Ballan Cycling Classic - 18th Nov 2012

The annual

Ballan Cycling Classic

will be held on

Sunday, November 18, 2012.

This year’s event will again raise much needed funds for our local hospital, Ballan District Health & Care, our Volunteer Country Fire Authority Brigade and the Ballan Red Cross.

The Central Highlands Region of Victoria offers superb scenery and a variety of fantastic and challenging cycling routes catering for both the novice and serious cyclist.

A choice of four routes is available, catering for a range of rider abilities and fitness levels.

The 150km ride will follow a challenging revised route with testing hill climbs, undulating roads, enjoyable flat sections all combined with magnificent scenic views. Recommended for the experienced rider.

The 100km ride presents a shorter, yet a still challenging and scenic route for the more serious cyclist.

The 50km ride presents a challenging, yet easily achieved ride for those with more advanced riding skill and fitness. The beautiful Central Highlands scenery provides a truly wonderful backdrop to a memorable cycling experience.

The 25km ride is a great ride for the novice rider who is looking for a new challenge and cycling experience travelling a beautiful route passing through rural farmland and stopping at the small village of Gordon for refreshments.

The Ballan Cycling Classic is a charity event to raise funds in support of the Ballan Hospital (Ballan District Health & Care), the Ballan Volunteer Country Fire Authority Brigade and the Ballan Red Cross.

For further information on the ride, the routes, the ride details, the proceeds or the entry form, please check the website below:

Ballan Cycling Classic website


Ballan Cycling Class Facebook Page

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ST. PATRICK’S CHURCH, Gordon, Victoria, Australia.

 
On 23rd March 1872 Dr Goold laid the foundation stone of St. Patrick’s Church, Gordon. and 700 people attended.

On May 9th 1875 the Church (although still incomplete) was opened by Dr Goold. Over five hundred pounds was received from the sale of tickets. A report from “The Advocate” referred to its fine site, surrounded as it was by “most magnificent forest scenery and commanding views”.

The land and a sum of one hundred and ninety pounds for the stonework, nave, porch and tower was donated by Ryan brothers of Millbrook. The Architect was H R Casselli of Ballarat, the builders, Jenkin and Lewis. The stone to complete the Church was brought by rail from almost 32 Kilometres (20 miles) away. There was a gallery at the Gordon station for its reception along with a crane. The stone was carted to the site on tip-drays each load requiring two horses to pull it.

Later in 1875 Gordon was declared a parish, comprising of Gordon, Mt. Egerton, Mt. Blackwood, Ballan and Bacchus Marsh. Fr Richard Ellis was the first parish priest and Fr Sheehy was the first curate.

In 1901 extensions, consisting of a stone sanctuary to replace the previous wooden structure were blessed by Dean Phelan. Cost of the completed Church was six thousand pounds.

In 1913 plans were drawn up for a new presbytery at Gordon and the presbytery was opened in 1914 by Archbishop Carr, assisted by Frs. Mulcahy and Conway. It was designed by Kempton and Connelly and built by Mr. Ireland. The total cost was two thousand one hundred and fifty pounds.

In April 1927 further renovations to the church (which unfortunately meant the covering of the foundation stone) were completed.  

On August 17th 1930 the new school at Gordon was blessed and opened by Archbishop Mannix in the presence of E J Hogan, then State Premier of Victoria. The contract price was one thousand one hundred and eighty nine pounds. A further one hundred and fifty pounds was spent on fencing and furnishings.

In April 1975 the Gordon Parish celebrated the centenary of St. Patrick’s Church, during these celebrations Walter Thomas Tudor became the first priest to be ordained in the parish.

In December 1999 renovations to the rear of  the church were completed to create a “Gathering Area” for the parishioners, this project was later blessed by Bishop Connors.

the above information is from the website of the Ballarat Diocese.
Catholic Diocese of Ballarat
 

St Patrick's Parish Gordon

Carey's Road Gordon  Vic  3345 PH: (03) 5368-9280

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Springtime at Springbank!

above:  the plants above are growing at St Michaels School in Springbank.

   ST MICHAEL’S SPRINGBANK

The first Catholic church (a wooden structure) was erected at Springbank in 1865 at a cost of four hundred pounds. In 1888 when Archbishop Carr visited the parish, he emphasized that the church should be replaced by a brick or stone structure.  On July 17th 1898 a meeting was convened to make arrangements for a new church, and less than two years later the contractors started work on the new brick building.

On 25th March 1900 Rev Father Cusack celebrated Mass in the old church, after which the congregation of over 1000 persons went in procession to witness Archbishop Carr lay the foundation stone for the new church.

On December 15th 1900 Rev. Dean Phelan of Melbourne blessed and opened the new church, although it was not quite completed at this time. The cost of the building was two thousand five hundred pounds and T A Payne was the architect.

Sixty one years passed before another generation of Springbank people finished their church. On 8th May 1961 Bishop A F Fox blessed the sanctuary and sacristy to complete St. Michael’s Church.

In December 2000 the Springbank community were joined by Bishop Peter Connors, past parishioners and other members of the Gordon parish to celebrate their centenary.

St Michael's of Springbank belongs to the
Catholic Diocese of Ballarat.

St. Michael's - Springbank Rd, Springbank

History in the making

The combined churches of St Patrick's Parish in Gordon, Victoria, came together for the celebration of the commissioning of three new coordinators who will oversee the running of the parish.

The coordinators were chosen by a process of nomination and discernment.  The three coordinators are: Lin Bowers (far left), Sue Daly (2nd from right) and John Fabre (far right) as seen in the following article in this weeks "The Moorabool News".

  (image by Leone Fabre)

Bishop Peter Connors led the Mass at St Brigids in Ballan, concelebrated by visiting priest, Fr Shane MacKinlay who offers masses each weekend in the parish.

During the celebration, the coordinators each placed a hand on the Bishop's staff, symbolising the act of shepherding God's people.

Bishop Peter spoke of the Body of Christ and the responsibility for the parish being a shared ministry of service, not to be left to the coordinators alone.  He encouraged the parishioners to be involved and to support those who will act on their behalf in the oversight of the parish.  Sr Pam was noticeably relieved that the coordinators were finally selected.

This bold step will ensure the future of the parish, with support provided by the various ministry groups active in the parish, and a part-time (yet to be appointed secretary).  Sr Pam will retire at the end of 2012.

 (the above data from the website of the Diocese of Ballarat)

(image by Leone Fabre)

St. Patrick's Parish, Gordon was established in 1875 and incorporates a church and school in each of Ballan, Gordon and Springbank. The area consists of many small communities including Bolwarrah, Bunding, Millbrook, Mollongghip, Mt. Egerton and Mt. Wallace.

The parishioners are very grateful for the work and support freely given by Sr Pam, who has led the charge to this new structure for St Patrick's Parish.

website of the Diocese of Ballarat

 

a little bit of exploring in Regional Victoria

Get off those main freeways and highways and start exploring the small country towns that you only 'see' on the road signs as you whizz by....

If you think of country roads and roadsides as home to nothing more than a few motley old trees, think again! 

Nation-wide, the network of winding bitumen, dirt tracks and roadsides covers in excess of 1.6 mill km’s which offers a significant conservation upside- 1.6 mill km’s of remnant vegetation.

above: map of one of the rural roads from Ballan to Bungaree, via Gordon and Wallace.

Ever heard of WALLACE or GORDON for example?
The tiny village of Gordon is true to its Scottish meaning, “big hill”. Nestled amid rolling hillsides it is home to the slightly eccentric Wild Trout’s Gordon Hat Shoppe which offers a unique range of Scottish and Irish inspired apparel and music.

above: the township of Gordon

Wallace is a town in Victoria, Australia. The town is located 99 kilometres (62 mi) north west of the state capital, Melbourne. The township was established in the 1880s, the Post Office opening on 22 February 1885

Wallace can a quick detour from the Western Freeway on the way to Ballarat, but better still don't use it as a "quick detour" but rather as another town to explore!

Difficult to find out exactly where the name came from, but on searching Google it seems that Wallace was named after a Mr R. Wallace or perhaps even a John Wallace, who was a notable figure on the Central Victorian goldfields.

above: the township of Wallace, showing the Wallace Hotel at the intersection.

the following article was located in an article titled "Did Matthew Flinders go one river too far?" that was on the ANPS website.

So when next you go exploring, you can do some research even after your journey ... it's amazing what you can learn about some of these country towns you have visited!

For some good old fashioned country fun, colour, festivals, markets, atmosphere, bakeries and a warm welcome .... 

you can't beat the smaller towns of Regional Victoria!

useful links:

Australian Place Names Survey

road trip: Gordon to Wallace

road trip: Ballan to Gordon

Visit Moorabool website

Visit Moorabool - Gordon 

Visit Moorabool - Wallace

Visit Moorabool - road less travelled

 

come springtime, we will be out in full force 

exploring Regional Victoria, 

so stay tuned!

 

 

 

 

Road Trip (Gordon to Wallace)

We are lucky to live in such a lovely part of Victoria and have the opportunity to view the surrounding countryside.

Last week we drove from Ballan to Ballarat for some shopping and visiting friends. But instead of driving on the M8 we took the back way.

The previous blog post was on the drive from Ballan to Gordon as seen HERE. This posting is the continuation of that post and is from the township of Gordon to Wallace as seen on the following map.

 

 

After we drove through Gordon along The Old Melbourne Road till we reached the intersection of Careys Road where St Patrick's Church is located. 

On 23rd March 1872 Dr Goold laid the foundation stone of St. Patrick’s Church, Gordon. So there is quite a lot of history here, I think next time we drive through Gordon we will stop and explore the area, in particular St Patrick's Church!

We turned right onto Careys Road and followed it till it turned into Chapmans Road, passing some lovely scenery along the way. I think this will be a beautiful drive come springtime!

Once we reached the intersection of Butter Factory Road, we turned left and continued on until we reached the township of Wallace.

Wallace is a small regional town in Victoria with a population of 343 in the 2006 Census.  The town is located in the Shire of Moorabool  99 kilometres (62 mi) north west of the city of Melbourne.

The township was established in the 1880s, the Post Office opening on 22 February 1885. Wallace was the birthplace of Edmond Hogan, twice Victorian Premier in the 1920s.

We had dinner at the Wallace pub last month and highly recommend it. You can read the blog post HERE on our visit to this lovely little pub that is seen in the image below:

Will upload further blog posts on our "road trips" as we begin to explore the Central Highlands and Goldfield area's of Victoria.

Road Trip (Ballan to Gordon)

Just a short journey on our way to Ballarat last weekend when we decided to bypass the M8 (Western Freeway) and travel via the Old Melbourne Road towards the township of Gordon.

Ballan and Gordon are west of the city of Melbourne, on the way to Ballarat as seen on the above map.

The road we took runs parallel to the M8 (Western Freeway) and is called the Old Melbourne Road.The following image was taken at the intersection as you leave the town of Ballan, the signpost points the way to Ballarat via the freeway. Instead of turning right, we continued straight ahead to the town of Gordon.....

Was well worth the extra time, as it was quite pretty as you can see by the following images:

Gold was discovered in the Gordon area in 1858. By 1885 Gordon had developed as the centre of a mining and agricultural district.

Although mining is no longer active in the area the township still retains a post office, police station, store, hotel and is now a peaceful cul-de-sac in a district renown for it's heritage, natural beauty and fly-fishing.

When next you travel via a freeway, check your map to see if there is another road you can follow to your destination. It is often quieter as in less traffic and often the scenery can be quite spectacular.  The bonus being that you arrive at your destination far more relaxed and happy that you got to see something beyond the busy freeway!


stay tuned for our 'next road trip'.