About Us

Just a little bit about us

Thorpdale Community News is run by volunteers who give up valuable time to ensure that the news keeps coming in (and out).  

There have only been six editors since its inception in 1994, starting with Angela McNeil and Jenny Missen, two mothers at the Thorpdale Primary School. Taking over the role, Sue (then Jennings) Bruerton, kept up the good work and passed the hot desk over to Kaye Dorling who finally convinced Marj Fraser that knowing absolutely nothing about computers was no reason not to try. 

Marj spent the next five years proving to herself and the community that there is nothing you can't do if you really have the will to try.  I (Barbara Butterworth), a relative newcomer to the district, just happened to be in the right spot when Marj felt that it was the right time to hand over the reins to me at the beginning of 2013.  I have had a long background in Newsletter production so felt this was a happy transition and a great way to get to know the locals.

Who contributes?

We have regular contributors from the Baw Baw Shire, Thorpdale Primary School, Thorpdale Kindergarten, our sporting clubs (Thorpdale Bowling Club, the Thorpdale Football and Netball Club, the Thorpdale Tennis Club and the Thorpdale Cricket Club) and our two local churches and occasionally we get a lovely article and photographs from the Playgroup.

A new Printer

Because of repeating printing issues, we have required a new colour printer and located a very suitable replacement which not only folds but staples!  How magnificent.  However, the price!  We have had a wonderful start of the year in 2025 with a Fundraising night held by the Travellers Rest Hotel - where, with earlier donations from the community, a stunning $2,234 was raised towards a new printer.  We had a further sponsorship/donation from Encore Living of $1,000, an anonymous $1,000 donation from a community member then, to put the cherry on the top, our application to the Thorpdale Potato Festival Committee for a $3,000 Grant was approved.  We have achieved our goal!  Now we have to make sure we apply for as many grants as possible for our other large costs (colour printing, paper, mailing) - all those things which put more grey hairs on our Treasurer's head.

How we finance this Newsletter

The newsletter is financed by advertising and by donations left at the Post Office/Bakery and Pub. The monthly subscription had not been increased for a long period because it was felt that this publication is a service to the community and this subscription was (and still is) incredibly inexpensive.  However, we reluctantly decided to increase the subscription to $15 in 2024 and, even then, this doesn't cover the cost of mailing the publication to our subscribers. This goes to show how much we rely on our donation tins in the Bakery and Pub and the advertisers. 

As we publish in full-colour, the printing costs are extremely high,  Our readers continue to comment how much they enjoy the impact the colour makes on the publication so we are reluctant to go back to black and white.

Any Comments?

If you have any comment to make about what you like or dislike about the publication; what you would like to see or some ideas for articles that would make Thorpynews an even better publication, please don't hesitate to Contact Us.   If you have any photographs that will bring a smile to faces ("remember when..."), please don't hesitate to email them to us with a detailed description, at thorpynews@hotmail.com or leave them at the Post Office for scanning and return (please ensure that you have your name and address marked on an attached paper or envelope).

How you can help with articles:

When emailing articles, please don't embed photographs into the article, they can be worked with but it makes it very time-consuming and the photographs are not necessarily as good as the originals. Send them separately if possible and it makes a better newsletter if your photographs are of high resolution.