There was music, singing and beautiful displays of patchwork and art at the annual U3A Benalla concert held at the Benalla Seniors and Community Centre on 19th November 2025.
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The morning commenced with the Recorder Group of 7 led by Janet Douglas playing a medley of tunes, some from times of old going back 100 years.

The audience, numbering over 40, were then presented with the colorfully clad shirts of the 15 Ukulele Group players (Ukes), led by Heather Wallace. Not only were the tunes catchy, those Ukulele players sang along to each one. The playing of Yellow Submarine also saw the audience engage in that famous Beatle’s song.

Not to be outdone, the Singing for Fun Group numbering 20, enthralled those present with renditions of familiar and popular songs of past. Each of the three segments conducted by Carmyl Winkler, Ross Bootes and Kieran Smith hyped up those present with energy, patriotism and nostalgia. This was clearly evident when the song “We Are Australian” was sung by all in the room, with great gusto.

Quietly in the background was the Patchwork and Craft Group displaying their carefully crafted “labors of love”, beautiful patchwork quilts.

The Taste of Art group displayed a variety of their creative work including some excellent landscape paintings.

One of our members, Rae Jeffers showed outstanding talent, performing in the Recording, Singing for Fun and Ukes groups.

​President Margaret Jenkins congratulated and thanked the presenting groups and their members for showcasing their talents and promoting the image of U3A Benalla. 
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Doug Smith
Publicity Officer

Our guest speaker for October was Samuel Thorpe from Latrobe Community Health Services (LCHS) who are a not-for-profit health service provider, offering 100 plus services, with 1700 staff operating across 70 locations in Victoria including Benalla.

Samuel spoke about the services provided by LCHS which included personal care, nursing, household tasks, in home respite, transport and light gardening, and the changes to government funding that will apply from 1st November 2025.

People over 65 wishing to access Aged Care Services must first register with My Aged Care which is the gateway to Government funded services.

The process that follows is an assessment for suitability to receive funding through the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) or a Home Care Package (HCP).

Samuel pointed out that the Home Support program is funded by Government but the funds are allocated to the Health Service Provider whereas the Home Care Packages funds are allocated to the client. It was noted that there can be considerable wait times once assessments are completed, for a care package to be allocated.

Of interest was the Home Care Packages levels which will change from four exiting levels to seven levels.

Samuel showed two tables which summarize the key Government funding changes from 1st November 2025.

Table 1 shows the new out of pocket expense for those receiving home care services.

Doug Smith
​Publicity Officer

At October’s Meet and Mingle on Wednesday 15th October we are having a presentation by Samuel Thorpe from Latrobe Community Health Service on the new Aged Care Act which is coming into law on 1st November 2025. This talk is a follow on from “Staying at Home for Longer” which was presented in 2024 by the same organisation.

We are opening this session up to the Benalla community as it is a topic which our age group needs to know about and understand. So please bring your friends along, even though they may not be U3A members. We have arranged for this meeting to be held in the Auditorium so that we can accommodate everyone.

Margaret Jenkins ​

The guest speakers for September Meet and Mingle on September 17 were Katie Holmes and Nicole McFarlane who gave a presentation on the recently formed Benalla Homeless Response Group (BHRG).

The initial need for the group arose from people on social media asking why there was no group in Benalla, like the Wangaratta Night Shelter, supporting homeless people. Katie defined homelessness as a person having no stable accommodation.

Katie and her then small group of supporters started to examine the spectrum of homelessness in Benalla and reached out to the community to brainstorm how this may be addressed.

This resulted in the establishment of the Benalla Homeless Response Group Incorporated (BHRG Inc.) with Katie elected as President.

Initially the BHRG supported existing volunteer groups by distributing care pack essentials to first responders in the community such as Police who were dealing with homeless people.

What followed was a collective community effort from Benalla Churches, Benalla Council, service clubs like Lions and Rotary and the business community to provide a Welcome Kitchen.  BHRG established this beneath the Benalla Library where hot meals and friendship have been provided on a weekly basis over the last 12 months.

Since June 2025, a night shelter program has been established by BHRG and run over the winter months at three Benalla Churches where participants are offered kindness, and a safe protective environment in which to sleep.

Katie said the night shelter project provides hope, integrates people back into the community and has involved 48 volunteer shifts with 42 volunteers supporting the night shelters over 6 nights a week.

The feed back from the volunteers Katie said, has been one of experiencing “the power of compassion”.

Nicole spoke of her role as Food Coordinator (aka The Cooking Queen) and the huge logistically effort to provide meals to the weekly Welcome Kitchen and the winter Night Shelter that ran over 6 days each week.
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Nicole stated over 100 meals were prepared in one month. In addition, she said people were not only able to enjoy fresh cooked meals but also take away essential food items donated by business and the community from the BHRG relief table. She said a sense of belonging developed from those accessing the meals and her role gave her a great sense of satisfaction fulfilling an important community need. 

Doug Smith
​Publicity Officer

Our guest speaker for August was Michael Ferguson from Ambulance Victoria (Benalla Unit), pictured here with Meet and Mingle convenor, Margaret Jenkins.

Michael, or Mick, spoke about emergency resuscitation, and how to respond if a person collapses.

Passionate about making the process simple, Mick encouraged people to have confidence in an emergency, as applying CPR quickly is critical to saving the person’s life.

Mick used a mannequin to demonstrate CPR and invited the audience to practice the rhythm of compressions by singing the song “Happy Birthday to You”.   He corrected the misunderstanding that CPR is not to restart the heart but to keep blood circulating to the brain (perfusing the brain) and other vital organs.

Mick also spoke about and demonstrated how to operate an AED (Automatic External Defibrillator).

There is an AED located in the front entrance alcove (outside the main kitchen) of the Benalla Seniors and Community Building and others at the Benalla Library and Bendigo Bank shopfront. He mentioned if the AED when stored, is making a sound or has a light flashing it needs to be serviced.

​Mick demonstrated how easy it is to use the AED as it talks to the user through all the steps. Also, Mick noted it was important to do CPR until an AED or Paramedics arrived. The window for survival of a patient that has had a heart attack is ten minutes, so acting quickly was critical to survival.

He mentioned that if someone collapses and appears unconscious lay them on their back on a hard surface and start CPR immediately. If they regain consciousness, they will let you know quickly as CPR compressions on a person’s chest will be painful.

Mick’s take home message was any CPR is better than none.

Next month’s Meet and Mingle guest speaker will be Nicole McFarlane who will speak about Homelessness in Benalla. Kate Holmes will also assist with the presentation. 


​Doug Smith, Publicity Officer

President Margaret Jenkins gave the meeting an update on recent activities at U3A Benalla. This included:-

• Benalla Council has allocated $10,000 in its 2025/2026 budget to develop a Master Plan and investigate how the BS&CC (Benalla Seniors and Community Centre) building might be extended.
• Margaret Jenkins and Doug Smith met with new Benalla Council CEO Peter Keane to put the case for more U3A meeting space at the BS&CC.
• Upcoming events include a BBQ and Ask a Question on Wednesday 22nd October at 12 noon at the BS&CC. This free event is being sponsored by the Good Things Foundation as part of Get Online Week.
• The guest speaker for August will be a Benalla Ambulance person speaking on the AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) located in BS&CC building.

Margaret then introduced guest speaker Sabine Smyth who spoke about the Benalla Migrant Camp and the personal efforts of her committee to document the history of the Camp including to retain several of the buildings on the site. ​

The key points of the presentation included:-

• A displayed array of photos showing the camp as a village within the town with its own shop, crèche, chapel, hospital and cinema and very interestingly the people that made up the population.
• Documenting the History of the Benalla Migrant Camp has been a 12 year passion of Sabine’s.
• The Australian Government developed the White Australia Policy that promoted assimilation and the use of labor resources for developing post war infrastructure like the Snowy mountains scheme.
• The Benalla Migrant Camp, established in 1949, was a holding camp following WW2, where migrants from the Baltic States often called “Bolts” were sent by the Australian Government (as displaced persons).
• On arrival in Australia the migrants were processed at the Bonegilla Camp in Wodonga and dispersed to holding centres.
• The Benalla Camp held over 500 men, women and children of various nationalities.  
• Benalla was chosen as it was able to supply manual work for the migrants in part through existing industries like Reynolds Chains and The Carpet Factory located in Samaria Road, where both men and women were employed.
• Migrants had to stay in the camp for a minimum of two years and pay rent to the Government during their stay.
• The “Benalla Experiment” as it was known allowed widows and mothers with children to work.
• Sabine launched a program in 2013 and formed a Committee to preserve the Camp history.
• Sabine was successful in 2015 to have Heritage Victoria list the site as of State Significance, a major milestone in preserving the site for historical purposes.
• A book titled “Benalla Migrant Camp A Difficult Heritage” was launched in 2015. Copies are located in the Benalla Library
• Hut 65 at the Camp is nearing restoration and will open soon to visitors showing a photographic display of the Camp history.

​Margaret thanked Sabine for her informative and passionate presentation and presented her with a U3A Benalla pen.


Doug Smith
​Publicity Officer

President Margaret Jenkins gave the meeting an update on recent activities at U3A Benalla. This included:-

• Disturbing news that three break-ins in the past two months had occurred at the Benalla Seniors and Community Centre. A number of items including computers have been stolen from the various offices within the building. Benalla Council, who own the building, are investigating urgent security upgrades.
• Council has allocated $7,000 in their 25/26 budget to advance a Masterplan for extensions to the Seniors Citizens and Community Centre.
• Council has allocated a $500 grant for additional shelving in the U3A office.
• Ruth Jelliff was thanked for offering to assist Heather Wallace with the preparation of the U3A newsletter
• President Margaret and Doug Smith are meeting in late June with the Council CEO to discuss improved accommodation options at the Seniors and Community Centre.

Meet and Mingle guest speaker for our June meeting was Eric Nash, Director of the Benalla Art Gallery.

Eric gave a very comprehensive and passionate presentation that can best be summed up as follows:-

• His mantra was to make the Gallery as open and assessable as possible.
• He spoke of the 4 pillars of the Gallery: Exhibition, Collection, Education and Engagement (with the Arts)
• The Gallery which is now 50 years old and is undergoing a significant upgrade.
• The upgrade will include a new 100 seat café/restaurant, improved climate control and additional exhibition and storage space.
• Tenders will be awarded shortly with works likely to commence in September 2025
• A Benalla Art Gallery Foundation has been established to guide future development of the Gallery.
• President Margaret thanked Eric and presented him with a U3A Benalla pen.

The guest speaker at our next meeting on 18th July will be Sabine Smyth speaking on the history of the Benalla Migrant Camp.


Doug Smith
Publicity Officer

At the May Meet and Mingle we welcomed John Weinert from Road Safe North East as our guest speaker. John, who lives in Yarrawonga, spoke to us on Car Safety and Older Drivers.

There were a number of small but important points that he told us about. These included the fact that leaving your parking lights on while driving was the simplest but safest thing you can do to increase your visibility to other drivers.  John suggested choosing a white or yellow car so that you are more visible and also to choose the biggest car that you are comfortable with, as this will protect you in case of an accident.

On defensive driving John mentioned that the safest way to do a right-hand turn was at traffic lights. He also mentioned planning your trip for perhaps the middle of the day when there is less traffic. John mentioned that some older drivers feel uncomfortable driving after dark, and if this was the case to avoid driving then. He also suggested that some drivers feel better just driving around Benalla when they are getting older as they know the roads and feel more in control.

John said it was important to notify Vic Roads about certain chronic illnesses so that Vic Roads could put a sticker on the back of your licence, and this would then satisfy Insurance requirements. Finally, John suggested handing in your licence when deterioration of eyesight or illness made driving difficult for the Individual.

The Guest Speaker at the June Meet and Mingle on Wednesday 18th June at 10am in Room 1 will be Eric Nash, Director of the Benalla Art Gallery. Eric will speak on the renovations which are commencing at the Benalla Art Gallery in the near future. All Welcome.

Margaret Jenkins 

Our Meet and Mingle gathering on 16 April had a particularly special war time theme in the lead up to Anzac Day on 25th April and the celebration of the 80th anniversary of World War 2.

President Margaret Jenkins gave an update on recent activity at U3A. This included: -

• A presentation by Margaret to Benalla Councillors at their meeting on 2nd April to seek funding for an extension to the Benalla Seniors and Community Centre building which is owned by Council. The presentation highlighted the growing needs of U3A and the lack of meeting space.
• Mayor Bernie Hearn along with Councillors King and Blore visited the U3A Patchwork and Craft group on 3rd April and also took the opportunity to view the cramped meeting Room 1, the layout of the present building and how it might be extended.
• 2025 Benalla U3A membership has reached a record high of 449 members, exceeding the 2024 figure of 420.

Margaret then handed the meeting to ‘As Time Goes By’ convenor Bev Lee who introduced our five guest speakers, all U3A Benalla members.

Bev explained that, amongst the many interesting memoirs written by her members over the years, she’d noticed several stories including memories of World War 2 as seen through the eyes of a child.  Readings were then presented by:
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Max Tilbury:  “They Could Have Been Anzacs” and “The Treasures of Dad’s Kit Bags”
Bev Morton: “Childhood Memories Melbourne - Early 1940’s”
Margaret Nelson: “I Grew Up in the War Years”
Carmyl Winkler: “Sandy Beach Tasmania 1945”
Ray O’Shannessy: “1945 My Gap Year”

These stories were very emotional and insightful and gave a window into the past and what many of us can relate to as we grew up with wartime parents.

Marking 80 years since the end of World War II and in proximity to Anzac Day, April’s Meet and Mingle session, ‘1945’, will feature stories by past and present ‘As Time Goes By’ class members who were at school during the war years.   

Bev Morton, Carmyl Winkler, Margaret Nelson, Max Tilbury and Ray O’Shannessy will share delightful stories of lives growing up during the war years, including memories of celebrations at the end of the war.   

It would be wonderful if other members also at school during the war years could come along to contribute to the discussion after the presentations.   

Wednesday 16th April at 10am in Room 1 of the Benalla Seniors Community Centre.  All welcome.

Margaret Jenkins 

Our March 2025 Meet and Mingle held in the Seniors Community Centre Auditorium was attended by 36 people.

President Margaret Jenkins welcomed everybody and advised that the Annual General Meeting of U3A Benalla would be held and conducted by Anne Phillips Secretary of Benalla Senior Citizens.

Margaret presented her President’s report for year ending December 2024 and outlined the significant events of the year ending 31st December 2024.

U3A Benalla in 2024 adopted Model Rules of Incorporation after previously working under its own Constitution and also achieved the status of a Registered Charity. A lot of administrative work was required to achieve these important outcomes.

Margaret thanked retiring Executive members Dorothy Weber, Geraldine McCorkell, David Palmer and Julie McNeil for their many years of dedication and service to U3A Benalla.

Looking forward, Margaret reported that 2025 enrolments had exceed the record 2024 figure and now stood at 432. Eight new courses have been introduced in 2025 representing a total of 50 courses on offer.

Accommodation was becoming very tight at the Seniors building with waiting lists required, and that representations were being made to Benalla Council (the owner of the building) to seek, with the support of the Seniors, funding for a building extension.

Margaret welcomed Anne Phillips to conduct the AGM who declared all positions vacant. Following consideration of nominations received the following people were elected.

• President: Margaret Jenkins
• Vice President: Ann Nelson
• Secretary: Nicole McFarlane
• Treasurer: Gwen Mildren
• Newsletter: Heather Wallace
• Publicity: Doug Smith
• Membership:  Len Jeffers
• General Committee:  Malcolm Sanders, Helen Jeffers, John Barry, Neville Gibb, Corrie Wilcox.

Margaret then presented Life Membership awards to Len Jeffers and Geraldine McCorkell and congratulated them on outstanding commitment and dedicated work for the benefit of the U3A Benalla community.

Margaret then introduced our guest speaker Bill Sykes, an avid traveller, who spoke on his visit to northern India in 2024 with a group of Benalla Rotarians.

Doug Smith

At our first Meet and Mingle for 2025, President Margaret Jenkins presented an update on U3A activities including enrolments for 2025. The latest figures have reached 400 and are very likely to surpass the 2024 record of 420. This included 66 people registering for the first time. However, accommodation is very tight at the Benalla Seniors Community Centre. Investigations are underway to see if this can be improved.

Margaret said our membership is growing steadily, particularly with the offer this year of nine new courses including American History, Car Torque, Colour Mixing and Watercolour Techniques - Botanical, Come and Learn Croquet, Exploring Writing Children's Books, French at the Table, Mahjong and Train.

The Inland Rail Project will be visiting U3A on Tuesday 4th March at 10.00am to update members on the progress of the Project.

Margaret introduced Benalla Council visitors to the meeting who spoke about the upcoming 2026/2029 Strategic Council Plan and the L to P program.

Jane Archbold from Council and Ford Davis of 90 Mile Consulting spoke about encouraging input from the community on what they would like to include in the Council Plan. Jane said The Council Plan is the foundation for everything we do. It is our four-year roadmap for shaping the future of Benalla Rural City. This plan identifies key priorities across areas like community wellbeing, livability, economic growth, environmental sustainability, and strong leadership.

There was also much discussion on what had been achieved in the four-year life of the current plan. The session was very engaging with much audience input. Jane left a number of pamphlets and encouraged members to fill out a questionnaire either online or in hard copy.

​The next Meet and Mingle is on Wednesday 19th March and will include our AGM and guest speaker Bill Sykes who will talk on farming in Northern India.
 
Doug Smith
Acting Publicity Officer

Natalie Phillips from Benalla Rural City Council will be the guest speaker at Meet and Mingle on Wednesday 19th February 2025 at 10am in Room 1 of the Benalla Seniors Community Centre.  Natalie will speak about the L2P program which has been successfully running for a number of years, and which has undergone expansion in the past twelve months. All welcome.

Margaret Jenkins

​It was a real entertainment “smorgasbord” at the monthly U3A Benalla Meet and Mingle held on 20 November. There was something for everyone to nourish and enjoy with an audience of over 50 people soaking up the atmosphere enjoying the music, singing, handicraft display and a special short film.

​ “It was an uplifting experience to be in the room and experience firsthand the diverse talents on display of our U3A member groups”, President Margaret Jenkins said.

Dorothy Webber and her group proudly presented a colourful display of beautifully crafted and detailed patchwork quilts and other crafts. “The Patchwork group had generously donated 15 quilts to local charities and were in the process of making more to help the Benalla Community” Dorothy said.

The Recorder Group of 8 members led by Janet Douglas commenced the morning entertainment program with a number of songs suitably matched to the recorders’ unique style.

The audience was next treated to the Ukulele group of 17 players led by Heather Wallace to a foot tapping melody of “sing along songs” that were popular with the audience.

What followed next was the U3A Singing for Fun group made up of 22 members. They were led by three separate conductors through song books of very “well known” tunes from the past decades of the 1940’s to the !970’s.The three conductors  Kieran Smith, Brian Greed and Margaret Merriman individually took turns to rouse the willing voices of the assembled singers to bring a real energy and in many cases nostalgic and emotional feelings to the room, as many in the audience reflected on the emotions this music had provoked in times past. 

As a finale the audience was treated to a short film based around a new U3A course introduced in 2024 called Cooking Solo. The segment featured the mainly male participants being taught techniques of home cooking for one person. The film finished with the participants consuming the meals they prepared.

Morning tea concluded the presentations, with much chatter around the audiences’ positive experiences.

Margaret Jenkins thanked the U3 participants for their enthusiasm and entertaining presentations, with the audience feedback much appreciated.

Margaret said, “The showcasing of the talent within the Benalla U3A community was truly inspiring, of a high entertainment value and worthy of more public exposure”.


​Doug Smith, Acting Publicity Officer  

Our Meet and Mingle session on 16th October was well attended, with our guest speaker Kay Blore speaking on her role and knowledge as a member of Benalla Sustainable Future Group’s WasteWise Benalla action group.
 
Kay covered a range of common household items where their disposal and packaging can be effectively recycled.

“Most people are aware of what plastic bottles go in the yellow bin, however, do look for the recycle symbol. With plastic milk and water bottles – place bottles tops in bottles – squeeze the old plastics lids, put them in the bottle but do not put a lid on the bottle as when squashed during processing, contents are ejected and lost”, Kay said.
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At our age many of us are on medications that come in blister packs. The ones you can hold to the light and see through do not go into the yellow bin. Pack them up and drop them off at your local chemist, who will arrange for them to be recycled free of charge.

Kay passed around an attractive cereal bowl manufactured from recycled bread tags. The process of converting the tags to bowls (known as transmutation) results in a decorative bowl showing visible bread tags as a unique feature of the bowl.

Kay said “the aim of recycling is to reduce waste going to landfill. Think global and act local.”

Kay said “her group has had good results in encouraging local businesses to be drop off points for specified items.  These included local Op shops, Vinnies, Yooralla, and The Salvos for electrical items; Supermarkets for batteries; Chemists for see through blister packs, and The Post office for ink cartridges and mobile phones”. The complete list is on the BSFG website www.BSFG.org.au.

Kay mentioned the great take up of domestic solar with 32% of Benalla homes having installed roof top solar panels.

Kay left a several helpful publications on advice from BSFG on what and where to recycle
Benalla U3A President Margaret Jenkins thanked Kay for her informative presentation and her obvious commitment and enthusiasm towards recycling in Benalla.

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Doug Smith, Acting Publicity Officer