CHARLTON NEIGHBOURHOOD HOUSE

​Another successful weekend was enjoyed by a large group of visitors to Charlton for the annual miniatures wargaming event, The Mallee Melee. Now in its sixth year, players from across Victoria returned for a tournament where battles representing the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1944 were played out across 7 large tables. The games main focus was the strategically important railway town of Debrecen and its access to the Carpathian Mountains. 
Visitors across the weekend were surprised at the detailed painted scaled miniature figures, which take many hours to prepare, and the magnificently decorated tables of terrain. Forests, rivers, villages, bridges and more were all replicated on the table with some historical accuracy. Previous years have seen battles on the beaches of Normandy, Shiloh in the American Civil War, and Napoleonic weekends amongst others.
The event itself is a terrific drawcard to the town, and the many visitors support local accommodation and hospitality businesses. The warm welcome they receive here in Charlton ensures they all enjoy returning and catching up with friends they have made along the way. As well as local business the other winner is the Royal Flying Doctor Service where part of the players entry cost and donations across the weekend assist their terrific work.
This event was again proudly supported again by the Charlton Neighbourhood House, along with Buloke Shire, Charlton’s Bendigo Bank and Kookas Country Cookies. Best news of all is that many of the players have already booked their accommodation for the next Melee in 2027. 

The Charlton Neighbourhood was pleased to present a very special free school holiday screening at the Rex Cinema on Friday July 10. The extremely popular movie ‘The Faraway Tree ' was preceded by an amazing craft session for over 50 children hosted by Poppy, Xanthe and Carolyn. A range of magic themed items were assembled by some very creative young minds.
With a lovely morning on offer, a large number of additional families arrived for the show, and judging by the excited children leaving the cinema, the event was a huge success. We all realise how fortunate we are to have both some terific young people so invested in the children of our district, and also the wonderful venue that is the Rex Theatre.