A Word From Watto - May 2014

Local Police and Shire Rangers

Preston Beach has, over the past several years seen a vast increase of transient visitors/holiday makers and I think over the recent Easter/ANZAC long weekend this increase was massive to say the least. With this mass increase of visitors to our small coastal community, 99% do the right thing but sadly it’s the 1% of boofheads who stuff it up for the rest. Because this influx is people business, local Police and Rangers work in unison which formulates dual authorities. This also includes our local volunteer Rangers who put in a lot of their own time and effort to provide advice, guidance and assistance to people travelling along the beach and car park access. They also attend to other tasks around our town site and are on hand in case of emergencies. Recently the Rangers were involved with handing out educational flyers on the “Do’s and Don’ts” on the beach and around the beach car park area. On Easter Saturday between 0700 hours and 1200 hours, 187 vehicles were handed flyers, a head count of all occupants in vehicles revealed in excess of 600 adults and children travelling onto the beach area. Prior to last Christmas our local Rangers were called out to assist the Rescue Helicopter “Chopper 65” in landing at Preston Beach for a “CASVAC” (Casualty Evacuation). To enable the chopper to land as near as practical to the scene, the local Rangers had to block off Mitchell and Styles Road, St John’s Ambulance also attended. This is an invaluable service our Rangers provide to this community which has also been acknowledged by the Shire of Waroona. If you’re interested in being a part of this Ranger service contact Noel Dew of Preston Beach.

Photo courtesy of Lovell Anstee-Brooke

ANZAC DAY – Preston Beach 2014

Some 140 people attended this year’s ANZAC Service at the Preston Beach community centre.

Our main topic for this year’s service was “The Forgotten Force” aka the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces and Pte. Harry C. Bamkin who served for two years post war in Japan presented by Preston Beach Progress Association Vice President Judy Carroll. 

Since 1947, Australia’s armed forces have contributed to major UN peacekeeping operations across the world. While the objective of these missions is to restore stability and peace, they are also fraught with danger at times and a number of our peacekeepers have been killed. Australians and their Contribution in all Wars, conflicts and Peacekeeping Operations does go beyond the anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli in 1915,  and diversifies to another level with the same human qualities of courage, mateship, and sacrifice which continues to have the same meaning and relevance to the ANZAC tradition. Our thoughts are with all men and women who have served or are currently serving with the Australian Defence Forces.

Keynote speaker Judy Carroll 

Wreath laying by Peter and Carmel Bamkin for Preston Beach Progress Assoc.

Harry Bamkins family proudly stand in front of his service plaque

Mitchell and Amber Smith - Mitchell handed out rosemary and Amber read a poem during the service

Preston Beach Book Sale

Over the Easter long weekend Preston Beach Ladies held a book sale which was well supported by local community members and holiday makers. A lot of hard work collecting and sorting out an array of books which was a great effort by the girls who made $1,204.60 in the process. As our Treasurer Danny Mac Scrooge Norton quoted “A great result from an excellent community money earner. The Committee’s gratitude continues to go out to those old and new members who have demonstrated their financial support for their Association and the work it does” – If Danny Mac Scrooge is happy, then so are we.

Preston Beach Vehicle Movement Count – Easter/ANZAC 2014 long weekend

Following is a snapshot of vehicle movements relating to Preston Beach!

April 9th to April 30th (includes Easter and Anzac)

Total vehicle movements ........14596

Average........695 per day

Maximum speed recorded .......134.8 km//h

85% vehicles .........85.9 km/h  Av.

Preston Beach North Rd.

Total vehicle movements........1582

Average......75 per day

Maximum speed recorded .....106 km/h

85% vehicles..........58.3 km/h

Xmas:

Average vehicle movements per day.......945

Previous year the average for the same period was 822

Highest speed recorded was .......160 km/h

 It must be noted that the placement of the vehicle counter/movement equipment was some 500 metres from the Highway turn off. If the placement was further towards Preston the maximum speed recorded would have been a lot higher- like Christmas 160 km/h 

St Patrick’s Day - 2014

Some members of Preston Beach enjoyed a quiet get together for St Patrick’s Day down at the Beach car park. BBQ’s and light refreshments were enjoyed by all whilst soaking up the morning sun and listening to some local ethnic music.

...and now just for fun 

“No wonder Watto and the people here drink wine, this water tastes like crap”

In closing and on a sad note, the community of Preston Beach, family and friends extend their sincere condolences to Susie Ellis on the recent sad loss of her husband Dougie.

VALE

  Dougie ELLIS

    29-07-1944 to 25-04-2014

RIP

        Condolences to Sue and Family

April Events

EASTER BOOK SALE

Don't miss the massive book sale happening on Easter Friday and Saturday morning - sales will commence at 9.30 am and continue throughout the day but be early for the best bargains!

We have had hundreds (maybe thousands) of quality books donated again this year along with some records and CD's.  Perhaps you might find some collectibles among this lot...

ANZAC DAY SERVICE

Preston Beach will once again host an ANZAC commemorate service on Friday 25 April 2014 at 10 am followed by morning tea, ANZAC Day football match coverage on the big screen.  BBQ facilities available for those who wish to BYO lunch.

Sponsored Post

Preston Beach General Store provides the Preston Beach Progress Association with valuable and ongoing sponsorship through the year.  We would like to express our thanks to Clint and Gwenda Vagg and congratulate them on their community spirit.

Martins Tank Lake Campground Upgrade

It was somewhat late on delivery but a visit to the newly upgraded Martins Tank Lake campground has proved that in the end it was well worth the lengthy wait.

A contract worth $1.28 million was issued last year and the completed works on this environmentally sensitive project have included, flora transplantation, road design and construction, new camp kitchen, communal BBQ's and furniture, new caravan bays and campsites, plus new site furniture and viewing decks.

Gone are the bush camp fire rings and rough tracks to be replaced with state of the art features, additional toilet facilities and new sites for motor homes and caravans. 

A camp host has been placed near the entrance to the campground providing on the spot delivery of valuable local information, maintenance of the communal areas and security. There is also a day visitors parking area with beautiful bush trails connecting to the BBQ/picnic area.

Royalty for Regions funded

One of two new fire pits.  Lids over fire pits will remained locked until the annual fire ban has been lifted.

Camp host and DEC ranger inspecting the new camp kitchen

Shiny new BBQ's and picnic furniture

Additional toilet facilities but due to the lack of an onsite water source there are no showers available. All water is trucked in to keep rain water tanks topped up.

Accessibility and dedicated sites for motor homes and caravans

It looks so inviting but alas no swimming permitted

Special April edition - 2014

Hi blog followers; yes, we are back!  Thank you for your many requests for information and news.  We're glad to hear that you're keen to keep in tough and we will do our best to provide as much feedback and information as possible.

This month we will start with a report from Watto about serious issues that effect us all and need our attention:

SPECIAL APRIL EDITION - 2014

Sorry about the delay with our Preston Beach Blog but due to other meaningful matters I haven’t had the time to put print to paper. This special Blog addition addresses Points of Interest and Forth Coming Events.

The Good Old Days - I Remember When

As you are all well aware Preston Beach along with other small country communities are experiencing an increased population growth rate which is slowly pressing development and population movement to the northern, southern, eastern and western corridors of the metropolitan area. There are casual factors that go with this corridor movement which in some instances can be attributed to people seeking a general country lifestyle, employment, more affordable housing and cheaper home rentals. Sadly along with this movement into the corridors of our country lifestyle; our exposure to the criminality experienced in the larger populated areas will increase. If we have our heads buried in the sand, or naive to what’s happening around us then we will be a victims of anti-social behaviour and/or crime. We all remember the good old days when you could leave your vehicle, garage and house unlocked because there was no crime and your best friends were your neighbours. Well not wishing to be an alarmist, the good old times are slowly changing, if you think you are still living in that sheltered environment – think again!

The Criminal element calculate their risk carefully, they know their easiest targets lie in areas unwatched, and/or unattended. Most are looking for that quick hit on small items that will generate an easy “no questions asked” cash flow for in most cases, their drug/alcohol dependency - this intent is also reflected in the increased stealing from motors vehicles.

Some Caravan Parks in smaller country areas are starting to become a haven for transient people, some of which have extensive criminal records. When putting your feet into the shoes of someone else, or thinking like a crim, what better place to lay low and operate. The other problem which is becoming a major threat and causing grief to small communities is private property owners renting/leasing homes out to the very same people as mentioned in both of these two highlighted paragraphs.

Remember Angry Anderson’s, Quotation, “If you’re not part of the solution then you’re part of the problem”.

So what can we do about it?

Develop a reporting culture – if your see something untoward, suspicious or inherently dangerous, write down particulars and report it to police in a timely manner( not days after the event);

•  If you are a property owner and thinking of renting/leasing ask the prospective Tenant to obtain and supply you with a current “National Police Clearance Check” which will provide any encounters with authorities - they pay for it. (If they have a problem you more than likely won’t see them again) Also request a current Motor Drivers Licence with their photograph for ID purposes. Don’t accept the licence of another person, it must be the person directly involved and responsible for the rental – also record the registration numbers of their vehicles;
• Use a reliable and experienced Real Estate Agent – remember once bad tenants’ have their leg in the door it can be hard and heart breaking to get them out. Real Estate Agents have access to tenancy data bases not available to owners.
• Report matters to our Rangers who work in unison with local police.
  The urban sprawl will bring with it opportunistic crime so let’s start being the eyes and ears for our community. Have a note book and pen in your vehicle, if it’s suss, record it and report it in a timely manner. Have a list of all emergency contact numbers and place same in your note book - if you’re not sure record it and confer with someone in authority.
  I will always remember a great quotation of an American Judge who said “The only way you will reduce violent crime, is when it’s just as dangerous to be a criminal as it is a victim of crime “.
  Regards
  Watto

An Overdue Word From Watto

Well it has been a long time between drinks (for some that is) however there has been a lot happening behind the scenes. Firstly we must tender our apologies. As Larraine and I will be up in Exmouth caravanning having a break from the cold weather as well as other members of the Executive having some family matters to deal with, we will have to defer our next Progress meeting from Saturday August 3^rd 2013, to Saturday September 21st 2013 at 1000 hours at our Community Centre. I know that you will understand this predicament, along with most of other grey nomads being up north or away elsewhere on holiday. Marion will send out a reminder email when getting closer to this new meeting date. 

Our community along with the Shire of Waroona have been very busy with the Coastal Revegetation  Planting from the Beach, Preston Beach Entry Statement along the walk

Trail and the temporary fenced off holding area between the 5^th fairway and lake. Special mention must go to Denis King for his time and effort in coordinating this project, members of Progress and members of the Preston Beach Golf Club for their support and work ethics.

The 'mulching crew'.  Hard work deserves a reward!

 

We recently witnessed the opening of the new Preston Beach Fire Station which had a large gathering of locals, and fire brigade personnel from near and far. Progress where handed the keys to the old fire shed and we have already put it to good use with our recent Christmas in July event – Photographs of this event and the opening of the new fire station will be forthcoming in our next Blog addition.

This year’s ANZAC Day held on April the 25^th, 2013 at our Preston Beach Community Centre, ANZAC Memorial Wall was very well attended by some 65 local and transient Community members. This day is an important opportunity for us to pay tribute to those Australians and New Zealanders who experienced war, fought and died in many fields of actions around the world, so that others could live in freedom. This year’s ANZAC key note presentation was a true family contribution called “The Lost Diggers” and was presented by Vice President Judy Carroll, her daughter Ange Bassett-Scarfe and Ange’s son Isaac.

I have invited Judy to write a summative story on The Lost Diggers, which you will find to be very interesting.

It was a very opportune time to be invited to give the ANZAC Day key note address and a great privilege to share our story with so many people. 

A little more than two years ago a story aired on the Sunday program on channel seven called The Lost Diggers.  It was a defining moment for our family as we would soon discover the 'cover boy', the young digger they had dubbed 'The Handsome Digger" was soon to be identified as my grandfather Jim Holland.  I say it was opportune because the book The Lost Diggers was released earlier this year giving me a great platform for an address.

Jim Holland had served with the 28th Battalion, 7th Machine Gun Corp in Gallipoli, France and Belgium. With the help of War Historian Peter Burness of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, we were able to trace Jim's movements to the little town of Vignacourt in France where a photographer named Louis Thuillier had set up a makeshift studio in his barnyard and was busy capturing amazing images of Aussie diggers, taking time off from the front line on glass plates.  At the end of the war these plates were stored in trunks and placed in the attic of the barn where they were to remain undiscovered until investigative journalist Ross Coulthard, following a hunch, uncovered them in late 2010.

It is believed that amongst the thousands of glass plate negatives are the last images of hundreds of diggers who marched from Vignacourt to the battle of the Somme where so many perished.  Young men who were denied the opportunity to leave behind a legacy, never married, never had children and therefore have no descendants who can say 'he was my grandfather,' and I find this the most poignant thing of all.  This is why the book is so important. So that we can now look upon these images and say 'I don't know these men, but they all have a place in history".

It was this sense of finding a place for them that made it appropriate to relate the story of the discovery and the subsequent TV show and publication of the images at the ANZAC Day commemorations as it is about remembering the men and women who fought, suffered, faced daily perils and hardships and in too many cases, died fighting for our right to live in freedom and peace.  What better way to honour those soldiers than a magnificent book of rare photographs. 

My daughter Angelee joined with me to tell the modern part of the story; the story about how my grandfather's image suddenly appeared all over Facebook and how Ross Coulthard had been urged to start the Facebook page The Lost Diggers in the first place by his twelve year old daughter.  He had been searching for a way to share the photographs with as many people as possible in the hope some of the diggers would be identified.  By March 2013 over 100 men had been claimed by families, including our Jim (as my grandson calls him).  The idea exploded and suddenly the whole of Australia were searching through the photographs for loved ones and family members.

The discovery of the photo of Jim came about just a few weeks before my father and his twin sisters' 90th birthday.  Dad had told us he didn't want a fuss so it became a bit awkward when I had to tell him not only was he having a party to celebrate, but the a television crew would be there!  Once he realised the fuss was not so much about him, but about his father he was very humbled and very proud; the TV crew came, and the second part of The Lost Diggers story was revealed to the world.

The best part of the story was to come when Kerry Stokes finalised negotiations to purchase the precious collection of glass plates and bring them to Australia, donating them to the National War Memorial where they are now on exhibit.

Judy Carroll 

 

Isaac reads an original verse copied from the side of a WW1 trench by his great grandfather Jim Holland

Thanks Judy, I think that on the day another touching ANZAC story which was written and presented by 11 year old Nicolas Baxter, the grandson of local resident Gail Alford called “What ANZAC Means To Me”, was very well received and impressed all at our Service, and to me shows that the youth of today are prepared to carry on the true tradition and spirit of ANZAC.

Nicolas Baxter presents "What ANZAC Day means to me"

Nicolas Baxter

John Watson with Peter Eastlake, Vietnam Veteran who recited the Ode

A big thanks must go to Army Cadet Corporal Nicole Bottrill, our guard of honour,  and her mother and father for making the journey to Preston Beach for our ANZAC service.

 

Following the ANZAC Service everyone was invited to a sausage sizzle, tea, coffee and/or something stronger at our Community Centre. Then at 1200 hours (midday) we had our own bayonet charge, after a few drinks we watched the ANZAC AFL Football match of the day on our large screen - but sadly lost the sound. However that didn’t stop us from having a great day as usual. The sound system was fixed by purchasing a new DVD/HD digital set top box. Enjoy the rest of the photographs which depict the day that was - Photographs courtesy of Denis King.

 

Cheers

John Watson APM

President of Preston Beach

Progress Association