The Baringhup-Maldon Community Bus is under new management with the Baringhup Bus Committee handing over the steering wheel after more than five years.
The Maldon Neighbourhood Centre has taken on the role of managing the community bus service that will continue to be available for affordable hire to community groups and individuals in Baringhup, Maldon and district.
The service covers Castlemaine, Maldon and Baringhup providing a flexible door-to-door service on Tuesday and Fridays and is continuing after the Maldon Neighbourhood Centre Committee of Management endorsed a plan to keep it going.
This followed the completion of the Age Friendly Communities project and bus trial which indicated the level of use justified retaining the service.
Maldon Neighbourhood Centre coordinator Amy Atkinson said the centre is setting up a small working group to support the operations of the community bus and welcome any interest from the community.
“The success of the community transport trial shows us that this is a valuable service for our communities combating social isolation and transport disadvantage,” Ms Atkinson said.
“The community transport service is able to pick-up residents in Chewton, Campbells Creek, Barkers Creek, Wesley Hill, Baringhup, Maldon and locations in between.”
Fares are set at an affordable $3 one way or $5 return with those intending to use the service required to pre-book the day before by calling 5475 2093.
There is no change to the bus chartering process and charter is discounted for community and not-for-profit groups.
Community bus hands over the wheel
Hot rod read
Castlemaine’s Rocket Rod is an icon in the world of hot rodding and now the story of his life has been comprehensively documented by his daughter Allison.
After much extensive research, Allison Hadfield, a librarian at Daylesford, has written The Mad Scientist of Australian Hot Rodding: Rod Hadfield – her father’s biography.
The new book published by Renniks Publications was launched with fanfare in Chewton on June 30.
Rod is the first to admit he is delighted and honoured by his daughter ‘s achievement in penning the 185 page book that he says contains treasured images, good laughs – and some details that have surprised even him.
“I’m very, very proud of the work she’s done. It’s taken her two years and I didn’t even know for a long time that she was doing it,” he says.
A large number of guests attended the launch at the Hadfield’s Chewton property – home to Rod’s famed hot rod collection and a popular destination for hot rodding devotees from around the nation.
“I’ve always thought it was a story that needed to be told,” Allison says.
“For years and years I’ve thought someone should write his biography. He’s led a very interesting life, overcome a lot of obstacles to get to where he is, but it was only about two years ago that I actually put the two things together – that I should be the one to write it.
“Now that I’ve got the book in my hand, I’m just over the moon.”
Several of the state’s hot rod clubs and some of Australia’s leading hot rodding writers and editors were present for the launch which also saw the surprise unveiling of a new work by acclaimed local sculptor, Chewton’s Richard Yates.
Allison has dedicated The Mad Scientist of Australian Hot Rodding to her mother, Rod’s wife Carol Hadfield who laughs when it’s noted that she is generally acknowledged as the quiet background achiever, often responsible for holding the show on the road.
Volunteers with Mount Alexander Animal Welfare assisted in the kitchen at the launch as a means of raising funds toward the work of the local organisation.
Repair order for neglected site
Urgent repair orders have been issued for heritage-listed Macedon House in Gisborne.
Heritage Victoria served the notice late last month stating, “owners had allowed the heritage property to fall into disrepair to the extent that its conservation is threatened”.
“The property has been allowed to fall into disrepair while the current owners pursue planning permission to construct a retirement village on the site,” a Heritage Victoria spokesperson said.
“Work has not been undertaken despite ongoing correspondence with Heritage Victoria.”
The owners are now required, within three weeks, to secure the fencing around the site, clean up the site to remove rubbish and overgrown vegetation and secure all external doors and windows to prevent unauthorised
access.
Within three months the owners are also required to install new eaves to gutters and downpipes, re-fix or replace roof sheets, install a new stormwater system, underpin external bluestone walls to prevent collapse, treat the building to eliminate termites, and other urgent repairs.
Failure to comply with a repair order could result in fines of up to $373,104 or imprisonment for five years or both for a natural person, and $746,208 for a body corporate.
Macedon House came to the attention of authorities in 2015 and, since then, communication with the owners has been ongoing about the condition of the building.
Heritage Victoria issued a ‘show cause notice’ February 2, 2018, requiring the owner to show cause why a repair order should not be made.
A Heritage Victoria spokesperson said there had been few repair orders issued in the past 20 years.
The Heritage Act 2017, which began in November, has strengthened enforcement and compliance provisions to protect state-listed heritage places including increasing maximum penalties for unauthorised works to deter damage to heritage places and objects, and a range of other measures.
Meet the Dads Club
It might be difficult to make new mates in a new town but one group of dads is making it easier for people to connect.
With “a couple of beers and a few laughs”, ‘Dads Club’ aims to facilitate better connectedness for regional men and promote male mental health awareness, says vice-president and co-founder Luke Spielvogel.
“It’s a chance for commuters, stay-at-home dads, or others who don’t get the social opportunity as often, to meet some people,” he said.
“We want to make it accessible and approachable to those new to the area, feeling a bit isolated or just lack the time or inclination to join a ‘for-purpose’ group or committee.”
While the name suggests it’s all about dads and blokes – it is a mere nod to the group’s roots and everyone is welcome, says president and Newham resident Mark Constable.
“The Macedon Ranges has seen massive growth in particularly young families moving to the area and that move away from friends and family can sometimes prove isolating,” Mr Constable said.
“Having been one of those families I know what that isolation can feel like, between driving up and down the Calder every day, looking after a property and spending time with young kids, it’s hard to find time to get out and make new friends. That’s where Dads Club was great, we were all in the same boat and I’ve made some lasting friendships.”
Andrew Watt works in construction in Melbourne and moved to the Macedon Ranges two years ago.
“It was great, within a couple of weeks of moving up here, I was invited to a Dads Club function and met 25-30 local blokes who were really welcoming. I’m now involved with the local hall committee and the cricket club as well as now joining the Dads Club committee.”
Mr Constable was pleased with the group’s most recent event that celebrated club becoming incorporated and attracted about 25 people to the gathering in Newham.
The group now looks forward to the next chapter with a strong committee on board and growing interest in the community.
Small producers on cloud nine
Artisanal producers are expected to find some relief in a $2 million agriculture and premium food state government fund designed to help grow the emerging industry.
The program will include an Industry Development Plan for the artisanal agriculture and premium food sector in Victoria, a grants program, and biosecurity and industry support services tailored to the needs of the sector.
Cloud9 cheese and wine producers Alan and Susan Deeble, and daughter Jacquie, said the fund, announced in the state budget, would be encouraging for small producers in the Macedon Ranges where a strong trend was emerging.
“It’s not easy for a small family to run a business but there are a lot of people in the Macedon Ranges producing some great quality stuff,” Mr Deeble said.
Ms Deeble said there were many areas where people might need relief to see their visions realised.
For Cloud9 she said, despite producing on a much smaller scale, the Pipers Creek business must undergo the same industry checks and audits as a large producer, but with a significantly smaller budget to meet costs involved.
“The costs of testing is huge and we only work in small batches so it takes a fair bit out of the profits,” she said.
The family are strong supporters of regional producers with several local products showcased at their property. They believe in the positive flow-on effect of successful business in the region through tourism, supporting local jobs and growing small business.
Minister for Agriculture Jaala Pulford said throughout June and July, there would be a series of forums with premium food producers and industry groups to survey the sector’s needs and identify opportunities for business growth, industry development and increased connectivity to services.
The forums will be held at nine locations across the state including Woodend, Bendigo, and Daylesford.
Launching the fund at Cloud9 last week, Macedon MP Mary-Anne Thomas said it was a “game-changer” for the Macedon Ranges where “we are spoilt for choice with some of the best producers”.
Heat over CFA sale move
Local firies are fighting to halt the shock sale of the Romsey Group Headquarters.
Group officer Ralph Hermann said the bombshell news had left brigade members baffled as the decision appeared to be made in Melbourne CFA headquarters without consultation at a local level.
The old courthouse at Stawell Street has served the brigade for decades and an extension was built in 2003 through a significant contribution from Macedon Shire Council’s Ash Wednesday Fund.
Mr Hermann said one of the biggest blows in the sale was the knowledge that the funds would not be returned.
“The CFA owns the current site but any sale proceeds goes into treasury funds. The CFA and the community are the losers here,” he said.
“It is the opinion of the group that the sale of this property is shortsighted and a blatant misuse of community funds.”
Several community groups that had found a home at the old courthouse will also be impacted by its sale including Lancefield Romsey Lions Club, a local art group and Red Cross.
Following the sale, Romsey Group Headquarters is expected to share space at the newer Romsey Fire Brigade Station, a few doors down, but is a notion members deem “impractical”.
Members say the move will reduce space for both parties and eliminate all external storage and shedding for equipment and workshop space which the brigade has been relying on at the group headquarters site.
In Parliament recently, Shadow Assistant Minister for Environment, Communities and Volunteers Cindy McLeish said the move was “disrespect shown to volunteers”.
“The government is going to…force volunteers back into the poor working conditions they were in before, conditions that no business or government department would force upon its staff,” she said.
Last week, the Romsey Group raised its concerns with local councillors and Macedon MP Mary-Anne Thomas.
Ms Thomas said the state government valued the incredible work CFA volunteers did in protecting Romsey and the surrounding area.
“We understand the need for Romsey Fire Brigade to continue to be at the heart of the community, and CFA will work with Romsey Group to ensure that they and other community groups continue to be accommodated,” Ms Thomas said.
She said the government’s $10 million Enhancing Volunteerism Grants program was available for brigades who required funding for facilities or other requirements to ensure brigades could continue to support and protect their communities.
Living treasures
At a carefully estimated 530 years of age the mighty yellow box tree standing at Maldon’s Bill Woodfull Reserve was there well before Captain Cook found his way to Australia.
It stood during the Renaissance, as Leonardo da Vinci completed The Last Supper, and as Michelangelo added the finishing touches to The Last Judgement in Rome’s Sistine Chapel.
Today it’s one of 61 surviving eucalypts growing in Maldon township that have been identified as pre-European, somehow retaining their grip in the earth while all around them countless trees were axed during the Victorian Gold Rush.
Now, Saturday May 5 will present a unique chance to learn more about these local living treasures as they will be the subject of one of Maldon’s popular Quarterly Conversations – only this will be a Quarterly Conversation with a difference, says conversation coordinator Bev Phillips.
That’s because, Bev, who is also secretary of Maldon Urban Landcare, will lead a public walking tour taking in some of the pre-1852 living treasures themselves.
Bev says that last year Maldon Urban Landcare members organised a field day to survey all indigenous eucalypts in Maldon that might be classified as being over 165 years old.
“They ended up recording the 61 trees in Maldon and another 36 on the Maldon Historic Reserve,” she says.
“To have 61 trees in town that were growing prior to European settlement makes them so very special, not just for the fact that they’re a living tree giving harbour for birds, insects, animals – but they’re part of our natural heritage.”
The local landcare group is keen to work with Mount Alexander Shire to see the trees protected and their significance recognised.
This comes at a time when the shire’s newly released 2018-19 draft budget includes an allocation of $120,000 for data collection on local park trees.
The upcoming Living Treasures tour is part of the National Trust Heritage Festival and will start at 1.30pm on Saturday May 5 from the rotunda at Maldon Shire Gardens.
“We’ve also hired a community bus and we’ll also car pool and take a short drive to visit some of the trees further out,” Bev says.
The $5 donation to take the tour includes refreshments and bookings aren’t needed – although the tour is weather dependent.
Funds for local LGBTIQ community
Friday was a great day for the local LGBTIQ community in Castlemaine and surrounds with news of a $76,140 state government grant delivered through the LGBTI community grants program.
Castlemaine District Community Health was the successful applicant – in partnership with Castlemaine Community House, the Central Victorian Primary Care Partnership, and the local LGBTIQ community.
Bendigo West MP Maree Edwards was in town to announce the $76,140 grant as a significant step toward improving the lives of local lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse and intersex locals.
Castlemaine District Community Health interim CEO Di Couch was among those celebrating the $76,140 announcement.
“It’s a great opportunity to engage with the local community, to build on some initial work that we’ve done talking to the LGBTIQ-plus community about needs,” Ms Couch said
“It really enables us to carve out the time to come together and to put a whole range of processes in place.
“We just really can’t do that within existing roles so this really gives us that capacity to have a person on the ground who can support our community leaders and bring them together.
“I think that, between the partners we’ll look as to whether we put in a paid position or we work with some consultants who are experienced in this particular area, so it’s really something that we will decide together with the community.”
Ms Edwards said Castlemaine had a very strong LGBIQ-plus community.
“These community grants are part of a $700,000 program of grants that the Andrews labor government has been rolling out and this is about supporting our LGBTIQ-plus communities across regional Victoria,” Ms Edwards said.
“This will be funding that will assist with a strategic plan in partnership to make sure that our LGBTIQ-plus community is looked after, whether it be through their mental health needs, their health needs more broadly, whether it be through education.”
$780,000 beds boost
The bedding comfort factor is set to improve for staff and patients at Castlemaine Health thanks to a tidy $780,000 state government funding boost.
Member for Bendigo West Maree Edwards was in Castlemaine on Friday to announce the dollars through the Regional Health Infrastructure Fund.
The funds will be used to replace 130 outdated beds across the hospital’s acute, sub acute and residential aged car services.
They will include four specialist bariatric king single beds and five hi-lo beds for acute surgical patients improving comfort and health outcomes for patients and making life easier and safer for medical staff.
Castlemaine Health CEO Ian Fisher said the new beds were badly needed.
“We’re in a situation now where we just can’t get parts for the beds that we’ve got and it was starting to get a bit urgent.
“We’ve had this request in for months, not years, so it’s been a great response from the government to enable us to replace these beds.”
It is likely that options for reusing the old beds elsewhere will be considered, Mr Fisher said.
“We may look to reuse overseas. In a worst-case scenario, they’ll go for scrap metal.
“Part of the problem is they’re generally all electric beds. You don’t want to pass on something that requires power that some of these places don’t have.
“The local Rotary club here has a great relationship with a hospital in New Guinea and the actual transport isn’t a huge issue you just want to make sure that they are practical and workable and are an asset for those hospitals that they are going to.”
Chair of Castlemaine Health’s board of management Sharon Fraser said a tendering process would now have to be completed before the new beds were delivered for use at Castlemaine Health.
“This $780,000 will effectively replace 75 per cent of our beds and a lot of those beds are more than 20 years old,” Ms Fraser said.
Parking pressures mount
Car parking pressure is mounting in Gisborne’s CBD as the town faces growing pains and Gisborne Roads and Transport Group is demanding action.
The group has launched a petition to see the creation of a long-term parking precinct plan “highly prioritised” for the town as well as additional short-term parking using funds available from the sale of council land.
“This issue has been creeping up on our town for some years, but with the latest explosion of housing developments on our outskirts as well as infill developments closer to the CBD we have now reached the point that something must be actioned immediately,” said Michelle Minchew, secretary, Gisborne Roads and Transport Group.
The Victorian Government has earmarked Gisborne for growth and there are predictions the town will grow from a large district town to a regional centre by 2036 – and evidence of that is already beginning to show.
Residents can no longer “just quickly pop down to the shops”, according to long-time Gisborne resident Andrea Collins.
“We now have to plan so much extra time before coming into Gisborne to use the shops or facilities. Any day is chaotic,” she said.
Ms Collins, who owns the local copy centre, said limited parking was beginning to impact businesses as people were starting to spend their dollars elsewhere to avoid the headache.
She said a 10-15 minute drive to out of town services was often the same time spent to secure a car park in town.
“If the town doesn’t have infrastructure in place; then the growth Gisborne is experiencing is not beneficial,” Ms Collins said.
Limited choice has frequently forced people to park away from services they require including medical treatment and veterinary access.
Gisborne Central manager Adam Newton said the lack of parking options at the northern end of Brantome Street had become a “source of frustration”.
He said it was not only centre patrons who faced difficulties but also staff with insufficient options for all-day parking and risks of hefty fines when not able to re-park their vehicle.
“Every single Gisborne Central retailer (seven) has the Gisborne Roads and Transport Group petitions in their shops and they welcomed the petition because it could help solve pressures that parking puts on their businesses.”
Several council planning projects have recently put Gisborne under the spotlight including a Gisborne Neighbourhood Character Study, Gisborne Development Plan, Gisborne Urban Design Framework, Gisborne
Movement Network Study and Gisborne Business Park Master Plan.
As part of the movement network study, council conducted a peak occupancy of parking spaces in the town centre (December 2014) that showed critical on-street parking areas (above 80 per cent capacity) were Goode Street, Hamilton Street, Brantome Street and Aitken Street.
A shortfall of 300 parking spaces by 2036 was predicted based on the need at the time.
“To satisfy the future forecast parking requirements, any new retail development that generates additional demand shall be provided for on-site by the developer,” the study suggests.
However, there have already been examples of new businesses being granted concessions, including a waiver of 34 car spaces for a new 100-seat restaurant in Brantome Street just last year.
Gisborne Roads and Transport Group petitions to make parking a priority are located at the following Gisborne businesses: Cellarbrations Liquor, Foodworks, Solatte Cafe, Gisborne Veterinary Clinic, Priceline Pharmacy, Gisborne Medical Centre, Coles, Subway, Brumby’s, Mid Town Lotto, Gisborne Family Dental, Boutique Hair Nail and Beauty, The Gisborne Collective, and Baringo Food and Wine (New Gisborne).
Local Vets honoured
Kyneton has become host to myriad of colours and textures this week for the Kyneton Anzac week quilt exhibition – With You With Me With Them.
The week-long exhibition honours those who have served our country by their military service. Together with a host of partnering organisations, the event organisers have created an extensive and colourful collection that will warm the hearts of all.
The exhibition was warmly opened by David Peterson, a 31-year-old veteran, who spoke about the hope he was given when he received his quilt at a particularly dark period in his life.
The quilt became the changing point in his life. The knowledge that someone cared enough to send him a box with a quilt and two letters touched him so much that he changed his mind about taking his own life. Today he is working with beyondblue, with the hope that he can help other veterans to stay strong and not take their own life.
“Our exhibition seeks to highlight the hardships commonly experienced by servicemen and women when returning to civilian life, including PTSD, unemployment, depression and isolation. All too often the sacrifice continues for the rest of their life,” event organiser Ros Matheson said.
The collection on display does not stop at quilts but also includes military artwork by Sydney-based artist Caroline McGregor. Each quilt on display has a different story to tell and are exquisitely made by a variety of quilters such as renowned quilter, Rachael Daisy and even a debut for a local quilter.
Quilts of Valour Australia were awarded to local veterans Robert Renton and Russell McGregor on opening night. Rob Renton, who is an avid Collingwood supporter, received a black and white quilt. Russell McGregor received an autumnal toned quilt to reflect his extensive interest in gardening.
“It is amazing what the event organisers have put together. As a veteran, I was extremely touched by the thoughtfulness and effort put into this event. Who would’ve thought that veterans and quilts would come together so beautifully. It was a joy to know that Rob Renton received a quilt,” said Andrea, a local veteran.
With You With Me With Them is on exhibition in the Watts Pavilion at the Kyneton Showgrounds until Sunday April 29 (10am-4pm daily). Entry is $5 with all profits from the event donated to the partnering organisations who provide support services to modern and past veterans.
