The 22nd annual Mount Alexander Schools Chess Challenge will be held at Castlemaine Secondary College on September 15, but the tournament has already begun in a sense.
Not on the chessboards perhaps, but in the minds of the students preparing for it. Over the next eight weeks, Castlemaine Secondary College is trialling an innovative Chess Mentoring Program in three local primary schools.
The initiative is led by CSC teacher Mark Johansson, assisted by a team of enthusiastic secondary students who are discovering that teaching can be every bit as challenging as remembering where you left your queen.
Johansson, together with CSC student mentors Edward Harris and Michael Miles recently visited Campbells Creek Primary School to introduce students to the mysteries of the opening moves.
Former local teacher, chess mentor and advocate, Kevin Brown said it was an encouraging sight.
“Seeing experienced players guiding younger ones through a game where every move has consequences, rather like deciding whether to tell your parents you’ve finished your homework before they’ve asked.
“Mark shared a fascinating statistic with the students. Within the first eight moves of a chess game—four by White and four by Black—there are 318,979,564,000 possible move sequences, or nearly 319 billion ways to begin a game before anyone has even agreed on what ‘a simple opening’ means.”
It seems unlikely the mentoring program will cover all of them in eight weeks, though one suspects some education departments may still request a progress report. The remarkable complexity of chess explains why it has earned a respected place in many schools’ mathematics programs.
“Every game encourages students to think logically, recognise patterns, visualise spatial relationships and solve problems several moves ahead. In other words, it develops exactly the sort of thinking that proves useful in mathematics; and occasionally in deciding who gets the last sausage roll,” Brown said.
“Perhaps the greatest strength of the program is that it extends well beyond the chessboard. Primary students gain confidence from working alongside older mentors, while the CSC students develop leadership, communication and patience.
“Explaining why a knight moves in an L-shape to an eager Year 4 student is excellent preparation for almost any future career,” Brown said.
“By the time the Mount Alexander Schools Chess Challenge begins in September, not every student will become a chess champion. But they will all have practised thinking carefully, planning ahead and learning from their mistakes. And if they can master those skills while remembering there are still 318,979,563,999 opening variations left to explore, they’re already well ahead of the rest of us.”
Chess: Where 319 billion possibilities meet one very good idea
Celebrity Parkrun
We all know that everyone who attends Castlemaine Parkrun is treated like a celebrity, but when Lisa Millar of Back Roads and Muster Dogs fame, and self-confessed parkrun fanatic, took time out of her busy filming schedule to join local participants on Saturday morning, there was genuine excitement.
Lisa is a fierce advocate for parkrun and its benefits, and is a regular at the Albert Park course, with 162 finishes under her belt and 51 volunteers.
She loves to talk about the ways in which parkrun provides friendship, connection, routine and a sense of belonging, in addition to the obvious health benefits, her television roles enabling her to be a regular parkrun tourist.
It was an episode of Backroads being filmed at Maldon that brought her to Castlemaine Parkrun on a ‘feels like -2.9’ degree morning and without gloves (a situation that was quickly remedied by Karina). She even dragged along her ‘sound wizard’, Ben Travers, who was one of two first timers on the day, the other being Denise Shead; both received a warm welcome.
There were only 96 finishers, the wintry weather obviously keeping some away, but there were five PBs recorded, beginning with first through the chute, Finn Girbon a parkrunner newbie with only two finishes, in a sizzling time of 17:44.
Congratulations Finn, and also to Daniel Cheesman (18:38), Paul May (24:36), Bev Cox (32:31) and Isla Lorenz (34:38).
There were visiting runners from a swathe of Melbourne events, including Lisa, but also from further afield in Werribee, Melton, Bacchus Marsh, Gisborne, Torquay, Gippsland, Sydney, Adelaide, ACT and Cairns.
Lisa says that she quickly realised volunteering was the key to making friends and building community at parkrun, and as we know, the volunteers are integral to the running of each event. The team who worked to bring the first August 2026 parkrun together were Tyrone, Brendan, Pam, Robyn, Bron, Zane, Ronder, Rosamund, Terry, Margaret, Robin and Elissa.
If you would like to hear more about Lisa and her love of parkrun, tune into the UK produced Parkrunners Podcast for a deep dive. And if you would like to come along and experience it for yourself visit www.parkrun.com.au to register and collect your unique barcode. Then join participants at the bbq shelter in the Botanical Gardens just before 8am on any Saturday.
You will be most welcome, whether you choose to volunteer, walk, jog or run.
MIFF returns to Castlemaine
The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) returns to Castlemaine’s iconic Theatre Royal for its 74th edition with two weekends of screenings on August 14-16 and 21-23.
Proudly supported by VicScreen and Screen Australia, MIFF Regional is held across eight regional locations including Castlemaine, Star Cinema in Eaglehawk, Ballarat, Geelong, Healesville, Rosebud, Sale and Warrnambool and brings the spirit of the festival to film-lovers beyond the city in a celebration of storytelling, community and the shared experience of cinema.
Physical attendance at MIFF Regional grew by 25 per cent in 2025, and the 2026 showcase builds on that momentum with an expanded footprint, an ambitious program and a renewed commitment to meeting film-lovers wherever they are across Victoria.
MIFF Artistic Director Al Cossar, said Melbourne may be in the title, but MIFF is a festival that goes far beyond the city limits, presenting eclectic and exciting program highlights to cinema locations around our state via MIFF Regional.
“Through this program we continue to bring the best new Australian and international filmmaking, as well as a range of exciting guests, to centres throughout Victoria, meeting audiences where they are, and making MIFF a festival for all Victorians,” Cossar said.
“Additionally, even beyond our state, all of Australia gets to be a part of the Melbourne International Film Festival this year – make sure you also check out our MIFF Online, featuring at-home streaming offerings from major festivals and acclaimed filmmaking, amongst free short film programs, all accessible anywhere in the country. ”
The 2026 MIFF Regional program opens with Wicker, the Sundance-premiering, uniquely funny fable from Australian-born writer/director Eleanor Wilson and her filmmaking and real-life partner Alex Huston Fischer, which screens across all locations on August 14.
It tells the story of a cranky fisherwoman and the sexy handwoven husband she wishes for.
Beneath its whimsical surface, the film is a sharp critique of small-mindedness, superstition and overzealous conservatism – a tale that asks whether we truly know our heart’s desire. Screening as part of MIFF’s Bright Horizons Competition and starring Olivia Colman alongside a dazzling ensemble including Alexander Skarsgård, Peter Dinklage, Richard E. Grant and Melbourne’s own Elizabeth Debicki.
Wicker arrives in the regions fresh from its Australian premiere at the MIFF 2026 Opening Night Gala.
Others films to screen at Castlemaine will include: Broken English, Digby & Camille, Hen, Jebediah: Are We OK?, Mārama, Rose, Sovereign Shorts, Sweet Milk Lake, and Time and Water.
For audiences further afield – or those who simply can’t make it to a cinema – MIFF Online returns August 14-30, extending MIFF’s reach by one full week after the festival wraps. Available Australia-wide via ACMI’s dedicated streaming platform Cinema 3, MIFF Online offers a curated suite of festival films and free short films on demand.
For the full program visit miff.com.au and for local tickets visit https://theatreroyalcastlemaine.com.au/miff2026/
My Castlemaine with Brian Bannerman
Jade Jungwirth
Brian was born in Castlemaine in 1940 at the private hospital (now Mostyn Street Clinic). While Brian’s mum and dad moved to the area not long before he was born, his ancestors on both sides of the family were from the Bendigo area.
“Mum always used to say that her Welsh grandparents came to Adelaide on the ship and walked across to the Goldfields,” Brian said.
The eldest of three, Brian jokes that he fulfilled his parents’ dream of having a boy and hence was the only son.
“We lived up the top of Berkeley Street,” he said.
“It was very territorial in those days. People in the street became very good friends, and we stuck to that area. We used to have fun playing kick-to-kick footy.”
A charter member of the Castlemaine Lions Club, which formed in ’71, Brian remained a member for 38 years.
“That’s a sh**load of sausages!”
“They didn’t have a Lions Club in Castlemaine in those days, and Kyneton decided we needed one here, so they went to the paper, and the editor of the day, Paul Blanchard, and he was hot to trot,” he said.
After finishing at the North School, Brian went to the high school (which, at the time, was located at the site of the Maxi IGA), where his dad worked as an art teacher.
“There were only 90 boys in those days, but there were about 300 girls! Not bad odds, but it didn’t work cause we were segregated on other sides of the quadrangle and we weren’t allowed to intermingle out of class,” he said.
“I finished in Year 11. I got to almost the end of first term, when a neighbour of ours, Les Mackey, who was employed at the Mail as a compositor, came by one lunchtime. I’ll never forget it; he called in and said, ‘Áre you interested in an apprenticeship in printing?’ Dad said, ‘What do you think?” And I thought, ‘Damned if I know.’ I hadn’t really thought about it. I was always told if I didn’t pick my game up, I’d be up to the Foundry. Everybody worked at the Foundry; there were some very clever people there, don’t get me wrong, but anybody that wanted a job went to the Foundry.
“So Les said, ‘If you’re interested, go and see Charlie Almond,’ who was the manager at the time and have a chat and see what you think.”
Brian met with Charlie and started his five-year apprenticeship as a compositor and machinist at the Mail the following week.
“The first thing you were taught was to feed the paper manually through the machine, and I’d put type together, predominantly for the paper, but they did job printing as well, like invoices and putting docket books together,” he said.
“The paper came out three times a week in those days. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
“It used to be where the Oriental Bank is now at 155 Barker Street. My wage was £2, 15 and 6, which is the equivalent of $5.25 today,” he said.
“There were 14 people working when I was there. It was all hands-on stuff, all letterpress. You read it from left to right but upside down. You’ve got to be able to read it just as quickly as you can read a book.”
During his time at the paper, Brian met his wife Norma, who had gone to school with his younger sisters, at a function at the Methodist Church. The pair married on February 17, 1968, at the Baptist Church.
“We built our first house in Bowden Street and had two children, Ashley and Justine,” Brian said.
After that, he worked on the Intertype. Brian finished up at the paper after 18 years, working with a builder mate for a year, before deciding to start his own printing business.
“We burrowed out under the house and bought a machine and started Golden Banner Printing Service,” he said.
“We had that business for 30 years, not all of it under the house; we built a factory in Bruce Street.”
In 2004, Bruce sold the business to Steve at Bart ‘n’ Print and retired, spending his days travelling in Australia with his wife Norma.
“We went to Queensland, New South Wales and in 2012, we bought another caravan, so we did the mandatory up the middle to Darwin and ‘Kaka’don’t’ and down the west coast,” he said.
And the all-important questions.
What hobbies do you have? I loved water skiing, so I built my first boat called ‘High Time’. This was before I met Norma; I was 19, I think. It was a beautiful thing, a skiff. I sold that for $400 and bought a fibreglass hull and made a deck for it with a mate. I’ve taught myself to do wood turning, and I started metalwork a few years ago after I saw something on YouTube.
What are your philosophies in life? Treat other people the way you expect them to treat you.
Who are your dream dinner guests? John Wagner, a billionaire in Queensland who owns the Toowoomba Airport. He is researching technology to make fuel from household garbage, and I saw something on YouTube about the surgeon Charlie Teo; it was fascinating what he was talking about.
Finally, what do you love most about the place you call home? For a starter, I don’t know any different, but things have changed a lot, so much so that it’s refreshing to go to the supermarket and meet someone that you actually know!
Mixed results for Goldfields
Castlemaine Goldfields Football Club’s Youth squad played host to Shepparton United at Chewton Soldiers Memorial Park last Sunday.
It was a tight tussle from start to finish which resulted in a 1-1 draw.
Both sides work hard to make inroads into attack in the first half. Castlemaine was eventually rewarded with a goal to Joaquin Demaria O’Sullivan just shy of halftime.
The arm wrestle continued in the second half, but Shep found an equaliser via Asim Khan in the 79th minute.
Neither side could break the deadlock ending in a draw.
Despite the result the side sits in third spot. This weekend the travel to Strathfieldsaye to take on Colts United.
The Goldfields Div 1 Senior Women beat top team Spring Gully 1-0 at home, with a calculated header from Kasey Sparks at 28 minutes, from a millimetrically perfect corner kick by Sophie Milton.
They sit in second spot on the ladder and will enjoy a spell this weekend.
The Div 2 Senior Women were on the opposite end of a 1-0 result against Golden City at Shadforth Park. The side currently sits in third spot and will aim to bounce back this Sunday against Epsom at Chewton. Kick off is at 1pm.
The Div 2 Senior Men’s Gold side lost a tough clash against Border Raiders a Chewton 3-0. Green forfeited to Deniliquin and hope to regroup against the Border Raiders at Moama this Sunday.
The sides are currently sitting in fifth and sixth spots on the ladder.
Rodeo dream realised
Tagging incidents on the rise
Forces of nature
Crafted with care
Jade Jungwirth
After the catastrophic fire that tore through Harcourt and its surrounds, a group of local crafters came together to make hand-knitted and crochet blankets for people living in the neighbouring community.
Wanting to do something to help, Muckleford resident Pam Joseph put a call out on Facebook for anyone wanting to help make a blanket.
“People had lost homes and farms and animals, but also a lot of people in the community had experienced a whole lot of loss of safety and security. It had an impact on everybody,” Pam said.
“So I decided to make a blanket and asked if anyone wanted to help make squares.
“I was thinking it would be lovely if four or five of us got together and made a blanket. Within 24 hours, I had 70 people who contacted me, and I ended up having to have a spreadsheet!”
While many of the people involved did not meet one another, instead delivering squares to friends or at the drop-off point at Grist, there were a few craft gatherings at the Muckleford Hall, where people talked through their experiences and supported one another.
“In that aftermath: people are full of lots and lots of big feelings and don’t necessarily have a way to process that,” Pam said.
“People who hadn’t visibly lost anything, but still had a load of stuff to think through and feel.”
People contributed in a variety of ways, with some knitting or crocheting squares, others putting them together, and some only able to provide yarn.
To ensure the wool was moth-free, Pam put the squares into Ziploc bags and froze them for two weeks, meaning freezer space was at a premium; so an offer from Anne at Malets to use the freezer was welcomed.
One of the members involved, Elizabeth, said she wanted to do something to help.
“I didn’t have cash to splash to go and help someone, and then I heard about the knitting,” she said.
Another member, Flo, said she saw the post on Facebook and thought it was a wonderful idea.
“I can’t build towns or go out and clear the debris or anything, but I can knit squares,” she said.
“I’ve never joined a group where people come and knit, and I really enjoyed the company of everyone here. Now I’ve joined another knitting group with a lot of the Harcourt women where everyone sits and chats and talks and eats. It’s just nice to talk to them.”
So far, the group has given 14 blankets of different sizes to the Harcourt Valley Community Centre for distribution. There are still another eight being created, and once they’re finished, the group will wind up.
“We wanted it to be about community helping people in the community. That sense of neighbours and that we’re all here for each other, but also about the dignity of the people receiving them, who are already traumatised,” Pam said.
“We wanted people to have a choice about what blankets they took, if any, and be empowered.”
Community partnerships
In the wake of the Harcourt bushfire, we continue to be reminded of the power of community and local businesses when they volunteer together.
Rotary Castlemaine recently recognised a valuable partnership with local business, Giant Castlemaine and the wider community, that has brought mobility, joy, and relief to impacted families.
Following the January 9 bushfire, Rotarian Marina Scott issued a public call-out requesting good-quality, pre-loved bicycles for families in need.
The community responded with overwhelming generosity, donating 35 bikes, some from as far away as Echuca.
Recognising that every bike needed to be safe and roadworthy before reaching its new owner, Darryl and the team at Giant Castlemaine stepped up to service and tune all 35 donated bicycles entirely free of charge.
“We are so grateful to Darryl and his team along with the community members who donated the bicycles,” said Marina Scott.
“Thanks to their generosity and support, the fully serviced bicycles have now been distributed to local families, providing practical transport, recreation and a much-needed morale boost following the bushfire.”
Travel through time with CSC
The curtain officially opens on Castlemaine Secondary College’s highly anticipated 2026 school production ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ tonight.
Local primary school students were treated to a sneak peek earlier today before the official launch.
The latest production follows on from the school’s sell-out 2025 performances of Mamma Mia.
The production is taking place at the Phee Broadway Theatre in Castlemaine with three more shows scheduled this weekend, and promises a thrilling journey for community members of all ages.
The production is being directed teachers Jo Tsakoumagos and Kat Vearing, and Year 11 student Neon Robertson.
The massive cast features students from Year 7 through to Year 12 supported by a student led backstage and production crew.
CSC teacher and producer of the 2026 show Jacqui Teague said students are involved in every aspect of the show from performance, choreography and dance to costumes, set construction and design, props, lighting and sound.
“A Wrinkle in Time is a faithful, ensemble-driven adaptation by Morgan Gould, of the beloved 1962 science-fantasy novel by Madeleine L’Engle, that masterfully retells the story in a fresh and enduring way,” Jacqui said.
The plot follows one of literature’s most enduring young heroines, Meg Murry, who is on a mission to save her father. Meg joins forces with Mrs Whatsit, Charles Wallace, Calvin O’Keefe and more to battle the forces of evil so she can rescue her father, save humanity and find herself.
In the end, we know two things for sure: 1. Love CAN overcome evil and 2. There IS such a thing as a tesseract!
Performances will take place tonight August 7 at 7pm, and Saturday August 8 at 12.30pm and 7pm.
Secure your ticket before they sell out at https://www.trybooking.com/DMTSQ