Get to Know Your neighbours

We cancelled our plans to holiday in Victoria this winter, and decided to stay home and explore. Partly because we have a lot on, and partly because we want to explore. Because of Don’s job we have seen a lot of the state but always enjoy finding out more, sometimes we have felt that we explored more of an area than the people who lived there did.

Because it is NAIDOC week, Don chose for us to go to Kingston’s Historic house at Marino. Not an obvious connection to our First Nation’s peoples, until you take a step out to the edge of a cliff and see the beautiful sculpture created by the renowned sculptor, John Dowie. It’s a starkly beautiful piece situated as it is, facing Gulf St Vincent. The dreamtime story is of love and loss, and explains for the people the creation story of the waterholes and springs in the area, as well as familial love. (Picture of the plaque and sculpture below.)

National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia in the first week of July each year (Sunday to Sunday), to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth. You can support and get to know your local Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities through activities and events held across the country. 

Kingston’s Historic House “Built in 1840, Kingston House is one of South Australia’s oldest remaining houses. It is still being used today. The quiet beauty and hidden charm of the House and Reserve make it a favourite picnic spot for visitors.” There are many more impressive and beautiful houses in the state, but the story of Charles Kingston is what draws you in. He was so much revered - despite being a bit of a ratbag - that the state government bought his house some time after his death. An excerpt from the section about him on the Kingston’s house website: “He was a great social reformer and is noted for introducing the following legislations:

• the first factory regulations

• set wages for set hours

• industrial conciliation

• establishment of the State Bank guaranteeing deposits

• Married Women’s Property Act

• female suffrage (second in the world), and

• women’s right to stand for Parliament (first in the world).”

So you can see why he would have appealed to me. After a lovely Devonshire Tea - provided by the volunteers who look after the house, we were given a talk by Coralie, who knows her subject, and who understands well Charles Kingston’s place in our state, and Australia’s history.

Visiting many historic places as we do, coming across those people with a passion for passing on all those wonderful details about each place and tidbits about the lives of those who were associated with them is what makes history come alive. We also felt that recently when we visited ‘The Cedars' - definitely worth another visit.

Meantime, another ‘Meet Your Neighbours’ event to prepare for, and trying to keep warm!

March Madness

Sort of glad March is over - and it could be because I’m getting older. But then again, it could be because I really wish things could be spread out more. I usually only do WOMADelaide, buy my tickets early, and for for the whole four days with my friend. We stay in town and meet up occasionally for meals, and get to see and experience as many entertainers as possible. This year it was pretty hot, so hot in fact that I didn’t go the last two days. The event area is set up well for heat, but nothing could beat to 40 degree days. The good things was, I saw who I really wanted to see - namely the Bangarra Dance Troupe and Nitin Sawnhey. A couple of the acts I had seen before - Central Australian Women’s Choir, etc - so tried to see new acts. As is always the case, I met a few people and had some great conversations. I always joke that as a family, our superpower is finding connections, and it’s in that we find South Australia really earns it’s big country town status. Next year, I think I’ll try the Fringe.

Paula decided we (the History Room - Mount Pleasant Community Association) should have an entry in the Barossa Vintage Scarecrow competition - to give Clyde from the old Police Station a run for his money (Clyde won last year). Drawing on the experiences of the early settlers, Paula created Tatty Bogle, representing our Scottish heritage. Unlike the rest of the Barossa, Mount Pleasant was settled predominantly by Scottish and English immigrants. Tatty can be seen at the front of the CWA Garden, and if you can, please vote for her (and Clyde!). Just google it and you’ll find a link on the Vintage site.

So, the Show actually did quite well, even though the livestock weren’t represented. Kudos to those who went and supported this great local event.

We have a few things coming up in April - namely Easter at the Market. This year the Market will also join in with the Gather Round Fun - so look out for shenanigans on the 12th, when there will be a ‘Festival of Footy’!

We will also have the Tungkillo Monster Auction on the 13th - not to be missed.

And of course, on the 25th, our RSL will be hosting the annual Anzac Day Dawn Service. Always a solemn event, there will be displays by the local school children, the History Room and the RSL. For those who can’t resist, we’ll have the usual Gunfire Breakfast, and Two Up and Crown and Anchor will be played.

At the end of March, we said farewell to a very popular identity in Barrie Mills. Some of you may not know his name, but I’ll bet you know of him. You may have even stopped for a chat sometime. Barrie could be found at the Bakery (because he loved coffee and cake), he was at the Bowls Club on Thursdays (although he never played bowls), and the Men’s Shed whenever he felt the need (although he never lifted a hammer). Early each month, he would meet up with a group of blokes and enjoy a steak dinner and several glasses of Merlot. We will miss him and his gentle humour and warm personality, and if there is an afterlife, we hope he will be reunited with his lovely wife Marion. Rest in Peace.

Navigating the news

It’s a difficult time for many of us - and not just in Australia. Best of times - worst of times stuff. Some of us are torn between wanting to keep up with news that affects us - even if it’s the chaos in another country - and needing to look after our mental health. Our federal elections are looming and for me the choice is clear, but for some the waters are so muddy, they are not sure what is right and what is wrong. Our options for trusted news sources seem to be more limited than ever, but there are still a few journalists of integrity who understand the difference between reporting the news, giving solid opinion pieces based on facts, and checking sources.

I read an interesting piece on how to define a cult recently, and the cult of the Orange Baby currently cutting a swathe through independent oversight in the US seems to behave true to form. When I was younger, we read about some of these things in history lessons, and now we are living through them. We never thought the horrible atrocities that occurred during the World Wars could happen again, but here we are, and now the stakes are higher and the weapons bigger. Edmund Burke’s quote “all that is needed for evil to flourish, is that good meant do nothing” doesn’t seem to be making much headway when there are so many speaking out about the wrongs being done, but those with power are ignoring them and ramping up the rhetoric. The latest debacle from the Oval Office is almost too appalling to comprehend. Even thought the US seems determined to wreck long held allegiances, most of the leaders of European countries have leaped to the defence of Vlodymyr Zlenskyy and Ukraine. So there is still hope.

Meanwhile, in sleepy little Mount Pleasant, the weather has been pretty good, except for the lack of rain. The Red Cross Garden party has come and gone, with Sophie entertaining us again with personal insights and practical gardening advice. Sophie will be moving soon, and has bought a ‘fixer upper’ near Sedan, so her segments on Gardening Australia will certainly be different from those at Mt Barker! Sophie’s talks are always entertaining and educational, and this year she touched on re-wilding, and her visit to Cadell Training Centre, which she found eye opening. She also spoke about the benefits of green spaces near large blocks of flats and the resulting reduction in crime statistics. Kangaroo Island and their experiences with with increased self-sufficiency also rated a mention. We are hoping to have Sophie as our Guest Speaker again next February - so please look out for the event booking (around December) as tickets are limited and sell out fast.

The Community Association held a morning tea to welcome new residents to our town, and although we didn’t present Community Awards this year, we met some really nice and enthusiastic newcomers. We had some great conversations, and I hope they left feeling that the town had a lot to offer, and that they wanted to contribute. Last year when we held our first ‘Meet Your Neighbours’ event, we made up some goody bags, which included leaflets from various groups around the town, information about upcoming events, brochures from the Market, a Mt Pleasant History Walk brochure, Lavender Trail brochure and a re-usable grocery bag gifted from Recreate, amongst them. We gave them to our new friends and we will keep them at the History Room so that any newcomers can be given up to date information about what they can expect to find in the district.

The annual Mt Pleasant Show will be on again next month. Our biggest event, the Show is a must-see, and attracts stallholders and exhibitors from all over Australia, so in the immortal words of Molly Meldrum - “Do yourselves a favour” and pop along to the show on the 15th March.

The effervescent Sophie Thomson.

A New Year

Another hot season is upon us, earlier and hotter, and a time for us to be on our toes. Fires rage in Western Australia and Victoria, and we are up for a few hot days at the beginning of next week.

Meanwhile, there are lots to look forward to, despite the dreadful news items coming from overseas. Some things that we are sad about last year, have continued, and despite best efforts, don’t seem to have an end.

The Red Cross Garden Party takes place in a couple of weeks, and it is already booked out. Sophie Thomson will again be our guest speaker, and she is always great fun.

The MP Community Association will again be holding a ‘Meet Your Neighbours’ event in the CWA Garden on the 23rd February. Last year was the first time we had held such an event, and we were so pleased with the outcome and reaction from many members of our community, that we resolved to hold more of the same style of event. We would like to encourage anyone who is new (or newish) to our community to pop along and have a lovely morning tea, and chat with members of the Community Association - but more importantly - meet your neighbours! The event is free, but any donation is welcomed. Also - if the weather is not kind to us, we’ll be in the Hall - with the airconditioning going! (Unless of course, it is a designated Catastrophic Day, and it will be postponed.) Even if you came last year, please feel free to come again.

A couple of us attended the Tilt Renewables workshop at Tungkillo last night, where we discussed the contribution the project would be making to the community in the form of grants. There were many ideas discussed - and a few categories that would best help the local communities, and there will be more information about this released further down the track. This won’t be an overnight process, but the good thing is that we will have the time to consult with our communities and possibly put some strategies and plans in place to get the most out of this that will benefit our communities for a long time to come.

Anyhow - one of my New Year’s resolutions was to make more time to write blogs and give out news to the community its in as many ways as I could this year. Let’s hope it lasts!