It must be spring because everyone is beginning to reappear at parkrun.
And no wonder.
Last Saturday was a beautiful morning, with clear fresh air, hints of budburst and just a little more warmth in the sun. After all that rain, the path was remarkably hard, beaten down by all those feet that walk the Botanical Gardens during the week. Parkrunners were welcomed by the sound of rushing water as Barkers Creek cascaded beside the path, and then surprised by the first of spring’s pansies so beautifully planted by the fountain.
A fabulous seventy-three people seemed to appear from no-where at 7.55am ready to go at 8am. At least five first ever timers joined as many visitors who swelled the ranks of super regulars, prams, kids and dogs, and all together they happily ran, walked, or jogged the 5k.
We welcomed Kerryne and Jeff Rogers, regular Bot Garden walkers who decided it was time to join parkrun.
Ursula van Dyke registered for her first run this week and was then the first woman over the line.
Jay and Samantha McGowan, with 393 parkruns between then, ran Castlemaine on their way home to Gippsland, having wintered in Queensland and joined parkruns at Cairns, Atherton as well as Cloncurry (Google it!).
Jay was also the first man over the line to celebrate his return to Victoria.
It was personal best weather. Nine people finished in their fastest ever time including Ben Priest, Mariam Meite, Tobias Marshall, Nicola Clarke, Emma Hamilton, Rebecca Morton, Dale Hamilton, Jenny Hughes and Leonie Chilvers.
Leonie has managed to run four PBs over five months of 2022, coming down from 41-35 minutes in that time.
Parkrun is about staying fit and well, putting in an effort and enjoying yourself with others. Fast or slow doesn’t matter. There is no cut off time. Consistency is what matters.
Most people do parkrun because it is regular. Some do it and then participate in other events.
This week for example, Chris Timewell volunteered as tailwalker, then on Sunday he ran the Burnley half marathon. Michael Constable is getting ready for a 100-k trail run at Anglesea and Around the Bay in a Day.
Others have their eyes on the Run the Main, 5k, 10k or 21k on September 23, or the Melbourne Marathon October 2. There is always something on in the running world.
Thank you to volunteers this week; Dianne Cox, Donna Faircloth, Michael Farr, Jane Harding, Gabrielle Smith, Glen Taylor and Chris Timewell.
Come along. Pick your fitness goal and let parkrun be one part of that. Castlemaine Parkrun is a weekly, free, timed event held in the Botanical Gardens commencing 8am.
It is a participation event for fitness and fun. You can come to walk, run, jog or volunteer. See
https://www.parkrun.com.au/castlemaine/ to register and get your barcode.
– Report from Di Cox
Spring in the air, spring in their step as 73 stride up for Castlemaine Parkrun
Frost claims Berry Powell Medal
Last weekend was filled with mixed emotions for Harcourt Football Netball Club (HFNC) members.
Unfortunately both the club’s Junior football teams bowed out of finals. Congratulations to them on making the semi finals and doing themselves and the club proud.
The Reserves had a disappointing end to their season, going down to Carisbrook by 40 points. Linga, Lenny and Clint battled hard all day but the boys couldn’t match the speed and class of the Redbacks. A big congratulations to Nick ‘Butch’ Holden who was runner-up in the league Best and Fairest.
The Seniors take on Natte this week in what is sure to be an exciting match. After a great win against Trentham the boys enjoyed a week off last weekend to freshen up and are primed and ready to go! We wish them the best of luck and hopefully they will be here again next week in the big dance! Congratulations to Brayden Frost who won the league Best and Fairest claiming the prestigious Berry Powell Medal.
In the netball, for our lovely little Under 13 cubs it wasn’t the desired ending. They’ve had such a strong year despite it not being their best game to end the season. Being a bottom age group, we know they’ll come back just as strong next season and we’re so proud of them for getting this far.
Our B Grade team matched up well with a physical Lexton side, their slick start really set them up for the game ahead. Lexton weren’t quite able to catch them and the Lions were able to build to a strong win.
It wasn’t quite the ending our A Grade dream team deserved, still with plenty of passion on display they went down to the persistent Lexton who fought their way back into the game every time the Lions broke away. Not much went our way this finals series, but what a wonderful group of women setting such a high standard of netball and sportsmanship for our club. We couldn’t ask for more.
Our C Grade side takes on Trentham this week to fight for a grand final appearance. Congratulations to Bec Waddington who won the league Best and Fairest!
B Grade will battle it out against Carisbrook and our very skilful Under 15’s will certainly be a highlight in Saturday’s preliminary final match up.
Be a superhero! Run for Dad this Father’s Day
Be a superhero! Start Father’s Day with the Bendigo’s ‘Run For Dad’ fun run at Bendigo Racecourse this Sunday September 4.
Run For Dad is designed to raise your heart rate and much-needed funds for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.
Organisers are calling on families from across Central Victoria to dress up as their favourite superhero and get along to this fun family event to support the heroes fighting prostate cancer.
The day kicks off at 10am with options to walk or run one lap (3.75kms) or two laps (7.5kms).
After your run, enjoy a free breakfast provided by some of the local Rotary Clubs plus entertainment provided by the Eaglehawk Brass Band.
Castlemaine Rotary Club member Trudi O’Donnell said the local club is proud to throw its support behind this important fundraising event, providing support and people power on the day.
In the lead up to the event on Wednesday night the local club also hosted a visit from Prostate Cancer Nurse Dave Heath from Bendigo who spoke to the local group about Prostate Cancer Awareness.
Rotarian Phillip Hay, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer three months ago, was also in attendance and will be among those participating in the walk with his daughter this Sunday.
To find out more about the White Hills based event and to enter visit www.runfordad.com.au or email Trudi at trudi.celebrant@gmail.com
Banksy?
Tracey Naughton, Castlemaine
Sherene Clow and friends (Opinions, Mail August 26). Apologies for the spellings. I know it can confuse – people get my name wrong too. Don’t worry, Banksy’s anonymity is secure. He opened the ‘Signs of the Times’ show in a yarn bombed hood and disappeared quickly. Do we seem like the kind of people who would get some English accented guy from Taradale to open our show? Of course it was Banksy. Please hold your ‘uncontrolled giggling’ and be serious.
Lions support our RSL
The Castlemaine Returned Services League (RSL) has been gifted a new commercial dishwasher thanks to their friends at the Lions Club of Castlemaine and Lions Australia.
Castlemaine RSL president John Whiddon said the local community organisation was extremely grateful to the local Lions Club and Australian Lions Foundation for their support.
“Our last dishwasher was generously provided by the Lions about 15 years ago. It has been out of action for almost two years and our hardworking Ladies Auxiliary and members have had to wash all our dishes by hand,” Mr Whiddon said.
“This can be a big task particularly at major events such as Anzac Day and Remembrance Day when we are catering to hundreds of people,” he said.
Castlemaine RSL secretary Barb Templar said the RSL Hall is also regularly used by the RSL, Legacy and the Ladies Auxiliary for meetings, district gatherings and also for exercise classes.
“We also enjoy welcoming groups such as the Scouts and Guides,” she said.
Local Lions member Ian ‘Gags’ Gallagher noted the dishwasher was broken at this year’s Anzac Day event and approached his fellow Lions about replacing the machine.
“Unfortunately Gags couldn’t be here today. His mother Myra was in the RSL Ladies Auxiliary and he has really driven this project. We are delighted to see it come to fruition to support the RSL and Ladies Auxiliary in their important work,” said Lion Marie Elrington.
Ms Templar said the state-of-the-art machine washes and dries dishes in just three minutes which is extremely handy during busy events.
“And its design means that there is no back-breaking work for our volunteers,” she said.
Rising costs are forcing some to choose between feeding themselves or their pets
The spiraling cost of living is seeing an unprecedented number of people surrendering dogs they can no longer afford to maintain.
Staff at Castlemaine’s Mount Alexander Animal Welfare shelter say seeing owners in tears as they surrender the family dog to the shelter because they can no longer cover basic expenses, is becoming an increasingly common sight.
“It’s bad. People are having to choose between buying food for themselves or feeding their pets,” shelter manager Rosey Skinner told the Mail this week.
She says the shelter began noticing an increased number of people surrendering dogs at the start of July, and that since then the trend has only continued.
“In Castlemaine the shelter has never experienced anything like this,” Rosey says.
The shelter manger says the trend appears widespread with animal shelters and re-homing services reporting a similar story state-wide and beyond.
It’s also being amplified by people who adopted pets during the pandemic lockdowns of ’20 and ’21 now giving them up.
“At the moment we have 15 dogs (including pups) and we’re seeing pretty much 10 to 15 dogs at any one time where normally it’s one to five” she says.
“We’re in the midst of it and we’re trying to help people come up with solutions.”
Rosey says that those who are in a position to help can do so by adopting a surrendered animal, or by simply donating pet food or finances to the shelter.
“We’re also introducing an individual pet sponsorship program which I’d expect to be operating by the end of September and people can check that out through our website.”
The impacts of the rising cost of living in real terms is reflected also in the experiences of the local branch of the Salvation Army.
“We’re starting to see people who previously wouldn’t have asked for help,” Castlemaine Salvo’s captain, Annita Allman says.
“We had one lady recently who sought assistance because she couldn’t afford her dog registration fees.
“That’s the first time I’ve ever had anyone ask for pet registration assistance.
“And we’ve also had people asking for pet food as well with food parcels. We’re actually getting specific requests.
“Donations of dog and cat food are the essential ones which would be really helpful.
“We’re also seeing lots of people just walking in and we’d really appreciate people making appointments first. It really helps us to manage our day.”
Magpie Women look to bounce back in Preliminary Final tonight
A stand out crowd of over a thousand people made their way to Camp Reserve on Sunday to cheer on the Castlemaine Women’s Football team in their historic AFL Central Vic semi-final against rivals Golden Square.
Despite the team’s success over Golden Square twice previously this year, the season debutantes entered the ground as the underdogs.
Minor premier’s Golden Square displayed a professional outfit with significant finals experience ready to compete. With a strong list against Castlemaine’s injury ridden side, the Magpies had a fight on their hands.
Having lost Eloise Gretgrix (forward line) and Olivia Holbert (back line) some weeks back to injury, more recent casualties including experienced forward Lily McNair and back line general Michelle Barkla had an impact on the Magpies side.
Castlemaine came out strong in the first quarter displaying a number of linking plays however Golden Square’s defensive work kept the Magpies from scoring. The first term concluded with Golden Square 1.1 (7) to Castlemaine’s 0.0, the home team still very much in the game.
Scoring opportunities remained fairly even in the second term with each team kicking two goals, one each for Castlemaine’s Shelby Knoll and Lily McMahon. Despite this Golden Square continued to put pressure on the debut side, leading the Magpies into forced errors and mistakes. The Bulldogs kept their one goal lead into the half time break.
The Magpies aimed to return fire in the third quarter and push for a lead however the Bulldogs came prepared shutting down the home side at every turn. Despite the home crowd cheering them on Castlemaine’s game structures fell apart as they were continually pressed from all angles.
Key intercept players Jemma Finning, Tia Davidge and Aisling Tupper worked hard to keep their team in the game with Finning putting her body on the line multiple times. Golden Square kicked five of their own whilst the Magpies struggled to make the most of Knoll in full forward. Scores at the break were Castlemaine 2.1 (13) to Golden Square 7.4 (46).
Back line player Taylah Sartori exited the game at three-quarter time and rover Aisling Tupper was also lost. Messages from the coaching team were to hold and keep up their intensity for the final twenty-minutes of the game. The team responded, effectively neutralising the visitors in the final term. It was all Castlemaine could do to tighten up their defensive structures and hold the Bulldogs at bay.
Back line players Jess Ross, Meg Tong and Beppina Marshall had a tough task all game and lifted heroically through the fourth quarter. Final scores were 2.2 (14) to 7.6 (48).
Whilst disappointing, Castlemaine will have a second chance this Friday night against evenly matched Bendigo Thunder. Both teams will be vying for a grand final spot against Golden Square who get the weekend off to rest. Assistant Coach Jordan Cochrane remained positive after Sunday’s defeat.
“Glimpses throughout the game showed our players have what it takes to compete with the top end of the competition but now need to string it together for four quarters. Thunder are a very strong competitor but I’m confident our side has what it takes to come out on top,” Jordan said.
Come down and support the Magpies in tonight’s September 2 Preliminary Final to begin at 7pm against Bendigo Thunder at Canterbury Park, Eaglehawk.
Owners of vacant properties asked to help housing crisis
Rental stress across Mount Alexander Shire is hitting an all-time high and owners of vacant dwellings are being asked to consider renting their properties out as affordable rentals.
The call comes from local housing advocacy group My Home Network (MHN) as it continues its work of bringing the community together to create housing solutions for local people.
MHN Vacant Dwellings Working Group spokesperson Lee Nicholls said the housing situation had reached crisis point and more locals were feeling the pressure.
“Nearly 90 per cent of local tenants cannot afford their rent and rental stress is at just over 50 per cent due to a combination of rental affordability and rental supply,” Lee said.
“We have a shortfall of more than 100 diverse, affordable rental homes and we need at least 687 social housing units.
“Increasingly we are hearing how renters, including elders in our community, are being forced to leave their homes – away from family, supports and community – to find affordable rentals elsewhere. More people are living in campgrounds or their cars simply because there are not enough affordable rental properties to meet demand.
“Employers say they cannot find workers partly due to the affordable housing shortage,” Lee said.
“We understand that there can be a range of reasons why some property owners choose to keep their houses unoccupied, but this potential under-utilisation does present a very viable housing opportunity.
“According to ABS data, there are more than 1300 vacant dwellings in our shire so releasing some of these dwellings as affordable rentals could relieve some of the rental stress experienced by an increasing number of our community members.
“Mount Alexander Shire has 175 Airbnbs, so there are still a lot of non-Airbnb vacant dwellings that we would love to see released as affordable rentals,” the advocate said.
The initiative to approach owners of vacant properties is one of a range of strategies outlined in MHN’s 10-year social and affordable housing strategy. The strategy sets out objectives, priorities, and targets towards creating affordable housing delivery and reform.
MHN believes everyone has the right to access to affordable, secure, safe, sustainable, and appropriate housing.
Lee encourages owners of vacant dwellings who want to find out more to contact MHN’s Kaz Neilson at kaziwnt@gmail.com
My Castlemaine: with petanque player George Forster
G’day George, now I know you’re secretary of the Maldon Petanque Club, but you actually live in Castlemaine. How long have you called Castlemaine home?
Most of my life. I moved to Campbells Creek when I was young and went to school there… My father and my brother had the upholstery shop in Castlemaine in the late 50s… And then after school I got married and moved here (Castlemaine). Designed and built this house, well Ivan Girvan actually built it although I did a lot of work on it myself and so did (wife) Janet…
Wonderful! So what’s your working background?
I worked at Thompsons. Thompsons, Kelly and Lewis it was then, and now it’s Flowserve. I worked there all my working life.
Were you an engineer?
Yes… I drew up housing plans for friends and then went on to have a small business drawing up plans for houses. That was while I was at Thompsons and then when I left Thompsons in 2000 I just set up as a small business then for another ten years or so. I worked for (garden designer) Kevin Walsh for a while too. I did drawings for him.
What’s keeping you busy these days?
Mainly the petanque club. I was secretary of the West End Hall for about thirty years. The new group have taken over and they’re doing a good job… I’m in U3A.
What do you do there?
Play petanque. They have a Friday group. I just go along and enjoy myself… And they have another group going at Maldon at the Penny School and I joined them as well, a sort of social group. They play alternate Sundays to when we play at the St Brigid’s Church. That’s where we (The Maldon Petanque Club) have our setup. We’re a fully incorporated registered club.
So all up how many times a week would you be playing petanque?
Well every Friday at Campbells Creek, every second Friday out at Maldon at the St Brigid’s Church grounds, and every other Sunday at Avoca with the Pyrenees club.
Do you welcome new members to the Maldon Petanque Club George?
Yes we do. We encourage people to come along and have a look and have a game if they like. They can play a couple of games before we’ll ask them to join.
And you do travel around a bit to compete against other petanque clubs too don’t you?
Yes we went to Woodend last weekend and played the Woodend-Hanging Rock Club there. We beat ’em!
Congratulations. Does your wife, Janet play too, George?
She helps with the scoring and organising.
Any philosophies by which you like to lead life?
Just try and enjoy life. Take it as it comes.
Pet peeves?
Can’t think of anything at the moment.
OK. Three dream dinner guests?
Just family I think. My wife Janet, and two children.
What are you reading at the moment?
I’m reading Stephen King books. They’re a bit frightening though. And Lee Child books, Jack Reacher books. I’ve gone through all the Terry Pratchett books that I can find.
Do you have any particular musical genre or artist of choice?
I enjoy the dance music that we used to dance to. Something with a nice beat.
What do you enjoy most about where you live?
It’s a lovely place to live. Nice and quiet. Good neighbours. Lots of birds.
Let’s take a look back at Chewton Gardens in the 1850s
Then: Chewton Pleasure and Flower Gardens, Circa 1850s. This image was sourced from the P. & O.R.A. collection. The Pleasure Gardens was once located on the corner of the Melbourne Road and Golden Point Road Chewton and was conducted in conjunction with Tom Meridith’s British and American Hotel, shown here on the right, which was built in 1854. The Gardens opened annually for the summer, and reportedly horse drawn omnibuses left from Castlemaine at 10 minute intervals. In the background, lines of grape vines and orchards line the hill and were accessible by paths lit by lanterns at night. There was an aviary as well as shaded summer houses with seats to rest on, dotted about the gardens. The Gardens also had a water fountain, an outdoor dance floor and a subterranean cavern.
Now: This modern day photograph shows the same area, but there is now little evidence of the old gardens. A monkey puzzle tree and a very large oak tree are visible in the centre of the image. The oak tree is on the state register and is one of the largest oak trees in Victoria. There is a large hole that was the subterranean cavern, and there are stone remains of a summer house, while the base of the water fountain is still visible near the oak tree. The tree behind the old hotel in the earlier image can now be identified as a large red gum. The two cypress trees in the centre foreground are also just visible hiding behind the fence in the earlier image. When the light is right the remains of the paths on the hill can still be seen. Images and historical details courtesy Ken McKimmie.
Local doctors clinics working towards being carbon neutral
Local medical clinics are doing their best to address climate change and reduce their impact on the environment putting a range of environmental sustainability measures in place in a bid to work towards becoming carbon neutral.
The efforts of local clinics have been praised by members of the Mount Alexander Zero Net Emissions Working Group, which have been encouraging local businesses and organisations in our shire to take action on climate change by moving to 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025 or earlier if possible.
Previous Mount Alexander Zero Net Emissions Working Group success stories have appeared in the Mail and our sister paper the Midland Express and highlighted the efforts of local furniture business Like Butter and businesses at The Mill complex.
Dr Louisa Hope from the Mostyn Street Medical Clinic said the clinic has installed around 50 solar panels on its roof and a Tesla Battery to provide a green source of energy.
“We are absolutely delighted with the results. Our Jan-March quarter saw a reduction from $1309 (2020) to just $109 (2021) by comparison!” she said.
Dr Hope said the solar panels and battery storage also provide electricity security for their vaccine cold chain – protecting precious vaccines from the impact of power outages.
“We were seeing more and more power outages and a member of staff would have to rush in and insulate the fridge to try and make sure the vaccines would be remain viable. We did lose some vaccines. The new system offers piece of mind,” she said.
The clinic also sterilise their surgical instruments rather than have single use equipment and wear cotton gowns for PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and wash them each week to reduce disposable surgical gown waste.
The clinic has also looked to reduce its use of paper, planted native plants for carbon offset, encourages staff to ride to work, and has switched banks to a bank not investing in mining fossil fuels.
“We choose three things to focus on each semester – such as temperature control in the building, led globes and e-waste,” she said.
With the support of the Mount Alexander Zero Net Emissions Working Group the clinic is now planning to do an audit of their carbon footprint and make more efforts to reduce waste given that health care apparently contributes to about 5 per cent of emissions.
Mount Alexander Zero Net Emissions Working Group member Terry White said while many organisations are moving towards 100 per cent clean energy by tapping into renewable energy in the north of the state, they hope to encourage organisations to make big changes here on the ground where the community can see and learn the benefits.
“We want businesses to provide a positive example to other community members right here,” Mr White said.
All three local medical clinics have made positive changes installing solar and batteries, wearing cotton gowns for PPE and sterilising the surgical instruments. They are also using recycled paper, recycling soft plastics, moving to telehealth and e-scripts where possible to reduce paper use, and taking part in conversations between Doctors For Environment Australia (DEA) and Australian Medical Association (AMA) across the various medical departments regarding emissions reduction.
Goldfields Medical Group (formerly Lyttleton Street Clinic) manager Belinda Carra said they are also deeply committed to doing what they can to reduce their carbon footprint.
“The doctors and staff do their utmost to save what they can and improve the environment we all live and work in,” she said.
Get a goog-full! The Chook Show launching at Castlemaine’s Lot 19 is ‘clucking good fun’…
Noted for their witty banter with weekly MainFM radio show Girls on Air, Castlemaine’s Jan Palethorpe and Melissa Scott have extended their wings to produce a new art exhibition celebrating the humble chook.
The Chook Show at the Googenheim opens tomorrow at Castlemaine’s Lot 19 gallery and is chockablock with original works, not to mention fowl pun-opportunities, inspired by the backyard goog-layer of which Jan has three.
“They’re known as the Three French Hens,” says Jan who has produced an in-your-face array of sculptural pieces made from an eclectic array of assorted objet d’art sufficient to enliven any nest with an excellent colour boost.
Meanwhile, artistic accomplice for this creative project, Melissa Scott has focused her photographic lens on the goings-on in the chook runs of four of her associates to capture the antics of their feathered friends.
The result is 20 fun-filled portraits of the chook at large for visitors to The Chook Show to pick over.
“We’ve been working on it all year,” Melissa says.
“This all started because Jan became obsessed with chickens.”
The show includes some very original semi-abstract (foot)prints done by the Three French Hens themselves when they attended a recent printmaking workshop with Penny Peckham (“yes it is her real name”).
Jan says producing the pieces for The Chook Show was clucking good fun.
“This is art for the chook house,” she says.
“As anyone who has ever kept chooks knows, they’re very visually attuned, so this is to inspire them culturally.”
Both she and Melissa have also contributed works to another, completely different exhibition also launching tomorrow in the adjoining larger part of the Lot 19 main gallery space.
Running in tandem with their chicken-themed show, the Loss exhibition includes works by both Melissa and Jan along with two other well-known local artists – Miranda Watts and Leslie Thornton.
It deals with loss in various forms ranging from the deeply personal to the internationally political.
Chicken enthusiast Ken Killeen, who not-so coincidentally is rumoured to keep 90 different chickens in his own coop, will officially launch both exhibitions tomorrow from 2pm, with all invited.
You don’t have to be a chook-lover to attend but Melissa and Jan say the free range eggs that will be available for purchase on site afford “extra incentive to roll up”.
The gallery will be open Saturdays and Sundays 11-4pm with both Loss and The Chook Show running through to September 25.