​NETBALL – Former Queenscliff A-grade netballer Katrina Daws is returning to the club in 2022 at senior coach.

Daws, who has also played with GFL clubs Belmont and St Marys, is a familiar face having played for the Coutas in 2017.

In recent years she has held several youth coaching roles including with regional representative team the Geelong Flyers and as Head coach at Geelong College.

“Katrina has been mentored by some of the state’s best coaches, so she brings with her a wealth of knowledge, experience and the drive to take on her first senior coaching role at Queenscliff,” the club said.

“Her values and professionalism align with our club culture; she is engaging, positive and inspiring. Katrina is passionate about player welfare and her coaching philosophy is something we are very excited about.”
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Daws replaces Bridgitte Burns, who held the senior coaching role for two seasons.

FOOTBALL - Queenscliff’s new senior coach says he will not be setting unrealistic goals for the club ahead of next season.

Instead, after two challenging years, with limited matches and social events, Rory Nicol wants his players to enjoy being back on the field and kicking a footy again.

“I feel not a heap needs to change to be honest. I just need to grab the baton that [former coach] Steve Clark was carrying and run with it,” he said.

“Obviously I’ll implement some different things because I have a different style, but I’ll just be looking to compliment Steve’s hard work and look to develop the exciting list, which I’m looking forward to.

Clark stood down at the end of last season after four years in the role.

“I’m not going to have big expectations. We’ll just try to be the best we can be and see how far that takes us.”

As coach for four years up until 2020, Nicol is credited with turning around the fortunes of rival BFL club Newcomb and ridding it of its ‘easy beats’ tag. He has also coached at VFL and GFL levels.

Nicol has signed on for two seasons, becoming the 135 year old club’s 35th senior coach.

He said was not necessarily looking to take on a new coaching role, but Queenscliff’s culture and its talented list of youth proved too tempting.

“I was really impressed with how the club’s travelling off field, they’re very organised and have a strong volunteer base. I just found it was a very welcoming, warm community football club.

“The flip side to that is what Steve’s been able to do over the last couple of years to put some game time into the younger guys, the 17, 18 and 19 year olds. They’re at a point we’re they’re probably ready to develop further and play some more regular senior football. There’s a lot of improvement in the list,” he said.

“If you use Ocean Grove as an example, they’ve gone through a youth policy and everybody probably tipped them to finish in the bottom two or three and they just came out and surprised everyone and won a final.

“We’re going to be young, so who knows what we can achieve.”

Queenscliff Football Netball Club president Rowan Martin said Nicol was appointed after an extensive recruitment process and from a field of impressive applicants.
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“Of the short-listed candidates whittled down from an early list of eight potentials for the role, the final candidates presented and interviewed extremely well but Rory was deemed to be the best fit for our club,” he said.

Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale main streets will be decked out with new decorations, as part of plans to bring back the spirit of Christmas.

After being criticised last year for missing the mark with its decorations, the Borough of Queenscliffe has splurged on new festive flags, wreaths and Christmas trees to add colour to the twin towns.

And the Lighting of the Christmas tree – held last year without crowds - is also in for a shake up, with plans to flick the switch from a community celebration in the heart of the Point Lonsdale village.

Mayor Ross Ebbels said Council had been working with traders and schools to reinvigorate the annual event with additional activities and in a way that supported local business.

“Obviously the first question is can you see the Christmas tree from the main street and yes, you can, so the aim would be to have a big community celebration and the lights would be lit remotely from there,” he said.

Mayor Ross Ebbels said Council would use $200,000 ,allocated to it under the latest round of the Victorian Government’s COVIDSafe Outdoor Activation Fund, to reactivate outdoor dining and support entertainment in the heart of both towns.

“We haven’t decided what it will look like but we’ve got some more outdoor dining opportunities and activitations coming as well so that locals and visitors can enjoy the outdoors and what we love about the borough,” he said.

Business owners in both towns have been working up ideas behind the scenes to bring life back to both CBDs after two challenging years of lockdowns and restrictions.

Point Lonsdale’s wish list includes a twilight events program incorporating live music, al fresco dining and street picnics. There would be more seating, tables and umbrellas, street stalls, trees filled with fairy lights in the adjacent park and shop fronts would be lit up like Myer Christmas windows.

“Covid’s been a blow but we’ve seen all the shops here taken over by new and energised people and I think this plan is just building on that energy. There’s a fresh commitment to come together as traders,” said Trish Berry, owner of Noble Rot wine bar.
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“This time last year there were four empty shops – one fifth of the shops – and then there’s been four new can do people come in and really really different shops. The offerings are so typical of here,” added Chris Dineen, who together with wife Sally Denehy owns specialty shop La Monique.

Brightly coloured scallop shells are hanging from the windows of homes on Queenscliff’s Fisherman Flat as a sign of good things to come. 

The shells have been hand-painted by sisters Rihanna and Tahlia Mercieca, reviving a local fishing tradition.

“Spring was traditionally a time of hope and prosperity for the fishing families on the Flat. It meant fish and shellfish were plentiful, bills were paid and they could look to the future with hope,” said local historian and fellow Flat’s resident Maggie Stowers. 

“Some fishermen decorated their houses with scallop shells. So we came up with an idea to decorate scallop shells and offer them to the residents of the Flat to brighten their houses and bring a little bit of hope.”

Rihanna and Tahlia - St Aloysius Primary School students - collected, scrubbed and decorated the shells during the recent school holidays with some help from their parents. 
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“It took many hours to create the beautiful artwork on the shells, and they look stunning in the windows and on the houses. The project has brought hope and happiness to the Flat,” said Mrs Stowers.
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Queenscliffe's annual Australia Day ceremony will be scrapped and the Australia Day Awards program will renamed the Community Service Awards,  following a review of the existing awards policy and last year’s event.

All but one Councillor voted at the August meeting in favour of the shift away from a January 26 event, which was described as a “more inclusive” outcome for the community. Councillor Donnie Grigau abstained. 

“As part of the review of the policy and the Australia Day event, Council officers noted that over the past few years there had been a shift in the engagement and participation,” said Economic and Community Development Program Leader Shannon Maloney. 

“Whilst seen as a valuable recognition program, feedback received from stakeholders revealed a desire to move the community awards to another date which may be seen as more inclusive to the entire community and inspire increased participation in the acknowledgment and celebrations of service.”

Mrs Maloney said under the changes, the focus of awards would shift to a celebration of volunteerism and awards would be presented at the Borough’s annual Volunteer Week event. 

“Importantly, the revised policy shifts the focus to community service in general rather than linking it specifically to Australia Day,” she said.

The change means the Borough will no longer host a celebration and Flag Raising ceremony on January 26. Council will continue to hold citizenship ceremonies on the day on request, a spokesperson said. 

The decision reflects growing unease within the broader community about celebrations on Australia Day and an increased push for the date to be changed.

Councillor Fleur Hewitt applauded the decision; “I think it’s really great that we’re moving this to Volunteers Week, given the awards are a recognition of the wonderful contributions of service that members of our community make to the borough.”

Organisers of Queenscliff’s annual Sacred Edge Festival have announced it is “full steam ahead” for next month's event.

Normally staged in May, the three-day Queenscliffe Uniting Church (QUC) celebration of diversity – has been pushed back to avoid missing a second straight year.

This year’s theme is ‘Delving deep into diversity.'

“We are excited about the unique and unfolding line up of musicians, story tellers and poets. Many of our booked artists for the [cancelled] 2020 festival are available for the 2021 dates, but there are some new surprises as well,” said spokesperson and QUC Reverend Kerrie Lingham.

Upwards of 30 presenters, artists and performers come from a range of backgrounds, including indigenous, refugee and LGBTIQ.

The initial line up includes award winning writer, speaker and educator Joel McKerrow, regarded as one of Australia’s most successful performance poets. 

Victoria’s Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner Ro Allen and CSIRO Chief Research Scientist and internationally recognised climate change expert David Karoly will be among keynote speakers.

Others include Somalian-born refugee and multilingual writer Awale Ahmed, Indigenous musician Scott Darlow, environmental campaigner Claire Dunn, Australia’s leading klezmer violinist Ernie Gruner and leading refugee advocate Jeanine Hourani.

“Sacrededge is our response to a sometimes harsh and fearful world. It is an opportunity to connect with people from diverse backgrounds,” said Rev Lingham. “Rather than debate and argue about issues Q&A style, this unique festival listens to people from the edge… their stories, music, poetry.

“Our presenters, artists & performers come from a range of backgrounds – Indigenous, Refugee, LGBTIQ folk, Carers for the Earth and Ocean. They are the voices from the edge who are vulnerable and not normally heard,” said Rev. Lingham.
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Sacrededge will run from September 3-5. Booking details can be found online
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Judges for this year's Peebles Print Prize (PPP) have sifted through dozens of entries from across Australia to arrive at final 31. 

The event, hosted by Queenscliff Gallery, will celebrate its third year this month. 

“The success of the inaugural PPP17 and PPP19 is proof of the ongoing enthusiasm for Australian printmaking,” said the gallery’s Soula Mantalvanos. 

“The judges searched for a group of works that would form an exciting finalists' exhibition and one that would continue the PPP's ambition to remain an aspiring national print prize for artists to enter.”  

The finalists' Exhibition aligns with the Geelong Gallery Acquisitive Print Award Exhibition, and together form a “national printmaking destination event,” said Mantalvanos.

Queenscliff-based Graeme Peebles, whom the award is named in honour of, is regarded as Australia’s leading mezzotint printmaker. Together with the gallery, he established the Prize - solely focused on the intaglio technique, to represent the highest level of printmaking. 

This year’s judged are David Hurlston, National Gallery of Victoria Senior Curator, Australian Art and Lisa Sullivan Senior Curator Geelong Gallery. Together they selected the 31 finalist works to exhibit. 
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The  winner will be announced on August 28 and the exhibition will open on August 29 and continue until September 27. A People’s Choice award will be announced on Sunday September 26
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When Victoria went into its first full lockdown early last year, Olympic rower Ria Thompson unpacked a car full of gym equipment and, with a new puppy at her side, got stuck into training on the back deck of her parent’s Point Lonsdale home. 

It was a long and challenging road to Tokyo for the 23 year old, with multiple lockdowns, quarantines and of course the cancellation of last year’s Olympics, but one well worth the pain with Ria securing what was deemed an unlikely bronze medal in the women’s quadruple sculls. 

With 500 metres remaining in the final race, Ria and team mates Rowena Meredith, Harriet Hudson and Caitlin Cronin, stormed home to snatch third place from Germany - behind China and Poland - in what commentators described as a “fairytale finish”. 

In a perfect world Dad Craig and Mum Kerri would have been in Japan cheering Ria on. Instead they watched from their Point Lonsdale lounge room. 

“We’ve been at 99.9 per cent of all of her major races, even the overseas ones,” Craig said. 

“As a parent, it’s really disappointing and tough not to be there, but that’s just part of the world we live in at the moment, and a lot of people have had it a lot worse than us being locked down in Lonnie.” 

Ria, a 2019 World U/23 single sculls champion, had been in training at the National Rowing Centre in Penrith when the COVID-19 national emergency was declared. 

“They were in lockdown like everyone else and not allowed to row for that period so she came home with a car full of gym equipment and trained on the back deck,” said Craig. 

Her “most important” training partner, a Border Collie puppy named Tokum, was by her side the entire time.  

Raised in Woodend and schooled in Melbourne, Ria was to have commenced a Doctorate of Medicine at Queensland University, but when last year’s Olympics were postponed, put her studies on hold. 
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Tokyo was her Olympic debt. She flew back into Australia and straight into a further 14 days of quarantine. 
“The hurdles that they’ve had to overcome just to get there have been immense, but the whole way through the entire team has been incredibly resilient and just made it happen,” Craig said.

The Borough of Queenscliffe has committed to playing its part in addressing increasing  homelessness and rental stress across the region, through the release of its first draft Social Housing Plan. 

However, it has acknowledged that with limited land options available,  there is little it can do to provide affordable housing within its own municipality. 

Queenscliffe CEO Martin Gill said the borough had been working with other G21 councils for several months to consider ways of boosting social housing options across the greater Geelong region. 

The plan, currently on exhibition, details a number of advocacy options, he said. 

“It’s given me some insight into the region but also our local community,” Mr Gill said. “In a community that is generally well looked after and generally in a pretty stable position, there is still some issues around social housing. 

“If you then extrapolate that to across the region, there are some significant issues around social housing and while our role may not be substantial in this, I think giving our voice to the issue and supporting the other councils as they pursue building opportunities and work on Housing Victoria plans to provide social housing helps with the advocacy, but also helps us recognise that we’re never far away from problems,” Mr Gill said.  

“While we won’t actually build any houses, we’re conscious that we need to do work with the community as to where that housing will potentially go.”

The plan’s release comes amid an unprecedented spike in housing prices in Geelong and along the coast, putting home ownership out of the reach of many and resulting in hefty rent increases. in some areas.

The current median house price in the Borough sits at around $1 million and none of the new properties that have been constructed in recent years would fall into the category of affordable housing, according to the plan. 

It described the high cost of housing in the Queenscliffe as a “critical barrier” to affordability, with median weekly rental costs among the highest in the region.

Council figures show upwards of 70 of the municipality's 1,234 households are living on very modest income and experiencing rental stress. At present, however, there are only 11 social housing properties within the municipality - less than one per cent of all housing - with an unmet demand for up to 47 more. 

In Geelong, an estimated 7,200 households who urgently need social housing with around 6,400 paying more than 30 per cent of their income on rent. 

The State Government's Big Housing Build allocates $5.3 billion for affordable housing, with 25 per cent to be spent in regional Victoria. In addition, Homes Victoria will provide a guarateed spend in the G21 region including: 

City of Greater Geelong - $180 million
Surf Coast Shire - $20 million
Golden Plains Shire - $15 million 

An allocation for the Borough of Queenscliffe has not been specified.
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The draft Social Housing Plan can be viewed on the BoQ website.

Point Lonsdale’s only petrol station will make way for a three-level residential development incorporating 12 apartments and four shops, under a planning application lodged with the Borough of Queenscliffe.

The proposal will dramatically transform the 2465m2 site on the corner of Point Lonsdale and Lawrence roads, currently home to the BP service station, and according to the applicants - Sincock Planning Pty Ltd and David McDonald Builders - would address demand for housing in the town. 

The proposed $3.5 million development, designed by SPL Architects, is for “three distinct building forms,” fronting Point Lonsdale Road, and a basement car park comprising 24 parking spaces.

Five two-bedroom dwellings would sit above the shops. A further seven two-level, three-bedroom townhouses will be located at the rear of the property - each less than 8.5 metres high and will featuring roof-top gardens.

Retail spaces will be 115m2 in size, with pedestrian access from Point Lonsdale Road. 

A carpark at the front of the building will provide an additional 13 spaces for commercial visitors.

The land is currently zoned for mixed use and is subject to a design and development overlay aimed at protecting significant Port Phillip and Swan Bay views, local environment and neighbourhood character.

According to the application, the proposal was “consistent with the zone, overlay and policy framework of the planning scheme,” and would meet a demand for “higher density and diversity housing “in the location.

“[It] is consistent with the strategic outcomes sought by the Queenscliffe Planning Scheme, and the proposal provides for a well-designed mixed-use development that will respect and complement the coastal character of the town whilst providing a medium density development and greater housing choice for residents,” it said.
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“This site is the only mixed-use zone in the municipality and the desire to provide a high-quality form of housing and appropriate density without under developing the land has been achieved. The site was nominated for mixed-use development given its two street abuttals and convenient access to the beach, other shops and services and public bus transport within the township.
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Queenscliffe will become a zero carbon emission community by 2031, after the Council approved a landmark Climate Emergency Response Plan (CERP).

Upwards of 150 people, dressed in red, were at the Town Hall for Wednesday May 19 vote and erupted into applause as it was passed by four of the five Councillors - with Cr Donnie Grigau abstaining. 

The ambitious plan includes three key targets and some 49 separate actions to achieve them. 

Mayor Ross Ebbels described the CERP’s adoption as a watershed moment that cemented the Borough as a climate response leader within the region. 

“Our voice may be small, but it is certainly loud,” he told the meeting. “We know business as usual no longer applies, not just to us but the whole country, and to a certain degree, the whole world. 

“It’s nights like this that remind us of why we live where we do,” Cr Ebbels said.  

The CERP, largely driven by the Queenscliff Climate Action Group (QCAG), followed the Borough's declaration in December 2019 of a climate emergency and according to the Council, builds on existing actions to reduce climate impacts. 

“The community backing for action on climate change is profound and unmistakable,” said Cr Fleur Hewitt. “The CERP is a result of the blood, sweat and tears of many in our community. 

“The commitment and connectedness across the community to affect change and implement the actions within the plan is breathtaking. 

“This is truly a community-led and community-owned initiative and a legacy for generations to come,” she said. 

The CERP’s three key targets include: 
Community electricity consumption to be matched by a 100% renewable electricity supply by 2025,
Community energy needs to be matched by a renewable energy supply by 2027, and
The community will transition to zero carbon emissions by 2031. 

The Council has earmarked $150,000 in its 2021-22 Budget for initial actions, including installation of two electric vehicle chargers, but has conceded many are reliant on securing external grants. 

A detailed Implementation Plan will be prepared within the next six months. 

Councillor Michael Grout said the CERP’s success relied on the community playing its part. 

“We do have some control and therefore, responsibility over our own fate and this plan is about how we  live our lives and how we move about and how we consume.

“For each of us, the challenge is to change our mindsets and change our behaviour and so leave smaller footprints,” he said. 

“We need to do this for the children here tonight… so we leave our community as better and more thoughtful place,” added Cr Susan Salter.   

Continuing covid restrictions meant only 80 people could be inside the Town Hall to witness the vote. Upwards of 50 more waited outside for the outcome. 

Addressing the gathering, an ecstatic QCAG spokesperson Kitty Walker praised the Council and urged the broader community to “come on board.”

“[Council] created a plan for us, with us.Their plan is our plan and now the really, really hard work begins. 
“We have a roadmap to get us to be a zero carbon community in a decade, but we cannot do it without everyone jumping on board,” Ms Walker said. 
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“I got such an amazing sense when the community consultation was out on just how many community organisations are ready to go. Everyone’s ready to roll up their sleeves… it doesn’t end now, it begins now.”   
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Queenscliff’s Marine Science Research Centre will undergo a $4.5 million redevelopment, as part of a trio of projects worth $22.1 million aimed at putting Deakin University at the forefront of water and aquaculture research.

The redevelopment will include new laboratories, teaching facilities and a high-speed speed optic fibre network for the community. 

According to Higher Education Minister Gayle Tierney, the investment will establish Queenscliff as the centre for excellence for temperate water marine science research and education in southern Australia. 

The Government has contributed $6 million to Deakin for the three projects, which also include a new $9.8 million state-of-the-art AcquaFI Hub innovation centre to explore animal nutrition and to support the expansion of fish and seafood farming and a $7.8 million upgrade to the university’s Waurn Ponds campus. 

“These exciting projects will push the boundaries of water science research but also provide great learning and job opportunities for Victorians” Ms Tierney said.  

Melbourne-based Root Partnerships will oversee construction, which will begin this year and finish mid-2022.

The projects would provide new opportunities for staff, students and traditional owners and create scholarships opportunities - 50 percent of which will be offered to women. 

“These projects are an extension of our investment in regional Victoria and commitment to sustainability and will also enhance our existing research capabilities,” said Deakin Vice-Chancellor Professor Iain Martin. 
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Deakin established a formal presence with the MSRC under a 2017 agreement.

Four dilapidated former World War II huts will stay on the Point Lonsdale Lighthouse Reserve for the foreseeable future, following a new Council decision to “mothball” them. 

Borough of Queenscliffe CEO Martin Gill revealed Council had been unable to meet redevelopment  milestones set out by Regional Development Victoria (RDV) as part of a $600,000 funding agreement, because of delays in obtaining heritage, coastal and cultural planning approvals. 

The redevelopment was to have included removal of all but one of the huts. Council will now seek to have project timelines re-adjusted. 
 
“The timing of that [RDV] agreement required some milestones to be met early this year. Those milestones cannot be met due primarily to the approvals processes that we were going through and some advice from the cultural heritage management plan work that there are parts of the site that should not be disturbed for sub-surface testing,” Mr Gill told the April Council meeting. 

“In receiving that information, Council officers realised that not only did we need to think about the milestones, but we should also have a think about how we amend the activities that are part of that grant agreement.

“We’re recommending a change to the the grant agreement that would include the P1 huts as a project - to record those, remove asbestos and… for want of a better term, to mothball them until we can work out what the future of those should be,” Mr Gill said. 

Under the redevelopment plan approved in January 2019, all but MacDonalds Hall - the biggest of the four - was to be removed. The proposal also included paths, landscaping, a ship spotting platform, barbecue amenities. 

However, a subsequent Heritage Victoria decision to formally  recognise the site’s heritage and cultural assets -  renaming it the Point Lonsdale Maritime and Defence Precinct - committed the Council to having to undertake extensive planning investigations before any works could commence. 

As a result of the missed milestones, Councillors unanimously voted to amend the current plan.  

Cr Susan Salter, who was part of the 2019 Council that approved the huts’ removal, described the process as long and convoluted.

“The Victorian Government heritage listing extends all the way up to Winterley Road, so it is a much larger space than it used to be and of course in passing this, we are rescinding the motion of 2019… we’re tidying up quite a lot of work within our own historical records I guess.”

The Federal Government is still considering an application for the reserve to also be included on the National Heritage List - a move that would add even further protections from development. 

“I think it’s really important at this stage that we improve this precinct with the allocated funding, providing RDV does agree to the proposed redirection for some of the activities,” said Cr Michael Grout. “But in particular, I think we really do need to better secure and preserve the heritage of the P1 huts so that the unsightly temporary fencing can be removed.”

The State Government, through RDV, has committed $500,000 to the redevelopment.  A Council spokesperson said discussions were underway with RDV to vary the grant agreement. 

"Interim reserve works would include removing asbestos from the huts, ensuring they are structurally sound and re-cladding them in a material similar to the original, he said. 

The P1-style huts were erected as part of a Defence camp in the early 1940’s. They were later taken over by the Toc H benevolent group to provide holiday accommodation and activities for children of war veterans.
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Council erected fencing around the buildings in March 2017, after a fifth hut was destroyed in an arson attack and to prevent gatherings of young people.

Queenscliff’s Daniel Golightly is a kid in a big hurry, carving a name for himself in karting. 

Having first experienced the adrenalin rush of the sport while attending a friend’s birthday party some five years ago, Dan hasn’t looked back.

“He loved it so much that my mother’s day present in 2015 was a family race day at indoor karts - lucky me!,” said mum Julie. 

“His dad Bay had raced speedway at Avalon years ago and after seeing him handle a kart and enjoying it and begging to go karting every weekend, we decided to make some enquiries,” she said. 

Dan commenced racing that same year and, as a member of the Geelong and Ballarat kart clubs, is now competing in the KA4 Junior Heavy category for 12 to 16 year olds. 

He sports the number 46 on his kart - a tribute to his idols Daniel Ricciardo and Valentino Rossi.

It is not the easiest of junior sports to be involved in, conceded Julie. Each cart costs around $8,000 and race days can see the family travelling to all parts of the state. 

Recently Dan notched up a win in Warnambool and this month will contest the Victorian Country Titles, ahead of the Junior State titles in  Melbourne in April.
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“He would like to be competing in the Australian Karting Championships in next few years and hopefully race overseas in Europe,” Julie said.

“Geelong is such an amazing place for success stories”, and one of those who has achieved more than most, has a mission to tell them.  
 
Through a new podcast series, AFL great Barry Stoneham is exploring what and who are responsible for making this region the fastest growing in Australia.

From business and tourism, to politics, art and of course sports - ‘City of dreams’ sees the former Cats captain and Point Lonsdale resident chatting with notable locals to learn what it is they do and why they live where they live. 

Russ Watson, owner of the hugely-popular ‘The Whiskery’, Geelong Mayor Stephanie Asher and Lon Retreat owner Claire Gemes are among those to have featured in the podcast’s first episodes. 

“There’s plenty of stories around a huge amount of content,” he says. “I think having lived here, especially being here full time last year, I hear some good stories and have a good knowledge of what’s going on around the region, stories that others may not necessarily know.

“A lot of people have made a success of what they’re doing in a whole range of areas, and I don’t just mean high profile people,” Barry said. 

Born and educated in Geelong, Barry played 241 games with Geelong and captained the side between 1995 and 98. He was named best-and-fairest award in 1990, and made the All-Australian team in 1992 and represented Victoria seven times. He was also named at centre half-forward in Geelong’s Team of the Century.

And while he retains strong links with the club, his interests and connections run far deeper. 

“I don’t pretend to know a lot about the arts, but I’m interested in some of the people and stories and this region boasts some of the best galleries anywhere, whether it be Salt right here, or Boom or through the Geelong Arts Centre, it’s one of those areas where I personally want to know more and want to share those stories,” Barry said.

“There’s also tourism, which is such a big part of the region, and business - there are people who were maybe born and raised here, started a business or have achieved in other ways. There’s so much to talk about.

“Having lived and worked in Melbourne in recent years, when you talk to your work colleagues about Geelong, they aren’t aware of some of the stories. There are people who think it’s still a long way away and once they get down here and see what’s on offer, I changes their mindset.” 

The timing for the podcast could not be better, with the pandemic and low interest rates driving an influx of newcomers to the region. 

For Barry, who moved to Point Lonsdale permanently just over 12 months ago having loved and being a frequent visitor over many years, 2020 served as a reminder of just how special this part of the world is. 
 
“Lonnie has always been special, I have close friends down here and have been coming for many years. Me and [partner] Leanne brought a place four years ago but moving down and living here over the last 12 months, you just appreciate it more.  

“And that’s sort of where the idea for the podcast came from. I just sort of thought, hang on, there’s a lot more to this place than meets the eye.”
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The City of Dreams podcast series is available on Spotify via the City of Dreams Instagram page - cityofdreams.podcast