Community News
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Join the knitting nannas!
Local women keen to do their bit for our planet are invited to join a newly formed not-for-profit climate group – the ‘Mount Alexander Knitting Nannas’. The group will be holding its first official gathering at Castlemaine Community House tonight (Wednesday February 19). Convener Kirsty McIntyre said Knitting Nannas was an organisation better known in…
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Safe Space calls for volunteers
Woodend’s new Community-led Safe Space is set to mark three months of supporting the community. An initiative created and managed by the Macedon Ranges Suicide Prevention Action Group, since opening in November last year the Safe Space has acted as a welcoming, non-clinical drop-in centre for individuals experiencing emotional distress or a suicidal crisis. A…
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Festival welcomes new team
The Kyneton Daffodil and Arts Festival is gearing up for another spectacular year, with a new executive committee stepping in to lead the beloved community event. Stepping into the role of president is Sharryn Smith, bringing her passion for community engagement and event coordination. Joining her is Mark James as vice-president, well-known as a former…
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Take your next step at the careers fair
Discover career pathways, develop new skills and connect with industry professionals at the first-ever Castlemaine Careers Fair – an interactive event designed to help you take the next step. The Castlemaine Careers Fair on Wednesday February 19 will be held across four key venues surrounding the Castlemaine Town Hall. The fair is being hosted by…
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Forgotten tales of the mountains
A new book by Barry Golding (with Clive Willman) tells the unique stories and legacies of six iconic peaks in central Victoria – Mounts Kooroocheang, Beckworth, Greenock, Tarrengower, Alexander and Franklin. Created in 2023 as part of Golding’s State Library Victoria Creative Fellowship, Six Peaks Speak: Unsettling Legacies in Southern Dja Dja Wurrung Country accesses…
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Talking crime prevention
Victoria Police will host a Neighbourhood Policing Forum at Gisborne on February 20. Local services and community members are encouraged to attend to discuss issues important in their community. The forum will explore several topics including: current crime trends and crime prevention, family violence, young people, road policing, and drugs and drug-related crime. Acting Sergeant…
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Be a better composter in 2025
Welcome back to the Compost Conversation for 2025, and a happy new year to all our readers. Here at YIMBY we are still bursting with ideas for compost articles, so will keep the conversation going into 2025. Do let us know if there is a compost-related article you’d like to read, or burning compost questions…
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Gisborne locals drive a shitbox
Two Gisborne families have joined a car rally across Australia in vehicles worth less than $1500 in memory of a loved one and to raise funds for the fight against cancer. Bevan Goodwin died aged 54 in 2011 from cancer and left behind two young boys and wife Vicki, who said ”he was the most…
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Local talent to hone craft at VCASS
Two students from the Castlemaine region and one from Woodend have been selected to attend the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School in 2025. Muckleford’s Thea Sydes, Castlemaine’s Stella Carlon-Tozer and Woodend’s Claudia Campbell are thrilled to have won three of the 20 places to study a Theatre Arts specialism alongside their VCE subjects…
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A community united in Castlemaine
Australia Day is a contentious day, and instead of bringing the nation together, it divides sections of the community in their beliefs about how the day should be celebrated, if it should be celebrated at all, or when it should be held. And yet somehow, the Mount Alexander Shire community has found a way to…
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Trophy returns ‘home’
As a follow-up to the recent Lancefield Gift held for the first time in about 60 years, a silver trophy presented to the 1964 winner has now been donated so it adds to local history. The winner, Gerald Walsh, and his wife Gael, were thrilled to attend the 2024 Lancefield Gift on November 16, and…
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Poodle groomer makes a difference
The Poodle Groomer, aka Arrowelle Black, hosted a local Poodle Community Dinner at the Five Flags Hotel at Campbells Creek on January 11. Arrow said the Five Flags beer garden was bursting at the seams with proud poodle owners and their magnificent pooches for the local networking event. The Yapeen-based groomer said it was a…