Toodyay Herald

By Sean Hefferon

THE TOODYAY shire council has approved the minutes from its August meeting despite concerns raised about their accuracy.

At each council meeting, Toodyay shire councillors are required to confirm the minutes from the previous month’s meeting.

At the September 25 council meeting, the elected members voted 4-1 (for – Crs McKeown, Dival, Prater, McCormick; against – Cr Madasci) to accept the minutes of the August council meeting.

The approval came despite The Toodyay Herald bringing several errors in the minutes to the attention of the Shire President Mick McKeown and CEO Aaron Bowman by email on September 10.

This email was forwarded by the Herald to all councillors on September 11 – two weeks before the September council meeting when the minutes were to be confirmed.

A response was not received to either email.

By Sean Hefferon

THE TOODYAY TABTouch Picnic Races took place on September 28, attracting thousands for a day of country hospitality and racing.

The annual event blends the thrill of the races with family-friendly entertainment.
As horses pounded down the track, the crowd fell silent only erupting in cheers and shouts as winners surged ahead, while near misses drew groans and playful banter. The marquee event, the 2025 TABTouch Toodyay Cup, kept the

crowd waiting until late afternoon – to see an    angel finish first.

Capable Angel trained by Busselton’s Brandon Fiore and ridden by Lucy Fiore thrilled the crowd finishing a length ahead.

Voters denied chance to test council majority

Sean Hefferon

THE UPCOMING local government election for the Shire of Toodyay has been completed, with all four councillor vacancies filled by an equal number of candidates, negating the need for a public vote.

Returning councillors, McKeown and McCormick, will retain their positions, continuing their tenure on the council.

Both were also elected unopposed in 2021.

Joining them are Ray Mills, who previously ran for council in 2023, and Simon Van Der Heyden.

Each will assume their roles in the shire’s chamber (photograph below) from October, without the need to campaign.

Rashelle Predovnik

Connors Cottage is at the centre of a showdown, as Arts Toodyay rallies the community to stop its sale and transform the historic home into a thriving community hub. Photo: Rashelle Predovnik.

THE FIGHT to save Connors Cottage has ramped up, with Arts Toodyay collecting letters of support that urge the shire to stop its sale and transform the landmark into a vibrant community hub.

The cottage, on 5 Piesse Street sits in the central Toodyay heritage area and the letters marked a new push in a campaign to protect one of Toodyay’s most historic community assets.

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Sean Hefferon
TOODYAY has many grand old buildings that hark back to days that will never be again – but they provide a link to the past and give a sense of place.

Many old buildings have been brought back to their “glory days”.

Many others continue to wait, patiently, for a touch of paint or that grand makeover.

The grandstand at the Toodyay Showgrounds has done waiting and had a recent sprucing up.

The structure built in 1910 is a welcome area for spectators to settle into as local events play out in front of them.

When you’re at the local footy and you want a good vantage point where are you going to go?

Tired legs and needing a rest at Toodyay’s iconic Agricultural Show?

The grandstand is a good place for a family sit-down and rest.

Send the kids away to buy fairy floss and a bit of mental destressing can also occur.

This makes the grandstand’s recent refurbishment by the local shire as timely as a local cricketer hitting a six when the team is down against the opposition.

Steve McCormick, Toodyay Cricket Club President (and a local councillor), brought the recent maintenance efforts to the Herald’s attention.

McCormick said that the cricket club appreciated the maintenance undertaken at the showgrounds including grandstand sanding and painting.

The shire putting the ‘grand’ back into grandstand – a piece of sandpaper and a lick of paint at a time.

Sean Hefferon
FARMERS’ Markets are no longer a novelty.

Photo: Toodyay Farmers Market crowd.

In Toodyay, as in the rest of Australia, they have become a preferred route to market for many food producers and a popular place for people to buy fresh produce.

They are also a place where local artisans get a start with their creative idea before perhaps moving to a more traditional shopfront.

The Toodyay Farmers’ Market ticks several boxes including offering a range of products as well as a place for local groups to raise funds or public awareness of their group.

The market is where the Herald caught up with the Toodyay Lions who had set up a stall down at Stirling Park.

Other groups out on what was a sunny August day for the farmers market included the Toodyay Agricultural Show, a mainstay of the community.

Sunshine, live music, good food and an abundance of stalls to browse in makes for a relaxing way to while away an hour or two in Toodyay.

RSL Toodyay Sub Branch
Geoff Brown, President
ON WEDNESDAY July 9 members and guests of the Toodyay Sub-branch of the RSL travelled to Nungarin to visit the Nungarin Heritage and Army Museum.

The museum has a wide range of military memorabilia, including a rare Dingo scout car, General Grant and Stuart tanks, armoured cars, searchlights, half-tracks, trucks and an anti-aircraft gun.

During World War Two there was a limited supply of tractors.

 

At the end of the war tanks like the General Grant and the Stuart were sold and used for clearing farms.

There is also a display of Army uniforms, badges and photographs, and an impressive 10th Light Horse collection.

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Julimar Conservation and Forest Alliance
Max Howard
NINE bat species occur in the south-west of Western Australia and, of these, eight have
been recorded in the Julimar forest area.

The two species highlighted in this article are the White-striped Freetail Bat and the
Gould’s Wattled Bat.

Both of these species are found throughoutAustralia. The White-striped Freetail Bat is one of only a few bats in Australia whose calls are audible to the human ear.

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A Toodyay sunrise looking down onto the race course.

Photo: C.Rae

 

LAST month’s council meeting saw a change to the Public Question Time Procedure with all questions required to be submitted to the shire prior to the meeting.

This changes a longstanding practice where questions without notice from the floor could be asked.

After question time the council considered a range of matters including receiving the audit report from the Officer of the Auditor General.

The report gave a Disclaimer of Opinion in relation to the 2023/2024 financial year as the ‘financial report was submitted for audit purposes without complete and accurate underlying records’.

The draft Audit Opinion is available in the June meeting attachments.

The shire’s current leadership team were employed in the 2024/2025 financial year and the council in its current form started in October 2023.