We hope that you enjoy this edition of The Valley Hub News.
From Country
For Our Elders by Mujaay Ganma
For Our Elders.
The NAIDOC committee for 2023 introduced the year with the following acknowledgement of Our Elders when the theme for the year was announced. It is ‘For Our Elders’.
“Across every generation, our Elders have played, and continue to play, an important role and hold a prominent place in our communities and families. They are cultural knowledge holders, trailblazers, nurturers, advocates, teachers, survivors, leaders, hard workers and our loved ones. They guide our generations and pave the way for us to take the paths we can take today. Guidance, not only through generations of advocacy and activism, but in everyday life and how to place ourselves in the world.
We draw strength from their knowledge and experience, in everything from land management, cultural knowledge to justice and human rights. Across multiple sectors like health, education, the arts, politics and everything in between, they have set the many courses we follow. It is their influence and through their learnings that we must ensure that when it comes to future decision making for our people, there is nothing about us – without us”.
In 2023, in the Nambucca Valley, our Elders had one of the busiest weeks on record as many Aboriginal organisations in the Valley held events to celebrate NAIDOC this year. The week began with the Sunday BBQ breakfast which has now become an annual tradition. The flag raising ceremony was held in Bowraville this year, hosted by Bowra Central and so began a series of events ‘For Our Elders’.
The events that week included an Elders lunch hosted by the Mujaay Ganma Foundation where younger community members cooked and served the Elders. This was successful as the young people enjoyed the work and the Elders left feeling celebrated. That evening Ngambaga Bindarry Girrwa hosted a Dance Night at Macksville Ex Services Club.
Another highlight was the Family Portrait Day with Elders held at TAFE Nambucca. The week’s festivities came to an end with a choice for the Elders to have morning tea in the Nambucca Library Courtyard or a Pamper day for the women at Giiguy Gamambi.
Macksville Hospital chose to celebrate our Elders the following week with a smoking, flag raising, morning tea and a tree planting ceremony in the newly landscaped garden at the hospital. This was followed by a cook off with the Elders being treated to another lunch.
NAIDOC is a time for all to be able to celebrate the contribution, the First Peoples of this country have been making, over millennia. This year the Nambucca Valley did their Elders proud.
Connect with Mujaay Ganma here:
https://mujaayganmafoundation.org.au
Valley Feature
Go Go Governance
Part of our purpose at The Valley Hub is to facilitate opportunities for connection, as well as capacity building. One of the ways in which we do this is by delivering specialised training to the community to create sustainable organisations.
The Valley Hub team are currently conducting research into Governance Training needs in the Nambucca Valley. The data collected from this survey will assist us to produce an accessible and valuable workshop for the community.
Training will be delivered primarily to local not-for-profits, with the invitation also extended to local social enterprises and volunteer organisations as capacity allows. The training is at no cost, therefore, the questions in this survey are structured to best scope organisational needs. The information collected through this survey may also be used to identify further training needs in the local not-for-profit sector.
This survey will take approximately five minutes to complete and we invite you to provide further information if applicable. If you have any questions, please reach out to us at projectmanager@thevalleyhub.com.au or contact 0401 961 259 for technical support.
With Thanks
The Valley Hub Team
Our stories
Gaille Smith is all 'Work Travel Play'. Surreal is a word that comes to mind when I think how the world came to a full stop and that we (mostly) complied. I still shake my head at these past few years in disbelief. But we all have a story, don’t we? A story that changed our lives during those years.
We were looking for a complete life change, considering a macadamia farm (with hindsight, glad that did not happen with the market value at the moment). Then, we settled for a hobby farm. We are so fortunate to have found our farm house in Bowraville with view for days.
Bowraville, my soul space, the place that I can breathe in the fresh air, lovely country folk (mostly), my cows, chooks, geese, and the best neighbours you could ask for. I was settled, I was happy, yet I needed a job. As we know, regional jobs are not so easy to come by.
In September 2022 I became a tour guide for US travellers visiting Australia. For three weeks every month or so, I take up to sixteen travellers from Tasmania to Melbourne, Alice, and Sydney. I also take yarners (knitters and crocheters) all around the world seeking out workshops and festivals. It is a crazy world but one that has taken me to Ireland, New Zealand, Tasmania, Victoria, and, we are off to Scotland next month!
But no amount of travelling can compare to how it feels returning to my farm house, my beautiful friends, and my farm fur-family.
Connect with Gail here:
https://www.instagram.com/worktravelplay22/?hl=en
Love your local
Lets get Physie-Cal Nambucca Valley Physie Nambucca Valley Physie is part of the EP (Edith Parsons) School of Physie which is offered to girls from three years of age through the Mid North Coast and New South Wales.
EP Physie offers a structured syllabus with precise controlled movements, elegance in the rhythm section, together with a fun dance from Juniors to Seniors. Our Ladies also enjoy a variety of exercises, some still doing physic long after they have retired from other sports.
We use modern music that you’ve probably heard on the radio! Our competition attire is a leotard (can be blinged with your own creativity), skirts and ballets. Nambucca Valley Physie is about to start our competitions over the next few months, with the dream of competing at the Grand Final, held at the beautiful Sydney Town Hall.
For more information, please contact our Head Teacher, Joanne Logan on 0422 647 214
Check out Nambucca Valley Physie Socials here:
https://www.instagram.com/nambuccavalleyphysie/?hl=en
https://www.facebook.com/nambuccavalleyphysi/
Spotlight on
UNITE Advisory
A United approach to personalised service.
Here at Unite Advisory, we pride ourselves on giving the highest level of personalised service to each and every one of our clients. We are here to help all our clients grow with certainty.
As a boutique agency, across 3 offices (Coffs Harbour, Macksville, Port Macquarie) and a proud Authorised representative of Count Financial Limited, Australian Financial Services Licence Number 227232, our team thrives on dedicating and tailoring solutions to suit our clients’ needs.
We also pride ourselves on the highest standards of professionalism possible, so please ask us how we can start making a difference to your financial future.
Connect here:
https://www.facebook.com/UniteAdvisoryGrowWithCertainty
https://uniteadvisory.com.au
Inside knowledge
Station turns 100 by Rachel Burns
Nambucca Heads Railway Station – image courtesy of the Nambucca District Historical Society. The opening of a railway station at Nambucca Heads in 1923 was a great boost to the local economy.
It meant fresh produce like bananas, vegetables, flowers and seafood could be sent to Sydney markets overnight. Passengers found travel by train was far more reliable and comfortable than that of sea or road services. Early plans show the precinct included the station building, a toilet block, a crane, water columns, an ash pit, pump house and a water tank. By 1933 plans show the addition of a fettler’s cottage, a stationmaster’s residence and a tool shed.
Running through the station area was the Pacific Highway. It led from the town across the railway line through manned gates and then turned north towards Urunga. The road on the town side of the station is now aptly named Railway Road and the western side is called Fox’s Road.
The original wooden railway station building was destroyed by fire in 1942. In 1945 the station was provided with a new brick station building. It included a ladies room and general waiting room, booking office, parcels office and signal box.
Nambucca resident Bev Irvine has firsthand experience of living in the precinct. Her father, Jack Stanford, worked on the “Border Loop” from Murwillumbah to Brisbane before transferring to Nambucca Heads. She spoke of her memories of living by the railway.
“My father was transferred to Nambucca Heads as a fettler in August 1946. Land by the station was leased to the railway employees for them to build homes on the site. Whilst he was building the house we lived in tents on the eastern side of the line. Dad was building the house on his own so we lived in the tents for quite a while.” Bev has a wonderful memory and a steady hand evidenced by a map she has drawn of the area. This map is a clear testament to the hub of activity that surrounded the station.
She recalls, “The station was a very busy place. There were many trains and lots of people travelling. The mail train ran morning and night as well as passenger trains called express trains. There was also a school train which took children to Urunga and Coffs Harbour schools. A bus used to meet the trains to transport all the holidaymakers. We lived very close to the railway line but got used to the noise of trains shunting at all times of the day or night.”
Bev tells of an accident that left her with headaches for years. “There was an ash pit between the rails. When the train going north stopped one of the workers would empty the ashes from under the coal fire into it. When I was eleven I fractured my skull when I fell in to the ash pit.”
She also recalls happy memories of living in the railway hub with waterways nearby and about thirty other resident children to share activities with. “All of the children played cricket behind the station and swam in the creek. My father built a boat for me and we would row to Hyland Park for picnics. My two brothers worked as gate-boys, opening and closing the gates at night. It was a very pretty station with azalea shrubs and pink and white oleanders alternating right along the fence on the platform.”
Bev’s residency at the station ended when she married Max Irvine in 1955. She continued to visit her father there often until he sold the house, which still stands today.
Nambucca Heads Railway Station will celebrate its centenary in 2023. A keen committee has been formed to prepare for this historic event. Recently the committee members and consultant Joan Kelly, Museum Advisor from Clarence Valley Council, met at the station to reacquaint themselves with the building and the surrounding area’s landmarks.
Committee member Terri Beaman commented, “The centenary will be a wonderful celebration of old Nambucca Heads. The station was a busy hub with access tracks that leading to farms and a sawmill. We hope to open up walking trails and exhibit photos and memorabilia of its glory days.”
If any reader would like to participate in the centenary or has memorabilia or stories to share please email the writer at prburns@iinet.net.au or you can contact the Headland Museum through its Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/nambuccamuseum/
https://nambuccaheadlandmuseum.com.au
Sketch by Bev Irvine – image provided by Nambucca District Historical Society
What's on in the Valley
Here are a handful of events and programs coming up in June and July 2023 Jul 2023: Highlight events
The Valley Hub Team first heard about this film when we interviewed the effervescent Debbie Green; sourdough spreader, regenerative farmer, and wife of Mick. We encourage you to head along to a local showing at Bowraville Theatre or Majestic Cinemas Nambucca Heads and show your support to this feature film that details new and exciting ways of doing things post natural disaster.
Read more here: For many years, her Nambucca Valley property was a family retreat, conventionally farmed by Rachel’s neighbour Mick. The 2019 Black Summer fires spared the farm, but the near-miss – and a first grandchild – sets Rachel thinking hard about the future. Mick encourages Rachel to challenge established farming practices, and take on a new approach which starts from the soil up. It’s hands-on hard yakka, but she’s determined, and her joy at finding solutions – not to mention dung beetles – is palpable. Rachel’s Farm is about the environmental threats we face, but it’s also the story of one woman’s resolve to tackle them head on, intent on making a difference.
Book your ticket here: Rachel’s farm screening and Q & Q with director Rachel ward
and listen to Debbie Green chat regenerative farming here: Debbie Greeb Chat
For more information about the above events or for a list of what else is happening around the Nambucca Valley head to The Valley Hubs calendar of events . You can also request to add upcoming events here .
Let the games begin
Set your brain to our monthly trivia quest. The answers will be shared next month – let us know how you fared.
July QUESTIONS
Each Aussie farmer produces enough food to feed how many people per year?
Australian farms produce how much of the food volume consumed in Australia?
Since 2013, the largest decrease in water consumption has been in the agriculture industry, true or false?
The Australian Agricultural industry employs how many Australians?
What is the most common type of farming in Australia?
What is the largest farm in Australia?
Australian farmers are striving to be carbon neutral by when?
JUNE ANSWERS
Idina Menzel
6
-23 degrees at Charlotte’s Pass NSW
True
The word winter comes from the Germanic wintar which in turn is derived from the root wed meaning ‘wet’ or water’.
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (usually shortened to Chamonix), a resort area near the junction of France, Switzerland and Italy.
Tasmania
Valley publications
Stay in touch with other Valley publications available.
