The 2011 Kurth Kiln Heritage Festival Day

Sunday 10 April at the Kurth Kiln Picnic Ground

April is traditionally the time for our annual festival; beyond the summer-days of total fire-ban and before the rains start. That is the theory, anyway. Following five days of beautiful sunshine it started to rain heavily the night before. But the Gods took pity on us and Sunday was overcast and dry.
By 10am everything was ready, machinery unwrapped, displays uncovered, tents ready for trade and the blacksmith forge ablaze. Volunteers were chatting with each other, admiring their various displays and, as the Weathered Heads Bluegrass Band started tuning their instruments, the first visitors started to drift in. At the stroke of 11am our friend Chris Templer from the Yarra Ranges Shire officially opened the festival, commenting on the valuable work volunteers do and the necessity to support such activity in the local community.
The Hoddles Creek Red Cross group again catered for food and drinks with a range of beverages, sweets and barbeque selections. The band, having found their rhythm, provided lively entertainment. The wood-chopping and the blacksmith demonstrations proved to be a popular attraction, as did the displays of the Gembrook Craft group and the vintage tractors. The kids really took to the ball game and the face-painting show. But the highlight of the day was definitely the colourful stage-coach robbery, enacted by the horses and riders from Mill Valley Range, in which a box of seedlings (intended for a re-vegetation project later with the Gembrook Primary School students) was stolen. It was followed by a fast game of Siberian Huskies racing down the Kurth Kiln straight.

It was a fun-filled day and everyone of the 350 plus people seemed to have a good time. Our thanks to all the participants and especially the Rangers and Staff of Parks Victoria Gembrook. Thank you, too, to the Shire of Yarra Ranges for their financial support.

PS. The box of seedlings has since been recovered. Below are some of the pictures taken on the day. AK