Years of hard work to control weeds is being undone by infestations of ragwort, thistles and blackberry on neglected properties.
 Cartoon by Natasha Williams-Novak By Geoff Ellis
BUSY business seeks over 50s workers. Boss happy to allow time off for medical appointments. Prefer public transport users. Hours to suit grandchild minding. Please apply in person. If only! The reality for most job seekers in their 50s and 60s is a humiliating round of interviews with their job service agency, an obligation to apply for jobs for which they know they are not suited, and a complete lack of respect or interest in their skills from employers.  Driving on the back roads was always a source of joy for Geoff Ellis. These days he wonders what’s around the next bend.
 St Paul's Boys Home, Newhaven, 2018. Photo: Sam Brady Most of us assume the owner of a heritage-listed building has to protect it. Geoff Ellis discovers it isn’t so.
 Reeve and Serfs, Queen Mary's Psalter, 1310 One-hour jobs, cheap cab rides, cheap food deliveries … Geoff Ellis asks whether the digital economy has freed us or enslaved us.
 Rupert Jeffkins (rear) and Ralph De Palma push their wounded Mercedes towards the finish line of the Indianopolis 500. The first Australian win in the famous Indianapolis 500 reminds Geoff Ellis of another Australian who lost the race but won many hearts doing it.
 By Geoff Ellis
A LATE afternoon temperature drop presaged sunset as trickles of people meandered toward the Harold Hughes Reserve. On the edge of darkness the Corinella community gathered around the rotunda to share the hurt that comes from the loss of a loved one. In memory of Bert, dozens of people lit candles as the voice of a lone singer carried our thoughts toward the Southern Cross.  Ross and Tracey Denby are growing a community of diners who value friendship and conversation as much as good food.
 Geoff Ellis had every reason to be suspicious when a stranger rang with an offer that sounded too good to be true.
 David Kemp has been ticking off milestones on a path that few others will travel. Next is brain surgery under a local anaesthetic.
 Over 43 years at the Holden proving ground in Lang Lang, Allan George drove every new Holden model.
 Angus McMillan History is written by the victors, who also get the naming rights. Geoff Ellis argues that we have a chance to redress the balance when it comes to Angus McMillan.
 Cartoon: Natasha Williams-Novak Geoff Ellis wonders why we mourn the victims of the Las Vegas killer but are indifferent to a genocide much closer to home.
 Carlowe’s joy was contagious. Geoff Ellis pays tribute to “a great dog, not always a good dog”.
 By Geoff Ellis
UP IN the Bass Coast hills the temperature drops rapidly once the sun dips below the ridgelines. Lew Potter’s beanie keeps him warm but there’s not much daylight left and those new-borns need to be in the shed with their mum. Lew picks up a swag of squirming lamb and heads off across the paddock. “C’mon mum, here they are ...”  Friends of the State Coal Mine president Steve Harrop. Visitors to the mine will be able to compare the performance of different panels and batteries. Wonthaggi’s state coal mine has long been a magnet for history buffs. Soon it will also be drawing visitors interested in new technology.
 Geoff Ellis meets the legendary Mike Cleeland, who’s been digging for clues for three decades.
 Inverloch beach. Photo: Bass Coast Shire Council By Geoff Ellis
STORM surges and high tides regularly inundate car parks in Rhyll and Inverloch. Anyone who walks the beaches along the Grantville waterline can show you where the foreshore once was and how much closer it is to the highway.  In our daily travels throughout Bass Coast, we are never far from thousands of years of human history.
 A Korinne farming family turned their backs on Big Milk and found a brighter new future. Geoff Ellis reports.
 Once upon Geoff Ellis knew exactly what the council should do. And then he became a councillor.
 By Geoff Ellis
NOTE to self: Next time – removalists. A white ute dashes along Sheepways dragging a dust cloaked trailer. Back in Wattle Bank another trailer waits as the next load grows around it. The new place is log jammed. When does the tip close? Can the op-shop sell any of this treasure? Why is the dog barking? |
Geoff EllisGeoff Ellis is a Bass Coast Shire Councillor, Chairperson of the West Gippsland Regional Library Corporation Board, delegated member of the Bass Coast South Gippsland Reconciliation Group, supporter of South Gippsland Rural Australians for Refugees, member of the South Coast Inclusion Network (LGTI reference group), Chair of the BCSC Access and Inclusion Advisory Committee, member of the Unemployed Workers Union and is currently a non-financial member of the ALP. Archives
March 2019
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