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

👋 Hello Gippslanders, it’s Jacob here.

📸 Before we dive into some news stories, I just want to share this incredible shot that our reader Felicity Shand took of the Kilcunda Wetlands. If you look closely you can see hundreds of black swans in the background.

If you have any pictures of Gippsland you’d like to share with us, feel free to email us at [email protected] and maybe you’re shot will end up in our newsletter.

Photograph by Felicity Shand.

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

  • 🏗️ The development of a family-owned South Gippsland port;

  • 🥘 Your favourite spot to eat in Traralgon;

  • 💰 Whether $500,000 in Bass Coast Shire funds is heading to Land Lang;

  • 🍻 The history of the Foster Exchange Hotel, and;

  • 🕵🏻‍♂️ A Russian spy who split Australia’s government.

🎊 WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK 🎟️

🧺 FARMERS MARKETS 🥧

⁉️ Here are the answers to the 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 QUESTIONS ❓

  1. What does the word “Bulga” mean in the name Tarra-Bulga?

    Bulga is a Gunai Kurnai word meaning mountain. Read more about it here.

  2. What was Walhalla originally known as before the settlement adopted its later name?

    Stringers Creek.

  3. Who was Tarra Valley named after?

    Charlie Tarra, an Aboriginal guide and bush tracker.

  4. Which Gippsland town is recognised as Victoria’s first established port?

    Port Albert.

  5. What was the traditional Gunai/Kurnai name for the Buchan Caves area?

    Buchan Munji.

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

🔍 HEARD THIS WEEK👂

🏗️ Family-owned South Gippsland port set to become permanent maintenance hub for wind industry

Ben Anthony and his family have seen the boom and bust cycle large commercial developments can have on Gippsland’s towns and communities, but he believes an emerging industry in the shire will see thousands of long-term jobs come back to the region.

Past, present, future: Speaking to the Monitor on the windy dock of Port Anthony, a family business he runs with his father, brother and son in Corner Inlet, Anthony described how there used to be over 400 full-time employees at the port when ExxonMobil used it to launch gas rigs into the Bass Strait from the 1960s to 2010s.

But over the decades, as gas drilling wound down in Gippsland due to a lack of supply, those permanent jobs faded away.

“Over a period of time it eroded the community,” Anthony said. “We see offshore wind as being an opportunity for the community to get back something that it once had.”

What happened: In August, a $4.7 million infrastructure plan funded by the Victorian and federal governments identified Port Anthony as a hub for the offshore wind industry - signalling it as a potential zone for development.

What they said: Anthony said the announcement hasn’t come as a surprise to him, after conversations with almost all of the offshore wind companies - some he began speaking to over 10 years ago.

“It's been a very long gestation period,” Anthony said.

With Gippsland’s first offshore wind auction started this week, he’s hopeful permanent jobs aren’t that far away.

Read the full story here.

🍱 Bao buns, beef pho or sizzling lamb: Where's your favourite place to eat in Traralgon?

🎤 The Monitor hit the streets of Traralgon to ask residents which restaurant is their number one spot for dinner. Take a look at what their choices were below.

LOOKING NATIONALLY 👀

Do you know about the Russian spy that split the Australian government?

In 1954, a Soviet spy based at the Russian embassy in Canberra defected.

He took the money and accepted asylum, but his wife was arrested by Soviet agents and bundled onto a plane back to Moscow.

My colleague Archie Milligan from the National Account made a short video on the Petrov Affair, which saw a Cold War spy drama play out on Australian soil.

Take a look at his video below.

🎥 Watch: Third-generation publicans keep 1907 hotel running as Foster's community hub

🎤 This week, the Monitor stopped into the Foster Exchange Hotel and had a chat with Mark Daldy, who owns and operates the pub with his wife Tracey. Daldy talked about the long history of the hotel, how he ended up in Foster and what’s next for the weatherboard venue.

Thanks for catching up with us this week at the Monitor. I hope you enjoyed this issue of our newsletter and we’d love to hear from you.

If you have any suggestions for local stories in your town, feel free to email us at [email protected].

I’ll be back next week with more yarns, fun videos and quiz questions, so stay tuned.

Cheers,
Jacob & the Gippsland Monitor team

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