Local history buff and photographer David Williamson had the opportunity to enjoy a tour behind the scenes of the new Woolworths Castlemaine supermarket build last Thursday August 1 with representatives of Maben which are carrying out the build on behalf of Lascorp Investment Group.

Williamson has been documenting the changing face of Castlemaine for many years and has been watching the development closely and documenting the historic build from the ground up.

Mr Williamson said the tour with Maben management was very much appreciated and an amazing experience.

“Ahead of the walk through I was provided with the regulatory safety equipment to be on the construction site,” he said.

“It’s not until walking through the buildings, that one realises exactly how big they are inside.

“Once completed, the roof on the main supermarket will be covered with solar panels.

“A rain garden has been constructed on site, which will see water from the roof filtered. Rainwater will be stored in underground tanks,” he said.

“These underground tanks were installed under the car park during the ground works carried out during the early construction stage.

“The rainwater from the large roof will be stored in these tanks and will be used to flush toilets and water the garden beds in the car park, as well as gardens alongside the main building,”Mr Williamson said.

“On the external side of the walls of the main building facing Forest Street, will be a trellis framework on which an evergreen creeper vine will grow as part of the landscaping detail,” he said.

“It’s amazing to see the supermarket taking shape. As I stated in my recent letter to the paper I think it will be great for the battlers looking for choice and local employment with Woolworths estimating approximately 130 local people will work in store, plus another 30 local people to deliver goods.”

Windows had been installed in the specialty shops lining Forest Street late last week and work had begun to install window frames on the main supermarket building.

A Lascorp Investment Group spokesperson recently told the Mail that builders Maben were making great progress and Lascorp still have every intention of opening the new Castlemaine store by the end of the year.

Over 70 community members attended a vigil in Castlemaine last Friday to honour those in our community who are homeless. Thirty candles were lit at the event to represent the dozens of rough sleepers in our community.

Attendees urged both State and Federal Governments to take stronger action on homelessness. More than 50 letters were signed and sent to the Victorian Minister for Housing Harriet Shing, calling for more support. Additionally, many petitions were signed advocating for a significant increase in social and affordable housing at the federal level.

The event also raised around $500 in donations for Dhelkaya Health’s Housing team, which will go directly to supporting local rough sleepers.

The vigil was organised by My Home Network and Dhelkaya Health’s Housing team. It was timed to coincide with Homelessness Week, an annual national event raising awareness of homelessness and its impacts, as well as the deeper systemic changes needed to address it.

Attendees held one minute of silence to acknowledge the impacts of homelessness on our community.

Dhelkaya Health’s Senior Housing Team Worker Michael McMahon spoke on the local homelessness situation.

“The vigil gave people a way to reflect together and offered practical options for how they might take action on an issue that’s important to them. Our housing team was there to show support, chat with people about the issues involved and help debrief after some sombre statistics and stories,” Michael said.

Attendees also heard about the many other initiatives being driven by My Home Network, including action on vacant dwellings, tiny homes on wheels, Homeshare, and the tenants’ rights and advocacy working groups.

The Mount Alexander Shire has dozens of rough sleepers, 78 community members homeless, hundreds of families in housing crisis and a shortfall of around 600 social housing units. Far more crisis and transition housing is need to meet current demand. My Home Network is auspiced by Dhelkaya Health and made up of passionate community members, locals with lived experience of the housing crisis, and representatives from local housing initiatives, community, and government organisations.

If you’d like to learn more about My Home Network or donate to Dhelkaya Health’s Housing team to support local rough sleepers, visit www.dhelkayahealth.org.au.