Castlemaine community radio station MainFM’s (94.9) annual and much loved community fundraiser will return again for the King’s Birthday long weekend in June 2026. They are welcoming registrations from all members of the community.
They encourage women and gender diverse people to register.
Training happens weekly, beginning in April, in a welcoming, all inclusive environment, under the watchful eye of experienced coaches.
Whether you’re a seasoned player, a total beginner, young, old, or anywhere in between — all ages, all genders and all abilities are welcome to register.
Join the Radio Galahs or the Rockatoos for a day of fun, footy and community spirit.
Register now via MainFM’s website – mainfm.net – and be part of one of Castlemaine’s favourite traditions! Registrations close on January 12.
The latest edition of the Castlemaine Mail is out today! The special commemorative edition looks back at the stories that made headlines in 2025. Be sure to grab your copy! The next edition of the Mail will hit local newsstands on Friday, January 9.
Castlemaine’s pre-Christmas parkrun 497 captured the feel-good factor the event is known for.
Organisers welcomed visitors, celebrated milestones, and hosted the tunnel of love tribute. The amazing volunteers also embraced the festive spirit.
With 168 participants and volunteers, this was the biggest turnout since the record-breaking Easter crowds in April. Eleven were new to parkrun, including a first-timer from Groote Eylandt in East Arnhem Land, and visitors from Cairns and Hobart.
Milestones were recognised for Dhi Singh, who completed his 50th parkrun in a new PB of 23:49, and Daniel Broderick, who reached his 25th milestone. Dhi has been a regular at Castlemaine since 2023, and his steady improvement in 2025 saw him break his PB seven times. Daniel joined in March and has shaved 5:23 off his best time following nine PBs. We look forward to seeing both progress in 2026.
Congratulations to all participants, including those who achieved new best times: Brad Smith, Alexander Bailey, Hamish McCoy, Tanya Kopelke, Stephen Cox, Allison Hughes and Harriet Webb.
Margaret Clarke was the highest achieving age grade of 78.92% in a time of 26:29, followed by Andrew Beaman at 75.68% and Rohan Singh at 71.55%. Rohan also was the first finisher in 18:52, followed by Morgan McLure in 19:23 (a new PB) and Damien Harrison in 20:36. Simoen Van Der
Meent was the first female to finish in 22:02. With four of the first 10 finishers being junior runners, the future of athletics looks bright.
Led by run director Karina Taylor, the event ran like clockwork thanks to all the volunteers who made the event possible: Shana Chong, Christine Christie, Ronder Clayton, Robyn English, Donna Faircloth, Pam Joseph, Peter Joseph, Lisa Minchin and Dave Petrusma.
Parkrun is an inclusive event whereby participants complete 5km distance in the Botanical Gardens.
You can run, jog or walk; participate by volunteering, meet new people or just focus on your health. How you participate is up to you.
There is no pressure in finishing last, as this is the role of the tailwalker, and it happens to be one of the most popular volunteer roles on the roster. The roles are wide ranging and include course checker, bar code scanner or photographer. As summer is the busiest time, we are always looking
out for more volunteers. If you are interested, please sign up at www.parkrun.com.au and register for a barcode.
With extra Christmas Day and New Year’s Day events scheduled, it gives everyone the chance to join over the holiday season. Come along and experience the camaraderie of the parkrun community.
Castlemaine Primary School and the school’s Parents & Carers Club would like to thank the Castlemaine and district community for their incredible support of their ‘2025 Spooky Fete’ which was held at the school on October 24.
The fete was held as part of a major campaign by the school’s Parents & Carers Club to raise funds to build a new playground to replace the school’s former timber playground, which was removed almost four years ago due to safety concerns.
Parents & Carers Club members Sarah and Milly said the group was formed in 2024 to foster connection in the school community, encourage parents to get involved and lend a hand in day-to-day school life, and help raise vital funds to support the school to fund important infrastructure such as a new senior playground and items for which funding streams are not available.
“Our students have been incredibly resilient only having access to a small junior playground and the newly refurbished oval and basketball court. They get creative and make their own fun, but we feel it’s vital that they have access to a new playground and all the benefits which come with such a space,” Milly said.
They are delighted to announce that the fete raised an incredible total of $25,081 which will go towards Stage 1 of the school’s Playground Redevelopment.
“It was a really fantastic night. The children chose the theme of Halloween and organised a range of stalls including a cake stall, chocolate trailer, mystery jars, books and badges, a Glam Tent where you could get your hair, nails and makeup down, and a ‘Dungeon Disco!’
“We’d like to thank the community for coming along to support the event and all the local businesses which contributed to our $8000 Mega Raffle for their wonderful generosity,” Milly said.
The three stage plan will see a brand new state-of-the-art playspace built at the school.
The project has an estimated cost of around $130,000 with the Parents and Carers Club aiming to hold several more fundraisers in 2026 in order to be able to fund Stage 1.
“Stage 1 is the most expensive stage as it includes the foundation works for the remaining two stages. We have a number of fundraisers planned to help make this first stage a reality so watch this space!” Sarah said.
If anyone would like to make a donation towards the project or would like to make a contribution towards future fundraising events please contact the school.
