Hello Friends,
We hope you enjoy the Newsletter .......
What a day to remember!
I quote from Pat O'Connor's letter Dated 24th of November 2000 "Dear
Friends,
On the eleventh we could not believe the transformation since ANZAC Day. The
trees looked majestic and the cairn was in place. The dedication and the RSL
services were impressive. Then there was the memorabilia and the entertainment.
What a great and memorable day.
When we met on ANZAC Day 1999 FRIENDS had only been going for a couple of months
and there was a mammoth task ahead. We caught up again at the June working bee.
By then the surface had been scratched but there was along way to go...
This whole project has not happened without untold hours of voluntary labour and
many nights burning the
midnight oil. For such a small community to have achieved what they have in less
than two years is
remarkable.
All too often when a job is finished the many, many people who have made it
happen do not gee the thanks
they deserve. We would tike to say thank you and congratulations to all those
involved ... We know that their efforts have given the Avenue a new lease of
life and that our dad's tree is now in very caring hands.
Many thanks
The O'Connor Family"
THANKS to everyone who attended and supported Commemoration and Remembrance
Day, especially :
Michael Ronaldson MHR, Joe Helper MLA, The Hepburn Shire, Councillor Lou Newman
and Bob Orr, The Creswick Municipal Band, The Creswick Blue Light/RSL Light Horse Troup , Jeff
McMillan - the RSL and Ladies Auxiliary, St John's Ambulance, The Kingston Show Grounds, Kingston
Community Recreation Centre, Scrub Hill Uniting Church, Kingston Inn Social Club, Bill Williams' - piper, Don
Matthews - Salvation Army Chaplain, Suzie Koene - bugler, Julie Lindsay video, Alan Hives and Janet McCrae
- photographs, The Wendouree Harmonica Band and the Ballarat Highland Dancers Association, The
Kingston Primary School and the Seven Hills Cluster poster competition.
If people would like a copy, please send a video and donation to cover postage
costs to -
Friends c/- Kingston
Post Office, 3364
Card sales Cards available at $2 each.
WEB SITE
Many thanks to Michael Allen - DAYLESFORD MULTIMEDIA, c/- Post Office, Kingston
3364 - who has
helped us to publish information.
The Web Address is http://www.vicnet.net/~kingcomm
- go to Avenue
Photos of Remembrance Day and newsletters are housed here. If you are interested
in working on the site let us know.
By special request -May Townsend wrote this poem for our Rededication Service
on
Remembrance Day. May lived through the bombing raids in England during the
Second World War.
The soundings of a million trumpets, the
smashing of a million dreams, as once
again the War Lords hailed them as around
the world they beamed. "Harken to the call
we send you, the fight for freedom is here
again." Heeding well the call to service,
young and old together came.
Under most horrific bombings, under the
stress and strain of war, after the loss of
friends and loved ones, those who could
came home once more, marching now on
remembrance days heads held high, those
who remain remember sadly and relive
those angry times again.
Avenues of Honour flourish, Obelisks and
names remain, those who lived through
awful horrors, do not wish for war again,
memories of young folk marching, sinking
ships and bombing raids, let all people
reverence Remembrance, and let Peace
forever reign.
The Management Plan is well underway. Shane and Therese Jeffrey have spent many
hours working on it. It
will be presented to the Hepburn Shire and published on our Web Site by the end
of the year.
WORKING BEE
Sunday October 7th.
Starting at 10 am at the Cairn Please sign the register
Shane Jeffrey, arborist will demonstrate how to prune the suckers properly.
Due to the imminent presence of the elm leaf beetle we need to clean up as many hedge suckers as we can and to prune the trees in the township.
A Sausage sizzle lunch will[ be provided @ 50c a snag
Please bring own drinks; and picnic if required.
Some tools will be available. If you are able, please bring your own.
Sunday November 11th at 11am Please assemble at the Monument for the
Remembrance Day Service.
Lunch at the Kingston Inn. Please make a booking ph: 53 456 301
FRIENDS of the AVENUE wish Brian and Josie Reasons all the best in the new
chapter of their lives. Brian and Josie decided to make Wynham near Brisbane
their home. We thank them for their tireless
contributions to The Avenue and our community generally.
We have decided to publish one newsletter per year, in September.
We are continuing to receive stories, with thanks but we still have a lot of
histories to collect. So please let us know about how your family is connected
to the Avenue. Please prepare a profile that includes where your relative
enlisted, what they did before the War, Date of Birth and age, experience of the
War, if they returned,
what did they do, where did they go when they returned? etc
Please forward contact addresses and telephone numbers as well.
Advice courtesy of Jean and Jim Pasco
When researching Jean's father's service
through the ...
WW1 Personal Records Office
The National Archives
Box 7425
Canberra Mail Centre 2610
... they discovered that there were a lot of George Williams' registered. It is
helpful if you can provide the VX -number and the Unit number of the person you
are researching. It costs $32 for a complete service record.
We are hoping to procure a State Government Grant to assist in compiling
the stories in the future. If anyone interested in assisting with seeking
funding or compiling stories please contact us.
High Fives to
• To all the families who have made donations.
• To all the families who have compiled stories.
• To Michael Ronaldson, Gary Lindsay and to the Lindsay children for setting
up and taking care of the flag at the Monument.
• To Brian Reasons for mowing the Monument grass and to Peter Laurie for
taking over this responsibility.
•To Heather, Kerrie and Robert Leishman for maintaining the grass around the
cairn.
•To the Hepburn Shire for their financial assistance restoration work.
•To all the Volunteers and Businesses who have contributed.
Thumbs Down
•To the dreaded elm leaf beetle.
Unfortunately the Elm Leaf Beetle has been found in Ballarat and Chines. It is
only a matter of time before it reaches the Kingston Avenue.
Any concerns or queries please contact:
Andrew Bourke of the Hepburn Shire ph: 53
481633
AND Shane Jeffrey ph: 53 207404
OR David Grant ph: 53 205761
The beetle itself is about the size of a dung beetle, brown with orange brown
stripes.
Keep an eye out for "shot holes" in the leaves. Damaged leaves have a
similar appearance to pear slug damage.
Pictures of the beetle and damage, are displayed at the school, the Store and
the
Hotel and on our Web site.Can the trees be protected against the beetle?
Yes for a cost. There is a treatment that inhibits the damage for two years. It
costs
$100 per tree. 286 trees times $100 = $28,600 every two years.
The group Friends of Elms phone 0409870860 may also be interested.
Please ring David Poole Hepburn Shire ph:
0419 583 573 if branches need removal.
A "hearty welcome to Peter and Christine Laurie who have bought the Hotel
and made Kingston their home. They have named their House White -"The
Avenue".
They have provided a gallery space for Avenue memorabilia in the Dining Room and
have set up a display of our work so far. (This information was of considerable
interest to the GET AWAY TV Crew who dined at the Inn recently. They intend
including the Avenue and the District in a feature next year.)
The Remembrance Day video can be viewed there. All photos and stories collected
to date wilt be available when we can arrange suitable storage.
Resources needed- Can you help?
We need old/ new/ unused/ disused picture frames to display memorabilia and
additional information.
Have you got a filing cabinet that you don't need any more?
Please contact Peter or Chris ph: 53 456 301
The inaugural May Townsend Community Service Award was presented to
FRIENDS by the Kingston Primary School Council at their end of year concert
2000.
Hepburn Shire's Citizen of the Year Award -
I was overwhelmed and very humbled to receive the 2001, Citizen of the Year
Award.
I take this opportunity to say thanks to all those who have been involved in our
project. Special thanks goes to the ever willing Friends of the Avenue Committee
and the silent partners, who are always there to do the things that need to be
done.
Julie BaulchEditor
The Friends' Committee is made up of:
Julie Baulch, Tony Farmilo, Alistair Fisher, Ian Flynn, Anne Gleeson, Jeremy Harper,
Laurel James, Shane Jeffrey, Heather Leishman, Jenny McKinnon, Jeff McMillan, Lou Newman, Brian and Josie Reasons,
Marg Robinson, Claire Stephens, Alan, Chris and Dawn Wright.
Feel free to contact any of us with
queries, information, donations or
suggestions. c/o POST OFFICE,
KINGSTON 3364