Employees of the month January 08 Beechworth VIC Team

Anne Wilson and the VIC team, Barbara Carne, Jeff Yeomans and volunteers
James Toole, Martin Thomas and Anne Bell were at the frontline in the BVIC for
Opera in the Alps enquiries on 19 January, which as a result of the heavy
rain had to be changed from an out door event to four indoor concerts.
Between them they handled over 1000 phone calls and gave out information to
994 customers.

This gave their patience, ingenuity and customer service skills a real work out, as
the majority of their customers were both disappointed and frustrated. They
all did a spectacular job under difficult circumstances and I have been
receiving very good feed back from visitors who came into the centre.

January Operator Of The Month

Congratulations to our January Operator of the Month: Inglebrae, Lake Sambell Caravan Park, The Stone Cottage, Serena Cottages and Crystal Creek. Our operators of the month have their brochure in prime position with in the VIC and their image and link on the home page of www.beechworthonline.com.au

Artists bring new life to historic Beechworth schoolhouse

School’s in for a group of talented artists and artisans from the Beechworth area who have joined forces on an exciting new venture launched this month.

The Old Schoolhouse Gallery is a fascinating new showcase of jewellery, paintings, ceramics and textiles as well as second hand books and collectibles housed in the 1863 Common School in Loch Street, one of Beechworth’s many notable historic buildings.

The initiative is the brainchild of Sandra and Robert Godfrey who lovingly restored the building five years ago as an exhibition space for Sandra’s silk painting.

More recently, their idea of using the building to house a retail gallery for a variety of local artists from the Beechworth area was enthusiastically embraced and within a few short weeks The Old Schoolhouse Gallery was open for business.

“We wanted to have something for everyone to enjoy and at the same time provide encouragement for local artisans to keep creating,” Sandra Godfrey said.

Indigo Shire Mayor, Cr Vic Issell, will officially launch the co-operative venture on 25 January.

Joining forces with Sandra Godfrey are:
• Jan Clements (felting, leather and metal)
• North East Yarns (natural coloured wool and woollen garments)
• Tania Magennis and Janine Delves (artists specialising in quirkiness and colour)
• Wendy Stephens (visual artist)
• Frances Macdonald (potter)
• Ali Rowe (textile artist)
• Robyn White (glass bead jewellery)
• Claire Shearman and Ken Young (second hand books specialising in arts, crafts and local history)
• Schoolhouse Collectables
• Judy Hawking-Burnett (paintings, jewellery and cards)

Celebrating its 145th anniversary this year, the Common School No. 36, known as the Beechworth Academy, was the town’s first school. The first Australian-born Governor General, Sir Isaac Isaacs, taught there from 1872 to 1874, and for 100 years of its history the building housed the office and press of the Ovens & Murray Advertiser.


The Old Schoolhouse Gallery, 17 Loch St, Beechworth.
Phone (03) 5725 1342. Email wandanagallery@bigpond.com
Open seven days a week from 10am to 4pm.

December Member Of The Month

Congratulations to our December Operator of the Month: Country Charm Swiss Cottage, Gorge Walk Guest House, The Ardent Alpaca & Elms on Finch. Our operators of the month have their brochure in prime position with in the VIC and their image and link on the home page of www.beechworthonline.com.au

Indigo Shire / Atauro Island Friendship Group

Indigo Shire / Atauro Island Friendship Group
Media Release

Indigo Shire is in the process of forming a Friendship Relationship with Atauro Island, just off the north coast of East Timor. We are establishing a Friendship Group in the Shire and invite you to attend our Information Day at The Old Priory on December 8th.

To assist our find raising efforts, entry for adults is by gold coin donation, children are free.

From 11.00am until 5pm there will be information stands in the grounds of the Old Priory representing H.I.A.M Health; the Australian East Timor Association (Melb); Great Divide Coffee Roasting (Fair Trade Coffee tastings); the unique eco-tourism development on Atauro Island and established Local Government Friendship Groups.

At 12.00 Gabrielle Samson will speak to a slide presentation about life on Atauro Island. A Community development worker, Gabrielle has worked on Atauro Island for more than 10 years. She originally went to the island to start a kindergarten and then began working with the high school. She has also helped the community start their own development organisation.

At 12.30 There is a singing workshop where we will learn the tune “Mai Mai O Nia Rain” a simple song in Tetum that we can sing together at the evening concert.

1.30 – 3.00 Workshop “What is a Friendship Group?” The aim of this workshop is to provide information to our community about the work and workings of other local government friendship groups and we are looking for ideas from within our own community on how we can support our friendship community, Atauro Island.

Guest speakers will include Gabrielle Samson, community development worker on Atauro Island for more than ten years; Dr.Wendy Connor who works on Atauro Island as a volunteer doctor and representatives from established local government friendship groups.

At 3.30 we are showing the very moving film, “A Hero’s Journey.” Entry is $5 Adults and children are free.

For more information about the day’s program, contact conthw@westnet.com.au.


The information day will be followed by a great concert in the evening featuring Bhan Tre, Braemar and Red Rock. These performers and the sound technician, Darren Christie, are all donating their time and Pam & Graeme at the Old Priory are donating their lovely venue.

The concert begins at 7.30pm. Tickets are $25 adults and $10 children. For more information and bookings, call (03) 5728 2275 or 0428 286 556. All proceeds from the concert will go to H.I.A.M Health. The concert is “café-style” with only 100 tickets available. The three bands have a great following in the North East and we suggest you book your tickets early

Relay for Human Rights on Olympic Agenda - Global Torch Relay to arrive in Beechworth 2nd December 2007

Following a two-month long European passage with its last stop being in the UK, the Global Human Rights Torch Relay (GHRTR) arrived in Australia, Sydney 27th October for a national tour.

The Torch arrived in Melbourne on the 16th November, and as part of the Victorian leg of the relay, will be received in Beechworth on the 2nd of December.


Torch Relay 9am – 10:30am

Main street Shopping Centre

Inspired by the Olympic torch relay, the GHRTR is an international campaign that seeks to put human rights on the Beijing Olympic agenda. The 12-month global relay calls for an end to all human rights violations committed by the Chinese communist regime. It highlights the persecution of Falun Gong, the most severely persecuted group in China today, the plight of Tibetans, Christians, democracy campaigners, outspoken lawyers and reporters, as well as the fueling of oppression and slaughter in Darfur, Burma, Zimbabwe and North Korea.

During the run up to the 2008 Olympics, the GHRTR will visit more than 100 cities on five continents to publicise its founding premise that the Olympics and crimes against humanity cannot co-exist in China.

The GHRTR was initiated by the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG) which consists of over three hundred legislators, religious leaders, lawyers, medical doctors and human rights advocates from Europe, Asia, North America and Oceania. Established in 2006 its aim is to go into China to independently investigate the persecution of Falun Gong, especially the reported crimes of organ harvesting. www.cipfg.org

The GHRTR is sponsored and supported globally by Asia-Pacific Human Rights Watch Charitable Trust and All-China Alliance for Protecting Human Rights & Opposing Violence, and in Australia by Free China, Darfur Australia Network (DAN), Democracy for Burma (D4B), Tibetan, Vietnamese and many other communities and organisations as well as the Chinese pro-democracy movement.

Media contact: Philippa Rayment 0417 371 305
Website: www.HumanRightsTorch.org

Beechworth Visitor Information Centre News

The Beechworth Visitor Information Centre has been extremely busy booking accommodation and selling tickets to the Celtic Festival and Opera in the Alps. Over the Melbourne Cup break accommodation in Beechworth was very nearly sold out! There was an increase in visitor numbers for September as well as email and phone enquiries.

The Beechworth VIC is taking part in a program along with a number of other accredited Victoria information centres to collect data from visitors by getting them to complete a questionnaire. The end results will be used to help in identifying the value of visitor information centres to local communities and assisting to increase tourism yield in the future. The Beechworth online operators of the month for November are Colby Cottages, Railtrail Retreat, The Beechworth Sweet Company and Alba Country Rose B&B.