The Castlemaine Group of Bendigo Legacy is all set for Legacy week 2021 which runs from this Sunday, August 29 to Saturday, September 4.
The motto this year is “Little Badge: Big Impact”, the notion that even the smallest of donations will have a real and heartwarming impact on our veterans’ families.
Depending on Covid restrictions, badge, pen, bears, and card sets will be on sale at stands set up outside both Castlemaine IGA Supermarkets, and Castlemaine Newsagents on Thursday, September 2 and Friday September 3, from 9am until 5pm, and Saturday September 4 from 9am until 1pm.
Maldon will set up outside the butchers on these days, 9am until 4pm Thursday and Friday, and 9 am until 1 pm Saturday. See the Mail for more…
Legacy Week on the horizon
A place to call home
Landlords and community members across Mount Alexander Shire wanting to help address the local housing crisis are invited to take part in a survey exploring two initiatives aimed at giving people more affordable rental options.
Local housing group My Home Network is conducting the survey through its Tenancy Rights Working Group.
Purdy Buckle, CHIRP representative on MHN, said the survey explored the feasibility of two models already operating in Melbourne, both aimed at releasing more diverse, affordable rental options for the community.
“We know that there are just not enough rental properties in the region and what rental properties there are, prices have soared,” she said.
Kaz Neilson, MHN coordinator, said this was having a huge impact on the community.
“It is incredibly stressful living not knowing if you are going to get another house to rent, if you can afford it, and living with that vulnerability and insecurity,” Kaz said.
“Lack of affordable housing has a huge effect on the health and wellbeing of our community.” See the Mail for the full story. Out Now.
Backing business
Our 2021 Castlemaine Mail ‘Golden Ticket’ promotion continues this week! You will discover the eighth piece of the jigsaw puzzle in today’s edition.
This year’s promotion has been proudly supported by local businesses Hip Pocket Workwear and Safety Castlemaine and PJ’s Discount Tyre Service.
Hip Pocket Castlemaine celebrated 10 years serving the local community this month and PJ’s Tyres have been a household name in the region for 33 years.
Both businesses pride themselves on great local service and top products.
Hip Pocket Castlemaine moved into its new purpose built premises just down the road at 20 Johnstone Street four years ago and stocks a massive range of workwear, safety gear and PPE, school and pre-school uniforms, healthcare uniforms, hospitality garments, farming apparel, corporate wear, sports uniforms, a wide array of work boots and lots more.
PJ’s Tyres is a proud family owned and operated business with husband and wife team Peter and Pat Finning, son Sean and daughter-in-law Phillipa working to ensure local customers get great local service and a top product.
PJ’s Tyres are proud to be a Hankook Master dealer and have a huge range of Hankook tyres to suit all makes and models and all budgets without sacrificing quality. They also have a wide array of other brands and are happy to order in tyres to meet your requirements.
To be in the running to win a share of $5000 to spend at Hip Pocket Castlemaine, PJ’s Tyres or one of our 19 other wonderful Golden Ticket buy local promotion businesses all you need do is collect the nine puzzle pieces which will appear in Mail over the nine weeks and paste them to the back of your ‘Golden Ticket’! First prize is $3000, second prize $1000 and third and fourth prize winners will receive $500 each. See today’s Mail for more details.
Afghan agony
Members of the Castlemaine Branch of Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR) are deeply distressed by news of the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Afghanistan.
Castlemaine RAR chair Bronwen Machin said while they were admiring their new ‘Refugees Welcome’ posters at their monthly meeting, Afghans were dying.
“They are dying because Australia has not fulfilled our obligations to keep them safe,” she said. Castlemaine RAR members urged the Australian government to act to support those impacted by the Afghan crisis at their weekly vigil on the steps of the Market Building on Wednesday. See the Mail for more…
Rising stars selected
The Castlemaine District Netball Association (CDNA) is thrilled to announce that four of its up and coming netball stars have been selected to represent the North Central Netball Region at the upcoming state titles.
17 & Under netballers Shae Clifford and Eliza Oxley and 15 & Under netballers Megan Wilson and Paige Langley have each made the cut for their respective North Central Region State Title teams after months of try outs and training sessions.
The competition will take place in Parkville in October if restrictions allow and will see netballers from 19 districts battle it out for state title honours. See the Mail for more…
Sisters with Transistors
The Castlemaine Documentary Film Festival been hanging out to bring this one to you. And now it can!
Make it a night out with the big screen for Sisters with Transistors and the unique sounds of Louise Terra, live at the Theatre Royal on Thursday September 2 at 7.30pm.
Sisters with Transistors is the untold story of electronic music’s female pioneers, remarkable composers who embraced machines and their liberating technologies to utterly transform how we produce and listen to music today. See the Mail for more…
Community rallies for Nathaniel
Castlemaine man Nathaniel Muller was recently diagnosed with lymphoma, which was quite a shock to his friends and family.
Making things all the more difficult for the 49-year-old is that he is solely looking after his daughter Sasha, 17, and he also has two older children who live in Melbourne.
This year he also bit the bullet and started his start-up, The Healing Collective.
The business has been affected due to lockdown and he has had to cover the rent of the space largely on his own.
Nathaniel’s partner Beck Meyers has started a GoFundMe campaign for him and is hoping to raise $15,000. See the Mail for the full story.
Just nuts about chestnuts!
Eve Lamb
It may have been brrrrisk but the loyal legion of customers were not about to miss Castlemaine’s mid-week farmers’ market on Wednesday.
Adding to the enticing reasons to beat a bee-line to the regular weekly event, Henry Kovacevic, aka “The Chestnut Man” was offering some particularly warming incentives.
Roasting this season’s chestnuts grown at his Glenlyon orchard, Henry’s stall was among the many keenly sought out by loyal customers.
Henry was a man clearly enjoying his work.
“My main base is the Daylesford market on Sunday but I’ve been at this market for this year and last year, and I have found many chestnut lovers at this market and they keep seeking me out,” he said.
Beating the bleak conditions, he was offering not just fresh roasted chestnuts, but also warming mulled wine while simultaneously making further use of his roaster to toast marshmallow skewers for any market-going sweet-tooths as well.
“The mulled wine is a secret recipe I’ve acquired from the Italian Sports Club of Werribee after three years of supplying them chestnuts for their annual chestnut and porchetta function I winkled the recipe out of them,” he chuckled.
Henry grows the chestnuts on two acres at Glenlyon where he has 60 mature trees. Get the full story in today’s Mail…
Rolling up: vaccination update
Eve Lamb
Castlemaine Health has confirmed it is working with Bendigo Health to expand access to the AstraZeneca vaccine to 18-39 year-olds in the Mount Alexander community.
Bendigo Health’s Mass Vaccination Centre began administering AstraZeneca to people aged 18-39 as of Wednesday this week enabling younger people across central Victoria to roll-up their sleeves and receive their coronavirus vaccine.
The Castlemaine Mail contacted Castlemaine Health to determine whether the hospital’s own Castlemaine COVID-19 clinic will likewise be expanding access to the vaccine to the younger age cohort at the local clinic.
The hospital was quick to confirm that it’s currently exploring opportunities to do so.
“We’re meeting with Bendigo Health regularly and will update the community as those discussions progress,” Castlemaine Health Director Nursing Clinical Care Mark Nally said.
Castlemaine Health also confirmed that it has now passed its 3000 mark milestone for COVID-19 vaccinations now administered at its own busy vaccination clinic. Read more in today’s Mail…
Limits tested at Fryerstown
Eve Lamb
Safety concerns have prompted many Fryerstown locals to petition council, calling for speed limit changes for the township.
More than 40 have signed the petition recently presented to the Mount Alexander Shire Council at its July meeting.
“We’d like to see the extension of the 50 km limit from Crocodile Reservoir Road right through to the Campbells Creek-Fryers Road T-intersection,” says Fryerstown resident Glenda Athey, among 44 signatories to the petition.
“We also want the approach to the T-intersection on the Campbells Creek Road to change.
“We’d like to see it reduced to fifty as you’re approaching the T-intersection for safety.
“At the moment people can fly through half of Fryerstown doing 100 km and then it’s suddenly 50km.
“There’s more and more traffic coming through and there’s now a lot more children in Fryerstown,” Mrs Athey says.
“Our motivation is safety. There are children getting on and off busses, concealed driveways…”
The petitioners hope to gain council support in requesting the Department of Transport to have their suggested changes enacted.
It states: “The speed limits are placed in inappropriate places, on crests and approaching bends.
“Cars can travel 100km/h from Chewton right passed the Duke of Cornwall, it then changes to 80km/h on a crest and then immediately down to 50km/h straight after the bend. Get the full story in today’s Mail…
New focus for local charity
Castlemaine based charity Orphfund is delighted to announce it has a new name!
After 16 years, they will no longer be OrphFund, as of this very moment they are now known as ‘I am Someone’.
Orphfund founder Steve Argent said the change in name to ‘I am Someone’ marks a shift in focus to enabling an individual child’s dream to become a reality.
“In the beginning our goal was to save the world and help educate every child that needed help. That was always a huge task with 130 million orphans globally,” Argent said.
“We’ve come to realise that these are not one of millions of children who have no name, they are a child who has passions, dreams and goals and who can become anything, given the right support,” he said. See the Mail for the full story.
A local gem!
Our 2021 Castlemaine Mail ‘Golden Ticket’ promotion continues this week! You will discover the seventh piece of the puzzle in today’s edition.
This year’s promotion has been proudly supported by Maldon Crystals.
The relatively new business opened its doors in High Street at the entrance to Maldon in November 2020 and is a new venture for Maldon Lolly Shop operators Wendy McLean and Chris Clark.
Maldon Crystals stock a wide array of crystals renowned for their various healing properties, lamps, aromatherapy, candles, skincare and essential oils and a beautiful range of giftware including stunning crystal inspired soaps. The business also has oracle and tarot cards and supporting literature and offers regular in-house tarot card readings.
Maldon Crystals has also introduced personalised bra-fitting sessions with Intimo.
“I really wanted to offer services that you can’t find locally and that help customers look and feel great,” she said.
To be in the running to win a share of $5000 to spend at Maldon Crystals or one of our 20 other Golden Ticket businesses all you need do is collect the nine puzzle pieces which will appear in Mail over the nine weeks and paste them to the back of your ‘Golden Ticket’! First prize is $3000, second prize $1000 and third and fourth prize winners will receive $500 each.
Once you’ve collected all nine puzzle pieces, drop your lucky ticket off at the Mail office or post it to us at 13 Hargraves Street, Castlemaine.
You can enter as many times as you like but you must use the original golden ticket and puzzle pieces. You can obtain back copies of the Mail from our office when restrictions ease. See the Mail for more details. Out Now.
