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• RAAF Roulette Crashes - 21 January 2005
• Port of Sale Official Opening - 10 December 2004
• Carols by Candelight - 10 December 2004
• Women on Water Forum to be held - 6 October 2004
• Brief Updates - 7 September 2004
• Life FM Becomes a Permanent Part of Gippsland - 19 August 2004
• Residents Protest as Pre-School Teachers are Undervalued - 11 August 2004
• Upgrades Planned for Sale's Fauna Park - 23 July 2004
• Wellington Shire Council Supports Nylex Expansion - 23 July 2004
• Freedom of the City March 2004 - 18 June 2004
• Nylex Factory Considers Expansion - 7th May 2004
• Passenger Rail Returns to Stratford & Bairnsdale - 2 May 2004
• Sale Rocks Festival a Huge Success - 24 February 2004
• Women who Mean Business Project to Receive $379,900 - 24 February 2004
• Flash Flooding - 29 January 2004
• Australia Day 2004 - 26 January 2004
• Walking School Bus needs "Drivers" - 26 January 2004
• Brief Updates - 1 January 2004
• More History Demolished - 1 January 2004
• Sale Museums - 10 December 2003
• Demolition on old Goal Site Suspended - 27 September 2003
• Historic Swing Bridge to be restored soon - 20 September 2003
• Historic Criterion Hotel Veranda Set to Be Demolished - 8 August 2003
• New Plans for old Goal Site - 8 August 2003
• East Sale RAAF Base Expansion Finally Confirmed - 5 August 2003

Stage one of the Newly Developed Port of Sale will be officially opened today with events starting at 4pm and continuing until 9:30pm.

There's lots of fun to be had by all including: steamboat, live music, food, wine & craft stalls, paddle boat & canoe hire and more.

The official opening will be performed by the Hon. John Brumby MP.

The 2.1 millon dollar development is expected to have a significant impact on the town by attracting more tourists to the area.

Port of Sale webpage

CAROLS IN SALE - Thursday 16th December 2004

There'll be lots of community carol singing at the Carols by Candlelight in Sale to be held in Victoria Park on Thursday 16th December from 7:30pm - 9:30pm. (8pm start)

Community participation is what Carols by Candlelight is all about and this year's carols will feature the Sale City Band, soloist and Compere Debbie Bye from Life FM Gippsland and guest soloist Kathryn Barton. Araluen and Guthridge Primary Schools will also present items.

Sale Fire Brigade will benefit from the collection and Fire Brigade members will be passing around the buckets.

The "Carols" committee has decided that the later start due to daylight saving will ensure that the best effect will be ensured as the candles burn brightly through the dark night.

Bring a chair or a rug and prepare for a night of robust carolling!
The Sale Memorial Hall will be the venue if it's raining.
(NFP - For more information contact Matthew Monk 5144 6822)

Sponsored By Wellington Shire, TXU, Coates Hire
Supported by Life FM Gippsland

• Mapping of the Victorian Water Industry,
• International Impacts
• Environmental Impacts

• The Nation; The Law & Water:
• Identifying Social Impacts of the White Paper on Water:
• Gippsland Case Studies

The forum and dinner will be at the Comfort Inn Princeton, Sale.

Registrations Close 11th October BOOKINGS (03) 5144 6599

For Full details and information on speakers visit the official Victorian Women on Water website www.wow.org.au

While Melbourne has been ruled out as a possible location for expansion of Nylex Manufacturing, the remaining choices are now Sale and China.

Nylex will invest $52 million should it choose to expand the Sale plant and the current workforce of 76 is expected to double.

Wellington Shire Council has supported the expansion and studies indicate a $9 million boost to the local economy should it go ahead. The shire has lobbied both the state and federal governments for additional funding to support the expansion. The Shire Council is expecting to hear a decision about the funding soon.

Many Sale residents turned out to this year's Freedom of the City March held June 18th.

The Traditional Ceremony highlighted the contribution made by today's military. The parade's advance was challenged by the City Marshall, Police Inspector Gavin Dorian.

200 Personnel and a Military Band marched through Raymond street, saluting the citizens and council members. Sale residents were encouraged by the display with the expansion of the base fresh in their minds. There was a fly over by the retiring H748s and by the Roulettes.

The march ended at the Armed Forces Museum.

The Nylex Plastics Factory is considering spending $52 million to expand it's operations in Sale. The alternative is to close down the Sale Factory all together and move manufacturing to Melbourne. While stating that he would like to see the expansion take place in Sale, Mark Stevens, Executive General Manger of Nylex expressed concern that Sale would not be able to attract the necessary expert employees to the area and that a constant supply of services may not be available.

The Nylex factory in Sale was planned for closure in 2002, but after a financial turnaround that proved it profitable it remained open and now the question is will it expand or will it move to the city.

After a long ten years passenger trains will once again travel beyond Sale on to Stratford and Bairnsdale. The first passenger train arrived in Stratford at around 9:50am on Sunday 2nd May. Celebration events coincided with the annual Shakespeare Festival and was well attended.

A large tent hired for the official proceedings was overflowing with community members excited about the train's return. Premier Bracks stated that the trains were "here to stay" after locals lobbied so hard to get them to return. Premier Bracks presented Wellington Shire Mayor Jeff Amos with a station clock as a reminder of the event.

The community was treated to performances by the local schools and the Stratford Community Singers.

The Sale Rocks Festival held over the weekend was again a huge success. The streets were crowded on Friday evening while the street parade took place with support from community groups.

Saturday's events were a big hit - with Rock 'n Roll dancing and classic cars outside the Gippsland Shopping Centre.

Competitions for local bands and air guitar were held at the Shopping Mall over the weekend. Sunday saw activities for families at the Sale Botanic Gardens popular with the children while bands entertained the crowd.

On Thursday 19th Feb Minister John Thwaites visited Sale to pledge financial support of $379,900 to the Women Who Mean Business Project which is to be administered by the Arts Network East Gippsland with support from the Gippsland Women's Network.

The program will involve women in a variety of projects across the region, developing their talents and skills with the aim of empowering them as individuals and as members of the community.

The Gippsland Women's Network was first established in the 1970s by women who wanted to see household financial support offered when commodity prices dropped. Since then the Women's Network have taken on many project aimed at encouraging and empowering women to make a difference in the community.

The Gippsland Women's Network have also participated in 3 International Women's Conferences with the 4th to be held in South Africa in 2006.

Women who Mean Business Website

Due to bad weather, the Australia Day Celebrations for 2004 were moved from the planned location of the recently opened Armed Forces Museum to the Memorial Hall.

Members of the public were entertained by the Sale Community Orchestra conducted by Julie Ward. A brief recording can be heard by clicking here (323kb)

Wellington Shire Mayor John Jago gave a speech reminding residents to respect our land and stop taking it for granted, he also encouraged residents of the Shire to "Make sure our Shire gives a fair go to all"

Certificates of Appreciation were awarded to John Traill and John Cribbes for their outstanding work in the community including their involvement in raising funds for the Royal Flying Doctors Service through the Pheonix Bush Can Plan project. Mr Trail was unable to attend the event and Mr Cribbes accepted the certificate on his behalf. Mr Cribbes thanked the community for standing by him and supporting him in his community endeavours including the Sale Eisteddfod.

Matthew Monk was awarded Citizen of the Year for his respect within the community and his involvement in many areas. Mr Monk is currently Secretary of the Sale City Band, Secretary of the Sale Urban Fire Brigade and Sec & Treasurer of Sale Carols by Candlelight committee and delegate to the Gippsland Band Group..

Young Citizen of the Year was awarded to Hanna Moore for her involvement in establishing a choir who went on to win the ESSO BHP perpetual Trophy at the Sale Eisteddfod. Miss Moore is also involved in the Sale Community Orchestra. Miss Moore expressed her thanks for the support she has received especially from her parents.

The Community Group of the Year was awarded to the Sale City Band who are forever part of the Wellington community playing at events across the region all year round.

Brigid Lambert accepted the award for The Community Event of the Year on behalf of The Sale Community Business Association for their involvement in the highly successful Rocks On Festival held last year.

Special appreciation was expressed to Stuart Lawson for his involvement in bringing the RSPCA back to Sale. Although now retired, Stuart was grateful for the recognition.

Concern was expressed by some members of the public that the National Anthem was not played at all during the official part of the afternoon. The Sale Community Orchestra did play the Anthem however it seemed somewhat like an afterthought.

Those attending the celebrations were treated to a sausage sizzle provided by the Lions Club and entertained by the Briagalong Bush Band.

Wellington Shire Council is looking for volunteers to act as drivers and conductors on soon-to-be-introduced Walking School Buses - a new physical activity initiative aimed at primary school students.

The pilot program, which has received $30,000 funding from Vic Health, is initially being targeted at students from St Thomas', Guthridge, Sale ‚545 and Araluen primary schools in Sale.

It is being introduced from the start of the new school term in February. Walking School Buses will take the form of convoys along specific routes, with children collected and added along the way. Each bus will have an adult volunteer acting as the driver at the front. Where there are more than eight passengers there will also be another adult at the back acting as the conductor.

The initiative has its origins in Canada. It is designed to help reduce the incidence of obesity by encouraging exercise, while also cutting traffic congestion around school drop off and pick up points and increasing awareness of community and road safety all in a safe, friendly and supervised environment. In addition it should help cut road pollution, by reducing reliance on cars to ferry children to and from school.

Key to its success will be the involvement of adult volunteers, who will be fully trained by the Shire. Anyone interested in participating should contact the Council's Walking School Bus Project Officer Lindy Butler by phone on 03 5142 3375, or email lindy@wellington.vic.gov.au

Following this initial pilot program, which is set to run for eight months, the Council will be seeking to expand the initiative throughout Wellington. Said Wellington's Mayor John Jago: "This very worthwhile program is all about improving health and road safety amongst the younger members of our community, and reducing pollution and traffic congestion around schools. We're very keen to get a number of adult volunteers on board, and the reward will be a great deal of personal satisfaction."

• Works to demolish the Old Sale Gaol were halted in September and have not yet been resumed.
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• Part of the Criterion Hotel lacework veranda has been removed, it is rumoured that the owners are now trying to sell the building.
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• Work has begun on restoring the Swing Bridge. Pictures & update hopeful coming soon.
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Yet more of Sale's history has been demolished. Before most of the community was even aware of the plans, the historic building in York Street occupied in recent years by Goodyear was gone. The house next door was also demolished.

The Wellington Shire Council had tried everything to prevent the demolition but was unable to succeed. Banners placed by protesters were of little effect after the demolition took place.

The food chain Red Rooster will build on the lot and will include a drive through service.

The Sale Historical Museum will re-open in February 2004 after undergoing some significant changes. Some of the rooms will be restored to the way they once where when used as the Sale Council Chambers from 1863 to 1960 including some of the original furniture. Existing museum pieces will continue to be on display within the building.

The Gippsland Armed Forces Museum is due to open to the public next week. Located at the old Army Reserve Barracks in Punt Lane, many items of a military nature will be on display. More details will be provided here as they become available.

Work begun on demolishing the Foster street wall of the old gaol but was halted when an inspector realised that the company doing the work was not the same company that had been nominated to do the work. Wellington Shire Council is investigating the matter.

The swing bridge bypass project was completed in April 2002, diverting traffic to Longford from the Swing Bridge over two newly constructed bridges. Restoration works on the Swing Bridge are set to begin in October 2003. Bridge construction specialists Jarvis Norwood of Swan Reach received a $330,000 contract to complete stage one of the works. Stage one of the restoration involves rebuilding the foundation of the bridge which has moved forward over the years blocking the swing mechanism. Work is expected to be completed by the end of the year. After this work has been completed, it is anticipated that further works will take place to restore the swing mechanism, deck and railings.

The Port of Sale Boat Club have proposed an alternative to the restoration that will still enable boat traffic to access the Port of Sale. Rather than re-opening the bridge, they would like to see the Sale Canal extended and routed around the Swing Bridge. They propose the bridge be available only to pedestrian and cycling traffic wishing to gain access to a proposed spiral viewing tower overlooking the wetlands. The Port of Sale Boat Club believe this would be a better alternative for boat traffic giving permanent access and eliminating the need to open the bridge every time a large vehicle needed to pass.

Wellington Shire Council has issued a notice to the owner of the Historic Criterion Hotel to dismantle the veranda including it's detailed iron lace work within 14 days. The owner had been given notice several times in the past that the veranda was unsafe and needed to be repaired. Unfortunately due the high cost of the work required, it was unable to be completed. In April an inspection was carried out and as a result the veranda was declared unsafe and it was stated that it posed a serious risk to the public. Local Historian Peter Synan attempted to convince council that the historic nature of the building made it worthy of council assistance. He has pleaded that rather than being demolished it should be dismantled piece by piece so that it can be restored at a later date.

The Criterion was built in 1865, the veranda was added in 1878 to celebrate the establishment of the railway to Sale. It is one of the few un-altered historic buildings still in Sale and it will be disappointing to see part of it demolished.

Plans are under way for the walls and much of the interior of the old Sale Goal to be pulled down. The gaol closed in 1997 after the development of the Fulham Correctional Centre. The old gaol used to house prisoners convicted of child sex offences, corrupted police officers and other prisoners needing "protection" from other inmates. Some in the community will not be sad to see it go. It does have some historic significance, being built in the 1880, but has not been listed on the council heritage overlay and therefore does not need council approval to be demolished. The walls of the gaol are quite unique with their rounded appearance.

After two years of locals waiting in anticipation and becoming very nervous that the promised relocation of the Officer Training School to East Sale would not take place, it was finally announced on the 5th August 2003 by Minister of Defence Robert Hill that the expansions of RAAF bases at East Sale and Wagga will go ahead.

Funding to be spent on the project is expected to be around $50 million.

The RAAF officer training college will be moved to East Sale. It will bring to the area 70 permanent staff and around 700 students each year.

Wellington Shire Council is now in the process of rushing through approval for rezoning of land in Sale to be sure there will be room to expand the population around the current shortage of places to build. Property prices in Sale are now expected to rise to the delight of those who have recently purchased properties.

Several major companies have been putting off decisions to relocate to Sale waiting confirmation of the RAAF base expansion, those companies are now expected to make the decision to locate in Sale with confidence.

The economic benefits to Sale are expected to be significant and may inject up to $75 million into the community over the next 10 years