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Project Hope hosts free horse event

By
Eve Lamb
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Castlemaine's Julia Murray with rescue horses Ziggy and Mimi ahead of tomorrow's free safety awareness training around horses event being hosted by Project Hope Horse Welfare Victoria. Photo: Eve Lamb

Eve Lamb

Often it’s not intentional cruelty that leads to the suffering of horses, but simply ignorance of their basic needs, says Julia Murray.

The results, though, can be horrific adds the Castlemaine local who is a staunch member of Project Hope Horse Welfare Victoria which dedicates itself to ensuring our equestrian friends have happy, pain-free lives.

The group has members state-wide and Ms Murray is keen to encourage more Castlemaine area residents to learn more about what it does, and possibly sign up as members.

Right now she’s also encouraging all local horse owners – and anyone else who’s interested – to trot along to a special free equine safety session the group is hosting tomorrow, Saturday June 18, near Ballarat

Tomorrow’s free ‘Safety Awareness Training Around Horses’ session is being presented by equine veterinarian Dr Lesley Hawson and Ms Murray says it’s a great chance for all horse and pony owners in central Victoria.
“It’s a free event supported by Animal Welfare Victoria,” she says.
“Dr Lesley Hawson has a wealth of … Read more in today’s Mail

$125,000 funding boost for Victorian Goldfields Railway

By
Lisa Dennis
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VGR vice president John Hoy, president Steve Strangward, board member Tony Llewelyn, restoration volunteer Tom Donaldson, Bendigo West MP Maree Edwards and Mount Alexander Shire Council CEO Darren Fuzzard are pictured with the newly restored carriage Acheron.
VGR vice president John Hoy, president Steve Strangward, board member Tony Llewelyn, restoration volunteer Tom Donaldson, Bendigo West MP Maree Edwards and Mount Alexander Shire Council CEO Darren Fuzzard are pictured with the newly restored carriage Acheron.

Victorian Goldfields Railway (VGR) is steaming ahead with plans for the next stage of its infrastructure works thanks to a $125,136 grant towards strategic planning.
Bendigo West MP Maree Edwards visited the VGR yards at Castlemaine on Wednesday to announce that the non-for-profit volunteer organisation had won funding from the ‘Enabling Tourism Fund’ towards the final planning stages for the heritage steam train linking the historic gold mining towns of Castlemaine and Maldon.
The announcement comes just days after Ms Edwards announced $120,000 in funding to assist the Castlemaine-Maryborough Rail Trail with crucial planning.
Ms Edwards said VGR is an icon for Central Victoria and the government are continuing to invest in improving our tourism drawcards for the region.
“We’re providing the foundations for investments that will grow tourism and create jobs across the state,” she said.
“We know how well loved the railway is by the communities of Castlemaine and Maldon. This funding will enable you to do the work that’s required to build on what you already have here and look at expanding the project,” she said. See the Mail for the full story…

50 year milestone for Wayne

By
Lisa Dennis
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Long time Don employee Wayne Dennis (centre) recently celebrated 50 years with the company and is proudly pictured here with some of his colleagues.
Long time Don employee Wayne Dennis (centre) recently celebrated 50 years with the company and is proudly pictured here with some of his colleagues.

Don KR Castlemaine employee Wayne Dennis recently celebrated 50 years of service at the long running Castlemaine institution.
Wayne told the Mail he was just 15 when he started at the original old 1905 factory site in Richards Road.
“I applied on May 31 and started the next day on June 1, 1972. I began on day shift packing those triangle shaped leg ham tins that many people will remember,” he says.
“Within a few months I moved on to the boning and trimming department and I ended up there for 30 years!” Wayne said.
Wayne has seen a lot of changes and a lot of faces come and go over the years.
“When I started out it was the Castlemaine Bacon Company Ltd, then it became Castle Bacon, then KR Castlemaine and now Don,” he said.
He was chuffed to receive a handwritten letter of congratulations from George Western III himself and various letters of acknowledgement from across the company. See the Mail for the full story…

MAIN Game fundraiser kicks goals

By
Lisa Dennis
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The Rockatoos and Radio Galahs vie for the ball at the Camp Reserve on Sunday. Photo: Max Lesser.
The Rockatoos and Radio Galahs vie for the ball at the Camp Reserve on Sunday. Photo: Max Lesser.

There’s no doubt about it. Footy brings people together. And Sunday’s MAIN Game was no exception.
There was a wonderful community spirit amongst the 300+ crowd as they cheered on the Rockatoos and the Radio Galahs at the historic Camp Reserve in Castlemaine for MainFM’s annual footy match fundraiser.
The game didn’t disappoint, with both teams going head to head for a close finish. Reubin Williams from the Rockatoos sealed the deal with a set shot in the last quarter to win by 10 points, the first victory for the side since both teams first met in 2018. See the Mail for more images from the event.

Lisa Mitchell to hold album launch at historic Theatre Royal

By
Lisa Dennis
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Singer-Songwriter Lisa Mitchell will visit Castlemaine's Theatre Royal later this month: Photo: Tamara Dean.
Singer-Songwriter Lisa Mitchell will visit Castlemaine's Theatre Royal later this month: Photo: Tamara Dean.

Australian singer-songwriter Lisa Mitchell is set to appear at the iconic Theatre Royal Castlemaine on Thursday June 30 as part of her latest album tour.
Mitchell has just released her new single titled Let Your Body, alongside her highly anticipated fourth studio album ‘A Place To Fall Apart’ via Believe.
The album is a glorious and heartrending tribute to what it means to be alive and learning in the world, having been old enough to feel its bruises and heartbreaks, but also be at the beginning of understanding our own individual insignificance within it.
Accompanied by her beguiling melodies and hushed tones, the lyrics within the album are deeply introspective and impactful, written in the thick of the first year of a global pandemic that forced everyone’s lives and spheres to become very small and very still. See the Mount Alexander Living section of today’s Mail for more…

‘Get Together’ to say farewell to the Village Square

By
Lisa Dennis
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The Village Square has hosted countless events since the pop-up venue opened in March 2021.

Mount Alexander Shire Council is bidding a fond farewell to the Village Square with one last hurrah ‘Get Together’ this Saturday June 18.
The community is invited to join them for a ‘farewell’ smoking ceremony with Dja Dja Wurrung Elder Uncle Rick Nelson before free and family-friendly entertainment including DJs and live music commences at 6pm along Mechanics Lane and at the Phee Broadway Theatre precinct.
This event is also set to help launch the next stage of the Get Lost platform – a website established in 2020 as a place for the shire’s creative community to collaborate, exchange ideas and share content. See the Mail for all the details.

Covid vaccination and testing clinics to close

By
Lisa Dennis
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Castlemaine Health announced this week that its COVID-19 Vaccination and COVID Testing Clinics are set to close this month.
The final day for COVID Vaccinations at the Castlemaine Health based clinic will be Wednesday June 22.
The final day of testing at the drive through Testing Clinic at Wesley Hill Stadium will be Thursday June 16.
Closure of the clinics will enable staff to move back into frontline nursing roles to support the healthcare system.
Castlemaine Health Vaccination and Testing nurse unit manager Shelley Leathem said the local vaccination clinic has played a vital role in our local COVID-19 response and greatly contributed to the high vaccination rates in our shire.
“More than 95 per cent of eligible residents in Mount Alexander Shire have already received their two primary COVID vaccine doses and more than 82 per cent of those aged 16 and over are up-to-date with their booster. We are pleased with the results and feel we have significantly contributed to the safety of the community,” Ms Leathem said. See the Mail for more…

Bust honour for Felix

By
Lisa Dennis
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A bronze bust has been created to honour the late Felix Cappy OAM and will be unveiled in a special event at the Castlemaine Art Museum (CAM) next month.
Felix Cappy was a man who had a great passion and love for the town he grew up in – Castlemaine. He worked tirelessly to preserve its history and goldfields heritage.
This included working to prevent the demolition of several historic buildings including the Former Court House, Chewton Town Hall and Castlemaine Market Building.
The market was in a very poor state of disrepair. Together with his hardworking restoration committee including John Holland, Peggy Smith and many more they raised the necessary funds to restore and preserve this iconic building which is now home to the Castlemaine Information Centre and a real drawcard for the region. See the Mail for more…

Celebrating our women tradies

By
Eve Lamb
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Photographer Zo Damage with tradie Jaxx Irwin at this week's launch of the Women in Trades exhibition. Photo: Eve Lamb

Eve Lamb

Right now, the foyer of Castlemaine’s Vintage Bazaar at The Mill has a sturdy lineup of women wielding power tools.
Fortunately, the auditory impact is minimal as the women in question are all the photographic subjects of award-winning sharp shooter, Zo Damage, known to many for her work photographing rock stars – often from a mosh pit perspective.
Here however, Damage has applied her talent for powerful image-making to celebrating and acknowledging local women who have chosen to shoulder those trades more traditionally regarded as the bastion of their brothers.
Shoulder to shoulder in her black and white images, here, are women sparkies, mechanics, builders and jills of all trades.
Launched earlier this week, the new Women in Trades exhibition is the result of a partnership between Damage, HALT (Hope Assistance Local Tradies) and Women’s Health Loddon Mallee.
“It makes me feel proud to be part of this group of 12 women,” says one of the central Victorian tradeswomen featured, Jaxx Irwin of Daisy Hill.
“I started my engineering as a navy engineer 20 years ago,” Jaxx told the Mail during… Read more in the Mail

Daisy Hill tradeswoman Jaxx Irwin, Castlemaine Salvage Yard operator Anna Winneke, photographer Zo Damage, HALT Partnerships Coordinator Alison Jones, orchardist Ingrid Phyland and Women’s Health Loddon Mallee’s Tina Helm at this week’s launch of the Women in Trades exhibition in Castlemaine. Photo: Eve Lamb

We must do more to support our artists

By
Castlemaine Mail
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Suzanne Donisthorpe, Castlemaine

While the people of Mount Alexander are grateful for the $6 million for the State Festival and the other $6 million for the Castlemaine Art Museum granted by the state government – I note that not a single dollar of that money is actually going to artists.

It is all for building improvements which are all fine and good – but the money will go to the building industry – which has flourished for years even during the pandemic when the world decided to renovate.

Artists on the other hand have languished with no Job keeper and no gigs.

So what if the state government or council could find a mere two million dollars to be distributed to the actual arts community? I’ll list them – Fringe Festival, Lot 19, Arts Open, The Newstead Arts Hub and the Red Shed Arts Workshop, C Doc, The Jazz Festival, The Newstead Folk Festival, CASPA, Artpuff, The Cascade Gallery, The Edge Gallery, Castlemaine Press, Castlemaine Clay, MainFM – I’m sure there are others.

If each of those organisations got some real funding – they would really thrive and the results would be transformational.

These organisations struggle on with nothing – or perhaps with a pitiful hard won grant of a couple of thousand dollars and yet have created the enviable reputation we enjoy of living in a vibrant arts community.

I know just how much more vibrant it could be if there was money to pay actual artists and arts administrators to keep the wheels turning.

Giving wages to actual creators would also help with the massive housing crisis we face here as many of the people staring down the barrel of having to leave are the very heart and soul of the arts community.

They are the people doing it very hard and if they leave they take their creative input with them and we are left all the poorer.

The arts aren’t just about bringing tourists to town, although it is a major factor in why Mount Alexander is so attractive as a destination.

The arts are not just there to bring money to small business and the accommodation industry – it’s about the primary producers – the artists themselves – who are always on the bottom of the ladder when it comes to funding.

So if maybe the state government or council could spend a fraction of the money that might be spent on a new roundabout somewhere – and give it to the artists instead.

I promise you the money will be greatly appreciated and the community will blossom.

Art to warm the soul…and more

By
Eve Lamb
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Castlemaine Rotary Club members Louis Hawke and Glenn Fortune help hang works ahead of this long weekend's Rotary Art Show in Castlemaine Town Hall. Photo: Eve Lamb

Eve Lamb

Whether the weather is sufficient to freeze the proverbial – or simply sublime – one top place to be this weekend is the Castlemaine Rotary Art Show.
The heating was merely an added bonus when the Mail dropped in for a pre-show sneak peek as final works were hung earlier this week ahead of last night’s launch event and the show itself that now runs through to Monday.
“You will be blown away. They’re just amazing,” said Rotary Art Show co-director Robert Cordy when quizzed as to the contents of this year’s catalogue.
“We’ve got 465 works and about 150 artists’ entries including 50 or 60 from artists who have not previously entered.
“And our entrants range from well known locals like Peggy Shaw to entrants from South Australia and New South Wales and… Read more in the Mail

Women of wit headed to the ‘maine

By
Eve Lamb
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Jude Perl headlines the Women of Wit tour that's headed to Castlemaine ...

Eve Lamb

As a teenager Jude Perl (Comedy Festival Gala) had already unearthed her own unstoppable talent for music and lyric.
Inspired by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Carol King, Prince and Marvin Gaye, it was only in her early 20s that her love of the comedic also began to increasingly infiltrate her live stage performances.
“It was a gradual thing,” says the headliner act for this month’s Women of Wit comedy tour, describing the way that second driver – for making audiences laugh – began to emerge initially through what Jude describes as her “quirky writing”.
That bent for “quirky” lyric increasingly took on a satirical edge, becoming something that today invites the Melbourne-based performer’s audiences to belly-laugh at some of the well-known human foibles of our times – like consumerism.
Numbers she has written and won fans with – like The Label Song, Hungry and Horny and I have a Face also help us to take a good hard look at ourselves and … laugh out loud.
Now with six solo shows under her comedic belt Jude is headlining the Women of Wit Tour that’s set to … Read more in the Mail

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