Trevor Scott, Central Vic Climate Action, Castlemaine
I’d like to share this poem and my thoughts on my recent involvement in the People’s Blockade organised by Rising Tide.
Flotilla (a small fleet of boats)
Millions of tonnes of coal
Leaving the Port of Newcastle every day
A crime against humanity
Brightly coloured hulls swarming
On a choppy sea.
The black shape of the police boat looms
Representing no colour, no thinking
The flotilla, although threatened
Fearlessly holds on in the waves
A thousand unsilenced voices
Holding it against the tide.
At the end of this year’s People’s Blockade of the world’s largest coal port, organised by Rising Tide, three coal ships had been turned around and prevented from entering the harbour. For the very first time, the port had been closed to coal ships by our actions, rather than by negotiated agreement. In previous blockades, up until 2023, in meetings between the protestors, the police and the harbour master, it was agreed that the port would be closed down for a given amount of time. That time in the past was 30 hours and was usually from 10am Saturday morning to 4pm on Sunday afternoon. It was agreed that the harbour would be closed to coal ships for this period, leaving it free for swimmers and kayakers to protest safely.
Since 2023, presumably due to breaches of these rules by the protestors, there is no longer any agreement. Although it makes it more difficult and less safe for police and protestors alike, it is necessary if we are serious about getting our message across. If our governments had listened to the scientists’ warning, going right back to expert advice from James Hansen, NASA scientist in 1988, we would have a transition plan in place by now and we wouldn’t be exporting the huge quantities of coal and gas that we are. Unfortunately, our government has let us down again on this vital issue of climate change, and we have to try and put a halt to this madness ourselves. There were up to 8,000 of us at this year’s blockade. If you agree with our stand, please join us at the next one.
The 10th annual Castlemaine Mail/DON KR Castlemaine Newshounds awards were held at the Castlemaine Library foyer on December 12.
With the generous support of DON KR Castlemaine the Castlemaine Mail featured 13 Newshounds pages created by student Newshounds teams from schools across Mount Alexander Shire in 2025.
Friday’s awards celebrated the achievements of each school and culminated with the announcement of ‘Best Overall News Coverage’ and ‘People’s Choice Award’ – voted on by visitors to the Newshounds display in the library.
The awards were presented by Mail manager Lynda Brew, DON Smallgoods representative Helen Shaw and our newspaper’s mascot Elliott Newshound.
Journalist Jade Jungwirth was MC for the event and thanked DON KR for their sponsorship support, all the teachers and students for their incredible efforts creating the pages, and Mail production team member Megan Beckerley for bringing the pages to life.
“It’s great to have an insight into what’s been happening in each school, what makes each school unique, and to hear the student voice shine through,” she said.
DON Program Manager and DON Caring Every Day Team Lead, Helen Shaw said the company was extremely proud to have supported the initiative since its inception.
“It’s wonderful to see the finished pages and share them with our staff. It’s fantastic to hear what’s happening at our local schools, we laughed, we almost cried there were some great stories,” Helen said.
The Mail would like to acknowledge all the schools on a fabulous effort and celebrate our 2025 award winners which were as follows:
Best Sustainability Feature – Langley Primary School for ‘Braving the winter chill for our future’.
Best Student Voice Piece – Taradale Primary School for ‘Beyond Words’ by Anais Lyons.
Best Feature Story – Castlemaine North Primary School for ‘Neurodiversity Celebration Day’.
Best Vox Pop – St Mary’s Primary School for ‘Student Interviews’ on their favourite thing was about St Mary’s.
Best Wellbeing Story – Maldon Primary School for ‘Positive behaviour and wellbeing drive success at Maldon Primary’.
Best Sport Story – Campbells Creek Primary School including Guildford Campus for ‘AFL Clinic’.
Best News Content – Elphinstone Primary School.
Best Creative Arts Story – Castlemaine Steiner School & Kindergarten for ‘Art and Maths Together’.
Best Overall Design – Harcourt Valley Primary School.
Best Headline – Newstead Primary School for ‘Let the ghoul times roll!’.
Most Diverse Content – Winters Flat Primary School.
Best Outdoor Ed Piece – Castlemaine Primary School for ‘Dive into our Don Bosco Camp experience!’
Best Feature Photograph – Chewton Primary School for ‘National Tree Planting Day’.
In the Castlemaine Mail Newshounds Best Overall News Coverage category third place went to Castlemaine North Primary School. This was an incredible entry. Lots to read and pieces which represent all year levels. Well done Castlemaine North!
Second Place (runner-up) went to Harcourt Valley Primary School. Harcourt Valley packed a lot of apples into their basket! With stories about the Core Points and Core Store, biodiversity project, GaGa Pit and even a Vox Pop.
The Overall Winner was Langley Primary School. The judges were impressed with Langley’s page from first glance. It featured fantastic colourful imagery and interesting and informative reads which really captured school life. Well done Langley!
Finally, the People’s Choice Award – as voted by the public at the display at the Castlemaine Library – went to Winters Flat Primary School.
Congratulations to all our award winners. You can still view the pages which are currently on display at the entrance to the Castlemaine Library. We look forward to continuing the program in 2026!
Castlemaine artist Heather Murrowood was thrilled to launch her inaugural exhibition at the Grist Bakery gallery space at Wesley Hill on December 8.
The event was attended by friends who have assisted and inspired Heather along her journey.
Heather dedicated the exhibition to her former support worker and friend the late Luca Royle who helped start her on the path.
“Luca hosted radio program Art Swank on MainFM and really encouraged me to to purse my passion for painting, introducing me to Sarah Wallace-Smith of Art on View Bendigo who taught me how to use a pallet knife on canvas and it grew from there.”
Heather has had a challenging life suffering from various illnesses and a debilitating spinal cord injury. She is gearing up for what will be her 33rd surgery shortly, but despite all the incredible hardships she has faced she continues to tackle each day with a positive attitude and a determination to succeed in everything she does.
“From early childhood, despite many health struggles, I’ve always loved gardening and creating things.
“When I moved to Castlemaine in 2017, I decided I would seriously search for someone to teach me to paint. Luca and I found Sarah and it wasn’t long before I was painting!
“I have kept my first piece, My Peony Roses, and enjoy reflecting about how far I’ve come. As my confidence grows, and with the encouragement from my support workers and friends, I continue to challenge myself. I enjoy painting a variety of subjects, all close to me heart, from Jesus to flower filled gardens. I love to include other items such as doilies, china and other special pieces in my works,” she said.
“I have since set up my own studio space. I love it. Painting is my great escape and simply the best way to combat my ongoing health struggles,” she said.
“I was thrilled to sell at couple of my works at the shire’s Winter Art and Fringe Festival’s Frida exhibitions at the Market Building and two of my latest works sold shortly after the exhibition was hung at Grist. I’m truly grateful for these sales and commissions that have enabled me to continue to paint,” Heather said.
Entering the gallery space you are struck by an explosion of colour and each piece radiates pure joy.
Be sure to pop out and catch Heather’s exhibition at Grist before it wraps up next Tuesday December 23.
Tonight’s Rotary Carols have been moved to the Church of Christ at 66 Blakeley Road, Castlemaine due to the wet weather forecast. The Lions Club will be on site with their sausage sizzle from 6pm so you can grab a bite to eat before you head in to enjoy the carols. The program kicks off at 6.30pm.
Rotarian and Carols coordinator Scott Buchanan is at the helm for his fourth time and says it will be a special evening not to be missed.
“We will once again have the local ‘Just Brass’ students performing to warm up the crowd before the official program gets underway and they will also be part of the program this year,” he said.
‘Just Brass’ was formed by the Castlemaine Salvation Army with students from local state primary schools receiving instruction under the leadership of Dean Curtis.
Last year, because of funding difficulties, the Thompson Foundry Band and Castlemaine Rotary Club funded the program for two terms to keep the junior band program alive. Just Brass has now made a fresh start with volunteer tutors going into primary schools to teach brass on a zero budget.
“It’s a wonderful free program for local students and we can’t wait to welcome Dean and the students. Locals may have caught their recent performances outside the Maxi IGA on December 1 and 8,” Scott said.
“Derek Guille will be hosting the carols and of course we will have the beloved Thompson’s Foundry Band providing the musical accompaniment and Castlemaine Pride Choir will lead the community singing,” he said.
“We also have a long list of special guests including the MaCapella Singers led by Tara Flynn, Michael Treloar, and aspiring young opera singer Orvokki Britton.
“We are also delighted to welcome local singer Stella Carlon-Tozer who has just completed her first year of study at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School (VCASS). Stella will treat the crowd to a very special rendition of Eva Cassidy’s of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’.”
Be sure to get along and catch Stella and all our homegrown talent at this joyous community event.
Castlemaine Lions Club members will be manning the barbecue once again and there will even be a special visit from the man in red with some treats for carollers of all ages!
The Rotary Club of Castlemaine will also be making presentations to a number of local charities following on from the success of their recent truck show.
So grab your chair or picnic rug, warm up your singing voice and get along to Victory Park this Friday evening.
The local community gathered at vigils on the steps of the Castlemaine Market Building and at local churches this week to honour the victims of Sunday’s Bondi massacre.
At Tuesday’s Mount Alexander Shire Council meeting mayor Cr Toby Heydon opened with a short statement on the tragedy:
‘We stand united in grief and solidarity following the horrific antisemitic attack at Bondi. At least 16 lives have been lost and our hearts go out to the victims, their families and the Jewish community. This terror attack is an attack on all of us. Victoria is home to some of Australia’s largest Jewish communities and many are feeling deeply shaken. We condemn antisemitism and violence in all its forms. Hate has no place in our towns and cities and no place in Australia.
This tragedy comes as many were celebrating Hanukkah a festival which symbolises light triumphing over darkness. It is heartbreaking that such darkness has overshadowed the start of this season of hope. Let us honour the spirit of Hanukkah by standing together and rejecting hate in all its forms. To the Jewish community we say we see you, we stand with you, this is your home and you should not feel afraid. Now more than ever our role at council is clear. To bring people together, to promote social cohesion and to build inclusive communities. We remain committed in our opposition to all forms of racism and violence and to ensure our cities, town and countryside remain places of safety, respect and belonging for all.’
When council opened the floor for Public Time several community members took the opportunity to respond to the statement and speak on the tragedy saying the statement went a long, long way and this kind of support has been a long time coming.
They encouraged council to debate the setting up of a formal vigil, endorsed and managed by the shire, so they could put out flowers, candles and tributes without fear.
At Wednesday morning’s vigil on the steps of the Market Building the President of the Progressive Jewish Congregation of Central Victoria and Co-Chair of the Bendigo Interfaith Council Dr. David Kram AM said the incident at Bondi was tragic.
“We are heartened by the enormous outpouring of sympathy from all corners,” he said.
“One of the first messages of support that I personally received was from the Bendigo Islamic Community.
“If we can foster good relations on a local level and transmit that to our umbrella organisations, it’s a bit like a little pebble that’s dropped in a pond and the ripples can extend in all directions.
“My message to everybody is to listen. Even if you don’t agree with you or you don’t agree with them, listen to their point of view and respect that people are just human beings. If they seem to be on the wrong track due to ignorance, point them in the direction of research material, books or podcasts that they can learn more about the situation.”
Nightly vigils have also been held at the Castlemaine Anglican Church on Agitation Hill this week. Tonight’s vigil will be an interfaith vigil and community members are welcome to attend from 5pm.
