Bus during ferry outage

Reminder that the ferry is out from 4 August for about a week.  We will be running a bus from 4pm on 3 August until ferry comes back. 

Drivers and jockeys are required during this period for shifts of 2 hours duration as normal. All that is required is a drivers licence, know how to answer a mobile phone and know how to read a map of the island. 

Could volunteers please contact Cathy m: 0418361129. 

Poplar removal program

East Gippsland Shire Council advises parts of the Mitchell River Walk in Bairnsdale, between Lind Bridge and the Port of Bairnsdale, will be closed until Friday 31 July. Tuesday 21 July to day 31 July.

The closure is to enable to removal of identified trees as part of the final stages of a Poplar Removal Program along the Mitchell River. This site specifically has a number of trees that have reached their useful life expectancy and are becoming a safety risk to the public.

Raymond Island Football Match

Yes, It's on again!

Put Saturday 26 September in your diary and make sure you’re ready for the bounce of the ball at 1.30 pm sharp at A’Beckett Park, Raymond Island.  Once again, all proceeds will go to the Paynesville Ambulance Service.

We have an even contest now, the Blues were victorious in 2013 and the Reds took away the Premiership Cup in 2014.  So you better be there to see who steals the show this year.

If you want to see lots of girls and boys (and old men) running around the ground, all in the peak of fitness then this is the event for you.

We will have the Corporate Marquee again, with delicious gourmet delights to please all palates as well as the traditional sausage sizzle with soft drinks available for sale.

Pre match and half time entertainment will be another highlight as well as face painting for the kids and “I Do Massage” offering massages in their spa room.  Other activities will be announced soon.

But the most important ingredient will be the players – so register now!  You must have a reasonable level of fitness, but that is all that is required.  You can register your interest at our email address rifl2015@gmail.com and a player registration form will be sent to you. 

Come and join us, support the Paynesville Ambulance and have a great fun day out.

SATURDAY 26 SEPTEMBER

GATES OPEN AT 12.00

BALL BOUNCED AT 1.30 PM

RAYMOND ISLAND FOOTBALL 2015

Paynesville classic boat rally

5 March 2016 10:00 to 06 March 2016

A Sail Thru the Straits of Classic Decorated Boats of all types followed by a raft up weekend on the Paynesville Foreshore

Live Music and Competitions
Lots of displays and lots of Socialising And lots of talking about Boats!!
 For More info check us out on Facebook: Paynesville Classic Boat Rally
Join our Group on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/424446431070177/
To see great pics of boats that will be entering and history pics of Paynesville in days gone by and also place pics of your Boat for others to admire
For more info Call Peter Medling on 0407 233 020
Or call in at 45 Slip Rd Paynesville

Hunting for local history

The folk at the Paynesville Maritime Museum have been working on the library and they are now up to 100 meaningful nautical and local history books and growing.

There is one which they do need that maybe someone on the Island can help us out with as no history of Paynesville area is complete without including the part played by Raymond Island. Old news items talk about "the fishing village established at Raymond Island”, that eventually became Paynesville (Toonalook was always the farmers on the hill) and the only named location they had was RI.

If anyone has  spare copy of Midge Beesley's book “Raymond Island” they would be very thankful.

Please contact Rob Cook e: recook@ozemail.com.au 

Ferry outage in August

The Raymond Island Ferry will be out of service from Tuesday 4 August 2015 for one week - returning to service on Tuesday 11 August 2015.

Tour guide opportunity

On the 16 August 2015 a Russian Seniors Club from Melbourne will visit Raymond Island in the afternoon (from 1.30pm approximately). They will arrive with a bus and 21 people. 

They are looking for a local guide for the island for approximately a 30 minutes to 1 hour tour. The tour would cover Island history, wildlife and native fauna, its development and life today on the island. 

The guide will be reimbursed for their time.

If you are interested, please contact Jack Pearce t:51566480 to discuss. (If he is unable to answer the phone please leave a message and he will get back to you.)

Watch the signs in school zones

A small Island in a big universe

Recent news items inspire one of our Island poets...

Investigator volcaoes

Our new scientific research vessel 'Investigator' has discovered a cluster of four volcanos 250 km off the coast of Sydney.  They are thought to be about 50 million years old.  The Investigator can 'see' and map, much deeper that ever before.

Patriotism

Nations are but lines on paper

Blood flows to and fro

Like the wind over sand

Blurring

Blending

Changing

Lines and Nations alike.

Pluto: New Horizons

NASA mission 'New Horizons' has arrived at its destination, Pluto, after nine years.  It is about to begin beaming back images of Pluto, fingers crossed!  

Fly by begins Tuesday night.

Lovely!

NINIVAR

Cursed are they

Who pull down stone

And unmake old bones memory

No longer just a nose to break

 But grind to dust histories beauty

Revealing only ugly minds

Ugly forms

They in turn will be

Unmade, crumble and blow away

Unmissed stains on humanity

RI on German news

Karly McCaskill (East Gippsland Marketing) has been promoting Raymond Island to journalists from overseas!

If you have any other ideas for Raymond Island stories that will be of interest to the tourist market: food and wine, nature, wildlife, adventure, touring, interesting or quirky news stories as well as the local character stories that connect them to the authentic Australian experience, please email your thoughts to Tom Ponting and he'll liaise with EG Marketing.

Here are two videos that have shown on German television's TV Travel News 24 (translations of the text below are courtesy of Google Translate).

So Koala Rescue is in Australia. 

A camera team is when the little "Archibald", a koala bear is found along the way.Susie Pulis from "Wildlife Care Raymond Island" cares about the sweet bear and looking for reasons for his illness.

Putzig the cute koala bears.

On Raymond Iceland you can see the little furry animals in the wild. With a ferry it is a few minutes on the island and then explore on the "Koala-path" the island. In the trees you will then find it here ... because there they sit, mostly eucalyptus eating.

Managing the risk of bushfire

Raymond Island community consultation: managing the risk of bushfire

Managing the risk of bushfires on Raymond Island and its plants and animals is a complex issue that generates a range of sentiments and opinions.

The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) and Parks Victoria have already heard from some Raymond Island residents regarding their concerns about the management of bushfire risk on the island.

DELWP and Parks Victoria will be conducting further community consultation to explore these issues, working together to develop an appropriate fuel management program to address bushfire risk and environmental health on the island.

DELWP District Manager, Brad Fisher said: “We want to discuss the options for the island, its residents, its vegetation and wildlife and find solutions that are supported by DELWP and the majority of the community.”

“The first step in the process is to seek expressions of interest from those residents who would like to be part of a working group. This group will work with a small number of agency staff to determine and oversee each step of the consultation process and ensure an effective, thorough and reasonable process has taken place.”

This group will not be a forum for discussing the issues or guiding the outcome of the consultation.

If you are a resident of Raymond Island and are interested in being a part of this working group, please submit a brief expression of interest to Warwick Hall.

Mr Hall will, with other community members and DELWP and Parks Victoria staff consider the applications

for the working group. Please include the area of interest and expertise that you bring which will add value to the process, which aims to be collaborative in nature and inclusive of the broader community.

Expressions of interest for this group will close Friday 21 August to allow residents who are currently away during the winter period to be included in the process.  The broader community consultations will take place from September to November.

DELWP will communicate through the Raymond Island newsletter, the Raymond Island Community Network website, the Landcare notice board and the ferry hub.

DELWP is grateful to the group of community members who joined them to begin scoping this consultation process, and thank them for their time and effort. The notes of that meeting are also available at the above- mentioned posts.

DELWP is looking forward to working with the community on this complex issue.

To submit your expression of interest to Warwick Hall, or find out more about the working group's objectives, please email  wmh1501@gmail.com


Article appeared in Bairnsdale Advertiser, 13 July 2015.