Strathbogie Tableland

Hi everyone, As you have no doubt gathered when you drive through Strathbogie the buidling project has been held up due to the rain. Let me assure you that it is still going ahead just as soon as the site is dry enough to carry out the site cut. Then the crane will be able to reposition Area 3 which is going beside the toilet block and then the new building will go in behind the exisiting building. We are all still very excited. We are a little cramped as the junior classroom has been taken away and is already in use as a men's shed in Violet Town. In the interim the juniors have been relocated to the office which is certainly cosy but quite functional. We appreciate the use of a room in the hall for extra meetings and individual music lessons. We also appreciate Frank Dawson's patience as we have large piles of trees in the paddock waiting for things to dry out a bit so that they can be removed. But no one's complaining about the rain! Remember the olden days when we had wet winters in Bogie?

OPENING OF THE WESLEYAN CHURCH, STRATHBOGIE WEST – Euroa Advertiser March 22 1884 – The above church was opened on Sunday last, the opening ceremony being conducted by Mr Brewer. In the morning there were about 100 persons present. The Rev W. Wykes performed the evening service, but owing to heavy rain in the afternoon the attendance was meager. On Tuesday the tea meeting took place and was an unqualified success. There was a splendid spread provided and fully 200 partook. The tables were presided over by Mesdames Josh. and J. Hobbs, Misses Hinton, Smart, Bush & Stein. Mr W. H. Haley, Esq., gave a first class speech. The building cost about 95 pounds and as much as 19 pounds was raised at the tea meeting. 2010 – This church was moved into the township a few years later and placed on what is now a vacant block, next to the old garage. Six months after the opening of the Wesleyan Church tenders were called for the erection of a Presbyterian weatherboard Church at Strathbogie.

For anyone who was planning to attend a talk by Professor Kate Audy on Thurs 19th Aug (as advertised in Village Voice), the evening has had to be postponed until Thursday 2nd September, same time 7.30pm. Kate Audy will talk about how her role as Commissioner of Environmental Sustainability relates to small communities.

Post election working bee for Friends of Bridge to Bridge Wildlife Reserve will be held this coming Sunday, 22nd August, 9-11am. Meet at Smith's Bridge end,join us for a cuppa afterwards. All welcome.

I have been in Melbourne for several weeks and it was so nice to come home to Strathbogie. For all you ABBA fans there is an interactive exhibition called ABBA WORLD on at Federation Square until 31st October. You can find out more about it at abbaworld.com, including the ticket prices. Cheers, Heather

MISSING: Pure Bred Angus Heifer A 16 month old Angus Heifer has gone missing from our property in Brookleigh Road yesterday 8th August.She may be working her way down towards the township following the creek. She has a white tag 0902 in her left ear and an NLIS tag with our property number 3SBMT072 in her right ear.Please contact Michael or Diana if you see her - 57905129.Thankyou. Michael.

Should be posting this wearing my Dayle hat, not Website Manager, but can't remember my log in details!! This news is so exciting. What a transformation of our wonderful community school. Wish I was still a parent there to join in the progress of this building project. Always an interested community member. Thanks for sharing this news with us Ellen. Dayle

At some stage during the next week work will commence on the new building project at school. The section of the grounds behind the school will be fenced off; Area 3 will be moved; one section of the cypresses will be removed;the junior classroom will be taken away as it has been deemed to be in a poor condition; the site will be levelled and the new building consisting of two classrooms will be placed in position. Then we will be able to commence landscaping the area. It is indeed an exciting time! Thanks to all who are helping out with the various stages and especial thanks to Frank Dawson who has given such access as we may require through his paddock at the back.

Part 1 – The Euroa Gazette June 23, 1936 - At a recent meeting of the Strathbogie school committee, a letter was read from the Aero Safety Club requesting that the school children take up the matter of having the name of the district placed in a conspicuous position for the guidance of airmen generally. The suggestion is to have the name displayed in bold letters on some suitable roof near the school, or, alternatively set out on some conspicuous hill in lettering of white washed stones, or, where stones were not available, white petrol tins. The committee were favourably impressed and decided to ask the Shire Council for permission to put the name down in stone letters on a rising knoll on the road to Polly McQuinn’s, about 200 yards from the school. The Council to also be requested to remove the surface earth from the selected spot. This will give a deep red grounding and with letters of about 6 feet in length, the white stones should show up well. The maintenance of the letters in their white colouring will be left in future care of the school children. The work will be proceeded with on receipt of a favourable reply from the Council, and detailed instruction from the Aero Club.

PART 2 – July 28th 1936 – Permission was received by the school committee to remove pines and other ornamental trees at the school. The trees had grown so tall that they completely excluded the sun from the school building in the winter months, in addition to the danger of their falling on the building. - August 4th 1936 – The Working Bee, held at Strathbogie school on Friday last, was fairly well attended by parents and scholars. All the pines excluding the sun from the building were felled and the name (Strathbogie) put down in stone letters as requested by the Aero Safety Council. It is suggested that the joints in the stone work be filled in with cement, and when painted white, the name should show up well to all air traffic.

PART 3 - November 17th 1936 – A recent communication to the Strathbogie School Committee from the Aero Safety Council stated that an aeroplane would be sent up on Saturday, the 11th inst., at 11 a.m., to inspect the name STRATHBOGIE which has been recently laid down near the school. They also promised to land in the adjoining paddock (Mr J.R. Smith’s) if a suitable place were available for that purpose. Quite a large crowd of district school children and parents turned up, but after circling round and swooping quite low for a few minutes, the pilot evidently decided that a landing would be unwise, much to the disappointment of the school children as well as their parents.

whoops, some got chopped off - Mr and Mrs Price, Mr G.W. Simpson jr. and others did splendid service (as a bucket brigade) in saving the manager’s cottage and wood stack. The Broadford Dairy Coy., who have all the time shown a friendly attitude, have offered to take over and collect the supply of cream, and are getting good promise of patronage. Should the Strathbogie Dairy Coy. rebuild and start again, Broadford have agreed to drop out automatically.

Transcribed from The Euroa Gazette June 2 1936. STRATHBOGIE BUTTER FACTORY DESTROYED AN OLD LANDMARK VANISHES At about 2 a.m. on Thursday, great excitement was caused in Strathbogie by an outbreak of fire in the local Butter Factory, which was quickly demolished. Though the fire had a great hold when first seen it must have been smouldering for some hours. Messrs. Croom and Crosbie, neighbouring residents, who returned home about 1 a.m., saw nothing amiss. Mrs Price, who resides near the factory buildings, was awakened by the crackle and blaze, and almost at the same time Mr Young’s household at the general store on the opposite side observed the fire and raised the alarm. Shortly after there was a terrific explosion as the blaze reached the ammonia tank, and a sheet of iron was hurled 80 feet into the air. The building, butter made that day, and contents (including pasteurising plant), were soon reduced to ashes, though the residents managed to save the manager’s cottage and wood stack. The manager, Mr Wignell, was in Melbourne, and Mr R. Ferguson was in charge. The building and contents were partly covered with insurance, but the loss will be a great one, and coming at such a time, the Strathbogie Dairy Coy., by whom it was owned, have as yet made no plans for re-building. Mr L. Roberts, manager of the Euroa factory, promptly offered to give the company any possible assistance, a gesture greatly appreciated by the management. from the Strathbogie Correspondent The loss of the Strathbogie Butter Factory by fire on Thursday morning is a serious matter for dairymen and the district generally. The erection of this Factory in the early days of dairying was a boom to the pioneers, and without doubt – was the means of providing many struggling settlers with a chance of keeping the ledger square. The origin of the fire is quite a mystery, starting at 2.30 a.m. the explosion of the ammonia tank was heard for miles. Mr and Mrs Price, Mr

Winter is certainly here, which means the log fires are burning. With 4 open fires in the hotel, nothing beats the feel of sitting around an open fire with a glass in your hand. With Fidel 'Castro' Vera back in the kitchen, our Dining Room menu is featuring some great dishes. New to the winter menu will be wild barramundi, organic Strathbogie Ranges pork, chef's pie with home-made pastry, risotto of the day, freshly shucked oysters and Avenel lamb racks. The Dining Room is open from Wednesday - Sunday every week, with our great value Pot n' Parma night on Thursdays. We also have our second themed lunch for 2010, Beer, Beef, Burgundy & Blues on Sunday 1st August, a three course meal featuring prime rib-eye steak and includes matching drinks. Local blues duo Real Gone Blues will play through the meal and there will also be beer tastings before the meal is served. Price is $65 per person and tickets do sell out quickly so call now to reserve your seat.

Two new postings on this page of the website - have a look out for a bargain!!!

I've just received notice of a Mental Health First Aid Course to be held in Violet Town over 2 days, beginning tomorrow. It's very short notice - I've received excellent feedback about this course & only wish I was available to do it.....definitely another time. Have a look on the Home Page.

Hi all - I am getting together a bit of a history about the old house next to the old sale yards just out of the 'bogie township. If you have any info/recollections regarding when it was built, who lived there, or anything really, please email me at lizscarfe@yahoo.com or call on 5790 5271. Thanks, Liz.

Thank you from Jon and Rosie Last Sunday’s farewell lunch for us at the Recreation Ground was such a good experience – friends, soup, other delicious food, wine and lots of laughing. It was the best kind of send-off and we came away feeling very warmed by everyone’s kindness. Thank you to Dayle for helping to organise things and to Fiona for a fantastic chocolate cake. Thank you, too, to everyone who brought soups (what a delicious range!) and pies and sandwiches and other goodies – Bogie hospitality at its best. And thanks to Andrew T for his usual inimitable MC style, if not his tendency to reveal close and personal secrets! As we both said, it has been a great 13 years for us up here and we leave with some real sadness. We felt welcomed and accepted when we arrived and are now leaving having made a lot of really good friends. We’re excited about the future but will always feel very warmly about the Tableland and its people, and will certainly be back to visit from time to time. So, a big thank-you from us both to you all! Jon and Rosie

It might be a bit late now, sorry I didn't think of posting earlier, but Wilton Mackrell passed away Friday 28th May and his funeral is Monday 31st at Mark Floyd's Chapel Binney street at 11am.

Tablelanders are invited to come along to a film night being put on by SCOFF (Strathbogie Community of Food Finders) this coming Friday, May 28th, at the Rec Ground rooms.The film is called FOOD INC. and is a hard hitting documentary about US food production systems. Join us for a meal at 6pm (bring food to share with an emphasis on local produce) or come along at 7.15pm to see the film. Gold coin donation.