Featured
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Community leads bushfire relief concert in Macedon Ranges
A community-led bushfire relief concert with an impressive line-up is expected to attract up to 400 people in Kyneton on Saturday, February 1. Lancefield siblings Angel and Jesse Ashman are partnering with Macedon Ranges Shire Council to deliver the event with proceeds of all ticket sales to go directly to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal. Angel,…
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Walking the walk…Nordic pole style in Castlemaine
Castlemaine’s Johanna Winchcomb admits she loves few things better than a bracing Nordic pole walk. “Nordic pole walking is actually fitness walking,” says Johanna, one of an increasing number of locals taking up this international outdoorsy activity originally developed in Finland to keep skiers fit in the off season. “You exercise 45 percent more of…
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Devastation and hope
Dedicated local wildlife carers Scott and Nikki Medwell of the Red Box Wildlife Shelter at Elphinstone have been doing what they can to support stricken fellow wildlife carers in Victoria and beyond. Scott made the trek north earlier this month to offer assistance to fellow carers and friends Sara Tilling and Gary Henderson of the…
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Railway maneuvres
Victorian Goldfields Railway volunteers have begun dismantling the old Castlemaine-Guildford railway track before re-using the rails to upgrade the Castlemaine-Maldon tourist railway. The project that started last week opens up interesting questions as to the future of the Castlemaine-Guildford corridor and, more pointedly, the currently disused Castlemaine-Maryborough passenger line that it’s part of. Starting at…
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Reclaiming the Campaspe River
Campaspe River landowners are taking the health of the river into their own hands by commissioning independent scientific monitoring of the waterway. The residents fear waste from the Kyneton Water Reclamation Plant will continue to pollute the river, as Coliban Water faces 11 criminal charges relating to the illegal discharge of thousands of litres of…
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Fierce forest fire
A thick layer of smoke has blanketed parts of the Macedon Ranges after lightning sparked a fierce blaze in the Cobaw Forest near Pipers Creek about 4pm Sunday. About 40 CFA, Forest Fire Management and Parks Victoria crews attacked the firefront that threatened farming properties. Emergency warning alerts were issued as winds spread embers over…
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Castlemaine ceramicists inspired by the natural world
A trio of local ceramicists are sharing their beautiful handmade works with the public as part of a new gallery and working studio space at The Mill Castlemaine ‘Studio Su’. Artists and friends Ann Ferguson, Kaori Fujimoto and Anna Read explain that ‘Su’ is a Japanese word meaning nest and ‘being one’s true, authentic self’.…
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Don’t be under insured
The keynote speaker at a Fire Ready Victoria session in Lancefield on Saturday evening emphasised the importance of property owners being “paid up” and having the appropriate amount of insurance cover needed to rebuild their homes if they were destroyed by fire. Chewton Fire Brigade’s community safety officer Rob Reid Smith pointed out that flowing…
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Know your bushfire survival plan
In the event of major bushfire or emergency in which you must evacuate your home, it is important that you have a plan in place for where you will go. When you decide to leave is the most important decision you will make. Driving in a bushfire is extremely dangerous and can be fatal. A…
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Castlemaine event to connect a community …
The unprecedented fires impacting Victoria and other states, and the underlying issue of climate change, is upsetting not just for those directly involved – but for the wider community. It’s a strong awareness of this that’s prompted local muso and editor and publisher of national health and wellbeing magazine The Art of Healing, Cate Mercer,…
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Pick your own looks peachy at Harcourt
The time is ripe for some prime picking at Harcourt’s Tellurian Fruit Farm where the annual Pick Your Own Fruit Fridays are proving popular among those enjoying school holidays. “We’ve found school holidays are the busiest time of year,” Tellurian owner Ant Wilson says. While it’s been a great season for cherries at the local…
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Residents call for safety improvements after crash at Kyneton intersection
Residents on Edgecombe Road at Kyneton are calling for safety improvements to a notorious intersection following a frightening collision between a truck and a car last Friday morning. A 40-year-old Kyneton woman was attempting to turn right into Melville Drive about 9.15am when a truck travelling behind her collided with her vehicle, causing it to…