20 years ago: July 19, 2002
Renowned Olympic equestrian and chairman of the Australian Equestrian Federation, Barry Roycroft visited Castlemaine to take part in a two day show jumping and eventing course. The equestrian legend took the riders through intensive drills in dressage, show jumping and cross country.
In other news reduced federal road funding and insurance premium price rises were behind a 7.25 per cent rate rise proposed in the shire’s draft budget.
15 years ago: July 13, 2007
At the urging of the community the owners of the Wesley Hill General Store Peter Smith and Abbie Freeman had entered their famed vanilla slice in the 10th annual competition to find Australia’s Best Vanilla Slice in Ouyen.
Some landholders whose property would be crossed by the Goldfields Superpipe were critical of the consultation and planning processes for the project and Mount Alexander Shire Council adopted its draft budget with a rate rise of seven per cent. $10 million was to be spent on capital works and $1 million on bridges.
10 years ago: July 6, 2012
The owners of Castlemaine Taxi’s expressed concerns sweeping changes proposed for the taxi industry would kill Castlemaine’s cab service. Owners Mark Baker and David Stephens said that with no restrictions on the number of taxis allowed to operate in a particular area and no regard for market demands the changes would lead to a glut of cabs on the road. The owners said in the short term it may mean more taxis on the road but in the long term taxi drivers and operators would struggle to survive on drastically reduced income.
5 years ago: July 28, 2017
A shock announcement sent art-loving members of the community into disbelief. The board of the Castlemaine Art Museum announced that the venue would close to the public as of August 11, 2017 with the aim of reopening for the State Festival in March 2019. Reasoning behind the closure included a range of operational and strategic challenges, such as significant reductions in revenue along with deep-rooted vulnerabilities in financial structures. Fortunately the beloved institution has since reopened and is once again thriving.
