September 2016 Volume 71

Check out the new Elphinstone town map

Have you noticed the lovely new

artistic map of Elphinstone that has
been erected opposite the pub?
Publicans Chris and Mani say that
they have seen several groups of
people pull up and use the map
already.
The map was funded by money
provided by Mount Alexander Shire
Council to be used to implement
any project from the Elphinstone
Town Plan (which was launched at
the Spice Up Elphinstone event last
September) as well as a
Strengthening Our Communities
Grant, also awarded by Mount
Alexander Shire Council.
The
Elphinstone
Progress
Association worked with local
business
Sentient
Design
www.sentientdesign.com.au
to

make the tough decisions about

what area to include, what sort of
look and feel the map should have,
how to represent local businesses,
etc.
We also carefully considered where
to place the map so that visitors
would notice it but also to not
detract from the war memorial,
tree planting and other features of
the area.
The end product really enhances
the area - or at least we think so!
The design and colour choices look
welcoming and make a statement
to visitors and residents alike that
there are places to go in
Elphinstone!
Fiona Gatt, for the EPA

NEXT EDITION
Articles and advertising for the
December Elpho Info are due by
Monday 7 November 2016.
Email elphoinfo@gmail.com
For billing queries contact Gill at the
shop.
Elpho Info is a member of the
Community Newspapers Association
of Victoria.
The Elpho Info can be read online:
http://elphoinfo.blogspot.com.au

Amity Bradford (Editor)

Can you sing for a new Town Centre?

The Elphinstone Progress Association
(EPA) has had a number of productive
meetings with Shire officers about the
Town Square proposal, with the Shire
undertaking a detailed contour and
features survey to allow assessment of
the drainage. Following this, the Shire
has arranged for a more detailed plan
to be prepared by Consulting Civil
Engineers
which
takes
into
consideration where the water goes
as well as street beautification works.
You may also have noticed that an old
drain along the side of the Hotel has
been unearthed by Council in recent
weeks.
One issue to be resolved is the
location of the bus stop and shelter,
and it is intended that members of the
EPA will meet with Castlemaine Bus
Lines in the near future to get their
input. However once this is resolved
the EPA will need to raise funds to
actually progress the plan into

something physical.
To this end, the EPA will run the first
Great Elpho Karaoke Night, on
Saturday 22 October at the
Elphinstone Hotel. A wide selection of
hits from the 60s through to today
will be available to choose from, so its
time to turn the shower to Maximum
Overdrive, lather up and get
practicing!
A number of people have indicated
that this type of activity has been
sadly lacking in Elphinstone, so it
should be a good night, all welcome,
including those who think they can
sing - and those who like to watch
people who think they can sing!

News Flash
It is rumoured in the town that bar
staff at the Elphinstone Hotel will have
supporting
karaokeenhancing
supplementary beverages for sale at

the bar at very reasonable prices.

Some of these have been rigorously
tested by athletic Russians in the yetto-be approved Winter Olympic
category of Grizzly-bear Wrestling
held at a special camp in the Dark
Woods. The trial was deemed to be a
success, and apparently there were a
lot of hung-over Grizzlies heading
home the next day. Testing by
authorities has revealed that the taps
have indeed tested positive but only
to the presence of beer, with a good
range of strengths and varieties. They
also warned of a possible side-effect
known as Making a Complete Fool of
Myself and Going Viral on social
media. You have been warned.
Karaoke responsibly, know your limit.

For more details see Chris and Mani at

the Hotel and the poster on the
opposite page.
Mike Reeves, for the EPA

Student Exchange - Make the World Your Home

Guten Tag or GDay, my name is
Pauline and I was an exchange student
from Germany. Earlier this year I spent
four months in Castlemaine, went to
Castlemaine Secondary College (CSC)
and stayed with an amazing family.
My host family and I spent a lot of
time together. We went to the
Grampians where we went hiking and
I got to see my first koala, waterskiing,
playing tennis together, and the list
goes on and on. I also enjoyed our
dinnertimes and our big family
gatherings as it made me feel like part
of the family.
Sometimes people ask me if it was
hard to adjust to a new culture and
make friends. Adjusting to a new
culture is never easy especially when
there is the difference of sky and earth

between the cultures, or in English,

when our cultures are poles apart. But
the people in Castlemaine made it
easy for me to feel welcome and
comfortable.

I would like to thank everyone,

especially my family, friends and
teachers, who made my student
exchange experience one of the best
times of my life.

Another great experience was going to

school and I really enjoyed cooking
classes. We had so much fun in our
classes and I got to know some
Australian recipes. The students at
CSC were welcoming and I made really
good friends.
One of the most Australian things I did
was going to a footy game. Watching a
sport Ive never heard of before in my
home country was fun. Especially the
team spirit and wearing the
Collingwood jumper that my host dad
gave me.

(My host family and I )

If you would like to make the world
your home by hosting a student like
Pauline, or becoming an exchange
student yourself, contact:
Youth For Understanding (YFU) at
yfuaus@yfu.com.au or 1800 654 947,
www.yfu.com.au

Elphinstone Fire Brigade

Dear
Elphinstone
members,

Community

my
family
members
and
I
enthusiastically discussed incidents we
had been to, and shared knowledge
from our own city vs. country
perspectives,
which
previously
strengthened ties between family
members and was helpful from an
educational perspective. There was
mutual respect. Mine is not an
isolated case, as many members
families and friendship circles are
made up of both paid CFA/MFB
firefighters, and CFA volunteers. The
current disagreement creates, for me,
an unspoken feeling of disconnection
which hangs in the air.

in the highest authority and rather,

accepted the resignations of its own
Emergency Services Minister, Jane
Garrett MP, the CFA Chief Executive
Officer, Lucinda Nolan, and the CFA
Chief Officer, Joe Buffone, all of whom
could not agree to its terms. This
determined view also resulted in the
entire Board of the CFA being sacked
for not signing, which it felt it could
not do (even if it had agreed to the
content), given the legal aspects
including the Volunteer Charter
endorsed under the CFA Act, to which
volunteers must be consulted for any
changes which may affect them.

Our Brigade prides itself on diversity

in gender, age and political viewpoint
and is respectful on all fronts.
However, the current dispute with the
attempted forcing through of an
Enterprise Bargaining Agreement by
the State Government has led to much
angst, soul searching, disillusionment
and has also had an significant impact
on morale at a local level. The current
situation has had some CFA members,
traditionally Labor supporters, shake
their heads in disbelief. It also has the
potential to create division within the
Brigade and in some cases even within
families where paid CFA/MFB
firefighters and unpaid CFA volunteers
can no longer find common ground.

The State Government, in its strong

push to support the United
Firefighters Union and its State
Secretary, Peter Marshall, has ignored
pleas from Volunteer Fire Brigades
Victoria, and indeed the thousands of
volunteers themselves, that the
proposed EBA is unworkable due to
the power of veto that the agreement
would give the UFU, effectively
devaluing the work of experienced
volunteers who are passionate about
their role of helping their communities
and any other communities which
require assistance. Our words have
fallen on deaf ears at a State
Government level, which prefers to
call it a pay dispute which has been
going for more than 1,000 days and
needs to be resolved. These words,
which I have heard repeated by
Government Ministers and MPs over
and over, sounding like a broken
record, do nothing to assist with
resolving our issue but instead create
confusion. Pay is the last thing that
the CFA volunteers object to, and of
course our paid counterparts are
entitled to negotiate any pay deal that
they desire.

It is compelling that this extremely

talented pool of people found the
agreement in its current form
completely untenable and it is a great
loss to the volunteers of Victoria to
lose their unique skillset of knowledge
and expertise, which cannot be
replaced. A new CEO was appointed
within hours, and a new Board has
since
been
assigned.
Despite
thousands of hours of work to put
forward a case, the views of
volunteers have been negated in the
consultation process, and the
amended agreement signed off by the
newly appointed Board on Friday 12
August has not included any
amendments recommended by the
volunteers representative body,
Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria.

In my own situation, I am no longer

comfortable to discuss my role in the
CFA (a large part of my life) at family
social occasions, whereas in the past

It is evidence of the State

Governments resolute agenda to
have the agreement ratified that it
would not listen to concerns of those

The Spring column of 2016 for this

issue of the Elpho Info is a very
difficult column to write. Whilst
normally I happily report on the many
positive interactions within our
Brigade, it is with heavy heart that I
express my thoughts to the
community about the current CFA
dispute. I must start by saying that the
below comments are my own views as
a volunteer firefighter and Brigade
Secretary, gleaned from participation
in rallies and reading many reports,
emails and media articles. How each
volunteer member is impacted is a
personal thing, and I would not be
presumptive and state that my
comments are necessarily the views of
everyone in our Brigade.
The last three months has been a
perplexing time for the Elphinstone
Fire Brigade and for the many
thousands of volunteer firefighters
across the State.

It may sound like mere petty

squabbling/infighting within a large
organisation, however, the impacts for
all CFA volunteer stations are wide
ranging both operationally and
financially if the EBA is implemented,
and would change the face of the CFA
completely as we know it. For
example, no longer would volunteers
be encouraged to support each other
for training which could only be
completed by Union approved training
partners. Nor would we be
encouraged to carry out our own Fire

Elphinstone Fire Brigade continued

Station maintenance, which could
only proceed with Union approved
contractors. However, the main
impact, as I see it is, is that
operationally we would have to
ultimately receive Union consent to
carry out certain tasks which would
impose major restrictions on
volunteers, not to mention lower
morale. It is felt that the consent,
and red tape to obtain it, would not
be swift enough to suit the
emergency nature of our role which
is to act quickly and decisively,
therefore putting safety at risk.

held any local area knowledge, or

not. The lack of respect shown
towards long-standing local Brigade
heroes, volunteering their time over
many decades with great success, is
heartbreaking to say the least. The
cost to the taxpayer would also be
enormous with many undermined
volunteers considering leaving the
CFA, which would play into the
Unions hands of employing more
paid staff and backfilling Fire Stations
where paid staff may be required to
replace volunteers on penalty payrates, giving more power/money to
the Union and its members.

Furthermore, under the new EBA,

vastly experienced volunteer Incident
Controllers who have a strong track
record in communities, such as our
Captain Andy Chapman, would be
unable to manage or direct resources
at large incidents where Union
approved personnel would call the
shots, whether they were as wellversed with bushfire behaviour as
their volunteer counterparts, and

The members of the Brigade who

feel strongly about this issue will
keep voicing our concerns and
maintaining our position, conducted
in a respectful manner towards all
parties. We have already seen some
members of the Elphinstone Brigade
participate in rallies in Melbourne,
Castlemaine and Kyneton, and our
Brigade representatives on the VFBV

Rainfall by Wes Watson

AVERAGE RAINFALL
Elphinstone 1988-2003
Castlemaine 1966-1994
Harcourt 1968-1994
RAINFALL RECEIVED 2016
Elphinstone

May
mm

Jun
mm

July
mm

75
62
73

82
52
65

79
62
77

114

108

99

Many thanks to local resident Wes Watson for keeping rainfall

records and diligently passing them on to be published in this
newsletter.

have participated in many long

evening
meetings,
including
extraordinary meetings, held locally.
Never having participated in a rally
prior to this proposal - I know that I
am not alone; such is the strength of
feeling many of us hold regarding the
proposed EBA and its devaluing of
CFAs volunteers.
I feel that our community is entitled
to gain an insight into recent Brigade
happenings in respect to this issue
(which also have the potential to
impact the wider volunteering
network including the SES, in the
future).
Your
support
and
understanding towards members of
the Brigade would be appreciated as
we respectfully face the challenges
ahead during these unchartered,
difficult times.
Sincerely,
Tracey Franze
Volunteer Firefighter and Brigade
Secretary

News from the Elphinstone Facilities Committee

The Elphinstone Facilities Committee
(EFC) is a Section 86 committee of the
Mount Alexander Shire Council with
responsibility for the Elphinstone Hall
and Sawpit Gully Reserve.
Committee elected for 2016/17
The EFC held its AGM in July and a
new
committee
was
elected,
comprising of:

Elaine Geraghty, Secretary

Mike Reeves, Chairperson

Maree Priestley, Treasurer

Gill Maskell, community

representative and Hall
bookings

Erin Downey, community

representative

Heather Morrison, community

and tennis club representative.
Working bee with ELMA
The EFC and ELMA held a successful
working bee in May this year to clean
up leaves litter and do a bit of
trimming around the outside of the
Hall, and a good deal of material was

added to the pile for the Winter

Solstice bonfire, including some
blackberry.
Tennis courts
It is intended to have another working
bee with members of the Tennis club
on Saturday 10 September at 9:00am
to get rid of the weeds and do a bit of
tidying up. Although the courts are not
up to competition standard, they are
considered OK for a hit-out with a bit
of bonus unpredictability for bounce.
The Shire has relented on its threat to
decommission the courts much to
everyones relief, however it would
appear that there is no likely upgrade
for the foreseeable future, with
funding going to courts which are
more heavily used. If there is anybody
in the community with expertise in
rehabilitating old tennis courts there
is an opportunity here for you!
Fundraising
The EFC is trying to keep its budget
balanced, but we have a number of

expenses which are necessary to keep

the Hall pleasant, clean and
welcoming - and warm. Last year we
ran a car boot sale to top up the Shire
funding which was moderately
successful, but we are always looking
for different ways to raise funds which
do not compete with other groups or
businesses. If you have any expertise
in fundraising or have a good idea we
would love to hear from you. Some
ideas that have been floated so far
include dance/exercise classes, bingo
and a mystery car rally starting from
the Hall.
Next meeting
The next meeting of the EFC will be on
Wednesday 19 October 2016 at
7:30pm at the Hall.
Elaine Geraghty, Secretary

PS. The Hall is available for hire great

for functions, art/craft displays etc.
Bookings at the shop.

Mikes Candidate Statement

Dear residents of Elphinstone and
surrounds,
My wife and I moved to Elphinstone in
1988 and our son grew up and went to
school here, now works interstate. I
have worked in both state education
and industry, now retired so do have
time available. I have served on the
Hall
and
Recreation
Reserve
Committee for the last 16 years
(Chairman for the last two), and also
support both the local Progress
Association and Land Management
group in their efforts to improve the
town and its surroundings. Working
with Shire officers and the community,
we have been able to upgrade the
official mapping of Elphinstone with

over 30 signage and mapping issues

identified and fixed since 2013. I have
had dealings with the Shire over issues
such as building maintenance, lighting
upgrades and theft at our Hall and
generally have got a good outcome.
Waste disposal, employment and
customer service are areas of interest.
25 years ago I liked that Castlemaine
was a sleepy little historical town
surrounded by farmland where people
played cricket on the Western Oval on
Saturday mornings. There is a lot in
Mount Alexander Shire that is worth
preserving, but there is always
enthusiasm for progress which
means different things to different
people. Getting the balance right is a
6

tricky job for Council and all parties

should be respected in the process.
Councillors have always come under
pressure from interest groups to see it
their way and decisions often mean
someone is not going to be happy. I
am not a member of any political
party and I dont think the public has
much time for this in Council; however
I do support the Mount Alexander
Sustainability Group, the Castlemaine
and Maldon Steam Preservation
Society, the Paralympians, the RSPCA
and Castlemaine Football Netball Club
amongst others.
Mike Reeves
August 2016

ELPHO JAM SESSIONS

You are invited to a monthly Jam Session at Elphinstone.
This is an informal get-together of people who want to make
some music and have some fun!
(Aimed at the over 50s, but open to all)
If you are into Blues, RnB, Rock & more, and you sing or play an
instrument, you are welcome!

Thinking of volunteering?

Visit the Central Victorian Volunteer Service website

volunteering.cobaw.org.au to find a volunteering
opportunity today

A message from our Councillor

every half hour and our cheap prepurchased tickets remained valid,
much to our relief. Train travel in the
UK can be cheap if tickets are bought
online a few weeks beforehand. It's a
very different story if you buy on the
day at the ticket office. The equivalent
of a ticket from Castlemaine to
Melbourne would cost around $80.

In late July I travelled to the UK with

my husband for daughter Hannah's
wedding in Colchester. After the
wedding we took the opportunity to
catch up with family and friends
around the country, returning mid
August. Apart from the pleasures of
reconnecting with people, it was
interesting to view places from a
councillor perspective. Colchester is
England's oldest town, the Romans
having taken over the site from an
ancient British tribe in about 200 AD.
Interestingly the town has been a
military base ever since, with a large
army garrison currently situated on
the outskirts of the town. The town
hall boasts an impressive 17th century
clock tower which was under repair
during our visit. Seeing the height of
the scaffolding left me very grateful
that the recent works on the civic
centre in Castlemaine had only
extended for three storeys.
After the wedding we spent time in
London, in awe at the scale and
efficiency of London public transport
(in between strikes!), enjoying a free
visit to the National Gallery along with
several thousand other people. More
advantages of a small crowded island
became apparent when we discovered
to our dismay that our train north had
been cancelled due to damage on the
line. No matter, we were told, just go
across the road to the next station and
travel by an alternative route. Trains

We were lucky enough to spend time

walking in the countryside. The British
take their access to country seriously.
There are public footpaths along
valleys, across fields, up hills, to every
significant viewing point, interesting
monument and landmark. The land
might be public or private, but the
paths are old rights of way and
strenuously protected by the British
Ramblers Association. Land owners
are required to keep the paths open
and woe betide anyone who tries to
close off access. For their part, walkers
must stick to the path and not
trespass on the farmer's field or, in
some cases, the householder's garden.
We did part of our journey via hire car
and experienced the joys, or
otherwise, of motorway (freeway)
driving. The first thing to come to
terms with is the traffic density. Think
Tullamarine Freeway with double the
number of trucks and white delivery
vans. Then there's the rapid
realisation that although about 90 per
cent of the traffic obeys the speed
limit, the rest are apparently excused
from such restrictions. Cars flash past
in the outer lane at frightening
speeds, or appear from nowhere while
you're trying to overtake at the speed
limit of 110 km/h. How do they get
away with it? My theory is that it's all
about traffic volumes, the number of
roads and the size of the available
traffic police force. In Australia there's
probably a much bigger chance of
being caught speeding. Or perhaps
we're just more disciplined drivers.

At the other end of the driving

spectrum are the country lanes, many
of which are single lane. Unlike singlestrip roads in Australia, with their dirt
edges to allow passing, these lanes are
often walled by high hedges,
constantly winding with minimal
visibility. The trick is to spot and keep
in mind the location of the most
recent passing place. When meeting
an oncoming car, each driver makes a
quick decision on whether to stand
still or reverse. Somehow it all works
out. British drivers are used to giving
way, backing up, negotiating narrow
streets with parked cars blocking free
traffic flow, standing in motorway
traffic jams miles from the nearest
town.

Returning to Australia, I can wish for

more footpaths, both across country
and along our town streets, better
public transport for our small towns,
more
sophisticated
waste
management (green, food waste
processing, recycling) and all that
comes with bigger population.
I'm grateful for the ability to live in the
country without being a millionaire,
open roads with little traffic, the wet
winter we've had giving us green grass
and full dams and, above all, the easygoing nature of country Aussies. It's
good to be home.
You can contact me on
0466 004 628 or email:
coliban@mountalexander.vic.gov.au
Christine Henderson
Coliban ward councillor

Elphinstone Primary School News

Earlier this term we held our Grade 3
-4 camp at Lady Northcote, near
Bacchus Marsh. The students
enjoyed a variety of outdoor
activities and it was a great
opportunity for them to spend some
time with students at Langley,
Chewton, Redesdale Mia Mia and
Taradale. Students enjoyed the giant
swing, the flying fox, archery and the
team challenge. The 5-6 Urban camp
experience to Melbourne will be
coming upon us quickly. It is over
three days from November 9 and
highlights will include the Melbourne
Star, Old Melbourne Gaol, Eureka
Tower and Parliament House.

second in our division! We would like

to thank Leanne for coaching us, as
well as the Harcourt girls for playing
with us, and Mr Stewart for
organising the team!
(By Lauren Girvan)
All students in Mr Stewarts maths
class are undertaking the Australian
Mathematics Trust (AMT) term-long
Enrichment program. It encourages
students to work through problems
designed
to
reinforce
their
mathematical knowledge and skills.
Each problem book has been
designed to cater for each students
needs and students will be working
on a range of problem solving
strategies
such
as
working
backwards, make a drawing/graph,
looking for patterns or acting it out.
This will take several weeks to
complete
and
students
are
encouraged to take their books home
and work on their problems.

A few weeks ago we sent Declan,

Campbell, Jack and Curtis up to the
Loddon Campaspe Football Carnival
and teamed up with Newstead,
Maldon and Chewton. We started off
well and unfortunately were beaten
by some much larger schools in the
last few games. The boys had a great
time and Im sure they will
remember their experience for years
to come. Thank you to Wendy and
Sue for transport and to Lachlan
Woodward, who coached our team.
Lachie is a second year Latrobe
teaching student who plays senior
football for Golden Square in the
Bendigo League.

Students have also sat the AMT

Australia-wide maths competition
and we eagerly await the results. Last
year Angus Ware was awarded a
medal at Monash University for his
achievements.

Netball Competition
During week 1 of this term Abby,
Brianna, Jen and myself joined a
team with four Harcourt girls to
compete in a netball competition.
We called ourselves Harcinstone!.
We were kindly driven up by Su-Anne
and Leanne to the Bendigo Netball
Complex, there we played against
other schools competing in the
event. We won the first game, then
we lost to Newstead. We won the
third game by three points, and our
fourth game was a draw with neither
team scoring a goal. We won the
final two games and ended coming

Wright Street Elphinstone

(03) 5473 3285
elphinstone.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au
www.elphinstone.vic.edu.au

Elphinstone Land Management

Association (ELMA) Update
Winter has been a busy time for
ELMA. Our main project during winter
was the planting of 25 trees in the
township
through
the
Mount
Alexander community grants program.
We were able to purchase trees and
stakes with funding from MASC and a
dedicated team of volunteers turned
out in force on Sunday 7 August to
excavate, dig in horse manure, plant
and stake 25 claret ash trees following
careful planning including landscape
design. This will provide an attractive
visual entry point into the town with a
row of trees planted along the
northern end of Wright Street and two
rows either side of Diggers Way
approaching the pub from the west
with the remainder dotted around the
town centre.

grow to become an attractive asset to

Elphinstones
existing
landscape
providing future generations with
shade and shelter in summer and a
colourful display of foliage in contrast
to the existing native trees in autumn.
Our 2nd annual Winter Solstice event
was held in June. The bonfire roared
as we warmed ourselves with soup
while the kids entertained themselves
with ball games in the hall and toasted
marshmallows! These community
events are a great opportunity to
catch up with fellow locals and
hopefully the bonfire is an incentive to
get off the couch, brave the cold and
enjoy some chit chat during winter.
Its also reminder of the facilities we
have available in the town like the
recreation hall and what a great
resource it is for the community.

Texas needle grass has been formally

identified in Wright Street (near the
corner of McCrae) so we are hoping to
treat this if we are successful in
applying for the MASC Roadside
Weeds & Pest Management grant
towards the end of the year. In the
meantime, we plan to erect
temporary fencing to alert residents
to the area and stop the grass being
mowed as this will prevent the spread
of the seed to other areas.
Six households in Elphinstone signed
up for Landcares Green Army team to
undertake work on their properties
recently which involved planting 100
trees on their individual properties
with the assistance of green army
volunteers.

As part of the schools clubs program,

a group of enthusiastic and budding
gardeners i.e. students recently
helped plant some native trees and
shrubs along the footpath in Wright
Street (near the corner of Diggers
Way).

This initiative was fully supported by

the Elphinstone Progress Association
as it formed part of the town centre
plan. Without funding from Mount
Alexander
Shire
Council,
the
opportunity to change the street
scape of the town would not have
been possible and with ongoing
nurturing, the trees will hopefully

10

Elphinstone Land Management

Association (ELMA) Update continued
Our local Landcare Facilitator, Asha
Bannon from Connecting Country
has visited a couple of properties in
Elphinstone recently to set up
roofing tiles as part of their frog and
reptile monitoring program. Stay
tuned for further updates on this
program.

One of the benefits of becoming a

member of ELMA is that you can
become involved in these sorts of
programs. Membership forms are
available at the post office.
Sue McLennan
Secretary

Connecting Country also continue to

monitor the progress of a property
in Elphinstone as part of their
Connecting Landscapes project
where they are assisting the
landholders with gorse control and
revegetation. Stay tuned for further
updates.

LOCAL HORSE DENTIST

Bob Franze (Dip Equine Dentistry)

Phone 0418 346 830
Prompt and reliable service covering all areas

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Young Adults @ Goldfields Libraries

Teens! Did you know there is a wealth

of free and fun activities and services
available for you at your local
Goldfields Library?

your own music and have it published

by us, said Mark Hands, Community
Partnerships
and
Engagement
Manager.

companion. You wont find these

resources free through Google, but as
a member you can access them free
with your library card.

There is a wide range of activities to

get involved in. Past and present
highlights include a song writing
workshop with Darren Middleton
from Powderfinger; Flash 300 Flash
Fiction Writing Competition with great
prizes and the chance to get
published; a Library Lock-in get
locked in the library for an evening
of teen-friendly games and activities;
regular Minecraft sessions; Zine Studio
self-publishing workshops;
Warhammer workshops and more.

This exciting opportunity for young

adults is called Goldfields Connect
Music in Schools and is providing
students with the opportunity to have
their music included on our annual
digital album. We even welcome
budding musicians to hold live
performances at our libraries its a
great opportunity!

Keep up with the librarys events,

activities and services via social media
or through the monthly email
newsletter.
For
more
information
visit:
www.ncgrl.vic.gov.au/ya

Weve got some pretty interesting

stuff going on for teens at the library
anything from robotics through to
fiction writing, as well as the
opportunity to compose and record

You can also connect your device to

free Wi-Fi and use a range of
technology services including public
computers with internet access,
printing and copying.
The eLibrary offers a wide range of
online resources some for leisure
and some make the perfect study

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