Cemetery walk closes Festival
Stzelecki Bushwalking Club
The Strzelecki Bushwalking Club new year was officially kicked off with the annual barbecue at the Lions Park in Moe.
A group of members enjoyed conversing about walks completed over the break and hearing about planned walks for the year.
Walks were held all through December and January -there is no stopping these walkers although walks are not held on days of total fire ban. Luckily there have not been many.
The annual wildflower walk at Mt St Gwinear in January was a very cool day, but still attracted many people keen to hear botanist John Davies and Baw Baw frog program coordinator Greg Hollis, along with seeing the wonderful flowers in bloom.
Another lovely walk - every walk has something to offer - was in Mount Worth state park.
Club members were thrilled to see an echidna, who posed good naturedly for the camera, and four yellow tailed black cockatoos who screeched their way through the magnificent Mountain Ash. Another highlight were the two tiny but beautiful waterfalls on the aptly named Waterfall Bower track.
The Tuesday walk for February was held at Inverloch, walking along the beach to Eagles Nest via Dinosaur Cove.
The last walk on the program for February is near Walhalla, exploring the Aberfeldy River. This is an overnight walk and may involve a pack float, which is a lot of fun. If you do not like carrying a pack, a bike ride from Rokeby to Neerim is planned for February 26.
The year is already slipping away, so make sure you get out and enjoy some time in the bush, surrounded by greenery and fresh air.
The club welcomes new members, and in March has a variety of activities to suit everybody. There are some easy walks around Noojee, suitable for families, an overnighter at Den of Nargun and a trip to Tasmania to walk the well-known Overland Track.
There are also a couple of track maintenance activities, which help keep tracks walkable and are a satisfying thing to do.
The club night in March will include a talk from the president of Rail Trails Australia.
To find out more about the club, phone Fran Miller 5623 3093 or visit the website www.sbwc.org.
More than 85 people gathered at the Drouin Cemetery in doubtful weather conditions for a walk of the cemetery held as the closing feature of this year’s Ficifolia Festival.
The evening commenced with refreshments and then proceeded to a number of locations, and selected graves where detailed summaries were given of the people buried in each.
Anita Coonan, a member of the Drouin Cemetery Trust, welcomed everyone, gave an historical outline of the cemetery, and expressed pleasure at the excellent response to the second “walk” – the first being part of the 2016 Ficifolia Festival.
She acknowledged the assistance received from the Drouin History Group, the West Gippsland Genealogical Society and the Committee For Drouin, principally Judy Farmer who had played a significant role in the “Drouin’s significant trees survey”.
A highlight of the evening was the unveiling of a plaque acknowledging Antonio Debertolis known as the “Chairmaker of the Drouin Swamp”.
During the survey of Drouin’s significant trees, the story of Antonio was discovered.
He was born in Austria, migrated to Australia in 1877, and somehow made his way to Drouin.
He set up business making slat back chairs from local blackwood and rushes from Gum Scrub Creek (near Buln Buln Road), without the use of glue, nails or screws, using the traditional methods of his native homeland.
His chairs were beautifully crafted and highly prized after his death. Three of his chairs have been preserved in the Drouin Anglican Church. One other is on display at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.
Antonio died in 1913 and is buried in an unmarked grave in the Drouin Cemetery.
When the Drouin Rotary Club learned of the local historical significance of Antonio, and the desire to instal a plaque at the site, it offered to meet the cost so that he could be properly acknowledged.
Drouin History Group Ellen Burrows spoke about George Leith, who was the proprietor of the Railway Hotel, which was on the site of Williamson’s Real Estate and the adjoining shops and vacant block, later becoming the Highway Guest House, and being destroyed by fire in December 1975.
Brian Milner outlined the life of Henry Harold Higgs, who was a decorated soldier in World War 1.
West Gippsland Genealogical Society president Fay Vandyk detailed the life of James Aikman, Scottish settler and Buln Buln Shire Councillor, while John Parker spoke of his great-grandfather, John Henry Parker, and Marilyn May spoke about her great-grandmother Ellen May.
One touching visit during the tour was to the “Children’s Garden”, described by Anita Coonan as a “beautiful and peaceful burial place”, which was constructed in 2008 and features an archway designed and constructed by Rex Greenland.
The group also visited the gazebo which had been constructed and donated to the Trust by Chris Arnup and his family, and the new rose memorial garden around the gazebo.
Anita referred to the research on the history of the cemetery undertaken by Brian Maunder, which had been of inestimable value to the Trust.
Both Chris and Brian are former members of the Cemetery Trust.
Many favourable comments were received at the conclusion of the evening, with several people remarking on the appearance of the cemetery.
The tidiness of the cemetery is attributable in part to the work of the Friends of the Cemetery group, led by Trust member Liz Jensz, which meets fortnightly on Thursdays.