News

  • Chloe’s number one

    Chloe’s number one

    Kyneton’s Chloe Stewart has achieved a burning ambition to reach the pinnacle in her chosen sport of lawn bowls, with Bowls Australia confirming her number one nation-wide women’s ranking at the beginning of April. The 23 year-old star has rocketed up the rankings in recent months, and has 254 ranking points, replacing Tasmanian Rebecca Van…

  • Gisborne gas leak

    Gisborne gas leak

    A gas main ruptured during excavation works in Gisborne yesterday morning shut the area down for four hours. Brantome street was closed off between Hamilton and Fisher streets while Riddells Creek and Gisborne fire brigades worked to make the area safe. Residents and shop owners in the direct path of the vapour cloud were briefed…

  • Quad Fit making good times roll

    Quad Fit making good times roll

    For some exercising conjures images of pain and puffing. Then there’s others, like Castlemaine’s Jo Christy for whom keeping fit is so much fun she doesn’t want to stop. About five years ago Jo started Castlemaine Quad Fit, a fun aerobic workout done to music – with a twist. It’s all done on wheels –…

  • Young achievers celebrated

    Young achievers celebrated

    Victorian Youth Week and the school holidays kicked off in style on Friday with a Youth Festival in Castlemaine’s Victory Park celebrating the achievements of young people in our community. The Mount Alexander Shire Youth Festival saw community members enjoy a range of fun activities including tie-dying, a Young Makers Market, live entertainment from young…

  • Doctor in the house

    Doctor in the house

    Overweight high school drop-outs from low socio-economic backgrounds don’t get to be doctors – especially if they are single mothers. At least that’s what Carolyn Siddell believed. Now a GP registrar at Campaspe Family Practice in Kyneton, Carolyn has discredited that voice of negativity but getting to where she is today was no easy ride.…

  • Car park confusion

    Car park confusion

    The installation of new one-way traffic signage and line marking arrows in the Woolworths car park in Kyneton caused considerable confusion for shoppers taken by surprise last week. Sections of the car park are owned separately by Woolworths and Macedon Ranges Shire Council and the safety improvement works were undertaken by council in response to…

  • Residents face truck nightmare

    Neighbours to a newly approved 43-lot subdivision in Kyneton fear construction trucks will threaten safety as they are forced to traverse residential streets. The 5 Ripplebrook Way development offers no direct access from High Street for traffic, forcing trucks with heavy loads to enter via Ripplebrook Way and Sanctuary Drive, or Riverwalk Boulevarde. Neighbour Natalie…

  • Sunny for senate

    Sunny for senate

    A Kyneton local with an innovative plan to address immigration and regional growth in Victoria has announced he will be standing as an independent candidate for the Federal Senate in the upcoming elections. Sunny Chandra believes his policy of redirecting international students to regional areas is economically sound and of no cost to the taxpayer.…

  • La Mama debut for Taradale

    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…

  • House thrown a lifeline

    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…

  • Hitting the open road

    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…

  • Old hospital plans abandoned

    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…