As our communities prepare to observe the 10th anniversary of Black Saturday, Mountain Monthly brings residents and visitors the following guide to commemorative events and projects. If you wish to obtain further details of any of the events listed, please contact the appropriate organisers. Additional health and well-being supports are being provided across the anniversary period and are outlined in our guide, along with emergency and crisis numbers. Part of the ‘Re

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Black Saturday survivor, Melanie Harris-Brady’s story of her personal journey of recovery over the past 10 years is due to be released in her book ‘Ten Years On’. Having lost her home and raising a young daughter alone, Melanie found that what came out of the garden - making jams and chutneys - became her therapy. Each year, around 7 February, her family and friends would gather to turn the kitchen into a food production effort. Her stalwart friend became her husband, a new

Most kids love a party and six year old Arizona is no different. No, it isn’t her birthday and there won’t be bouncy castles, but when she was offered a wildlife education function to reward her for a dogged effort to clean up the rubbish in our parks and on the roadways, she wanted to share it with the whole community. Our little eco-warrior had taken it upon herself to get the gloves on and pick up bags of it and wouldn’t let up on mum and dad until they let her do it. As w

Often, it is the seemingly small things that get us riled. In this case, it’s a carved wooden wombat that has sat on the Kinglake roundabout for years after his creator quietly placed him there. From time to time he gets moved around, but he never leaves the roundabout. When someone recently decided it would be a good idea to remove ‘Wally’ entirely they did more than have a laugh. He may not be the most refined piece of installation public art, but he is one of the community

A vote of thanks from the community for the efforts of our CFA volunteer firefighters and other fire authorities for the rapid response to fire outbreaks in the district in mid-March. For the Kinglake Ranges and other nearby communities, it was a strong reminder that while autumn was beginning to appear, the fire danger hadn’t lessened. While our thoughts were very much with the people and towns affected by the major fires in Western Victoria, that resulted in considerable pr

Living Memories April 2018 Wartime Memories April brings Anzac Day each year and a time to remember those who left from the Kinglake district, in both World War 1 and World War 2, to serve their country in places far from home and family. The following newspaper articles tell us of their willingness to sign up and the efforts made by the local community to bid them farewell. World War 1: 1915 "It's a Long Way to the Town Hall": One very proud recruit slept at the Victoria

There have been many different ways of visiting the Kinglake district over the years. In February MM, KHS member, Rob Verhagen, quoted the bicycle trip by members of the Melbourne Bicycle Club in 1883, surely one of the earliest ventures of its kind, and one of the most difficult given what we read of the state of the Kinglake roads (often referred to as 'tracks') at the time. Some visitors chose to walk here. In December 1915, the Carlton Harriers Ramblers Club weekend tour