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    Local News
       

      covering the towns of Warrnambool, Port Fairy, Port Campbell, Apollo Bay, Robe, Halls Gap, Lorne and Torquay

Port Fairy Folk Festival
9th March 2009. Impending financial doom and gloom did little to dampen enthusiasm at this years Port Fairy Folk Festival.
Although there were still a few tickets available in the weeks leading up to this years festival (something unheard of in previous years) organisers reported that by Friday night the festival was again full sold. This years festival again attracted a wide variety of International and local artist covering literally every form of folk, rock and contemporary music. Perennial favourites at the festival, The Borderers delighted crowds both inside the ticketed areas and at the outdoor venues with their high energy performances - Jim and Alex from The Borderers pictured below

For more photos from the Port Fairy Folk Festival - please Click Here

 

Fire Brigade Championships
8th March 2009. The best Victorian Urban Fire Brigades Championships in 50 years.
According to organising committee chairman Max Smart, "this years championships has been the best state championships in 50 years" and he hoped that it would attract more people into competitive firefighting. The three day event attracted over 70 fire brigades from across Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia and bought about 5000 people to Warrnambool.
Highlight of the weekends event was a torchlight parade through the main street of Warrnambool on Saturday night which attracted several thousand onlookers

The competition side of the championships were held at the cities purpose built track which is located next to the Friendly Societies football oval -
For more photos from the Fire Brigade Championships - please Click Here

 

Clean Up Campaign
1st March 2009 Warrnambool City Councilor, Peter Hulin shows some of the rubbish collected from the Merri river, close to the historic Wollaston bridge as part of the national "Clean up Australia" campaign which took place yesterday ( 1st of March).
Peter was one of many volunteers who participated in clean up of this part of the Merri river, and their efforts were rewarded with items such as a supermarket trolley, road signs, motorbike and a cash register along with the usual array of cans and bottles.
Wollaston Bridge, which was built in 1890 by pastoralist William Manifold, is now classified by the National Trust and a popular fishing and picnic spot and the clean up of the area will help maintain the amenity for locals and tourists alike.

 

Mousetrap Closes
26th February 2009 One of the first local tourist related businesses to feel the effects to the financial crisis is boutique cheese manufacturer, Timboon Farmhouse Cheese which announced that the business would be closing in the next few weeks.
Owners of the business, National Foods, cited the downturn in worldwide dairy prices and the falling demand for organic cheeses as the reason for the closure.
Timboon Farmhouse Cheese was established 25 years ago as the dream of Timboon farmer Hermann Schulz, who ran the company as a family business until he sold the business to National Foods' nine years ago.
The business currently employs 20 staff and produces a range of organic soft cheeses plus runs a small restaurant "The Mousetrap" (pictured below) and a retail outlet which sold their cheeses and a range of other local produce direct to the public.
The closure is expected to hurt Timboon's economy and have a significant impact on the local tourism industry as the iconic business was a significant drawcard in luring tourists from the Great Ocean Road into the southwest hinterland, sometimes attracting hundreds of people a day.


Wunta Festival Starts With a Bang
6th February 2009. Warrnambool's annual Wunta festival commenced with a spectacular fireworks show over Lady Bay.
This years Wunta festival underwent a number of radical changes in an attempt to revive the festivals appeal following dissappointing attendance in previous years. This year, the traditional wine and food night in the main sttreet was abandoned and replaced by a concert at Flagstaff Hill which was followed by the fireworks display over Lady Bay. Other events over the weekend included the Wunta Gala Ball ( also new this year) plus the traditional Wunta Big Aussie Breakfast, Wunta Market Day, Jazz in the Gardens, Wunta Breakfast Trail, Show 'N' Shine car show at Lake Pertobe and finished with the "Day at the Lake" concert.

The festival which has been running since the late 1980's was originally a community festival which was run primarily for the local commumity to get together and to allow a number of the cities clubs and organisations to stage events which by themselves would have been too small to promote individually. So in the early years the Rowing Club and Surf LIfe Saving Club ran whale boat races on the Hopkins river, the triathalon club club ran their major event for the year and a number of other sporting clubs also ran their annual feature events during the Wunta weekend. This formula worked well for many years but in recent times the focus has changed and the emphasis is more on the music side, with the organisers trying to create a mini music festival. With so many other similar events in the region the Wunta festival lost some of its identy, however this years changes may help in turning the event around.




Grampians in Bloom
If you are planning a weekend escape then a short spring break in the Grampians might be the answer - Sunny spring days ( ideal for bushwalking ) and cool nights - curled up in front of an open fire.

If that sounds like the sort of spring holiday you would like, then follow the links to the Grampians Accommodation Page


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
injured 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

Warrnambool Information Page
The first in a series of information pages covering the major towns and cities in the region - for more information on planning your summer holiday in Warrnambool - please click on the picture

Apollo Bay  Apollo Bay seems to have become the new in" place to visit, as seaside towns close to Melbourne become increasingly crowded and very expensive over the summer months.
More people are now looking for a quiet holiday beside the sea and Apollo bay is becoming the destination of choice for International and domestic traveler's alike. If you are looking for accommodation in Apollo Bay then read our Apollo Bay Accommodation Guide

Lake Pertobe
Mini Golf

open 7 days a week from 10 AM to 4 PM

close to the beach on Pertobe Road Warrnambool

Port Campbell one travel writer described Port Campbell as a windswept village with one pub and a few take away food places that catered to passing tourists!!
Was he having a bad day or did someone in the town offend him??
To find out more about this historic little coastal township you need to read our Port Campbell / Peterborough accommodation page to find out when and where to stay

 

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.
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
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

 

Photo Gallery Page
20th November 2008 - This week we feature the work of Craig Holloway and some very nice images of Ballarat
Click here for more info