The rich stories and genuine characters of the region’s goldfields past are being brought to life afresh in a unique new series of audio tours.
The Storyteller’s Guide to the Goldfields tours lead locals and visitors alike to significant goldfields and Dja Dja Wurrung sites in and around Castlemaine and Bendigo while sharing the stories of their vibrant and tumultuous pasts.
Launching on Monday, The Storyteller’s Guide to the Goldfields series can be downloaded for free on an iPhone.
Written, produced and presented by multi award-winning storyteller and musician, Castlemaine’s Jan Wositzky, the series is a treasure trove of local and national history.
It’s also chockfull of rollicking yarns, featuring some of the rogues and goddesses who once inhabited the area’s goldfields, the lucky and unlucky, the murderous, the colonial government and their brutal military police and the diggers who stood up to them and kick-started Australian democracy.
“I’m really happy about it seeing the light of day,” says Jan who spent countless hours working on the series that coincidentally comes as the Goldfields of Central Victoria – including Castlemaine – is pitched for World Heritage listing.
“It was a really big project,” Jan says.
A special feature in the tour series are several stories from the late Dja Dja Wurrung elder, Brien Nelson, taking tourers to the Jaara water wells, with Dreaming stories also from Brien’s son, Castlemaine’s Uncle Ricky Nelson. Read more in today’s Mail…
Storytelling gold
Road to be sealed before bridge works
In a move likely to please more than 80 petitioners, Campbells
Creek’s Eleanor Drive will be sealed prior to slated bridge construction works
on the Campbells Creek-Fryers Road.
This follows a decision at this week’s Mount Alexander Shire Council meeting.
The council had, in September, received a petition with 82 signatures calling
for the unsealed section of Eleanor Drive to be sealed before the start of
replacement works on two bridges with works due to start this year.
Tuesday evening’s ordinary council meeting was the first for the new council
following last month’s state-wide local government elections and the matter was
on the agenda for decision.
But not all locals are in favour of the bridges’ replacement with former
councillor Robin Taylor raising his opposition during public question time via
a submitted question.
“I request that council review the planned replacement of the two bridges
in Fryers Road Campbells Creek,” Mr Taylor said in his submitted question.
“Council insists on calling them bridges when they are really culverts.
Both are three metres wide with stone walls and abutment built about 1870.
“Due to the width of the bridge it’s impossible to get more than a legal axle
set up on the bridge at one time.
“The council-commissioned report from 2014 stated these bridges did not
need replacing. It’s not rocket science. Apply some common sense,” Mr
Taylor said.
But, responding, the council’s director of infrastructure and development Jess
Howard said a more recent review had noted that the two bridges were
“among the highest risk bridges in the municipality and needed to be
replaced”.
“A contract has been issued and that contract will now see more detailed
design work be done ahead of the construction of the project,” Ms Howard
told Tuesday evening’s meeting.
“They will be box culverts that will be used to replace the current
structures that are there.
“The heritage blocks that are there will be salvaged and they’ll be stored
and made available for future use ideally in the Campbells Creek area noting
the heritage value and significance.
“Another element of this that has been raised is about pedestrian safety
in the area and part of this project will include looking at the design of
pedestrian bridges alongside those culvert structures.”
The project is expected to be completed by May 2021 and Ms Howard said the 20
tonne load limit that currently applies to both structures will be removed once
the new bridges are in place.
Croquet players return
On Saturday November 21 Castlemaine Croquet Club returned to the green. The allowed number of players (10) gathered to compete in the Doug McConville Doubles Tournament.
This trophy, which was presented by the family of the late Doug McConville a former president and hard worker for the club, is usually contested in August but had to be postponed. The committee decided this special event would be a great incentive to restart the club activities again after covid.
Play started at 9.30am and a full day of closely fought matches ensued. The eventual winners being Barb Thorne and Peter Ward, with a narrow margin of two hoops from Nigel Harland and Ian Foote.
Ian is a very new club member and was rather reluctant to enter the competition, but soon showed he was able to hold his own.
Castlemaine Croquet Club welcomes anyone who is interested in wanting to play croquet. Equipment and coaching is available for learners. For more information phone Barb on 5470 5208.
Petition success
Donna Thomas, Campbells Creek
I am delighted that the petition I created, and which was subsequently supported by 81 fellow petitioners, requesting that Mount Alexander Shire Council seal the unsealed section of Eleanor Drive in Campbells Creek has been successful.
I urged the local community and the council to act on this issue when I was alerted to a project to replace two bridges on Fryers Road Campbells Creek, which would see Eleanor drive used as a detour route.
The council’s capital works section on its website stated that traffic count data showed in excess of 800 vehicles per day use the bridges, and those vehicles would be diverted during construction of these new bridges, using the existing detour for heavy vehicles through a residential
area via Eleanor Drive, which is part unsealed.
I started the petition as I felt it would be unsafe to have this huge amount of traffic and potentially heavy vehicles use the road in its current condition.
Moving the motion Cr Bill Maltby said the project was timely as the road should have been sealed 20 years ago when the development took place.
I’m really pleased with this result and I am sure my fellow petitioners and local residents are too. I thank the councillors and council staff for making this happen.
Ready for relaunch!
The Newstead Arts Hub is re-emerging from lockdown with a new look and a relaunch celebration event this Sunday November 29.
The Hub, which has been closed during lockdown but still supporting the work of talented local artists online, is a community creative space in a converted railway station, which hosts exhibitions, events and workshops.
The Hub has just launched their new branding and website, designed by Newstead-based graphic designer Vincent Casey, who also designed the branding for The Bridge Hotel, Newstead Live and This Little Piggy.
To celebrate their relaunch, the Hub will be having an outdoor community event this Sunday November 29 from 2pm-5pm. See the Mail for more…
Terrific trucks
In a tribute to the trucking industry Castlemaine Rotary Club is conducting a ‘reverse’ convoy from Campbells Creek this Sunday November 29.
From 9am the convoy will start at Campbells Creek and wind its way to Barker Street Castlemaine.
A special guest will be passionate Richmond Football Club supporter Andrew Burdett whose Tiger themed truck (pictured) featured on national media the eve of the AFL Grand Final with its decal replicating Dustin Martin’s tattoos.
A series of online speakers is also being planned and can be found at http://castlemainetruckshow.com
As this is normally the Rotary Club’s major fundraising event for the year, an online donation platform has also been set up – https://www.trybooking.com/au/donate/castlemainerotary – so that the community can still contribute to the projects that Rotary supports each year.
Full steam ahead
With restrictions continuing to ease the Victorian Goldfields Railway’s historic steam locomotives will return to the track from this Sunday November 29. Bookings are essential due to covid restrictions.
It will be a bumper weekend with the Castlemaine Rotary Truck Show truck convoy and online events also taking place on Sunday and the Newstead Arts Hub reopening Sunday. See the Mail for full details.
Scraping back: the underexposed talent of JST
Newstead’s Old Railway Station Arts Hub is preparing to host a retrospective exhibition featuring works by the talented botanist and artist John S. Turner.
The arguably under-appreciated works of the late JST – as he signed off – will be on public exhibition every weekend in December from 10am to 4pm.
Castlemaine’s Sue and Peter Turner grew up knowing their father liked to relax by creating art.
But John Stewart Turner never called himself an artist – and only really exhibited once in his life.
Instead he was professor of the School Botany at the University of Melbourne and there he led the life of a successful academic until retiring at 65, later moving to Castlemaine with his wife, Kaye.
Throughout his life, the fact that JST had a significant creative talent was really only shared with others by virtue of the personal cards he bestowed at Christmas time, and the menu card artwork that graced annual dinners of his beloved walking group – Melbourne’s Wallaby Club.
“My brother and I grew up with this man who was a total academic but for relaxation he would do these amazing black and white images,” said Sue.
The significant ability JST had for depicting light, shade and reflection with rhythmic elegance was used to celebrate places he had been and loved, from Yandoit and Port Fairy to Paris. Read more in today’s Mail…
Naidoc Week kicks off
Castlemaine Goldfields Football Club members donned red, black and yellow for their training session last Thursday evening celebration of NAIDOC Week (November 8-15). See the Mail for more…
New study looks at impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workforce
Castlemaine Health will be part of a unique research project exploring the impacts of COVID-19 on the health and wellbeing of the rural and regional healthcare workforce.
The three-year study, which hopes to recruit 4000 healthcare workers from health services throughout the Loddon Mallee region, aims to develop practical interventions that can improve workers responses to disasters in the future.
Bendigo Health and La Trobe University will lead the study on behalf of the health services in the Loddon Mallee Health Network, St John of God Hospital Bendigo, the five Loddon Mallee Community Health Centres, the Murray Primary Health Network and the University of Copenhagen.
This consortium will jointly conduct the $1m million research project which is funded through state government’s Victorian COVID-19 research fund.
Castlemaine Health Chief Executive Officer Ian Fisher said the project was an important means of understanding how the pandemic has impacted health care workers embedded in close-knit communities.
“Health services in regional and rural communities are generally the largest employer, meaning the impact of COVID-19 on health care workers has a more direct impact on the community at large,” he said.
“The study presents a unique opportunity to examine rural and regional populations, which have historically been underrepresented in this type of research.”
Epidemiologist Associate Professor, Mark McEvoy from La Trobe Rural Health School is the Principal Investigator.
Professor McEvoy said many overseas studies had assessed the impact of COVID-19 on health care workers’ mental health, but little research had been done to understand the “resilience factors” of workers and communities.
“We don’t know the protective and resilience factors. We don’t know why some do really well in a pandemic and some don’t,” he said.
“The study aims to establish this and develop resilience-based interventions for health care workers so they can improve their response to disasters in the future.”
Professor McEvoy said the study will begin recruiting health care workers in November.
Teddies turn 30!
A small group of members of the Friends of Red Cross Castlemaine gathered at Run Rabbit Run recently to celebrate the iconic Red Cross ‘Trauma Teddies’ – the bears who care – which are turning 30 on November 23!
Friends of Red Cross Castlemaine spokesperson Sue Tribe said Trauma Teddies are a special non-funded program that relies on the generosity of volunteers.
The local gathering aimed to celebrate the efforts of two of the group’s dedicated local knitters Lorna Anstey and Beryl Mein and Trauma Teddies coordinator Margaret Boyle.
Golden gift
During months of lockdown and isolation the Goldfields Quilters have kept busy toiling away on their beautiful patchwork quilt creations.
Last week the quilters were delighted to finally be able to gift their colourful handmade quilts to two deserving local organisations, including Castlemaine Health’s Ellery House. See the Mail for the full story.