Facebook Instagram Twitter
Facebook Instagram Twitter

Removing trees not the answer

By
Donna Thomas
-

Joyce Sanders, Castlemaine.

As someone who has been fighting VicRoads’ tree-cutting campaigns for 15 years, the community of Newstead has my complete support. 
There are so many other faults in our roads (potholes, poor signage, narrow edges, etc.) that VicRoads could be spending our public money on, and all of them involved with safety. Our own council fought to stop their tree-cutting past Chewton, and others fought campaigns on the Maldon Road. Sadly, when VicRoads got up to the Echuca road, they even dared to remove single isolated trees in paddocks.
If we were going to follow the logic of removing everything that a car could ever potentially run into, we would have to remove all power poles, all kangaroos, most buildings, and in the case of Castlemaine we’d need to get rid of all verandah posts and street furniture. Removing trees is not going to make drivers drive more safely. Only the driver can make that decision.

Thanks art lovers

By
Donna Thomas
-

Azzy Jay, on behalf of Castlemaine Fringe Festival Committee 2019.


The 2019 Castlemaine Fringe Festival committee would like to thank the wonderful artists and supporters of the arts that make up this vibrant, wonderful community. The fundraising Art Auction held at The Taproom on February 2 showcased some of the incredible talent of our local artists
and our communities appetite for fun and connection as well as some serious bidding, raising well over $11,500 in art sales, 50 per cent of which will go towards funding this year’s Fringe Festival, with the remaining 50 per cent going to the artists themselves. Such a great day, huge thanks to the artists who
contributed work, Suzanne Donnisthorpe and Jacinta Walsh for their wonderful commentary and knowledge of local artists, the Bosky Nova band for their tunes, Bill Maltby, our esteemed auctioneer and the Taproom for being such great hosts, The Bridge, The Mill, The Castlemaine Mail and Midland Express, Castlemaine Now, Print Together, The Castlemaine State Festival, Get Outta Town and the Wesley Hill Market Traders for their prizes and promotion and this wonderful Castlemaine community for turning up and putting their money where the art is! 

The threat is real

By
Donna Thomas
-

Pat Healy, Chewton.

There are opinions and there are facts. Some issues, such as the date of Australia Day, are a matter of differing opinions that can promote important community discussion, as Ian Braybrook suggests (Castlemaine Mail February 1). But others, such as the impact of global warming, are a matter of fact. And opinions don’t change facts, although they can have serious consequences when they ignore or deny the facts. History is littered with examples of wars and disasters resulting from actions based on powerful people’s ill-informed opinions. And today, actions that communities across the world should be taking to minimise the impact of global warming are frequently hindered or even prevented by people who hold tight to their woefully ignorant opinions that 1 or 2 degrees of temperature rise will, in Bill Bayliss’ words, (Castlemaine Mail, Feb 1) “pose no threat” to our future. So by all means let us all discuss our differing opinions on anything and everything. But let us never forget that opinions that ignore or deny the facts almost always lead to, at best, unfortunate outcomes. And at worst they can lead to the sort of existential disaster that now threatens our planet and our children’s future.

Looking at the facts

By
Donna Thomas
-

Hans Paas, Castlemaine.

I cannot let the letter from prominent local citizen and former mayor Robin Taylor go unanswered. Like Mr Bayliss, Mr Taylor’s assertions are completely unsupported by the facts.
“Weak sentencing of criminals” and an emphasis on rehabilitation is leading to the most substantial drop in crime rates we have seen in Victoria in decades. If of course you look for your facts in certain tabloid publications you would be oblivious of this.
No credible scientist supports the view that a temperature “rise (of) 1 to 2 degrees..would hardly pose a threat to our survival”. In addition we have the evidence of our own eyes indicating that this is now an emergency threatening, not future generations, but us now.
The recent blackouts suffered in Victoria were caused by the unreliable and old coal technology that Mr Taylor spruiks so enthusiastically.
When it comes to “workers’ conditions in Australia”, despite more than 20 years of outstanding economic growth and watershed corporate profits, Australian workers have been subject to a wages recession for more than half that time. These are not our ‘work choices’ but those of an elite who become richer and richer at the expense of ordinary Australians.
Immigration, long the driver of Australia’s economic development continues to enrich our nation economically and culturally. No need to worry about a Centrelink cost blow-out there, as the numbers show they get jobs more quickly, set up profitable businesses and pay more tax proportionately to the rest of us.
If I may, one comment on Ian Braybrook’s relentless push for a republic ‘A day we can all celebrate’. In 1999 we dodged a bullet with a model that ceded power to the politicians. If we make this decision based purely on sentiment we jeopardise our very freedoms. Doubtless that is why similar pluralist societies like Canada and New Zealand have stuck with a system that denies politicians absolute power.

Funding boost for local groups

By
Donna Thomas
-
Castlemaine Men's Shed president Brian McCormick and treasurer Peter Batten in the shed's almost complete welding bay
Castlemaine Men's Shed president Brian McCormick and treasurer Peter Batten in the shed's almost complete welding bay.

The Castlemaine Men’s Shed and Castlemaine Historical Society were among 12 Central Victorian community groups to benefit from recently announced Stronger Communities grants.
Bendigo MP Lisa Chesters recently announced the successful applications. The Castlemaine Historical Society received $15,000 for an archival storage facility and the Castlemaine Men’s Shed received $2,725 for a unisex toilet and a welding bay. The Maldon RSL also received $10,504 to replace its kitchen. Read more in the Castlemaine Mail.

Harcourt fires bring home message

By
Donna Thomas
-
Firefighting crews at the scene of a grassfire off the Midland Highway at Harcourt on Monday. Photo: Kerri-Anne Schnoor.
Firefighting crews at the scene of a grassfire off the Midland Highway at Harcourt on Monday. Photo: Kerri-Anne Schnoor.

Two fires that broke out this week at Harcourt, less than 24 hours apart, serve as a timely reminder that we are still in a fire danger period and conditions are still very dry. Read more in the Castlemaine Mail.

Treasure hunters flock to the fair

By
Eve Lamb
-

Maldon football oval transforms into a throng of activity today ahead of this weekend’s antique and collectables fair. Catch our chat with fair organiser Mark Blythe in today’s Mail…

Big day for local soccer

By
Eve Lamb
-

This Saturday is a big one for local soccer as the Castlemaine Goldfields Football Club makes its on-field entry into the FFA Cup national competition.
The local side takes on Monash Soccer Club in the round 2 qualifier that’s set to receive a bit of attention from Fox Sport. Full story in today’s Castlemaine Mail.

Have wagon, can travel

By
Eve Lamb
-

While the notion of the tiny house has taken off, one Castlemaine resident has her own adventure-filled take on the trend.
Kathryn Reidie has recently fulfilled a dream she’s held for a decade – to get her own gypsy wagon style tiny abode on wheels. Full story in today’s Castlemaine Mail …

Botanical Gardens are a joy

By
Donna Thomas
-

Rosie McKenry, Castlemaine.

We walk around Castlemaine Botanical Gardens most days. The family of white ducks with their one multicoloured member chatter to us as we pass. We delight in watching them tend to their latest offspring. Magpies acknowledge our presence with song. Last summer we were treated to the presence of two white baby powerful owls high up in a pine tree, watched over by their brown parents.
Other birds come and go… galahs, corellas, plovers, even the odd ibis.
We are greeted by friendly people with excited dogs that insist on rubbing noses, people pushing babies in prams or toddlers on their small bikes, single runners who pass us repeatedly as they circle the perimeter – people of all ages. 
All this is made possible by Gill Miller, Head Gardener, and her talented staff. They are remarkable in the way they maintain the precious old trees. They know each tree’s history, characteristics, value to the community and specific needs. 
When we struggle to keep the roses in our own garden blooming, Gill and her team give us glorious blooms that border the path through the magnificent Indian Bean trees. The workers constantly add colourful beauty to the garden beds with both annuals and sometimes vegetables that are harvested for the community. 
Thank you Gill and staff. We have a place where we can connect with nature’s beauty, nourish our mental and physical sense of well-being and where we can smile at each other.

Struck a chord

By
Donna Thomas
-

Prue Denner, Castlemaine.

A letter to the Castlemaine Mail on January 25 struck a chord with me and I am sure it did so for many other residents.
Peggy Shaw, the writer of the letter, has her exhibition titled A Retrospective on display at the Castlemaine Art Museum. The exhibition is celebrating the 90th birthday of this outstanding Castlemaine based artist. 
Peggy, so positive, never complains about anything, so we must take her letter very seriously. She wrote about “The perils of a scooter driver”. Thank you, Peggy. It is high time that we, as a community, give more priority to the safety of scooter drivers, who are usually silent aged citizens and people coping with various handicaps.
Might we include elderly cyclists who, like me, ride slowly and tentatively, sitting upright, through Castlemaine. At present we need to be on footpaths because of the danger of riding anywhere else. But as Peggy said, footpaths have ‘sunken drain covers’ and ‘uneven paving’. Danger is everywhere. Sides of roads are bumpy and narrow. Bicycle tracks on the sides of some roads disappear into nothing, and are littered with stones and acorns.
It is an enormous challenge for us when the ground is uneven and edges of footpaths are broken. Speeding, erratic vehicles, leaning closely to us, around street corners on Midland Highway and Duke Street, result in daily death-defying trips to the shops.
I hope that the powers that be, whether they are our own community, Mount Alexander Shire Council or Vic Roads, will soon allow people to be freer to move about without being in cars, and without having to feel like second class citizens.
Let us encourage residents to be independent of cars.
Castlemaine must prioritise excellent, smooth bike tracks, footpaths, and tracks for scooters. Perhaps by going underground or overhead and if beside roads, then well away from car doors and speeding vehicles. A challenge, but essential.

New police car technology to be used in Castlemaine

By
Donna Thomas
-

Unauthorised drivers in the local area will find it much harder to flout the law when the first car equipped with Victoria Police’s new automatic number plate recognition system hits the road. Senior Sergeant Peter Carey of Castlemaine Police says this new car will be used in the Castlemaine area. Read more in the Castlemaine Mail.

1...343344345...357Page 344 of 357

Featured

© 2025 Elliott Midland Newspapers Pty Ltd.