Former Castlemaine resident and long time local dance teacher Roma Ivetic has been awarded an Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the community of Castlemaine.
Ivetic was the owner and teacher at the Roma Ivetic School of Dance for an incredible 60 years teaching thousands of children at Castlemaine, Kyneton and Sacred Heart Kyneton before retiring in 2017.
Many would recall her weekly classes based at the Faulder Watson Hall in Barker Street and concerts over the years at the Town Hall and Library Hall.
Ivetic no doubt inspired a passion for dance in countless young people during her six decades of dedicated ballet, jazz and international dance instruction.
Mrs Ivetic told the Mail she was surprised but delighted to receive the award honour.
“It was a shock but just lovely and I thank whoever nominated me,” she said.
“I think the dance classes and concerts really helped to increase the children’s confidence and many have gone on to use this to forge successful careers,” she said.
Mrs Ivetic, who now resides in Strathfieldsaye, was also recognised for her contribution to various local community groups including as a volunteer at the Castlemaine Pioneers and Old Residents Association and a supporter of the Alexander Home for the Aged.
“We enjoyed giving annual Christmas concerts at the Aged Care Home and it was a real highlight for the residents and really brought a smile to their faces,” she said.
Mrs Ivetic was also recognised as a financial supporter for a range of local community organisations including Castlemaine Fire Brigade, Castlemaine Pipe Band, and the Kyneton Fire Brigade.
And for her efforts as a former trainer of local debutantes for the Castlemaine Hospital and Mayoral Balls.
Mrs Ivetic said much of the funds from their annual concerts were donated to the Save the Children Fund.
“I would tell the children we are raising funds to help other children in need across the world,” she said.
Dance teacher receives OAM
Wositzky’s Oz Day honour
Eve Lamb
Castlemaine’s Jan Wositzky is quick with a joke when the Mail contacts him for reaction to his being awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) among this year’s Australia Day honours.
“I’ve got a foundry out the back and took the opportunity to make myself one,” quips the celebrated local muso, storyteller and entertainer who’s just been awarded the Australia Day honour for service to the performing arts, particularly through theatre.
“When I got the email I simultaneously burst into tears and burst out laughing,” he then confides.
“It’s wonderful recognition from my peers. Basically it’s really good to be acknowledged for the work I’ve done.”
The work this natural storyteller and cultural custodian has done is nothing if not extensive.
Wositzky is author of multiple books, scripts, compositions and tales tall and true, among them Me & Phar Lap: the Remarkable Life of Tommy Woodcock which he wrote in 2011.
He has written and presented extensively for ABC Radio National, but is perhaps most widely famed as the founding musician member of the Bushwackers Band, 1971-1981.
“Like they say it takes a village to grow up a child,” Wositzky said.
“In the 50 years I’ve been making music and telling stories, I’ve worked with many, many wonderful, skilled people – musicians, publishers, writers, directors, actors, producers.
“It’s been a great fun ride, with it’s ups and downs. I’m incredibly proud to have worked with so many good people, who have all contributed to my work.
“So this OAM is also a salute to all of them.
“And here in Castlemaine I’m also very honoured by the people who have come to my shows and supported my work. This town is a great place for an artist to live, and I thank very much everyone for all their support.
“My family came here as Czech refugees and Scots migrants, and Australia has been a home for us all. We were all welcomed.
“My wish is that Australia welcomes all the people from around the world who need home.”
The newly minted OAM says his hopes and wishes for Australia also include seeing our nation’s political leaders treat climate change “as the emergency that it is” – “otherwise I think the nation will be shamefaced,” he says.
“And, I think we have to reconcile with Aboriginal people.”
Wositzky remains hopeful also of seeing Australia shed its ties to the British monarchy and become a republic – “we don’t need the Union Jack on our flag,” he says.
Right now his current focus is having yet another crack at bringing his 50th anniversary live show Thank You For The Welcome to the stage – after COVID repeatedly thwarted his attempts to do so last year.
“It was cancelled five times,” he laughs.
“I just had to roll with the punches.”
So now his sights are firmly set on making it happen with the latest new and amended date set for 4pm March 20 at Castlemaine’s Theatre Royal.
Dr Kelly named Order of Aus member
Eve Lamb
Castlemaine’s Dr Lynne Kelly, has been named a member of the Order of Australia.
Particularly well known for her works on human memory processes, Dr Kelly has been named a member (AM) in the general division of the order of Australia for significant service to science education as a writer and researcher.
The fact she herself has aphantasia, a condition which means she can not visually recall other people’s faces, makes her own rise to international fame for unlocking some of the most fascinating secrets of human memory and recall methods all the more remarkable.
Dr Kelly applied some of her own discoveries in memory training to help her clinch the title of over 60 Australian Memory Champion in 2017 and 2018.
But the prolific local writer last week told the Mail it was her own total absence of visual recall that prompted her to focus on memory and recall methods.
“That’s why I asked the question that led to my research in the field,” said Dr Kelly who now applies some of her own research in recall to thrive on learning French and Chinese, after having been “hopeless” at foreign languages as a schoolgirl.
When the Mail contacted her for response to her Australia Day honour, the local polymath, writer and researcher was self-effacing.
“I was pumped because I thought they were only for famous people,” Dr Kelly said.
“But also absolutely delighted that education is being recognised as significant.
“What matters most to me is education.”
Famed internationally for her work on memory and memory techniques Dr Kelly has written or co-authored many books.
Some of her best known works include: Songlines: The Power and Promise, Thames & Hudson, 2020 (co-author); Memory Craft: Improve Your Memory Using the Most Powerful Methods From Around the World, Allen & Unwin, 2019; and The Memory Code: The Traditional Aboriginal Memory Technique That Unlocks the Secrets of Stonehenge, Easter Island and Ancient Monuments the World Over, Allen & Unwin, 2016.
She has also written Grounded: indigenous knowing in a concrete reality; Rounded Globe, 2016; and Knowledge and Power in Prehistoric Societies: Orality, Memory, and the Transmission of Culture, Cambridge University Press, 2015.
Dr Kelly’s fascination for the natural world and the creatures that inhabit it has also seen her author some esoteric and niche interest titles including: Spiderwoman, Hampress, 2013; Spiders: learning to love them, Allen & Unwin, 2009; and Crocodile: evolution’s greatest survivor, Allen & Unwin, 2006.
The Skeptic’s Guide to the Paranormal, Allen & Unwin, 2004; Exploring Chaos and Fractals, Informit, 1994; Nuclear Technology, STAV Publishing, 1991; and Practical Computing, Jacaranda-Wiley, 1987 sit among the many volumes Dr Kelly has coauthored.
But not one to rest on her laurels, however, Dr Kelly is now working with an American researcher to explore the possible role of a specific genetic mutation – the type that ‘Elephant Man’ had – in the development of some of humanities earliest knowledge and memory processes.
“My research since moving to Castlemaine has flourished and I’m convinced it’s being part of such a sensational community and being so widely welcomed,” Dr Kelly said.
Mountain biker airlifted
By Eve Lamb
A young local mountain biker has been airlifted to hospital with suspected head injury following a fall at the Harcourt Mountain Bike Park-La Larr Ba Gauwa earlier this week.
The Castlemaine SES unit was called into action at about 9.38am … Get the full story in today’s Mail
Castlemaine does Oz Day: local achievers honoured
Eve Lamb
Countless tough hours of volunteer work has seen local wildlife carer Kerry Reid celebrated as this year’s Mount Alexander Shire Citizen of the Year.
Enterprising young local secondary college student, keen volunteer and Young Makers’ Market regular Billy Lister took the Oz Day gong for Young Citizen, while stalwart of the Newstead Live annual music festival, musician and funeral celebrant Kelly Skinner is this year’s Senior Citizen of the Year.
And the shire’s new three-day Gold Sounds Music Conference has clinched this year’s title of Community Event of the Year with the event’s Fionna Allan happily accepting the award on behalf of the event’s organising team.
A COVID-aware crowd joined local dignitaries and MPs, council officials, musicians and local Indigenous community representatives at Castlemaine’s Victory Park to mark Australia Day-Survival Day in style on Wednesday.
Mayor Bill Maltby formally welcomed new citizens Charles Morse, Malgorzata Rybicka, Alison Francis and Eli Tavares.
Addressing the crowd, the shire’s newly named Citizen of the Year, Kerry Reid urged others to step up as volunteer wildlife rescuers, a role she said was both needed and expected by the wider community.
“The calls we receive come every day, every week, all year,” Ms Reid told the Australia Day crowd gathered in Wednesday’s humid conditions in Victory Park.
She said that while the work of being a volunteer wildlife carer and rescuer was frequently stressful, demanding and financially draining it was also incredibly rewarding.
“I love what I do and I’m part of a network of volunteers,” Ms Reid said.
“I would encourage anyone who is considering it to join our team. We need you. Please don’t hesitate to call me and I will help you get started. It’s for our wildlife and our community.”
MC for the official program Mount Alexander CEO Darren Fuzzard particularly paid homage to both the local and national First Nations Peoples as well as the nation’s first line responders.
And, performing the traditional Welcome To Country, local Indigenous elder Uncle Rick Nelson noted the well established part that the community’s Indigenous community has in Mount Alexander Shire’s annual Australia Day – Survival Day celebrations.
“We’ve been doing it for ten years now so we’re sort of cemented in,” Uncle Rick said.
Mount Alexander Shire is also proud to boast four community members which were named in the 2022 Australia Day Honours List by the Governor General. For more coverage on the local Mount Alexander Shire Australia Day-Survival Day Awards, our newest OAM’s and AM turn to pages 7, 8, 9, 10 and 14.
Battery pledge for Maldon
Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen and Bendigo Federal MP Lisa Chesters visited Maldon Neighbourhood Centre on Monday to announce an Albanese Labor Government will deliver a community battery for Maldon.
If successful at the upcoming federal election Labor’s ‘Power to the People’ community battery plan will invest $200 million to install 400 community batteries across the country. With Maldon to be one of the first in central Victoria. See the Mail for the full story. Out Now.
Ladies championship decided
On Tuesday January 25 in sweltering conditions Castlemaine Bowling Club members watched a fantastic contest for the Ladies Championship between Pam Hunter and Nina Hufer. It was an exciting game with numerous lead changes. It was perhaps the vast experience of Pam that counted in the end with the scores ending in her favour.
In other bowls news the Castlemaine Charity Pink Day in memory of club member Brian Medbury will be held next Wednesday, February 2 and the club’s popular ‘Girls on the Green’ competition returns next Thursday evening February 3. See the Mail for more details…
Babba returns!
For almost 28 years, BABBA have been thrilling audiences with their superb recreation of 70’s supergroup ABBA and the legacy of hit’s they gave us.
The group will be returning to Castlemaine’s Theatre Royal on Saturday February 19 for another memorable show not to be missed.
With glitz and glamour served up with Swedish accents and enough musical memories to fill you to overflowing BABBA will take you on a journey through time to when satin was King and Dancing Queens ruled. See the Mail for full details.
Award winners celebrated
Community members gathered in Victory Park Wednesday for the annual Australia Day-Survival Day event and the announcement of our community award winners. Young Citizen of the Year Billy Lister, Citizen of the Year Kerry Reid, Mayor Bill Maltby, Senior Citizen of the Year Kelly Skinner and Event of the Year – Gold Sounds Music Conference representative Fionna Allan pictured were all smiles after the ceremony. Four locals and a former Castlemaine resident have also received Australia Day Honours. See today’s Mail for our extensive Australia Day Awards coverage.
Brigade celebration ends with call-outs
Eve Lamb
The critically important place that the Sutton Grange and Myrtle Creek Fire Brigade occupies in the local community was well illustrated when it celebrated it’s 100th anniversary on Sunday.
The centenary celebrations, complete with commemorative plaque unveiling took place in the morning and were duly marked before VIPs and an appreciative crowd of about 70.
But not long after the day’s official program had wrapped up at about midday, brigade members had to quickly switch their reminiscing and tea cups for their protective gear and procedural protocols as many rushed off to attend two separate call outs on the same day.
“You could say it was a busy start to the new year,” reflected brigade comms officer Andrew Weaving.
The first callout that came through shortly after 1pm was to a fire at … Get the full story in today’s Mail
COVID cancels Newstead Live
Eve Lamb
Uncertainty around the number of active COVID cases now circulating in the community has forced the cancellation of this weekend’s Newstead Live Festival.
With 34 live acts on the program, the annual Australia Day long weekend fest had been keenly anticipated by many, but festival director Kelly Skinner has told the Mail the current COVID situation left organisers with no option.
All who had purchased tickets have been offered refunds.
“We’ve refunded abut 200 tickets and about ten per cent of those who were offered refunds have chosen to donate the cost of their ticket back to the festival, which was lovely,” Ms Skinner said.
“It’s a mixture of relief and disappointment.” Get the full story in today’s Mail…
Untold Castlemaine: the show begins
Eve Lamb
Castlemaine shares some of her most entertaining secrets tonight.
This evening is opening night for Castlemaine Theatre Company’s new live show Walk With Us – Untold Castlemaine which will take audiences on a short walking tour around town to catch five dynamic live performance pieces.
The COVID- safe series is being led by a cast of flamboyant characters with each of the five acts written by a different writer and directed by a different director.
“Asking five writers to compose short scripts meant that each wasn’t overburdened and that it would be hopefully fun,” says Mark Penzak, lead artist for the unique live production.
“Technically speaking, having different voices and a gender balance was always going to create a more interesting production than if I’d written it alone.
“I’m also hoping that this might encourage more writers to consider creating scripts for CTC.
“I believe that if the community has ever needed theatre, it is now. Get the full story in today’s Mail.