Antique and collectables enthusiasts from far and wide are set to once again descend on Campbells Creek this weekend, January 23 and 24, for the ‘Fossick in the Goldfields’ Antiques and Collectables Fair.
Fair coordinator Brian Owens said they expect to welcome stallholders from across Victoria and South Australia.
The fair is now in its fourth year and will take place over two huge days at the Campbells Creek Community Centre.
Mr Owens said the fair has been steadily growing each year and in 2021 they anticipate they will have around 100 stalls feature.
The CovidSafe event will be held entirely outdoors with visitors required to register on arrival and maintain social distancing. See the Mail for more…
Fossick in the Goldfields
Middleton Prison to expand
Work is set to start on a major construction project in Castlemaine, with the state government signing a $37.6 million contract to expand the capacity of Middleton Prison by 39 beds.
The project is expected to create 165 jobs during construction, including around 50 in the Central Victorian region and generate opportunities for a range of local contractors. See the Mail for the full story.
$80M contract for Vossloh Cogifer
The team at Vossloh Cogifer Castlemaine are celebrating after winning an $80 million contract to manufacture rail turnouts for the Australian Rail Track Corporation for the Morrison Government’s Inland Rail project. The proud team are pictured with General Manager Boris Rozentoul and Senator Sarah Henderson at Wednesday morning’s announcement. See the Mail for the full story. Out Now.
Supermarkets are not beautiful
Jill Loorham, Castlemaine
I hope the councillors of our fair town will realise, before it’s too late, that supermarkets are not generally beautiful, nor are the car parks surrounding them.
The location of the site mooted for the new supermarket shows a glaring lack of care and concern for the safety of drivers and pedestrians and school children – and aesthetics. This supermarket will be an aesthetic abomination, an unlovely gateway to Castlemaine and a ghastly, blight on the Castlemaine landscape.
A supermarket, by the very nature of its use, is a bleak hub. In our world it is unfortunately a necessary necessity; it provides a means to purchase food. But beyond those needs, it is a fact that any crappy, unlovely piece of land could be THE perfect location for a supermarket to be built.
Looking at that crappy piece of land with an eye for the future, THAT new supermarket could be a well-planned, shady place. Trees planted throughout the car parks. Not a single storey building but a three-storey building with two levels specifically for lovely housing for older people, to enable shopping where they live. No need to get in the car to go to the supermarket. This new supermarket would adequate parking, recognising the likelihood of future growth of the town. It would be surrounded by undulating verges of shrubs and trees and raised vegetable gardens. This would truly be good town planning.
Some lateral thinking is essential before a dreadful mistake will result in Castlemaine being a lesser place if this unremarkable building (girt by bitumen and cars) gets built.
Juniors shine at Country Week
Castlemaine District Cricket Association’s Under 13 and Under 15 representative sides contested the Central Highlands Junior Country Week competition last week.
The young sides once again produced some fantastic performances with players from both sides achieving some personal best results with the ball and bat.
The CDCA’s Under 17 side will contest the Kirton Shield competition next week. The side will commence their campaign on Monday facing the Grampians at Stawell and then tackle Gisborne at Malmsbury on Tuesday. Locals can catch the side in action at the Camp Reserve on Thursday January 21 when they play host to Grenville from 10am to 5pm.
The CDCA is also looking forward to hosting Under 17 Girls 20/20 rep cricket at the Camp Reserve and Wesley Hill on Sunday February 7. Meanwhile the CDCA Under 14 Girls side are also gearing up for their rep cricket competition at Ballarat. See the Mail for the full story…
Nadia drops second single
Castlemaine singer/songwriter Nadia Phillips dropped her second powerful single Your Dark Side yesterday.
The new offering delivers the quality lyrics and musicality that have become a trait of this emerging artist who has taken her Lofi bedroom grunge out of the bedroom.
It follows her successful debut release On Reflection, which attracted insightful reviews in Australia, the UK and Belgium in October 2020. The music video for On Reflection created by a team of talented young local creatives also attracted rotation on MTV.
Catch the Mail for the full story. Out now.
To keep on track with Nadia Phillips and her music you can follow her @nadiaphillips.music. Your Dark Side will be streaming on all platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and Soundcloud.
Truck driver trapped in horror freeway crash
A Bendigo truck driver has had an incredibly lucky escape after his semi-trailer plummeted 20 metres off a bridge on the Calder highway near Malmsbury early Wednesday morning.
The driver, 36, became trapped in his crushed cabin after the semi’s trailer landed on top of it.
“For someone to hit a concrete pillar at 100 km an hour, then fall 20 metres into a creek, then have a 20 tonne trailer crash on his cabin and survive with relatively minor injuries is triply lucky,” investigating, Leading Senior Constable Peter Dyer of Bendigo Highway Patrol said.
Castlemaine SES volunteers who attended the early morning crash scene have spoken of the difficulties encountered in reaching the trapped driver before using jaws of life equipment to free him.
Castlemaine SES deputy controller Daniel Bone said they were alerted to the accident about 5.45am after the empty north-bound rig lost control while crossing a bridge just north of Boundary Road, Malmsbury.
“It was extraordinary. The truck plummeted off the bridge and the trailer landed on top of the cab with the driver trapped inside,” he said.
“It was extremely difficult to access.” Read more in today’s Mail.
Unveiling Sunday
It’s been said that Chewton’s past is more than a tad colourful.
Now the town’s famed local historian Elaine Appleton has enhanced this reputation by having a significant slice of that history depicted in full technicolor glory on a mural created by friend and artist Anne Rittman.
Big, bright and bold the newly finished mural visually tells the story of Chewton’s settlement from pre-European Indigenous times through gold rush days and settlement.
The mural took Campbells Creek-based Anne Rittman three months to create and is being unveiled with fanfare and VIPs this Sunday at 2.30pm in Elaine’s Eureka Street front yard where the resident history buff intends to share it with everyone and anyone. Read more in today’s Mail.
Park run returns
Keen local Park Runners are looking forward to the regular Saturday morning running fixture resuming at Castlemaine’s Botanical Gardens after many month’s of Covid-enforced absence.
The run is a national and international with many park Runs taking place across the globe, and was been hard-hit by restrictions on large public gatherings in the wake of Covid.
But now Park Runs are looking to resume across multiple locations next Saturday January 16 and the Castlemaine run is included.
News of the popular 5km event’s anticipated return has triggered excitement among its legion of regular local runners including one of the local run directors, runner Di Cox.
Di said the international event is scheduled to resume 8am Saturday January 16 unless the pandemic takes a significant, unexpected twist for the worse.
“I’m confident,” she said.
“We’re hoping for the usual 50 to 70 people and I think it’s really one of the hallmarks of community recreation going back to normal.” Read more in today’s Castlemaine Mail…
Unacceptable consequence
Anet McDonald, Castlemaine
I attended the recent Mount Alexander Shire Council meeting to address the new application for a new supermarket, shops and car parking complex, which is more than two times as large as their original application.
The proposal is to build this at the southern entrance to our historically distinguished town.
I did not speak up at the meeting as that’s not something I feel comfortable doing.
However, something that no one mentioned at the meeting is something that is close to my heart, and that is our wonderful welcoming roundabout into Castlemaine.
Castlemaine is a town with a unique character, rich heritage and history. At the present time, the entrance into our town from the south is unique and welcoming, with recognition to our goldfields heritage with a digger at the water wheel as you drive around a roundabout and drive past our open western reserve.
This proposal for a supermarket, shops and car parking complex will result in a huge increase in traffic, especially cars coming/returning through town to attend the supermarket and will put an added stress on our precious roundabout, which is such a welcoming and heritage asset to our town. But this could be lost, in favour of traffic lights to cope with the traffic to and from the supermarket.
This is an unacceptable consequence.
Far from over
Stefan Nechwatal, Sailors Falls.
Living in a rural zone just out of Daylesford , my wife, Jan and I have been ever-more aware of the major influxes of tourists from Melbourne and Geelong since the Metropolitan lockdown was lifted recently.
We both still wear masks while in public shopping in town.Jan is a carer for her Mum who lives on a farm near Malmsbury and I am in the at risk category because of a variety of chronic health conditions.
During Winter, I was so concerned at what I was witnessing in the main street of Daylesford, that I phoned ABC Radio Ballarat and was interviewed by the drive presenter, Nicole Cvastek.
Recently, we decided to have a break from farm duties and hopefully get away from the hordes and travel to Woodend for some R and R and a healthy take- away lunch.
Wrong!
We headed towards our favorite bakery on the highway and were astounded at the crowd milling on the pavement and in the cafe/bakery and diners waiting at tables on the sidewalk.
Not one person wearing a mask!
I’m thinking, I am going to look like a weirdo if I put mine on and Jan had a very strained expression on her face.
We walked up the street, hoping to find a less popular cafe, to no avail.
Starting to feel hungry and a bit anxious, we made the right decision to continue our walk up to Coles, where we compiled a beaut, healthy lunch picnic from their Deli.
Notice at the door, Must Wear a Mask – and all were obeying.
Walked a detour of the main street back to our car, so we were not exposed to the non-distancing throngs.
A lovely picnic spot beside the creek for lunch.
Thought I’d make an observation: Melbourne people are crazy and think, ‘we’ve done the hard yards for months, obeying Chairman Dan and now the pandemic is over and we can get back to normal’.
Considering what is happening currently overseas, this Pandemic is not over!
Another supermarket needed
John Gibbeson, Castlemaine
Castlemaine desperately needs another supermarket to provide
competition to the present duopoly and arrest the ongoing drain of local expenditure
to shopping centres in Bendigo, Maryborough and Kyneton.
The reality is that to be prosperous, now and in the long term, every town and city must have a competitive and vibrant retail and service sector to attract customers and ensure ongoing patronage.
Supermarkets are one of the key anchors that sit at the top of the retail pyramid supporting the other specialty
retailers. If the retail sector is not competitive and vibrant, customers will go elsewhere which is exactly what is
happening in Castlemaine.
A 2012 Castlemaine Commercial Centre study estimated that approximately 50% of the town’s
retail expenditure was being spent elsewhere which adversely affects all of our retailers from shoe shops to petrol stations.
The situation has not changed; my observation is that the current duopoly experiences an abnormal preponderance of “ten items of less” type sales while the big purchases continue to be made out of town particularly by young families.
The irony is that it is entirely likely that the additional large supermarket plan and greater
competition will actually benefit the current incumbents as well as the town through
greater overall patronage.
I strongly believe that the overwhelming majority of Castlemaine residents support the new supermarket proposal and are frustrated that it has taken so long to get to this stage.
I am aware that there is a small highly organised vocal minority comprising vested interests and others who are doggedly resistant to any form of change who continue to attempt to scuttle the project. Their objections are based on the proposed location, traffic congestion, proximity to a school and extra heavy vehicle
traffic which are either unsubstantiated nonsense or relatively minor issues that have been grossly exaggerated and can be adequately addressed with good planning. None of these objections are
sufficient, individually or collectively as grounds for preventing the supermarket project proceeding.
The new supermarket will not sacrifice any of our beautiful buildings or change the Castlemaine’s rich heritage. It will create new jobs during construction and provide ongoing employment opportunities when operational particularly for our young people. In short, Castlemaine has everything to gain and nothing to lose from having a new extra supermarket. Let’s get on with it!