Volume 194 Print circulation 570 — Readership keeps growing December 2019 Gundaroo’s Christmas lead-up begins early Gundaroo began gearing up the inaugural Bungendore Open Gardens collaborated in for the festive season at the end of was declared a big success. a widely varied November. On the weekend of 23rd The general repertoire of and 24th, citizens and friends enjoyed opinion was traditional four big events – and they all ‘played that all four songs and selected to packed houses’. gardens – Fieldstone, Christmas Bungendore Open Gardens and Capital Fox’s Folly season songs. Brewing tasting with live music ran all (pictured), (See page 13.) weekend. ‘Concert at the Courthouse’ Thornleigh was held on Saturday afternoon, and The Old A great ‘Food and Film’ combination followed by the Gundaroo Film Society Stonehouse – fundraising dinner on Saturday night. Gundaroo Film Society ended its year were with a specially catered dinner for a And, although not confined to the delightful in packed Hall of more than 90 members weekend, the exhibition of Nino their different and guests, followed by a popular ‘food Bellantonio’s art at the Cork Street Café ways. film’, Mostly Martha. and Gallery was well patronised. (See Six Bungendore charities benefited from page 13.) As always, this end-of-year feast raises the takings, as well as Abbeyfield Aged funds to help with maintenance and Bungendore Open Gardens Care fundraising committee (just from improvement of the Hall. (See Film Having hosted over the weekend more selling morning and afternoon teas). Society article on page 6.) than 1,100 visitors (not counting The weekend is being considered for a Fireside Chats and journey to Bethlehem children) – including from Gundaroo – regular place in the Open Gardens Canberra calendar. An idea for Gundaroo? As we move closer to Christmas, it is also fitting that the last Fireside Chat (page 4) In this issue … Capital Brewing Co on Saturday 7 December be called Charles Local News pp 1–3 The Colonial Inn hosted a beer tasting Dickens and the making of Christmas. Christmas season services p.3 put on by new community-minded And from now until Christmas Eve, Gundaroo Community Noticeboard pp 4–5 boutique brewery, Capital Brewing Co, in and visitors can witness the journey to Film Society p 6 Fyshwick, accompanied by excellent live Bethlehem taking place day by day across School News p 7 music by Tash on piano and guitar on the grounds of the Community Church. Fire Brigade bulletin p 8 Saturday and duo Escapado on Sunday. 1st Gundaroo Scouts p 9 So many ‘tasters’ on the weekend also ‘In Living Memory’ pp 10–11 multiplied the meals from Rolling Hills Hearing, Seeing, Feeling p 13 Kichen. A big weekend all round. Silly season, silly question? p 15 Concert in the Courthouse Scale insect pests p 17 The ‘Concert at the Courthouse’ Wildcare wrap-up 2018–19 p 19 entertained a packed audience in St Our cricketers scoring well p 21 Marks Church, raising funds to help Shop trading days/hours p 22 maintain the historic building. Eateries p 23 The Canberra Men’s Choir, the small Church services p 23 Kooranga Ensemble of instrumental Emergency & community contacts p 24 strings and woodwinds, and the Gundaroo Community Singers Quotes for the season “Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing, but of reflection.” Winston Churchill (1874–1965) British statesman, army officer, writer Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1940–45 and 1951–55 “ … and on earth, peace, and good will toward men” Luke 2:14 (King James version) “Cheers to a new year and another chance to get it right.” Oprah Winfrey (b. 1954) American TV host, producer and executive, author, philanthropist 1 LOCAL NEWS A new website proposed history page data”, and that his work the owner had ‘fled the scene’ only to for Gundaroo “will be annotated in some way so that arrive home the next day to be greeted visitors to the site will be informed that by his distraught mum with a priest). A bequest from Gundaroo’s Challinor Graeme was the original author or Charlie told one of many possible stories family has sparked a proposal for a new website creator”. about a local TV journalist and his ‘all-encompassing’ website for the A meeting of community groups interesting life and ‘good-looking visitors’ Gundaroo community. organised by GCA on 13 November at his bush property near ‘Nelanglo’ – of The website builds on years of work by supported a proposal to develop a site a wide-eyed local breathlessly telling the the late Graeme Challinor on his history for all local community organisations. A wine bar patrons about his surprise and genealogy site gundaroo.info. That small working group was formed and encounter while mustering wild cattle on site was a great source of information will report back on progress. said property. and a valuable resource for people The Gundaroo Gazette is part of that And Cecil Burgess was able to confirm the seeking historical information about working group. truth of Charlie’s amazing tale of the families. It also had some information unique Gundaroo in-bar surgical solution from the Gundaroo Community Entertaining Historical to the problem of too many annoying Association (GCA), and from community Society AGM tomcats around the village 40 years ago. groups and businesses in the village. For Gundaroo ‘newbies’ (say, less than Cecil was the surgeon. Picture it. When Graeme died last year, it was felt 30 years), Charlie Permain’s random tales There was much more to each of these that his work should continue in some of his own personal ‘newbie’ days here in stories – as well as a few more. The form. Discussions between Liz Challinor, the 1960s and 70s were not only Gundaroo Gazette is attempting to soften Gundaroo & District Historical Society revealing but often hilarious. Charlie up to write the detail for future and GCA led to Liz and the family kindly Charlie was the guest speaker at the editions of the Gazette. Lend your passing on the site for village use. Gundaroo & District Historical Society support. It was also suggested that the site could Annual General Meeting on the evening The main reason for the gathering was, of be expanded beyond a historical source of 12 November. course, to conduct the business of an to one for the whole village and Charlie described his first encounter with AGM and elect office-bearers for 2019. surrounding community. Gundaroo-ite Gundaroo shortly after moving to This was all done before the guest Jed Johnson from Random Computing speaker took the stage. offered his help and has been working Canberra with CSIRO in 1966, living with five blokes in Downer, and meeting Lyn with Canberra company Throttle Media President and Treasurer reported sound White, who lived with another Gundaroo to investigate how to do this. McGrath finances and a forward plan under Real Estate has donated a very welcome girl in the house behind. development for 2019. $1,000 to help develop the website. He had also, at the time, started helping a All the 2018 office-bearers and committee mate build a house on the Gundaroo tip stood again and were re-elected: Peter road. So things began falling into place – Firth (President), Ron Miller (Vice-President and ‘one thing let to another’. and Promotions), Sue Burns (Secretary), For the next half hour, Charlie engaged Allan Gibson (Treasurer, Membership and the meeting in his random tales of Public Officer), Caroline Milne (Archive ‘hanging around the White’s house’, Officer), and Justin Barwick and Esther sailing off to London for a while, and Robinson (General Committee). returning to take up residence here with Keeping Santa ‘safe’? Lyn and build a house in Lute Street. Last year the higher-ups in the NSW This of course led to becoming a regular Rural Fire Service issued a bulletin that patron of the Gundaroo Wine Bar (the our Rural Fire Brigade is not keeping ‘Culture Centre’, where sherry and port Santa Claus safe enough when he visits were about 20 cents for a 2oz glass and it (l to r) Jed Johnston (Random Computing), Gundaroo to be driven around the was very easy to “talk for too long”); village to greet children and hand out Liz Challinor, Peter Firth (G&DHS), Chris wanting to get involved and ‘do stuff’ but Dixon (McGrath), Moraig McKenna (GCA) treats on Christmas Eve each year. being put in his place by the ‘old-timers’; The actions now being taken are helping revive the cricket club and the According to the ‘rules of the road’, it’s consistent with the letter of bequest ‘to tennis court; and generally how he too risky for Santa – who’s not a the Gundaroo community’ from Liz adapted to and fell in love with this firefighter – to stand in the crew area of Challinor on 4 August 2019. ‘magical place’ – the leisurely pace of a fire truck idling around our streets at That letter appointed Jed Johnson as the getting deliveries of petrol, mail and 10km/h smiling and waving at eager temporary custodian of the papers (and the bill!), and “leaving your happy children. gundaroo.info internet domain and data, troubles on the other side of the loose From now on, Santa must ride inside to be transferred to GCA and then to boards of the Gundaroo Bridge”. the cab of the truck and wave through G&DHS. Liz expresses being heartened Charlie’s stories included making good the window. that “the amalgamation of Graeme’s money loading hay at ‘Ruthfield’ after The Gundaroo Gazette has no brief to work may result in several groups and work; the ‘family’ reason for his encourage Santa or our Brigade to trusts coming together to collaborate on friendship with Jack Ryan; and the break a black-letter law, however a new overarching Gundaroo website police not finding a body in a car poorly formed that law may be.