​Car Torque is for people with an interest in cars.   Introduced for the first time in February 2025, it will be a broad forum and not over technical.  It will  not only be about cars.  It will be about all things associated with motoring, including but not limited to new road rules, road safety, car maintenance, trends in fuel types, car models and manufactures.

Members and guests will be invited to bring their unique or special car along to our U3A venue for bragging rights, to allow others to hear about their car's story and to soak up the visual enjoyment.

Maybe you would like to also share what's in your garage! 

Car Torque will aim to bring car buffs together to educate and indulge in all things cars and to share the interests, knowledge and enjoyment they have given to their owners.
 
​Convenor:  Doug Smith 0417 527 171; Thursdays 2 to 4 pm  Room 1

"If you can't draw it, you can't paint it", is a saying often heard with regard to painting flowers. So, we begin with drawing techniques and Watercolour colour mixing to grow the skills toward our future masterpieces. Composition and dimension will be discussed, demonstrated and practiced. Watercolour techniques will be developed and practiced as the course progresses. 

Materials are supplied at the beginning of this course, but there may be a need to purchase paper or other specific personal preferences later--you are welcome to bring along your own pencils, brushes etc.  A pot for water and a white china plate are the only materials needed to be supplied by the participants.

Convenor:  Margaret Zaal 0438 295 060   
2nd and 4th Wednesdays 10 am to 12 midday
Auditorium - tables near kitchen areas

​Golf croquet is a stellar choice for seniors. It's low impact so its easy on the joints, but still involves enough movement to keep you active. It allows for social interaction--playing in a group can help foster friendships and stave off loneliness.The strategic nature of the game keeps your brain sharp, honing focus and mental agility. Best of all, spending time outdoors boosts mood and general well-being. It's the perfect mix of exercise, mental stimulation, and social interaction.

Over four weeks participants will learn:

• The basic mallet skills of croqueting, positioning and hoop running.
• The outline of the croquet court and direction of play.
• Some basic rules of Golf Croquet.
• Tactics involved to select the most appropriate shot to hoop or stymie opponents.

Morning tea will be provided after each session. No cost involved.

​Convenor:  Judy Amery   0427 037 140; Commencing Tuesday 25 February for 4 weeks 9 to 11 am at the Benalla Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Ackerly Avenue.

The Collaborative Children's Book Group is a 10-session program designed to bring together novice authors and illustrators to create and develop children s books. Each session is 2 hours long, featuring a mix of activities, discussions  

​Do you feel confident to talk about your French experiences, share recipes, food and stories from France in French? The goal is to continue to develop competence speaking French whilst having fun. A basic understanding of French is required--it is not a beginners' course. Whether your experience comes from school, university and/or travel, you'll find a welcoming environment to enhance your conversation skills.

​Convenor - Carole Ruta 0418 223 464; 1st Saturday 2.30 to 4.30 pm   Room 1

​Have you ever wanted to learn Mahjong?  This is a guided course at your rate of learning. 

Convenor:  Kaye Blore 0433 209 396; Monday mornings 10 to 12, Room 2.

Train Buffs is a course for members who love trains, from engines to train travel over time.  

​It aims to provide the opportunity for like-minded people to reminisce about, follow up interests and develop further knowledge relating to trains and train travel over time.  . 
​ 
Monthly sessions will involve classroom-based sessions and excursions

Convenors/Time and Place:   
Athol Graham 0419 113 105 and Anne Nelson 0438 447 379.
3rd Friday from 2 to 4 pm; U3A Meeting Room 1.

In 2024 the U3A Benalla Committee almost completed a two-year process of reviewing the Policies of U3A Benalla, drawing upon Policy Guidelines developed by U3A Network Victoria and U3A Lakes Entrance: 

U3A Benalla Policies

• Anti-Discrimination ​
• Bullying ​
• Code of Conduct ​
• Conflict of Interest
• Grievance ​
• Health & Safety
• Privacy
• Risk Management​
• Sexual Harassment

These policies are available via the links above, on the Our U3A drop down menu of the website and in the ‘Policies’ Folder located in the U3A Office. 


​U3A Benalla Executive Committee

In mid-2014, members of the Computer Committee who worked on the first U3A Benalla website built and managed by Terry Dillon (thank you Terry) were concerned at the effort being required to get content (stories and photographs) for it. It was also proving quite complex to learn.

Offering to help out as a new member of the Computer Committee, I experimented with Word Press and Weebly and, deciding Weebly was easier to use and more suitable, produced a number of possible designs for the committee to consider. 

Difficulties getting content were resolved in a ‘light bulb’ moment. Why not draw upon the stories that were already submitted by convenors each month for our Newsletter, produced at the time by Judith Borthwick? 

Since then, the Newsletter Editor and Website Manager have worked ‘in sync’, with Newsletter content uploaded to the website towards the end of each month and the Newsletter also published on the website as a PDF.  With the number of groups having almost doubled in 10 years, the end of the month means lots of problem solving and editing with current Newsletter Editor Heather Wallace before the newsletter is ready to go to press and the website updated.

There has also been ‘synchronicity’ with the volunteer ‘photojournalists’ who joined me as administrators on our FB page—currently Andi Stevenson, Bev Thornell and Rene Martens.  Their photographs on Facebook are downloaded each month and appear in both the Newsletter and Website.  Thank you for the work you have done to make our website such an engaging and informative resource for our U3A Community. 

Thank you also to all the convenors who have contributed newsletter reports over the past 10 years!

We now have an average of 200 ‘unique individuals’ visiting our website each week. Fortunately, we have been able to maintain the ‘theme’ for our website and the wonderful ‘blog’ pages for each course for 10 years.  We have our fingers crossed that major changes won’t be forced upon us in future. We realise that the website environment is changeable, however, and have a ‘back up’ plan if needed.

It has been a huge privilege to have been able to work on the U3A Benalla website for the past 10 years!  


Bev Lee, Website Manager