⏱️ This Friday edition of our newsletter is a six-minute read.

👋 Hello Gippslanders, it’s Jacob here.

📸 Before we jump in to some news stories, here’s a pic I snapped this week of some cows grazing on the Strzelecki Ranges.

🎤 This week I spoke to a couple of business owners on Mount Baw Baw about how difficult it is for them when the snow season ends early.

The ski season barely lasted two months this year, and Mount Baw Baw Ski owner, Trudi Reiter, told me she predicts her business will suffer huge losses this year.

❝

We didn't make anywhere near enough money during the winter, when we usually can make ends meet.

Mount Baw Baw Ski Hire owner, Trudi Reiter.

👀 Looking ahead. In this week’s newsletter we’re talking about:

  • ⛷️ Why Mount Baw Baw’s snow season ended early;

  • 🕵🏻‍♂️ One of Gippsland’s major unsolved murder cases;

  • 🧺 Gippsland markets to check out this month, and;

  • 🏚️ How a property developer goes broke when we desperately need houses.

🎊 WHAT EVENTS ARE COMING UP 🎟️

🧺 FARMERS MARKETS 🥧

⁉️ Here are the answers to the sixth Gippsland Monitor Quiz questions I sent out on Wednesday.

Feel free to email questions you think may stump our readers to [email protected].

✍️ GIPPSLAND QUIZ ANSWERS ✅

  1. Which Gippsland shire has the fastest growing population?

    Baw Baw Shire.

  2. What is the largest town in Gippsland by population?

    Traralgon with a population of almost 27,000 at the last census.

  3. If you travelled directly south from the southern tip of Wilsons Prom, which Tasmanian city would you arrive at?

    Devonport.

  4. Which Gippsland river flows through Bairnsdale before reaching the Gippsland Lakes?

    Mitchell River.

  5. What type of animal is the Gippsland water dragon?

    A semi-aquatic lizard.

🚀 Alright, let’s jump into the Monitor’s latest yarns!

🔍 HEARD THIS WEEK👂

🎿 Mount Baw Baw ski business facing huge losses after warmest winter on record cruels snow season

Accomodation and ski hire businesses on Mount Baw Baw have taken a financial bath  following Victoria’s hottest winter on record, which saw the mountain’s snow fields close after 57 days.

Mount Baw Baw Ski Hire owner Trudi Reiter told the Monitor the season - one of the shortest ever - was “absolutely rubbish” for every business on the mountain.

“We didn't make anywhere near enough money during the winter, when we usually can make ends meet,” she said.

What happened: Mount Baw Baw ski season generally runs from late June to October and the mountain gets its best week of snowfall during the third week of August. But the resort shut down lift operations on August 19, cutting short the season by five weeks.

  • During the same week, all of Victoria’s major alpine resorts - Mount Buller, Mount Hotham and Falls Creek - announced an end to the season.

Marginal matters: Dr Lily O’Neill from the University of Melbourne’s Climate Futures told the Monitor businesses on Australia’s alpine ranges are already operating on tight margins.

“These are expensive businesses to run. They gear themselves up and get ready for what's a short season anyway. When it's four or five weeks shorter than expected, it's absolutely devastating financially.”

Mount Baw Baw Stakeholder Association President, Tom Bauer, told the Monitor 26 businesses on the mountain had lost revenue due to the short season.

  • He said the businesses made 75 to 90 percent of their income during winter and the lack of snowfall had cost them roughly 30 percent of their yearly income.

Read the full story here or check out a video on this story below.

🕵🏻‍♂️ Wonnangatta murders: The enduring mystery surrounding two bodies discovered in Victorian alps

The deaths of Jim Barclay and John Bamford in the late 1910s have gone down in history as two of Gippsland’s major unsolved cases.

Take a look at a video explaining the case below.

🥗 Affordable food and local produce. Here’s our Gippsland Farmers Markets list for this September

🧺 Gippsland markets provide a great opportunity to support local businesses and community endeavours while often paying less for produce and products than what you would normally pay in a supermarket.

📧 Send us an email at [email protected] if we’ve missed any and we’ll make sure to add it to our list.

Check out the list here.

LOOKING NATIONALLY 👀

How does a property developer go broke during a housing crisis?

My colleague Archie Milligan from the National Account looked into the recent collapse of the developer Bathla Group, which fell into voluntary administration while owing an estimated $3.4 billion.

Take a look at Archie’s video on the topic below.

☎️ Call out. I’m looking to write a story on Gippsland’s vegetable bowl. If you’re a vegetable farmer in Gippsland I’d love to hear from you and chat about the industry. Feel free to email me at [email protected].

Thanks for reading.

Cheers,
Jacob & the Gippsland Monitor team

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