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.
​
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.

​​
Doug Smith, Acting Publicity Officer

Jamie Beaton, a Volunteer with the Benalla CFA for over 30 years, was the guest speaker at the September Meet and Mingle.

Jamie was a great speaker and really involved the audience with his presentation. He brought a table full of brochures, fire blankets, sticks to test fire alarms, a stick vacuum cleaner and a pot which ignited when he pressed a button.

Jamie’s basic message was that fire spreads fast. After a fire ignites the smoke detector should be making a noise in 30 secs, poisonous smoke will be given off at 60 secs after ignition and within 3 minutes the fire will have reached greater than 800 degrees Celsius. He emphasised that smoke detectors saved lives, and that every home should have at least two smoke detectors which should be checked by pressing the button on them every month. Australian fire services recommended that smoke alarms be installed in all living areas, hallways and bedrooms. 

Jamie's message was that it is important to have a home fire escape plan in the evert of an emergency, and that escaping through a window is definitely preferable to trying to escape through a fire. In this modern era many fires start in the bedroom with phones and tablets being charged near the bed overnight. These appliances should only be charged when sitting on a firm surface such as a benchtop.

Lithium-ion batteries are here to stay and are in many appliances such as phones, vacuum cleaners and mobility scooters. Jamie said that it was worthwhile having a smoke detector in the garage where the vacuum cleaner or the mobility scooter may be regularly charged. It was also important to turn off these appliances when they are fully charged, and not leave them attached to the power supply as they may overheat and ignite.  It is also important not to overload electrical outlets with more than one device per outlet.

Thank you, Jamie for a very engaging talk. Your message gave us some homework to do when we got home.

Kay Blore from WasteWise Benalla will speak on 'Recycling'at the October Meet and Mingle on Wednesday 16th October at 10am in Room 1 of the Benalla Seniors Community Centre. All welcome.

Margaret Jenkins  367 words

Senior Constable Marty Nicholls from the Benalla Police was the guest speaker at the August Meet and Mingle held on Wednesday 21 August. Marty brought with him some slides on the development of the new Police complex in Martin Street Benalla. Everyone was quite amazed at the size of the building being constructed.
 
Marty was happy to answer questions throughout his presentation. He told members of U3A about the new pods or cells that were going to hold people in custody, and how they were constructed of concrete and craned into the building site. He also told them about the secure passage that is running from these holding cells to the back of the Court, so that the transfer of people in custody is secure. There are also areas in the new complex where vehicles that need to be examined can be towed to and stored, which will negate the need to pay storage for these vehicles elsewhere.
 
The current police station is not heritage listed, and will be demolished when the 80 current Police stationed at Benalla move into the new complex. The site where the current police station is will then be used for carparking for police and visitors.
 
There were a lot of questions regarding policing matters from the members present. Marty indicated that people were entitled to use appropriate force when protecting family, but could not use excessive force to protect property.
 
Thank you, Marty for a great presentation which everyone enjoyed.
 
Jamie Beaton from the CFA will be the guest speaker at the September Meet and Mingle which will be held on Wednesday 18 September at 10am in Room 1. His topic is Fire Safety in the Home. All welcome.
 
Margaret Jenkins 

At the July Meet and Mingle we had Jason Watts, Team Leader of Carer Support Services at Family Care, Gateway Health, talk to us about Looking after Carers.

Jason showed us a very interesting Power Point presentation which firstly showed the regions which Family Care is divided into in Victoria. The area centred at Shepparton which Jason is part of has 12 people employed in supporting Family Care.

Carer Gateway is an Australian government program providing free, practical services and support for carers throughout Australia. Services include tailored support packages to help you in your caring role, access to planned and emergency respite, counselling in person or over the phone and coaching in person or self-guided online.

Carer Gateway also can provide connection with other carers through on-line or in-person support groups and online skill courses as well as practical information and resources. Carer Gateway can be accessed on 1800 422 737 Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm or online at https://www.carergateway.gov.au.

Comments I received afterwards included people saying they wished these services had been available when they were looking after a family member a few years ago. It was interesting that we had new members in the audience who were U3A members but came specifically because of the topic, showing that there was a need for this type of information.  For those who missed the presentation a link to Jason’s power point is provided here:

​Our guest speaker for August Meet and Mingle which will be held on Wednesday 21 August at 10am in Room 1 of the Benalla Seniors and Community Centre will be Senior Constable Marty Nicholls from Benalla Police. Senior Constable Nicholls will give us an overview of the new Police station which is being built in Martin Street Benalla and will also tell us about the latest scams which the Benalla Police have come across. All welcome. 

Margaret Jenkins


Download PDF of presentation by Jason Watts, Team Leader, Carer Support Sevices, Carer Gateway, at U3A Benalla, Wednesday 17th July, 2024

Tom Crocker, a long time Violet Town district resident and currently with wife Elly living in central Benalla, spoke to us about sheep and their place in the world. Tom grew up with sheep on a family farm near Violet Town where he lived and worked until 1988.

But when a job was advertised to set up and run a wool museum in Geelong, to mark 200 years of white settlement, Tom applied despite, as he said, being largely unqualified.

He accepted the job offer and with a team proceeded to convert the old Dennys Lascelles wool store and sales facility into a museum and then run it. There were all sorts of logistical difficulties and it wasn't until the last week of 1988 that Queen Elizabeth II opened the National Wool Museum.

But it was and is a big success and Tom and Elly remained in Geelong for 14 years.

Tom also spoke about the wool industry in general and in particular how quite small Spanish Merinos have been bred into large and efficient wool producers in Australia since the early nineteenth century.

​David Palmer

​​Terry Reedy from Gateway Health will be the Guest Speaker at the July Meet and Mingle which will be held on Wednesday 17th July at 10am in Room 1. Terry will speak about Carers and will also bring a colleague from Gateway Health to answer questions about care co-ordination. All welcome.
​

Margaret Jenkins

​At the May Meet and Mingle we had a very interesting talk by Kathryn McQualter, a Dietitian formerly of Benalla Health and who is now with Gateway Health.

Kathryn involved the audience as she spoke about Nutrition and the Climate. She told the group that as we age, we need to consume more protein and calcium and also have more Vitamin D.  The protein sources could be lean meat, chicken, fish, eggs or nuts. However, she also spoke about obtaining protein from legumes such as red lentils, chick peas and kidney beans which could be added to stir fries, casseroles and also soups.

The sources of dairy included milk, yoghurt and cheese. There was a question about the value of calcium derived from almond milk, and Kathryn suggested buying the brand that has added calcium in their product.

The audience really got involved with their questions which included whether drinks with non-sugar sweeteners should be consumed on a regular basis. Kathryn preferred a low consumption of sugar-based drinks, or water as a healthy alternative

Kathryn provided us with a copy of her presentation (above) and a survey for the Goulburn Valley Food System Strategy. The questions included "What are the biggest barriers to consuming healthy food, what would you like to see in action locally and do you have any other ideas or feedback looking at the food system in general within your community?"

Thank you to all the members of the audience who came and told me afterwards that they had really got a lot of benefit from Kathryn’s talk. Thank you also to Pat Gardiner for providing some delicious jelly slice for morning tea.

The guest speaker at Meet and Mingle on 19th June at 10am in Room 1 at the Benalla Seniors and Community Centre will be Tom Crocker who will talk on the Wool Industry. All welcome. 


Margaret Jenkins

Kathryn Mcqualter has made the slide show for her Meet and Mingle presentation in May available, with the reminder that "Of course all information is general If anyone is needing to touch base with a Dietitian for individual advice.  Dieticians can be contacted through -

• GP
• Dietitians at Benalla Health – low cost
• Gateway Health Dietitians- offer home visits and 1:1 interventions. Can access via My Aged Care (phone call to 1800 200 422)"  

David Palmer

We are having Kathryn McQualter, a Dietitian from Benalla Health and Gateway Health , to speak on Healthy Eating and the influence of Climate Change on Eating Habits at the next Meet and Mingle which will be held on Wednesday15th May 2024 at 10am in Room 1. All welcome.

Margaret Jenkins

​U3A member (Chess, Cards 500, ’As Time Goes By’) Lou Sigmund spoke about chooks as guest speaker at the AGM on March 20. Dressed appropriately, in a yellow coverall chook suit, he spoke knowledgeably of many years he and his wife bred and showed chooks.

​Lou said Australians eat about 32 million eggs a year with increasing numbers being produced under free range conditions. The reason the latter are more expensive, is because they are exposed to local and alien wild birds, which often carry fatal infectious diseases.

Although Lou had owned a chook which lived to nine years, five years was more usual, with intensively housed caged chooks, genetically designed to lay an egg every 25 hours, or 320 eggs a year.

At February's Meet and Mingle, U3A member Barry O'Connor, presented a comprehensive exposure of online scams and how unprepared we are to combat them.

For example, Barry said a recent survey of internet users, had shown that only 35 per cent had installed proper security software.

He urged anyone shopping online, to only make payments using PayPal, because of its inbuilt securities. So if a site did not have PayPal available it was a warning sign not to use it.

At the same time, link PayPal to a separate bank account, containing relatively minimal funds and daily withdrawal limits. As well check statements regularly.

Also, remove or falsify identifiable images, birthdate and other personal details on any social media platform, because they can be the basis of creating false documents or securing loans in your name.

Barry noted the importance of having a stash of cash on hand to cover at least three week's basic living needs. This is necessary because accounts and/or credit/debit cards will be frozen for maybe weeks if your bank detects illegal activity.

He said that despite assurances from providers, there is no totally safe internet or mobile device. “As well, artificial intelligence will take scamming to a whole new level”.

Our Annual General Meeting will be held at Meet and Mingle on Wednesday 20 March 2024 at 10am in the Auditorium of the Benalla Seniors and Community Centre, Fawckner Drive, Benalla. Guest Speaker will be Lou Sigmund who will talk about Chooks. Lou is an entertaining speaker who has previously spoken at Meet and Mingle about Inventions: Successes and Failures. All welcome.
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​David Palmer