The winners of our 2026 Castlemaine Mail Golden Ticket buy local competition were officially drawn via Facebook livestream on Monday afternoon.
The four winners sharing in $4000 of vouchers to spend at our 19 fantastic supporting businesses!
The first prize of $2000 went to Tess and Justin Egan of Castlemaine, runner-up $1000 went to Carrol Frost of Castlemaine, third $500 to Jackie Moore from Castlemaine, and fourth $500 to Paul Kent from Castlemaine.
Our four lucky winners can choose to spend their prizemoney at any of our 2026 Golden Ticket partners which include: Aolita Boutique, Beehave, Betta Electrical Castlemaine, Bubble & Squeak Pet Grooming and Treats, Castlemaine Fresh, Castlemaine Vintage Bazaar, Cliffords Quality Cuts, Ivy & Grace, J.M Leech Jewellers, Lyal Eales Store Castlemaine, Maine Shoes and Accessories, Maldon Bakery, P J Tyres, Shoestring Market, Stevens Mensland, Stocks Gifts & Gallery, Stonemans Bookroom, The Moon Balinese Massage and Spa and Wesley Hill Bakery (Grist).
Major prize winner Tess Egan said they were absolutely delighted when they got the call.
“We are really grateful,” she said.
Castlemaine Mail manager Lynda Brew thanked all our loyal readers for taking the time to enter the competition, with a record number of entries in 2026.
“And thanks to all the wonderful local businesses which supported the campaign. It’s a fantastic way of giving back to those that support us,” she said.
Castlemaine craftsman Tom Taft has once again put his woodworking skills to the test to restore a beloved rocking horse heirloom belonging to the Dennis family at Chewton.
Our friends at the Chewton Chat kindly allowed us to share this story, originally told to John Ellis by family member Julie Dennis. It really does give weight to the old saying ‘Hold your horses!’
The rocking horse was purchased in 1950 by Ronald and Alice Dennis of Chewton for their sons Reuben (Rick) and Athol.
In 1996 Alice gifted the rocking horse to Athol and wife Julie to be enjoyed by their three daughters Kristen, Brianna and Georgia.
When the girls grew up it was placed into a back shed and forgotten.
However, in April 2025, on learning of the pending arrival of their first grandchild, Athol pulled the old horse out of storage with plans of giving it a makeover and gifting it to Georgia and partner Ryan to celebrate the birth of their son in August 2025.
But when Athol pulled the old horse out of storage it was looking quite worse for wear. On closer inspection he discovered the horse was constructed of a simple wooden frame, filled out with wood shavings and covered in cow hide.
It was destined for the tip, but Julie enlisted the help of local artisan Tom Taft, 85, to breath new life into the keepsake.
Tom used oregon, clamps and glue to give the horse a new sturdy structure.
He even created an internal space for a time capsule – a treasury of family history that Tom hopes will never be seen!
He then painstaking sanded, carved and shaped the horse before painting and mottling the surface to give ‘Neddy’, as Tom dubbed the rocking horse, its own unique personality.
Finally accoutrements were ordered and as they arrived the saddle and stirrups were fitted, the bridle placed over the head. The mane and tail added, and a glint in the eye completed a horse ready to rock!
The Dennis family now have a horse with a history and all involved are glad the horses had been held!
When the story was recently shared on the Chewton.net Facebook page a number of followers recounted their own memories of their beloved rocking horses. And a few even queried whether Tom was open for more horsey business! Sadly that horse has bolted with Tom’s arthritis making big projects tricky. But he is certainly very proud of this latest labour of love.
Deborah Coulthard, Psychoanalytic Psychologist
As a latte sipper who moved here to raise our family, I want to address my fellow tree huggers about the Camp Reserve.
The major focus of the redevelopment of the Camp is our young people. The removal of any tree needs to be taken seriously but in this case, there should be no hesitation. While my idea of sport is reading a book in the sauna or yin yoga, sport in country towns is the saviour of so many of our
young. Raising four sons here, I was immersed in the sporting world and what I witnessed was a structured activity that offered so much more than is understood by us bookish types. I cannot speak of netball or girls footy but am sure what I say will be the same for the females.
Firstly, there are all the men who give their time to stand around for hours in the cold or heat, encouraging youngsters to give their best, to try to overcome poor confidence, poor coordination or poor emotional regulation. It should be obvious to anyone who cares that there is a terrible dearth of good role models in the poor container called the ‘nuclear family’.
Footy teaches team work. You are not an individual on the field. You are a team. This is often the only sense of belonging a boy may have. It is also a place where he can safely express his anger. He can learn about healthy aggression in order to do his best for his team. I have seen withdrawn boys develop a voice after being encouraged to yell on the field. I’ve seen lonely boys be included and appreciated. I have seen despondent boys
become inspired to exercise their bodies and get strong. I’ve seen boys covered in mud, in crowded change rooms, singing their team song and know that it is the only time they will ever sing, as they sling their arms around each other, it can be the only time in that week, they’ll be touched by another person. People forget to be affectionate to teenage boys. No one sings the praises of these men who give of their precious time after work or weekends. No one sings the praises of these boys who are turning up for their mates and often have to cajole a parent to drive them to the oval.
I saw many boys drop out of footy because there was no one to take them to training. They were the boys who needed community more than anyone.
To be truly community, Castlemaine, to be truly selfless, find a boy from a troubled family and get him into footy. Drive him there and be someone he can trust. Celebrating the survival of two trees can be balanced by attending the funeral of a young man. I have attended too many. If asked, I am sure the trees would willingly lay down their lives for the life of one of our young people.
If you or someone you know is in need of support contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit Beyond Blue at www.beyondblue.org.au
In the event of an emergency dial triple zero (000). A friendly ear is also available for those needing support locally at the Castlemaine Safe Space which operates Tuesdays 4pm-6.30pm, Thursdays 9.30am-12pm and Saturdays 1.30pm-4pm at 74 Mostyn Street, Castlemaine. Visit castlemainesafespace.org for more information
It was fitting that Castlemaine celebrated 25 and 250 milestones on the weekend that parkrun globally reached 1 million events.
First time visitor Daisung Jang reached his 25th event and regular runner, Neil Critchley, marked his 250th as a moment to savour, describing it as “pretty awesome”.
Neil loves to put in a fast finish, and his persistence has led him to maintain a onsistent finish time of around 25 minutes since joining in 2019.
His enthusiasm for this course is palpable, citing long strides on laps 2 and 3 through the downhill and northern end of the course as a highlight. As for Parkville-based Daisung, he accompanies his partner to other parkrun courses since he started four years ago. It doesn’t matter how you participate; individual effort combined with the shared experience keeps people coming back week after week.
Saturday brought 91 regulars and visitors from across Melbourne to experience a beautiful morning at the Botanical Gardens, and despite windy conditions the expected rain stayed away. Well done to the first finishers, Rohan Singh, Rowan Drew and Daniel Nixon. They appeared to benefit from the fast track and all three finished in under 19 minutes. Clara Kiefel-Johnson was the first female in 22:05, and Margaret Clarke was the highest performing age grade at 79.81%. Participants of all abilities can join the 5km event by running, walking or interval training.
Five recorded new PBs: Clyde McKechnie, Justin Coulthard, Sadie Alexander-Reynolds, Peter Reynolds and Indigo Foreman. A top effort!
Volunteers are the heart of the event and this group helped create a safe and welcoming environment. Thanks to Shana Chong, Brendan Colnan, Robyn English, Ross Jarvis, Aureen Morris, Dave Petrusma, Maree Phypers, Vernon O’Reilly and Rosamund Stobie. Much appreciation and special thanks go out to Karina Taylor for her role in coordinating all things behind the scenes. Parkrun would not be possible
without the efforts from all who support the event or pitch in on the day.
There are many reasons to join or volunteer. If you’d like to give parkrun a try, you can check it out every Saturday.
Arrive around 7.45 am for the Run Director’s briefing. It operates on a ‘no barcode, no time’ policy. Keep your barcode on hand and you can register for one at www.parkrun.com.au. Organisers would love to see you at an event soon.
Castlemaine Goldfields Football Club hosted a World Cup live screening at The Goods Shed on Sunday.
Over 300 fans, young and old, came along to watch the Socceroos overcome Turkiye 2:0 in an enthralling game.
The Castlemaine Rotary Club and the Castlemaine State Festival were amazing supporters of the event.
Open to everyone, the screening was just another way the club is bringing the community together to celebrate the love of football in Castlemaine.
With both the men’s and women’s national teams succeeding at respective World Cups, the club is celebrating on and off the pitch as local player registrations at CGFC continue to grow after each international tournament!
Stay tuned for announcements regarding future screenings as the Socceroos 2026 World Cup campaign continues.
Gold suffers narrow defeat
In local soccer action the Castlemaine Goldfields Football Men’s Gold team suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat to second-placed Swan Hill in round nine of the Bendigo Amateur Soccer League last weekend.
In a hard-fought contest, the men in gold pushed their opponents all the way, and on another day, could have come away with all three points.
Swan Hill struck in 7th and 70th minutes, both goals coming from corners.
Soon after the opener, Blake Barker was unlucky not to equalise from the spot after being hauled down in the box.
Castlemaine finished the stronger of the teams, with Liam Waddington scoring in the 80th minute. His low, powerful shot the Swan Hill keeper got his hands to but couldn’t keep out.
In the dying minutes the home side was also unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty. After strong appeals for handball, an infringement was awarded but the free kick was given outside the area.
This Sunday the side host Golden City at Chewton at 3pm and will look to bounce back.
The Senior Men’s Green side had a challenging day on the road going down to Colts United 9-1 at Strathfieldsaye. Rory McLeod putting a crucial goal in for the Maine. They hit the road again this weekend to tackle the Border Raiders.
The Women’s Div 1 side lost to Shepparton United 1-0 in a tight contest. This weekend they hit the road to face Shepparton South.
The Women’s Div 2 squad had a week’s rest and this Sunday host the Border Raiders at Chewton from 11am.
Running from Friday, June 26 to Sunday, June 28 at the Theatre Royal, this year’s Castlemaine Documentary Festival is built around a simple idea: Love – the antidote.
Across three days and nights, the program looks for what connects us when the world feels increasingly fractured.
In our Castlemaine community and beyond, we each share many of the same hopes and dreams. The festival’s way of bringing these to you is by running an annual documentary festival.
Year-on-year, new and interesting conversations are had, and new connections forged through our Festival and Club CDoc’s activities.
Where did it all begin?
Back in 2015, Maggie Fooke, together with John Waldie and Geoffrey Smith, hosted the first Castlemaine Documentary Film Festival at the historic and much-loved Theatre Royal. Herself a filmmaker with a longstanding interest in documentaries, Maggie was the then co-owner of the Theatre Royal, which had been screening documentaries for some time. When Geoffrey and John approached her with an idea, a new festival focused solely on the documentary genre in the Theatre Royal was not a difficult decision. And so, CDoc was born!
Geoffrey Smith, a double Emmy award-winning director, was soon joined by Denise Button, and together they continued to deliver the annual festival over a weekend every winter. Each year, the festival was very well-received with encouraging audience numbers and local support growing, so they continued to deliver it until 2019.
The current Festival Director, Claire Jager, took over from Geoffrey Smith at the end of 2019. In 2018, the festival was formally established as a not-for-profit organisation, and has received the invaluable support of various local volunteer board members since its incorporation.
In 2024, the Castlemaine Documentary Festival celebrated its 10th Anniversary. This milestone also marked the first year of LOCALS Redux — the encore session of the LOCALS short films, which regularly sells out. Over those years, CDoc have continued to evolve and roll on, adapting to the ever-changing media landscape and our community, and each year they continue to showcase the festival’s spirit of innovation and bold storytelling.
Festival programming is always a discovery. There’s something of an alchemy in the way it comes together. The final program is always more than the sum of its parts, and 2026 will be no exception.
This year’s program turns towards what binds us. Love – The Antidote is both a theme and a call to come home to our shared humanity.
CDoc offer a range of ticketing options. Come for a film or the whole weekend! Book tickets at www.cdocff.com.au
Former St Mary’s Catholic School Castlemaine pupils, Bill and John Sikora, visited the local school on Thursday June 11 to make a special presentation of a commemorative frame featuring a collage of historic images.
The local twins started at the school in Grade Prep, 65 years ago, back in 1961. They attended St Mary’s for six years and then completed two years study at St Gabriel’s Secondary College which was located just across the road.
Bill told the Mail some time back they were invited to attend an after-school function at St Mary’s School and had the opportunity to meet teachers, children and parents. They also had the opportunity to view some of the work completed by students at the school.
Bill later said to his brother John, on the way home, that something was amiss at the school. When asked what he meant by that, Bill noted that today the teachers at St Mary’s are all lay teachers but during the early history of the school they were taught by the Sisters of Mercy.
“Being nuns they wore the traditional Sisters of Mercy habit and long dresses. I believe the last of the nuns finished up around 1974,” Bill said.
Over the years Bill had collected many photographs of students and the nuns and displayed these during the combined St Mary’s and St Gabriel’s School Reunion in 2019.
Former students which attended the reunion proved a fantastic help in recalling names and captioning the photographs in the collection.
Keen to acknowledge the contribution made by the Sisters of Mercy, Bill and John, sorted through this collection of images and passed these on to a local picture framer to create a collage of images celebrating this historic connection for posterity, and gifted this to the school.
The frame now hangs proudly in the school foyer.
The Mount Alexander Shire Council has adopted its 2026/27 Budget, which focuses on maintaining services, investing in infrastructure, and supporting community wellbeing in a challenging financial environment.
Mayor Toby Heydon said the $56 million budget reflects careful decision-making in the face of rising costs and increasing pressure on local households.
“This year’s budget continues council’s focus on delivering the services our community relies on, while planning carefully for the future,” Cr Heydon said.
The council will deliver more than 100 services alongside a significant capital works program, with $16.1 million allocated to infrastructure projects, supported by $9.5 million in external funding.
Key projects include the $2.3 million Diamond Gully Road upgrade, $3.8 million for road renewals and upgrades, $1 million for the bridge renewal and replacement program, $156,000 for irrigation upgrades at the Chewton Soldiers Memorial Park and $188,000 for the McKenzie Hill Shared Pathway project.
The budget also includes major externally funded initiatives such as flood levee design work in Newstead, Castlemaine and Campbells Creek, and continued redevelopment of Frederick Street.
Cr Heydon acknowledged the ongoing recovery from the January fires, noting that $2.3 million in State and Federal funding has supported response, relief, and recovery efforts.
“While recovery projects sit outside this budget, we are grateful for the significant government support helping our community rebuild,” he said.
The council is continuing to invest in sustainability, including carbon offset initiatives.
Community wellbeing remains a strong focus, with funding allocated to local organisations, a new Wellbeing Economy Business Fund, and a Children’s Winter Festival.
The council will also invest in developing a new Reconciliation Plan, as well as in future planning for early years, youth, and inclusion initiatives.
There is also an investment to improve council operations, including enhancements to internal systems and technology, and a revised rating strategy.
“This is a forward-looking budget. We are maintaining a sound financial position while continuing to invest in the people, places, and services that make Mount Alexander Shire a great place to live,” said Cr Heydon.
Council will continue to advocate for State and Federal funding to support major projects across the shire.
The 2026/27 Budget is now available at www.mountalexander.vic.gov.au
