It’s a health hazard

Thirteen years ago I came to live in Horsham.  I’ve always been interested in politics, both local,  federal, international and in council affairs.

Having lived in three states within Australia – big cities and smaller towns – it has provided me with a great deal of interest and input where I could.  

However, here in Horsham I have family: that was the impetus for my move at 78. I was able to rent a unit, which suited my simple needs.

I quickly realised I lived on a very busy highway, which all traffic used including large trucks plying the route between Melbourne and Adelaide and beyond. 

It was reasonable 13 years ago. Now its a different story. It’s a health hazard. 

I’ve proved it myself. Due to being 91 this year, it is impossible for myself to shift. 

From the age of 19, I had springtime hay fever and eventually asthma as well – just in spring. 

I used a preventative inhaler before the season started, not made these days. It worked. At the age of 50 I had no more.  

However, about five years ago, I had to get medical help for a return of firstly sneezing then a cough. Not just in spring. 

If I left my unit for a couple of hours, as soon as I arrived home, the symptoms would return.  

It was the fine, sticky soot from the truck traffic. It’s like a thief in the night; it can creep in anywhere. 

Outside as well, It clings to cement driveways and backyards. Bin nights, it collects on the lids of the bins.  

I was prescribed an inhaler. My throat and voice box were affected so badly, I had to seek help again.  

I was allergic to cortisone.  I’m now on a different inhaler, which suits me. However, depending on the weather, phlegm can be a problem, which an antihistamine helps. It’s year-long , not just in spring.

I’d like to thank Horsham councillor  Ian Ross for voicing concerns recently that the draft plan for Horsham south did not include the long-discussed plans for an alternative truck route circumnavigating Horsham’s city centre.  

I realise it is not just the council; it is VicRoads and the Federal Government, as it is a main highway. 

Although we all love beautification of a city or town, surely the health of the inhabitants is more important.

Ellen Ruth Shepherd, 

Horsham

 

 

Goldfields family reunion

The Marshall Clan Family Reunion will be at Barkly Hall, Barkly, on Saturday for lunch from 11am onwards.

Robert Marshall, born in Devon England in 1832, found a new life on the Australian Goldfields as a young man of 18 years.

In 1855, he and Grace McGregor married in Melbourne and tried their luck at Blackwood and Harrisons Hill near Maryborough before settling at Barkly in 1857. 

Nine children were born in the next few years and the family prospered.

Robert became renowned for tracking down lost gold leads in the Barkly area through persistence, hard work and a knowledge of alluvial ground.

When the easy gold ran out, he turned to servicing the growing community and established a butcher shop and wine shanty on the Redbank Road, overlooking the Barkly Main lead.

When the last of the hopeful gold seekers eventually left, the Marshall family turned their hands to the soil and did their bit to restore Barkly to the beautiful peaceful habitat it had once been. 

We who are descended from his first son Robert Junior, are holding a Marshall reunion to celebrate the achievements of those who toiled before us, and any family members from the succeeding eight generations are most welcome to join in. 

Enquiries should be directed to Chris Marshall via emailing chrisso.marsh@gmail.com or phoning  0408 723 320.  

Chris Marshall

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