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FREE The Community Magazine for Boroondara, Monash & Whitehorse cities ISSUE 139 Summer 2015–16 The "chook lady" of Camberwell Local Business Directory Plus 14 pages of Community Notices 6000 copies distributed quarterlyDecember 2015 – February 2016 BURWOOD BULLETIN 1 Local knowledge and expert home loan advice. RAMS offers flexible, competitive and innovative solutions to suit a wide range of home loan needs. First home or next home, RAMS can help. 3 Free home loan health check 3 Low deposit options for first home buyers 3 Refinancing and debt consolidation* 3 Specialists in self-employed home loans Talk to Stuart or Allen, your local RAMS home loan experts. Pays to ask those in the know Stuart Dyer & Allen Farrington RAMS Home Loan Centre Inner East 1432 Toorak Road, Camberwell | 9808 4477 Stuart 0403 136 244 | Allen 0413 813 308 [email protected] | RAMS.com.au More Information: Credit criteria apply. *Consolidating your short term debt into your home loan may extend the loan term of the short term debt and could result in more interest payments over the loan term. You should obtain independent professional advice relevant to your financial circumstances. RAMS Home Loan Centre Inner East is owned and operated by Dyer and Farrington Holdings Pty Ltd ABN 12 169 295 149. Credit Provider & issuer of RAMS Deposit Products: Westpac Banking Corporation ABN 33 007 457 141 AFSL and Australian credit licence 233714. 16047/1015 2 BURWOOD BULLETIN December 2015 – February 2016 From the Editor BULLETIN PEOPLE Season’s Greetings to all our advertisers, readers and volunteers. May 2016 be a safe and happy year for you all. The Burwood Bulletin is produced by volunteers who provide a range of talents freely for the Our cover story (photo by Chris Gray) resulted from our Secretary benefit of the community. mentioning that his wife, Leah, is known in their neighbourhood as President Bob Stensholt the Chook Lady – too good a story opportunity to pass up! One of Editor & Vice President Raine Biancalt our very recent past volunteers turned 90 in October – check out [email protected] 9877 5120 Jean Hadler’s story; and our Treasurer, Richard Daly, has his first Magazine Design & Layout Chris Gray article in this issue – the story of Tom Thorpe, ex-mayor of Box Hill [email protected] 9873 4797 and volunteer extraordinaire. Secretary Alan MacGavin Don’t forget about the Burwood Bulletin’s website at http:// [email protected] 0408 325 325 burwoodbulletin.org – you can view selected articles from our past Treasurer Richard Daly issues going back 35 years. [email protected] Paid Advertising [email protected] Features Community Notices [email protected] The Chook Lady of Camberwell 5 Distribution Routes Susan Webster Martial Arts a local passion 6 Graphic Artist Christine Bland Story Ideas [email protected] My lonely teenager 9 Photographer Chris Gray Proofreading Barrie Harding Burwood Walks: the Anniversary Trail 20 Volunteering [email protected] Celebrating Jean Hadler 26 Tom Thorpe: the people's magistrate 28 New life for the Craig Centre 32 SUMMER 2015 Regulars BROOKE’S CORNER 17 WHAT'S NEW IN BURWOOD? 19 LOCAL BUSINESS DIRECTORIES 38–39 COMMUNITY NOTICES 40–55 ISSN - 2203-2894 Writing Team Issue 139 Brooke Chris Gray Lavanya Kenneth Mark Learmonth Raine Biancalt Rebecca Paterson Richard Daly Associates COVER Alison Francis Bryan Porter The Chook Lady of Camberwell Charles Hui David LeCerf (see page 5) Gayle Nicholas John Riley Judy Weston Kaneyo Cobby Leo Fernandez Margaret Rockow Merrill Bolton Robert Kay SUBSCRIPTIONS TO BURWOOD BULLETIN Printing BPA Print Group A Burwood Bulletin subscription is $20 a year. Phone 0408 325 325 or email [email protected] The Burwood Bulletin wishes to advise that the views or remarks expressed Burwood Bulletin Inc. in this publication are not necessarily the views of the Burwood Bulletin Advertising deadline for next issue 1 February ABN 90 904 070 125 editorial or production staff and no endorsement or service is implied by PO Box 87 Burwood 3125 the listing of advertisers, sponsors or contributors. Although every effort is see page 8 for Advertising rates made in reproducing and printing advertisements correctly, we can take no [email protected] responsibility for errors. www.burwoodbulletin.org December 2015 – February 2016 BURWOOD BULLETIN 3 SHBURTON EYECARE is an optometry practice that has been servingA the local community’s visual needs for the past 50 years. MACULAR DEGENERATION Dario (Optometrist) has a wide range of optometrical interests, including retinal & GLAUCOMA SCREENING pathology, ocular pharmacology, contact lenses and via laser retinal scan children’s vision. He notes: “Through the years we have seen major changes in optometry. We screen, diagnose and manage a range of eye problems to ensure optimum eye health and early detection of pathology. Many people leave their eye tests too long and things can be missed. Commonly, we see glaucoma, macular degeneration and cataract, as well as a broad range of other disorders. We have always tried to provide superior service and the right optical product for each person. Accurate diagnosis and matching people’s requirements to the right optical device are rewarding, but most of all we enjoy the challenge of what we do and I think that comes across to the people we look after”. Practice Manager Scott Vickery has excellent technical skills and uses them to ensure glasses are made and adjusted 196 High Street, Ashburton properly. He also takes pride in stocking Ashburton Eyecare with a good range of interesting boutique frames. Phone 9885 1659 If you appreciate professional, thorough and personalised email: [email protected] eye care, phone today for an appointment. www.ashburtoneyecare.com.au 4 BURWOOD BULLETIN December 2015 – February 2016 These chickens have no reason to cross the road OU normally see someone walking their dog!” is the – an example of the pecking order in action. Iris likes to console common response from people who haven’t seen herself by having cuddles with Leah when the others aren’t Camberwell resident Leah out walking her chooks playing nice. “Ybefore. The unusual scene doesn’t draw comment from the All the chickens like to have a cuddle with Leah while she sits locals, who have become used to seeing their neighbour going on the couch watching TV. They also enjoy music, Leah holding for a stroll up and down their leafy street with a chicken tucked them while Alistair plays the piano. comfortably under each arm. The chickens reward the family with a good supply of fresh Leah first started keeping chickens in 2011, and currently has eggs, with them currently getting about 10 a week, and when all three of the birds. The oldest chook, Leanne, is a white Leghorn three are laying they have had as many as 79 eggs in one month. that she bought in 2012. The other two are Isa Browns, one Leah keeps a daily diary of the chickens’ activities, recording the named Isa and the other Iris. number of eggs each lays and noting any milestones. Alistair Whilst the birds do get out for the occasional wander in transfers this information to a spreadsheet so it can be easily the street, they are usually found roaming freely about the reviewed. backyard, scratching and pecking through the garden and At night the three are kept in a chicken coop which is digging holes along the fence line, which Leah’s husband Alan scrubbed every Saturday, then filled with clean newspaper, routinely fills up to prevent a “great escape”. straw and sawdust. Leah says this is important not only for I’m not sure why the three would even contemplate a the chooks, but also out of respect for the neighbours, who breakout when they have an owner like Leah, who freely admits shouldn’t have to put up with any odours or vermin. that she spoils them, driving to Coldstream every three months The manure from the chickens is watered and then spread to purchase their favourite food, a layer mash they have been around the garden, and the stunning roses in front of the house are proof of just how effective this natural fertiliser is. having since they were born. She also feeds them food scraps, The family doesn’t have any other pets, so Leah feels it is including meat (but not chicken of course!) and washes and not too onerous to keep up the level of attention she gives her dries their eggshells, pounding them in a mortar and pestle beloved chooks. before adding them in to the layer mash. Despite adoring her pets, Leah says her chook ownership has Husband Alan recalls a time when Leah was away and he not put her off eating chicken, but of course she buys it from the ran out of the layer mash for the chooks. He went to the nearest shops and wouldn’t dream of sacrificing one of her birds for the agriculture supply shop and bought a bag of pellets to feed dinner table. them. For days he tried to give them the new food, but when he Cr REBECCA PATERSON put it out the chickens would just look at it and then walk away. He went back to the store and got a different bag of feed, but the The City of Boroondara allows residents to keep up result was the same. He eventually gave in to the birds’ stronger to six chickens, City of Monash has a limit of five and will and made the trip to Coldstream. the City of Whitehorse also allows up to six but not Leah, Alan and adult son Alistair say the chickens definitely on “small” premises.