The Amazing Art and Incredible Craft Show is almost upon us.

Friday 26th November Opening Night 7.30-10.30pm $10 entry

Saturday 27th 10am-5pm gold coin entry

Sunday 28th 10am-2pm  gold coin entry

197 Skye Point Road Coal Point

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The anticipation is building as the artists and craftists put the final touches on their passion projects. If you would like to enter art or craft for sale artandcraftcppa@gmail.com is the contact address or phone Barbara 49591259.

On display will be works from award winning local artists such as June Friend, who recently received the Matara Watercolour Prize and Hugh Cross who was Highly Commended at the same event and is providing a piece for Auction on the Friday night

There will be craft ranging from hand crafted cards to jewellery, with teapot painting and hand written verse being created right before your eyes on Saturday.

The Hall will be full of fine things to ponder for presents or   add to your collection.

There is a local flavour to this showcase of talents. 

On Opening Night we’ll be  pondering the question can one live on local wine and bread alone?

Long time sponsors of this newsletter, Carey Bay Cellars will be providing a selection of local wines to sample for a gold coin donation and a variety of local breads will be available for the tasting.

There will also be an opportunity to have your say about what local projects you would like to see the Progress Association pursue over the next year. 

A conversation cafe space will have dot-mocracy technology available to gauge interest, people to chat to and on  Saturday there’ll be beverages and tasty treats to savour whilst pondering the future of The Point.

There are lots of other reasons to come along to the Art & Craft Show, one being it is the major fundraiser for the year with proceeds going towards the painting of the exterior of Progress Hall. Here is the final instalment on the Hall’s history

4/5/1952 Lake Macquarie Shire Council refused to meet a deputation from the Combined Progress Association re: rise in rates and proposed new Council Chambers.

1/6/1952 Bank Balance £989.16.7

3/8/1952 Secretary directed to write to MR Brown asking him the attitude of Lake Macquarie Shire Council on the County plan to resume land on the ridge behind our property on which the hall is located.

7/9/1952 Drain at corner of Rofe Street & Coal Point Road be ordered- re: piped; T.Mayo charged 2% per hall usually 6% 

5/10/1952 Secretary to write to Sgt Griffiths informing him of loss of bricks from Association ground, also vandalism in area.

2/11/1952 Building Committee trying to reduce costs as they thought tenders submitted were too high. Mr T Mayo-Architect is altering specifications accordingly.

7/12/1952 Cash balance £1096.10.5 Official Opening of the Hall be performed by Mr Layton- an appeal for funds and debentures at the opening of the hall.

18/1/1953 Afternoon Tea at the OPENING OF THE HALL. 2/- per person 

An account of £39 architects fees were passed for payment to Mr T Mayo. The entertainment committee will enquire about the purchase of a piano for the hall-Advert in Newcastle Morning Herald for suitable chairs.

Nature Watching in November

Have you noticed the wildlife growing crazy at the moment? The Bottlebrushes have been blooming like there’s no tomorrow, the Blue Flax Lily, Dianella has been abundant and even the Matt Rush Lomandra, have a profusion of flowers. 

Dianella sp Photo P Saunderson 2007

Nature is amazing, if the plants are anything to go by it looks like it’s going to be a great season for gathering seed.

Butcherbird R Mackay 2010

There are some other things to look out for too:

• Flying Ants swarm on humid evenings
• Fox cubs are born
• Acacia longifolia, Coastal Wattle will be in bloom
• Spotted Gums will shed their bark
• Birds are a breeding with Noisy Miners, Noisy Friarbirds, Red Wattlebird, and Butcherbirds all calling to be fed
• Peak time for the Leonid Metor shower is Mid November
• Cabbage Tree Palms are attracting the Top-Knot Pigeons
• Trigger plants are common and
• The whales are moving off the coast

Reserve Snapshot Stansfield Close

We are truly fortunate to have so many wonderful public spaces within our community, and even though they may not be perfect, there are some people who are trying their hardest to make them that way, giving the local wildlife a helping hand.

The Stansfield Close reserves have numerous secret treasures like several different kinds on Lomandra, the endangered Tetratheca juncea (TJ to those in the know) numerous habitat trees that house a variety of birds and mammals, that feast on the berry bountiful bushes.

At the other end of the spectrum, the not-so-helpful end, there are things that people do that quite quickly can undo years of work.

surveying for the track

This reserve had several thousand dollars of public money spent creating a track to help people move about. 

Some people wanted to move quickly and so set about creating there very own bike track with total disregard for the work previously undertaken and the impacts they were creating, chopping trees and excavating deep holes for mounds.

bike riders damage

This part of the story has a happy ending though, upon reporting to LMCC, within a fortnight the track was regraded to remove the mounds and fill the hazardous holes.

Unfortunately there is another more insidious danger that threatens the viability of this reserve, and most of our other local spaces, backyard escapes. 

The Stansfield Close reserves are a classic example of the devastation that can be wrought upon the local biodiversity by throwing garden waste, or heaven forbid planting invasive exotics where they can spread unchecked into the reserve. 

Asparagus Fern, African Olive and Privet are all rampant in this reserve, a product of their fruit being easily dispersed.

The Progress Association has recently received some funding to address the weed issues at the entrance to this reserve from the Hunter Water Landcare Assistance Fund. 

CPPA Art & Craft Show- Live Life Locally

The return of the Art and Craft Show in 2010 is shaping up to be a beautiful thing.

Friday 26th November is Opening Night - $10 per person
27-28 November the Arts and Craft will be on display for all to admire, Gold Coin donation

The venue is Progress Hall,197 Skye Point Road, Coal Point.

The funds raised will be going towards a new paint job for the Hall.

Entry forms are now available for artists and craftists to submit so that space can be secured to display your wares. Contact Barbara on 4959 1259 or artandcraftcppa@gmail.com to get a form or work with the one below.

Why come to the Coal Point Progress Association Art Craft Show?

If you’re an Exhibitor: 

• Raise the profile of your work 
• And maybe sell some! 
• Timing is perfect for Christmas gift sales 
• Network with other artists and share ideas 
• Enjoy community camaraderie 
• Support the Progress Association in its work for the community 

If you’re a visitor: 

• Support local artists and the Progress Association 
• See the wealth of talent within the community 
• Enjoy a weekend outing to live life locally and meet your neighbours 
• Somewhere to take the family on the weekend 
• With Christmas around the corner, the opportunity to choose between a large variety of unique, hand-crafted gifts 
• Savour the flavours of locally grown produce and wines 

Conditions of Entry

Entry Forms: To be forwarded to Art & Craft Show, PO Box 329, Toronto 2283.

Entry forms must be in by Friday 12th November. The entry fee must accompany the entry form – see below.

Entry Fee:
Artworks for hanging: $5 per item, to maximum fee $20 (within 2m2 limit)
Craft items including ceramics: $10 per 1m2 of table area
The entry fee for any item entered but not displayed will be refunded.

Acceptable Items for Exhibition:

• Paintings and textile art, suitably framed and ready for hanging. Total area of artworks to be hung must not exceed 2m2 including frames. Total area of any single artwork not to exceed 1m2 including frame. 
• Ceramics: open to painted porcelain, thrown or hand-built pottery and ceramic sculpture. 
• Crafts: open to all craft items, provided that any multiples of craft items e.g. pot holders, gift cards etc. must be boxed with a display item. 

Identification: All items must be priced and appropriately labelled. See Entry Form for details. All labels must be secure. Any unlabelled items will not be displayed.

Delivery of Exhibits: All exhibits will be received at the Progress Hall on Thursday 25th November between 1.00pm and 6.00pm.

Collection of Exhibits: Exhibits are to be collected on Sunday 28th November between 2.00pm and 4.00pm.

Sales and Commission: All sales transactions must go through the Sale Table and not directly with the exhibitor. 20% will be charged on all sales, with payment to be made by 20th December. The Committee does not accept liability to reimburse the exhibitor if the sale is cancelled.

Insurance: Insurance cover from receiving date to collection date is the responsibility of the exhibitor. All possible care will be taken by no liability will be accepted for loss or damage.

The organising committee reserves the right not to display items that are not suitable or if display space is exhausted.

Local Events in October

Monday 11th 7-9pm : Progress committee meeting at Hall, 197 Skye Point Rd, Coal Point, all welcome

Monday 18th 7-8.30 pm :Transition Town gathering- discussion & Movie - The Power of Community at the Hall

Thursday 21st 10am :Local Landcaring at Ambrose St & Yural Reserve with the Green Team

Friday 22nd 4-8.30pm Saturday 23rd 9-4pm :Fair Share festival at Hamilton Public School

Saturday 23rd: Catalina Festival at Rathmines 

Local Landcare-every Thursday around Coal Point Give Robyn a ring to find out where on
4959 1507

Lake Macquarie City Council Events

Sunday 17th: Cycling Workshop-building confidence on the bike-somewhere close

Wednesday 20th Introduction to Tai chi-Toronto Library

Generic Medicines

Sam Zhogbi one of Toronto’s friendly pharmacists recently presented some information on generic medicines to inform and allay any concerns about these low cost, health system supportive options.

Generic medicines are copies of the original brand of medication that is no longer protected by patent. They have the same active ingredients and therapeutic effects on the body, are the same quality and strength and have had the same safety testing.

When a new pharmaceutical is developed the drug companies patent it to protect their intellectual property and profits. These patents last for 20 years. We are now in a period where patents are reaching the end of their exclusivity period and generic brands are coming on to the market to get some of the market share. Many drug companies even put out their own range of generics so they don’t lose sales.

There is another aspect to generic medicines though, their relationship to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), Australia’s unique subsidy scheme which makes many medicines affordable for many more people. Generic brands contribute more to the PBS fund, which subsidises new product research and release.

Other good things about generic medicines are they usually have some proportion of their manufacturing done in Australia, assisting local jobs, they save the consumer money because they’re cheaper, they provide choice, and are an investment in the health care system.

Unless a doctor specifically marks a script with no substitution, generics are an option that is just as good for your body and even better for our health system. If you want to know more have a chat to Sam at Simply Pharmacy.

Climate Conversations

In late September the LMCC Council Chamber was full of interested folk gathered to hear four glacial scientists relate the findings of their work. In the audience were young folk, older folk, those that seemed to know a lot and those that were there to learn, a wide spectrum of interested public.

The scientists were there because they were concerned about the lack of real scientific information about climate change that is being shared with the public. They had decided to go on a road trip to share their scientific findings and had some climate conversations on the way.

They introduced the topic of Climate Change as one of perspective, that as a species that only inhabits the earth for 0-80 or so years they pondered that if perhaps we lived to a ripe old age of 5000 as the Bristle Cone Pines do we may see things differently.

They explained that our atmosphere is a function of time, climate is the long term patterns and weather is the daily variability. By looking at ice cores a detailed picture of the atmospheric concentrations of gases in air, particulates and temperature can be determined to give a picture of the climate over time.

Tessa Vance, an ice core climatologist explained climate change has always happened, sometimes fast, sometimes slow but today the changes are being driven by humans.

The ice core measurements of CO2 ,carbon dioxide, up until 1000 years ago were relatively stable at about 280 parts per million, but then from about 1775,when the steam engine came into being CO2 levels started trending up, culminating in the last decade being the hottest on record.

The scientists went on to illustrate several different climatic models that were used to predict CO2 levels to try an explain the match of data they find in the ice cores . There were models that included volcanic activity, solar flares, clouds, terrestrial uptake of CO2 ,atmospheric chemistry, ocean uptake of CO2 , sea ice and water vapour. The only graph that matched the actual CO2 emissions recorded in the ice core sample was the graph for man-made CO2 sources related to the burning of fossil fuels.

The evidence was compelling, they explained how there are different forms (isotopes) of carbon that are 'signatures' for different sources of carbon from volcanoes, plants or fossil fuels, so they are definite about the source. The amount of fossil fuel consumed since the advent of the steam engines matches the volume of CO2 that has been produced and measured, they have measured 3.5 km of ice core, and the atmospheric records match the ice core data.

Currently CO2 levels are at 387ppm way out side the range ever before experienced on earth. The CO2 levels and earth's temperature are heavily correlated, and so we see an overall warming trend of 0.8 oC. Since the 1970s the average warming rate has been 0.17oC /decade, with the past decade the hottest on record.

One of the scientists studied the impacts of CO2 in the oceans, he described it as 'the other CO2 problem' because ¼ CO2 and 90% of earth's heat are in the oceans. Also when CO2 mixes with water it forms an acid and there has already been 20% increase in ocean acidity which is affecting the physiology of chalky skeleton organisms such as corals, whose skeletons aren't forming as well. The prediction was that by 2020-2050 corals will not be able to survive the increased acidity of the ocean.

Another organism that is affected by the changes in the ocean's chemistry is the worlds most abundant animal, the tiny krill. At the base of the food web, without krill, there is no food for larger animals to eat, potentially dire impacts on the world's already fragile fisheries.

The team of scientists had a Q & A session after sharing their detailed knowledge and explained that a 2oC change in temperature would be like moving Lake Macquarie to Rockhampton. Some of the obvious impacts would be coral bleaching and cereal crop productivity decreasing at low latitudes & increasing at high latitudes. Our earth's temperature has almost increased 2oC now.

A temperature of more than 3oC the present would result in an increase frequency of storms and floods, severe water stress, 30% species extinction and 30% of global wetlands would be lost. At 4-5oC we'd get substantial health burdens with infectious and other diseases on the rise.

On the question of skeptics, they stated 1 in 400-500 scientists are climate change skeptics with only a few believing the impacts of climate change will result in 1- 2oC temperature increase, most mainstream scientists believe we're heading for 2-4 oC unless there is concerted action, especially as sea level rise is running at the upper limit of predictions and there is a lack of understanding on the stability of ice sheets.

On the question of tipping points, it was noted that the last time the Greenland Ice sheet melted the sea level rose 6m in a few centuries.

As scary as the information was there was a simple and cost effective way to avoid such extreme futures. As simple as political will to get on with the job of 2% reduction/annum. It is very doable and is economically feasible, it gets more expensive the longer the delay and a major outcome of the Copenhagen talks was that no country is questioning the need to keep temperature rise below 2oC.

At the end of the evening Lake Macquarie City Council was commended for bringing the scientists to the city to share their findings, an ice-core was on hand so we could admire the time encapsulated air bubbles and everyone was certainly the wiser for being there.

We're in the electorate of Charlton and our Federal Member is Greg Combet, recently appointed Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency.

You can be part of the solution by helping Greg do his job. Let him know how you feel about the future we're leaving our children and our grandchildren.

Contact details are

email greg.combet.mp@aph.gov.au 

Suite7, Level1,
342 Main Road,
Cardiff, 2285

phone 02 4954 2611

The History of the Hall cont.

18/7/1951. Mr Rodd architect subject to the fall of the land that the stage be placed at the opposite end to the road an entrance porch and clear cloak space is to be recommended. Pair of large doors as shown too clumsy - 2 smaller pairs. Louvre window for better ventilation. Stage height 3’ considered too high 2’ should be ample.

27/7/1951 Building discussed with Mr Hayman. Stage to be made 12’ instead of 15’. Farrell volunteers to find price of gloss oil as against paint. Trustees agree the contract for the building subject to loan from the Bank.

2/9/1951 Request police patrol Coal Point Road as milk money was being stolen.

7/9/1951 Garden Fete at the residence of Mr R Taylor Carey Bay-630 people paid for admission the effort raised £ 329 cleared £306

7/10/1951 Trustees took on responsibility of finance for the hall by acting as guarantees for the hall loan. Debentures held £140

3/2/1952 Write to Urban Area re: deplorable state of roads in our area. Promised during Council election that the road would be tar sealed.

2/3/1952 Annual Meeting (AGM) Trustees borrowed £700 Cash held £869 plus debentures. Bus stops numbered during the year. Purchase 2 table & trestles. Younger Set of Association formed.

Blackalls Against the Mines (BAM) news

An informative newsletter was recently circulated and included concerns about the Centennial complaint handling policy, Mandalong haul road, the Cenntenial sale to Banpu and the following outcome of the auger mine issue.

Greg Piper’s Private Member’s Bill to clarify the State Environmental Planning Policy 2007(mining) with regard to the ban on Open Cut Mining in Lake Macquarie has been defeated in Parliament.Labor voted as a block and the Opposition didn’t attend so as not to ‘offend the miner’. There was however a change to the legislation introduced by Kristina Kenneally in late 2009, that leaves the door open for ‘above ground auger mining’.

On this matter BAM has written to all local State MPs to get support for Mr Piper’s Bill and to clarify the Government’s position on Open-cut mining in our area. Not one of them supported Mr Piper and Matthew Morris, Member for Charlestown, was a government;s speaker to oppose the Bill. Paul’s Moors is now the President of BAM and can be contacted on moors@aapt.net.au.

Turning Toronto Green

Thanks to Toronto Tidy Towns’ Refill not Landfill project, we’ll all be able to refill our water bottles in the near future at the Toronto Library or the Diggers Club

The aim of this year’s Tidy Towns project is to reduce the use of disposable plastic water bottles and to minimise their disposal in landfill. Toronto Tidy Towns has raised $5,000.00 for the manufacture and distribution to our local community of Toronto branded reusable, dishwasher safe, water bottles.

This project was funded through Toronto Workers Club, Toronto Diggers, Toronto Lions Club and EcoEdge. The project has also been supported by local organisations including Eco Springs Newcastle & The Hunter Water Purification and Filtration Systems which have donated two water filtration systems to Toronto. There’s more water outlets in the pipeline too that are bound to make a splash about town.

It’s as easy as 1223 and it’s free

Directory assistance is a free service if you call 1223. If you ring the Sensis directory service number, 1234 which is a subsidiary of Telstra it costs 40c to call the number, then 4c a second.By law, Telstra must provide a FREE directory assistance number. The free number is 1223

Want to be on Eraring Energy’s Environmental Working Parties?

The Eraring Energy Environmental Strategy Working Parties are looking for members to contribute to discussions about the impacts of Eraring Energy’s operations on our local environment, the air, the water and the land.


You don’t have to be an expert, just interested in how one of the State’s biggest electricity suppliers operates locally. If you’d like to find out more contact Jacqueline Tranter- Environmental Administration Officer 4973 0441

Local Events in September

Saturday 11th 12-4pm :TIN & NCAC Open Day- 252 Parry St

Sunday 12th 9.30-5 :Living Smart Festival at Speers Point

Sunday 12th :Sustainable House Day all over the place

Monday 13th 7-9pm :Transition Movie -Food Inc at the Hall

Saturday 18th 9-12 :Gardening with natives at Council

Saturday 18th 9.30-12.30 :Food for thought at Toronto Multipurpose Centre

Sunday 19th 10-3pm :Herbs in the burbs at Figtree Community Garden 

Tuesday 28th 6.15pm :Transition Town Newcastle Open Space expedition.

Art & Craft Show :Last weekend in November. Planning meeting Friday 10/9/10 at 2pm at Hall

Local Landcare-every Thursday around Coal Point: Give Robyn a ring to find out where on
4959 1507

Sustainable September

September seems to be the month when there’s lots to see and do from the garden to the rooftop if your thinking about moving to a more sustainable lifestyle.

Saturday September 11th Trees In Newcastle and Newcastle Community Arts Centre are having a combined family friendly Open Day from noon-4pm at 252 Parry Street,near the Sacred Heart Cathedral. This includes a plant sale to boost your backyard biodiversity, and open studios at the Art Centre, children’s craft and puppet show.

Sunday 12th LMCC’s Living Smart Festival at Speers Point Part 9.30-5pm. There'll be native plant giveaways, solar power and hot water displays, backyard vegies and bush tucker, rainwater tanks, gardening tips, worms, community group displays, ecological footprint assessments, bike maintenance workshops, and more.

Sunday 12th Sustainable House Day: 8 houses from Boolaroo to Branxton open from 10 am to 4 pm featuring various combinations of PVCs, water heating, water storage, insulation, fixtures and fittings, and interesting and efficient design, both in new houses and in older houses undergoing a green retrofit.

Owners of these houses are willing to talk to anyone who visits between 10 and 4 on the 12th, to provide some advice based on their experiences and make suggestions.

Full details of the local houses are available at: http://www.sustainablehouseday.com/new-south-wales.php 

Monday 13th Movie: Food Inc- 7-9pm at Progress Hall “you’ll never look at food the same way” An insight into the world of food production and delivery that has dramatically changed since the 1950s due to the growth of multinationals and the fast food industry. Soup, damper and discussion provided.

Saturday 18 September 9-noon - LMCC’s Sustainability Workshops

Gardening with natives at Council Admin building: find out which natives suit your garden and how to keep them looking great;

Food for thought at Toronto Multipurpose Centre 9.30-12.30: find out what really goes into your shopping basket each week. Gain valuable information relating to reading labels, additives, cosmetic ingredients, GM foods, organic certification, food miles, food production, Fair Trade, food waste, ethical shopping and more. This workshop includes a soft cheese and yoghurt making demonstration. Contact Sarah or Pam 02 4921 0333

Herbs in the Burbs' is on Sunday 19th from 10am - 3pm At the Figtree Community Garden, Albert St Wickham

It's a Complementary and Alternative Medicine open day at Fig Tree. There will be stalls on Naturopathy Consultations, Iridology, Remedial Massage and Organic food and beverages, entertainment, garden tours, a raffle and information about the relevant WEA Courses. Children’s activities provided.

Living Life Locally

The return of the Transition film festival in a less daunting format, a trip to Newcastle Transition Town’s Open Space meeting, a presence at the Living Smart Festival and an option for sale of excess locally grown vegetables are the activities for the group this month.

The movie Food Inc will be shown on Monday 13th at 7-9 pm at the Hall. The format is only one movie with a chance to discuss it over a cup of soup and damper. If you’re interested in what you eat, this movie is sure to get you thinking.

Rishi and Gunjan at the Lucky7 Convenience store at Carey Bay are happy to negotiate a price for locally food grown vegetables or fruit. This is a great opportunity to share your harvest excess with the local community and recoup a few dollars for the effort.

A trip to Transition Town Newcastle’s Open Space meeting is planned for Tuesday 28th September. We’ll be car-pooling, of course, leaving about 6.15pm. Contact Ian for pick up details on 4959 7517.

Future ‘Transition’ events will continue on the 2nd Monday of the month and include another film night on 11/10/10 and an end of year gathering on November 8th at 7pm.

The Arts & Craft Show planning is underway and shaping up to be a great social gathering. The Opening Night is Friday 26th November, with viewing and sales over the weekend 27-28th . If you’re interested in submitting work or assisting with making it happen contact Barbara on 4959 1259 or come to the Hall Friday 10th September at 2pm and meet the planning group.

How to live longer and be happy

http://www.ourcommunity.com.au/article/view_test.do?articleid=719 

“Controlling for your blood chemistry, age, gender, whether or not you jog and for all other risk factors, your chances of dying over the course of the next year are cut in half by joining one group and cut to a quarter by joining two groups” Putnam,R.,2001,Social Capital Measurement and Consequences, Canadian Journal of Policy Research 2(1):41-51.

“In addition, people living with a partner (whether married or de facto), owning a house, and being a member of a club are more likely to be satisfied,” according to Pursuit of Happiness, the latest AMP/NATSEM Income and Wealth Report.

The report examines how different aspects of people’s lives impact on happiness, from family life and relationships to employment and lifestyle. It says that while money is associated with happiness, that alone does not determine happiness.

Toronto’s Traffic Troubles

In August a community meeting to discuss the traffic situation through Toronto came up with two resolutions to progress the immediate issues of congestion.

To investigate dedicated turning/merging lanes and 40km zone between the Boulevard and Bay street and do a thorough plan of that stretch of road.

The broader issue of long term traffic management was discussed as well.Some items of note were that Lake Macquarie will be receiving the largest share of population growth over the next 20 years with 60-70,000 more people, many of whom will be living south of Toronto in Rathmines, Wangi, Morisset and Wyee. Add to this the fact that the Lake Macquarie local government area has the highest car ownership/household in the state, and you can see a serious problem is on the horizon.

RTA planning is underway though, an upgrade of the Fennell Bay to Booragul stretch of road to accommodate two lanes either way has just closed for public comment with the intent of getting the land recognised on the local planning instruments.

Additionally an enquiry by a local to RTA about a road from Fennell Bay bridge through to Toronto via the wetlands was told it was almost a certainty in the next 10 years.

LMCC’s Oil Supply Vulnerability Policy

LMCC’s Oil Supply Vulnerability Policy is open for community comment till 22nd September. The policy will assist to prepare the city for likely increases in the cost of living associated with increased fossil fuel prices.

The goal is to provide a policy and framework to assist Council and community to respond responsibly and proactively in the face of a declining oil supply and associated rise in the cost of fossil fuel.

The plan is to build resilience to peak oil and some of the things Council aims to do includes create oil-resilient transport networks and actively plan for oil resilient towns and for a city prepared for demographic and regional change, including fundamental change to transport, work and living arrangements.

Council’s website has the details http://www.lakemac.com.au/page.aspx?pid=101&vid=1&apt=detail&aid=838 

Dental Care you can afford

Poor dental hygiene can lead to chronic diseases like oral infections, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, irritable bowel, diverticulitis and constipation because sugar and fat are cheaper, addictive and softer to eat. This diet can force the aged into hospital, hostel/nursing home care long before it is necessary. 

To ensure good dental health a National Dental Scheme was set up so people could get dental work they could not afford regardless of finances, employment, health insurance and age. Alas in the early days the system was rorted with million dollar smiles from gold fillings but it still exists.

Australian residents can get free dental care with private dentists through Medicare under certain conditions. The person must be suffering from a chronic disease or condition, one that has persisted for more than three months. Conditions include hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, re-flux, depression, anxiety, dermatitis, kidney disease and chronic fatigue syndrome.

The procedure is to go to your dentist and obtain a thorough written quote for all work required. It may cover work by orthodontists or dental prosthesis.

Next go to your GP and state that you cannot pay this amount. You can take the quote for a health insurance rebate amount as well if you are covered. There is usually a considerable gap, depending on the amount of work required.

The scheme allows up to $4,000 of dental work per person over a 2 year period. The ability to eat a larger range of healthy, often raw food fruit, nuts or vegetables and cooked meat is important for maintaining general good health.


Anon- Retired. Reg. Nurse

The History of the Hall cont...

4/3/1951 68 Financial members. Net profit £180 for 1950 Bank Balance £486.18.1:Tender received from Gailbraith & Blundell £1713.15.0 for erection of Hall.: Subscriptions 2/- each Quarterly 10’; Special meeting be called to find ways/means for raising loan monies for erection of Hall.

18/3/1951 Special meeting passed a resolution that a letter be written to all members of the Coal Point Community offering £10 debentures or multiples of £10

6/5/1051 Urban Area asked to put grader in to level the Association Rd. Bank Balance £513

6/6/1951 Decided to wait 2 weeks for a further price to build the Hall-Mr Guy to provide timbers and roofing for the building. Secretary to seek permission to alter roof from asbestos to Galvanised Iron.

1/7/1951 Trustee to write to Lake Macquarie Shire Council for a rebate of rates on land held in trust for the Association. Hall plans/specifications to be inspected by an architect.

10/7/1951 Building committee.  Mr Hayman be advised that his tender for the erection of the community hall has been accepted subject to plans specific being perused by an architect £1665.00. President to make enquiries re loan of £1000 from the Bank of N.S.W. To be cont..

Thank you Alf for all your efforts!

Over the past decade or so the Progress Association has continued to maintain a Hall and do what it does due to a dedicated core.

One such staunch member is Alf Jones, who has kept an eagle eye on the status and needs of Progress Hall, our community’s very own space for almost two decades.

Alf oversaw the renovations which has brought the Hall up to 21st century standards and has been a regular Chronicle deliverer since the Chronicles have been regularly delivered.

It is with sincerest thanks that Alf’s efforts are acknowledged as he now moves in to a less active lifestyle.