Castlemaine played Maryborough in the penultimate round in Division 2 of the Goldfields District Croquet pennant season last week knowing a win would leave them in the box position to take the shield. It was a shaky start. In the opening singles game, Steve Duffy went down to Peter Silver seven hoops to three. Heather Crawley kept the home team alive beating Cherry Passalick 7-4. In the reverse singles, Duffy put Castlemaine in front beating Passalick 7-5, then it was Silver’s turn to even things up for Maryborough, beating Crawley 7-3. The doubles would decide the outcome and the Castlemaine pair were dominant recording a 7-1 victory.
In Division 3, Castlemaine kept themselves in the running with a strong four games to one win over the Eaglehawk Eagles. Paul Allen won both his singles games with Paul Williams having one win and a loss before they combined to take the doubles. There are still two rounds to play in Division 3. Castlemaine had the bye this week and will be hoping Quarry Hill upset the unbeaten Kyneton
Yellow.
The Castlemaine Rocky Riders Mountain Bike Club, Dirt Crits Series starts on Thursday November 6 and registrations are now open!
Dirt Crits is a junior cross country mountain bike event series, consisting of 10 rounds of mountain biking fun. Five events will be held in November-December 2025 and a further five in February-March 2026 at the Walmer Forest trailhead, Daltons Road Castlemaine.
Dirt Crits are run as a handicapped format, with individual start times and laps to complete calculated week-to-week, based on lap times. So on any given week, anyone can win!
There are two categories: Dirt Cubs (age 3-7) and Dirt Masters (ages 8-14).
Castlemaine Rocky Riders member Mandy Chilcott said the Dirt Crits are all about fun.
“We encourage riders of all abilities to come and have a go, either to compete, or to just roll around and enjoy our local trails in a friendly and inclusive environment,” she said.
Cost of entry for each week of racing is just a gold coin donation. To register follow the link on the Castlemaine Rocky Riders Facebook page or visit www.rockyriders.com for more information.
The passionate ‘HEDGE’ gardeners collective in Mount Alexander will be generously opening their garden gates to the community once again this November.
Held on alternate years to Castlemaine’s biennial Festival of Gardens, HEDGE (which stands for – Happy, Energetic, Dirt-Loving, Garden Enthusiasts) enjoy celebrating their love of all things gardening with fellow green thumbs.
This year’s HEDGE event will run for nine days from this Saturday November 1 through until Sunday November 9, and feature 12 incredibly diverse local gardens, some of which will be open for the first time.
The Mail recently enjoyed a sneak peak at Alison McMillan’s gorgeous sprawling garden on her property ‘Fox Hollow’ at Moonlight Flat on the fringe of Castlemaine.
McMillan is a renowned stained-glass artist whose works grace buildings across the state and beyond, most notably her massive commission at the Austin Rehabilitation Hospital Chapel – a project which has spanned 40 years.
When she is not in her workshop Alison can be found enjoying her second passion – gardening.
This incredible garden is a wonderful example of one woman’s labour of love with Alison having painstaking build the gardens surrounding her home from the ground up over a 28 year period.
Aside from some stone and muscle from late friends Ramon Pavlin and Casha Wilson, who helped put some of the larger rock monikers in place and built the foundations of a couple of stone walls, Alison has spent countless hours carting wheelbarrow loads of soil, sand, and stone to build each garden bed, vegetable patch, walls and paths, and installed hundreds of plants and cuttings, tons of mulch, and installed thoughtful sculptures, artworks and meaningful relics to create some magical spaces which have to be seen to be believed.
We started our tour in a garden a short stroll from the home aptly named the ‘Family Circle’.
“Here I have various quirky art pieces dedicated to various aunts and uncles and other family members. There is a ‘eye tooth’ shaped rock inspired by a comical story about my aunt losing her false teeth, a railway artifact in honour of my uncle who was among those who helped save Puffin’ Billy, a Norway Maple for my mum ‘Norma’, and a bootmaker’s ‘shoe last’ in honour of my grandfather who was a leather merchant and had a shoe shop in Prahran. There is also a special stone bearing runes carved by my daughter atop the table in the centre of the space and stepping stones to represent each of my cousins,” Alison said.
From here visitors wander into the Lilly Garden which as the name suggests is awash with lillies and also features a water lily pond and then onto the Pinnacle Garden and Cacti Corner which includes some thriving cacti salvaged from the former Borderline Garden Centre at McKenzie Hill and a swath of other cacti species.
From here the ‘Boundary Garden’ meanders down the fenceline (also completely constructed by Alison) past two innovative ‘soaks’, designed to protect the driveway from torrential downpours and divert the excess water into the garden, and down to the ‘Old Rose Garden’ and extensive vegetable patch.
Alison has utilised some innovative techniques using sand and pots to create a thriving vegetable garden which provides everything from herbs and lettuce to ripened tomatoes.
From this space visitors move on to ‘The Terraces’, constructed during covid, which offer lovely views over ‘The Golden Pond’ (dam) and wind back to the original ‘Trentham Garden’ which was built from cuttings foraged from her former home at Trentham.
Whilst building her garden Alison is also proud to have completely eradicated invasive species Cape Weed and Barley Grass through three years of patience and persistence. The colourful vistas which surround her home are a testament to what can be achieved and a living example of what plants will survive and thrive in Australia’s often harsh climate.
Be sure to pick up your copy of the HEDGE brochure the Castlemaine Visitor Centre, Maldon Visitor Centre and various nurseries around the district and visit the eclectic mix of gardens on offer. Entry to the gardens is by gold coin donation with funds to support wildlife rescue unless otherwise stipulated at each garden.
Rotarians have been on extended walks around town the past few weeks for a very good reason. October is Walk for Polio month as Rotary International strives to eradicate polio in the world.
On World Polio Day, October 24, local Rotarians were urging community members to get behind the cause and help them win this battle.
Foundation Director John Clue said the fight against Polio began in 1979.
“Through decades of commitment and work by Rotary and our partners, more than 3 billion children have received the oral polio vaccination,” John said.
“Rotary members have contributed more than $2.1 billion and countless volunteer hours to protect nearly 3 billion children in 122 countries from this paralysing disease,” he said.
“Our goal of ridding the world of this disease is closer than ever. Today, polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan.”
While members of the Rotary Club of Castlemaine are doing their modest bit to assist with the fundraising, they are heartened that the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation is matching every dollar raised with an additional $2 which gives a massive boost to their efforts.
Club President Trevor Bray says that this is a wonderful example of how Rotary makes an impact world-wide.
“This quest to eradicate polio started with Rotary and very soon will end thanks to Rotary.”
Anyone wanting to help boost the fundraising efforts of Rotary’s Castlemaine Strollers team can do so through an online portal: https://www.rotarywalkwithus.org/
Scroll through to select the Castlemaine Strollers team or donate for Rotary’s number one global project being the eradication of polio from the world.
An estimated crowd of 2500 people flocked to the Flowserve TKL open day on Saturday October 18 to mark the iconic Castlemaine foundry’s 150th anniversary.
Visitors enjoyed free coffee compliments of Flowserve and a snag thanks to the team from Rotary Castlemaine and the rare chance to wander through the factory as the sounds of the Thompsons Foundry Band filled the air.
Visitors learned about some of the history and incredible products produced by the foundry over the last 150 years from former employee and longtime local resident George Milford who has penned a new book, The Foundry – 150 years of Thompsons Castlemaine.
The company founded by Irish brothers David and James Thompson who descended from a long line of foundry workers. Thompsons was born following a mining windfall at Quartz Hill at Chewton. They initially built a flour mill which produced award winning flour, before shifting their focus to engineering and supporting the mining, agriculture and engineering needs of Castlemaine and district and beyond before branching into to rail and trains, wartime munitions and triple-expansion steam engines for the HMAS Castlemaine, and ultimately forged a name for its world-renowned pumps.
The event gave those in attendance a wonderful chance to chat to past and present employees.
Among those to attend were former employee Ken McDougall, pictured below, who was responsible for keeping the boilers firing – hauling 17 ton of wood a day!
During his time with the company Ken also worked on the cranes and forklifts, filled in as staff nurse, spent time as a night watchman, and also had the responsibility of sounding the whistle for shifts and breaks.
“It was hard work but it was a great team and we had a lot of fun along the way,” Ken said.
Ken said one of his most memorable days on the job was when the police approached the company for assistance to destroy a multi-million dollar cannabis haul.
“We really put the boilers to work that day and Channel 9 were on hand to film the spectacle!” Ken said.
Among the special guests at Saturday’s event was Bendigo Federal MP Lisa Chesters who assisted Flowserve Project Engineer Specialist and event organiser David Lawrence to unveil a plaque to celebrate the 150 year milestone.
The celebrations coincided with supporting events attended by hundreds of visitors at Billmans Foundry where spectators enjoyed a live metal pour, Castlemaine Historical Society, and the Maldon Vintage Engine Museum.
The inaugural Spring Fashion Show last Friday will be remembered as a highlight event of the year by everyone who attended.
There were queues of well-dressed patrons waiting to enter the fabulously adorned historic town hall, to cheer as their friends and family braved the runway and a full house (including a bus full of Newstedians) enjoyed the festivities.
Held to raise money for the Castlemaine State Festival, which starts in March 2026 and will celebrate 50 years of operation, the event was planned by one of the CSF founders, Phee Broadway, with talented fashion designer Ulrike von Radichevich from Rike Designs.
Support was provided by five local fashion houses including; Rike Designs, Mensland Castlemaine, Ivy & Grace, Corner Store Merchants, and Aolita, together with over 30 models representing the diversity of the town and an impressive front and back-of-house team.
The organisation required was massive and was achieved with precision, while the atmosphere created for the audience was ‘Party time, Relax and Enjoy!’
The fashions were worn with confidence and style by models often well-known to the audience who cheered them on, and by the end of the evening, the models were even dancing down the catwalk!
Georgina Heydon, as the creative MC, encouraged the audience to take note of where the garments and accessories could be purchased and reminded us that Castlemaine was indeed a Fashion Capital where new trends are being set.
There are many highlights to remember: the ‘Stair Angels’ were two young men who waited at the top of the catwalk to help the models descend effortlessly. They were dressed in military style and acted out their part impeccably.
The MC announced a ‘celebrities recognition’ as one of the highlights for the night – a totally at ease Rosie Annear appeared in a stunning outfit, followed by the co-directors of the State Festival, Linda Sproul and Martin Paten, dressed in outfits we hope to see them wear next March!
The ages of the models ranged from teenagers to older members of the community. After all, isn’t fashion for everyone?
This event showed that art and fashion are perfect partners and that the community is ready to embrace both!
