News Bites

A Festival of Footy at the Market

As part of the Gather Round, the Market will be holding some activities and community stalls on the 12th.

From time to time we receive information regarding events that are not quite in our district, but that others may find interesting. If you click on the picture above, you will find a link to a file that lists the when and where’s for several upcoming Music Fairs. Below is information for one in April.

Community Information

Daylight Saving has ended. Clocks should have been turned back an hour!

If you haven’t done it yet, you’ll be getting up too early!

For those who care for, or people who are living with Dementia

Gumeracha Nurse-Led Clinic update

Lobethal (MP) Poultry Club news

Legal Services - Free Information Session

We were very lucky to once again have Paul O’Connor from Legal Services (pictured above with Lee Wingate from CarersSA). This time the session was further to the information he gave us on Advanced Care Directives, and he explained the changes to the legislation pertaining to Wills. Some of these changes can in at the beginning of this year, and there are more changes in Family Law scheduled to come into effect on 10th June. There are many areas where Legals Services can be of assistance if you are unable to pay for other legal advice. You can make an appointment with Legal Services for half an hour and receive free advice on just about any topic - including Domestic Violence, Separation, Recovery of Property, Tenancy Disputes, etc. They may be able to advocate for you on certain matters. Offices are located in Adelaide and Elizabeth, and you can have an in person meeting, a chat over the website, or a phone consultation. If you have any concerns regarding any legal matter, or just need to know what you need to put in your will, the staff at Legal Services are able to help walk through your concerns and point you in the right direction.

C.F.S. Information

The Fire Danger Season for the Mt Lofty Ranges (of which Mt Pleasant is a part) commenced 15th November, 2024. This community announcement is a notification that fire siren testing has now moved to weekly as of 15 of November, at approximately 7.00 pm every Tuesday, to coincide with the commencement of the Fire Danger Season. Please let your friends and family who are not on social media know of both the early Fire Danger Season date and the commencement of weekly siren testing. Siren testing is done in accordance with CFS policy. The format of the test will be 3 blasts of the siren in a 1-0-1 configuration. The first blast will be short (approximately 2-3 seconds after wind up) followed by a long blast (approximately 5 seconds) followed by a short blast (2-3 seconds). The purpose of the siren is to alert and call firefighters to the station if the primary source of emergency notification is inoperative. Secondly, a long continuous siren is to warn the community that the town is in imminent danger of being impacted by fire. Without regular testing, the CFS siren has been known to seize (see the Mt Pleasant CFS post from February – this took many hours of labour to repair over some months). Testing is therefore part of regular maintenance. Replacing the siren if this damage occurs is not financially viable as station sirens across the state are not funded, repaired or replaced by the SACFS. This announcement is also a timely reminder for members of the community to review and update their bushfire safety plans, and in times of emergency to monitor an official source of emergency warning information for detailed updates during events such as fires:
CFS website: www.cfs.sa.gov.au
Alert SA app
Bushfire Information Hotline: 1800 362 361 (TTY 133 677)
Facebook: SA Country Fire Service and SA Country Fire Service Updates
Instagram: @sa_countryfireservice
X (Twitter): @cfsalerts and @cfstalk
CFS email bushfire subscription service
Radio: ABC Local Radio (891 AM)
TV: ABC News 24
Do not rely on a single source for emergency warning information
The siren is NOT a trigger for community evacuation. If the siren is sounded in one long continuous blast, follow the advice provided by the published emergency information.
Do not rely on a single source for emergency warning information
The siren is NOT a trigger for community evacuation. If the siren is sounded in one long continuous blast, follow the advice provided by the published emergency information.

Barossa Vintage Scarecrow Trail

From left: Tattie Bogle (History Group), Clyde (The old Police Station), The Golden Years (Mt Pleasant Hospital) and Mathilde (Bohemian Garden) - not an official entry, but worth adding. Below is a button for the Scarecrow Trail Map.

Scarecrow Trail Map

Tattie Bogle

Historian Paula Bartsch and husband Bill (Mount Pleasant District Historical Research Group - Mount Pleasant Community Association Incorporated) have constructed and installed our entry in the Scarecrow Trail for 2025. Her name is Tattie Bogle, and the inspiration for her came from the early settlers of our district, which were predominantly of Scottish and English heritage.

Our thanks also must go to the Mount Pleasant Environment Centre, for the donation of many of the elements used to make Tattie.

You are now able to vote for your favourite scarecrow - remembering that the Old Police Station Scarecrow (Clyde) won the competition last year!

Tattie has a QR code attached to her - it’s a process to vote - but it would be great if our Mount Pleasant Scarecrows had a good showing!

Melrose Street Banners

Banners have been placed along Melrose Street, as promised by the Barossa Council a few years ago. What do you think?

April is Citizen Science month!

Click the photo to learn what this means, and how you could become involved.

Vote for a Business or Club!

Vote for the Market - or any other business or Club in our district that you think deserves a guernsey! Click on the picture for the link.

Market Kitchen Upgrade officially opened

The Market Kitchen was formally opened by Mayor Bim Lange, with Councillors Don Barrett and Dave de Vries, looking on was Market Volunteer Wendy Harvey, standing in for Market Manager Chelsea Honner, who was unwell.

Vale Reg Butler - Historian

(From the Hahndorf Archives - Beerenberg Farm)

https://beerenberg.com.au/pages/hahndorf-archives

Reg Butler O.A.M was a celebrated South Australian historian whose legacy we are now proud guardians of.

A local luminary, Reg's passion for the intricate stories of our town's past shines through his extensive collection of books, maps, diaries, and more, which are now housed on our family farm here in Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills.

With his intense interest in people and places and his exceptional knowledge of local history particularly relating to the original Lutheran immigration to Hahndorf, imposed a strong and highly respected presence and authority regarding his broad historical research which extended over an extensive period of time. Reg was born 12 February 1941 and died 29 December 2024.

The Mount Pleasant community remember Reg as the author of the well researched (no internet!) ‘The Quiet Waters By’ - history of the Mount Pleasant District, commissioned in the early 90’s by the former Mount Pleasant Council.

Amy Gillett Bikeway gets to Birdwood

The Amy Gillett Bikeway is progressing and work is being done in Birdwood. These shots were taken from the northern and southern sides of Mueller’s Road. There is also work being done along the Bleeze Street section. This is pretty good news for those of us who have been waiting for this to finally finish.

Talunga Park Market Kitchen upgraded

The Atrium kitchen has been upgraded and it seems is a great hit. Not only are the staff happy with the upgrades, but so are the patrons. The kitchen now has easy access to outside to cater for those who just want a coffee, or to sit outside and eat, and there is access through the Atrium as well. The kitchen will be officially opened on the 29th March.

Tanja Souter - Art Exhibition

Rock the Town

Makers on Melrose

Older news bites

Jimmy the Butcher (& Co) strike gold again!

From the Facebook page:
Hi ham lovers, I have some massive news. Last night was the national awards for Smallgoods. I’m pleased to announce that we are now second in Australia for ham .
The competition was very tough this year to achieve a gold medal, you need to get a score of 95 to 100 . We managed to get two gold medals and seven silvers - that is a massive achievement for a little country Butcher shop. I can’t be more proud of my team - beers are on me . Last year we won best bacon in australia . which we are still coming to terms with.
I just want to thank all our customers and our amazing staff. This award goes out to you.

Last Old Talunga Apple Tree Cut down.

We have often admired and appreciated the one remaining apple tree, that was growing near the tennis courts at Old Talunga Park, as it would have been a part of the orchard which once grew there. Sadly, thanks to Simon, who lives nearby, we were given the news that it has now been razed to the ground. On investigation, it appears that the inner core of the tree was crumbling, but it is still sad to see the tree has been chipped, so that there is no possibility of preserving a small portion of it for posterity... and so preserving a little of the history of the area. Paula Bartsch - Historian.