Business, Community and Environment in the Yarra Ranges and surrounding suburbs
BUSINESS, COMMUNITY, ENVIRONMENT, LOCAL NEWS AND TOPICAL CONVERSATION
Last Saturday morning the Dandenong Ranges community lost a tenacious spirit with the passing of local Emerald identity Mr David Greenaway. David was an unequivocally kind man. He never once failed to share his generous personality with his family, friends or the greater community. As […]
The Storey Players, have re-written history with their telling of the Burke and Wills Story. Few people know the full account of the Burke and Wills expedition, so Simon Storey and his travelling family of players decided to research and create a show for schools, […]
When I was a young teenager, around 14 or 15 I had a beautiful 15 hand chestnut Mare, aptly named Chessy. This horse was agisted with family friends on their property located on Wellington Road in Lysterfield. The property was quite large with a small house, stables and paddocks for the family horses and the agisted horses. One of my most distinct memories from this time was the stories they told about a large black panther like cat that roamed their property at night.
It was drummed into us to not stray to far from the house after dark. This ‘cat’ or panther had been seen on various occasions by them and the people on neighboring properties. It had been known in the area to attack live stock and even people. I remember the sounds out in the paddocks at night of growls and strange cry’s along side the whinny of the distressed horses. It was creepy, yet a running joke, a story that seemed to become more embellished with each telling.
I was thinking about this of late and decided to do some research into the phenomena. Black panther sized cats are reported to have been seen all over Victoria, but seem to be somewhat concentrated to in and around the Hills area.
A couple from Kallista reported seeing a Labrador sized cat in a paddock down the hill in Monbulk, while several teenagers reported seeing a large cat in Belgrave. One very detailed sighting comes from couple driving along the Warburton Highway who saw a panther walking along the road, the animal was large enough to reach the height of the car window. A horse in a paddock in The Basin was maulded by a creature that left large claw marks down the hind quarter of the animal, wounded down to the bone. There has even been sighing’s in Kellets Road in Lysterfield and on the 1000 Steps in Ferntree Gully. One theory of how the big cats got here is that a Monbulk man who owned a miniature zoo about 30 years ago released his animals into the bush when the zoo was closed. Others say it is an exotic native predatory species yet to be fully identified. Cryptozoology is certainly fascinating.
There are hundreds of such stories, and there are even several online forums discussing the phenomenon. The debate rages on, if these sightings are just feral cats or something else, something elusive. There is no doubt that the Australian Panther like cat is becoming an enigma, one that is ever more likely to be real.
Have you seen a Black Panther? Let us know your story.
This article was sponsored by Hills Physiotherapy. They provide the premier physiotherapy, remedial massage, myotherapy and associated health services to the hills with years of experience and expertise.
The Dandenong Ranges seems to be a mecca of alternative spirituality and life style. There are a multitude of groups, businesses and classes you can attend in the Hills and surrounding area to heal your mind, body and soul, using the power of alternate therapies. […]
On the eve of another Australia Day ‘celebration’, the conversation about this day and what it means to differing members of the community continues to rage on. It is nothing if not a topical argument that continues to divide opinion. For many Australians old and […]
A small Jean Genie snuck off to the city
Strung out on lasers and slash-back blazers
Ate all your razors while pulling the waiters
Talking ’bout Monroe and walking on Snow White
New York’s a go-go, and everything tastes right
Poor little Greenie, ooh-ooh
Keep her comin’
The Jean Genie lives on his back
The Jean Genie loves chimney stacks
He’s outrageous, he screams and he bawls (Jean Genie)
Jean Genie, let yourself go, whoah
Sits like a man but he smiles like a reptile
She love him, she love him but just for a short while
She’ll scratch in the sand, won’t let go his hand
He says he’s a beautician and sells you nutrition
And keeps all your dead hair for making up underwear
Poor little Greenie, ooh-ooh
The Jean Genie lives on his back
We all live on our backs one way or the other, we are all whores to the system, to men, to the patriarchy, to ‘the man’, yes stupid white men and capitalism, especially capitalism has failed us all. We fail our children in servitude and in ignorance and in indifference, in the wake of this promise of free trade, democracy and hope. Gone are the days of community, of family, of culture or strength in numbers. We fail our selves and each other.
Now is the time for being offended, of being stupidly caught up in our own social platforms and trial by media. Now a god fearing good white man can not even harass or exploit those beneath him with out certain respite. What a fucking world.
The powers that be are going to take this splendid opportunity to full fill their agendas. We are just little screaming lambs exposed and surrounded by snarling rabid wolves. But grass roots exist and they grow day by day and soon this tenacious and expansive weed will envelop the world and thus the world will pay homage and pay attention to the environment and the biosphere and put this above capitalism, your back pocket and the globalised Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s that rule the system.
Be part of the grass.
Well it is the end of another year already, feels like this it has gone by in a flash, a blur of miscommunication, average decision making, anxiety and stress. I am pretty happy to see the back of it really, but the year was also […]
After seeing the original Star War film, A New Hope at the drive in when I was five, I have always been a fan of the franchise, even some what enjoying the disastrous George Lucas attempts at the first 3 episodes. Since Disney have purchased […]
Paul ‘Dougie’ Douglas and Belinda Smullen are well know foodies in the Hills area, and have a passion for good, wholesome locally growth seasonal food. Together they have provided the community with the successful General Food Store, that has been running since 2011. Their latest venture has just opened on Belgrave-Gembrook Road in Avonsleigh and is a testament to their joint love of Italian food and vibrant welcoming hospitality. Bam Bam Italian is a stylish, well heeled restaurant of the finest quality.
The General Food Store, also on Belgrave Gembrook Road is a bustling Cafe, that offers an evolving menu of local and greater Victorian produce. Bam Bam Italian is designed along the same lines but offers modern Italian inspired delights for all the family. Paul is a highly experienced Chef with over 20 years experience working in London, New Zealand and Australia in other Italian establishments including: Sartoria (London); Restaurant 2, under the guise of Marco Lori (South Yarra); and Ladro (Prahran). He understands that Italian food is more than just pizza and pasta. It’s about fresh, quality produce and again seasonal eating.
The restaurant is well decked out for all the family and any type of private dinner or function you can imagine, and with their own garden growing outside that will soon be filled with fresh delicious home grown produce, you can not go wrong. It is a warm contemporary and inviting space, with friendly and attentive staff.
My good friend and I enjoyed a delightful lunch there last week, staying well over two hours, enjoying the simple but authentic salads and some outstanding polenta chips. The wine, the cake and the coffee were delicious and the atmosphere enjoyable.
I look forward to the opportunity to eat there again soon. You should get on down to Bam Bam Italian, open for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, for a great meal and a fantastic food experience.
https://www.bambamitalian.com.au
One of the better parts of Christmas, other than the food is the traditional Christmas Tree. It is a great time for the family to create a ritual and enjoy some time together. Many people just go for the plastic tree, but there is nothing […]