Shaken and stirred

By MARA PATTISON-SOWDEN
YARRA Valley residents had a restless night last Tuesday when an earthquake hit Gippsland, sending aftershocks across the state.
The 5.4 magnitude quake hit Moe at about 9pm and was felt across Melbourne as far as Ballarat.
After the earthquake, the state was hit by damaging winds and minor flooding, with the SES keeping a close watch on the Yarra River at Millgrove, Coldstream and Yarra Glen, and the Watts River at Healesville until Friday.
Launching Place resident Evie Gasser said she had a pretty restless night when the quake hit.
“It was pretty frightening, it was shocking,” she said.
“I was sitting in the front room and suddenly it was as if a truck engine started and it was so fierce.
“It felt like it moved very slowly through the house as if you were riding waves.”
Children at the Yarra Valley Youth Theatre Group had a fright while practicing for their upcoming play at the arts centre in Warburton.
Claire Bamford said the earthquake rattled everyone in the hall.
“It was very scary and the kids were jumpy … we all just wanted to get home,” she said.
“Becky (Lee), the director, was excellent at keeping everybody calm and stopping the panic and mad dash to the door.”
But Healesville’s tennis team were so busy playing its grand final the players didn’t notice the tremor, despite several spectators viewing the Queens Park Clubhouse noisily shaking.
Healesville Tennis Club president Kathy Cameron said the birds anxiously flew out of the trees lining Badger Creek Road.
“They hovered with flapping wings and making eerie scared bird noises,” she said.
“Our eight players were so focussed on the season’s final game that they didn’t miss a shot or feel any movement of the ground beneath the courts.”