Does Thorpdale Bakery have the best shepherd's pie in Gippsland?
Plus a September event guide, koala habitat corridor and Victoria's plan to prevent blackouts.
Jacob Wallace
August 29, 2025
⏱️ Your weekly Gippsland news in under 6 minutes.
👋 Hey Gippslanders, it’s Jacob here.
🍾 Welcome to the 145 new email subscribers who signed up to our newsletter in the last week, and welcome back to the 8,718 of you who had already subscribed over the past seven months.
🔍 In today’s newsletter we’re talking about a decision by a local council to put aside land for Strzelecki koala habitat, the Victorian government’s 15-year transmission plan to prevent blackouts and I’ve compiled a list of the biggest events in Gippsland this September from comedians and cabaret to bike races and ballet.
🥧 Driving around Gippsland filming stories and chatting to locals, I’ve also been hunting for the best bakery pie. This week I visited Thorpdale Bakery and tried one of their shepherd’s pies. I’ve got to say it’s one of the best I’ve had so far. If you have a suggestion for the best pie in Gippsland then send us an email at [email protected] and maybe I’ll try it out.
🎤 I spoke to Climate Change Senior Fellow at the Grattan Institute, Tony Wood, about Victoria’s recent 15-year transmission plan. The report outlines the need to shift to new energy generation as Victoria’s coal-fired power stations age and become less reliable. In Australia coal-fired power stations have an average lifespan of 29 years, and the youngest in Victoria is now 34 years old.
⚡️ Wood told me this unreliability “increases the chances of having some sort of prolonged outage. We know if one of the large coal-fired power stations was offline today, the risks of under supply of electricity and blackouts would start to increase”.
The 15-year strategic plan outlines the state’s six Renewable Energy Zones (REZ), Gippsland’s offshore wind area and transmission line projects required to achieve 65 percent clean energy generation by 2030 and 95 percent by 2035.
If we don’t do this, we won't address climate change and the cost of building new coal-fired power stations would probably cost just as much, if not more than renewables anyway.
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🚀 Alright, let’s jump into the Monitor’s latest stories, informative interviews and fun videos!
👂 HEARD THIS WEEK ✍️
There are two distinct koala populations in Victoria, and one of these - the Strzelecki koalas of South Gippsland - is facing significant threats such as habitat loss and fragmentation.
The population of Strzelecki koalas might be as low as 1,500.
When Latrobe City Council put the sale of a cleared industrial lot on Mountain Glen Drive in Moe out for community consultation in 2024, it received 51 submissions.
Councillor Adele Pugsley said many of these submissions expressed concern about the habitat of this rare species of koala.
Coal-fired power stations in Australia have an average lifespan of 29 years, the youngest in Victoria is now 34-years-old - as these power plants have aged and become less reliable the need to supply power from other locations and sources is already here.
On August 17 state government body VicGrid released its 2025 Victorian Transmission Plan (VTP) - a 15-year strategic plan outlining the state’s Renewable Energy Zones (REZ) and transmission line projects required to achieve 65 percent clean energy generation by 2030 and 95 percent by 2035.
The VicGrid report sets out six onshore REZs and the Gippsland offshore wind zone. These projects will expand renewable power generation and infrastructure across the state.
Climate Change and Energy Senior Fellow at the Grattan Institute, Tony Wood told the Gippsland Monitor: “If we don’t do this, we won't address climate change and the cost of building new coal-fired power stations would probably cost just as much, if not more than renewables anyway.”
🕺 Beauty and the Beast by Victorian State Ballet
The Victorian State Ballet is coming to Wonthaggi with its rendition of the classic Beauty and the Beast.
Where: The Union Theatre, 96 Graham Street, Wonthaggi.
When: Saturday September 6.
🐠 Tidal Seafood Festival
Celebrate all things seafood on Phillip Island, with Gippsland restaurants and businesses providing a mix of locally caught seafood dishes and entertainment.
Where: Marine Parade, San Remo.
When: September 19-21.
🌙 Nomads of the Sky
A caravan camping experience in remote Noorinbee bushland. The weekend will feature stargazing, wildlife spotting, night walks, campfires, a three-course spit roast dinner and wild venison tasting.
Where: 600 Monaro Highway, Noorinbee.
When: September 20-21.
🎥 WATCH: Thorpdale Bakery pie review 🥧
In my travels around the region I’ve been hunting for the best bakery pie in Gippsland. Here’s my review of Thorpdale Bakery’s shepherd’s pie.
Thanks for catching up with us this week at the Monitor. I hope you enjoyed this issue of our newsletter, and we’ll be back next week with more fun yarns, pie reviews, informative stories and news that matters to you, so stay tuned.
If you’d like to let us know about a local issue you think is underreported, send an email to [email protected] and who knows, it might end up in this newsletter.
Thanks for reading and I hope you have a fantastic weekend.
Cheers,
Jacob and the Gippsland Monitor team
P.S. here’s a little something extra for you.
In my last newsletter I asked: Did you - or will you - take advantage of the federal government's home battery subsidy? The results are in, 36.4 percent of you responded yes and 63.6 percent responded no.
What's the best pie? |
