A local campaign to free a refugee from indefinite off shore detention appears to be gaining traction with many residents chipping in to support it.
Last week’s edition of the Mail ran a story detailing the efforts of Castlemaine’s Rural Australians for Refugees RAR project
to raise $18,500 – the price tag needed to fund resettlement of a refugee in Canada. See the Mail for more. Out Now.
Operation Free a Refugee takes off
Work to begin
Construction on an exciting new play space located in the centre of Harcourt will begin shortly.
Mount Alexander Shire Council manager parks, recreation and community facilities Cath Olive said council is really excited about this play space, and the important role that residents and our local Indigenous community have had in the design process.
The play space at Stanley Park North will feature a large six-metre high tower with an exhilarating ten-metre long slide, play stalls, a climbing wall and array of play equipment. See the Mail for the full story. Out Now.
Police hit the streets
Victoria Police Local Area Commander Inspector Donna Mitchell says Victoria Police have recently welcomed a new Chief Commissioner of Police, Shane Patton.
On August 12 the new Chief Commissioner addressed the Goldfields Police Service Area (PSA) and explained his vision to local members.
Inspector Mitchell said the CCP’s objective is to reduce crime and make the community feel safe.
“To this end, our CWOPSafety forums and Coffee With A Cop sessions have all been suspended due to COVID-19. So, we are going to try something different. During September and October, we are going to do some spring cleaning, starting with ‘Conversation Encounter’,” Inspector Mitchell said.
“The police are coming to you, in your supermarket, your newsagents, your bakery and in the main street. Our goal is to speak to as many Goldfields PSA community members as possible. See the Mail for the full story. Out Now.
RSL remembers
Castlemaine Returned Services League (RSL) members quietly laid wreaths to commemorate the VP Day (Victory in the Pacific) last Saturday, August 15 and Vietnam Veterans Day on Tuesday, August 18.
This year marks the 75th anniversary since World War II ended and the 54th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan in 1966.
RSL secretary Barb Templar said many Victorians tuned in online to watch VP Day Services at the War Memorial in Canberra and a commemorative broadcast at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne.
“It was also wonderful to see many stop in to pay their respects at the local cenotaph throughout Saturday,” Ms Templar said. See the Mail for the full story. Out Now.
Surprise donation funds rare rail restoration project
A generous private donation to the Victorian Goldfields Railways is now enabling the restoration of an extremely rare piece of the state’s railway history.
Aided by the welcome $10,000 surprise donation, a fourth year carpentry apprentice and VGR young volunteer who lost his paid carpentry job due to COVID, is now able to help VGR restore its rare but dilapidated vintage railway refrigerator car to former glory.
“I lost my job because of COVID in late April,” says 20-year-old Fletcher Cole who’s been a dedicated volunteer with the railway since age 14.
Now the young VGR volunteer has started putting his carpentry skills to good use to rejuvenate the early 20th century rail refrigerator car.
“This was built in 1911,” he says.
“The reason why it’s unique is that this one’s the last one that’s in operating condition.
“The walls are insulated with cow hair. There use to be a trough that ran along the roof filled with salted ice.”
In the days before refrigeration as we know it, this method using ice was needed to keep meat and other produce cold and fresh during transportation from regional Victoria to metro Melbourne.
“It’s not every day you get to preserve the last running examples of this kind of van,” Fletcher says.
“It’s very special. It’s unique.
“I’ve always loved trains. This is sort of living my dream, basically.” More in today’s Castlemaine Mail 21.08.20
Bravo!
Lorraine Le Plastrier, Mount Alexander Shire Disability Advocacy Group (MASDAG)
I would like to congratulate people in Castlemaine for their rapid response to mask wearing. So many people have taken up the challenge. Bravo Castlemainians!
More news: Our Shire is part of the Victorian Government initiative to provide masks for vulnerable people. You can call the Shire Covid Support number 1800 512 446 to find out how to collect your mask.
One in a million
Darren Chester, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs
Around one million Australians served during the Second World War, and many Australians today have a connection to at least one of them.
As we approach the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War on August 15 this year, there is no better time for us to uncover and capture the stories of these one million people and ensure they live on.
For families, it is a chance to learn more about someone who served, and for the nation, it is a time to gain a greater understanding of our involvement in this major conflict.
All we need to do is ‘Just Ask’ the question – what did my family do during the war? How do I learn more about Australia’s involvement in the Second World War?
It is easier than ever before to research a family member’s military history. The Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) has brought together all of its nominal rolls, including the Second World War nominal roll, into one website to make it easier to search and find information on those Australians who served in this war. The National Archives of Australia is working to digitise all of its Second World War records and the Australian War Memorial also has a wide range of useful information just a click away.
If you need a little help, start with the Researching Australians at War page on the Anzac Portal – www.anzacportal.dva.gov.au.
Ancestry.com.au is also helping Australians pay tribute to those who served and sacrificed in the Second World War by providing free online access to all Australian and New Zealand military records on the site from August 13-16.
I encourage all Australians to look into their family’s Second World War history and capture these stories, and to visit anzacportal.dva.gov.au/vp75 to learn more about a war that changed our nation’s history forever.
Competition ceases
Castlemaine Golf Club has put in place the latest restrictions to help keep COVID-19 away from our region and keep our residents safe.
Notices are displayed on the noticeboard near the front door for members and visitors, and the club ask that these be read carefully, and observed.
Key points are: social golf only, wear a mask, play in twos, use sanitiser, and social distance. See the Mail for more. Out Now.
Victorians encouraged to ‘Go Well’
‘Go Well’ – a new weekly health and wellness radio program hosted by Australian publisher and Castlemaine resident Cate Mercer ‘went live’ on community radio station MAINfm 94.9 recently, as Victoria continues to see significant and concerning daily numbers of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases and deaths.
Providing a balance of evidence-based and alternative health news and views, particularly when it comes to mental health, is important to Mercer who is also the founder and editor of The Art of Healing magazine and has been actively involved in the health industry for almost 20 years.
“With so much misinformation around on social media, and people battling with the mental health effects of this pandemic, I think it’s more important than ever to make credible, well researched information more accessible,” Mercer said.
“I’ve always wanted to host a radio program and with people spending more time at home or commuting in their car and thinking about their health at the moment – it feels like the perfect time to finally do it!” she explained.
The program airs Thursday mornings from 9am to 10am and will feature various special guests.
One of Mercer’s first guests was Dean Mighell – director of Path of the Horse, a non-profit equine therapy centre that assists people of all ages and walks of life to become more self-aware, build resilience and seek better mental health and well-being.
Dean and his team help people with Autism, veterans, emergency services personnel and their families manage PTSD, anxiety, depression, addiction, grief and lots more.
“My hope is for this new show to inspire and teach Victorians of all ages and circumstances to ask more questions about their health and wellbeing and to seek out tools and support that suit their individual needs, beliefs and lifestyle,” Mercer said.
Cate has worked across a range of industries including IT, accounting, cinema and film, newspapers and magazines and job roles throughout her career, from design to management, marketing to sales.
She started The Art of Healing magazine in 2002 while living in Byron Bay, after identifying an opportunity to provide reliable information for people seeking alternative options for good healthcare.
After being introduced to the local area by a friend in 2013, Cate relocated to Castlemaine and has never looked back.
“I am constantly in awe of the beauty in this area, and love feeling the changes in season which you just don’t have in warmer more temperate climates.”
Cate continues to edit and publish the quarterly magazine, and has recently begun hosting the radio program to take the concepts she writes about to a broader audience who are interested in health and wellness.
“I just feel it’s so important to walk the talk, so I do want to share how I take care of myself and how I have incorporated what I have learnt over the years into my own life. At the essence of it all, the body is really good at looking after you, if you just give it what it needs – and time,” she said.
“It’s interesting to look back from 2020, and see just how much people have changed. There really has been a huge shift in consciousness,” Mercer said.
Spitfire – a daughter’s dedication done in lockdown
A Castlemaine woman has used her time in pandemic isolation to write and publish a book documenting the incredible life of her father, a Spitfire reconnaissance pilot in WWII.
Anne Rittman says ferreting out the story of Harold Murray Rittman’s daring and dangerous deeds as a photographic reconnaissance pilot resulted in her discovering things about her dad that she never knew.
“Once I started digging through all of this material I really discovered who my father was,” says Anne who has published Spitfire: The plane that crushed Hitler’s dreams! through her own recently-established publishing business – Fab Entertainment.
“Luckily my mother kept all the letters, documents and photographs relating to my father’s experience as a photo reconnaissance pilot in WWII,” she says.
Anne has trained as a professional writer through RMIT and has also previously worked as an arts ceramicist, writer and publisher.
She says writing Spitfire has enabled her to better know her parents, and grandparents, though the war time letters they wrote each other.
“The sheer courage of my father was heart-stopping,” she says.
“But despite his fear he flew 90 missions over heavily guarded enemy territory and brought back invaluable information for the Allies.
“He won the DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross) for bravery and exceptional determination.”
Anne says writing Spitfire in recent months was such an engaging process she could hardly wait to start work each morning.
Yet despite this she says she would never have written the book were it not for the time spent in pandemic-induced lockdown and isolation.
“It’s definitely a project done in Covid times. If I was not in isolation I’d never have done this.”
Instead, goaded by the strict entry deadline, she has even managed to enter her new 195 page book in the prestigious Australian War Memorial’s Les Carlyon Literary Prize to be announced later this year.
Anne is no stranger to the literary scene, having previously written and published several books including co-authoring a highly collectable tome – Brunswick Street, Art & Revolution capturing the cultural and arts scene of this iconic Melbourne street in its heyday.
But she says that finally getting the story of her father down in print has been especially personally satisfying.
“It feels as if I’ve done what was meant to be done,” she says.
Copies of Spitfire are available for purchase via Anne’s Facebook page, with its first limited print run already quickly snapped up.
Campbells Creek’s history celebrated
How much do you know about the history of Campbells Creek?
Local residents and visitors alike will be surprised and delighted by the new history board recently installed in the Campbells Creek Park.
The beautifully illustrated and designed board is full of information that tells the story of the development of Campbells Creek from pre-colonial days to the mid-20th century.
The board was the brainchild of members of the Campbells Creek Inc History and Heritage group who have brought this project to fruition over several years, working with local Aboriginal elder Aunty Kerri Douglas on Aboriginal history, and gathering information, photographs and illustrations from Campbells Creek residents and historical sources for the period since European settlement. See the Mail for the full story. Out Now.
CAM welcomes First Nations board member
In an historic first Castlemaine Art Museum (CAM) has appointed First Nations man Tiriki Onus to the CAM Board.Tiriki Onus (Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung) is Associate Dean Indigenous Development and Head of the Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts and Cultural Development at University of Melbourne.
Traditional Owner and Jaara Elder, Uncle Rick Nelson has welcomed Onus on his appointment.
“We had a great yarn and I’m looking forward to catching up with him,” Uncle Rick said.
Director CAM Renewal Naomi Cass said Onus’ skills from the visual arts through to cultural management are greatly respected.
“We look forward to his broad engagement with CAM and the local community,” she said. See the Mail for the full story. Out Now.