The emphasis for the Australia Day celebrations at the Woolshed this year is our unique Aboriginal heritage. This will begin with the traditional welcome to country given by a local Aboriginal elder, followed by local Aboriginals led by Damon Anderson playing the didgeridoo and singing traditional songs, prior to the flag raising ceremony.
As always, we will be catering for the children and families with all kinds of entertainment for the children, but this Australia Day a special treat will be in store for the children, for they will be able to learn how to play and to participate in the games that Aboriginal children played, along with a number other traditional old-time games from our European heritage.
Damon Anderson is a very gifted well known Aboriginal painter from our local community, he will be on hand all day with an exhibit of his art and as a special treat for the children, he will be teaching them the techniques of the traditional Aboriginal way of painting.
Another special treat for the children to help cope with the hot dry conditions, will be a large water slide, which will be available for the children’s entertainment for the whole of the long weekend.
Contact The Woolshed on 4692 2229.
Submitted by: Shana Rogers Business Development Manager The Woolshed at Jondaryan www.jondaryanwoolshed.com
Don your Aussie gear and join us in Highfields to celebrate the Australian Spirit together on Australia Day, Sunday January 26th, Come Rain, Hail or Shine!
Australia’s national day of celebrations starts at 9.00am and continues through until 5.00pm at the Highfields Pioneer Village.
There are heaps of displays for the family to enjoy, with everything from artworks to bee keeping; whip cracking to cow milking and butter making.
See displays highlighting pioneer farming life on the Darling Downs with tinsmithing, silversmithing, pioneer toys, stationary engines and an animal nursery.
At noon, the lunchtime fiesta starts with traditional lessons in making damper followed by a dampermaking competition, more entertainment and most importantly – lunch.
The official ceremony starts at 2pm, with a Didgeridoo Performance by Don Nikkelson, raising of the flag by the local Scouts and the singing of the National Anthem. The local Australia Day awards presentations follow, and the dampermaking competition prize winner is also announced. The ceremony ends around 3:00pm with the singing of Waltzing Matilda and a feast of damper, billy tea and a delicious sausage sizzle.
What: Australia Day Celebrations Where: Highfields Pioneer Village, 73 Wirraglen Road, Highfields Time: 9am-5pm Cost: Free, gold coin donations are welcome. Contact:Ph (07) 4696 6309
Program: 9am: Pioneer Village Hall opening. 9.15am: Aboriginal art talks by curator Cheryl Moggs. 9.30am: Milking, separating and butter making. 10am: Working draft horses. 10.30am: Sheep shearing. 10.40am: Family games. 10.45am: Vince Little discusses the first ambulance. 11am: Rope making. 11.30am: Beekeeping demonstration. Noon: Damper making display and comp followed by lunch and entertainment. 1pm: Jeff Close’s whip cracking school. 1.25pm: Family games. 1.30pm: Wheel tyring at blacksmith’s shop. 2pm: Australia Day ceremony. Didgeridoo performance †Don Nikkelson, flag raising, national anthem, welcome new citizens, guest speakers including Australia Day Ambassador Mrs Hetty Johnston, awards presentation 2.30-3.30pm: Free billy tea and damper, musical entertainment by Don Nikkelson and Stars and Idols.
Everyone is welcome, please forward this invitation to your family and friends and come and enjoy a day out at Hoghfields Pioneer Village and take in how our Australian pioneers lived.
NB: We now have a community hall onsite as our wet weather contingency plan!
Submitted by: Jody Dodds Treasurer Highfields Pioneer Village, Museum and Park Inc. 07 4696 6309
Highfields Pioneer Village is a non-profit organisation run entirely by Volunteers, dedicated to preserving the history of the Darling Downs for future generations.
Darren reports on Summer Tunes entertainment throughout the districts, Council’s next Ordinary meeting, coming Australia Day events, Council’s HPV immunisation course, four major sporting events coming to the region in February, the latest Friends of the Toowoomba Library book sale, a free 10-week healthy living course, and Council’s emergency after hours number.
Follow Toowoomba Regional Council on Twitter @ToowoombaRC
Ergon Energy customers are being targeted with phishing emails seeking personal information and payment of bogus electricity accounts. Group Manager Retail Service Channels Brett Milne, said customers in North Queensland and the Toowoomba areas had received emails from a company called Pacific Gas & Electric in the last few days.
“These customers knew the emails were a scam and rang to alert Ergon. There are probably substantially more customers who’ve also received the same email. To my knowledge there is no such electricity retailer as Pacific Gas & Electric offering services in regional Queensland,†he said.
Mr Milne said the emails are designed to seek credit card and personal information for fraudulent use.
“Phishing emails aren’t about buying something. They try to lure you by clicking on a link and entering your account and password information, which can then be used for financial gain. Our advice is never give out personal information over the phone or by email to people and or companies you don’t know”.
Mr Milne said “Customers receiving these emails should not respond but call the Office of Fair Trading hotline number †13 74 68 or contact them via their web site at www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au or the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on 1300 302 502 or visit their web site www.scamwatch.gov.au †.
Mr Milne said the Ergon customers should be vigilant as scammers become bolder in their attempts to elicit personal information.
Submitted by: Rod Rehbein Corporate Communications Manager Ergon Energy
A reunion for anyone connected to the The Downs Co-operative Dairy Association (Unity) Factory in Brook St, Toowoomba will be held at the Highfields Pioneer Village, Museum & Park Inc, 73 Wirraglen Rd on Australia Day, 26th January 2014.
The Pioneer Village opens at 9:00am, nibbles at 10:00am.
The Downs Dairy Museum dedicated to the history of the Unity/Dairy Farmers Factory is located within the Pioneer Village Complex – Entry by Gold Coin Donation.
Downs Co-operative Dairy Association Limited History
by Ken Dunn
In 1901 a controlled co-operative factory, run by a handful of farmers dependant on dairying was the vision on these dairymen’s minds. A drought in 1902 ended this idea for the time being. The first public meeting was held at Westbrook on Saturday, 23rd April 1904 for all persons interested in forming a co-operative butter factory.
Downs Daiiry Co-op’s original factory
A meeting was also held on the 14th May 1904 to discuss the name for the company. “The Darling Downs Co-operative Butter and Bacon Company” was proposed by a Mr Bullock and seconded by Mr Lancashire. With better seasons returning, a later meeting would determine the name of the factory to be “The Down’s Dairy Association Ltd”. It was to be located near the railway line at or near Toowoomba. The meeting also agreed “that the company be formed solely by dairymen and only new machinery be installed in the new factory and the best Manager suitable for the task ahead” be appointed.
The prospective was adopted on the 11th June 1904 with Capital of 20,000 pounds in shares at 1 pound each. Manufacturing operation commenced on the 16th October 1905. The Downs Co-operative Dairy Association Ltd officially opened on the 2nd November 1905. Unity and Co-operation – one is synonymous with the other. The Downs Co-operative Dairy Association Limited celebrated it’s Golden Jubilee: 1905-1955.
Fun Facts: Pasteurized bottle milk commenced in 1940 with a quantity of milk received at the factory. For the first full year of operation 1940-41 was 785,850 gallons, 286406 gallons sold as liquid milk and 499,444 gallons made into cheese, returning to suppliers the total value of £29,634/19/9.
There were over 300 workers employed at the factory in the 1960’s.
Acclaimed author and international speaker Will Tuttle Ph. D. will be in Toowoomba on 8 February 2014 to present the ideas from his book “The World Peace Diet”, which explores how our food choices have far greater ramifications than most of us realise, especially for peace and social justice.
Will Tuttle has a master’s degree in humanities from San Francisco State University and a Ph.D. in the philosophy of education from the University of California. He trained in Korea as a Zen Buddhist monk and has worked extensively in Tai Chi, yoga, meditation and intuition development. He lives in Healdsburg, California.
“The World Peace Diet” presents a set of universal principles for all people of conscience that shows how we as a species can move our consciousness forward, allowing us to become more free, more intelligent, more loving, and happier in the choices we make.
“If you could sum my message up in a simple phrase, it would be: Respect for all life.” ~ Dr Will Tuttle
Dr Tuttle says: “Food is our most intimate and telling connection both with the natural order and with our cultural heritage. But it is increasingly clear that the choices we make about food today are leading to environmental degradation, enormous human health problems, and unimaginable cruelty toward our fellow creaturesâ€Â. “The World Peace Diet is a powerful book†says Mo Orr, member of the community outreach group ‘Vegans In Toowoomba’. “And it’s exciting that Will Tuttle will be here, in Toowoomba, sharing his ideas. His message is one that will resonate with many people.”
Will Tuttle invites people who share his concerns to join him on Saturday 8 February 2014 at Laurel Bank Park Hall, 50 Hill Street, at 2:00 pm.
Tickets $15 per person online, $10 concession, and $18 at the door (includes light refreshments)To book online: www.trybooking.com/EAYQ - For more information: www.willtuttletour.org.au/
To Contact us : contact@willtuttletour.org.au Toowoomba contact: Mo Orr mob: 0407 900 019, email: gomomo@bigpond.net.au
A packed meeting of 40 concerned citizens met on Friday 10th of January to decide how best to deal with a Council that has shown a reluctance – verging on disdain according to some present – to consult or communicate intelligently and honestly with Toowoomba residents.
Frank Ondrus
Mr Frank Ondrus, President of Householders’ Options to Protect the Environment (HOPE), called the meeting at the request of numerous action groups within Toowoomba. “To be honest, I did not think there would be such a positive reaction to the meeting notice,” Mr Ondrus said.
“I had to turn away about 30 concerned citizens because of the limited space at the meeting venue; and there were a similar number of apologies from people who were at work and could not take time off to attend, so I am blown away by the response,” Mr Ondrus said.
“A steering committee was elected to draw up the operating framework of the new group – with particular emphasis on the aims and objectives. Members of the steering committee are: Mr Matt Davis, Ms Gail Miller, Mr Des Ballinger, Ms Lyn Boyle, Mr Terry Ryan, Mr Hugh Wilson and Mr Paul Herbert, with myself as acting chairâ€Â, said Mr Ondrus
“We must acknowledge upfront that all councils will inevitably generate a certain level of disquiet within the community – that is just the nature of local politics. This meeting however, showed that the disquiet in Toowoomba today, not only with the elected councillors but also with significant staff members, has gone well beyond the ‘acceptable burble’ of discontent,” Mr Ondrus said.
“Spokespeople from a range of interest groups attended and outlined their particular concerns including: Advisory Committees ignored or a run as a sham; poor regional services; poor and expensive community facilities; the destruction of Toowoomba’s cultural heritage through ill-conceived development; the theft of public parkland to build upon; the condition of the creek systems; the failure to design safe and useful bike infrastructure; the breakdown of sensible planning processes and the continuing issues surrounding Toowoomba’s water supplies.
As well as this list of concerns, the one central and unifying issue identified was the inexplicable inability – some said point-blank refusal – of the Mayor and his colleagues to consult or communicate intelligently with citizens,” Mr Ondrus said.
Submitted by: Frank Ondrus Interim Chairperson of CCG Steering Committee ph 4369 2135 Concerned Citizens Group c/- PO Box 6118 Clifford Gardens Toowoomba QLD 4350
