From next Saturday May 25 until the 1st of June, Wheatsheaf local David Robertson will be tackling in the Long Ride for Prostate Cancer.

But he won’t be on his own. He’ll be among an anticipated 197 other riders from across Australia all preparing to have a ball as they tackle the Long Ride that this year will go from Kyneton to Port Douglas.

The fundraising motorcycle ride was established by Chris and Gail Dunne in 2004 and there have been 11 rides since which have raised awareness of and money for prostate cancer support.

“My first Long Ride was in 2014 to Uluru and I have since completed rides to Margret River, Tasmania and Darwin,” David said.

“I am motivated to ride as I have first-hand experience of prostate cancer. In 2006 at the age of 50 I had a health check that showed an elevated PSA which concerned my GP who sent me to a specialist.

“After more tests and a biopsy it was recommended that I have a radical prostatectomy. This was quite a shock to me and my family, but having caught it early my prognosis was good.

“This has turned out to be true although there has been recurrence.

“Later I learnt that my father was being treated for PC when he died. I shared my diagnosis with my four brothers, two of whom were found to have high PSA and went on to be treated at some point.”

More information about the upcoming Long Ride is available from the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

It’s the thrill of the chase in large part that makes family history research such an addictive pursuit
for professional genealogist, Lynda Collier.

“My cousin is an actual detective and he said to me ‘you are a detective too really’, muses the
specialist researcher who lives at Wheatsheaf just out of Daylesford.

Because this niche area of historic research is all about identifying and confirming the links between
one human being to so many others back through the annals of time, it also means “bringing to life”
characters of the past, one’s own relatives. And this too especially appeals to Lynda.

“I spend a lot of time on DNA analysis,” she says.

“Even in my own family we’ve got an unknown ancestor, my mum’s great, great grandfather. I’ve
been lucky enough to test both of my parents with DNA.

“Every generation loses basically fifty percent of your parents’ DNA, because you only get half-ish
from each. And it’s not even. So from your grandparents you might have got 20 percent and 30
percent respectively. It can vary quite a lot.

“We’ve also got lots of cousins that we’ve been able to test and that helps with working out things
with DNA, and I’ve done that for quite a few people with an unknown parent, or those who know a
parent but where the name they’ve gone by their whole life wasn’t their real name. So the family
always knew there was something unknown there, and through DNA they’ve been able to find the
family.”

As a professional genealogist with a special interest in DNA, Lynda dedicates much of her own
current life to researching family histories for others and also to delving more deeply into her own
ancestry.

It’s a field of research that these days has gained a respectability in academia that it didn’t always
enjoy, and that has been popularised by television programs like ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’

Lynda says public interest in genealogy or family history has increased in recent times, augmented
by significant advances in technology, particularly including DNA research techniques. She also
believes developments in AI hold plenty of positive potential for unearthing historic family linkages
and shedding light on familial ancestry in a manner not previously possible.

“Yes I think interest has increased,” she says of the uptick in people eager to uncover their own
family connections going back through the generations. You just never know who you might be
related to.

But, there’s a cautionary note, here when it comes to DNA. Those delving back into their past may
be in for some surprises, this experienced genealogist says.

“Many don’t realise that what they find may completely change what they thought about their
family, like finding out your father is not your biological father for example. All sorts of stories can
come out.”

Of course, while the “surprises” that DNA analysis may uncover might be disconcerting in some
cases, they may also be exciting, even flattering. Lynda says that when it comes to DNA research, the
revelation of “surprises” in family trees is quite common.

Lynda’s own journey with genealogy dates back to the late 1980s when she tried (unsuccessfully) to
encourage her own mother to get enthused about genealogical research. Lynda studied photography initially as a university student, going on to do honours in creative media incorporating
a focus on family history.

She then went on to complete masters post graduate studies in history through Monash University,
completing a thesis on the early female immigrants – the “needle women” who were assisted to
immigrate gratis to Australia from England on a ship called the Culloden.

From there, her research tracing her own family history has taken her to the US and to the UK where
she has unearthed here own Quaker antecedents while, in London, she uncovered a famed 1800s
actor in the family tree.

Lynda also uncovered quite a few church ministers in her own family background, and she says the
discovery of intriguing forebearers is all part of the attraction.

“I love it. Obviously. I feel like I get to know my ancestors,” she says.

As a fulltime professional genealogist, Lynda is a member of the global Association of Professional
Genealogists, the Society of Australian Genealogists and of the Genealogy Society of Victoria.

When somebody approaches her with a request to research their own family history, the sorts of sources she typically turns to may includes parish records, land titles, national archives, local archives, professional and academic organisations, old military records, census data, the registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages and even old land maps revealing the names of farms and former family properties from days long lost to the mists of time.

She says that it’s really only been over the last eight years that advances in DNA research have come
to the fore in the field of family history – “before that it was very expensive. The cost has come
down a lot,” she says.

“There’s a lot online but it would be less than 10 percent of the records that are out there,” she says.
“Artificial Intelligence is already making a big impact.”

Lynda says the reasons people will turn to a genealogist to assist them in their quest to find out
more about their lineage are varied.

“Sometimes it’s because they don’t know how to go about it and sometimes it’s because they are
too busy,” says Lynda whose work in the field has resulted in the publication of quite a few books
both for herself and for others, including in coffee table style and magazine style publications.

Her earlier background in photography has proven to be very complementary to her work in
genealogy and in the work of preserving family knowledge for posterity.

“I think a lot of older people are wanting to leave something for their children. They are concerned
that it isn’t all just thrown out.”

Words & Image: Eve Lamb

For the 35 years I have lived, worked and volunteered in this region, there was always a focus on delivering quality community services, I know this because I worked at our community health for many years and helped deliver them. I have also advocated for equal access to all the shire information and support services for people living with a disability and the elderly, of which I am now one.
Unfortunately, the issue with no monitoring or accountability for the outsourcing of delivery home care is just another part of the bigger picture now developing in the area. Services for the elderly and people living with disability in our shire appear to be being left to rot.
I am also very concerned about the future for older and disabled residents in the shire basically being abandoned, which I think are also your concerns and the no response from these services, your story sort of confirms. It greatly troubles me that it appears our council has shifted in its focus from providing inclusion and equal access for the elderly and those living with disabilities, by outsourcing home care services.
Unfortunately by outsourcing these services, they have no level of responsibility in ensuring elderly residents and those living with disabilities in the shire get quality support services and this results in the issue you have raised.
This shire has very much prided itself on being pro-active and inclusive of all people, something we are all proud of, but I feel our inclusiveness is now being limited and the elderly and disabled appear to be the victims.
I have 40 years’ experience in social work and disability care and would be happy to volunteer to do light housework for people who are not receiving the care they should, or just to go and have a cuppa and a chat. I am also able to write letters of complaint and reminding services of their obligations, but I no longer have a current police check or Working with Children check. I was really inspired by your concern about the shire’s vulnerable residents and would like to help, but not sure how and would like to thank you for your concern and activism for vulnerable residents in our shire. Clearly the shire still has brave residents who stand up for those who cannot and I would be happy to assist if I can.

From Karen Worsley, Wheatsheaf

The prolific creative output of Wheatsheaf artist Frances Guerin is informed
by a background in philosophy and transpersonal psychology. Frances began solo
exhibiting in the early 1980s and today her whimsical “humaroos” are particularly popular
with collectors.

Eve: How do you prefer to describe your style?
Frances: My style is eclectic, encompassing ceramics painting and drawing and assemblage. After
retiring from human services in 2005, I completed a Diploma of Ceramics at Federation University, a
fantastic course, then graduated with a Masters of Visual Arts at LaTrobe Bendigo, focusing on Irish
contemporary art that drew links between pre- Celtic spirituality and the Australian First Nations
dreaming.
Eve: How did you come to art?
Frances: My father took me to Bendigo Art Gallery when I was about eight and I was hooked.
My mother had a selection of prints by French impressionists, classical works and a fine selection
of ceramic vases and figurines, and she would often encourage me to paint, probably to get me out of
her hair. I loved art history and did many journeys across Europe, Egypt and Asia trawling through
archaeological sites, museums and galleries, filling journals with sketches of Old Masters works.

Eve: Which artists have influenced your own work?
Frances: Early on I loved anything ‘trippy’ like Salvador Dali. Then the feminist
artists who opened the door for women, like Judy Chicago and Paula Rego. More
recently when I was travelling through Ireland, I saw the public art was both
enchanting and moving…
Eve: What’s your medium and subject matter of choice?
Frances: I move between drawing and ceramics. Ceramics is demanding, a week’s
work can be lost during a firing. The terrible ping of a cracking or shattering can put
me off for weeks. At the moment I work between large face pots, figurines, and small
animals. The humaroos are my ‘iconic’ best seller, so I like to keep a number in stock.
More recently after the Australian Ballet performed Harlequinade last year, I have
made several sets of the Commedia del’arte characters.
Eve: Have you ever worked in any other area besides your arts practice?
Frances: I worked as a therapist for many years, with individuals and groups,
after training in transpersonal psychology. Then worked as an education officer in
health and did some teaching at tertiary institutions. After establishing a vipassana
meditation practise, I taught hundreds of classes in Melbourne and Central Victoria.
On several occasions I had the opportunity to do some event management, including
two tours of Tibetan monks and nuns creating sand mandalas.

Eve: When you work do you like to play music and if so what is your music of choice?
Frances: Dead Can Dance, Buddha Bar, Clannad, Lisa Gerrard, classical music.
Eve: To date, what have been your career highlights as an artist?
Frances: Craft Lab Ballarat Mining Exchange 2022, UNESCO listing Folk Art
and Craft best exhibit Royal Melbourne Show and a Julia Gillard face pot purchased
by the Art Gallery of Ballarat.
Eve: Finally, do you have any exhibitions or special arts events coming up?
Frances: Immortal Diamond Exhibition is showing at the Southbank Vitrines,
152 Sturt Street, Melbourne until February 26. And I will have an open studio at 55
Whitegum Drive, Wheatsheaf during the ChillOut weekend, Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 4pm.