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23 July Newsletter Friends of Eaglemont Village

Your weekly roundup of matters Eaglemont
23 July Newsletter Friends of Eaglemont Village
This juvenile male Gang Gang was with his family group breakfasting at the Eaglemont Station this morning.

The 11 villa sites quickly became more shops - Nilss has been scouring old newspapers again

National Tree Day

Rabbit burrows? No, Liz D has prepared some planting holes for the IGGS Yr4 class for Friday's event.

Sunday 30 July FofEV is hosting a Planet Ark National Tree Day event in Sherwood Road from 9:30 -12:30.

There will be a continuous morning tea at 43 Sherwood Road.

We are expecting to put in about 300 plants.

Friday morning the Year 4s at IGGS are coming down to the Substation to plant seedlings they have secured through fundraising.

Dish changing hands?

Negotiations have been underway for several weeks for the sale of Eaglemont Dish as an ongoing business.

Deb has run the business for 21 years.

Many will know of the Thursday special Passionfruit Sponges - few will know 111 staff have been on the books over the journey.

Shy work experience students, uni students working part-time, staff supported through the covid lock down years, new starts who stayed a long time, backpackers, staff supported through personal turmoil. All came through better for the experience.

And of course we have had the pleasure of Deb's children Bridgitte & Will's company.

Way back, brother Mike was a fixture around the place too - a sort of in-the-family handyman repairman.

Deb was always approachable for a special event. Some of you will remember a covid lockdown early opening for a very local Anzac Day Dawn Service.

About 20 of us stood with steaming coffees in a (socially-distanced) semi-circle on Silverdale Road while Stephen L's phone played the reveille. Rum added to the coffee on request.

The food prep and catering side of the business has kept Deb busy "in the kitchen" - which understates the role of the owner/manager in keeping a hospitality business ticking over.

The Dish has been an Eaglemont institution - a social hub, a saviour for parents dashing between the train and the tea table.

Our older community members have dined at home much better for Deb's take-out selection.

Well done Deb, enjoy your retirement, enjoy the fruits of all your labours, Thank You from a grateful Eaglemont community.


Mothers and Babies Meet in Eaglemont

Enjoying some company, and enjoying the Australia Post sponsored coffee & cake

The group now meets 1st & 3rd Monday mornings 10:30 a. m. each month at Eaglemont Dish.

All welcome - visitors, residents, supporters, older children.


Sally Opens Soon

Trademen have been busy fitting out the Artisans' Hub in preparation for Sally's coffee bar moving in.

Ryder-Cheshire this week

Wednesday this week is our monthly FofEV contribution at Ryder-Cheshire, 10 Donaldson Street Ivanhoe.

Light maintenance gardening, a fine morning tea to follow.

Eaglemonts Voice Readership

We now have 182 subscribers to our weekly FofEV newsletter, about 70% of whom open their emailed newsletter within 24 hours of it being dispatched.

King Parrots at Chelsworth

Colleague Robert Bender of Friends of Wilson Reserve has one of his regular volunteers deputising as his newsletter editor while he is travelling.

Kyoko reports the group observed King Parrots along the river while the group was working there last week.

Brilliantly coloured, a relatively sociable parrot often seen in company of other parrot species

The Long Wait for Facilities


We are residents of the oldest local government area in Victoria - indeed we precede the carving out of Victoria from the colony of NSW by 10 years.*

We have a 100 year plus heritage of local citizens' Progress Associations complementing the work of local government. We have a heritage of local families donating land via local government to the community stock of open space.

Records held by the Heidelberg Historical Society Show that the East Ivanhoe Progress Association in 1950 was writing (handwritten - copperplate script!) to Heidelberg Council calling for car parking and public toilets for their shopping precinct.

They had some modest success on the car parking - eventually.

We have, courtesy of high property values in this area, high rates being contributed to our local government body.

Banyule now has a population over 132,000 residents.

Banyule has an annual budget of over $185 million.

Banyule has been home for nearly 150 years to one of Australia's largest health complexes.

How the hell is it that after 183 years we are still having to argue for basic local government services to be provided with our rates by our Council in our community?

[*Heidelberg was first incorporated as a trust in 1840, making it one of the earliest local government formations in Australia. This pre-dates the formation of the colony of Victoria. On 12 October 1860 it became a road district, administered by a Roads Board. It became a shire on 27 January 1871 and was proclaimed a city on 11 April 1934.]


Your "on a platter" delivery of the posts to our Eaglemont's Voice website this past week:

Dogs of Eaglemont #41
A salute to our canine companions
Sylvester College
For around 20 years Miss Parson’s ran Sylvester Co-educational College in Eaglemont
Let’s Brighten This Place Up
Looking beyond botanical adornment
Know Your Place #5
Surrounded by expensive real estate yielding high Council rates - looking shabby
Fur, Feathers, Flowers and More #14
The flora and fauna of Eaglemont in your Inbox