In 1979, being engaged in your community was done through the people you knew – your community groups, your friends and family – and, of course, your local paper.
That’s when the Mountain Views began publishing, with Mardie Lambert at the helm highlighting local issues, including the then-recent closure of the railway line to Healesville.
For 20 years it told the stories of the community through passionate local reporters such as Kath Gannway, who only recently hung up her hat at the paper, before in 1999 becoming the Mountain Views Mail you see today.
And even today, people are eager to read their local paper – to see what’s made news, for updates on community projects or sporting games, or to find out what performances or programs are happening in their area.
Forty years since the Mountain Views began, it’s become far easier to stay up to date with your community – community groups have moved online and people are more connected through social media, meaning it’s easier to know what’s happening as it’s happening.
The Mountain Views and the team at the Mail have navigated that transition well, so now the local paper is as much about the stories posted throughout the week as it is the printed publication we look for on Tuesday mornings.
For so many of us, it’s a ritual to pick up the local paper and spend some quiet minutes catching up on community issues or reading about local people getting recognition for their great work, to disconnect from a screen and digest it all in print with a coffee.
Having that physical publication or seeing an article posted online under the banner of a trusted local media outlet gives the stories being told weight and importance.
For grassroots campaigns and people trying to make a difference in the community, having an article published about that work gives a clear, heartening message – your story matters.
There are so many important stories across our community that matter – so many more than could be held in the pages of any number of books or newspapers – and now it’s more important than ever to have an independent, objective and passionate local press covering and showcasing them.
Congratulations to the Mail team on their 40th year of the Mountain Views.
I hope it’s just the latest milestone of many for a beloved local paper.
Yarra Ranges Mayor, Tony Stevenson
