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South
West Victoria On Line
A
travelogue of South West Victoria - independent and impartial travel
advice for the Southwest of Victoria and the Southeast of South
Australia
featuring the towns of Warrnambool,
Port Fairy, Port Campbell, Apollo Bay, Robe, Halls Gap, Lorne, Torquay,
Robe and Mt Gambier
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Hi
5 coming to Fun 4 Kids
3rd
May 2008
Hi-5, one of Australia's most popular children's acts will
headline this years, Fun 4 Kids festival which will run
from the 29th of June to the 6th of July. Other top line
acts will include popular Wiggles character, Dorothy the
Dinosaur, Oz Opera's production of Cinderella, British trio
"The Chipolata's and for the first time at Fun4Kids
there will be a Dinosaur Petting Zoo, where life sized dinosaur
puppets will give the audience a close up view of prehistoric
times.
The program will also include a number new activities including
tenpin bowling, kids sword fighting sessions, clay animation
workshops, building an incredible city of boxes, shadow
puppetry, woodwork, reptile shows along with a whole host
of interactive workshops running every day of the festival
In
total all the activities provide over 2,500 hours of high
quality children's entertainment and organisers are predicting
a record attendance in excess of 35,000 at this years event.
Tickets sales have already commenced and more information
can be found at the Fun 4 Kids website
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Photo Gallery Page
10th April 2008 - This week we feature
the works of local photographer Craig Holloway with a selection
of images from around Anglesea on the Great Ocean Road
Click
here for more info
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Aussie
Rules 150th Celebrations
2nd
May 2008 This
year marks the 150th year of Australian Rules Football and
for the Western district of Victoria, in particular the small
town of Moyston there is a special relationship with our unique
national code of football. Thomas Wills (the founding father
of Australian rules football) grew up at Lexington Station,
just outside Moyston and as a child played with aboriginal
children in the area and learned to play a game which involved
kicking a ball made of possum skin. In later years Thomas
Wills took this game and amalgamated it with aspects of other
ball games and created the game of Aussie Rules with the first
match being played in a park in Melbourne in 1858.
Thomas Wills not only created the game he also went on to
play 172 games with the Melbourne Football Club ( the club
he co-founded) he was also instrumental in the creating the
Geelong football club in 1859 and later on he became captain
of the Richmond Football club.
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Celebrations of the 150th year will continue during the
next 6 months with events being held both nationally and
at a local community level. The next event will be a Community
Football Weekend which will be held on the weekend of the
9-11th of May and will be an opportunity for the entire
football community to get together and celebrate our great
game. The AFL have created a resource kit to help make the
weekend a memorable experience for all, home and away teams
are encouraged to work together to plan activities for the
weekend. If your footy club has yet to organise a plan for
Community Football Weekend, download
the club resource kit here for ideas on how to get
start.
Photo opposite - The memorial to Thomas Wills in the main
street of Moyston
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Otway
Logging to End
3rd
May 2008 In good news for the local tourism industry,
the government has announced that the final logging licences
for the Otways forest are about to expire ending an industry
that dates back over 150 years. The Otways forest is fast
becoming a major tourist attration and according to spokesman
for the National park, now faces the danger of being loved
to death. The Otways are Australia's most southerly temperate
rain forest and forms the major part of the catchment area
for Western Victoria's water supply and the ending of logging
will also remove the possibility of contamination. The benifits
to tourism will possibly not be seen for some time as the
most scenic regions in the Otways such as Melba Gully, Shelly
Beach, Triplet Falls, Stevenson's Falls and Blanket Bay have
been protected from logging for many years and the regeneration
of previously logged regions wil take many years to occur.
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Tipping
in Western Victoria
The
practice of tipping is essentially an American custom which
has been copied ( often without question of why it is done)
by many other countries across the globe (including Australia).
Movies and television during the 60's and 70's made it popular
and it seemed the "in" thing to do for the suave and
sophisticated. However in the last few years you scarcely see
any form of tipping in American movies or television even though
it is now more prevalent, and the subject to a whole array of
social conventions and
etiquette. Such
things as, taxi drivers get 10% of the fare plus an extra $1
if they carry your bag, a doorman gets $1or $2 and hotel porters
should get $5 plus $1 for each case they carry to your room
and the list goes on.
In fact it has now become so confusing that there are published
guidelines on who to tip and how much you should tip. The reason
for the importance of tipping in America are workplace regulations
that allow employers (especially in the hospitality industry)
to pay their employees as little as $2 per hour and so they
are basically forced into a form of institutionalised begging
in order to make a living.
It is interesting to note that in a country
which purports to have such high ideals that the exploitation
of the poorest and lowest paid members of the community is now
assumed to be a Christian virtue |
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The Australia workplace is radically different and
every employee is guaranteed fair pay and conditions, so it
is not necessary to tip the person serving you, to
ensure they receive a proper wage.
This is the main reason why tipping is not really relevant
in Australian society and in fact as you travel through this
region (Western Victoria) you will find that there are no
mandatory gratuities or built in restaurant service charges
of any kind and tipping is not expected anywhere.
Tipping in restaurants is certainly always appreciated, and
is becoming more common, but only to the extent where the
bill is rounded up to the nearest $5 or $10. and where the
service has been good.
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In local hotels and taxis, a similar system applies where
many people simply leave some of their coin change on the
bar after picking up their drink, or tell the taxi driver
to keep the change. Tipping in other service industries
(such as hair salons, day spas ) is still uncommon.
In
capitol cities especially in some of the higher priced restaurants,
there seems to be a growing expectation of tipping, but
in most case is just an opportunistic way of fleecing unsuspecting
international tourists who are accustomed to tipping. If
you question the management you will find that tipping is
not mandatory and the staff are being paid a proper wage.
In general tipping is not part of the Australian culture
and while the sentiment of rewarding people for a job well
done is admirable, the delivery of the gratuity is often
less than perfect, where for instance, if you have a lovely
meal in a restaurant, then tipping the waitress will not
ensure the chef is rewarded for his efforts.
Finally one last point - in cases where someone has gone
beyond the call of duty to help or assist then a form of
gratuity is just as appropriate here in Australia as it
is in America or Timbuktu, so when you receive good service
then reward it in way you think is appropriate - even a
sincere "thank you", will be appreciated
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Local
Pubs
The local country pub has been the heart and soul of Australian
rural communities for nearly two centuries, but now they are
closing in unprecedented numbers. If you would like to know
more about the Pubs of the Western district and some of the
history then visit our Pub guide . |
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Now
and Then
A nostalgic look back on some of the regions fine old buildings
and how they have survived the transition into the 21st century
- this week we take a look at at some of the century old buildings
in Kepler and Timor streets in Warrnambool
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| Restaurant
Guide
Eating in unknown restaurants is one of life's little adventures
but an adventure most people would like to avoid.
So if you are looking for the best places to throw on the
nose bag then you should take a quick look at our
restaurant guide
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Or for general inquiries fill in the form below and allow the
accommodation providers to contact you - |
Warrnambool Information
Page
If you are planning to come to Warrnambool to see the whales
this season or the Fun4Kids festival or just a quiet winter
getaway in Warrnambool then this page contains some basic
information on planning your winter escape to Warrnambool
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Fletcher
Jones Story
David
Fletcher Jones left school before his 13th birthday and worked
in a small market garden before enlisting in the army and serving
in France during WW1. A shell burst just metres away, left him
severely |
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and he was told by army doctors that he would never work
again. In spite of his injuries, a scant education and a profound
stammer, went on to become the worlds largest clothing manufacturer.
Now some 40 years after his passing, the Warrnambool manufacturing
facility has gone and factory he built has been sold to a developer
- To find out more about this inspirational man then click the
photo or the link above |
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Planning on Visiting Robe
This Summer???
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Doubles
$110
Family $134 (4)
Click
the picture for more inform-ation on Robe- town Motor Inn
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Robetown
Motor Inn
Quality accommodation
Close to beach and centre of Robe
Commission free on-line booking
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Lake
Pertobe
Mini Golf
open 7 days a week from 10 AM to 4 PM
close to the beach on Pertobe Road Warrnambool
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Interesting &
out of the way places to visit
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| Robe
- a picturesque , historic fishing village
with great beaches in the middle of Australia's premier wine
growing region. It is a little bit off the beaten track which
means that you don't have fight your way through crowds of tourists. |
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| Robe also has great seafood restaurants,
lots of local wineries and loads of history - so if you are
planning a relaxing spring holiday then visit our Robe
Accommodation page |
| Port
Fairy a small historic fishing village
and one of Victoria's earliest settlements. The town has over
50 historically listed buildings and a lot of the town remains
substantially unchanged over the last century |
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| In recent times a lot
of "top end of town" investment money has poured in
the township creating some up market accommodation that has
added to the towns existing motels, B&B's and caravan parks.
So to find out where to stay and how much you will pay then
you should look at out Port Fairy Accommodation
page |
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