Local News

  • Don’t be under insured

    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…

  • Know your bushfire survival plan

    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…

  • Castlemaine event to connect a community …

    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,…

  • Pick your own looks peachy at Harcourt

    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…

  • Residents call for safety improvements after crash at Kyneton intersection

    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…

  • USA firefighters assist

    USA firefighters assist

    Thirty-nine firefighters from the United States were trained in the use of CFA fire trucks by local volunteers from Darraweit Guim and Kyneton at the Victorian Emergency Management Institute at Mount Macedon last Friday. With conditions worsening across the state, they were put straight to action with deployment to fight the Gippsland fires. The USA…

  • ‘Time to wake up’ – Extinction Rebellion demands emergency declaration

    ‘Time to wake up’ – Extinction Rebellion demands emergency declaration

    Extinction Rebellion protesters took to the street in Woodend recently in a display of polite civil disobedience to raise awareness of our climate emergency. On December 28, nine protesters with the well-known logo printed on their flags shared the High Street crossing with pedestrians as part of global protests demanding action on climate change. Traffic…

  • Nation’s number one

    Nation’s number one

    Even though she is now living ‘up north’ and playing bowls for Queensland, Chloe Stewart still calls Kyneton home. The 24-year-old expects to be ‘home for Christmas’ and is sure to receive a warm welcome especially as she has just become the Australian women’s singles champion for the first time. Chloe is pictured with her…

  • Macedon Ranges Council urged to drop glyphosate

    Macedon Ranges Council urged to drop glyphosate

    Macedon Ranges Council has been urged to drop its use of potentially harmful glyphosate-based herbicides. It is one of many councils that continues to use glyphosate weedkillers such as Roundup to manage parks and roadside weeds despite the chemical coming under fire for its possible link to cancers. Pushing for change, Kyneton local Lyle Green…

  • Innovation and creativity shine at 2019 Mount Alexander Business Awards

    Innovation and creativity shine at 2019 Mount Alexander Business Awards

    Ten local businesses have been recognised for excellence in their field at a gala event to announce winners of the 2019 Mount Alexander Business Awards last Thursday night. The independent judging panel had the difficult task of selecting winners from 23 high-quality finalists. Mt Alexander Timber & Hardware took away the coveted Business of the…

  • Nothing new? Sixth book from Castlemaine writer Robyn Annear

    Nothing new? Sixth book from Castlemaine writer Robyn Annear

    Castlemaine writer Robyn Annear is a self-confessed fan of op shops and loves nothing better than the thrill of finding the unexpected within them. Now she has published a new book – an entertaining history about all things second-hand – dating back through the ages to the now. Nothing New: A History of Second-Hand is…

  • New chapter begins for Castlemaine Sergeant Peter Lukaitis

    New chapter begins for Castlemaine Sergeant Peter Lukaitis

    Long-time Castlemaine policeman and well-respected community member Sergeant Peter Lukaitis hung up his hat and badge for the final time last Sunday. But before Sgt Lukaitis signed off at the station for the last time he had the opportunity to spend one special day on the local beat with his daughter and newly graduated Victoria…