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Golf interrupted by dismal weather

By
Castlemaine Mail
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A bleak outlook outside the clubhouse on Cup Day.

With more rain, events this week at Castlemaine Golf Club were once again interrupted.

Although the ground was soggy after recent rain, some rare fine weather attracted 29 for stableford last Saturday. 

Rhys Jenkins (4 and 36) and Jason Cordy (5 and 36) led the field in A Grade, with Rhys coming home in first place on a countback. In B grade, Andrew Dzioba (27 and 33) was a couple ahead of William Burgess (16 and 31). Birdies were plentiful: Jason Cordy and Shane Burke (4), James O’Brien, Brad Sturgess and Rhys Jenkins (2) and William Burgess (1). Rhys Jenkins finished the day off nicely with the nearest the pin prize on the seventh. Megan Carroll was closest on the 12th.

A small field of brave (or crazy!) players ventured out on Tuesday, Melbourne Cup Day. 

Drenching downpours made the going extremely tough, resulting in several dropouts along the way. 

Mick Kehoe (20 and 34) battled his way through to complete the round in top place, with William Burgess (16 and 32) trundling home in second place. William Burgess played a handy shot on the seventh, which gave him the NTP prize. Balls were given to all the others who made it to the end, probably as compensation for giving it a go in such trying conditions!

Some disappeared home immediately after play to dry out. The remaining players made it inside to relish the comfort of a dry and cosy clubhouse, and to join about 30 others for a tasty lunch and friendly conversation. Thank you to all of the club’s helpers, especially to Peter Gresswell and Marianne Allan, who prepared the chicken and salads, to Glenda for the after lunch chocolates, and to Phil for running the sweeps.

Tomorrow, Saturday November 5, is the Men’s Monthly Medal, and the Men’s Medal of Medals for 2022, starting at noon (shotgun). 

The regular chicken parma dinner starts at 6pm tomorrow evening. It is essential that bookings are made for catering purposes by midday on Saturday. Text to Garry (0414 684 201) to avoid missing out. 

The next golf lesson is on Monday November 7. Text your booking to Peggy (0409 232 919) by Sunday.

Fastest time ever: New course record for Castlemaine Parkrun

By
Castlemaine Mail
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Chelsea Saw, first finisher (female) in a time of 20:13, and Ben Kelly, first finisher (male) in a time of 15:39 – a new course record for Castlemaine parkrun.

Castlemaine parkrun ended the month with stunning times including a new course record and the first five finishers all completing the event in under 20 minutes.

Ben Kelly in only his second parkrun blitzed the course in 15:39 – our fastest time ever. He was followed across a mere six seconds later

by John Howorth in his first event, an amazing start to his parkrun career and in what is understood to also be a record time. Third over was Thomas Martin at 16:23, Jack Cooper was fourth at 19:00 minutes even, with Ian Chadwick next and completing the complement of sub 20-minute runners at 19:52.

Chelsea Saw was the first of the female runners to complete the course and she finished in another impressive time of 20:14. Chloe Russell at 22:48 was the next female across with Sarah Neild next at 25:35.

Chelsea was completing her sixth parkrun – another comparative novice to the event, but obviously not to running.

Eighty-five runners, walkers and strollers took to the course with numbers consistently climbing now the worst of winter is behind us (though obviously the wet weather continues pretty much unabated). To this already impressive number is added Jane Harding, Judy Hill, Owen

Howlett, Thomas Martin, Nicole McIvor-Francis, Colin Moore and Glen Taylor who made up the volunteer contingent for the day. A heartfelt thanks to every one of them.

Castlemaine parkrun is managed by an all-volunteer group who give up their own chance to run in order that the event can go ahead.

Seven people managed a Personal Best on Saturday. 

Jack Cooper was mentioned earlier for his great 19:00 minute run. Gary Russell, in only his third event bettered his previous best too and he was followed across by Dean Podger and Elliot Hutchinson in what was for each of them only their second ever parkruns.

Dale Hamilton, Riley Harris, and Fiona Craigen made up the rest of the PB performers so ‘well done!’ to all of them.

October was officially ‘parkwalk’ month, where people have been encouraged to come along and simply walk the course. For some people this is an ideal introduction that sees them eventually start running, but for many others it isn’t a matter of choice. And for many parkrunners, it is a temporary respite as they recover from some niggle or other.

In any case they are all welcome and are regarded as fully-fledged members of the Castlemaine parkrun community.

If you’d like to join them, as a walker, or if you’d like to target Ben’s new course record, all you need to do is register online and download your barcode. Then simply turn up at the barbecue pavilion at the Botanical Gardens a bit before 8am on Saturday for the briefing.

Castlemaine parkrunners would love to meet you!

‘Don’t NAB our future’: students protest outside bank

By
Jade Jungwirth
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Student protesters gather outside the National Australia Bank in Castlemaine.

Last week a group of school students gathered outside the National Australia Bank in Castlemaine to demonstrate their disappointment and anger at NAB’s continued investment in coal and gas companies. 

The students are part of the movement, School Strikes for Climate, an Australia-wide student-led group of young people, united by their concern for the future of the planet. 

Thirteen-year-old local Arlo Hill joined School Strikes for Climate in 2018. 

“I became involved because what’s happening (environmentally) is really scary and I didn’t know what to do,” he told the Mail. 

The movement has partnered with the group ‘Move Beyond Coal’, a community movement, working towards stopping coal expansion, and phasing out coal by 2030. 

“The collaboration is good because it means there is a range of voices from all generations getting involved,” Arlo said. 

A NAB spokesperson said the bank had been transparent about their total level of lending to fossil fuels, with $1.91 billion invested in fossil fuel-powered energy, $2.98 billion in oil and gas, $.46 billion in oil and gas, and a further $5.63 billion lending to renewable energy. 

“NAB recognises climate change is a defining issue of our time and the important role we play,” the spokesperson said. 

“NAB has been carbon neutral in operations for more than a decade and we continue to reduce emissions across our business. 

“We are proud to be supporting our customers to lower their emissions too and build climate resilience. We do this through the funding we provide and we are proud to be the leading Australian bank for project finance to the global renewables segment.” 

Protesters around Australia, both young and old, will continue to make their voices heard as they push for NAB to end all forms of finance for companies or projects that expand the coal or gas industry by 2025, starting by committing to no further financing of Whitehaven Coal (an Australian company with mining operations across NSW and QLD) and Santos (an Australian oil and gas company with operations across Australia, Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea). 

Petition against weed killer

By
Castlemaine Mail
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Photo by Anton Murygin on Unsplash

Community concerns over Mount Alexander Shire Council policy on the use of glyphosate and other chemicals as a weed killer have led to a petition being presented to the council. 

MASC tabled the petition at the meeting on October 18. Council acknowledged receipt of the petition however further discussion and a report will occur at the December 20 council meeting. 

Residents are concerned about the effects of the chemicals, which have been shown to be carcinogenic by some reports. The use of weed-killing chemicals raises concerns about council’s duty of care to the community. 

Concerned residents previously presented a petition to the council to stop using the chemical near schools and childcare centres and other children’s services. Previously council voted five against two not in favour of removing the use of chemical spraying. 

“The council has a Health and Wellbeing Plan to 2025 with no mention of chemicals in that plan,” resident Chris Hooper said. 

“Many municipalities in states of Australia and other countries have banned the use of glyphosate.” 

Vigil for Cassius Turvey held in Castlemaine

By
Castlemaine Mail
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Uncle Ron Murray addresses the crowd.

By Melanie Barnes 

A large crowd of people gathered in Victory Park Castlemaine on Wednesday to mourn the death of Perth teenager Cassius Turvey. 

About 100 people gathered at 6pm to express their sorrow for the death of 15-year-old Cassius who was bashed and later died in hospital in Western Australia. 

All around Australia vigils were held to honour Cassius and his family. 

Cassius died on October 23, 10 days after being attacked while walking home from school in a north-eastern Perth suburb. A 21-year-old boy has been arrested by police and is in custody. 

Organiser of the Castlemaine vigil, Ally Oliver-Perham, was verging on tears as she spoke to the crowd. 

“I am speaking for a lot of people about such a horrific thing, and it shouldn’t be happening,” Ally said. 

People stood with candles and a sense of mourning spread among the crowd. 

Emma King read out the statement written by Cassius’ mother Micelle Turvey, which set an emotional and heartbreaking tone. 

Uncle Ron Murray, a local Castlemaine resident and descendant of the Wamba Wamba people, also spoke to the crowd. 

Uncle Ron told the story from his mother’s side, the Tatiara people, about the first ever death. It was about the animals trying to understand what death was and a reassuring tale of rebirth. 

“It was nice to see people coming out for someone they never knew,” Uncle Ron said. 

Uncle Ron acknowledged the struggles experienced by First Nations people and spoke of his love for Castlemaine and the care of the community for the diversity of its population. 

He asked the crowd to close their eyes while he played the didgeridoo. 

The Mail spoke to people in the crowd to capture a sense of their thoughts. 

“It is heartening to see such a widespread response to this appalling attack. We can’t put it right but we can have a deeper understanding of these things,” Vic Say said. 

Emma King is inviting non-Indigenous people to have a conversation about the history of colonisation and its consequences. If you would like to participate in these conversations, send an email to reflectionconversations@gmail.com

Workspace to get $3 million in state funds for relocation

By
Jade Jungwirth
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Workspace Australia will receive $3 million in state government funding to assist in relocating the Halford Street site to the old Etty Street Secondary School campus. 


Workspace will be moving from its current Halford Street location to the former secondary school in Etty Street by January 2024. 

Announced on Monday by local MP Maree Edwards, the funding aims to ensure the continued presence of Workspace Australia’s business incubator in Castlemaine while freeing up the current building occupied by Workspace for use by Dhelkya Health to redevelop as a much-needed community health facility. 

“I’m delighted to announce support for Workspace Australia in Castlemaine to help our region reach its full potential with more jobs and exciting projects,” Ms Edwards said. 

The works to the Department of Education-owned building, leased by Mount Alexander Shire and subleased to Workspace Australia, will be completed by December 2023, with licensees moving into the building as soon as January 2024. 

The buildings have been vacant for a number of years (apart from the two buildings leased to Autoplex) and require significant site works to repurpose the space, including electrical and access upgrades. Workspace Australia contributing a further $1.5 million to the project. 

Stage one of the project will see the old administration building and the two-storey science building developed for use by 40 businesses. Stage two will include upgrades to the canteen building to provide further space for 14 businesses, with the possibility of further expansion in the future. 

Workspace CEO Rebecca Dempsey told the Mail the funding announcement was “unbelievable”. 

“Work on this project began in 2018, including a number of studies and surveys to develop a master plan,” she said. 

“Surprisingly there was a huge amount of foot traffic in the area with a lot of people riding or walking.” 

Businesses currently operating at the Halford Street site (operational since 1998) at the end of their three-year lease period, will be moving on, allowing new businesses to sign a lease, with all money generated going back into expanding Worksafe. 

Ms Dempsey said Worksafe Australia had six sites but the Castlemaine site, leased to 68 businesses, was by far the largest, making up half of the operating businesses. 

“There has been such a large demand since COVID,” she said. “A lot of people have lost their jobs and have no other options. This way they can have a go with less risk. They’re the ones with fantastic ideas and skills.” 

According to Ms Dempsey, pre-COVID the Halford Street site had 70 per cent occupancy with an increase to 98 per cent post-COVID. 

“All of the other workspace sites are at 100 per cent capacity, with waiting lists accumulating,” she said. 

“We have six food businesses operating in Castlemaine at the moment. 

“Puds for All Seasons, Peddling Pastry, Woodley’s Pies and Pastries, Geeza and Firebean Organic Coffee. 

“And what’s really exciting about the Etty Street space is the capacity for at least six dedicated kitchen spaces. 

“At the current site, there is only one dedicated kitchen, leaving the other five food businesses having to adapt the rooms to suit.” 

Let’s take a look back at Barkers Creek Valley in 1872

By
Castlemaine Mail
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Barkers Creek Valley 1872: This Holtermann image taken in 1872 has been artificially coloured by Malcolm Qualtrough (click image to zoom in). The view is towards the south from near the Walker Street rail crossing. On the right, the old Gaol stands out clearly on the hill as does the old Castlemaine Hospital, once located below it on Gingell Street, while the Camp Reserve occupies the lower land in the background. The train station with its two goods sheds is in the background but unfortunately, one of the sheds met with an accident with a train and was later demolished. At this stage, the only change to the landscape of the river valley has been the construction of dual railway lines. To the west or right of the railway line, the valley slopes down gradually to the creek located behind the small residence and enclosed by the wooden rail fence.
2022: This modern image was taken from as close to the original as possible and shows the station in the distance with the one remaining goods shed. Since 1872 virtually the entire rail corridor to the west or right of the main line has been filled in and built up to the level of the railway line. In recent times, structures have been built on this raised area to support the Castlemaine – Maldon Railway project, and the buildings can be seen in this image. This infilling of the land has in fact created a gigantic levee bank on the eastern side of Barkers Creek and where once any flooding would have spread to the east and the west of the creek, nowadays it has only one way to go, and that is the west bank of the creek in Gingell Street where flooding frequently occurs.

My Castlemaine with Justine Wallace: artist, sculptor and nature lover

By
Castlemaine Mail
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Justine Wallace began using a caravan as her studio during lockdown and it turned out to be a nice place to work and became “a room of one’s own”.

Justine studied Fine Art at Victorian College of the Arts. She has been teaching over the past 30 years and making art.

Hi Justine, Can you tell me what brought you to Castlemaine?

When I was a child I would come to visit my uncle who was a lovely warm fellow and my auntie who lived in Chewton. They were happy times, enjoying the bush and collecting eggs from the chickens, which we cooked for breakfast.

My dad and uncle opened the Wallace Brothers Gallery in Hargraves street in Castlemaine, which ran for years showing local artists’ work. When I spent time with my dad as a kid he was usually busy so I hung out for hours at the Theatre Royal playing an old table top game called ‘Galaga’. 

My nan also lived in Castlemaine in Gingell Street and I have fond memories of my visits to her and being given Golden Gaytime ice-creams.

What do you love about this part of the world?

I have always loved Castlemaine. Living in the city for many years, my plan was to return here one day. I love the community and remember when I was a kid having friends and family connections, which are the best things you can hope for in your life. I love being around nature and watching the seasons change. The yellow wattles come out you know that winter will be over. The Crimson rosellas arrive and lay their eggs in the nesting box. Then they hatch and fly away. The dam fills up and goes down and all this makes me feel connected. 

What keeps you busy lately Justine?

I am sculpting a portrait of my uncle, David Wallace. Like me, he is a retired art teacher. When we talk about teaching and education there’s a lot of joy, but also sadness. Over the decades, we’ve both seen teaching, art and humanities become more and more devalued over time. It’s been difficult to watch, because David believes that art and education are for everybody, not just for a privileged few. 

My work questions the traditions of portraiture and public sculpture, which tends to represent a very narrow view of history. We need to balance gender, class and racial representation in public statues. 

What are your other interests?

I study and learn about animals, which I also sculpt and paint. I study the indigenous plants and animals in the area. I live near a nature reserve where there are phascogales and echidnas. I have a concern about the damage from climate change and deforestation. I am interested in protecting the indigenous flora and fauna as we expand into their habitat.

Who would your three dream dinner guests be?

Louise Bourgeois – French-American sculptor, Penny Wong and Bruce Pascoe.

What are your pet peeves?

There is not enough public figurative sculpture commemorating history-making women an First Nation’s Peoples in Australia. Figurative public sculptures are almost always depictions of men, by men. This sends a very clear message to communities that we don’t value and celebrate diversity nearly as much as we should. 

What are you reading at the moment?

I listen to podcasts and at the moment am listening to Alli Ward, Ologies, who interviews specialists in their fields. It is very entertaining and interesting.

– By Melanie Barnes

Gathering of Kindness aims to encourage culture change in healthcare

By
Jade Jungwirth
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Local GP Richard Mayes and his wife Lucy Mayes from the Hush Foundation

Burnout, bullying, workforce retention, toxicity and abuse are endemic in the medical system, and with the continued strains of the pandemic, there has never been a better time for change. 

Local resident Lucy Mayes and fellow organisers of the Gathering of Kindness want to flip this narrative and instil a culture of kindness throughout the healthcare system. 

“Patients often report one of the most powerful elements of their care is an act of kindness,” Lucy said. 

“The medical system is often about measurements, and there is a huge amount of evidence to support this model. 

“There is biochemistry in giving, witnessing or experiencing kindness, which changes our internal physiology.” 

Lucy, inspired by her husband Dr Richard Mayes’ experience of burnout, wrote a book called Beyond the Stethoscope: Doctors stories of reclaiming hope, heart, and healing in medicine. Lucy interviewed 30 doctors from various fields across Australia and New Zealand, including the founder of the Gathering of Kindness, Catherine Crock. 

“At first it was difficult for Richard to share his vulnerability,” Lucy said. “The purpose of the book is not to be perfect but to be human, and it helped Richard to heal and many others have since shared their experiences.” 

Richard (aka the dancing doctor), is also an award-winning medical educator and will be presenting at this year’s Gathering of Kindness with his all-ages, all-abilities dance troupe, Silvertops Dance Crew. 

The Hush Gathering of Kindness aims to build and nurture a culture of kindness throughout the healthcare system. 

Now more than ever, kindness is needed, particularly with the ongoing pandemic bringing new anxiety, stress and challenges to our healthcare workers. They remain at the frontline in emergency departments, wards, and intensive care units, risking their own health and the health of their families. 

The annual Gathering of Kindness provides an opportunity to share ideas, learn the ways kindness is driving change for the better around the world, and for all stakeholders in healthcare to have a voice in co-creating a kinder healthcare system for all. 

A week of events will be held around Australia from Monday November 7 to Friday November 11. World Kindness Day is on Sunday November 13. 

Health and aged care staff and organisations, and patients and families can join in the Hush Gathering of Kindness events. 

For more information and the full program, visit www.gatheringofkindness. org/2022. Tickets are available at events. humanitix.com/gathering-of-kindness-2022/tickets

A Golden Nugget at Porcupine Village

By
Castlemaine Mail
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Manager of Porcupine Village Doug Baird.

The much-anticipated opening of Porcupine Village in Maldon remains on the horizon, as managers Doug and Deborah Baird await the green light to fling open the gates of the replica gold mining town. 

In the meantime, visitors can dine in style in the new Golden Nugget Restaurant, open for dinner Fridays and Saturdays, and a carvery lunch and live music on Sundays. 

The replica gold-miners village, which sat abandoned for 20 years, has had new life breathed into it since Melbourne businessman, Frank Hutchinson, bought the property for $1.7 million in 2020. And with the assistance of a $1.7 million government grant in June the village is looking fantastic. 

The tourist attraction is a great way to step back in time to the 1850s and get a glimpse of what it was like to live during the gold rush, walking among the 40 ramshackle buildings complete with a bar, blacksmith’s shed, general store and undertaker’s office. 

There will be a range of accommodation options available including motel rooms, glamping and a caravan park. Visitors will be able to get up close with native animals at the wildlife sanctuary, buy produce grown onsite at the greengrocer, or buy some unique metalworks made by the onsite blacksmith. 

The village caters for birthdays and weddings and includes a specially designed function marque, which has proven to be a controversial addition, with objections from local residents that the marque is not keeping with the heritage of the town. 

Manager Deborah Baird told the Express that functions were booking fast and the restaurant hosted a beautiful wedding over the weekend. 

“Sundays have been incredibly popular, we have different local musicians perform and happy hour from 3pm-4pm,” she said. 

Head chef Sonya McCarthy said Deborah and Doug were the best managers, and the owner Frank was lovely and incredibly supportive of new ideas. 

“We’re having our first themed night this Friday,” Sonya said. “We’ll have a Chinese menu for a few weeks and then we’ll try Indian and Spanish. On Saturday we have fine dining. 

“One of the most popular dishes has been the eye fillet steak with a Panacea Estate red wine jus and the Warral Honey Creme Brulee. 

“We use a lot of local produce including buying our meat from the Maldon Butchers, cheeses, olives, oil, and preserves as well as a huge selection of local wines and cider. Plus we grow a lot of the fresh produce ourselves.” 

‘Sex is never just sex’ – there is always more to it …

By
Jade Jungwirth
-

Award-winning local author, Alex Miller, has launched a new novel exploring sexuality, self-exploration, friendship and marriage in a modern world. 

A Brief Affair centres around protagonist Dr Frances Egan, a 42-year-old mother and career woman who discovers a long-forgotten diary while working in a former asylum in Sunbury.

The characters and many of their experiences are written through the lens of the author’s own thoughts, feelings and experiences, and those of the people close to him.

Miller has an exceptional ability to write female characters seamlessly, which seems to stem from his belief that women and men are essentially the same.

“I read Sexual Politics by (American writer and activist) Kate Millett, written in 1969. It was profound, well-researched and argued,” he said. 

“It gave me, as a man, permission to write women.

“I also lean towards the person who doesn’t get a say, which I think is my story too, coming from a working-class family in London. I can’t write about people I don’t like. I’ve tried.”

Raised in the UK by parents of Scottish and Irish descent, Miller travelled to Australia on his own when he was just 16 years old. 

A working-class boy from South London during the post-war period, he wanted to be a writer but was never taken seriously.

After a six-week-long boat journey, Miller landed in Sydney. Suitcase in hand he started walking, asking people passing by, “which way to Queensland?”

“It was so different to England. I felt liberated,” he said.

“I wanted to be a cowboy in the outback. So that’s what I did. I worked with Indigenous people in Augusta on the Gulf of Carpentaria. That was special.”

Miller and his wife Stephanie have called Castlemaine their home for the past 22 years. They met when they were studying.

“The first day I saw her at the top of the stairs, I thought that’s the one. Turns out she thought the same,” he said.

“During the term we kept giving each other looks, but we never spoke. One night at the end of term we both decided to go to the pub with a group of students.

“At the end of the night, I said, ‘aren’t you cold sitting on your own? Why don’t you come over?’ She came over and kissed me. It went on for a lifetime. Everyone in the bar started slow clapping and the barmaid poured cold water on us.

“She was the one. Steph makes life possible.”

A Brief Affair is available now in all good book stores.

Fruit stickers NEED to go!

By
Castlemaine Mail
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Pic: Eduardo Soares - (Unsplash.com)

By Zahyra
From Winters Flat Primary School

Late one night an apple was restless, he had a fruit sticker on and it was uncomfortable and itchy. “What are they even for?” the apple wondered.

In the morning the apple studied each type of sticker he could and found out that most stickers had different purposes and varied from fruit to fruit.

One fine morning the apple got picked up by a lady in a blue flowery dress and got taken to a black moving thing, which at the end had a lady in a black uniform standing next to some sort of computer … a conveyor belt, the apple realised.

Later on, the apple got put in a fruit bowl with a bunch of other fruit. All the fruit talked until night. In five days, the apple realised something, something wonderful … The fruit the lady brought home had no fruit stickers on them. The apple asked eagerly and found out that fruit stickers were not in use anymore.

What happened here in this story can happen in reality but it doesn’t have to happen like that, fruit stickers could become reusable, biodegradable or even edible.

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