The Annual General Meeting of the Nillumbik-Emus Orienteering Club will be held on Sunday 25 November 2007 at Westerfolds Park in the OUTDOOR room, part of the Parks Victoria suite of offices, at 1:30PM. Enter the park via the main entrance in Fitzsimons Lane and bear right.  After 350m or so park at the far end of the public car park (on the left).  The offices are just across the road.  There is an electric BBQ and picnic tables set about amongst the buildings, and inside is a kitchenette.

Bring a picnic lunch and a serious expression.  Arrive around 11AM for a quick Orienteering-game followed by lunch. We anticipate our guest speaker at 1PM.

As usual there will be reports from the Treasurer and the President, presentations to the VIN MALONEY TROPHY winners, and re-election of officers for 2008.  No current committee members have announced their retirement, although the newsletter editor position may still be on offer to a good home.

Please let us know if you are coming (by return mail) and/or if you want minutes of the last AGM by email.

Recent Events

Organisers & course-setters - Rod Lawlor, Schon Hudson, Ian Stirling and Geoff	1st November - Eltham Park/Street Event. Congratulations to Rod Lawlor who did such an excellent job setting the first Northern Series course this year. Recognising that the terrain was hilly and that we've had a few warm days of late, Rod tempered his A-grade runner enthusiasm and planned a course that would be fair and reasonable for the first event of the year. This was an excellent course for a map that is often very tough to run on. While the cool weather helped a little, the manner in which the course was set made it possible for astute runners in all grades to minimise the climb required - with A-grade being able to climb the Eastern Hills once and then weave through a series of alley-ways and parks to provide excellent route choice along the ridge line.
Wyndham Western Series - congratulations to the Fell and Sunley families for getting their mini-series, the Wyndham Super Six Series up and going. Our experience from starting the training series last year (where only 7 turned up to the first event - but now we average 35-40 per week), suggests that as the word gets out smaller, highly localised series are an attractive means of meeting up with friends and exercising in a friendly and mildly competitive environment.  Latest results (not yet published elsewhere are shown below.
Middle-Distance Championships Congratulations to all that took part - whether participating or taking part in the organisation. The day was considered very successful by everybody that took part - and provided an ideal warm-up for the punishingly cruel long-distance championships on the following day. Official results (from Don) are:    Pl   Stno Name                         YB Club                               Time  M21A  (10/10)  Preliminary results  21 PM       8      5 Fell, Stuart                 83 NE V                              54:33  M40A  (7/7)    Preliminary results  21 PM       7     48 Giddings, Phil               58 NE V                            1:26:11  M45A  (5/5)    Preliminary results  21 PM       4     53 Mallen, Peter                61 NE V                              43:07  M16A  (5/5)    Preliminary results  21 PM       3     68 Mallen, Dave                 92 NE V                              36:08  M50A  (9/9)    Preliminary results  21 PM       5     78 Watts, Alan                  52 NE V                              58:46      6     74 Armstrong, Geoffrey          53 NE V                              58:54      7     81 Hudson, Geoff                53 NE V                            1:02:55  M55A  (14/14)  Preliminary results  21 PM       3     90 Edmonds, Robert              52 NE V                              44:37     10     87 Stirling, Ian                   NE V                            1:02:47     12     97 Frederick, Ron               48 NE V                            1:05:26  W16A  (2/2)    Preliminary results  21 PM       2    101 Edmonds, Kate                92 NE V                            1:34:29  W50A  (4/4)    Preliminary results  21 PM       3    104 Edmonds, Helen               54 NE V                              43:42  W55A  (7/7)    Preliminary results  21 PM       1    107 Fell, Fiona                  52 NE V                            1:04:33  M65A  (10/10)  Preliminary results  21 PM       8    144 Yeoman, Russell              38 NE V                            1:31:55  W21AS  (3/3)   Preliminary results  21 PM       3    147 Niven, Jessica               90 NE V                            1:12:41  W70A  (1/1)    Preliminary results  21 PM       1    171 Fitzwater, Janet             37 NE V                            1:05:50  W75A  (2/2)    Preliminary results  21 PM       1    174 Healy, Sue                   30 NE V                              54:02  M70A  (3/3)    Preliminary results  21 PM       1        Steer, Colin                    NE V                              56:47  M75A  (5/5)    Preliminary results  21 PM            180 Johnson, Bill                29 NE V                                 M50+A Short  ( Preliminary results  21 PM       1    194 Maloney, Kevin                  NE V                              37:41           196 Hughes, Jeff                 49 NE V                                dnf  W50+B  (3/3)   Preliminary results  21 PM       1    210 Smith, Tina                  56 DR V                              30:25      2    211 Johnson, Marion              34 NE V                            1:52:44             209 Hughes, Anne                 44 NE V                                 mp      M10A  (2/2)    Preliminary results  21 PM       2    215 Mallen, Jesse                97 NE V                              20:53

Primary Schools Championships - Emu Juniors do well! Erin Bridgeman who finished 5th in Girls Grade 3 A and Dylan Ramsay who finished 5th in Grade 6 Boys A both scored 26 points for their school Glen Katherine Primary School. Glen Katherine won the Western Zone Champs at Toorourrong Reservoir on Friday November by 14 points from Macedon Primary School. Congratulations to both Erin and Dylan.

Nillumbik Emus in the Local Press

Congratulations to Club Publicity Officer, Phil Giddings, in getting the following excellent article in the local press. This was a feature article on orienteering, with colour pictures, that occupied two-thirds of a page. Great job Phil!!

"Emus are hopping after navigating a 10th title by Eliza Sewell A Diamond Valley orienteering club has emerged as the best in the state, but it's nothing new for the Nillumbik Emus Orienteering Club. The Emus cololected the Victorian Club Champion's title - the Rockhopper Trophy - for their performances during the winter season. It's the 10th time that the club has collected the trophy in the 12 years that the Emus have been competing in the championships. Emu's Phil Gidding's said they held off teams from Ballarat, Bendigo and the Yarra Valley to take out the overall award. The Emus won on 1262 points, just 52 ahead of Ballarat and 88 ahead of Bendigo. Giddings said it was a tight contest throughout the nine event season. "It's a pretty big deal" Giddings said of the title win "...but it's not as if the club dominated". Up to 80 people take part in events in and around the Diamond Valley, while across Melbourne about 500 participate each week; but Giddings said that there was always room for more competitors. "It's something we're trying to grow" he said. The great thing about it is it's a running and walking sport. We have a walking class as well as a running class, it keeps it (the sport) accessible for everyone. The club's summer season is under way, with events starting at 7pm each Thursday night in the DIamond Valley region. For more information phone Geoff Hudson on 9888 8121.

Emus at the 4-Peaks

Four Emus – Lauris & Ian Stirling and Fiona & Don Fell spent the Cup Day long weekend at Bright for the Bright ‘Four Peaks’ Alpine Climb. It was a great, if strenuous weekend, well organised with terrific support in the form of prizes donated by the local business community.

Day 1 – Mystic Hill, Wandiligong 11km/662m

Fiona and I started the ‘run’ at 7:35am from the picturesque Wandiligong Cricket Ground. Walkers started 7-8am, and runners 8-8:30am. Lauris and Ian started before us and we saw Ian a few times, but didn’t see Lauris until we had finished.
It was all up hill on forest access tracks or straight up the spurs to the Mystic Hill Hang Gliding Launch Site. Then after a pleasant run along the ridge top we were confronted by a steep climb (1 in 2 grade) to the highest point on the run. No views, and we immediately descended a 1 in 2 grade which flattened out to a home run along the forest tracks. The rain was fairly steady now. By this time the “runners” had caught us and were flying past. Kathryn “Queen of the Mountains” Ewels ran past and I tagged along behind her for a few hundred metres at 2.6min/km before giving up. Drinks and refreshments were served at the Cricket Ground when we returned approx 2 hours after we had started. Numerous orienteers from the different clubs participated.

Tonight it is pouring rain, and Feathertop tomorrow!

Day 2 – Mt Feathertop 19.4km/1327m

Started from the Tavare Park in Harrietville with a kilometre run out to the start of the Bungalow Spur walking track. Then it was straight up hill. The Bungalow track is fairly mild – no real steep sections or losses of height; just a steady climb. I wasn’t trying to pretend I was a runner today and made a steady pace with a mixture of running on the flat and brisk walking on the climb. We reached the Feathertop Hut in mist (cloud) where the timekeepers had decreed that would be the end of the run as visibility was low, with the risk of real rain. The return trek to Harrietville retraced our steps. It was raining lightly by now and the narrow rocky track was becoming slippery and needed some care with foot placement. Just as we reached the end of the walking track the rain became serious and the last kilometre was a real dampener.

Day 3 – Mt Hotham 15.0 km / 1656m

As we drove up the valley to Harrietville I could see cloud swirling around the top of Feathertop and snow below the cloud. I felt some trepidation as to the conditions we could expect on the Razorback.

Started from the Tavare Park in Harrietville with a 6.2km undulating run in which we gained 100m. The next 3.7 km up the Bon Accord Spur gained 750m before the respite of a “flat” 2.2km to the old Bon Accord hut site. Then followed a 450m climb in 2.1km to the exposed highest point on the run at the intersection of Bon Accord Spur and the Razorback. Just before we had left the tree line the organisers had posted a watch and were turning back anyone who was not adequately clothed or was experiencing difficulty – that’s a 12km return to Harrietville back down the Bon Accord.

The conditions were reportedly the worst encountered in the history of the run – gale force winds driving sleet straight into our faces. Mild by winter standards, but extremely hazardous for lightly equipped mountain runners at the end of a tough run.

The run finished at the Diamantina Hut after the 1.3km slog through the snow.

Day 4 – Mt Buffalo 10.3km / 1155m

The day dawned bright and clear, promising a perfect if slightly warm day for running up a mountain. Starting at the Nat Park entrance we were faced with a steady climb of 400m in the first 2km but which flattened out until we hit the rock slabs above Mackeys Lookout. We zig-zagged up to the top of the rock and the terrain flattened to become boulder strewn slopes. Above this we entered a beautiful undulating forest which was a pleasure to run before we entered the final lookouts area around the Buffalo Gorge. By this stage the elite runners had caught me and I picked up the pace accordingly. A crossing of the creek feeding into the top of the gorge and it was the homeward sprint up the steps to the finish at the Chalet. Cruel!!

Completion certificates were printed on the spot for all runners, showing times for all events completed. At the subsequent presentations numerous spot prizes were awarded.

Lauris and Don were both fortunate to win accommodation packages donated by Bright establishments. The presentations of “frequent entrant” awards and placings followed. Although no Emu entrants scored placings in their respective age classes, a number of orienteers did, including Kathryn Ewels who took out the Open Women class (“Queen Of The Mountains”).

Club Clothing

        If you see someone in an Emu top that you don't know
        please go over and introduce yourself to them.

We now have boxes and boxes of the new tops - and they're blocking access into my study ;-). In the Eastern and Northern Series, I'll be contacting folks directly to offer them one of these superb (heavily subsidised) running tops. New members that would like to find out about club tops etc should contact Schon Hudson on 9888 8121 or at any event - or Fiona Shaw on 9749 4941 in the Western suburbs.

Winter Clothing run out

• Polar fleece sale   
  • Jackets $15-00
  • Vests $13-00

Other Club Clothing Available

Coolmesh - the spectacular blue and white tops (cost-price $55)...prices to members as below:

• Singlets $30-00
• T shirts
  • Long sleeve $40-00
  • Short sleeve $30-00

Bike tops

• Long sleeve $55-00
• Short sleeve $50-00

Cotton

• Short sleeve T-shirt $12-00

Headgear

• Head band $7-00
• Beanie $10-00
• Cap(baseball style) $10-00

Emus Course-Setters for the Summer Series

Courses setters are required for the events being hosted by NE over the coming Summer Series. I have a few names against events to start with as a result of the first round of club bidding for events. Please assist if can by placing the numbers 1 and 2 against events to indicate your 1st and 2nd event preferences and then return to Ian Stirling (or call him on 9876 3643) - we need to have course-setters in place for ALL events before the series starts.

• Wed 28 Nov Bayswater   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rick Bailes
• Thur 6 Dec Ruffey Creek   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - David Prentice
• Wed 26 Dec Boronia Bay - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rachel Johnson
• Mon 21 Jan Endeavour Greens - - - - - - - - - - Lauris Stirling
• Wed 23 Jan Burnley Maze - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Bernie Shuttleworth
• Thur 24 Jan Bundoora Park - - - - - - - - - - - - -Alex Shepherd
• Thur 7 Feb Darebin Park - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Geoff Hudson / Jim Taylor
• Mon 11 Feb Kangaroo Flat  - - - - - - - - - - - - - Barry Giles
• Thur 28 Feb Springthorpe   - - - - - - - - - - - - - Jeff Hughes
• Thur 27 Mar Rosanna Parklands - - - - - - - - - Phil Giddings

Nillumbik Emus - a brief history
by Rob Edmonds

The club is in the process of collecting information for a series of Club History pages on the web site. Rob Edmonds has kindly provided the material below as an initial contribution and we invite others that may have information and/or photographs of earlier times to let us use these as part of this project.

The name Nillumbik comes from an Aboriginal word used by the Wurundjeri people, thought to mean ‘shallow or dead earth’. This is reflective of the general soil type and the relatively sparse vegetation of the area. Though lacking in plant foods, the open ground reputedly was good for hunting. The area now comprising the Shire of Nillumbik was roamed for centuries by the Wurundjeri-willam clan of the Woi wurrung speaking people. The Woi wurrung territory encompassed the watersheds of both the Yarra and Maribyrnong Rivers and thus occupied much of present-day Melbourne. A number of archaeological sites remain as evidence of Aboriginal custodianship of much land within the Shire, and the Wurundjeri are recorded as having co-existed with the early white squatters and selectors.

Another more recent interpretation of the word Nillumbik is 'Go and Get Lost'. Nillumbik was adopted as the name of the club when Eltham College wished to broaden their appeal.

There have been many mergers and associations over the years. Latrobe University Mountaineering Club was an original member of the VOA. Latrobe Mountaineering Club ‘Leadbeaters’ was formed from ex-LUMC members and some of its members joined the newly formed Nillumbik OC in 1985 when LMC was no longer able to run orienteering events. The Latrobe University and Greendale/Blackwood maps were made by LMC.

When the Geelong Orienteering Club disbanded, some of its members joined Nillumbik and the You Yangs became one of our maps. This map was used by Nillumbik for the Australian Club Relays in 1985 as part of the World Championships Carnival, an event which attracted over 900 participants.

Emus comes from the name of one of the original clubs in Victoria to join organised orienteering Melbourne University Mountaineering Club (MUMC). When the orienteering group became an entity in itself, it became Ex-MUMC or EMU. The present name resulted from an amalgamation of the two clubs at the end of 1993.

St Leo’s / Navigators, itself an amalgamation had previously joined Emus. One of their orienteering areas, Bungal, is still popular. Vin Maloney ran the O’Shop for many years. His son, Kevin took that over and the club has set the annual Vin Maloney Trophy as its handicap event for best club orienteer each year.

Eltham College ‘St Georges Lake’, MUMC ‘Borhoney Ghurk’ and Latrobe ‘Greendale’ organised events for the 1981 Christmas 6 days Orienteering Carnival which attracted orienteers from right around the world.

The successful Rockhoppers club merged with Nillumbik Emus in 1995 as the demands for organising orienteering events became more time consuming. The Rockhopper Trophy for Champion Victorian Club was created in 1995 and Nillumbik Emus have won 10 of the 12 trophies.

2008 Event Calendar - Nillumbik Emus
by Rob Edmonds (Event Coordinator)

Please let Rob know if you would like to course set, organize or control an event on this fixture. You can also learn the ropes by assisting in these roles. If you have never course set or organized a bush event before and would like to have a go please contact Rob at redm4896@bigpond.net.au  or Ph. 9438 3378.

Wyndham Super Six 2007-2008 - Latest Results