News

Prince William proves a hit

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 13:00:00 GMT

PRINCE William has won over a huge crowd of well wishers during his visit to flood ravaged northern Victoria this afternoon.

The young prince mingled with a crowd estimated at more than 1500 on the streets of Kerang, shaking the hands and chatting briefly to residents and a group of school children eager for a brush with royalty.

A massive media contingent is following Prince William on his tour of duty. Victorian premier Ted Baillieu is accompanying the second in line to the throne on his visit.

Prince William, due to be married next month, will conclude his visit to northern Victoria with a meeting with a flood affected family and a community barbecue later today.

Facebook

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 13:00:00 GMT

Comment

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 13:00:00 GMT

Twitter

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 13:00:00 GMT

Thales axes 50 Bendigo jobs

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 13:00:00 GMT

THALES has announced the loss of a further 50 jobs from its embattled Bendigo plant.

Home of the battle-proven Bushmaster armoured military vehicle, the Bendigo factory is struggling to balance orders for its world-class manufacturing services with future orders from defence forces. Threats of job cuts have been circulating for some time as current orders wind down, despite the proven capabilities of the Bushmaster and the potential of the smaller Hawkei vehicle now under evaluation by the Australian army.

Member for Bendigo Steve Gibbons said the loss of any jobs in Bendigo was of concern, but that this announcement was not unexpected.

Mr Gibbons said the jobs lost were associated with the design and engineering aspects of the Hawkei development, and that this work had been completed once the two Hawkei prototypes were last month handed over for evaluation.

Liberal senator Michael Ronaldson this afternoon said the loss of jobs was another blow to the future defence manufacturing capabilities of the Bendigo region.

“The call by Thales for voluntary redundancies puts added pressure on the Gillard Government to make a decision on whether the Australian Army’s new light protected mobility vehicle will be the Hawkei manufactured in Bendigo or an overseas vehicle,” Senator Ronaldson said.

“Thales has made a competitive bid for the contract, building on its experience in manufacturing the Bushmaster vehicle that is helping safely transport our peacekeepers in Afghanistan.

“For all the posturing over the last three years by the current member for Bendigo Steve Gibbons, it would appear Thales has diminishing confidence in the Gillard Government to make a decision any time soon on building the army’s new light protected mobility vehicle in Bendigo.”

Late yesterday, Mr Gibbons said Senator Ronaldson would be well advised to ”do his homework” before making what he described as ”ill informed comments in the media”.

Bendigo celebrates St Patrick’s Day

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 13:00:00 GMT

BENDIGO revellers have shaken off the cool start to St Patrick’s Day and enjoyed early morning celebrations at venues across the city.

In the central business district, an enthusuastic group of Irish and wannabe Irish partygoers enjoyed breakfast at Irish-themed bar, Pugg Mahones. Diehard patrons donned their finest green coloured clothing and indulged in the greatest St Patrick’s Day tradition of them all – the smooth tasting Guinness, on the one day of the year where everyone wants to Irish.

Sport legends unite for John Forbes tribute

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 13:00:00 GMT

AMONG the many high-profile sporting celebrities at the John Forbes Tribute luncheon at the Kangaroo Flat Sports Club yesterday was Olympic great Herb Elliott.
A gold medal winner in the 1500 metres at the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Elliott flew in from Coffs Harbour where he now lives but still keeps an active eye on the sporting and business world.
At the invitation of Elliott back in the mid-1980s, Forbes moved from Bendigo to Melbourne to join sporting goods company Puma Australia.
Elliott was the face of Puma in Australia before moving to the role of chief executive officer of Puma North America between 2001 and 2006. From March 2007 he has been the non-executive chairman of Fortescue Metals, the world’s fifth largest iron ore miner.
Elliott grew up in Western Australia and during the 1950s and 60s, he clocked up 17 sub-four-minute miles including a 3m 59 second performance at the old showgrounds in Bendigo on February 6, 1960.
In his book The Golden Mile, the days of his extraordinary training regime under Percy Wells Cerutty at Portsea are revealed and how a mighty 80-foot sand hill with a 2-in-1 grading shaped his international career.
Speaking to the Bendigo Weekly at the function, Forbes said Elliott changed his life.
“We were at a sports night here in Bendigo and out of the blue he just said he would like me to come and work for him,” he said.
“It was a job I treasured for more than 20 years and along the journey it enabled me to meet a huge number of national sporting stars through Cricket Australia, the AFL and also through sports like athletics, soccer and basketball.
“Whenever Herb promised something he always delivered. When I asked him to come to Bendigo for this special day he had no hesitation in accepting.”
Also speaking at the luncheon were AFL greats David Parkin and Neil Roberts, former jockey Roy Higgins, and former umpire Glenn James.
For many it was a luncheon they will remember forever as there has never been such a room full of sporting talent assembled in this city.
The house full sign went up very early in the day.
The John Forbes tribute luncheon was testament to a local sporting icon who has helped so many young sports men and women to get a start in their careers.
For that they will be forever grateful.

Alive and kicking

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 13:00:00 GMT

Bendigo, brace yourself. The Sydney pop-punk whirlwind known as Tonight Alive will be ripping through our fine city next Wednesday,
Feb 16

Armed with youth, great musicianship and more energy than cyclone Yasi, Bendigo is in for a real treat.
Attracting almost viral hype with only one EP to their name, the youngsters announced a record deal with Sony Worldwide last year. The band arrived back in Australia about a week ago after recording their debut album in Los Angeles with legendary producer Mark Trombino (Blink 182, The Starting Line.)
Stepping away from band practice to give me 10 minutes of his time, guitarist Whakaio tells us of the experience.
“We had a lot of fun in LA, the weather was amazing and everyone in the band are best friends” Whak said.
“Working with Mark was hard, but very rewarding. He had so many great ideas…we weren’t used to having to record our instruments so perfectly,” he laughed.
Roughly slated for a mid-June release, Whak can’t wait to have the album in his hands.
“It was hard work, so I can’t wait to have it ready… we’re a developing band and our songwriting skills have definitely improved since we released our EP.
“We’ve experimented a lot more with dynamics and it’s definitely been a step forward for us as songwriters.”
After an Australia wide tour with The Getaway Plan, Tonight Alive will be returning to America to tour with pop-punk giants Forever The Sickest Kids.
“Forever The Sickest Kids are one of our favourite bands, so to be touring the US with them is unbelieveable. We’re really looking forward to it.”
A regional boy himself, Whak is stoked to be playing in Bendigo.
“I wish we could play more often in regional areas, I used to live about four hours out of Sydney in Milton and we never had anything going on musically. I hated having to travel to see Sydney so I have a soft spot for all our regional audience.”
Due to licensing restrictions, the band will be playing both an under 18 and 18+ show in Bendigo but they do wish that they could mix the audience.
“I hate that we have to split the crowds, it’s a massive restriction, especially in Victoria where the laws are just plain ridiculous. But we do what we have to do, we love our underage fans and we’ll play to them by any means necessary,” Whak said.
One thing that has followed Tonight Alive around the start has been an inevitable comparison to US popsters Paramore.
With unfortunate accusations of trying to copy the band, Whak had this to say; “Paramore are an awesome band, but we aren’t trying to copy them.
“We’re happy for people to make that comparison if they like, but we’re going to keep doing our own thing and hopefully people let the whole ‘Australian Paramore’ thing go eventually. It’s funny because when Paramore first started out everybody was accusing them of ripping off No Doubt!”
If fast, intelligent and catchy music is your thing or if the gorgeous vocallist Jenna Mcdougall is enough to warrant your attendance, Tonight Alive would be happy to have you at The MusicMan Megastore (u18) or Bender Alternative Club (The Black Swan Level 2, 18+) next Wednesday.

St Kilda great blasts club culture

Sun, 13 Feb 2011 13:00:00 GMT

ONE of St Kilda’s favourite sons used the backdrop of a fundraiser lunch in Bendigo to attack the culture of his former club.
Neil Roberts played 169 games for the Saints between 1952-1962 during which time he won a Brownlow Medal and also captained his club. He was inducted into St Kilda’s Hall of Fame in 2003.
Roberts was one of many former sporting greats among the crowd of more than 220 people to attend the sportsmen’s lunch held at the Kangaroo Flat Sports Club as part of the Blue Ribbon fundraiser and John Forbes Twenty20 tribute match.
Yesterday, he went on the front foot when asked by compare Alan Besley what had gone wrong at his former club.
Roberts said there were a couple of things that ‘’worried (him) a bit” about the club, which has besieged by negative publicity surrounding a string of off-field incidents.
‘’Number One – Zac Dawson,’’ he said bluntly.
Roberts also said captain Nick Reiwoldt was a worry, but for very different reasons as the star player had just endured a couple of tough years injury wise that had robbed him of valuable game time.
‘’Unfortunately, our bottom eight players are just a bit suss,’’ Roberts said.
Roberts said he believed the fact that most players in the modern era did not work was a problem.
‘’They are in a social bubble, they are in a different world and they don’t work,’’ he said.
‘’We’ve got social problems that are being reflected in society.’’
Acknowledging the fact that players today are under a lot more scrutiny than in his era, Roberts said: ‘’I’m glad the press weren’t eating from the low branches when we were around, because I’ve eaten a lot of cold porridge,’’ he said to the intrigued audience.
Asked to comment on his days as a player and the antics of days gone by, Roberts replied: ‘’I’ve got a son in the room…. Although he’s outplaying me at the moment.’’
Roberts’ son Toby has been named as Simone Warne’s new love interest as her former husband continues to make headlines over a very public personal life which prompted Roy Higgins to yesterday joke how the former spin king was ‘’the only bloke who’s ridden more winners than me.’’

Bendigo Bank launches Cyclone Yasi appeal

Sun, 13 Feb 2011 13:00:00 GMT

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank’s philanthropic arm, Community Enterprise Foundation™ has launched the Cyclone Yasi Appeal.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank’s Queensland State Manager, Noel Jessup said the bank was pleased to be able to launch the appeal to assist communities affected by the destructive cyclone.
“Many communities have been shocked by the impact of the cyclone and the widespread damage that has occurred,” Mr Jessup said.
“Bendigo and Adelaide Bank is proud to be able to assist the community by launching the Cyclone Yasi Appeal and we are calling for public donations to help support those who have been affected.”
Funds raised by the Cyclone Yasi Appeal will help fund relief, recovery and reconstruction projects in communities affected by the cyclone.
Babinda Community Bank® Branch chair, Desley Vella, said the foundation had provided significant assistance to the Babinda community in the aftermath of Cyclone Larry.
“In 2006, almost 80 per cent of our community was damaged by Cyclone Larry,” Ms Vella said.
“Recovering from a natural disaster is a long process but with the compassion shown by everyday Australians who donated to that appeal, our community has been able to get back on its feet.
“I’d like to encourage everyone to dig deep to make sure communities devastated by Cyclone Yasi can begin to rebuild and recover.”
Donations to the Cyclone Yasi Appeal can be made at any Bendigo Bank branch or online at www.bendigobank.com.au/foundation/yasi. Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible.

Have you got the right gear?

Sun, 13 Feb 2011 13:00:00 GMT

THE electronic age has such a strong hold on the control of anything mechanical.
A microchip can operate almost anything that opens and shuts or need meticulous timing.
It stands to reason that it was not going to be long before the two largest cycling group-set makers – Shimano and Campagnolo – would have electronic gear shifters.
In 1992, a French manufacturer Mavic, a well known bicycle wheel maker, introduced the Zap at the Tour de France.
Being a prototype, it achieved neither technical success nor commercial application.
In 1994, Sachs introduced another development in electronic gear shifting with Speedtronic by Sram, another cycling component company that is becoming a force in the stronghold of Shimano and Campagnolo in the market place.
Continuing on the development trail, in 1997 Chris Boardman won the prologue at the Tour de France which was fitting as Boardman’s nickname is the Professor, for his meticulous attention to detail in preparation and training, and his technical know-how.
In 1999, Mavic introduced its second attempt, which failed to make a commercial application, called the mektronic, which must have prompted Shimano and Campagnolo to get serious in making electronic gear shifters.
In essence, an electronic gear-shifting system enables the rider, instead of using conventional manually-operated control level, to press an electronic switch which can be connected either with wires or wireless via a battery pack and a small electronic motor.
The motor drives the front and rear derailleur making the change of the chain from cog to cog.
The shift is quoted as being faster and more positive as the smarts of the system can calibrate itself to maintain speed and accuracy during shifting.
In 2009, the first commercial application of road bikes being fitted with an electronic gear-shift system by Shimano in their Durace component group set came onto the market.
To accommodate the new devices, a number of frame makers made allowances for their frames to have mounting stops and cabling-specific routings incorporated in the frame.
The system, called Di2, was used by a number of professional cycling teams across the UCI cycling calendar of that year.
The power pack of the system is a 7.4-volt lithium-ion battery pack supplying power to both front and rear derailleur’s reported to be reliable up to 1,000 kilometres per charging.
The system does have a LED light to give pre-warning of the need for a recharge.
There is little advancement in the methodology of the rear derailleur, and some could argue they have lost gear selection as only one gear can be advanced at a time as with manual operation there is opportunity to change more than one.
The front derailleur is where the greatest change has been incorporated, with a 30 per cent faster operation and less chance of the problematic chain rub.
The risk of losing the chain off the chain rings when under tension, making the vertical jump, is also less.
The electronic system has overcome this with calibration and control on the shifting speed and, overall, it is believed to assist in the reduction of wear and tear and need for maintenance.
Weight is always a premium and this has been given high consideration.
Campagnolo is advancing and the 2011 Santos Tour Down Under was another testing ground for its components to become reliable and user-accepted prior to making the jump to commercial reality.
While some of us are puritans or just old fashioned, there are some advantages that need to be considered.
The electronic system will make gear changing easier for riders that may have problems with the flexibility of their hand co-ordination and the sideways pushing of the conventional levers.
The riders hands do not need to change hand position to press the solid state switches.
There is also a great delivery of speed and reliability in each gear selection being changed without any trim or cable stretch.
The main downfall could well be having a back manual override if a failure occurs, which is really no different if your cable broke of shifter was damaged and there is no assured manner to being able to select gears.
The question in the uncertainty of reliability? Time will be the testimony.
See you on the road soon, God willing

Record rains for Bendigo

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 13:00:00 GMT

YET another central Victorian weather record has been smashed, with Bendigo recording its wettest day of rainfall since official records were shifted to the Bendigo airport in 1991.
The Bureau of Meteorology recorded 66.4mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9am Saturday, surpassing the previous record of 64.6mm set back in 1996.
There were unofficial reports of more than 100mm falling in some centres across the region, leading to widespread flash flooding. This month is also already the wettest February since records shifted to the airport site, with more than 101mm falling durazing the three day downpour late last week.
Lake Eppalock rose to more than 107 per cent capacity as a result of the tropical deluge, caused by an inflow of warm moist air associated with the remnants of Cyclone Anthony and Cyclone Yasi. Bendigo’s wettest February ever was back in 1911 when a massive 213mm fell on the city.

Coliban Water announces $10million project

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 13:00:00 GMT

COLIBAN Water is investing $10 million in a major sewer main upgrade for Bendigo.
Managing Director Gavin Hanlon said whilst the project was an important investment to create more capacity for the city’s growing population, the immediate benefit will be additional capacity in the pipeline during times of extreme high rainfall events like we’ve experienced in recent months.

Mr Hanlon said that during the recent extreme rainfall, storm water had found its way into the city’s sewer system causing overflows and impacts on customers.

“Whilst we’ve got a dedicated capital works program to address flood impact hot spots in the sewer network this major sewer duplication in Bendigo will have the an added bonus of reducing impacts from flash flooding in the Kangaroo Flat area,” he said.

The upgrade will duplicate 6.1 kilometres of sewer main between Maple Street in Golden Square and Elvey Drive in Kangaroo Flat.

Mr Hanlon said the pipeline would connect with the 3.1 kilometre Bendigo Creek sewer duplication completed in 2006 between Maple Street and Bayne Street near Bendigo Tennis Courts.

Local business Leed Engineering has won the construction contract and work is expected to start in April once final permits are received. Completion is expected to be late this year.

“Prior to the project starting we will be communicating directly with residents and businesses along the project area and we’ll also provide information via the media and our website,” Mr Hanlon said.