For more information please email Ian.Williams@VU.EDU.AU 

                                                                  
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Fishing For Kids is open to the public and provides for kids of all ages to have fun while they learn angling, diving and associated outdoor activities.

Rangers meet 7-9pm every Friday of school terms

 at South West Christian Church, 147-155 Hogans Road, Hoppers Crossing.

Coming Events:

  Already gone

Advance Notice: 

Rangers Stockade March 7-10 Labour Day Weekend 2008.

This is the annual event where outpost from all across Victoria come together for fun activities and a bit of rivalry and competition  The theme for this year is "Going the Distance".  Held at Hillcrest Christian College 140 acre site, 500 Soldiers Rd, Clyde North.  Along with the normal frivolities, games and competition scuba diving compliments of yours truly and horse riding are on the agenda.  (Yes, the ferret will there again this year as well).

The Australia day weekend saw three of the Williams' family and others braving the cliff faces at Mt Macedon as we near completion of the Abseiling Instructors Course.  Upon return this was put into good use as we sent a number of rangers abseiling down the outside of the Hogan's Rd church building.

Junior Shooting and Safety Program:

16 March 2008 (Third Sunday of each Month). This is part of our ongoing Junior Safety and Firearms Program in conjunction with the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia.  Coaching provided for beginners and further advanced kids.  Cost $10 per person.  Ammunition provided. BYO 22 rifle or use ours.  If you are 12 years and older and interested in coming along, check with Mum and Dad first and then email me at Ian.Williams@vu.edu.au.  It's lots of fun but you will need your parent's permission and be on your best behaviour.  (The rubber band gun with prizes is always popular).

Recent Events

Bunnaloo &Murray River camp.

A seven day adventure for the second week of the September School holiday saw 19 of us stay three nights on a farm as guest of the Bunaloo (NSW) Ranger outpost, some sleeping in the shearing shed.  A rifle and clay target range was be set up and available to those who wished to participate.  Local spotlighting was also arranged in the evenings with 17? rabbits succumbing to dead eye Rangers.  With the boats and canoes we then went to thePicnic Point caravan park on the Murray River where the rangers were taught watercraft skills.  This also included a hands on  training demonstration using orange smoke and red flares .  We then covered covered some 18 kilometres by water to Barmah Lakes and then camping out for two nights.   Rangers will be expected to keep a diary and document their trip with video and still photos to make a short 3 minute presentation at the end. Some of the photos can be found here but be warned they are large files.

Past Events:

Rangers Stockade March 9-12 Labour Day Weekend.

This is the combined event where outpost from all across Victoria come together for fun activities and a bit of rivalry and competition.  This year we are at Tree Tops Scout Camp near Riddells Creek.   The theme was Bible heroes.  (For photos of last years Stockade click here).

Thanks go to four of our Queensland rangers who came down in January to pass on their safety and abseiling skills at a Blackwood training camp. After instruction eight Victorian leaders we were then able to set out four abseiling sites and let our Queensland friends be the first to test them out.  A good time was had by all and as this was only a starting point, we hope to receive further training to compliment this next year.  It also means we have more leaders available to help with kids who wish to head off to Mt Macedon for abseiling as part of the Stockade camp.  (For photos of the abseiling camp click here).

Advance Notice:  Plans are underway for a six day adventure for the second week of the September School holiday.  We are expecting to stay thrtee night on a farm as guest of the Bunaloo (NSW) Ranger outpost before taking the boats and canoes to the Murray River at Picnic Point caravan park where the rangers will cover the 40 odd kilometres in stages and camping out for two nights. Support vehicle will also follow along with us. The destination will be Echuca.  Activites (and badgework) will include fishing, bird watching, wildlife observation (platypus spotting), fire-craft, cooking, shooting (target or feral), yabbying,  navigation, boat/canoe/ kayak handling etc.  This is aimed at the Pioneer and Trailblazer boys and girl's groups.

Bat Survey Werribee River 3 Feb 2007.

This was a really interesting and entertaining night with Dr Lindy Lumsden providing insight into the local bat population with hands on (including the kids) experience.  Harp traps were set up in flight paths to catch the bats as well as some sophisticated electronics, which was used to detect and identify the bat species in the area.  My wife was unable to attend but my son Matthew was able to relay a host of information and facts to her showing how much he had absorbed from the previous nights session. Thanks goes to the Werribee River Association for organising this event.  Check out the individual pictures here. The full set of pictures for Alex in zip format is here (20.5 Meg)(Another evening will be held at Riddells Creek on Sat 3 March 2007.  Details & RSVP phone 5428 7546)

Click here for video of Ningaloo Marine Park West Australia. This is a large file at 186 meg and not recommended for 56K dial up modems.

For the Rangers Pool evening downloads as follows

 Scuba night pool 24 Nov 2006.mpg (123mb)

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Kats webpage (working progress)

10-13 March.  For Rangers among us, Stockade Camp will be held over the Labour Day weekend.

I know what rock climbing, abseiling, night games and mud fights are but I have to wait and see what they do for ice sledding??????  Kathleen's pretty sure that her Tazzie Tiger group are going to win against the rest of the State's outposts.  Last years photos are here.

Keep your eyes open for another Splash and Scuba dive evening.  It's on the cards but lets hope this time I have a longer tape for the underwater video. Previous photos are here.

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To view the promotional video for the Father/Son shoot go here.

For pictures of our shoot on 18th September go here.  There's some repeats so pick the best photo of yourself.  Video footage of the day will be done as time permits.

For pictures of our shoot with Ivan bringing the bus go here.

Congratulations to Matt, Jessie, Cameron, Kathleen and Andrew for gaining their safety certificate at the course held at Williamstown police station.  Kathleen and Andrew also passed their duck identification test, both with A grade ratings.

Monthly shoots are held down at SSAA's Eagle Park Shooting Range (at the You Yangs) on the 3rd Sunday of each month starting 1:30pm. 

Latest pictures:  Pictures from the Ranger Stockade 2005 are here. Just as a reminder to you that these are high resolution photos suitable for printing but will take a very long time to download.

Pictures from shoot on Feb 20th 2005 are here.

For those who came along to the Christmas Break-up shoot here's the pictures I took.  Check out the cannon.  Thanks to the black-powder boys and Julie for organising and cooking.  We come back again on the 3rd Sunday of every month starting in February.

I think Matthew wanted one for Christmas.

We're looking to run an extra Try Dive for VRFish and SDFV member clubs to bring friend and family along to.  The pool has been booked for 9am, Friday 14th January 2005.  Any takers please give me an email. Here's the link to previous photos showing the pool

Ranger's Australia Camporama Jan 2005:  What a great camp with I believe something like 300 odd kids, parents and leaders enjoying the daily activities with Fido, David Hall and the Regeneration-team in the evening.  With that many people I have taken lots of individual photos and made them available for download.  Be warned that they are mostly high definition and up to 700K per photo.  (All the photos together take up about 350 Meg which is good if you have unlimited download).  This makes them suitable for printing but the trade off is the time it takes to download over 56k dial-ups.   Be prepared for a long wait if you're selecting a large number of photos.  Enjoy them here.

Shepperton Coaching Weekend

Kids from all over were given the treat of shooting field rifle, silhouette and  trap under the guidance and watchful eyes of their coaches and instructors, passing on a wealth of knowledge and experience to the next generation.

The jury is still out as to whether the girls shot better than the boys.  Given the number of Brno 22's maybe we should be taking shares in the company.

I borrowed a camera from work for the weekend which meant I could take lots of high quality photos for you to download.  Check them out here.

SCUBA DIVING:  For those Fishing Lines Visitors who wish to try their hand at scuba diving we will be taking bookings for January 2005. Parents are welcome to come with the kids for a splash and swim as well.   There is an under water camera setup which will enable parents to watch there children underwater and /or keep some souvenir video footage.  Two life guards will be in attendance as per normal pool requirements.  Please send me your contact details so we can make up a roster of those wishing to attend.  Email address is Ian.Williams@vu.edu.au

For those kids who were at our last try dives I've put a selection of photos here.  As with most of our photos they are displayed at high quality to allow parents to copy them for home prints or momentos.  Unfortunately this means they will take longer to download over a slow network connecting.

Friday, Saturday 12, 13th November

Real Men's Camp at Anglesea.

  Family Father and Son camp with beach and outdoor activities. Kids $15, Adults $25 ($5 extra if you want a bunk bed)

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Sunday 21st November

***Past Events and Photos Archives. ******************

Rangers Field Day at Nunawading Aquatic & Fitness Centre.

First Activities.  *races, *volley ball, *parachute games, *aerobics

Swimming Activities.  *inflatable, *underwater swimming games, *swim safety, *water sports, * mouth to mouth instruction.

Swimming Carnival to be held at the end of activities.

Sunday 17 October saw us at the range reliving the old days with the help of Buckwheat (Chris) and Sambuca (Bob) at the single-action range. Heavy metal targets, replica settings and hay bails add to the atmosphere.  No fancy stuff here but double barrel shotgun, lever action and pistol. You have to beat the clock.  Catch the photos here.

To see what you're missing, photos of our previous shoots  can be found here 15th Aug, 19th July, 18 May   They are placed on the WEB in high quality format for people to download to keep as mementos but may take a long time to do because of this.

For those on high speed connection you can download the promotional video here.

Friday 9 July.  Leaders get to try out scuba diving and Kayaking skill at the VUT pool complex. Hope to have an underwater camera on the night for those land lubbers who want to see the action but not get wet.  (Lets see how long Commander Steve can hold his breath in an upturned Kayak). 

Friday 6 August.  Kids get their turn at scuba diving or trying out the kayaks.

March 5,6,7,8 Labour Day Weekend Stockade and Camp.  The big one for the year where all Victorian rangers (with one or two ring ins from Bunaloo NSW), combine for a weekend of fun, frolicking, competitions and games.  use.  Here's a sample of the fun we had.

To see all the pictures from click here but remember most are in good quality format.  While they will take a while to download, (go away and have a cup of tea), they can be made into prints for those who want a keepsake of themselves.

 For those who want to see Kathleen Williams promo clip have a look here.   (12 Mbyte in size).

To see Kathleen's video clip in high quality click here but only for high speed internet connections. (It's 100meg in size so takes forever to download).  I will send out a CD with the pictures or video on them for those who ask me at Ian.Williams@vu.edu.au

  Sunday 15th Feb.  Yes I know it wasn't fishing but it was a fun day just the same at the Come and Try at the Sporting Shooter's Eagle Park range at Little River.   Following this we have organised with the SSAA to run an on going program for us in firearms safety and education with the opportunity to try different varieties of shooting and obtaining their junior permit. This is set for the third Sunday of each month open to the public with all welcome.  Also Ranger kids  attending can obtain their shooting badge.  Duke of Edinburgh participants can include this as part of their sports projects.

Here's some snaps for those who missed the abseiling and rock climbing in January.  Our youngest participants Matthew and Jonathon show how its done.  

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The Beginners Boat Handling course will be held over 15, 16 and 17th January.  This is an aid to those who want to obtain their junior licence to drive a boat. The goal is to take a small flotilla down the west side of the bay fishing, swimming, sightseeing  and camping out along the way.  This will be over the Christmas Holiday period.  

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Over January school holidays fishing charters will be on again with the dates set for Tuesday 20th January.  Cost will again be subsidised to bring it down to around $10 per head including transport, bait, gear and boat.  BYO hat, sunglasses and lunch.

I know it's not fishing (but then neither was horse riding) a Firearms safety program will be starting at the end of February in conjunction with the Sporting Shooters Association.  This will be at the Little River range and is anticipated to be the last Sunday of each month.

Due to the drought this the fin clipping at Snobs Creek Fish Hatchery had to be dropped.  Keep your fingers crossed for February this year.  This is to help distinguish fish that are released into the wild.  Motel/cabin style accommodation is provided and it's wonderful experience.  This trip is by invitation only as we are guests of the hatchery and kids have to be on their best behavior.  More details as they come to hand.

  The next state Stockade will also include fishing again but expanded to cover sinker making as well as casting competitions.  (The lake is right next to the camping area).  If we get the go ahead there may even be some trout stocked in the lake for this weekend.

If you are not on our mailing list watch this space for more details or email to Ian.Williams@vu.edu.au for more details. 

PS. I will be teaching compass courses over the next two Tuesdays at the Darley Primary School Bacchus Marsh as part of Rangers Australia.  Come along and say hello. 

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Read on for past Fishing For Kids outings.

Rangers Stockade 2003 Camp held over the Labour Day weekend saw  fishing included in the activities.  This was in the form of yabbies, casting practice and spearing fish targets.  Two hundred and fifteen children plus leaders, came from all over Victoria (and NSW) to the Tree Tops Scout camp at Riddells Creek.  The theme was the Grand Prix for four days of fun, rallies and activities with the highlight being the billy cart races.  I don't know who made the carts but they were great and stood up to the tough times.  We've lots and lots of photos of the camp so look here to see them.  If your outpost would like a copy of these photos on CD please email me at the above address.  Well done to Ivan and everyone else who helped make this an all round fun time.

Special thanks to Australian Blue Yabby Aquaculture and Warren Morgan for supplying 300 yabbies for us to catch.  At times you couldn't see the yabbies  because of all the kids.  Some went home as pets and the rest were used for demonstrating cooking (and eating) techniques.  Please support them and check out the interesting web site here for more information on yabbies or breeding your own at home.

On Saturday 22 February small group of us headed off to the mouth of the Werribee River as part of the small boat handling lessons. This was followed by a guide tour of the local Coast Guard complex. The goal is for the kids to set off from Williamstown and follow the shoreline to Pt Lonsdale, camping and fishing along the way. Click here for pictures.

The end of November saw some of us camping out at Wombat State Forest near Blackwood.  Thank to Ivan, Crystal and Kathleen for running the camp.  Also thanks to Wayne, Jonathon and Andrew for arranging the rock climbing and abseiling at Mt. Macedon.  Here's some of the pictures from the weekend.

Last Saturday 9 November saw  a crew fish from the Kyeena at Queenscliff.  This was a full five hour with some brave people having to get up at 5:15am to be at Queenscliff on time.  A variety of fish from flathead, leatherjacket, morwong, perch and wrasse were caught.  A bit windy and nippy in the morning but fish coming up for most of the trip with a total of 57 caught between us all. Click here to see the photos.

 Here's a brief rundown of other outings that have been done.

Try Scuba or Snorkel:

Last Tuesday 24 Sept we had a night of swimming at the Ascot Vale Leisure Center. For the first hour the kids had a go of either snorkeling or having a go at scuba diving. This went extremely well as some of the kids have never done it. After this there was 40 minutes of free time and then MacDonalds was our last destination before going home. Click here to see some photos

 Friday 27 Sept saw some of us sleep over for an early start to Saturday's fishing at Queenscliff.  It was cold, the wind blew and we got a little wet.  We did manage to catch a couple of fish before it was decided to head back to land for some sight seeing at Pt. Lonsdale and some hot fish and chips from the local shop.  T Click here to see some photos

The Fish Market visit.

To kick of the season some of slept over for an early start to the whole sale fish market. The alarm went off at 3am for a quick breakfast of toast and Milo, then onto the bus for the trip in.  A quick guided tour showed the variety of fish including marlin, tuna, king crab, flathead, squid, gurnard, shark, snapper, octopus, whiting, bream.  Pretty well you name the fish and it was there. To look at the photos, click here

After the Fish Market it was off to Bacchus Marsh Primary School.

We looked at different types of fishing (including spear throwing) with thanks to Chris Glindinis from Seafood Services Victoria, making the trip to show us how to clean scale fillet and then cook a variety of fish.  Click here to see these photos

Then off to Pykes Creek for some practical experience.    Click here to see these photos

We also took a break from fishing to go horse riding.  To look at the horse photos click here.

A good day was had for those who came to Queenscliff for the charter boat trip.

Where else could you take a bus trip down to Queenscliff and fish for three hours on a charter boat and then be fed as well.  A mixed bag of twenty six fish were caught including trevally, gurnard, wrasse, leather jacket, parrot fish and a snapper.  Thanks to Kathleen for cooking up lunch.  To see us fishing at Queenscliff click here.

At Werribee the wind blew.  Ten of us tried the mouth of the Werribee River but were defeated by the wind.  We moved to the river by the golf course but to no avail, the fish were on holiday.  

We ran the fishing clinics at Bacchus marsh for 2 days over the holidays.  The photos are still waiting to be processed.

Then spent a day at Queenscliff at the Marine Discovery Centre, fossicking for sea life coming up from the sea- floor, looking at seals and then the gannets at Popes Eye.     Look at the pictures click here.     

The bottom dwelling fish were a bit hard to catch but the couta were really on the bite when we fished Queenscliff on the 9th Feb.   Click here to see these photos

Last for this series is the Fin Clipping trip at Snobs Creek.  Great accommodation.  Looks like the kids had fun too.  Click here for the fin clipping photos

Ningaloo2003 Holiday Photos

Early horse riding pictures