News
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Big backyard bird count
Campbells Creek’s Jane Rusden has her trusty binoculars at the ready as she gets set for this month’s Aussie Backyard Bird Count. Jane is convenor of BirdLife Castlemaine District and she’s encouraging everyone to get twitching and be part of this month’s big Aussie Backyard Bird Count. The big national bird survey run by Birdlife…
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CWA aims to beat scone record!
For many, the humble scone is just something to enjoy for morning or afternoon tea, with jam and cream, or maybe just butter! But for the Country Women’s Association of Victoria – scones hold much more weight. Every year at the Royal Melbourne Show, CWA ladies bake and sell scones to the masses, breaking their…
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Exploring degrowth
Castlemaine activist, scholar and author, Anitra Nelson, will be speaking on the topic of degrowth as part of an online event this Thursday evening. Nelson co-wrote the new book, Exploring Degrowth: A Critical Guide, with French activist and spokesperson for the French and international degrowth movements, Vincent Liegey, who is currently living a degrowth lifestyle…
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Parlour gone, but ice cream lives on
Pressures from the coronavirus pandemic have led to the closure of Castlemaine’s much-loved Icecream Social ice cream parlour at the corner of Forest and Hargraves Streets after three years of trading. Operators Helen Addison-Smith and Craig MacDonald said they were devastated to have to close the doors last week but unfortunately the extended lockdowns had…
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Reflection on a pandemic
Goldfields Libraries are inviting community members to share their experience of life in lockdown. Contributions will be included in an online blog, printed book and a travelling exhibition. The libraries are doing their part to record and share our collective experiences of life navigating coronavirus, and have added more than 60 contributions from community members…
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Students look forward to face-to-face learning
Kyneton High School students are looking forward to returning to school next week after months of home schooling due to COVID-19 restrictions. Students from the leadership team recently met outside the school in front of the sign the team wrote to boost morale during the lockdowns. Principal Ana Rees said everybody had been placed outside…
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Gisborne planning an election focal point
Proper planning for Gisborne’s future has emerged as one of the biggest election issues for Macedon Ranges’ south as ratepayers look to the polls. Attesting strong community interest is ratepayer Dean Markham’s fast-growing campaign to call for change to the council’s draft 30-year Gisborne Futures Plan. He argues the current draft leaves the town wide…
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Inside the election office
Dean Curtis is clearly enjoying his job as election manager for the Mount Alexander Shire Council election. Staffing the election office set up in Castlemaine’s Ray Bradfield Room to help oversee this month’s postal ballot, Mr Curtis is no stranger to the important role. It’s a task he’s willingly shouldered before for a previous local…
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Jobs boost for CHIRP
CHIRP Community Health in Castlemaine will be able to employ eight new staff members thanks to a funding boost from the state government. Minister for Employment Jaala Pulford and Bendigo West MP Maree Edwards visited CHIRP on Friday to make the announcement. The funding is part of the government’s $500 million Working for Victoria fund…
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Kyneton street name tarnished with blood
A Kyneton resident who believes his street name is tarnished with the blood of slaughtered Indigenous people has begun a campaign to have it changed. Harry Byass, 21, has lived in Hutton Street his whole life but recently learned the street was named after Charles Hutton, a station owner in the Campaspe region in the…
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Dining heads outdoors
Central Victoria will experience summer in a whole new way this year, as hospitality businesses begin to reimagine the way they work. Macedon Ranges Council is helping local businesses fast-track applications to expand outdoor dining areas and welcome back customers now that COVID-19 restrictions are easing. Being able to dine outside will be key to…
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Alarm at tree harvesting
Malmsbury East residents have become increasingly alarmed at the number of live trees being cut down, chopped up and removed from the Metcalfe Forest, between the Calder Freeway and Malmsbury-Metcalfe Road. One resident contacted local authorities and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning in 2018 when this activity was first noticed, and again…