BURNING OURSELVES

When the Avenue of Honour was refurbished in Linton it was disappointing in the least that the names of those honoured by each of the trees had been removed some time ago and put into storage. They were never to be seen again but are still on the wanted list of Great War artefacts.


This puts into context the need for Local Historical Societies. Maybe you are not interested right at this time but it is fascinating what these places have stored away especially in facts about local history and many families genealogical information.

The contents of the various storerooms and display areas have either been found in-situ or have been donated. As well as being repositories for a wealth of history, much of it in little tit-bits and snippets, volunteers toil to gradually piece it all together. The Societies also preserve the bricks and mortar of our past and the objects housed within them at some time over the last couple of centuries.

Linton’s Society Offices are housed in what used to be Nelson Brothers Funeral Parlour reconstructed in 1986, and are officially a 'Place of Temporary Deposit' for the Victorian Government.

Next door is the Linton Free Library. Originally built as a Mechanics Institute in 1874. Described as architecturally significant as one of the most humble examples of a Mechanics Institute and Free Library it's interior is remarkably intact with the original furnishings. Its collection of books, photographs and memorabilia is very rare and probably the best surviving of a small library in Victoria.

The moral of this story is that instead of the traditional 44 Gallon Drum in the backyard for burning all the deceased relatives seemingly unloved belongings – which sadly seems to be the state of play at the moment – any items which might be of interest to someone including photographs of people and places, old books (especially if they came from the Linton Library – there will be no overdue charge on their return) personal keepsakes such as medals, trophies and awards to individuals or groups should not be destroyed but sent on to your nearest relevant Historical Society. You would be astonished to realise how valuable old records can be.

If you're not lucky enough to be a Lintonian or a Happy Vallium then seek out your nearest historical society before everything goes up in flames.

SHIRE HAS NO SAFE PLACE?

The news last month that Golden Plains Shire has no ‘SAFE PLACE” is an admission that our Bushfire Preparedness is again falling short of the desirable. However, our legislators do face the unenviable task of choosing where that Safe Place should be. Does each town get one, or are they shared and what is a safe place anyway?


They describe these locations as a Neighbourhood Safe Place or Places of Last Resort. If you do go to a safe place and the fire comes and burns your feet can you sue Council for compensation?

Maybe we are legislating ourselves into a dangerous position. Whatever we do the Ambulance Chasers (read Compensation Lawyers) will find some way of getting their hands on taxpayers money via the injured party and the cost of the conflagration soars well past what would be reasonable at the worst of times. Maybe we could astonish you with the fact that each and every one of us is responsible for our own safety and suggest that Safe Places might just be a waste of time and money.

If we read the literature, and there is enough of that around for Pyromaniacs to party, keep our own property as Fire Safe as practical and keep our ears open for the warnings then we should all have our own Safe Place to go.

Outside the CFA building or close to it would, I expect, be considered a Safe Place but one has to keep out of their way so that that can operate effectively. Maybe inside the Pub might be an even safer place. It would certainly solve the problem of food and drink in a time of crisis, and being a brick building would not be an attractive target for flying embers.

What has happened to personal responsibility in our community? Have we devolved our lives to the point where we let somebody else take the responsibility for our actions? Maybe this is why lawyers are the ones who make the laws, enact the laws and prosecute the laws and generally to their own financial advantage.

On another note concerning the new fire warnings. Why do they have to become more complicated. One can just imagine the public servant in charge of the design of the new system working out how to make things more complicated rather than simplifying it for the ordinary public. There could be more steps than the 39 in John Buchan’s book and just as exhausting understanding them all. I expect soon to see the new signs go from Extreme, to Catastrophic to Astonishing.