Past Branch Activities

13 of our group met at Dandenong Station at 6.30am to go on the train to Castlemaine. The weather was very kind to us as the day previously had been very wet and cold.

We arrived at Castlemaine about 10am and our first stop was the local Bakery for coffee, some enjoying Danish pastries and hot cross buns and then a walk down the main street to Theatre Royal which has been used as a Theatre since 1858. It is the oldest continually operating theatre on the Australian mainland. We unfortunately could not have a tour as the person who does them was off for the day.

We then  went on to the Tourist Information Centre after which we walked up to  Buda Historic Home and Garden which was built in 1861 set in 12.2 hectares of gardens. We then decided we would walk back to town which was much faster as it was down hill to the Cumberland Hotel where we could rest our weary bodies. We all enjoyed our lunch before proceeding to  the Art Gallery and Historical Museum. We then  headed to the station to catch the train home to Melbourne.

Woke up on Saturday 11th February 2012 to a grey cloudy sky and with the promise of showers throughout the day, not the best of weather for our Progressive Dinner where members have to get between addresses and keep dry. The only consolation was that the temperature was in the 20s. Anyhow despite what the weather dished up the day would go ahead. During the day depending where you were there were absolute buckets of rain.

This was the fourth year we have run our annual progressive dinner and each year the event gets bigger and bigger. The appointed hour came along and 45 members and their guests met for drinks and nibbles at Laureen’s.

This was followed by our main course at Jan’s which consisted of chicken, ham and salad with plenty for seconds. On other occasions we have had question sheet that you have to answer between addresses, this year however Fay had a sheet of questions where symbols gave you the answer. Everyone tried to answer as many questions as they could, the winner being the person with the most answers. Congratulations to Bryan. Fay also had a jar of smarties and you had to guess how many were in the jar. Problem was that Fay had to revise the count because some person who will remain nameless ate six out of the jar while it was on the table.

A bit of a shower interrupted proceedings after the meal was finished but by this time it was off to Denis’s for sweets and coffee. The sweets consisted of apple strudel, fruit salad and lashings of cream. Around 9.00pm everyone started heading towards home after having participated in a lovely meal and heaps of good company.

Thank you to Laureen, Jan and Denise who once again opened up their homes to the mob. Also thank you to Fay and her happy band of workers who organised and put together the meal.

Once again a happy and successful event on our busy social calendar.

17 of our members attended  Burden Park on Friday the 3rd February. We were able to make up 3 teams for the bare foot bowling competition, and we were very proud when one of our teams won for the night. The other teams also played well. We all had a fun night with perfect weather. The ones who chose not to play supported the others by cheering them on. We all joined in the sausage sizzle at the end for a chatter and drinks.

8.00am in the morning 33 members and guests gathered at the Dandenong RSL for our much anticipated trip to see the sights of Daylesford. The trip though the city at this time of the day was a dream run and it was not long before we were merrily rolling along the Western Highway. Our first stop off was in Bacchus Marsh a town with a history dating back to just before gold was discovered in nearby Ballarat during the mid-1850s. The town is now off the main highway and is famous for it’s fruit and vegetables. It is well worth turning off the Western Highway to purchase locally produced fresh fruit and vegetables.

After a short break it was back on the road again travelling past Pykes Creek Reservoir. The reservoir is located on a tributary of the Werribee River and supplies water for Bacchus Marsh and the Werribee irrigation district. It was nice to see the water levels up to the brim.

On the second turn off to the town of Ballan it was a right hand turn towards Daylesford, travelling through the communities of Spargo Creek, Korweinguboora, Leonards Hill, Sailors Falls and on to the historic town of Daylesford. Daylesford was founded in 1852 with the finding of alluvial gold in the area now occupied by Lake Daylesford. The area was initially called Wombat Flat.

We drove through the main street of Daylesford with historic buildings such as the State School built in 1874 and still in use today, the Town Hall, and the grocer shop on the corner of Albert and Vincent Streets was built around 1860 and has been in continuous use as a grocery store right up to the present day. From here we travelled to Hepburn Springs where everyone was able to sample the mineral water and take in the sights.

After leaving Hepburn we drove back to Daylesford where everyone had the chance to roam the main street and get something to eat. It was back on the bus at 2.00pm and off to the Mill Markets. The Mill Markets are housed in the old woollen mills and is a huge premises filled with antiques and collectables. Come 3.00pm and it was time to board the bus for the trip back home travelling via Lake Daylesford. Lake Daylesford, originally an idea by a Norwegian, Christian Christensen, to provide hydro-electric power to the town, was finally brought to fruition in 1929 by Councilor Trembath, a descendant of a Cornish miner. The lake was officially opened on the 15^th of April 1930.

The trip home was a barrel of laughs as we set out to play bingo on the way home; into the first game we discovered that the marbles only went up to 75 so with a little bit of adjustment we managed to get back on track. Before we knew it we were back in Dandenong; but the day was not over yet, we topped the day of with 20 of us having dinner at the Sandown Dogs finally parting company around 8.00pm. Thank you to Fay for organising such a wonderful time.

Saturday afternoon saw several members got together to peel and slice the 20 kilos of onions for the following days Bunnings sausage sizzle. Most being old hands at peeling and slicing onions meant there few tears shed. The trick is to soak the unpeeled onions in cold water for 10 minutes before touching peeling or slicing them.

The following day, “Father’s Day” the weather was a bit iffy with gusty wind and threatened showers. However except for a few spots around 10am the day turned out to be rather nice. When we turned up at Bunnings we found that we had to set up on the opposite side door; wondered how things would go as the vast majority of customers enter through the other door. We finally set up, sorted ourselves out and commenced cooking and the smell of onions and sausages soon enticed the customers over to our side of the door.

With plenty of willing helpers throughout the day all went off without a hitch enabling us to make a profit of $629. The Bunnings Sausage Sizzle day as well as raising money for our branch has become a “Social Event” where you can be assured of a bit of a laugh.

A special thanks to Annette and Allen for their ongoing work in organising our sausage sizzle days, also a big thank you to those who help out during the day. Without your help it would be impossible to run this event and the branch would be the poorer for it.

Walking into the Shark Restaurant on a Saturday night is a bit overwhelming with around 150 people seated in the restaurant. Our group of 23 members and guests were lucky enough to be partially screened off from others. I wondered how they could ever take our order and have the time to cook and serve it. I can only describe the atmosphere as chaotic. But to my surprise orders were taken and the meals served in a timely fashion. The meal was very nice and the serves were more than enough. It was nice to see several members bring family and or friends. The only downside to what I would now describe as organised chaos was the noise of the place, as it made it very difficult to hold and listen to a conversation.