Wednesday 29 August 2007

Yackandandah

Staff & Volunteers enjoyed a famil trip to Yackandandah on .

Our famil started in Yackandandah at the Visitor Information Centre (of course!)

It was great to walk along the Gorge at Yack. I do have a photo...which I will post online soon.

It was a glorious day and we all enjoyed visiting our members, Maple Grove B&B, Yackandandah Township Hill, Crystal Creek and Best Western Beechworth Motor Inn.

Cheers
Kerry

Well Done Anne



Congratulations to Anne for getting the new Beechworth Official Visitors Guide into the Canberra & Tullamarine Visitor Information Centre.

If you would like to order a copy of the Beechworth OVG please contact us on 1300 366 321

Seven weeks out, Beechworth limbers up for Herald Sun Tour

The Jayco Herald Sun Tour, one of Australia’s premier sporting events, is coming to Beechworth in exactly seven weeks.

On Wednesday 17 October from about 1:45pm, nearly 100 of the world’s leading cyclists will end Stage 3 of the Tour from Mansfield with a thrilling 70kph sprint from the Beechworth-Myrtleford Road to the finish line in Camp Street outside Cycles & Saws.

The competitors will stay overnight at LaTrobe University, ahead of the start of Stage 4 from Beechworth to Falls Creek at 10:30am the following morning in Ford St outside the Town Hall Gardens.

Along with the competitors, among them Benalla cyclist and past Tour de France sprint winner, Baden Cook and other international cycling stars, Beechworth will also welcome around 200 support crew, media and organisers.

The Tour is regarded as one of the world’s prestige staged team road cycling events. In 2007 the 14 teams of seven riders will begin the race in Bendigo on Monday 15 October and finish in Melbourne on Saturday 21 October.

In Beechworth, plans to celebrate the arrival of Stage 3 of the Tour are underway. A committee has been established to explore and co-ordinate a range of activities aimed at both generating excitement locally and showcasing the town to both Tour participants and to the wider world.

Activities will include encouraging Beechworth workplaces to become involved in the National Ride to Work Day which co-incides with the Tour’s arrival on 17 October. The highly successful Bicycle Victoria initiative annually sees tens of thousands of commuters ride their bikes to work instead driving or taking the bus.

In Beechworth Tour Day will kick off with local workers and school children cycling to a celebratory outdoor breakfast in Camp Street where they will register to be in the running for a prize to be drawn by the winner of Stage 3 later that day.

Locals will also be encouraged to get into the spirit of the Tour by wearing yellow as a colourful nod to the Stage leader’s yellow jersey. Further details of local activities will be announced soon.

VACC 'Spirit of the Twenties' vintage rally coming your way soon


VACC celebrates its 90th anniversary in 2008. However, as part of the celebrations leading into this anniversary, VACC is sponsoring the Spirit of the Twenties vintage car rally, which starts on Saturday, September 22, 2007.

The 14-day, 1600km event, which recreates the legendary reliability trials of the 1920s, will feature wonderful old vehicles from a host of gone-but-not-forgotten manufacturers, including Nash, DeSoto, Marmon, Rugby and LaSalle. These beautifully crafted machines will battle for line honours with names that have stood the test of time, such as Ford, Chevrolet and Chrysler.

VACC has a long affiliation with these lovable old vehicles. As an industry association formed in 1918 to assist traders within Victoria’s then burgeoning automotive industry, VACC member businesses played an important role in keeping Victorians on the road during those early automotive days.

Now almost 90 years on, VACC’s 5000-plus members continue to provide the same valuable service to owners of today’s high-tech cars.

“There have been astonishing changes in car technologies and in the automotive industry over the past 90 years. VACC members have been there every step of the way selling, servicing and repairing vehicles of all types for Victorian motorists," VACC General Manager of Marketing, Tim O’Brien, said.

Fully-subscribed 12 months in advance, the VACC Spirit of the Twenties rally is keenly-contested by the enthusiastic members of the Vintage Driver’s Club. This year the field boasts entries from Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania among its 40-car field.

A competitive event, the VACC Spirit of the Twenties will test man (and woman) and machine with various driving challenges, including an eighth-mile sprint at the Bairnsdale air strip.

Drivers will also pass through some of the most picturesque tourist destinations in south-eastern Victoria and New South Wales. Commencing at Lilydale Lake at 10.00am, the convoy will then travel to Gippsland via Sale and Lakes Entrance before heading to the NSW towns of Merimbula, Cooma and Tumut. The entourage then crosses back across the Victorian border for the big finish at Beechworth on October 5.

“The VACC Spirit of the Twenties is a wonderful community event and the cars will look magnificent as they cruise through the many rural communities along the way”, Mr O’Brien said. “We hope everyone comes out to cheer on the drivers and show the kids what cars were like during the earliest days of motoring.”


ENDS

Further enquiries: Ken Challenger 0414 071 856

Wednesday 15 August 2007

A VISITOR’S IMPRESSIONS OF BEECHWORTH. Circa 1880

I thought some of you may have been interested to read a visitor's impression of Beechworth (Circa 1880)

A writer in the “Brunswick Advertiser” has the following:; The line from Wangaratta to Beechworth, a distance of 26 miles, is one continuous, though at first gentle ascent. The first 12 miles shows a rise of only nine feet per mile; the next four miles, however, shows a gradient of 44 feet per mile rise; whilst the remaining 10 miles has an average ascent of about 100 feet per mile, the town of Beechworth standing 1775 feet above the level of the sea. This is the steepest incline on any of the Victorian railways, and would be considered an extraordinary one in any part of the world, at least for a locomotive to travel on. Up this tremendous incline, or rather series of inclines, at a very low rate of speed, the engine pants and puffs like a monster in distress, landing us finally, however, safe and sound at our destination. The view of the town from this point is very pleasing. Like the scripture city, being set on a hill, it cannot be hid. The wide streets, together with the shops, houses and public buildings, most of them substantially built of brick or stone, commend it at once to the eye of the stranger, and although first impressions are said to be generally deceptive, yet, at least in my case, the good opinion I was prepared to form of Beechworth from the description of my friends was fully borne out on a better acquaintance.

Leaving the railway-station, I crossed the Spring Creek on a causeway, the ground on both sides being turned up to the bed rock by successive hosts of diggers, which has given it the appearance of a Titan’s field, roughly cultivated by Cyclopean ploughs. This is a wonderfully rich golden field in the days of yore, and although it has been dug and paddocked and sluiced for a generation past, yet even now it continues to yield a golden harvest. One of the most plucky undertakings in the way of mining has just been completed and carried out entirely by local enterprise, that of washing down and sluicing the whole of the old worked ground on the Spring Creek flat. In order to understand the gigantic nature of the undertaking, it may be mentioned that the banks on both sides, some fifty or sixty feet high, are washed down bodily by powerful streams of water into a narrow channel, when the gold by its inherent weight sinks to the bottom, and the sludge and lighter matter is carried off. In order to get rid of the enormous amount of liquid mud, it was necessary to cut an underground channel for a great distance through the hard granite rock. This has been successfully completed, and the whole works are now in full operation. Once a year it is proposed to wash up or disinter the golden particles from the bottom of the channel, and afterwards will come the pleasantest process of all, that of declaring what I hope will be a satisfactory dividend to the enterprising shareholders.

Business people here, I found, were complaining of the hard times, just as they are in other places. Nothing whatever doing, some of them said; all the wealth of the place is being rapidly drained off to supply the insatiable maw of the monster, Melbourne. And yet the people were going about, busy enough, well clothed and apparently well fed; and still they were not satisfied. I endeavoured to show some of these good people that there was plenty of complaint and grumbling in Melbourne, and with perhaps more reason than they had to show for it; for in addition to the want of business, we had high rents and other expenses to contend with, which they had not. I am well assured that if the people of this country had only a more contented spirit, they would all be the better and the happier for it. The town of Beechworth, with its beautiful situation, its magnificent climate and bracing air, is a most desirable place of residence for families, and had I my choice in the matter, I would as soon live here as in any part of Victoria. From different parts on the hills round about there is a series of views of the most extensive description. I was particularly delighted with the prospect from a mass of granite boulders on a range at the end of Camp-street, looking towards the Yackandandah direction. My time being limited, however, I was unable to visit several other places I was told of, as being worthy of inspection. The principal public buildings are the banks, churches, court-house, Post-office and Athenaeum, the latter standing in a small but very neatly laid out public garden and recreation ground. Many shrubs and trees I noticed as flourishing with amazing vigour, which in other places are only artificially kept alive in a stunted condition, more especially the common laurel. There is a beautiful closely-clipped laurel hedge in the Athenaeum ground I was particularly struck with, and another grand specimen in front of the church of England, the largest and finest laurel I ever saw, being, I suppose, fully twenty feet high, and of a compact, pyramidal habit. I was much disappointed, however, with the collection of minerals in the museum. Knowing the great variety of gem stones and fossils which have been discovered at various times in the neighbourhood, I fully expected to find a complete collection of every kind, but what I saw was meagre in the extreme. My disappointment, however, was considerably lessened on visiting Mr Dunn, a gentleman who has made it his business, as well as pleasure for the last twenty years, in collecting specimens of every description of curious minerals to be obtained in the district, as well as a very large number from the African diamond fields and other parts of the world. A complete catalogue of this gentleman’s museum would fill a good sized volume, and I would strongly counsel the authorities of the local Athenaeum to make arrangements, if possible, with the proprietor for the purchase of the whole. It would be a thousand pities to have such a collection dispersed, a collection that illustrates the entire geology of the Beechworth district. Many of Mr Dunn’s specimens were superb of their kind, surpassing any I had ever seen before. One block of granite showed its component parts, quartz and felspar in large sized crystals, with mica thickly scattered throughout. There were several fine specimens of crystallised felspar, smoky quartz, agate and other pebbles. I saw a garnet as large as a boy’s marble, lying in its granite matrix, and specimens of every description of gem that had been discovered in the neighbourhood, including a number of diamonds of considerable size. No place in Victoria has contributed so large a number of precious stones as Beechworth, every variety having been obtained here at one time or the other, excepting, I believe, opal. Mr. Turner, watchmaker, of Camp-street, another indefatigable mineralogist, was also good enough to show me his collection, which contains many curious specimens, amongst others a quartz crystal nearly two feet long.

I bade adieu to Beechworth with regret. I would very willingly have stayed a week here, as there are several places I would like to have seen before returning to town; but the inexorable claims of business would not admit of further delay. I look forward, however, on a future day to again having the pleasure of visiting the capital of the Ovens.

Saturday 11 August 2007

Indigo scoops Tidy Town Awards!

6/08/2007


Indigo Shire towns scooped the awards pool at the 25th Annual Sustainable Communities – Tidy Towns Regional Awards held in Rutherglen last week.

Beechworth was named the overall North East Regional Sustainable Community – Tidy Towns winner and will now go on to represent the North East region at the state finals to be announced on 6 October.

Nine other Indigo Shire town projects were recognised as category winners and will advance to the state finals:

 Community Pride: Rutherglen – RSL Park
 Heritage & Culture: Chiltern – Chiltern Railway Station
 Environmental Innovation: Beechworth – Beechworth Vignerons Association
 Zero Waste Award: Beechworth – Public Place Recycling project
 Biodiversity & Conservation: Beechworth – Wildlife Corridor Project
 Community Government Partnership: Beechworth – Waste Oil Recycling Project
 Young Leaders: Beechworth – Spring Creek Revegetation Project
 Proud School: Rutherglen – St Mary’s Primary School

Indigo Shire Mayor Cr Peter Graham said the awards highlighted the wonderful environmental and sustainability projects underway in Indigo Shire. He paid tribute to the businesses, community groups and volunteers who have shown great dedication and community spirit.

“The Tidy Towns annual awards are an important part in recognising the value of the hundreds of volunteers who provide support to local communities throughout rural Victoria,” Cr Graham said.

“It is wonderful to receive recognition across so many categories and we are particularly thrilled Beechworth will contest the overall Victorian Tidy Towns award.”

Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria Chief Executive Officer Wendy Jones said, “The power of local communities working together can achieve great community and environmental benefits for all to enjoy and benefit from, and this was definitely highlighted during this year’s judging.

“The Sustainable Communities – Tidy Towns judges found it very hard to split this year’s category winners, which highlighted the dedication those communities who participated in this year’s program have towards their communities, environment and sustainability.”

The 25th Annual Sustainable Communities – Tidy Towns awards are supported by Sustainability Victoria, the Packaging Stewardship Forum – AFGC “Do the Right Thing” Program and Cartridge World.

Wednesday 1 August 2007

August Operator Of The Month



Pictured: Anne & Tim drawing out the Operator Of the Month

Congratulations to our August Operator Of the Month
- Finches of Beechworth B&B
- The Spa at Beechworth
- Stanley Miners Cottage; and
- Bridge Road Brewers

Tim Holding drew out the lucky operators (who have taken out a membership plus with the Beechworth Visitor Information Centre).

Operators of the Month receive:
- Front page image and link on our home page www.beechworthonline.com.au
-An advertisement on the plasma screen
-Their brochure located in prime position on the mantle piece (under the plasma screen)

Tim Holding



Over the past month the team at the Visitor Information Centre have had the privlage of working with Tim Holding.

I bet most of you were thinking of Tim Holding, the Victorian Minister for Tourism and Minister for Information and Communication Technology, as well as Minister for Finance.

Actually, Tim Holding is a student at the Beechworth Secondary College. And over the past month Tim has been busy gaining experience working in the Beechworth Visitor Information Centre.

Adrian Osborne of SPLAToons also dropped into the VIC this morning for a chat and to deomontrate his Caricatures skills.

Google Maps

A new added feature for our operators on www.beechworthonline.com.au is Google Maps.

Now customers can browse accommodation information, photos, location, and rates. Booking accommodation online has never been easier.