- Chris Hill
- 0419528446
- chrishill3@bigpond.com
Yarra Ranges National Seniors
A warm welcome to Yarra Ranges Branch of the NSA. (covering approximately the Yarra Ranges Council Map area of the Yarra Ranges and Yarra Valley). We are a friendly, inclusive and active Branch of over 50s with a voice to Government.
Guests and visitors are most welcome to join us at any of our - Meetings (held on the 2nd Monday of the month) at the Lillydale Lake Comunity Room, Lilydale Lake Road, Lilydale. Our Guest Speakers are interesting, informative and cover many subjects.
Also we are involved in many Activities - 'Out & About', 'Dining Out', Saturday Walks and a variety of Entertainment (Morning Melodies, live theatre, live musicals theatre, films etc).
This Branch was first formed in 2006 and has during this time supported a variety of charities to improve the welfare of the community.
Happy Birthdays and Congratulations to.
30th January Cliff
9th February John W
10th February Jean
11th February Judy J
16th February Sandra
18th February Pamela
23rd February Patrick
Our President's Report
Hi Members, Another year has gone. What a good year it has been. Plenty of activities organised by Chris to attend. We have at least 6 new members which is really good. Also, we had 47 members attend the Christmas Dinner at Sanctuary House Convention Centre at Healesville, it was an excellent meal. We had plenty of volunteers to ‘man’ the Awareness Tent at the Lilydale Melba Festival & Street Fair. Merry Christmas to all members and a Happy New Year. Hope to see you all at the February meeting.
Happy reading
Trevor
President
General Information
MEMBERSHIP FEES
Please ensure you use the ‘Yarra Ranges NSA Application Forms’ at the end of our ‘Grapevine’ News Letter (downloadable from this Website) and then give it to the Branch Secretary(Lyn). By using our form this informs NSA that you are a member of this Branch. The Branch receives an annual payment for your Membership.
EVENT ATTENDANCE
Everyone needs to please text or email Chris with any changes they want to make after they have put their name down for an ‘Outing & About’ / ‘Dining Out’ / ‘Morning Melodies’. Also, if you put their name down for an ‘Outing & About’ / ‘Dining Out’ / ‘Morning Melodies’ please make sure you put it in your diary, so you don’t overlook or forget what you have made a commitment that day.
WELFARE INFORMATION
Please contact Pamela, our Welfare Officer, if you know of anyone who is unwell, having an operation, in need of help or has passed away within the family.
COMMUNITY INFORMATION
JP facilities are available at the Croydon & Lilydale Police Station on the following days and times –
Croydon Tuesdays 10.00am to 1.00pm Lilydale Thursdays 10.00am to 1.00pm
CONTRIBUTE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
Have you been travelling? Have you attended a good show? Have you read a good book? Is there something you have experienced, that you would like to share with the members of the Branch? A story? One-liners? Photos from outings? Contact Lyn.
GUEST SPEAKERS for our branch meetings
If you have a suggestion for a ‘Guest Speaker’ please let a Committee Member know.
SPRINGTIME TRAVELS
Springtime Travels – I was fortunate enough to head off on ‘Botanica Garden’ sightseeing tour with my sister in September this year. The weather was a windy & blustery time but the sun did shine & the rain stayed away. Our tour guide was Judy Horton an OAM for her service to horticulture and is a member of the Australian Institute of Horticulture and the Horticultural Media Association. She is a keen gardener and is currently editor for the Garden Clubs of Australia magazine. So, we had a very experienced gardener to show us around. Our tour was Canberra’s Floriade, New South Wales Tulips & Private Gardens in Spring. Leaving Sydney on our tour bus we headed to Mount Anna Botanic Gardens – this garden is the native plant garden of the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens Trust – it showcases the Australian flora with great displays. Next, we headed to Glenmore House a private garden of Mickey Robertson. After Mickey and her husband, Larry, purchased the original farmhouse, they gradually restored and extended it, with the various outbuildings being repurposed to fit in the with gardens & they provided us with a magnificent lunch. Our overnight stay at the Briars County Lodge was most enjoyable this was just outside of Bowral in Burradoo. Stayed here for 2 nights. The views from our rooms overlooked a small lake with ducks around. Our next morning was off to Upper Woodlands Garden located between Berrima & Mittagong. Charles and Lynne Moore, the owners, bought the 40-hectare property in 1989. Charles (who showed us around) has been creating this garden for his post-retirement hobby. The garden has formal terraces and informal beds with magnificent views, creating pictures with every turn you made. He does put his home on the Open Gardens that these lovely properties can do Next, we headed for the Bowral Tulip Festival for its annual event in spring blooms – very busy & very colourful at Corbett Gardens in the centre of Bowral. Tulip Time heralds the arrival of Spring in the Southern Highlands. Features around 80,000 mass planted tulips in all shapes and colours. After lunch we next visited Retford Park – which belonged to James Fairfax AC he gifted the house and gardens to the National Trust of Australia (NSW) in 2016. The Fairfax family played host to notable visitors, including members of the British & European Royal Families. The gardens were wonderful to walk through & view. We then headed to Canberra for 2 days. We had a sightseeing tour of Canberra & up to Mt Ainslie to view the layout of Canberra created by Walter Burley Griffin. A little unknown fact that most of the architectural drawings were done by his wife Marion Mahony Griffin but he got all the accolades. There is now a plaque stating this for visitor to see. Then were taken to the National Gallery of Australia. My sister & I chose to have a wander around and walked over to the Old Parliament Gardens & back We had come to view Floriade & we were not disappointed. The wind was gusting and had been for several weeks. Most unusual for the area but we have been experiencing the same in Melbourne too. Floriade is the biggest flower festival in Australia and is set in the grounds of Canberra’s Commonwealth Park on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin. It was its 37th year & the theme was ‘Art in Bloom’. If Floriade wasn’t enough, then the private Tulip Top Gardens were magnificent. It has one of the best bulbs displays in Australia. It is 10 acres of magnificent tulips and other spring flowers nestled amongst hundreds of blossom trees. They play classical music as you wander around looking at all the sights and has Dutch food fare to eat too. Best display for me was for the tulips. In the afternoon, we were taken to the National Arboretum Canberra which has its 94 forests of rare and endangered symbolic trees from Australia & around the world. Also, the artworks in the National Bonsai and Penjing Collection were on display. This tour was not a walking tour, we stayed on the bus – lots of trees to view & there is an area for where the famous people plant a tree or two. Royals, celebrities & political entities. We left Canberra & drove through to Goulburn to visit Doug Rawlinson’s Kentgrove Garden. As a child he had lived at this property while his father was the manager. Doug purchased it in 2006 and set about restoring it to what it is today. Doug’s achievements include the creation of a 750 square meter ‘Victorian Kitchen Garden’, transforming an old tennis court into a climate-resilient space protected by shade cloth, showcasing sustainable practices like ‘no-dig’ gardening and onsite water sourcing. He had created a miniature 14th century medieval village out of a fallen tree stump, an 800 square meter Japanese garden and a “B” Garden (Bee, Bird & Butterfly Garden) After lunch we were taken to Nowra to visit Arthur Boyd’s Studio to wander through the English -style gardens and landscape that inspired Mr Boyd. Boyd and his wife gifted the place to the Australian people as a place for artists to work and create by the Shoalhaven River. The homestead itself offers a glimpse into the history of Bundanon and the story of the Boyd family. Once we arrived in Nowra we were taken to the Yellow House Heritage Pernnials – small cottage garden. The owner Mim propagates all the plants she sells them. All are grown outdoors & have to cope with all weathers, so they are tough. There were hundreds of different perennials in the nursery and Mim was particularly interested in the Cranesbill Geraniums, Geums, Achilleas, Artemisias, Heleniums, Salvias, Penstemons, Pernnial Phlox & Sanguisorbas. Now they are all a mouthfull but all very colourful to look at. She has an online business and if you like those sort of plants check this website -
https://www.yellowhouseheritageperennials.com.au/
From there back to Sydney – lots to do & see, very enjoyable. Happy gardening.
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