With a lot of hard work and dedication from a team of locals, the Regional Community Vet Clinic have successfully secured the funding for the construction of a dedicated veterinary clinic in Mount Alexander Shire- providing services to those in dire financial circumstances to care for their pets. 

Thanks to funding announced in the 2023 Victorian budget, the group has achieved its funding goal of $500,000 for the construction of its purpose-built, not-for-profit veterinary clinic. 

“We’re unbelievably happy with the result of the budget, to see our cause crossing political lines and getting funding from two parties really goes to reaffirm that our services are needed and important to the regional Victorian community,” said co-founder Yvette Berkely. 

“We’ve been running outreach programs and pop-up clinics for the past year and seeing the support from our community has been truly heartening.” 

Funding for the clinic has been raised by RCVC through a mixture of grant awards, government funding, philanthropic grants, and donations from local businesses and the community with significant funding milestones coming from Animal Welfare Victoria, The Victorian Labor Party, The Animal Justice Party, The Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) and The Albert & Barbara Tucker Foundation. 

With their fundraising target secured, RCVC is now able to commence the build for the clinic which is being purpose-built by a Bendigo-based modular builder using a design that is portable and meets the region’s sustainability and environmental goals. 

“We have a site in mind for the clinic – Mt Alexander Shire has offered us space on the grounds of the Campbells Creek Community Centre and that would be perfect for us,” explained co-founder Robyn Slattery. 

“The reason we invested in a portable rather than a fixed site is that it allows both us and the shire flexibility if the site needs to change in the future, but we hope that we could be a long-standing fixture in the area.” 

The goal of the clinic is not to compete with or to disrupt local veterinary practices in the region, but to support them by servicing clients and their companion animals where their owners are experiencing social disadvantage or financial hardship in central Victoria. This relieves both emotional and financial pressure for commercial clinics, who often end up servicing these clients for free or providing payment plans that rarely end up being fulfilled. 

With funding secured and building contracts under negotiation, the next step for the team at RCVC is to finalise the site details with Mt Alexander Shire Council, who are currently assessing the planning permission. The goal of RCVC was always to have a clinic operational and staffed at least one day a week by December 2023 and this still seems achievable at this time. 

For those in the local community interested to learn more, the team at RCVC is planning to hold a public meeting at Campbells Creek Community Centre on Sunday, June 18. Members of the public will be able to ask questions, get updates on progress and learn more about supporting and volunteering with RCVC. 

For those interested in contributing, their fundraising campaign can be found at rcvc.org.au/donate/ with all donations over $2 are fully tax deductible. 

Organisations interested in corporate giving (or sponsorship) or any aspiring volunteers should contact RCVC by email at: info@rcvc.org.au, phoning: 0493 447 394, or visiting www.rcvc.org.au. 

More than 290 community members joined the Chewton Primary School’s second annual ‘Reconciliation Walk’ held over two days last week (June 1 and 2) from Chewton to Me-Mandook Galk, the Grandmother Tree. 

This year Chewton Primary students were joined by students from Elphinstone, Newstead and Castlemaine Primary Schools and Castlemaine Secondary College, along with lots of people from the community. 

There were video clips and storyboards showcasing the students’ learning about Reconciliation, Yoorook, Voice, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have been a voice for change for generations and the Uluru Statement from the Heart. 

Walkers finished at Me Mandook Galk where they made a commitment to be a voice for positive change in their local community. Chewton Primary send a big thankyou to Kath Coff from Nalderun and Aunty Kerri Douglas which supported the school in this work. 

The Boorp Boorp Boondyil (passing knowledge on to our children) exhibition at the Market Building in Castlemaine dedicated to sharing Jaara stories and teachings has been recognised with a Reconciliation Victoria award. 

The exhibition featuring a range of stunning artworks designed to offer an immersive and interactive insight into Jaara culture, Country and community, was selected as one of the inaugural winners of the 2023 Maggolee Awards, which celebrates and recognises strong partnerships between Victorian local governments and First Nations Peoples. 

Uncle Rick Nelson who lead the development of the exhibition said he was thrilled to see the exhibition acknowledged in the awards. 

“I couldn’t be more over the moon,” Uncle Rick said. 

“This is a project that was inspired by my father, Uncle Brien Nelson, who spent his life sharing cultural knowledge to Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. 

“To be able to continue the work he started – and for it to be creating waves and winning awards – it is just amazing.” 

Mount Alexander Shire Council’s mayor Cr Rosie Annear said she was proud to see the exhibition recognised and celebrated. 

“Everyone who’s visited Boorp Boorp Boondyil knows it’s a really special exhibition and it’s fantastic to see the work that the council has done in partnership with Uncle Rick get the wider recognition it deserves,” Mayor Annear said. 

Boorp Boorp Boondyil is open every day from 9am to 5pm at 44 Mostyn Street, Castlemaine. For more information visit www.maldoncastlemaine.com.au. 

Ravenswood reconstructive plastic surgeon and Aussie punk rocker Dr Alex Cameron and his band Bad//Dreems have just dropped a new album HOO HA! 

The album hit number three on the Australian charts in its first week and 10 on the Aria chart. 

Chatting to the Mail during a break during his busy day surgery schedule at Dhelkaya Health (Castlemaine Health) on Tuesday the local surgeon and muso said he feels incredibly fortunate to be able to balance both his passions. 

“I grew up in a small town of around 1000 people, Minlaton, on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia watching my dad play an important role in the local community as a GP. 

“I followed in his footsteps studying medicine at Melbourne University before returning to Adelaide and Darwin for my training as a plastic surgeon.” 

Alex said music has also been a longtime passion. 

“Our drummer Miles Wilson’s dad was the music teacher at my school and our other band members Ali Wells (rhythm guitar) and Ben Marwe (vocals) hail from the same region. Over the last decade our music has enabled us to travel the world and play with the likes of Midnight Oil, Cold Chisel and American indie rock band Pavement. It’s been an incredible journey,” he said. 

“In fact, we were in the middle of an overseas tour for our third album when covid struck. 

“We were forced to cancel the remaining dates and return home.” 

While covid brought Alex’s music career to a standstill for a time, his surgical career has taken off. 

“I was really lucky to be invited to join Dr Broughton Snell on the plastic surgery team at Bendigo Health working with public and private patients. Dr Snell has been a trailblazer here for the last five years. We have since welcomed on board two young registrars which has enabled us to support more clients right across regional Victoria and also create a bit more flexibility to pursue outside interests. 

Alex specialises in complex hand surgery and breast reduction and reconstruction. 

He said it is crucial for regional patients to be able to access treatment and follow up care close to home. 

“Only around 20 per cent of rural breast cancer patients are currently opting to have the elective surgery so it’s vital options and choice is available. It’s also great for those with young families or elderly farmers for example to be able to access the care they need in the regions without having to travel long distances to the city for multiple follow up appointments. 

Alex says moving to the country has enabled him to create an enviable work/life balance. 

“Surgery and music are two very different beasts. Over the years I have pondered why I am drawn intensely to such incongruous disciplines. The answer is that both provide privileged and powerful connections with people. It is a privilege to have people entrust you with their care. It is also a privilege to have people show interest in the art that you have created. I find both of these connections fulfilling and inspiring,” Alex said. 

Rising from humble origins in an Adelaide whitegoods warehouse in 2012, the latest album release sees a triumphant Bad//Dreems return post pandemic at the top of their game. 

The talented guitarist pens most of the lyrics for their music says they aim to capture the experience of the everyday person but find within it with the romance of the lost highways the Never-Never, the terrifying vastness of the outback, the sordid colonial origins of Australia and the dystopian future that awaits. 

The first side of ‘HOO HA!’ contains some of the most strident cultural critique the band has laid to record, as they tackle the whitewashing of Australia’s history. Nowhere is this more evident than the acerbic anthem ‘Jack’ where Cameron and Marwe take aim at their forebears for the sanitisation of Australian history. 

Alex said they were fortunate to visit Arnhem Land in August/ September 2022. 

“It was a really magical experience to tap into 60,000 years of First Nations culture and try and encompass some of that in our new music,” he said. 

To celebrate ‘HOO HA!’ during its release week (May 19-25) Alex Cameron and bandmate Ben Marwe went into duo mode for a run of very special acoustic performances at indie music stores around Australia with events in Melbourne, Adelaide, Wollongong, Sydney, Newcastle, Byron Bay and Brisbane. 

This whets the appetite for the Bad//Dreems ‘HOO HA!’ Tour which kicks off with a hometown show at Hindley Street Music Hall in Adelaide on June 23 and Melbourne’s Corner Hotel on Saturday June 24. 

The band will then tour the new album in Europe and the UK in August and September. 

Alex hopes to bring the show to Castlemaine later in the year. 

“We have such a great live music scene here in Castlemaine with The Bridge and the Theatre Royal. I am a regular. I enjoy catching shows with my good friend local sound engineer and producer Casey Rice. I’d definitely love to perform here,” he said. 

To get your hands on the new album or for tickets visit https://bad-dreems.lnk.to/hoohaalbum