The wonderful Karen From Finance our favourite corporate queen is bringing all the drama, wigs, wit and lip-syncing to Castlemaine for her new show ‘Doing Time’ at the Theatre Royal tonight, May 5.
Castlemaine is Karen’s eighth stop on her brand new 30 plus date tour of four countries including Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Best known as a finalist on hit TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race Downunder, Karen is a true trailblazer of the industry and has been leading queen on the Aus scene for over a decade.
A follow-up to her award-winning debut stage tour, Out Of Office – Karen From Finance tours this hilarious new one-woman show across the country for the next two months.
Like Erin Brockovich, Elle Woods, Kim Kardashian, and the many iconic female law-minds before her, Karen From Finance steps into the courtroom – of course wearing her finest stiletto and brief-case to boot.
The courtroom-aesthetic looks unsurprisingly good on Karen. But she is in trouble… Karen has cooked the books and is headed for the lock-up. Will she prove her innocence? Will she walk free? Perhaps our favourite straighty-180 accountant isn’t so innocent after all…
Karen told the Mail she is looking forward to her first performance in here in Castlemaine.
“I visited Castlemaine a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed the chance to check out a few cafes and Love Shack Brewing.
“I can’t wait to hit the stage at the historic theatre and I am thrilled my local show coincides with the Castlemaine Pride Week,” she said.
Karen says she really felt the love with her debut show Out of Office and looks forward to bringing the new offering to her legion of fans and new audiences.
“I love taking Karen out from behind the desk and placing her in new situations. This time Karen is accused of tax fraud and is facing prison time. The audience is in for a fun, silly and outrageous ride but the show also has a political undertone and message,” she says.
“I will be joined at the local gig by Castlemaine favourite the gorgeous Dolly Diamond a long time friend of mine. It’s really wonderful to be able to bring in other performers, mix it up and bring a new energy and dynamic to each show,” she said.
“It’s going to be a fabulous night to remember!”
There will also be a chance for local fans to enjoy a ‘Meet and Greet’ with Karen prior to the show.
For tickets visit https://theatreroyalcastlemaine.oztix.com.au/
Karen From Finance ‘Doing Time’ at the Royal
Bold vision for gaol unveiled
The highly anticipated Bromley Collection Museum at the Old Castlemaine Gaol recently opened to the public.
Locals and visitors enjoyed a sneak peek at the new venue at a VIP launch event on April 22 with a performance by celebrated Australian singer/songwriter Kate Ceberano accompanied by the Ballarat Grammar bagpipe band.
The venue was officially opened to the public on April 23.
The museum and collection and the gardens surrounding it have been a work in progress for over four and a half years.
At times owners and creators David and Yuge Bromley say they had little direction as to where they were taking it but at other times it felt like they always knew.
“We wanted to shift the axis of what the gaol was known for, a place of despair, sadness and trauma into a place that evoked a sense of life, joy and art,” the couple said.
“The collection housed within the walls of this historic prison is a deeply personal one and it is diverse. It has not gone through the lens of a curator, but rather the rattling minds of two people who are pure and simply consumed with art and creative output.
“We wanted to celebrate the works of artists’ we love and admire as well as portray to the public that we believe art can take shape in so many different forms and on so many different levels.”
The pair said they could not have been able to get the new offering to this stage without the immense support, hard work, commitment, dedication and loyalty of their Bromley & Co team, their incredible friends and the broader ecosystem of people they work with.
“Thank you for going on this journey with us! In many ways, we feel you can walk through the museum, and you will be able to see your hand in its creation,” the pair told the crowd at the launch event.
“For us, the smiling faces that looked upon us at the recent opening was the exact outcome we wanted from the gaol…the shifting of the axis, the breathing of new life.
“We look forward to welcoming visitors from near and far to the museum.”
The couple said they are still working on many things like an awesome new website, a food and beverage offering and still finessing, but for now, the Bromley Collection Museum at the Old Castlemaine Gaol is open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 5pm.
There is an entry fee of $20 adults, $14 concession, $10 children under 18 and free for children under 8.
Local schools’ sustainability strides score finalist spots
Two local schools are being recognised for their outstanding work in sustainability by being nominated as finalists in the 2023 ResourceSmart School Awards.
Chewton Primary School is a finalist in the Curriculum Leadership (primary) category and the Castlemaine Steiner School and Kindergarten is a finalist in the Campus Infrastructure and Operations Category.
The schools are two of 23 schools and 35 finalists vying for an award in Victoria’s largest celebration for primary and secondary school students, teachers, and school volunteers taking sustainability action.
Chewton Primary School has embedded sustainability across the school by having classes lead on different initiatives. The Prep-2 class led the school in reducing waste, the grade 3-4 students investigated energy consumption and the grade 5-6 students led the work in identifying endangered animals and protecting habitat.
Principal Bernadette McKenna said they are very excited to be recognised for the wonderful work the staff, students, and parents are doing to embed sustainability into everything we do.
“Each class takes leadership in Waste, Water, Energy and Biodiversity, learning and teaching the rest of the school,” said Principal McKenna.
“Sustainability is part of our school curriculum and is embedded in everything we do. We are very proud of our great work at Chewton Primary School.”
The students at Chewton Primary School are very proud of their achievements including learning how to make the soil better and planting lots of veggies and herbs which are harvested to cook.
Emilia said, “At Chewton Primary we sort paper, citrus, compost and we try to be plastic-free. We took all the landfill bins away, and we recycled the soft plastic while we could. We went on bush walks and learned which foods to eat.”
“I’m proud of our school. We’re respectful of plants and trees. No one chases the kangaroos. We planted lots of trees with POHAG at the creek,” commented Quincy.
Busby said, “I cooked spanakopita for the whole school! I’m really excited that we got into the finals and that I might get to go to the MCG!” and Gus said, “We’re super lucky to have bush around our school so we can build cubbies and learn in the bush.”
Castlemaine Steiner School and Kindergarten have also put a lot of work into creating a learning space that embraces sustainability and have a goal to become carbon neutral. The school has its own wetlands and island, known as Bushfood Island, which the school uses for educational purposes with interpretive signage and bushfood plants. It has implemented many energy-saving initiatives including solar panels, LED lighting, and installed heat pumps cutting bills by 25-30 per cent.
Castlemaine Steiner School & Kindergarten principal Nerrida Johnson said the school has been caretakers of this pocket of Muckleford on the lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung for 27 years.
“When we moved the school here it was heavily grazed land with only a few mature trees and undernourished soils. Through the efforts of students, staff, parents and friends, the land has been revegetated and soils greatly improved. David Holmgren and the late Dan Palmer, both past parents of the school, contributed with Permaculture designs, passion and knowledge. We have been really fortunate,” commented Principal Johnson.
“Our students have identified 126 species of birds here in the last few years. We have also planted 900 trees in the last two years alone, some sourced from Newstead Natives and some germinated here at school. We aim to do our best to help this land and there is always plenty more to do!
“We are thrilled to be named finalists. Our students develop a real and lasting connection with our beautiful school environment over the years they are here. We have 18 acres to care for and our students have taken the task on and it’s wonderful that they, along with our staff and wider community, have been acknowledged in this way by Sustainability Victoria. We thank Kyle Murphy and Terry Willis for their enthusiasm and for guiding this ongoing work for our school environment, which has such positive effects for our students,” Principal Johnson said.
This year’s winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at the MCG on June 15. For information about this year’s finalists please visit sustainability.vic.gov.au/resourcesmart-schools-awards.
Proposed quarry unearths concerns
At the end of 2021, Justin and his partner Melanie purchased a large property in Shelbourne in the hopes of turning the place into a retreat for themselves and their six kids. The property of almost 50 acres has no town-supplied water, no electricity, or utilities of any kind but this did not deter the pair, excited at the prospect of being self-reliant and surrounded by veggie gardens, fruit trees, chickens, and possibly a few cows.
They knew it would be a huge job, doing everything from scratch, but were excited by the challenge of creating a welcoming place where they could retire and their adult children could come to get away from it all.
Then in early 2022, the couple found out about the plans for the quarry.
“When we got here in the summer of 2021 I had started making plans,” Justin said.
“I looked at all the things around me, the grasses that were growing, the fences, the water, the soil… everything was going to be hard, everything was like starting from scratch, but everything was doable, I was ready… just not ready for this.”
Justin and Melanie first heard about the quarry from a local man involved with the local Landcare group. Justin had asked him to come to the property and talk about the farm and make plans for the future. When Justin asked whether digging a bore would be a possibility the man responded, “Well they’re going to dig a quarry in the hills behind you, so any water you find will likely disappear after they do.”
Since then, Justin and Melanie have spent countless hours getting up to speed on the proposed quarry, including meetings with Mawson’s staff about the facility and the impact it will have on their property and the nearby community.
The quarry is estimated to reach 5000,000 tonnes of rock per annum at the peak of operations and has a life span of between 70 and 100 years. Local residents have raised a number of issues at public meetings regarding property values, noise, potential impacts on the supply of surface and groundwater, ecology, and others which are being addressed by Mawson’s.
One of the most recent pieces of information garnered by Justin and Melanie is the truck route of the proposed quarry will include travel to Maldon along Bridgewater-Maldon Road with approximately 120 trips in and out each day.
“It’s my opinion that this development will now bring a significant increase of heavy vehicle traffic to Maldon residents, and I suspect that not many people will be aware of this new route from the Blue Hills Quarry,” stated Justin.
“As far as I am concerned, at the very least this latest change requires a broader consultation with residents who could be affected by the heavy vehicle traffic. Needless to say, moving 50 per cent of heavy truck traffic through a historic township will have a major impact on everyone including retail operators, and will no doubt likely affect tourism.”
The Mail spoke to Mawson’s Resource Manager Cheryl Ward who indicated that they are currently in the process of finalising the ecology surveys and are hoping to submit the application to the government and host a community information session by the end of July.
“The trucks will travel through Maldon with 60 trucks travelling northeast and southeast each day,” Cheryl said.
“So far we have been conducting community consultation with people who are living within a 5km radius of the quarry. The impacts nearby residents will experience are going be different to residents in Maldon and are related to dust and noise etcetera.
“The response we’ve had from residents has been pretty good on the whole, particularly from long-term residents,” noted Cheryl.
Events grants awarded
Mount Alexander Shire Council is pleased to announce that 17 local events will share in $33,000 in grants to activate the shire in the coming months.
Council’s Events Grants program supports local groups that are running public and community-oriented events.
Events funded this round will support a variety of cultural, artistic, and community programs to take place before the end of 2023.
Projects to receive funding include the Castlemaine Kindergarten Fete, the Maldon Fire Garden, Run the Maine, the Castlemaine Farmers Market, and more.
Live music events supported by funding through the program include the Castlemaine Folk Festival, the Resonance String Orchestra’s annual orchestral concerts, and the Goldfields Piping Weekend Headline Concert.
There will also be a special summer party for young people at Castlemaine’s creative space and events venue, Lot19.
Other events to benefit from the funding include the Commemoration of the 1851 Monster Meeting of Diggers at Chewton, an information evening exploring neurodiversity, the Goldfields Gothic Festival in Maldon, reuse and repair workshops at the Good Op Shop, and a community dance-off with the event Hot Moves. No Pressure.
Mount Alexander Shire Council’s Venues and Events Coordinator Todd O’Brien said council received a strong selection of applications this round, including both annual and new events.
“Mount Alexander Shire is renowned for its vibrant program of events, and we’re really pleased we can continue to support that,” Mr O’Brien said.
“Local events benefit our community in so many ways. They help bring our community together, support the visitor economy, and are a whole lot of fun to get along to and be part of.”
To read the full list of funded events, visit www.mountalexander.vic.gov.au/Grants.
The next round of Events Grants opens on August 7, 2023.
For more information, contact the Venues and Events team on 5471 1700 or email events@mountalexander.vic.gov.au.
My Castlemaine- Neil Barrett
Hi Neil, can you tell us a bit about your early years?
I spent the first two years of my life in Keilor. When my father came back from the war we moved to a dairy farm in Ballarat. We had horses and carts to carry the milk and from the age of 10, until I left home at 19, I looked after the horses. I went to Melbourne University where I studied economics for eight years. When I finished my studies I was conscripted, but I failed my medical due to old football injuries, which I was very pleased about, especially as I was involved with opposing the Vietnam War.
You spent some time travelling in South East Asia and India, what was that like?
I was 27 and stayed in a Buddhist meditation retreat in India for six months. One day this Canadian guy, a lapsed doctor, said I had a dirty, big lump in my neck and I should get it seen too. I had my thyroid taken out at Bombay Hospital, but in the end, I was so exhausted that I had to come home to the care of my loving parents. After I recovered I went to Nimbin and stayed in Tuntable Falls at co-op for a year. There are quite a few people in Castlemaine who were there at that time. We lived in tents, gardened, played music, and swam. It was a marvelous lifestyle. I played piano in a band called Smiling Ruth and the Backward Boys which became quite popular.
When did you get more involved in environmental work?
After Nimbin, I came back to Melbourne and became the State Coordinator of Friends of the Earth. That was in 1975-1976. We worked 12-14 hour days working on uranium mining. We had energy then. We lived in primitive circumstances around Carlton and were paid $30 a week. I did that for 18 months. Then my wife Heather and I became involved in making environmental kits for schools. We bought four acres in Castlemaine, where we raised our three girls and at first, we ran our business out of 20 old concrete duck sheds on the property that we had fixed up. It was a very busy life. We had Environment Audiovisuals for 25 years.
Later, Heather, myself, and a few others started Mt Alexander Sustainability Group. In 2002 we bought the old closed-down pub and used it as an office. We then renovated and turned it into the Hub, which was a great pleasure to run and was always full of good tenants.
We also set up the Mount Alexander Solar Homes which helped set up over 1000 systems and was sold to Central Vic Greenhouse Alliance.
Oh and I nearly forgot, Heather and I have both been awarded OAMs in 2020 for our environmental work.
Tell us about The Paddock Eco Village- when did that begin?
We began work on The Paddock in 2015 and it really brought together everything we’ve been doing on the environmental scene. There are 26 houses and a big garden complex and a community space. It should be finished for us by May next year. At the moment there are 20 people, ranging in age from three to 83, living in 15 houses. People get along so well and enjoy being among like-minded people. The buildings hardly use any energy except for solar, which is being exported back into the grid.
As a long-time environmentalist do you have hope or worry about the future?
I feel so much frustration. While the government is much better than it was, they are still allowing new fossil fuel projects. Unless we take very serious action now and stop using fossil fuels we are going to have to adapt to many changes, like the risk of having 50-degree days to deal with.
What are you reading at the moment?
Humanity’s Moment written by Joelle Gergis, a climate scientist. In the book, she expresses strong emotions about what is happening to the world.
What other interests do you have?
I do a lot of cycling and I’ve been writing; memoirs and family history.
What philosophies do you live life by?
What I jokingly call the three C’s: Kindness, courage, and curiosity.
Who are your three dream dinner guests?
Tongerlongeter, the leader of the black resistance in Tasmania. Alexei Navalny who opposed Putin and is now in jail. Oscar Peterson, the greatest jazz pianist. If I could choose a fourth it would be Maurice Rioli the greatest centre man of all time.
What genres of music do you like listening to?
Jazz and classical. I like to play jazz on the piano. I made a CD in 2022 called Rags, Boogie, and Honky Tonk: Warts and All, with an emphasis on the warts!
What do you love most about the place you call home?
The wonderful range of people. I’m constantly bowled over by how many people with interesting backgrounds live here. And the environment. I cycle all around Castlemaine and it’s a delightful and interesting environment to be in.
Take a look back at the Anglican Church on Agitation Hill
Circa 1900
This photograph looking South East along Mostyn Street from Kennedy Street shows the Castlemaine Christ Church Anglican on Agitation Hill. The hill in Mostyn Street was originally as high as the church building but the road was cut down in the second half of the 1800s to its present level, leaving the building high and dry on the hill. As a consequence the large stone wall visible was erected to support the cutting and the church. The foundation stone of this stone building was laid in February 1854 and officially opened on February 21, 1858, and it was later extended to include a sanctuary and vestry in 1892. On the stone wall facing Mostyn Street is a small plaque to commemorate one of the very early European visitors to the site, John Hepburn who camped on the hill on April 17, 1838.
2023
The present day structure of the church has barely changed in the approximately 130 odd years since the earlier photograph was taken, except that the whole area on the Mostyn Street side of the church has been covered with a large variety of trees scrubs and gardens.
Modern day safety features also line the top of the cut on the church property. Part of the retaining wall on Mostyn Street that collapsed in recent times has now been replaced and is ready to last another 100 years. Information and photos courtesy of Ken McKimmie author of Chewton Then and Now.
Castlemaine Goldfields kick off 2023 season
Castlemaine Goldfields Football Club’s Competitive Junior (U12-U16) season got underway last Saturday April 22 with opening games at Chewton as well as away across the Bendigo Amateur Soccer League. For the second consecutive season the Chewton based club have been able to field 15 teams with five of those across the Girls competitions and at least a single teams in every age group from U10s to U16s.
At home at Chewton the Castlemaine Goldfields club hosted three opening round games with U12 Black, U14 Matildas Green and U14 Gold all taking to the field.
For round two Castlemaine will host seven games at home, including the start of the Non Competitive Junior (U10s) season while the Women and Girls teams will be heading to Epsom for Female Football round and a big day of celebrating the Female game in our region.
To follow the Goldfields Junior fixtures for the season you can head to the BASL website.
Small Sided
Castlemaine Goldfields program aimed at kids ages 5 through to 9 starts up again on Friday May 5. Limited spots are still available before we open up a waiting list for this ever popular fun packed program that will once again run across Terms 2 and 3. For more information email cgfcsecretary@gmail.com
Seniors & Youth
Goldfields Senior Women and Youth squads both enjoyed wins in round three of their BASL competitions. The Women came away with a huge 14-0 win over a depleted Golden City Women’s squad for their second win of the season after a 6-0 away to Swan Hill in round 2. As part of Female Football Week the Women along with other female sides from the club will all play their games at Epsom on Saturday April 29. The Women will face off against Kyneton in a top of the table Derby at 1pm
Earlier in the day Castlemaine’s Youth team also took out a convincing 10-3 win to Golden City. After going in 3-3 at half-time a red card for Golden City around the 60 minute mark saw a further 5 goals come for the ‘Prospect’s as they took their first win for the season.
The Senior season kicked off with the Men’s (Reserves) in Div 7 Metro North West against Swinburne Uni. A new look squad sees a handful of players from last season plus a new group from Castlemaine new residents from the Solomon Islands, all on debut. So this was the first true test. Also on debut was coach Steve Peterson. Maine started positively from the beginning, moving forward at every opportunity. Mid way through the first half the defence won the ball at the back and immediately launched a counter attack. With the ball played out wide to Gianluca he zoomed past his opponent and then angled in on goal. The keeper came out to him but he finished past him tidily to make it 1-0.
The second half started brightly for Maine and we looked in control. Unfortunately they struggled to string passes together and couldn’t capitalise on that control. Swinburne began to push forward and take some risks. A couple of good balls over the top of the Maine defence saw their strikers seize on a couple of opportunities but luckily they were narrowly wide, Paul O’Connor in goals applying the all important pressure. Through the second half it took a piece of individual brilliance from Gianluca again to extend the margin. Playing wide on the left he cut inside. He weighed up the options for a cross but decided to back himself and go for the shot. It cannoned into the top right corner. 2-0.
The central midfield continued to be dominated by Goldfields FC, ensuring that Swinburne couldn’t gather any meaningful momentum. Instead Maine created a number of further chances. Kane Parker went narrowly over the top with his shot and then Barnabas continued to pepper the Swinburne keeper with shots. Carlos Billy worked hard out wide and tried to get balls into the box and our defenders at the back held strongly alongside Ashay, with some resolute defending.
The whistle went and the Maine had prevailed.
Week 2 will see the Goldfields team travel to Reservoir United.
In Div 5 North West the first were on the road against Birrarung FC, in a replay of last seasons final game which resulted in a 3 all draw.
After a comprehensive preseason but with a much changed line up, Castlemaine started brightly and had the majority of possession. Birrarung were dangerous on the counter, with pace up front and out wide, as a result Castlemaine soon found themselves 2-0 behind against the run of play.
The Maine intensified their attack, winning the midfield battles, and started to create chances of their own. However, It wasn’t until a fortuitous handball decision in the box, leading to Ollie Gunter scoring from the penalty spot for Castlemaine to pull one back. It stayed this way till half time.
A few stern words and a slight change of tactics after half time meant that more goals were to come. First Michael Jones scored from a free kick to make it 2 all, and Jerome Time finished nicely on his debut for the Maine, to make it 3-2. Next week sees the Men away to West Point Soccer Club.
Mick wins Una Mills Cup
Castlemaine Rifle Club members contested the ‘Una Mills Cup’ on Saturday. The event was run the previous week but the second range was washed out and the event cancelled.
Last Saturday was a very pleasant autumn day with a light breeze and some mirage. The biggest problem was the difficult hazy sight picture which caused most shooters to lose points. The trophy was donated back in 2010 by the family of Una Mills. Una was the wife of long time captain John Mills and was herself a great shot. She did a massive amount of work helping to build the club into the successful club it is today.
At the first range, 600 yards, in ‘Target Rifle’ Richard Ruddick scored 46.0 to lead Greg Brown with 44.1. In ‘F Class’ Darren Trevena led with 57.1 from James Dolphin with 51.1.
Brad McIntosh was the leader in ‘F Open’ with 56.4 from Peter Svelzle with 44.0.
Moving back to 700 yards sighting was difficult. In Target Rifle Greg Brown had the best score of 45.0 followed by Chris Jolme with 44.. In F Class Mick Goritchan scored 59.0 to lead Darren Trevena with 53.0.
Brad McIntosh again had the best sore being 59.0 in F Open followed by Peter Svelzle with 41.0
The winner is determined by an unusual handicap system. Last year Chris Jolme won from Mick Goritchan. This year the winner was Mick Goritchan an F Class shooter. This was the first time Mick had won the event. Second place went to Darren Trevena with James Dolphin was not far behind.
Both shooters also compete in ‘F Class’. The club thanks Una’s family for their continued support.
This Saturday is the sixth stage of the Club Championship to be shot over 500 and 600 yards.
The competition will need to start at 1pm as the light fades quickly at this time of year.
For more on the sport of big bore rifle shooting call the captain on 5474 2552 or see Max at Castlemaine Fresh.
Magpies valiant
The Magpies Senior Men’s Footballers put on a spirited performance against Gisborne last Saturday, keeping within four goals at half time. It was an improvement on previous years’ with the Magpies fighting hard through all terms, Gisborne kicking away in the final minutes.
The Magpie Netball sides battled equally hard on court with a standout performance by young goal attack Emma Winfield in A Grade. The side falling just eight goals short against the Bulldogs.
The Magpie Women’s Footballers kicked off their 2023 season with a massive 235 point win over the North Bendigo Women on Sunday.
Tonight, April 28 from 7.15pm the Magpie Women’s Footballers will play their first home fixture against Eaglehawk at the Camp Reserve, and tomorrow, April 29 the Magpie BFNL sides will host Strathfieldsaye.
A magical Parkrun
Castlemaine Parkrun held another great event last Saturday with 124 people taking to the track for a run, walk, or
stroll of the required three laps of our beautiful Botanical Gardens course.
Joe McNeill was the first across in a new PB of 19:48 and he was followed by John Gray, a Castlemaine ‘First Timer’ but parkrun veteran on 20:34 – Joe has 214 events under his belt which is impressive at whatever speed. Next across was Johnny Horrocks, again in a new PB at 20:42.
The first of our female participants to finish was Melissa McGauran in her first ever Castlemaine run at 23:21 and in only her ninth ever run. She was followed by Keely Williams on 24:16 and Bec Percoco just three seconds slower and in a new PB too.
While there were too many ‘First timers’ to individually mention, as in their first time at our event, we should note Gabriel O’Sullivan who ran a terrific 24:25 in his first ever parkrun. He was followed across by Jason Cordy in 24:23, Jen Hendry in 26:02, Abel Davies in 27:08, Helen Ashwell at 32:18, Simone McInerny at 46:02, Jackie Brierley at 50:04, Peter McConvill on 58:46, and Simone Woodrow on 1:03:33 in her first ever event.
This is something to celebrate, the arrival of eight new participants to the parkrun community and we’d like to see each of them become regulars to what is a fantastic community event.
These numbers were augmented by another 20 people who attended our event for the first time, having notched up events at other venues.
By way of contrast, we saw Paul David Sales notch up his 383rd event and Margaret Ann Sales her 381st – a remarkable effort by a couple of parkrun devotees.
Of interest is that of the 18 Personal Bests recorded, the vast majority were gained by relative newcomers, typically people with less than 10 parkruns under their belt.
The volunteer contingent, upon which so much depends was made up of Robyn English, Donna Faircloth, Geoff Faircloth, Marilla Faircloth, Quinn Faircloth, Jane Harding, Ross Jarvis, Dave Petrusma, and Jeff Rogers who got the show on the road – and kept it there. Jane, it should be noted, doubled up as the day’s Run Director and volunteer wrangler – ‘Great Job!’. Castlemaine Parkrun is very well served by its volunteers and in particular the Run Directors who do so much behind the scenes.
If you’d like to join our friendly parkrun community, just register online, turn up for the briefing a bit
before 8am and set off on your own parkrun adventure. We’d love to see you there.
Celebrate at Castlemaine Pride Week
Castlemaine Pride returns in 2023 and not even its founders could have imagined its phenomenal expansion. From a single afternoons picnic in 2018, the community-led festival has grown into a week-long celebration of the culture, history, creativity, and determination of the LGBTQIA+ community in Mount Alexander Shire.
The first Castlemaine Pride picnic was held as an act of healing after the dark days of the marriage equality debate. Since then, the LGBTQIA+ community has had some significant wins, but at a high cost; a cost the community — and trans and gender diverse people in particular — are still paying. Through it all, Castlemaine Pride has continued to flourish.
“There is a staggering amount of backlash directed towards the queer community at the present moment of time,” says Castlemaine Pride co-founder Sherene Clow (she/her).
“Crazy, hateful stuff like anti-trans rallies. But the way we overcome that as a community is with our joy. And so what we’re aiming for in this year’s Castlemaine Pride is the loudest, proudest, most joyful celebration of the diversity that our queerness brings to the world,” commented Sherene.
To that end, Pride-goers can enjoy a program that includes talks, tennis, cinema, live music, drag, a scavenger hunt, and a dance party.
Trans and Gender Diverse Bendigo and Beyond will also be bringing their famous clothes swap back to Castlemaine Town Hall on Sunday, April 30.
“Safe and affirming spaces are important,” says Event Organiser Zara Jones (she/they).
“But safe and affirming spaces where people can have a great time are essential, and generally, when we come together as a community, that’s exactly what happens.”
The flagship event of the festival is still the Castlemaine Pride Picnic, which will kick off proceedings on Saturday, April 29 at the Castlemaine Botanical Gardens from 11 am until 5 pm. The picnic — as with the majority of events in the festival — is free to attend, with food trucks and entertainment laid on. This year the lineup includes performances from Cath Jamison, Australia’s leading female magician and mentalist, and Polly Filla, the Goldfields’ own drag icon, as well as the ever-popular Petstock Dog Show.
Always a family-friendly event, this year there will be some extra special entertainment for the kiddos courtesy of The Connected Circus.
Castlemaine Pride has been made possible largely through the hard work of volunteers, who have put in hundreds of hours to make it a reality. When asked why, volunteer Rani
Kerrin (she/her) comments, “It’s a labour of love, and the reward is a LGBTQIA+ community that’s thriving and vibrant.”
For more information or to download the full program of events visit: www.castlemainepride.org.au.