A great photo opportunity from visiting media

Warragamba Dam gates opened at 7pm on Friday 2nd March to hundreds of spectators and media crews. This photo is from the Sydney Morning Herald website where you can watch a video of the event and listen to the noise of the water thundering into the pond at the bottom of the 100 metre drop. The pond acts as an energy dissipater, slowing the water before it flows down the Warragamba River to join the Hawkesbury-Nepean system.
The lookout at Eighteenth Street was packed with people although some of them complained about the view being obscured by trees. The main drum gate holding back Warragamba Dam was last opened in August 1998.

Bush Poet Greg North with Taylor (Warragamba Town Hall)

There was a good turn out for the recent celebration of the Town Hall and the Warragamba Silverdale Neighbourhood Centre upgrade.
Taylor Clarke opened the ceremony with a Welcome to Country address which included a poem by Greg North the Bush poet.
The upgrade to the Warragamba Town Hall includes a new kitchen, asbestos removal, entire roof replacement, interior and exterior painting and fire resistance gutter guard. The project took 3 months to complete and cost $84,000. The Australian Government RLCIP program contributed $75,000 to the project with the remaining $9,000 contributed by Wollondilly Shire Council Section 94 Developer Contributions.
The Warragamba Silverdale Neighbourhood Centre refurbishment includes major landscaping work, new fencing and a sandpit. The project took 6 weeks to complete and cost $51,000. The Australian Government RLCIP contributed $15,000, Wollondilly Shire Council Section 94 Developer Contributions contributed $11,000 and the Warragamba Silverdale Neighbourhood Centre Management Committee contributed $25,000.
Cr, Mayor Michael Banasik said “We had over 100 people at the celebration today, which was fantastic. The choir from Warragamba Public School kept us entertained with a few songs and Bush Poet – Greg North performed a very different version of Banjo Patterson’s “The Man from Snowy River”. Also I would like to say a very special thank you to Elaine Bonning who organised the wonderful catering and coordinated other aspects of this great event,” says.
“The Town Hall is a fantastic asset to the people of Warragamba and the attendance rate confirmed that the locals value this facility,” he said.
Thank you to the Warradale Community Ac.tion Association who donated the catering.

Miles with David Bradbury MP

Miles Stepniewski from Mulgoa has been with 1st Emu Plains Scouts for 10 years and has achieved the highest award for a Venturer, the Queen’s Scout Award.
Miles was presented with the Royal award at a ceremony at Government house by the Governor and Chief Scout of NSW, Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, as the Queen’s representative.
On the 22nd May in Emu Plains Miles received the award from David Bradbury, Federal MP for Lindsay.
Miles has had some amazing experiences and challenges with the Scouts, plenty of adventure and fun but with some important leadership and community experiences.
The Queen’s Scout award has four sections, Leadership, Outdoor, Personal and Community. Miles completed several Initiative courses and led a 60 kms hike from Kanangra to Katoomba with 4 other Venturers over 4 days. The service component was helping with a youth group at Glenmore Park Anglican church. Other activities included playing the piano to a higher level, a unit management course and leading the unit council, researching government and community organisations, identifying and tackling noxious weeds in natural bushland, sailing, abseiling, golf, squash, small business management and First Aid.
At the presentation, Miles thanked many people and his Scout leaders who have been such an important influence on his development, especially the Venturer leaders Paula Hyatt and Phil Gane.

Lucy Leonardi Photogragher

Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton was apparently seen by two billion people and for all of us here who watched, it was a wonderful occasion.
The Bishop of London’s address in Westminster Abbey said this “In a sense every wedding is a royal wedding with the bride and the groom as king and queen of creation, making a new life together so that life can flow through them into the future”.
We had our own royal wedding in Mulgoa at 2pm on the 16th April, the week before Prince William’s wedding to Kate. Our beautiful daughter, Eleanor, married Peter Pearson in St Thomas Anglican church in Mulgoa. An afternoon tea was held in the church hall when the wedding cake was cut and served. The reception at the family home in Mulgoa was distinctly Australian with kangaroo, prawns and beef kebabs on the menu. The all important kiss took place in front of the family home  amongst the gum trees! Eleanor and Peter generously shared their honeymoon with their dog Bea and  twenty family members at Jervis Bay – a familymoon!

See more photos by opening the current edition on the menu tab above . 

Clean Up Team

It was the second time round for Clean-Up Australia at beautiful Norton’s Basin. The water was running clear and the fish jumping. The good news was less rubbish overall but still 20 big bags. The bad news is plastic and glass bottles remain the number one culprit so please carry your bottles out and recycle.
Illegal dumping also remains a local problem with electronic goods, green waste and tyres abandoned by people who clearly think it is somebody else’s problem when we all share the same backyard. This year we also extended to cleaning the road in and out of Norton’s Basin which had the same problems. Let’s hope we are all getting better about disposing of our rubbish and increasing our recycling so that 2012 is better still!!!
The volunteers were all wonderful motivated locals with lots of fit young people helping the older crew (great for that hill up from the Basin). A big thank you to Elise Willmott, Peter Sargent, Jack Sargent, Blake Turner, Luisa Turner, Tom, Timothy Adamson, Nathan Glynn, Matthew Adamson, Wendy Thompson, Paige Foley, Jackson Foley, Dianne Foley and the other volunteers. It will be on again next year (2012) so please take a couple of hours to clean up Australia in your local area.

Thank you – Sandra Onus.

Real Estate Agency
Mulgoa Real Estate, Mulgoa; Forge Real Estate, Wallacia; Country Wide Real Estate, Silverdale
Child Care Services
All 4 Kids Kindergarten, Mulgoa
Service and Trade
Glenmore Nursery, Mulgoa
Butcher/Delicatessen
Mulgoa Gourmet Butchery, Mulgoa
Youth Award
Adam Cane (Glenmore Nursery), Mulgoa
Business Person of the Year
Camille Brandt (Orchard Hills Veterinary Hospital)
Bakery/Cake Shop
Mulgoa Valley Bakehouse, Mulgoa
New Business
Admire Beaute, Mulgoa
Pet Care
Orchard Hills Veterinary Hospital, Orchard Hills
Fruit and Vegetable Shop
Martin’s Fruit World, Mulgoa
Florist
Ann’s Flowers, Silverdale
Health & Fitness
Silverdale Fitness Studio, Silverdale; Kempo MMA Australia, Silverdale
Professional Services
ELG Accounting & Taxation, Silverdale
(fourth consecutive year as a finalist)

Business Achiever Awards

Florist
Ann’s Flowers, Silverdale
Home and Garden Trade
Above All Tanks and Pumps, Wallacia
Professional Services
ELG Accounting & Taxation, Silverdale
Real Estate
Mulgoa Real Estate, Mulgoa