Town Talk | Where great things are unfolding every day!

By Marnie

Apr 8, 2024

Flowing forward: Shepparton Waterworks Trust Building and Tower. Photo by Contributed

Hello out there!

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It’s great to have you back. Hope your Easter was relaxing – and some fun was had by all.

This week, I’ve been pleased by some of the things happening in our region. It is always exciting when the hard work and perseverance of local people pay off and when good ideas begin to solve entrenched problems. There has been quite a lot of this happening in Greater Shepparton.

Good things are happening

I was tempted to use the council’s marketing strap line, ‘Great things happen here’, for that headline. Very tempted – but I thought they might be cross with me.

Shortly, new signage will be revealed in Monash Park. The panels will tell of Shepparton’s unique history, with an emphasis on our river. In July of 2019, the Shepparton Heritage Centre applied for a $5000 community matching grant and was successful.

However, this was 2019, and COVID was on its way.

Recently, when putting the story of Turaton together, I wrote that we may never know how much the lockdowns actually affected our community. But, in this case, after a two-year hiatus, the participants were able to bounce back. John Dainton was leading the project with the Heritage Centre, the Heritage Advisory Committee, RiverConnect, and, of course, Greater Shepparton City Council, all involved.

Inevitably, given what was happening around us, costs increased substantially. The council, along with some private financial support, enabled the project to be completed. None of this was easy, and I must once again mention John Dainton, whose perseverance and patience were admirable.

The signage covers many subjects, including – Port Shepparton, pastoral stations, McGuire’s Punt, Foresters’ Hall, river trade, bridges, fun on the river, early town centre, early industries, Furphy’s Foundry, Bryant and Sheil Brewery, the redirection of the river, and Shepparton township.

A function had been organised for this coming Saturday but, unfortunately, it has had to be postponed – through no fault of the organisers.

However, this is just one of the good things that has happened.

Plaques for our historic buildings

This is another project that was held up by lockdowns and price increases. Driven by the Heritage Centre, Greater Shepparton Heritage Advisory Committee, and the council, a function will be announced shortly to fully inform the public. More than 60 of these attractive blue plaques will soon appear on heritage buildings around Greater Shepparton to remind, inform and educate all of us.

It has been three years since I first wrote about this project, and work began on it a couple of years ago. Another good thing is happening.

Help for our early learning centres

As we all know, early learning centres around the country are having difficulty getting and keeping qualified staff. A project supported by WomenCAN, the Bowden Marstan Foundation, the Greater Shepparton Foundation and the Greater Shepparton City Council is an important step forward.

Women from diverse cultures have been invited to complete a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care while working in our local centres. This sounds like a great solution for a multicultural city, a great opportunity for the women involved, and the perfect time to introduce our children to other cultures.

The project can support 20 women, and this must be a win-win solution.

Yet another good thing is happening.

Educating the educators

Australia needs good teachers, and an extensive support structure is in place for those just starting their careers.

However, Greater Shepparton Secondary College has a unique method to ensure first-year teachers start off well. Executive Principal Barbara O’Brien contacted three former senior, successful teachers to observe and give one-on-one feedback to 15 new staff members. Mick Bastion, Janet Gill Kirkman and Jan Gregory are providing weekly coaching, and surely, this is helpful and reassuring to new teachers.

Due to the school holidays, I was unable to contact Barbara for more information, but it sounds like another good idea.

A sensible decision

After all the controversy surrounding the Parkside Drive land, it makes sense to sell some to the Health Department for our Early Parenting Centre — which will benefit many. Suzanna Sheed reached an agreement with the department some time ago, and the search has been on for land.

And selling some to GV Health also makes a great deal of sense. Our hospital has been struggling to get staff because there are very few rentals available, and putting people up in apartments has been very expensive. GV Health will build apartments on the land and either save money or find it easier to get staff, perhaps both. Although this will help just one section of our community, the hospital is a very important section.

Our rubbish

I’m sure many of you were as delighted as I was when our local company FOOTT was successful in the battle to collect our bins. I understand there were difficulties early in the process, but what a great outcome.

By the way, there is a container deposit facility on Carroll Rd, Shepparton East — the first turn to the left after Darryl Twitt Motors. This is a good fundraiser, particularly for sporting clubs. If every member of a team was encouraged to take cans, cartons and bottles to FOOTT’s facility, the credits would add up quickly.

It is open Monday to Saturday, 8am to 4pm.

Our city council

In the past, I have criticised the council when I thought it justified – for a decision I thought was made too early and for the deplorable shortage of land when hundreds of Shepparton families were keen to build. I thought we missed a real growth opportunity.

However, all things considered, I reckon our council is doing well. It uses a great deal of common sense and is involved in all of the good things that are happening.

The elections are coming up, and personally, I think the new rules being enforced by the state government are ridiculous and will be difficult for individual councillors. It is a backward step, and I can’t see it benefiting the city. However, I wish them all well in their decision-making.

Apprentice gangsters – not a local story

The young gangsters, who are making headlines in several cities, are beyond my understanding. What makes a 12-year-old boy want to bash a 90-year-old man with a baseball bat?

Did they learn respect from parents who respected one another? Was compassion demonstrated in their home? Where is love in their lives? What on earth has caused this?

Recently, I watched and listened to a gentleman – around 70 years old – whose home had been invaded three times. He was concerned about a couple, ‘just down the street’, whose home had also been invaded three times. They are in their 90s. He said, ‘This is Australia. We care about one another. For generations, our young people have fought wars to protect this country. This has to stop.’ This was in Toowoomba, which is about two hours from Brisbane, with a population of about 100,000.

The children are, in some cases, being employed by adult gangs to do their dirty work for them. However, some are just individuals ‘having fun’. Apparently, it is fun for a 13-year-old to steal a car, smoke dope and run over a couple of cyclists. He is caught and then bailed – for the third time.

No one wants to lock up children, but something must be done — and parents have to be responsible. If our young boys had broken a neighbour’s window with a cricket ball, we’d have replaced the glass. I can’t recall this happening, but we certainly discussed the possibility with the boys. I have always assumed that parents are responsible for their children.

Surely, the parents of these young gangsters are responsible. Surely they should be called in for a conference – maybe they need help? Perhaps a fine would frighten them into action; I really don’t know.

The state government is talking about putting the children in ‘bracelets’ sometime later in the year. Although it is becoming a national issue, it is spreading. And why wait a few months when the unacceptable is happening now? Aside from the harm being done and the damage caused, these young people will grow up — and what will we have then? An army of hardened, heartless crooks.

Sweden has also had this youth problem for some time now – and there are guns involved. The country now has the highest gun murder rate in Europe.

I suppose we can only continue to hold hope and love in our hearts. And encourage the state government to act now.

Flies don’t live long.

As I write, a pesky little fly is annoying me. When I went to the cupboard to get the fly spray, it disappeared for a while. Now it’s back — flying away when I reach for the spray.

The average fly lives for less than a month. How do they get to be smart alecks in 28 days? It took me much longer than that!

Bye for now. Take care, and may it be easy, my friends.

Marnie