Wangaratta Rostrum Club 67 in Wangaratta, Victoria | Community organisation

Wangaratta Rostrum Club 67

Locality: Wangaratta, Victoria

Phone: +61 3 5764 4450

Address: Library Community Room 3677 Wangaratta, VIC, Australia

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17.01.2022 It Has Only Taken 165 Years Finally a Statue to Yarri at Gundagai I notice, with some droll amusement, that the good citizenry of Gundagai finally recognized ...the town’s one true hero (not a manufactured one but a person who risked his life to help fellow humans) in June this year. It is a cautionary tale of European arrogance and of Aboriginal bravery. For nearly two decades the Wiradjuri people living along the banks of the Murrumbidgee River at Gundagai had been warning of a potentially catastrophic flood. The river’s indigenous name wasn’t one big water for nothing. Typically the European settlers took no notice and built their settlement on the floodplain beside the river. Consequently, on the night of 24 June, 1852, after three weeks of solid rain, the Murrumbidgee broke its banks and poured through the riverside town. The results are still recorded as the worst natural disaster in Australia’s history. One third of the town’s residents (83 out of a population of 250) were drowned and 71 buildings were destroyed or washed away. It was a cruel consequence of a refusal to listen to the advice of people who had been living in the area for tens of thousands of years. Cometh the hour, cometh the man! At this point let me hand the story over to Kamilaroi man and one-time editor of Tracker magazine, Chris Munro: The population of Gundagai were now either on the roofs of their houses, or had chanced a perilous swim to higher ground to escape the rising water level [when a young Wiradjuri man, Yarri, sprang into action. Yarri launched into the now kilometre wide flood zone in a traditional bark canoe he’d carved himself from local timber. Many dwellings had already been washed away, torn off their foundations and sent downstream with their human cargo. In the black of night, Yarri was guided by the screams of survivors clinging to trees and rooftops in the freezing waters. Dodging huge logs and other debris, he went back and forth rescuing anyone he could find. He spent the entire night in his canoe, paddling up and down stream to conduct rescue after rescue. His canoe would usually only hold one person, but such were the water skills of Yarri, he ferried up to six people at a time to a safe spot on the river bank. John Spencer the Inn Keeper spent 36 hours in a tree until Yarri came for him. Spencer was near frozen and completely naked at the time, save for a cash box strapped around his neck. Whole families were torn from the roofs of their houses, the carcases of sheep, horses and cattle were found wedged in the branches of trees the following day Yarri saved 49 people from the great flood over a 40-hour period. In a disaster of any kind, such a truly amazing act of bravery is simply mind-blowing, but given the date was 1852 and Yarri was atop a bark canoe in the black of night, it makes this yarn all the more astounding. But what’s perhaps more mind boggling is the lack of recognition in Australian history books of such a superhuman feat. There’s no poetry, folk song or bronze statue to honour Yarri in Gundagai. Well, Chris, the locals have finally put up a sculpture. A small recognition for one of the greatest acts of heroism in Australia’s history. See more

09.01.2022 Some Monday motivation from Dr Rob Gilbert - an inspirational speaker and professional sports psychologist. The most common problem identified by people wishing... to learn the art of Public Speaking is nervousness, and Rostrum provides a safe space for people to practice and build your confidence. Visit our website for tips to help you get more control over those butterflies! https://www.rostrum.com.au//115-making-the-butterflies-fly #rostrum #publicspeakingtraining #2021goals #confidence #publicspeaking #rostrumaustralia

08.01.2022 In 1918, an unbreakable bond was formed between the residents of a French village and the people of Australia. After Villers-Bretonneux was liberated from the... German army by two Australian brigades, Victorian kids fundraised to help rebuild the school which was named L'Ecole Victoria in tribute. Ninety years later, in 2009, Villers-Bretonneux came to Victoria's aid when Strathewen Primary School was destroyed during Black Saturday. The people fundraised. The school was rebuilt. The bond was strengthened. And as our state faced the devastating fires of this summer, the hand of friendship once again extended over 17,000kms. Villers-Bretonneux raised more than $30,000 for the bushfire relief effort and held a march in solidarity. And we have Mayor Patrick Simon to thank for so much of these efforts. He was the town’s leader for 12 years, and said that the ideas for support ’came from my heart’. Tragically, Patrick lost his life to coronavirus recently. To the people of Villers-Bretonneux, we send our deepest condolences. Your loss is our loss.

07.01.2022 If you’ve been following the figures over the past few days, you’ll know that we’ve seen a steady rise in coronavirus cases. Today, our numbers hit the highest ...they’ve been in more than two months. I know this is not the news people want to hear. I certainly don't want to be delivering it. But it's our reality and we have to deal with it. The experts are telling us that these numbers are largely being driven by families big get-togethers at a relative's place where physical distancing pretty much goes out the window. Around half of our cases since the end of April have come from transmission inside someone’s home. We need to take this seriously. That’s why we’re making some changes, based on advice from Victoria’s Chief Health Officer. From 11.59pm tomorrow night, the number of people allowed at private gatherings will go back down to five guests, plus the members of your household. People might be asking 'Why this? Why can I have dinner at a restaurant with 20 strangers but I can't have 20 relatives at home?' And that's precisely the point. We naturally practice more physical distancing with people we don't know. It's much harder with those we love. And it's harder again in the comfort of our homes when we tend to relax and revert to our usual habits. But we have to stay apart, stay vigilant and stay safe. At the same time, public gatherings will go back down to 10 people. And we'll have to pause on our planned increases for places like restaurants, libraries, theatres and at religious gatherings. Those will all stay capped at 20 people, instead of going up to 50 as we'd hoped. This might feel like a step backwards after all our efforts but it is necessary for the time being. It's about making a targeted change based on health advice. We need to stay alert, and adjust our approach accordingly. The other small but concerning change we’re seeing is a steady rise in commuters on the PT network and reports of some bosses telling employees to start returning to the workplace. Some jobs can’t be done remotely. That’s a given. But if you have been working from home, you must continue to work from home. This is a big part of the solution, and it takes all of us to get it right. The virus is still with us. It hasn’t gone anywhere. This is a wake-up call. We cannot be complacent. And the only thing between us and a second wave is what we do next.