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 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.
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 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?  By Geoff Ellis
FRANKENSTEIN wasn't the first scientist to have the next best thing become the exact opposite. He won’t be the last. Glyphosate-based products have long been the standard for weed control. Now concerns are being raised about their long-term effect. The jury is still out so, for once, perhaps we should take a cautious approach. Remember DDT?  By Geoff Ellis
LAST month members of the Bass Coast South Gippsland Reconciliation Group stood in the Sale Entertainment Centre trying to make sense of the motto on a crest. “MISERIS SUCCURRERE DISCO”. It’s in the detail of one of six plaques by Annemieke Mein commemorating famous Gippslanders. This plaque was the last item on our itinerary; the final monument to honour Angus McMillan.  By Geoff Ellis
RECENTLY I drove to Cranbourne and back in a morning. At Wonthaggi unleaded petrol was 115.9 cents (Brand A, Brand B and Brand C). At Bass, 34 kilometres away, unleaded petrol was 96.9 cents (Brand B). At Tooradin it was 91.9 cents for e10 petrol (Brand D). Nineteen kilomtres up the road from Tooradin, ULP was 90.9 cents with a voucher (Brand B).  Cartoon by Natasha Williams-Novak By Geoff Ellis
April 9, 2016 "ANY customer can have a car painted any colour they like ... so long as it is black," Henry Ford (inventing the mandatory option) in 1909.* “We should buy a Betamax VCR.” Geoff Ellis (planning to get married), ca 1982. |
Geoff EllisGeoff Ellis is a former unionist, now a Bass Coast Shire Councillor, board member of the West Gippsland Regional Library Corporation, member of the local reconciliation group, supporter of South Gippsland Rural Australians for Refugees, ally of LGBTIQ and member of the ALP. Archives
June 2018
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