Allwood Neighbourhood House Inc

29/10/2026

First session is sold out from 10-11am! But there are still tickets left for the second session: 12-1pm!

Bookings: https://www.trybooking.com/au/event/1659666

29/10/2026

There is a beautiful little purple flower that grows in the Australian bush. You might walk straight past it without noticing. But if you're lucky enough to be nearby when it's flowering, there's something that might stop you in your tracks.

The smell of chocolate…

At Allwood's recent Indigenous Plant Walk, Wiradjuri Elder Aunty Jo shared a special story about the chocolate lily, a plant she harvests each year.

"The only way I find where they're growing is I start smelling the scent of chocolate. So then you just follow the smell and all of a sudden you come across a field of purple flowers."

But it's what lies beneath the flowers that holds a beautiful story. Chocolate lilies are tuber plants that produce small edible underground structures that can be harvested for food. Aunty Jo explained that the tubers come in three different forms.

“One is long and wrinkled, another is long and smooth, and the third is small and round. Each represents a different generation of women. The wrinkled tuber is the grandmother, the smooth tuber is the mother, and the little round tuber is the daughter.”

Aunty Jo asked the group which tuber they thought First Nations women would harvest?

"In our culture and many other cultures, who's the most important person in the family?”

Grandmother.

So the grandmother tuber was always left behind. The mother was harvested for food, while the grandmother and daughter were returned to the earth. The following season, the daughter would become the mother, and another daughter would grow. And the grandmother would remain, as the nurturer.

Through Aunty Jo's storytelling, we were reminded that the plants growing around us are not simply things to admire. They hold stories of family, survival, responsibility and generations of knowledge. And perhaps next time we encounter a little purple flower with the scent of chocolate, we'll think of the grandmother beneath the earth, making sure the next generation can grow.

Full blogpost: https://allwoodhouse.org.au/the-grandmother-the-mother-and-the-daughter/
Chocolate Lilies Choir 💜💜

25/10/2026

Greetings Beloved, sprouting green thumbs and all,
October has sprung Spring into life. Everything is in flower or preparing for competition keeping you all busy clearing out the grasses and w**ds. I don't call any plant a 'w**d', it's just a plant from another continent. Those pretty yellow daisies of the Dandelion look so quaint. If I had one spare garden bed it would be for these, and then seeing the look on your friends face thinking you're a little bit nutty. Just think of it as the Medicinal Bed, with all of her healing properties.
Allwood's lovely old Lilac is sending out her sumptuous sweet perfume. That’s the feeling of warm weather.
Hopefully over the weekend you can all experience that wonderful scent of petrichor if something falls out of the sky.
With Iced Tea and crumbly cake crumbs
Regards
Helen🌿

25/10/2026

Rain won't get in the way of Reconciliation! 🖤💛 ❤️ What a brilliant Walk on Country and Indigenous plant walk today with Aunty Jo - Wiradjuri Elder, born and raised here on Wurundjeri country. So many people from the community came out despite the wet weather and we learnt from each other and shared knowledge about plants for medicine, food and fibres. Our gratitude to Nillumbik Shire Council and NRG Nillumbik Reconciliation Group for supporting the event, and to Hurstbridge Village and the Traders Association for supplying all of the refreshments, including delicious wattleseed muffins from Hurstbridge Patisserie 🙏 We also planted new indigenous plants at Allwood Neighbourhood House Inc with the help of our horticulturist, Jo. And we walked to Darabi yearning circle at Hurstbridge Primary School - it celebrates 20 years next year in 2027.

23/10/2026

This week for First Nations Fridays, I’d like to speak about the misconception that Aboriginal people didn’t fight back. That they didn’t organise and attempt to stem the flow of the newly arrived Europeans that sought to take their land and destroy their way of life.

We have many books in our First Nations Little Library at Allwood Neighbourhood House Inc that contests these wildly held mistruths. One in particular I can recommend is Why Weren’t We Told, by celebrated historian Henry Reynolds.

Quite close to where we filmed the Ned Kelly musical in Yarra Glen is the site of the 1840 Battle of Yering. This conflict arose when starving Wurundjeri people were prevented from harvesting potatoes by a new settler James Anderson on their tribal land in the area now know as Warrandyte.

The date was January 1840 and already the yam daisy (‘Murnong’), the longtime staple food of our first peoples in Victoria, had been decimated by the over grazing of the new settlers’ animals, particularly sheep.

Fenced out from their lands, the local clans would sometimes help themselves to the new potato crop for much needed sustenance.

On this occasion, a stand-off resulted, and the Wurundjeri moved to Willian Ryrie’s station at Yering where the clan had in the past, been successful in gaining employment and food. Troopers of the Border Police and a contingent of New South Wales mounted Police were dispatched to arrest the ‘troublesome blacks’ who had attempted to steal some potatoes at Warrandyte.

A battle erupted, and the ring leader, a Wurundjeri man by the name of Jaga Jaga was arrested and held in an outbuilding. He was subsequently aided in his escape by his clansmen.

A historical plaque was unveiled to commemorate The Battle of Yering (also known as Jaga Jaga's Resistance) in 2007 at the Yarra Flats Billabongs. This was just one of the many thousands of acts of resistance fought by our First Nations peoples.

The resistance to the “whitewashing” of their history – ancient and colonial – continues today and we encourage all readers of this blog to pick up a post-1970s history book and educate yourselves and your children. Australians have always been a proud, fearless people, but it didn’t begin in 1788.
We are stronger together.

Till next week Triganin – see you soon.
By David Kerrigan

Photos: Battle Of Yering Memorial Plaques, Yarra Flats Billabongs, Melba Highway, Yarra Glen. Artist: Margo Heeley
Full blog post: https://allwoodhouse.org.au/resistance-and-resilience/

23/10/2026

We're really looking forward to welcoming everyone on our Walk on Country - Indigenous Plant Walk & Community Planting workshop this Sunday 25 October, from 10:30am–12:30pm.

The weather is looking a little wet and wild, so please come prepared with a waterproof jacket, umbrella and suitable footwear!

We'll have tea, coffee and refreshments ready in the warm and dry main room at Allwood Neighbourhood House. If the weather is too stormy for our walk and planting, we'll simply bring things indoors, explore some native plants and enjoy a yarn with Aunty Jo.

We'll be going ahead rain or shine, and look forward to a lovely morning of learning, sharing and connecting with Country and community.

See you Sunday!

There are only a couple of tickets left for anyone who wants to join: https://events.humanitix.com/walk-on-country-indigenous-plant-walk-and-community-planting

21/10/2026

What a perfect evening last night for our AGM in the garden.
This year was an extra special celebration as we inducted 5 new community members into the Allwood Circle of Honour... Julie Moorfoot . Sarah Bedggood . David Kerrigan . Annie Fletcher . Sharon Turner (unfortunately Julie was not able to make it along)
Congratulation to all! Your contributions to Allwood over the years is what makes the Hurstbridge community so special.
Thank you to all who attended, and thank you to Lea for our beautiful annual report. It will be up on the website soon.. we just need to tidy up after the celebrations 😆

16/10/2026

This Saturday we premiered our Ned Kelly musical, directed by Will Williamson, co-produced by David Kerrigan and Keira de Hoog, acted out by members of The Bridge Collective and filmed by Tristan Pierce.

The movie, entitled Surrender Be Damned, was filmed at Gulf Station, the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people in the Yarra Valley.

Whilst there are no known stories of connection of Ned Kelly to the Wurundjeri people, there were six Aboriginal trackers who were brought down from Queensland to help locate Ned and the Kelly Gang in 1878.

One Aboriginal tracker died of pneumonia while enduring a Victorian winter and the descendants of all those Aboriginal trackers who helped capture Ned Kelly have been calling for payment promised to their ancestors, which has still never been honoured.

Jack Noble and Gary Owens, two of the Aboriginal trackers, were promised £50 each for their role in the capture of Ned Kelly. Despite the promise, they never received the money. The Victorian Police Rewards Board stated it was "not desirable to place any considerable sum of money in the hands of persons unable to use it."

Almost 150 years since the capture of Ned Kelly, injustice still remains towards those instrumental to his capture.

At Allwood, we are committed to reconciliation and continually educating ourselves and our community about First Nations people. We recognise that this story is just one of many held on this Country, whose histories stretch far beyond the colonial lens.

Photos: 1. Aboriginal trackers along with Queensland and Victorian police officers, 2. On the set of Surrender Be Damned, the Kelly Gang, starring Ben Strong music as Ned.

Blog piece: https://allwoodhouse.org.au/injustice-still-remains/

15/10/2026

📣TOMORROW NIGHT📣
Friday evenings are for ART! Join Mara from for Wildlife & Botanical Illustration
https://classbento.com.au/wildlife-and-botanical-illustration-class-melbourne

Join this wildlife and botanical illustration class, perfect for all skill levels.
In this workshop, you will learn how to draw wildlife and nature using observational and visual interpretation skills in an enjoyable and effective way.
Learn essential drawing skills that will help you create accurate and stunning illustrations of subjects of the natural world. You will study native animals and plants from photo references, models, and real-life examples.
No matter your level of skill or experience, you'll be guided through the process of creating wildlife and nature drawings from scratch. Each class includes practical and theoretical instruction, along with plenty of time to put your new knowledge into practice.
You will learn:
The fundamentals of drawing like proportions, value, light, shadow, form and shape.
Different shading methods.
Expert methods to create realistic drawings.
How to ‘connect your eyes’ to your drawing hand and be precise when analysing what you observe.
How to use the power of composition and the illusion of depth in your drawings.
Amazing and significant facts about Australia's precious wildlife and nature.
How to effectively communicate your ideas to create an original artwork.
We will use a range of different materials starting with simple pencil sketches to more advanced illustrations using coloured pencil, charcoal, pastels and ink.
Australia’s natural world is a fascinating place, being able to capture it through the process of drawing provides insights into life that can expand our knowledge and change how we think about ourselves and our environment.
By the way, your experienced tutor Mara is also a trained volunteer wildlife carer and can provide you with some astonishing facts about Australian wildlife!
What you'll get
You will take home your own unique artwork capturing Australia's wonderful wildlife and natural world.
All materials for colouring will be provided.

14/10/2026

Greetings Beloved and all of those busy green thumbs,

The Seville oranges hanging on the trees were just calling out to be picked. So I had to crawl on my hands and knees under the low branches, past the prickles, some new pulled threads on my jumper, and the threat of the odd spider in my hair, but the journey was worth it! On the northern side, there hiding in plain sight in the sun were beautiful golden delights the glorious Seville Oranges smiling at me amongst that hardy bright green foliage.
I had to pick a few to make some marmalade that I had ‘borrowed’ from the House. It is oh so yummy if you like that extra, extra tart marmalade. Thank you Mr Gray!

The rain has been a welcome stranger for many, especially those on tank water. Our gardens are soaking up all of that precious wet stuff with all of those much appreciated minerals and nutrients. Small amounts of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and nitrates picked up in the atmosphere. Nothing beats rain water.

Whether it’s the gentle breezes or howling winds, the sunny days always deliver that Spring time feeling, the ones you’ve been waiting for all Winter. I am relieved to deliver great news that the Yellow Banksia rose on the lovely new Main Rd arbour has bounced back to life after all of the disturbance and fuss around the soil and its roots. It is sending out large graceful boughs full of new growth and budding flowers.
Ah, the garden is only just starting to wake up and keep many souls happy as they wander around Allwood Neighbourhood House grounds. Come in and say hello. You will always find friendly faces to help with any enquiries about the new term activities.

May your Spring be filled with wildflowers, peaceful mornings, soft adventures and beautiful moments that stay with you long after the golden light has faded.

Regards
Helen🌿

13/10/2026

Next Tuesday 20th October
You are invited to our Annual General Meeting!

Join us as we celebrate another wonderful 12 months of working alongside and supporting our community.

We’ll present our reports for the 2025–2026 financial year, reflecting on the year that has been and the work we’ve achieved together.

We’ll also honour some of our community’s key contributors by welcoming them into our Circle of Honour, recognising their valued contribution to our community.

Members will have the opportunity to nominate and vote for members of the Committee of Governance.

Light refreshments will be served. We’d love to see you there!
RSVP https://events.humanitix.com/allwood-agm-2026

12/10/2026

Saturday 25th October
Life gets busy. Mum + Daughter Dates are a chance to step away from it all and spend some one-on-one time with your girl.

Each date includes a fun creative activity to do together, little moments designed to help you connect, a take home mum + daughter journal activity and most importantly, time that’s just for the two of you.

Check out or https://www.redsisters.com.au/md-date for information and booking

11/10/2026

Such a wonderful night last night, launching our mini movie musical about Ned Kelly - SURRENDER BE DAMNED - starring members of The Bridge Collective, the performing arts group in Hurstbridge. Walking the red carpet at St Andrews Hall in style ;-) Thank you to everyone who came and to the director, Will Williamson for travelling from Swanpool to make it extra special. 📸 Tristan Pierce

You can now watch and download the movie at home: https://events.humanitix.com/own-surrender-be-damned-the-movie-at-home

09/10/2026

New art classes for adults are now being offered with Tamara at Scribble Cat Studios at Allwood on Friday nights!
Taking bookings - bring a friend and all welcome no experience necessary 😊
https://www.scribblecatstudios.com

09/10/2026

We're super excited to launch some new art classes for adults with Tamara at Scribble Cat Studios 🎨 All welcome - taking bookings now!

Scribble Cat Studios provides art classes including drawing, painting, illustration, manga art and visual storytelling for beginners and experienced students in Melbourne.