Mufti Day

at Mangrove Mountain Agricultural School

[The Mufti, Or Master Of The Law, Plate 20 From Recueil De Cent Estampes Representant Differentes Nations Du Levant Tirees Sur Les Tableaux Peints Dapres Nature. Engraved By Scotin, Gerard Jean Baptiste]

Jam 'n Pickles

School is Out

Residents who packed Mangrove Mountain Public Hall tonight, voted unanimously in support of a motion opposing the building of a residential school on agricultural land at Mangrove Mountain.

The following document was available as people departed to assist them should they wish to make a submission to Council with regard to the D.A (42013).

Submissions and objections are due at Gosford City Council by May 18 and can be emailed to:
da.submissions@gosford.nsw.gov.au
or sent by post to PO BOX 21 GOSFORD NSW 2250
 

You may wish to include some or all of the following points in any objection to the proposal:
‧      The development does not meet the legal Objectives of the rural
Zonings of the site and surrounding lands.

‧      Gosford Council has maintained Rural Zonings for the district consistently and neighbouring farms have borrowed money, invested capital, developed skills and made plans for expansion in the understanding that the Zoning and its objectives will be upheld consistently.

‧      Sighting 80 semi-permanent residents on one property within an agricultural zone is inappropriate. The risks to neighbours include complaints made by students or their families about noises, sounds and
sights commonly associated with commercial farms. 

     
‧      Boarders will be isolated and could be expected to wander during non-school hours representing a risk to themselves and neighbouring farms. This concern is well founded because in April 2002 an event for some 2000 men was held at the site without "special event" approval from Council nor consultation with neighbours and many attendees trespassed on neighbouring land.

‧      The owners of the land who are the developers of the Agricultural High School have not practised agriculture at the site since purchase in 1999 and shown no interest in Community participation.

‧      It would not be possible to site a farm alongside an existing Boarding school in an Urban Zone so why should a Boarding School be allowed alongside existing farms in a Rural Zone.


Many speakers stressed the need to have as many submissions made as possible, and to send them to Council soon.

Ethel McClelland

Ethel McClelland, Musical Director of the Mangrove Mountain C.W.A., 

who died 65 years ago on April 17th 1947.

“As a memorial to its former pianist, the late Mrs. R. McClelland, Mangrove Mountain (Gosford, New South Wales) branch of the Country Women's Association has purchased a silver rose bowl which is inscribed and will be filled with flowers at each meeting by a custodian (Mrs. W. Smith). “

From the Townsville Daily Bulletin Gossip Column

Tuesday 25 November 1947

In notes compiled by Sandy Smith from the Mangrove Mountain C.W.A. minute books, we read:

1944

“During this year Mrs. McLelland (sic) was appointed musical director. The branch was most fortunate in having her services, as she has been a teacher of music and singing in High Schools and Sydney Conservatorium of music. Mrs. McLelland was living on the property which later was occupied by the Holdsworth family.”

Ethel was born Ethel Rae in Townsville 20th April 1887. She grew up in Townsville, where she taught piano, and married Richard McClelland (also from Townsville) on 8th February 1912.
Richard was musically talented, and Ethel went with him when he travelled to Italy to further his education.
On returning with their only child, Edna, born in Scarborough, England, they lived in Chatswood, while Richard had a music studio in the City.
When Richard became ill and had to rest, he bought an orchard at Mangrove Mountain where a friend Harry Cole had an orange orchard. Harry managed the farm and Richard built a fibro house on the property.
Both Ethel and Richard played for the C.W.A. and daughter Edna remembers being “dragged” to all the C.W.A. concerts.
Richard and Edna stayed in his Sydney studio from Monday to Thursday whilst Ethel remained at Mangrove Mountain.
When Ethel became ill and had to move back to Sydney for treatment, Richard sold Mangrove. She died in Paddington hospital.

Edna inherited her parent’s musical talents, winning the Sun Aria Competition in Sydney in 1941.

From information provided by Ian Shayler (Ethel’s grandson) thanks to Susan Shearwood (Terrigal  C.W.A.) Dec. 2010. Thanks also to Pam O’Malley-Jones, President of the Mangrove Mountain branch of the C.W.A., 1970-71, for sharing the document compiled by Sandy Smith, and to Kaye and Margaret Pointer for bringing to attention the generosity and talent of Ethel McClelland.

No Plateau

Gosford City Council renounces use of the name “Plateau” when referring to the Mangrove Mountain Districts.
 

In a report to Council on the 3rd of April regarding the dissolution of the Future of Farming Taskforce, use of the name resulted in correspondence between local residents and Council.
Consequently a resolution was passed that” Council discontinue the use of the term "plateau" when referring to the Somersby area."

In a letter to Councillors seeking clarification it was pointed out that, “The principles underlying your decision surely apply to all the suburbs in question, Mangrove Mountain, Kulnura, Somersby, Peats Ridge etc., designated in many Council documents as the Mountain Districts.
We ask respectfully that this anomaly in the resolution passed on the 3rd of April be rectified.
 We will be pleased when the issue can be put behind us, and a greater
feeling of community cohesion and common purpose re-established.”
 

Letters have been received from the Mayor, Laurie Maher, and General Manager Peter Wilson. The following abridged letter from Peter Wilson explains the present situation.

“Thank you for your letters regarding the Future of Farming Taskforce item on the Council Meeting agenda for 3 April meeting in which you raise several issues.
Given the history of the issue around the names for the areas in our local government area west of the F3, I acknowledge it was inappropriate to use the word Plateau in an official document. Further, Council reaffirmed this in their resolution of 3 April 2012 "the information be noted and Council
discontinue the use of the term "plateau" when referring to the Somersby area."

Council officers have been counselled regarding the inappropriate use of the term "Plateau".

I would also like to point out, to avoid further confusion, that Somersby was referred to in the resolution as the report to Council had principally dealt with the Department of Primary Industry's Research Station at Somersby.

Yours faithfully
Peter Wilson, General Manager

 

April delights

Bee lucky!

at the April markets.

One Farm at a Time

22^nd of April, in the (Australian) Year of the Farmer.

While the future of the Mangrove Mountain Districts is much in mind with recent Development Applications before Council putting pressure on agricultural land, and with investigations underway into diversifying and enhancing farming potential in the region, it is instructive to hear of strategies for preserving farmland that have been adopted in other countries.

One such is Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) in California, which posted this information for Earth Day:

Last year one million acres of American farmland were paved. Regions and communities that once were defined by family farming and harvested a bounty of crops to feed the nation are rapidly diminishing.

More and more family farms are turning to MALT as an alternative to sale or development.  MALT's success goes far beyond dollars raised, acres saved, or individuals served. Each farm or ranch protected by a MALT easement provides many benefits that bring us closer to becoming a whole community that values a strong local economy, clean air and water, a sense of place, and access to fresh, healthy food.

Marin Agricultural Land Trust: Saving the Planet, One Farm at a Time

Marin Agricultural Land Trust is a private, member-supported non-profit organization created in 1980 by a coalition of ranchers and environmentalists to permanently preserve Marin County farmland for agricultural use. MALT eliminates the development potential on farmland through the acquisition of conservation easements in voluntary transactions with landowners. MALT also promotes public awareness and encourages policies which support and enhance agriculture.

Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) is a member-supported nonprofit organization created in 1980 by a coalition of ranchers and environmentalists to preserve farmland in Marin County.

MALT pioneered the use of agricultural conservation easements as a way to protect the land from nonagricultural development, permanently. These conservation partnerships with landowners enable ranching and farming families to meet financial challenges without having to sell, divide or develop their property.

Across America, two acres of farm and ranch land are paved over every minute. But here in Marin, something different is happening. MALT has permanently protected nearly half of the farmland in the county.

Earth Day

Earth Day Network's year-round mission is to broaden, diversify and activate the environmental movement worldwide, through a combination of education, public policy, and consumer campaigns.

Growing out of the first Earth Day, on April 22, 1970, Earth Day Network (EDN) works with over 22,000 partners in 192 countries to broaden, diversify and mobilize the environmental movement. More than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world.