The Castlemaine community was in shock on Monday as news broke about the discovery of a man’s body in a home in Wimble Street.
The man’s body was discovered in his home around 10.45am.
Local emergency services assisted to cordon off the street as detectives from the Homicide Squad were called in to investigate the 80-year-old’s suspicious death.
A 53-year-old Castlemaine man was subsequently interviewed by detectives and charged with murder. He was remanded in custody to appear at the Bendigo Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning. The two men are believed to be known to each other.
The accused Glenn Stratton appeared on one count of murder. He was reportedly supported in the court by family members.
Stratton did not make an application for bail and was remanded to appear before the Bendigo Magistrates Court on October 13.
Murder charge after body discovered
New era for historic school
Grey skies and rain didn’t deter the Winters Flat Primary School community from turning out in force to celebrate the official opening of their new school buildings last Thursday evening, May 13.
Bendigo West MP Maree Edwards was on hand to officially open the $2.916 million upgrade which saw the school’s older buildings containing asbestos replaced with new architecturally-designed permanent modular buildings built by Modscape, including a new multipurpose hall and an art room along with external learning spaces.
“Today, we’re not just celebrating the opening of new buildings, we are also celebrating what will be achieved inside these buildings for many years to come,” Ms Edwards said. See the Mail for more…
No more gap! $1.2 to complete trail
Friends of Campbells Creek Landcare (FOCC) and local community members are celebrating following the announcement of $1.2 million in funding to complete the ‘missing link’ of the Castlemaine to Campbells Creek Walking and Cycling Trail.
Bendigo West MP Maree Edwards MP visited Campbells Creek on May 14 to announce the state government funding which will close the 400 metre gap in the trail between Princess Street and the Honeycomb Road-Scott Court intersection and complete the off-road accessible walking and cycling trail which spans almost six kilometres from Castlemaine to Campbells Creek.
Stage 1 of project will see the construction of an accessible path along Campbells Creek-Fryers Road and Stage 2 Construction of the Campbells Creek Walking and Cycling Trail from Princess Street, Campbells Creek to the commencement of the existing trail into Castlemaine. This will include the construction of two creek crossovers. See the Mail for the full story. Out Now.
Marvellous mushies
‘So Mush Goodness’ is the name of the new business started by an innovative couple who bring their beautiful mushrooms to Castlemaine every Wednesday to the Castlemaine Farmers Market. They look like art installations with their extraordinary shapes and colours.
Ana (originally from Columbia) and Paola (from Italy) started their business of growing your own mushrooms because they believe in the health benefits as well as the delicious flavour. They find that people who want to reduce the amount of meat in their diet use mushrooms as a great alternative.
Ana said they began growing, researching and experimenting with mushrooms around two years ago and things grew from there.
“It took some time to get established so that we were producing an amount where we could sell to the public but we officially started our business around 12 months ago.
“Due to covid many markets were closed and Castlemaine Farmers Market was the first market we were able to attend. We have received magnificent support from the local community and enjoy visiting Castlemaine every Wednesday and for the monthly market,” Ana said.
The Daylesford couple sell a variety of fresh mushrooms including Shiitake, Pioppino, Oysters and King Oysters and also ‘Grow your own’ kits so that you can grow your favourites at home.
The pair are also fascinated in the medicinal benefits of mushrooms with some varieties credited with improving memory, clearing toxins and enhancing circulation.
“It’s something we are exploring more deeply and we hope to move into this area too in the future to share the health benefits with our clients,” Ana said.
Check the stall out next time you are at the market and Ana will explain the different varieties they have and how to grow them successfully.
Down Rainbow Road
A new poetry collection by renowned Castlemaine poet Rob Wallis was officially launched at the Northern Arts Hotel in Barker Street Castlemaine last Saturday.
Down Rainbow Road: New and Selected Poems will be unveiled at 2.30pm by poet Nathan Curnow.
Down Rainbow Road includes two new sequences of poems by Wallis. Inheritance is a multi-voice history of Australian gay experience from the earliest days of exploration and settlement. Muscular Flirtations gathers more personal reflections on a life – struggle towards acceptance and love. Selected Poems presents the variations of Rob’s poetry through five earlier collections. See the Mail for the full story. Out Now.
Join Probus!
Recently 20 members of the Castlemaine Probus Club enjoyed a five day getaway in the Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale area.
Around a dozen of the members are pictured here about to set off on the picturesque cliff top walk to the pier.
A wonderful time was enjoyed by all.
The local Probus Club meets on the second Wednesday of the month at the Mount Alexander Golf Club located at the top of Wimble Street, Castlemaine at 10am. New members are always most welcome.
Simultaneous Storytime out of this world!
Young families and local school children joined the fun of National Simultaneous Storytime on Wednesday at Castlemaine Library as libraries across the region celebrated Australia’s biggest storytelling session! The same book was read at venues across Australia and New Zealand at the same time.
This year’s book was Philip Bunting’s Give Me Some Space! a delightful story that expertly merges non-fiction facts with imaginative play and was proudly read by special guest Cr Rosie Annear.
Children also enjoyed some songs packed with space facts with Castlemaine librarian Stuart Winser.
End of an era
Much loved and respected Castlemaine district tennis coach Jill Atkin has hung up her racquet after more than 50 years of coaching.
Jill has coached voluntarily and professionally since she was 16.
The tennis coach has worked with players from across the region and is also well known for her Wilson Pee Wee Tennis program which introduced a huge cohort of local young players to the game.
“Tennis is a sport that all ages can enjoy and it is a great social activity. Generations can play together,” she said. See the Mail for the full story.
Jazz cats purring
By Eve Lamb
Smooth sounds are a definite added bonus of going to school at Castlemaine Secondary College right now with talented music students fine tuning their repertoire ahead of next month’s Castlemaine Jazz Festival.
Music students from years nine-12 will be playing as part of the opening gig set for Friday June 11 at the Phee Broadway with ticket sales taking off ahead of the upcoming Queen’s Birthday weekend festival.
“I’ve played the Castlemaine Jazz Festival before and I love it,” says music teacher at CSC, Ben Nieuwkerk who plays saxophone, flute and clarinet and is no stranger to performing at some of the state’s leading jazz festivals.
“I’ve played Melbourne International Jazz Festival and Wangaratta and the thing that sets Castlemaine apart is the sense of community,” Ben says. Read more in The Mail May 07.05.21
Council signs on to clean energy deal
By Eve Lamb
Mount Alexander Shire Council is among 46 Victorian Councils to sign on to the largest ever emissions reduction project by local government in Australia.
The Victorian Energy Collaboration is forecast to provide 45 per cent of all Victorian Councils’ electricity requirements with 100 per cent renewables, reducing greenhouse emissions by 260,000 tonnes of C02-e every year.
Provided by Red Energy, the 240GWh of clean power is equivalent to powering 48,000 homes with renewables or removing the emissions from 90,000 cars every year. Facilitated by the Victorian Greenhouse Alliances, the historic deal is also expected to save participating councils up to 35 per cent on their electricity bills, based on current costs, depending on their individual energy needs.
CEO of the Castlemaine-based Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance Rob Law has told the Mail the project has been five years in the making and represents a huge collaborative effort.
“All of the councils will be saving a lot in the first few years and beyond that their energy costs should be better than business-as-usual for purchasing green power,” Mr Law said.
“It’s a big load of energy which means they can get a good price for it. This is a huge project.” Read more in The Mail 23.05.21
Women's first win of the season
Good things are brewing at Castlemaine Goldfields Football Club as the senior women took to the field on Mother’s Day. It was the perfect Mother’s Day gift as the women convincingly defeated ETA Buffalo — second on the ladder going into the game! See the Mail for the full story and all the latest sports news…
Accessing the Big Build
How can we strategically access the state government’s Big Build funding to invest in social housing?
As part of the Mount Alexander Shire Accommodation & Respite Group’s (MASARG) A Home of My Own community conversations, representatives of the My Home Network and Castlemaine Rotary joined the committee recently in posing this question to Ken Marchingo AM, recently retired CEO of HAVEN Home Safe.
Speaking in a private capacity and tapping into his amazing knowledge of the housing industry with an emphasis on social housing and homelessness, Ken provided an excellent overview of what does and doesn’t work well in the current regulatory framework, reminding MASARG supporters that they need to work within it regardless of their quest for change. See the Mail for the full story.
