Leetsvale News September 2011  click here for October     Back

The Hawkesbury Canoe Classic

This is an early reminder to anyone intending to join this classic event that the last registration is 7th October (although I understand that you can enter as late as 19th October with a late fee). The Canoe Classic is a registered charity.

The canoe race will be held this year on 22 October. It starts at Macquarie Park, Windsor and finishes at Brooklyn, a distance of 111km so it is quite a marathon. It is a fun paddle event to raise money for medical research, so you can sponsor a participant or enter it yourself. The major beneficiary is the Arrow Bone  Marrow Transplant Foundation. which funds  medical research into the cause, prevention, treatment and cure of leukaemia and other diseases treatable by bone marrow and stem cell therapy.  They also help patients and carers and provide wigs to cancer patients who have hair loss through radiotherapy or chemotherapy. 

More information can be obtained from http://www.canoeclassic.asn.au/and http://www.arrow.org.au/

Jazz at the Pines

This is on Saturday 18th September at Roughley House, 656 Old Northern Road, Dural a property of historic interest so if you love Jazz follow this link for more information
http://www.sydneyhillsaustralia.com.au/events/default.asp?id=12

Road Repairs

There are people who are still driving far too fast on the Park roads. The speed limit on the access road is 15 kph and after the boom gate you must not drive faster than 10 kph.

I'd like to sincerely thank those people who advised on reliable people to quote and to those who gave advice on how to maintain the roads and repair pot holes as they arise.

Waste Disposal

We are waiting to hear the results of Ben's attempt to secure a skip for the Park at long last. Meanwhile, as always, we need to remind everyone that kitchen waste must NOT be put into the recycling bins and vice versa.


The collection of waste occurs on Tuesday morning and bins therefore are put out on Monday evening. If you are here for the weekend please dispose of such smelly garbage as close as you can to Monday and keep it in your freezer until then.

Boat sheds

Thanks to everyone - the sheds are now all sorted out and two of them have been offered to the people on the waiting list.

Fire  Season

First I want to remind everyone again to please send your stat decs about the smoke alarms to the council if you have not already done so. If you are coming to the Park soon it would be a good time to clean the roofs and gutters of your vans before the weather is too hot in order to minimise the fire danger for the coming season. Also ensure you have a fire blanket and that your fire extinguishers are in working order. 

For those people who mow the grassy areas near their units and do not mulch the grass we are asking you to put the clippings in the clear area next to the mulch pile behind the trailer parking area. This is important as a fire started in the grass clippings that were mounded near the drop to the ramp road between vans 36 and 37. 

There are two issues here... the first is that it is possible for a compost heap to burn when the outside layers become very dry after hot and windy weather. The second is that someone also poured their HOT COALS from their BBQ onto that heap. Whatever the sequence of events, a fire broke out and it is too close to the vans to be safe.

Please don't dispose of your coals before you go home if there is the remotest chance they are still hot as wind can fan embers into flames. It is better to make sure that they are extinguished and leave them in the BBQ until your next visit and dispose of them when you clean your grill and plate ready for your next BBQ.

HSC visit

Ben Loiacono and Luke Herron from the Hills Shire Council (HSC) visited the Park on Wednesday 7/9/11. They went around and looked at every site and building. They mentioned again that things should not be stored around or under vans. Also everyone needs to remember to keep the walkways between the vans clear and free of stored goods. This is important for both flood and fire. 

It is also important to note that alterations or additions to your sites needs to go through council. This is their website (good luck with searches)
http://www.thehills.nsw.gov.au/

You can view or download the recent information about applications on the council website by clicking this link:

Application Requirments for Caravan Installation


The application for installing an annex or other structure can be downloaded from the main Hills Shire website. The current application fee is $185.50 but this will increase each year. The form is available here.

Application to Install a rigid annex, associated structure or relocatable home