Business, Community and Environment in the Yarra Ranges and surrounding suburbs
If you are looking for something to do in the evening over the summer months, you can not go past the very cosmopolitan Outdoor Cinema at Cameo Cinema in Belgrave. Cameo is an independently run business that presents a generous selection of films all year round. […]
Lilydale Athenaeum Theatre are a long running institution and the perfect example of community and arts in the Yarra Ranges. Their wonderful transformed home in the old Mechanics Hall, with history and warmth on their side, and a generous and welcoming spirit. I just love […]
There are many stories about the Dandenong Ranges, haunted houses, ghosts and mysterious happenings. I have personally been witness to several strange events that were difficult to define with a natural explanation.
As a teenager my boyfriend and his friends would drive up to the top of the mountain range to a well known ‘Haunted House’, where part of the fun was breaking into the somewhat derelict castle shaped property made of blue stone. The challenge was to scare each other and get past a crazy grounds keeper and laser alarm systems. I am not sure any of them actually every witnessed anything of a real paranormal nature, but just loved the thrill of being able to enter the spooky old house. However there is a particular story about a group of kids driving up to the same property and being warned off by a mysterious walker who just appeared out of the bush emphatically telling them to stay away. The group then encountered the same man much further up the hill who repeated his urgent warning yet could not have possibly walked faster than the car. What rings true about this is that they thought this man was entirely real, and never questioned the situation until the strangeness of the second encounter.
The forest itself can be pretty spooky depending on the weather, the fog and mist high in the hills and the dense rainforest, burnt trees and the sound of owls and the mimicking yet elusive Lyrebird.
Nestled on the north/west side of the mountain range in part of the dense and partially burnt forest is a old log cabin house, built around 1870 and one of the first properties in the area. An old house always to some degree holds an imprint of those that have lived and died there. A presence or an energy, ingrain in the wood, like a needle on record, occasionally this energy emerges like music from vinyl. The definite and defined sounds of walking and footsteps in the house, knocking on doors, sometimes for hours during the night. A feeling of being watched, and the sight of people that should not be there, often again mistaken for real people. This house is fascinating in its beauty, history and a strange feeling of perpetual gloom. There are many specific stories about this property.
At the bottom of the hills to the north is a township in which it is rumoured that the cemetery has a particularly large amount of paranormal activity. It has been for many years a place were people travel in the hope to see or feel something paranormal or perhaps even capture something on film. Many pictures of Orbs have been captured in this cemetery. At 140 years old it is likely to hold an abundance of energy, sadness grief and loss, and also some fine history of the area. One of the biggest draw cards no doubt for tourist and ghost hunters alike is that this is where Dame Nellie Melba is buried, and it is rumoured on a still night she can still be heard.
Do you have any stories about strange or paranormal activities in the Hills?
Finally the cold winter is starting to disappear with some warmer spring weather in the hills, flowers starting to bloom and all those new little animals being born. Along with this abundance of growth comes the life giving pollinating minuture communitys of a variety of crawling […]
As most people who live in the hills know the Dandenong Ranges are made up of a great deal of natural eucalyptus forest, Mountain Ash, temperate rain forest and Stringybark. Part of the life cycle of this type of forest includes fire. When burnt seed […]
“Kindness is the language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Mark Twain
Mental Heath is a topic that is close to my heart. Few people these days are not subjected to the darkness, either directly or though a family member or friend. It is an ongoing epidemic that effects us all. People who live in the Hills have the privilege of being close to nature, and can improve their health by getting out and about in one of the most beautiful parts of the world. It is not a cure but can make each day just a little better.
I am sad most days, and I think you can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness. It becomes a way of life, a construct that controls and envelops lives, rich or poor, old or young, no one is immune. The modern world is a veritable petri dish for the pitfalls of the brain. It is becoming more and more prevalent in this world of isolated social media and the lost art of human communication. It is important to find ways to connect with your neighbor or friend or stranger on the street, to be kind to each other every chance you get. Don’t just ask if someone is OK, but taking the time to actually make sure they are is one of the most brave and noble things you can do.
It is hard to be friends or to love someone who suffers from chronic non quantifiable and often invisible pain. They put walls up, their behavior is often antisocial and even aggressive, but to try and understand and see beyond this is the best things you can do for your loved ones, the world and your immediate community. We are blessed in this country with excellent health care, but when it comes to mental health this often falls short. That black dog does not want you to get help, the dark pit feels impossible to climb, and most psychologists seem to have no idea. Medication is the go to for all Doctors, but this is often misused and can makes things worse.
Connection kindness and love, all help the continuing cycle of blah. We must start to work towards helping each other and the greater community, through time patience and tenacious encouragement. Never underestimate the power of kindness, it is always under valued and sometimes hard to see. Be open to giving it and especially recognising it. Kindness is the key.
http://www.mentalhealthcompass.com.au/directory/dandenong-ranges-emergency-relief-services-inc
It has been around six weeks since I originality wrote about the Marriage Equality Plebiscite and accurately depicted the effect the process would have on the local and greater community. The debate has become bitter and petty and even violent, the process nothing but a […]
Over the last few weeks my beloved cat Fluffy became very ill. He was vomiting lethargic and not eating or drinking and as such he became extremely dehydrated, He was not looking good and after a less than positive, expensive and questionable diagnosis, I looked […]
‘In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning ‘platoon’) is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close (drafting or slipstreaming) near (particularly behind) other riders.’
A while back I tried to write a balanced and fair article about cyclists in the Hills. Trying to demonstrate that drivers and riders alike should be mindful of each other and the shared road space. Well its goes to say with this article that I have changed my mind. After a certain nerve bending encounter with a peloton of lyrca clad yahoos, I no longer have a lot of empathy or understanding for this type.
Sunday morning driving down Burwood Highway from Kallista I encountered this posse of racers, riding in a collective of around 20 bikes. Speeding along defying every and any road rule, as they changed positions in the group, they showed little if no concern for the safety of the community. I tried to politely stay behind them in the hope that they would offer the same courtesy of moving to the left and allowing me to pass. No such luck. Each time I tried to pass them, at below the speed limit, one would pull out in front of the car more interested in the thrill of the downhill ride than those around them or any motorist on the road. At best this shows a narcissistic need for attention, at the very worse a pathological death wish. If I actually accidentally hit one of them with my car not only would their lives be potentially changed forever, but mine most certainly would. I eventually had to pull off the road at Tecoma to give them a head start. After about five minutes I drove all the way down the Highway to Vermont. I never did catch up with them.
Too much money, not enough sense.
The Micawber Tavern located on Monbulk Road between Belgrave and Kallista, is my favorite all time pub. It is a real traditional pub with not a Pokie machine in sight, and is a favorite drinking hole and meeting place in the Dandenong Ranges for locals […]