History of the Grapevine - first edition

The Grapevine, now published as the King Valley Community Grapevine, is an institution around Moyhu and the wider district. The first fifty editions, published before the advent of the IT revolution, show a community involvement that appears to have been lost in the twenty first century.

The first edition of the Grapevine was published in November 1993. It was called the "Moyhu Community Newsletter" and was funded by the Moyhu Lion's Club. The editorial committee was comprised of Dorothy Casey, Tina James, Neil Jarrott, Denise & Glen McCallum and Fiona Sheather. Eventually, Dorothy Casey became the sole editor producing 100 outstanding editions that ultimately won awards for the best community newsletter in the North East of Victoria.

The first few editions were photocopied, cut and paste projects. By edition five, Jeremy Wozniac of the King Valley Tree farm joined the team and computerised the publication and had it produced by Wangaratta TAFE.

The first edition can be downloaded below. It truly was a community publication with contributions by the Cubs, the Brownies, Home-Care (Shire Oxley), Moyhu & District Youth Club, Moyhu Tennis Club, Moyhu Lions Club, Moyhu Community Health Centre, Moyhu Fire Brigade, Moyhu Playgroup, Moyhu & District Pre-School, Myrrhee Primary School, Neighbourhood Watch, Moyhu Primary School, King Valley Learning Exchange, Moyhu & District Senior Citizens Club and the Moyhu Cricket Club.

The highlight of the firat edition is the Moyhu CFA report of the 1993 flooding of the King River.

Those days of local community involvement seem a long way away. Local contributors to the February 2006 edition of the King Valley Community Grapevine are the Moyhu Lions Club, O&K Community Health, Green Thumbs Garden Group and the King Valley Learning Exchange. The remaining content comes from the Rural City of Wangaratta and the State Government.

The Watchdog will republish the early editions so that we can all get a better understanding of our local culture. Click on each page for enlargement