD COMMUNITY OP SHOP 71 Main St Garfield. Monday to Friday 9.30am-4.30pm, Saturday 9.30am-12.30pm PH:0459 982 338

COMBINED PROBUS CLUB OF GARFIELD & BUNYIP Meet 1st Tuesday of month at Community Centre, Garfield. PH: Glenda 0410 036 837

GARFIELD FOOTBALL CLUB P.O. Box 92, Garfield. Contact Michael 0414 666 715

GARFIELD GOLF CLUB P.O.Box 78, 180 Thirteen Mile Rd, Garfield. PH: 5629 2794 FAX: 5629 2353 EMAIL: garfieldgolf@bigpond.com WEB: www.garfieldgolf.com.au

GARFIELD NETBALL ASSOCIATION P.O.Box 39, Garfield. PH: Marg 0419 895 123

GARFIELD PHARMACY MEDICAL CLINIC PH: 5629 2408 - 73-75 Main St, Garfield. Clinic OPEN EVERY WEEKDAY.

GARFIELD PLAYGROUP Meets every Friday 9.30am - 12pm at Garfield Community Centre. P.O. Box 47, Garfield. PH: Lara 0421 150 855, Erin 0422 544 771

GARFIELD PRESCHOOL KINDER P.O.Box 24, 29-31 Garfield Rd, Garfield.PH: 5629 2208

GARFIELD PRIMARY SCHOOL 84 Railway Ave, Garfield. PH: 5629 2274

GARFIELD RECREATION RESERVE P.O.Box 28, Garfield. PH: Marg 0419 895 123

GARFIELD & BUNYIP ROTARY CLUB P.O. Box 19, Garfield. Meet every Wednesday at Garfield Bowling Club, Contact: Graeme Squires: 0417 105 598

GARFIELD 1ST SCOUT GROUP Cubs (Aged 8-11yr) meet every Tuesday at the hall, 6.30pm to 8pm. 1 Beswick Street, Garfield. Contact Steve Jensen on gl.garfield1st@vicscouts.asn.au or 0410 455 068.

GARFIELD SWIMMING POOL PH: 5629 2780

GARFIELD TENNIS CLUB PH: Michelle 5629 2979 OR 0409 142 318

GARFIELD - TYNONG CRICKET CLUB Titans P.O. Box 108, Garfield. Glen PH: 0425 883 568 Jason PH: 0422 309 933. Beswick St, Garfield. PH: 5629 4423

GARFIELD UNITING CHURCH Margaret PH: 5629 2318

JUSTICE OF THE PEACE

Mrs Dale White JP for Victoria #8942

0407093622 - Garfield

Mr Martin Sayers OAM JP 0411074468

MT CANNIBAL RESERVE Garfield. PH: 1300 787 624

MT CANNIBAL ADULT RIDING CLUB INC Meet 2nd Wednesday & 4th Saturday of the month. Contact president PH: 5942 8314

THE FRIENDS OF GARFIELD INCORPORATED Contact Denise Smithwick 0478 350 170 or Vice President Mary White 5629 2620

WESTERNPORT INDIGENOUS NURSERY (WIN) Open Tuesday mornings 10am to 12pm. Located behind the Tynong Council Depot & CFA. PH: Adele 0417 373 690

EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR LOCATIONS

Garfield Bowling Club Beswick Street

Garfield Recreation Reserve Beswick Street

Garfield Golf Club 180 Thirteen Mile Rd

Garfield Post Office 77 Main Street

Garfield Recreation Reserve Beswick Street

If you are a member of any these community groups please notify us if any of

these details are incorrect.

If you are a member of a club not listed here and would like to add your club's

details please contact us at garfieldspectator@gmail.com

s

What is coronavirus?

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses which

may cause illness in animals or humans.

The most recently discovered coronavirus (COVID-

19) is a new virus that can cause an infection in

people, including a severe respiratory illness.

Who is at risk?

We are still learning about this new virus. Early

indications are that people over 65 and people with

pre-existing medical conditions such as heart and

lung disease are more at risk of experiencing

severe symptoms

What are the symptoms of COVID-19?

Many people will suffer only mild symptoms those

most at risk may experience severe symptoms.

The most common symptoms include:

Fever

Breathing difficulties such as breathlessness

Cough

Sore throat

Fatigue or tiredness.

How does COVID-19 spread?

COVID-19 spreads through close contact with an

infected person; mostly face-to-face or within a

household. It cannot jump across a room or be

carried for long distances in the air.

• Close contact means greater than 15 minutes face-to-face or the sharing of a closed space for more than two hours with a confirmed case.

• A close contact could include any person meeting any of the following criteria:

• living in the same household or household-like setting (for example, a boarding school or hostel)

• direct contact with the body fluids or laboratory specimens of a confirmed case

• a person who spent two hours or longer in the same room

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

Factsheet for people aged over 65 years

Authorised and published by the Victorian Government, 1

Treasury Place, Melbourne.

© State of Victoria, Department of Health and Human Ser-

vices, 5 March 2020.