With today’s weather event set to further impact the region’s already swollen creeks, rivers and catchments local residents are being urged to take care. Follow our Facebook page for more updates.
Please consider a digital subscription to support your local news coverage. Free trial available for a limited time.
With today’s weather event set to further impact the region’s already swollen creeks, rivers and catchments local residents are being urged to take care. Follow our Facebook page for more updates.
Please consider a digital subscription to support your local news coverage. Free trial available for a limited time.
Hi Duang. Most people will know you from your stall selling delicious food at the Castlemaine Farmers Market. How long have you been at the market and how did you become involved?
I’ve been at the weekly market since it first started three years ago. I was one of the founders. In the beginning, we only had eight to ten stalls, but now, during the busy season, there are around 30 stalls. I like that the market is curated, everything has to be made locally and sold by the makers. The ingredients I use in my food are usually bought at the market, locally, or grown at home.
How long have you lived in Australia?
I was born in Thailand in a place called Nan. I then lived in America for 35 years. I came here 14 years ago because I married an Australian man. We first moved to Eltham. I was 60 years old and didn’t know what I was going to do. I started volunteering at a community garden, which was mainly for people with intellectual disabilities. I started taking food on the days that I worked and the teachers asked me to organise catering for them and that’s how my catering business started. 10 years ago I moved to Chewton and when I saw the benchtop in this house I knew I wanted to run cooking classes.
You went back to visit Thailand earlier this year. How was that trip?
I went back twice, once in January and again in June. I try and go every year. It still feels like home. I recently inherited my family home, which is being renovated to become a cooking school. I want to turn it into a place to run food and cultural tours for people from Australia and America. My home town Nan is not yet a tourist town and I want people to see it while it is still untainted.
Have you had other careers?
I originally trained as a nurse and then as a counsellor. I taught English as a second language and ran a few businesses. But I’ve always loved cooking.
What are your other interests?
Gardening. I grow a lot of my vegetables, things that I can’t buy. In summer I grow a lot of basil. I also grow eggplant which I use a lot in my cooking. The house we live in is built on a large sheet of rock, and my husband and I are both in our 70s, so growing things in raised boxes is the most conducive.
I love to sew, but don’t have time to write now, I mostly cook. I’ve always loved cooking. I started cooking as soon as I could walk. My mother had four daughters, and I must have an aptitude for cooking. None of my sisters were interested in cooking.
Any philosophies by which you like to lead life?
I’m not sure I can answer that in a short time or condense my answer! I guess it’s people. I believe in equalising for people who are disadvantaged, such as refugees. I think food is a fantastic equaliser. During COVID I started making and giving away free food at the market, it was a lot more than I bargained for but it taught me so much about people; the people who came for food and the people who supported the idea. There were farmers who supplied food and community people who came to help cook. Those that had a lot, gave a lot. That’s what I love about this community, the generosity of spirit. So that’s part of my philosophy, to make food accessible to people as much as I can.
Who would your three dream dinner guests be?
Bruce Pascall, who wrote Dark Emu, and Behrouz Boochan, who wrote No Friend but the Mountains. He came to Australia as an asylum seeker and was put into detention in Preston. He was very badly treated. He managed to get his story out through an outsider while he was in detention. He eventually moved to New Zealand.
Annie Smither the cook or if I could choose a dead person it would be John Reid who owned the Red Beard Bakery in Trentham. He was a foodie and a supreme equaliser which is a double plus.
Pet peeves?
The misuse of language. I hate it when people say, ‘people that came’, instead of ‘people who came’ or ‘the amount of people’ instead of ‘the number of people’.
What’s your musical genre of choice?
I don’t have one. I like silence. I cook in silence and I drive in silence.
What are you reading at the moment?
How to tell a story: The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth and Writing the Story of Your Life by Carmel Bird.
I sense a theme here. Are you planning on writing your story?
Yes.
How’s it going?
It’s going extremely well because I haven’t written anything!
I’ve been talking about writing a book for years. I love writing for the Chewton Chat and writing Facebook posts.
The final question Duang, what do you enjoy most about the place you call home?
There isn’t anything that I don’t enjoy. I love the physical house and the people of Chewton and Castlemaine. I’ve never lived anywhere with such a sense of belonging. I’ve been blown away by how the people support what I want to do! For example, the Red Hill Pub lost a chef. They asked me if I’d do a pop-up and I thought, ‘it’s the local pub. It’s a beautiful place where my friends go to drink’. So we agreed I’d try it and see how it goes. The first date booked out in a day! He asked me to give him a second date and it also booked out in a day! This is what I mean, I can’t believe it! I’m a no-name cook and 50 people a day are booking without knowing what the menu is! I don’t even know what the menu is!
Circa 1909
This photograph is from the State Library collection and was sourced by Lani Smith. William Straede and his brother Carl were pioneer miners of the Castlemaine district who belonged to a party of miners who made their fortune at Lady Gully. On the 8th June 1872 the brothers opened a large drapery business in Castlemaine’s Market Square. Their business was located on the north east corner of Mostyn Street and Frederick Streets, next to the Goldsmith’s Hotel and it was described as one of the most respected businesses in the town. William Straede died in 1909 but the business continued until it was sold in 1915 to a Mr. S. Newman and the shop continued under new management. This photograph was taken in 1909-1910, about the time of Mr. Straede’s death. This photograph shows the business at the time with the former Goldsmith Hotel on the extreme right.
2022
The site on the corner of Mostyn and Frederick Streets has now been occupied by the Bendigo Bank for many years. The structure of the building has remained the same since the late 1800s with the exception now of a new coat of paint. Previously, the corner site was occupied by the Benstead family who conducted a music and record shop in the latter part of the twentieth century, and earlier in 1960s and early 1970s, the Pedler conducted a similar business selling records, pianos, radios, stationery and gifts. Photo and historical details courtesy Ken McKimmie.
Internationally renowned violinist Lizzy Welsh is set to share her latest musical work as part of a ‘world premiere’ event at the Castlemaine Theatre Royal next Thursday October 13.
The event was set to be held earlier this year but had to be rescheduled after covid forced the cancellation of the event.
The baroque and modern violinist and composer will be joined by talented fellow Melbourne musos Tilman Robinson and Chloë Sobek in presenting the collaborative piece the trio penned during the lockdowns.
The concert on October 13 will fuse electronics with string instruments in a stunning collision of Renaissance and contemporary styles.
Lizzy grew up in Harcourt and was always intrigued by the violin.
“I just knew that I wanted to learn to play it one day. As luck would have it I was very fortunate to get that opportunity though a state school program at Castlemaine North Primary School in the 90s.
“I was grateful to be among six kids selected for the program and I never looked back. I was hooked and practiced religiously. My poor family!” Lizzy said.
“This was followed by playing in the symphony orchestra, string quartet and piano trio at Castlemaine Secondary College and performances at the Castlemaine State Festival and weddings from the age of 15, before studying at the Victorian College of the Arts, and then in Germany.
“I now have a Doctorate of Musical Arts from Queensland Conservatorium, and an international performance career specialising in early and new music, or at least I did have before covid!” Lizzy laughs.
Her talent has seen her perform at concert halls all over the world including China, Poland, London, the US and Germany.
“Tilman specialises in electronics, Chloë plays the viola da gamba and I play the smaller viola d’amore which was a popular instrument in the 1600s, each of us wrote a piece of music during covid and we then met up for a development session in Castlemaine where we found a way to fuse our three pieces together.
“I think it works. It’s very different, you’d definitely call it experimental! It’s very niche,” Lizzy says.
“It’s fantastic that Tim and Felicity at the Theatre Royal have welcomed us and are open to presenting all forms of music. It feels pretty special to be able to debut the piece here in my hometown”.
The project has been made possible thanks to support from the state and federal governments.
“We applied for three grants and were lucky enough to get two of them from the Australia Council for the Arts and Creative Victoria which really allowed us the time and space to focus on solely on this project during what was a really difficult time for musicians,” she said.
Doors open at 7.30pm and the show starts at 8pm. For tickets to the Castlemaine performance visit https://theatreroyalcastlemaine.oztix.com.au
Castlemaine Rods will celebrate their 60th anniversary with a special event at Autoplex Castlemaine at the former Castlemaine Secondary College Senior Campus in Etty Street, Castlemaine this Sunday October 9.
The event will kick off at 10.30am. The day will include a small display of early cars from the 1960s when the club began, a memorabilia display of items spanning the club’s six decades, and the cutting of the 60th anniversary cake. Lunch and coffee will be available for purchase.
The public is very welcome to attend this free event and help celebrate this vibrant sector of our local community.
Rhondda Hall, Castlemaine
When our family moved from Queensland to Boort in 1964 every WC where a septic tank had been added had a notice on the back of the door with the rules, one of which was “Do not flush for minor uses”.
I fear modern Australians will not want to follow that rule when the sewerage plant is full (or during droughts), so I will offer some other mad suggestions to overcome the problem.
Building regulations should specify how big the rain water tank must be for all houses: the bigger the roof (keeping your floor dry) the bigger the tank (keeping your run-off on your place).
We should all plant more trees that hold large amounts of water, where possible.
I live at the bottom of McKenzie Hill, and a lot more water runs down the hill on the highway than did 20 years ago.
Trevor Scott,
Architect, Castlemaine
Mount Alexander Shire Council has in this newspaper, recently promoted its plan to redevelop the Camp Reserve in Forest Street, Castlemaine. Unfortunately, the plan involves extensive earthworks and removal of many, mature species of trees.
Council argues that it will offset the loss of trees by replacing them with new ones, but it will be many years before these can absorb as much carbon dioxide as the large trees.
The Camp Reserve has historical connections to Goldsmith Crescent and the former court house, as well as to other significant buildings such as the Powder Magazine. This plan will sever these links and have an adverse effect on the character and heritage significance of the precinct.
As has been previously reported (Mail September 22) the plan for the reserve includes the construction of a new pavilion and netball courts, additional change rooms, a new community space, public toilets, a kiosk and umpires facilities, which is admirable.
It is planned that these should be located on the south west side of the reserve, adjacent to Forest Street. However, this is one of the hilliest and most vegetated parts of the site.
As an architect, I am convinced that these facilities could be located elsewhere on the site, avoiding the tree removal, earthworks and costly landscaping. Three years ago, council declared a climate emergency for the whole of the shire. More recently it purchased a new bus for patient transport. Unfortunately again, this bus was petrol-powered and not electric. Even more recently council ordered the removal of a sign reminding us of this emergency, from a prominent building in the town. When I look online, council’s website has a climate emergency plan, but when I look at this plan for our reserve and consider the above items, it seems to me that it is struggling to “walk the talk.”
Orienteers of all ages from across Australia and New Zealand descended on Castlemaine, Maldon, Daylesford and Blackwood for the Australian Orienteering Championships last week September 24-October 2.
The event kicked off in Daylesford on September 24 with the Victorian Middle Distance Championships and the Orienteering Grand Prix.
Sunday September 25 the action moved to Blackwood for the Australian Middle Distance Championships.
Monday September 26 the focus shifted to Kyneton for day one of the Australian Schools Sprint Championships. Tuesday students competed in the Long Distance Championships on a course at Harcourt, and on Wednesday Chewton played host to the Australian Schools Relay Championships.
After a rest day on Thursday orienteers hit the tracks at Sunbury on Friday for the Australian Sprint Championships.
Fine skies greeted orienteers at Maldon on Saturday for the Australian Long Distance Championships, and Sunday the event wrapped up with the Australian Relay Championships at Campbells Creek. For all the results visit http://aoc.orienteering.asn.au/results/
Castlemaine Bowling Club’s Opening Day last Saturday was a very successful and happy day with 52 bowlers enjoying being back on the green.
The clubrooms and surrounds were all looking good, thanks to the many volunteers preparing for our new season.
Director Rod Phillips welcomed bowlers and wished them a happy and successful season. Good bowling for pennant and enjoyable social gatherings at the club.
Lady President Alene Jolme and Don Barnett rolled the first bowl to commence the new season.
Winners on the day were Kathy Parsons, Pat Devereaux, Peter Rotteveel. Second place went to Pam Fraser, Robyn Fleury, Florence Stevens, Peter Roach. Third was Steve McCoombe, Pam Hunter, Wendy Walsh, Sandra Grant.
Weekend Pennant
This Saturday October 8 Division 1 have their first game with Castlemaine to play Bendigo East at Castlemaine. Division 4 and 5 have their first game Saturday October 15.
Teams for Division 1 Saturday October 8 as follows: Christopher Brain, Robin Lynas, Kevin Shuttleworth, Peter Brain (skip). Michael Diprose, Lee Bastin, Paul Darroch, Greg Brain (s). Bernie McConnell, Kevin Earle, Darren Taylor, Lachy Darroch (s). Klai Jermyn, Neil Bouch, Dallan Klemke and Rod Phillips (s).
Midweek Pennant
Midweek Pennant commences on Monday October 10. Starting time 9.30am.
Division 2 Castlemaine play Golden Square at Castlemaine: Teams are Jack Taylor, Rod Fletcher, Steve McCoombe, Maureen Fletcher (s). Alene Jolme, Alicia Beauchamp, Rosalie Roberts, Pam Hunter (s). Angie Hill, Graham Fraser, Charles Madgin, Tricia O’Shea (s) .
Division 3 Castlemaine play Golden Square away: Don Steet, Sandra Grant, Pam Fraser, Bruce Miller (s). Sandra Phillips, Lyndal McClure, Regina Saville, Nina Hufer (s). Pat Devereaux, Peter Rotteveel, Alan Nicholls, Kathy Parsons (s).
Club News
Four Castlemaine bowlers played in the ‘Mega Fours Tournament’ at Golden Square last Sunday , 22 teams from Metropolitan and District clubs competed. The team Rod Phillips , Peter Brain, Kevin Shuttleworth and Greg Brain, finished in third place. Looking good for our Division 1 this season as it was a very strong and competitive event.
Mount Alexander Funerals Classic Fours Tournament will be held on Thursday October 27, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea all provided. All clubs are invited to enter teams and enjoy good bowling, friendship and hospitality. Phone Pam 0407 532 888.
Local women are invited to be part of the popular ‘Girls on the Green’ competition which will run over six weeks, dates in next week’s edition.
Social Bowls continue every Wednesday 12.30 pm start. All bowlers welcome.
Harcourt Bowling Club members got together to enjoy the Opening of the 2022-2023 Bowling Season last Saturday.
President Ken Tribe welcomed all Harcourt bowling members including Life Member Ron Douglas.
He especially welcomed new Members Tim Carr, Rick Williams, Rod Watson, Darren Cunningham and returning member Chris McAuliffe. Ken noted that returning from injury this season were Frances Collins and Vinka Maltby.
Declaring the season open, Ken introduced our local State Member for Bendigo West Maree Edwards and thanked her for finding time at short notice to join us for the day. As she has over several years, Maree rolled the first kitty and first bowl for the new bowling season.
Bowlers then participated in a ditch to ditch, and the afternoon continued with Maree joining bowlers. Participants played two games of eight ends and a third game of six ends before a shower of rain spoiled the fun.
Winners on the day were: Ditch to Ditch Fairley Harman and David Jefferies. Third place Dave Jefferies, Tim Carr, Diane Marsh. Runners-up Barry Marsh, Brian Leech, Ken Tribe, Mary-Anne Doyle.
Overall winners were Chris McAuliffe, Seth Bird, Kaye Grant and Heather Braid.
As is usual, the day was made complete with all sharing a delicious afternoon tea provided by the members.
Midweek Pennant
Midweek Pennant will commence next Monday October 10 with both teams playing at home. Division 2 will host Bendigo and Division 4 will host Bendigo VRI. Unfortunately, the makeup of each team was not available at the time of going to print. Results will be in next week’s Mail. Good bowling everyone!
This weekend sees the running of the 2022 Bathurst 1000 and marks the 300th start for legend Craig Lowndes. If he were to win the race he would edge closer to his mentor Peter Brock’s record of nine Bathurst wins.
Lowndes currently has seven Bathurst wins and believes he is a real chance with his newly appointed co-driver, current Super2
Championship leader, Castlemaine born Declan Fraser.
Fraser moved away from Castlemaine with his family when he was just 4, Declan or Decca as he is known by his sponsor Supercheap Auto has always had a passion for supercars and racing.
Declan started racing at his local karting track in Mackay at seven years of age and quickly rose to the top of his class in the local area. With competition hard to find locally the family would travel throughout Queensland chasing the best drivers and after conquering the state with multiple state titles he set his sights interstate, back to Victoria where the competition was tough and race podiums were even tougher. But the tenacious racer had his fair share of podiums, wins and became the first Queenslander to take out the Victorian Golden Power series.
Declan’s karting career spanned 10 years: racing throughout Australia and representing his country three times in Las Vegas, before making the switch to cars as a 16- year-old when he started competing in the one make ‘Toyota 86 Racing Series’. His first year was a baptism of fire finishing mid-pack with few highlights.
In his second season of Toyota 86 racing Declan became a regular on the podium and scored his maiden win the same year at the Newcastle street meet under the watchful eye of Paul Morris.
Declan’s third and final year in the category saw him win the opening race from a packed grid of 40 cars at Phillip Island and multiple podiums to eventually finish fourth in the championship series.
Declan then made quick work of his rise through the V8 pathway taking out pole position in his first outing in Super3 and going on to finish second in the race and by season end second.
In 2021 Declan moved up to the very competitive Super2 class with MW motorsport, where everyone is vying for a “main game drive in Supercars”. Fraser was consistently in the top 10 and by the third round (surprising everyone, bar his inner circle ) he had a podium and ‘Rookie of the Round’ in his first year of Super2.
But that was to be his last hit-out for the year as a mechanical fault sent his Super2 spearing backwards into the wall at over 200 km on the treacherous Mt Panorama circuit which was to be the last round for the season.
Roll on to 2022 and Declan announced his appointment with his new team Triple 8 Engineering as their Super2 driver.
From the get go Fraser was fast and the new kid on the block taking a pole position in his first round at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Next round across to Perth Fraser was consistently in the top three and by the rounds end had banked enough points to be sitting second in the championship, following the round, Triple 8 Engineering’s Jamie Whincup made the huge announcement that Declan Fraser was to co-drive for Craig Lowndes at the Bathurst 1000 in October.
Townsville was next on the calendar and would be the turning point in Fraser’s championship as he raced to his first win in Super2 and left the venue as the new championship leader.
Another race win in Sandown Victoria consolidated his championship standings, before heading to the mountain (Mt Panorama) where Fraser will preform double duties both in his Super2 and as co-driver for the legend Craig Lowndes aboard the Triple 8 prepared ZB
commodore in the main event on Sunday October 9.
This will be Fraser’s first appearance as a ‘main game’ driver where he will be out to impress.
Fraser said the lead-up has been a full schedule of three full blown test-days, a lot of gym work, media commitments and sponsor meetings.
“Although its been exhausting at times I believe my preparation has been the best I could have hoped for. Lowndes has been great guiding me through the lead-up and how to handle the constant workload both in and out of the car,” Declan said.
Racing will commence today, October 7 in his Super2 with the main race beginning 11.15am Sunday morning on Ch7.
