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Local
News
covering
the towns of Warrnambool, Port Fairy, Port Campbell, Apollo Bay,
Robe, Halls Gap, Lorne and Torquay
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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
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For more photos from the
Port Fairy Folk Festival - please Click
Here
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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. |
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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.
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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 |
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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 |
Warrnambool Information
Page
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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
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| 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. |
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| 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 |
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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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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??
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| 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. |
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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 |
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
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