General News
30 January, 2025
Year in Review: September–December 2024
Year in review from September to December 2024.
SEPTEMBER
- Community reaction to the sudden resignation of Horsham Rural City Council CEO Sunil Bhalla is mostly one of relief and hope – relief at the opportunity for change and hope that it may lead to better governance and the repairing of community trust.
- The appointment of municipal monitor Steven Kingshott to report on ongoing governance issues at Horsham Rural City Council is costing ratepayers $1296 a day cost and over the course of his nine-month posting will add up to at least $100,000 and potentially more than $160,000.
- At least six new faces are among nine candidates – all men – who say they are making a bid to join Horsham Rural City Council at the October election but mayor Robyn Gulliune is not disclosing whether she will stand again.
- Grampians Community Health is not only helping to build a healthier local community but making a significant contribution to the region’s economy, generating nearly $65 million a year, supporting 357 jobs and creating an extra $0.71 elsewhere in the economy for every $1 of direct revenue it receives.
- Horsham City Oval's much-anticipated multipurpose facility and accessible change rooms could begin to take shape in 2026 if a new attempt to secure Commonwealth funding of $4.805m their construction bears fruit.
- The eyes of vintage rail enthusiasts turn to the Wimmera Mallee as Seymour Railway Heritage Centre prepares to send one of its classic diesel locomotives to the state’s far west with stops along the Hopetoun and Rainbow branch lines, stopping at Murtoa, Sheep Hills, Warracknabeal and Beaulah, and at Rainbow, Arkona and Jeparit, respectively.
- Horsham Mayor Robyn Gulline announces that she is stepping down from council after a turbulent term of office, Cr Gulline and her former deputy mayor Penny Flynn being the only current councillors not standing for re-election.
- A spate of farm thefts across the region sparks calls for greater vigilance from farmers whose unlocked sheds are providing easy pickings for stealthy midnight raiders in search of diesel fuel, motorbikes and easy-to-carry gear such as chain saws and batteries.
- Wimmera farmer Andrew Weidemann says claims that farmland will be restored to former productivity levels after cessation of mining are a fallacy as returning land to its productive pre-mining condition is not possible, adding: "There hasn't been anywhere in Victoria where land has been taken back to its original state.”
- Community housing provider Haven Home Safe unveils 25 completed modular homes in Horsham ready for occupancy.
OCTOBER
- Troy Berry is arguably the proudest dad in Horsham as he watches his son Jarrod win the ultimate prize in footy when the Brisbane Lions trounce the Sydney Swans 18.12 (120) to 9.6 (60).
-A large crowd honours departing Horsham Church of Christ senior pastor Simon Risson and wife Andrea with a standing ovation during a heartfelt and at-times-emotional farewell service ending the family’s almost 23 years in the Wimmera during which time the church has moved from aged and inadequate premises at Urquhart Street to a $6m facility in River Road to the city's south.
- West Wimmera Shire Council hosts a series of engaging events as part of the Victorian Seniors Festival 2024, culminating in the West Wimmera Seniors Expo.
- The owners of Horsham's Farmhouse Providore and Cafe assure the community they won’t be down for long after fire tears through the Firebrace Street premises, attracting 10 units from CFA Horsham and Warracknabeal, as well as Fire Rescue Victoria
- CFA district 17 honours former Horsham resident David Eltringham OAM with life membership.
- Seymour Railway Heritage Centre's leisurely and entertaining four-day tour across the Wimmera and Southern Mallee carries hundreds of visitors back in time on train carriages superseded decades ago, pulled by a locomotive that’s now obsolete, and along lines that have not featured as regular passenger-train routes for many years.
- Another deluge of pre-loved books keeps sorters busy in preparation for Horsham College chaplaincy’s book fair after an event earlier in the year raised more than $6000 towards keeping a chaplain at the college.
- Horsham resident Catherine Sostheim is acknowledged nationally for her excellence and passion in early childhood care and education, named as the Horsham and Grampians educator winner in the Excellence in Family Day Care Awards.
- Roger Smith, who farms at Pullut between Rainbow and Jeparit, says few croppers will break even this year after enduring weather that he describes as "storm lotto".
- Dimboola solidifies its position in the spotlight as the “place to be” by hosting the first Grampians Wimmera Mallee Tourism industry forum when delegates from across the region network and strategise with local council representatives, industry colleagues, board members, and tourism business owners towards the common goal of attracting more visitors to the area.
NOVEMBER
- 'Wimmera – My Story' is the title chosen by former Warracknabeal district farmer and artist Gary Vaughan, whose works will be exhibited at Horsham Regional Art Gallery until February 23.
- More than 4500 trees are planted in open space at Burnt Creek as part of a Horsham Rural City Council and Landcare revegetation initiative involving students from Horsham College, Horsham Special School and Woodcroft College in South Australia and members of the Karen community.
- With assistance from the Horsham crime investigation unit, clandestine laboratory squad detectives execute a search warrant at a 200-acre rural property where up to five tonnes of methamphetamines are seized, dismantling a drug trafficking and manufacturing syndicate after a 20-month-long investigation.
- The first Driller Transport Horsham Truck Show is a big success with 138 trucks attending Horsham Showgrounds throughout the two-day event for judging across 21 categories, drawing 3000 spectators.
- In a milestone moment for both the community of Horsham and the family, Mel and Nick Murray celebrate 20 years as owners of the Exchange Hotel, the local gem in a string of 25 hotels across both metropolitan and regional Australia operated by the couple.
- The Natimuk community is left hanging when it is announced that bans on climbing at Mt Arapiles will force the closure of more than half the area’s routes, along with the Pines campground.
- Uranium extracted from the Donald Rare Earths and Mineral Sands Project will fuel power generation in the US, but the fact the Wimmera even has this valuable energy source underground comes as a complete surprise to many.
- Horsham reflects on its standing as home of an impressive medical ‘first’: the first recorded spinal anaesthetic, administered at Horsham Hospital on January 7 1902 by Dr Robert Ritchie to allow the amputation of a gangrenous leg.
- Premier Jacinta Allan and Minister for the State Electricity Commission Lily D'Ambrosio visit Horsham to announce a $370m investment in a project that will see close to 250 jobs created during construction of the SEC Renewable Energy Park, a facility capable of generating about 242,000 megawatts of renewable energy a year to power 51,000 households – five times the number of homes in Horsham.
- The Horsham Times claims the accolade ‘Best Editorial Campaign’ at the Victorian Country Press Association annual awards for its coverage of domestic violence issues in May and June pioneered by journalist Zoey Andrews.
- The 44th annual Kannamaroo Festival is again hit by extreme weather, aq total fire ban forcing the cancellation of the opening night’s fireworks, but the family music event in Maydale Pavilion is a huge success as attendees enjoy a mix of kids’ games, Filipino dancing and singing along with The Filos band.
DECEMBER
- RACV and Neighbourhood Watch Victoria team up to improve security on Victorian farms and other regional properties, warning that Victorian Crime Statistics Agency figures show Horsham is among the five highest local government areas for recorded offences.
- Natimuk residents Dr Felix Ritson and Dr Ashlee Hendy make the trek to Melbourne to meet with an advisor to the Minister for Environment, Steven Dimopolous, on a mission to deliver information and perspective from the Natimuk community on how climbing bans at Mt Arapiles will affect the surrounding district.
- Half-centuries don't come much grander than the innings notched up this year by Jenny Thomson, who has completed a remarkable 50th year of service at Wimmera Base Hospital.
- Member for Lowan Emma Kealy releases her 2024 Christmas card featuring a tribute to volunteerism in her electorate, designed by Grade 4 student Jack Fitzgerald of Moyston Primary School.
- Horsham's Avonbank Mineral Sands Project takes a significant step forward with the Victorian Government signing off on its environmental effects statement.
- Wesley Plange, a third-year medical student at Wimmera Base Hospital, commits to volunteering at a mission in southern Uganda, where he will be part of a team of 15 Australian interns, students and registrars servicing a remote region of the country.
- Horsham’s Sawyer Park comes alive as about 4000 people gather to celebrate the annual Carols by Candlelight in a program of communal singing, live performances and a wide selection fast food.
- Horsham Rural City Council announces a six month suspension of parking fees across the city, effective immediately.
- Year 12 students finish their final year on a high with the release of their VCE results as Horsham's three secondary schools name their duxes: Rebekah Wundke with an ATAR of 99 at Holy Trinity Lutheran College, Sean McDonald with 89.5 at St Brigid's and Lucy Scott with 95.8 at Horsham College.