Featured
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La Mama debut for Taradale
Taradale slapped on some sunscreen, cracked open an esky and eased back into a deckchair as Melbourne’s famed La Mama Theatre transported the town to the beach over the weekend. The much-loved Melbourne live performance institution staged Ladies of the Bay at Taradale’s Ash Tree Studio as part of Castlemaine Fringe Festival. The show had…
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House thrown a lifeline
Macedon locals are overjoyed with the shire council’s decision to scrap the intended sale of 47 Victoria Street. The much-loved house was the former maternal and child health centre, survived Ash Wednesday and has now been thrown another lifeline as dedicated locals move to make it a community hub. Council officers recommended the sale of…
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Hitting the open road
All of us have owned a ‘shitbox’ at one stage of our lives and have probably been grateful if it simply got us from A to B. There is a brave band of adventurers, however, who like to push the limits of their ‘shitboxes’ in the bi-annual Shitbox Rally across the wide open expanses of…
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Old hospital plans abandoned
Plans to develop the Old Kyneton Hospital site into residential housing have been abandoned, with the site now up for sale by expressions of interest. The heritage-protected property at 67 Simpson Street is for sale with Buxton Ballarat. “Real estate opportunities do not present to the market that often for a landmark property such as…
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USA coming up roses
We’re all familiar with the slow-food movement. Well, sustainability, provenance, ethics and the war on waste apply to the cut-flower industry too; just ask husband and wife team Danielle White and Ashley Wren of Crofters Fold Estate; a bee-friendly, artisanal flower farm located in the Macedon Ranges. The couple, whose shared love of gardening and…
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Encouraging a love of reading
A new community project will see books available across the Mount Alexander Shire for children to read. The Book Boxes project has been developed by Loddon Murray Community Leadership Program graduate Carli Springate. The idea is that the book boxes will be hosted at various locations in the shire and children can read, swap, donate…
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Neglected and ignored – Residents plead for council to close road
When new housing estates dramatically increase traffic and dust on an unsealed local road should the residents of that road have to pay for the fix? South Road Woodend residents say ‘no’. They are petitioning the shire council to close their road at the Washington Lane end rather than entering into a costly special charge…
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Orchard theft dismay
Students at Romsey Primary School have been left devastated after their entire fruit orchard was stripped of its fruit by callous thieves over the Labour Day weekend. The school had been slowly resurrecting its kitchen garden program and the children loved growing, harvesting and cooking the produce. Garden volunteer Ellis Parker said their small group…
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Queen bee takes title
Claire Moore has won the prestigious Victorian AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award, with a plan to boost bee population and genetic diversity through artificial insemination. Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes last week announced Ms Moore as the Victorian winner at a ceremony held at the Hotel Windsor in Melbourne. “It was a huge honour and one…
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Our own voices
Hundreds of Castlemaine school students joined Friday’s global School Strike for Climate Action calling on the nation’s leaders to take more decisive action to address the pressing global issue. Students travelled from Castlemaine to Melbourne – on public transport – joining thousands of more from across the state – and many more across the world…
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Fun for a cause
For the second year running the family fun day event Race Ya will be held in Maldon supporting the Asthma Foundation in memory of Ned Cameron. Ned Cameron died suddenly just over two years ago, at the age of 14, from an acute asthma attack. His mum Kristy Lang initiated Race Ya last year in…
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Support for micro-abattoir
Woodend farmer Ben Falloon is fast gaining support for an on-farm poultry micro-abattoir model that could revolutionise the way small producers operate. The pastured chicken producer launched a Pozible campaign earlier this month to develop the model and is already more than a third of the way towards his $80,650 target. Mr Falloon said the…