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Welcome to Newlands Community News!

Newlands Community News is happy to publish all sorts of news from people in the Newlands (and surrounding) community. Please send your news in an email to 

The story of the Newlands community email list…

A lot of us have never met but we are joined regularly in communication about local events. We are part of an email group of around 190 families living in and around North Coburg.

The community email list,  as we now know it, started with six email addresses in April 2007. What began as an email list for keeping in contact with people in our newly formed fruit and vegetable co-op, grew into an email list of large proportions that provides a wonderful service to a lot of people in our community. With the rise of technological communications our use of a local email list to share news sell and swap things, support local campaigns, organise dinner rosters, advertise events and run food co-ops has benefited all who are part of it.

Last week a local person had some tins of formula that they no longer needed and let the email list know, another local made contact and donated the tins of formula to a women’s refuge. Every few months a clothes swap is organised to raise funds for local needs, the clothes swap is advertised via the list and we get together and get rid of unwanted things and collect whatever we like the look of. It’s wonderful, all of our children are continually sharing their clothes! The leftover clothes are donated to a not-for-profit organisations that send the clothes to the Phillipines - this was suggested by yet another local!

This week I bought locally made bread and honey, both beautifully delicious. I picked each up from a front veranda and in one case met someone on the list that I had never met face to face.

People come to the list in different ways and the list has thus changed into something I could not have imagined some five years ago. I have made many new friends and I have marvelled at watching the list grow and evolve.

Now for the change…

It is now time to create the ultimate ‘community’ list. A local by the name of Janet has designed a way for us to continue sharing our lives that is truly owned by the community.

Instead of sending your email via mel alexander, you will need to send your email to newlandscommunitynews@gmail.com and whoever is looking after the list will post your information on the website. It will then be emailed to the community list each morning at 9.00am. This also means that instead of getting a large number of emails you will only receive one email per day. Each email will contain all of the days’ posts.

Everything will be moderated by Janet and I (and hopefully a few more others in the future). To keep the site a bit more local we have set it up so it is not searchable by search engines. People will come to the site from links on other sites and by being referred by other people in the community. For more information on how it all works please see out FAQ.

Thank you to everyone.



2 comments:

  1. Organic Jam fundraiser
    There is still some Medicine for Tibet Jam left. This is a fund raiser to maintain a medical centre in an isolated area of Tibet. See www.medicinefortibet.org. The jam is organic made by my sister from black currants grown at Highland Herbs Tasmania. . www.highlandherbs.com.au
    Jam costs $9 per jar or 5 for $40.
    Black Currant Coulis is $8 per jar

    They would make great Christmas presents or Kris Kringles.

    I also have Medicine for Tibet T shirts in size small (in white, pink and pale green) and extra small (in white and pale green). They are good for small women (sizes 8 & 10) or big children and cost $20.


    I will deliver to the Newlands area or people can pick up. I could bring some to the clothes swap on Sunday. Contact Barbara on breeckman@gmail.com or 0402137803

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  2. How can I subscribe please?

    ReplyDelete