OCTOBER
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October 3: Super trainer Darren Weir won the $125000 bet365 Benalla Gold Cup with Mr Garcia, as well as taking the quinella when stablemate Last Week finished just a short head away in second.
The Ensign ran a feature marking the 25th anniversary of the ’93 floods.
Work started on a huge rail siding to service the new precast concrete facility being built in Benalla.
October 10: Benalla’s Tyson Cromie took out the pairs event at the Australian Under-18 Lawn Bowls Championships in Brisbane.
A family home was destroyed by fire in Baddaginnie.
Tragically two lives were lost in two separate single-vehicle traffic accidents.
October 17: The Benalla Saints senior coaching reins were passed onto James Martiniello for the 2019 season.
Benalla’s Graham Moore returned from the trip of a lifetime — a holiday to the UK to meet his long-lost brother.
AFLW prospect Becky Webster showed she has the athleticism to play at the top level at the AFL Draft Combine.
October 24: Despite some rain, and maybe the loudest thunder clap ever heard by human ears, the 2018 Benalla Show was a big success.
Benalla’s Rob Adelberg forward flipped his way to gold at the Sydney X-Games.
Benalla Bowls Club held it’s annual All Abilities Lawn Bowls Day which was enjoyed by all.
October 31: Benalla Rural City Councillor Scott Upston returned from coaching at the Invictus Games in Sydney, where he helped the Aussie team to 17 medals.
Benalla’s Becky Webster was drafted by Geelong at pick seven for the 2019 AFLW season.
The Benalla Bowls Club was awarded the Best All Abilities Club in Victoria by Bowls Victoria.
NOVEMBER
November 7: Benalla Ensign ran a feature marking 100 years since the Armistice was signed to bring an end to World War I.
Benalla Saints announced Will Martiniello would be returning home to the Saints for 2019 after a stellar season for Maribyrnong Park in the Essendon District Football League.
Spectators flocked to Winton Motor Raceway to see the Australian Tractor Pull Event for the first time at the venue.
November 14: The sun arrived on cue and Benalla residents were out in force to enjoy the closing weekend of this year’s festival.
Goorambat announced Sam Gladstone as senior coach for the 2019 season.
Young budding creative writers were presented awards at the library as part of the 2018 Benalla Festivals writing competition, with the theme ‘‘Our Backyard’’.
November 21: Benalla was gearing up to get a second street art festival with the first annual ‘‘Window-to-Window’’ set to decorate the town.
At a Special Meeting of Benalla Rural City Council, Cr Scott Upston was elected Mayor and Cr Peter Davis was elected Deputy Mayor.
Benalla was one of 20 Bowls Clubs across the Goulburn Valley region to host the Steller Victorian Open for 2018.
November 28: While Labor was getting across the line with a landslide victory in the state election, the seat of Euroa reversed the trend returning incumbent Nationals candidate Steph Ryan.
The Benalla Community came together to support the White Ribbon Campaign to end family violence at a special event at the drill hall, with weather conditions prohibiting the annual march.
Benalla Bowls Club coach and coordinator Matt Robertson went all the way in the Men’s Triples at the Steller Victorian Open.
DECEMBER
December 5: The first annual Window to Window street art festival was a massive success, with locals and visitors flocking to Benalla’s CBD to see the array of spectacular art.
Former resident Anne-Maree Keenan received one of the highest honours a person in the UK can get when she was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) by the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
The Great Victorian Bike Ride 2018 concluded in Benalla with cyclists from across the state crossing the finishing line.
December 12: The Ensign ran a feature on former Benalla Saint and current young Hawthorn footballer Harry Morrison who was given the number one jumper for the 2019 AFL season- following in the footsteps of his godfather Ken Judge who also donned number one for the Hawks.
Winton Motor Raceway hosted university students from home and abroad for the Formula SAE-A (Society of Automotive Engineers-Australasia).
A crowd of more than 300 invited guests attended a special ceremony at Stringybark Creek to honour three policemen killed by the Kelly gang in 1878.
December 19: Benalla Rural City Council took a page from Geelong’s playbook by authorising a floating Christmas tree on Lake Benalla.
With only five shopping days left before Christmas when this edition of The Ensign was published, locals were being urged to support Benalla’s retailers by shopping local.
Christmas came early for local brothers Ethan and Rhyss Scipione when they were awarded cheques from the Benalla Young Sportsperson Trust to help the soccer stars represent their teams for club Goulburn Valley Suns.