Last year’s mass fish kill in the Darling River system moved plenty of people to tears, but few were as moved to action as Maldon father and son duo Peter Yates and Rory McLeod.
The two were so affected by the environmental tragedy impacting the nation’s iconic Murray-Darling river system they decided to do something about it.
Equipped with a trusty video camera, a successful crowdfunding campaign and a fierce determination, the two set off travelling 15,000 kilometres over multiple trips to make a documentary aimed at understanding and helping find solutions for the problem.
Teaming up with a professional producer and editor for the final stages, Peter and Rory never expected the end result would so quickly reap the results it has.
Already their debut doco entitled When The River Runs Dry has picked up three American Golden Picture Awards recently announced in Florida.
“It got Best Long Documentary, Best Cinematography and Best Sound,” Rory notes.
Last Saturday the local father and son duo attended a featured Q&A session as their debut doco made its premiere at Melbourne’s Nova cinema as part of the Transitions Film Festival.
Closer to home the documentary will screen for the first time at Castlemaine’s Theatre Royal at 7.30pm on March 4 with Peter and Rory attending for an audience Q&A. Read more in today’s Castlemaine Mail. Friday, February 28, 2020.
When the river runs dry
Locals oppose bridge contract
Castlemaine locals are opposing a council decision to award a contract for replacement of the town’s historic single-lane Froomes Road bridge with a new double lane bridge.
Local councillors at last week’s Mount Alexander Shire Council unanimously decided in favour of awarding the $1,018,300.10 contract to VEC Pty Ltd.
Citing both safety and drive-ability, Cr Dave Petrusma moved the motion in favour of awarding the contract to be part-funded ($480,000) using federal Bridge Replacement funding with the balance from the council’s capital works budget.
The council’s decision to demolish and replace the existing bridge follows an assessment which found it was at the end of its life with several serious structural issues identified.
It was also deemed unacceptable that the current 30 tonne load restriction remain in place for several reasons including that the bridge is on an access route between a significant local industry and the Calder Highway.
“It’s one of my nightmares that residents will be trying to get out as fire trucks are trying to get in so to have it two-lane is very important,” Cr Bronwyn Machin said, voting in favour of the move.
But locals like Ian Edwards who lives close to the bridge believe the move will decrease safety and damage tourism, heritage and aesthetic values in the leafy precinct that adjoins the town’s Victorian Heritage listed botanical gardens.
A sizable group of locals who share these concerns came together on site earlier this week to make their opposition to the council’s decision publicly known.
“This is exactly the type of spot that tourists come to and it’s going to disappear if they stick a great concrete monstrosity of a double-lane bridge through there,” Mr Edwards said.
“This road is not a particularly good or safe road. This single-lane bridge has operated as a little safety valve and stopped accidents. More in today’s Castlemaine Mail Friday, February 28, 2020.
On Target
The Castlemaine Clay Target Club welcomed community members as part of a Come and Try event at the club last Sunday February 23.
Rise, unite, resist gender inequality
Mount Alexander Family Violence Prevention Network (MAFVPN) and Macedon Ranges Family Violence Network (MRFVN) are organising a collective 1 Billion Rising Dance flash mob, with the support of Movement Zone dance school, to perform at the International Women’s Day Breakfast at the Women’s Health Loddon Mallee offices in Bendigo on Thursday March 5 at 9.15am. See the Mail for the full story.
Supporting our community
The Castlemaine Lions Club has donated a
defibrillator for the people of Castlemaine and district.
The St John’s Ambulance Defibrillator has been
installed near the registers at the entrance to Castlemaine’s Maxi IGA
supermarket in Mostyn Street. See the Mail for the full story.
From strength to strength
The Taradale Primary School will receive brand new computers thanks to funding support from the federal government.
Federal Member for Bendigo, Lisa Chesters visited Taradale Primary School on Monday to announce their success in receiving $14,872 in federal funding. See the Mail for the full story.
On your marks …
A top day of racing is shaping as Castlemaine hosts its annual Gift athletics meet this Sunday.
Castlemaine Athletic Club president Darryl Nettleton says a top day of athletics action is assured for competitors and spectators alike as this Sunday’s Castlemaine Gift has attracted many of the state’s top runners.
“It’s a stepping stone toward the Stawell Gift,” says Mr Nettleton, ahead of the Gift.
“This year we’ve got over 300 athletes entered and they’ll be in more than one race.
“Our main events are the Men’s Gift over the traditional distance of 120 metres and our main women’s race is our 400 metre Women’s Classic which all up is worth $4000.
“It’s one of Victoria’s richest 70 metre races and we’ve got a good mixture of guys and girls that have put their hand up to run in that so it will be run pretty fast I’m guessing.
“The aim of the whole exercise is to present a quality event on an excellent track with a great atmosphere.
“This town has an enormous history in professional running as a lot of the mining towns did.
“We’ve had Gift races here on this ground – the Camp Reserve – going back to the early 1920s – 1921 I think was the first.
Making a splash
Castlemaine Swimming Club held its annual meet at the Castlemaine Swimming Pool on Sunday February 9. See last Friday’s Mail for the full story.
Marvellous market celebrated
Nearly 160 years ago council surveyor, talented
architect and engineer William Downe sat at his desk and designed the
Castlemaine Market Building, a structure now considered to be of national
significance.
William’s desk is part of a historical display
at the Market Building and his great granddaughters Marion Downe and Margaret
Benady, visited the historic building last week to celebrate his impressive
contribution to the Castlemaine streetscape. Catch last Friday’s Mail for
the full story.
Friends rally behind CHIRP
Locals turned out in force to show support for embattled Castlemaine Community Health Service (CHIRP) at an emergency meeting last Monday night. See last Friday’s mail for the full story.
Looking fine for the fair …
Maldon’s Mark Blythe is a man on a mission.
Together with Maldon Events, that mission is to oversee the smooth running of this weekend’s 12th annual Maldon Antique & Collectables Fair.
Held at the town’s Bill Woodfull Reserve over this Saturday and Sunday, the fair is “chock-a-block” in the words of Mark who came up with the idea for the fair after selling antiques locally for about a decade.
“We’ve got 130 stalls and that’s all I can fit,” he enthuses as he shares an anecdote about how the event, that fits so snugly with Maldon’s heritage ambiance, came into being.
“This year there’s a big influx of new blood – what I refer to as the next generation of antique stallholders,” Mark says. Read more in today’s Castlemaine Mail. Friday, February 14, 2020.
Land of milk and honey goes solar
Two months after installing a solar operating system for their commercial dairy farm, Yandoit’s Robert and Belinda Morrison are giving their new 18.5 kilowatt system a big thumbs up.
The Morrison’s system features a Tesla power storage battery and two inverters and has already enabled their local dairy operation to go almost entirely off grid.
“We installed the 59 solar panels in mid-December and in mid-January we got the OK to get paid for the power we’re exporting into the grid so we’re really looking forward to seeing what our February bill will be,” Robert says.
“So far with the sunny weather we’re getting really good generation out of the system – as high as 95 per cent”.
At times power generated by the solar panels directly powers the dairy plant, while surplus power generated may be stored in the Tesla battery for use when needed, or fed back into the grid.
“So nothing is going to waste,” says Robert, noting that they’re able to draw base load power from the grid should the need ever arise.
The Morrisons run a 110-head Friesian dairy herd on the 300 acre property that the family has farmed for generations. It’s recognised as the last remaining commercial dairy herd in Yandoit.
Besides operating the 12-aside herringbone milking plant twice daily, their newly installed Cola Solar system from Bendigo heats the two large hot water services that are key aspects of the dairy’s operation.
“The whole plant will run on solar,” Robert says.
But there’s another reason this local farmer calls their Yandoit farm “the land of milk and honey”.
There’s also bees – 40 hives full of them to be precise.
And responding to popular local demand, the Morrisons have just bought a brand new commercial stainless steel honey extractor that will also be powered by their dairy rooftop solar system. Read more in today’s Castlemaine Mail Friday, February 14, 2020.