News
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Foundry powering on through pandemic
Castlemaine’s Billmans Foundry was gearing up for the unveiling of its largest project to date – two beautiful bronze whales created by Wollongong artist Julie Squires and fellow artist Theresa Ardler in Sydney’s Botany Bay – when the coronavirus pandemic took hold. Regarded as Australia’s leading manufacturer of bronze fountains, street park, garden furniture and…
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Shared trail on track
Construction on a Macedon Ranges shared-use trail will soon begin with the state government announcing $8.75 million towards the project last week. Woodend’s cycling community has welcomed the move following years of residents “crying out for more options” to cycle and walk safely between towns. Spanning about 23 kilometres, the Macedon Ranges Trails Project will…
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Rebates slash the cost of solar
Benjamin Franklin famously said that “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”. Well, to that, I reckon we can add “electricity bills keep rising”, a point that’s increasingly top of mind as so many of us spend more time at home with the resulting increase in power bills.…
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Sarah leaves her mark
For 20 years, Sarah Collier has led and nurtured a team of more than 150 staff to create a home-like environment for residents of RM Begg Kyneton and provide high-quality aged care to the local community. Under Sarah’s hard-working leadership, RM Begg has grown exponentially in that time, and one of her proudest achievements is…
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Latest edition of Hot Rodding International hits stands
For the past 43 years, the monthly Australian Street Rodding magazine has been published from the offices of Graffiti Publications in Castlemaine. Now, the latest issue of Graffiti’s large-format annual magazine, Hot Rodding International, has just been released and is available in newsagencies. Produced entirely in the Castlemaine-based production centre, Hot Rodding International is true to its name with international…
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‘Enough is enough’ – Residents call time on dangerous intersection
Local residents have renewed calls for safety improvements to the intersection of Edgecombe Road and Melville Drive north of Kyneton after a collision between two vehicles last Friday morning. A 4WD was waiting to turn right into Melville Drive about 11.30am when it was struck by another vehicle. The incident is the second collision at…
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Capturing Trentham
Tea pots, ukuleles, paintbrushes, gaming and pets have all been a part of life in lockdown, and now captured as part of a project to document Trentham through this time. The Driveway Project – Life in Lockdown is the work of local photographer Sandy Scheltema who aims to capture the fun, quirks, talent and loves,…
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Proposed Romsey medical centre scrutinised
Changes to contentious plans for a 104-place childcare centre and double-storey medical facility at Romsey’s Autumn Views estate are still under scrutiny. The proposal for 2-8 Poplar Drive includes eight consulting rooms, two dental rooms, two pathology rooms, two wellbeing rooms and 51 car parking spaces. Applicants say the proposal meets a demand for professional…
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Top trainer in key move
Dual Melbourne Cup winning trainer Robert Hickmott describes Romsey’s Kerrygail Farm as “a perfect facility to complement Hickmott Racing’s Caulfield and Ballarat stables”. The 270-acre state-of-the-art racing complex just south of Romsey was recently vacated by Luke Oliver, now training at Cranbourne. Hickmott, a New Gisborne resident, finalised all necessary approvals to utilise Kerrygail Farm…
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Reading habits change
The reading habits of Castlemaine residents may have changed a tad during lockdown it seems. Joyce Sanders of Castlemaine’s Soldier & Scholar secondhand bookshop has managed to keep her popular little Barker Street business going throughout the pandemic crisis, gaining some interesting insights into readers’ literary tastes in lockdown. With her atmospheric little shop forced…
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Latest edition hits stands
For the past 43 years, the monthly Australian Street Rodding magazine has been published from the offices of Graffiti Publications in Castlemaine. Now, the latest issue of Graffiti’s large-format annual magazine, Hot Rodding International, has just been released and is available in newsagencies. Produced entirely in the Castlemaine-based production centre, Hot Rodding International is true…
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Cheese venture ripens
Castlemaine’s new artisan cheesemaking business is on track to produce its first trial batches of cheese by mid-July and be fully operating by October. And a specialty cheesemaking school that’s also part of the new venture taking shape in premises at The Mill Castlemaine is expected to begin taking classes by August. The Cheese School…