News
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OAM honour for Ray
Guildford Grumpies ‘legend’ Ray Pattle has been recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to the community of Guildford. The 82-year-old said he was humbled to receive the award and thanked the Grumpies and fellow community members who had put his name forward for the honour. “I was in two…
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Levy topic still hot
Farmers and rural councils continue to push back against the Victorian Government’s controversial emergency services levy despite news of a reprieve for farmers. On May 30, the government announced it would cap its Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund levy at the 2024/25 rate for primary production properties for the 2025-26 financial year. Hitting pause for…
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For sale: The Church of England
The historic Church of England in Riddells Creek is about to be sold to developers according to several sources and documents viewed by the Midland Express, despite efforts from the Church to keep its sale under wraps. Fr Scott Mudd has been the region’s vicar since October last year. He sent a letter on May…
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Long weekend road blitz
Victoria Police will be conducting a road blitz over the King’s Birthday long weekend, with regional roads in their sights.
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Co-op offer officially launched
A packed house attended the official launch celebration of the Castlemaine Community Investment Co-operative debenture offer at Shedshaker Brewing on Sunday evening. The atmosphere was filled with possibility as the Co-op’s inspiring vision to raise the capital to purchase The Hub, a beloved landmark property in the heart of Castlemaine, was laid out by multiple…
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Tackling Australia’s hidden housing crisis – one spare room at a time
Three women, in their 50s or older, are being offered a unique, long-term, co-living opportunity in a large Mount Macedon home. Wanting to fill his empty family home with life, Sev Clarke joined The Room Xchange – an online homeshare platform matching home owners with tenants. Sev’s adult daughter lives in Melbourne, and his wife,…
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STATE FIRST TREATY BID
The Dja Dja Wurrung People of central Victoria have become the first traditional owners to seek to negotiate a local treaty with the state government. Under Victoria’s Treaty Negotiation Framework, traditional owner groups can negotiate their own treaties, which will reflect aspirations and priorities for their local areas. DJAARA (the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal…
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The government’s bitumen
EXCLUSIVE – The state government denied responsibility for a public road in the Mount Alexander Regional Park and for years failed its statutory duty to inspect, repair and maintain its condition. Joseph Young Drive is an 8.5km stretch of winding road that cuts through the regional park from one end to the other. It amassed…
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Budget invests in history
A project to undertake significant renewal works at Buda Historic Home and Garden in Castlemaine has been allocated half a million dollars in the 2025/26 State Budget. The funds will deliver State 2 of the masterplan, which will include refurbishing the current venue room into an office and administration space with a visitor centre, and…
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Building a united nation
Community members gathered for the 2025 Sorry Day Commemoration in Victory Park in Castlemaine on Monday. Sorry Day, which is held annually on May 26, is a day of remembrance to acknowledge the pain and injustice experienced by members of the stolen generation, and its lasting impacts. The event included a Welcome to Country and…
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Safe Spaces in the spotlight
Castlemaine and Macedon Ranges Safe Spaces have been selected from 14 sites across Australia to be featured in a film that will be the centrepiece of a new digital marketing campaign for community-led Safe Spaces across the country. A production team from Australia’s national lived experience of suicide organisation, Roses in the Ocean, visited Castlemaine…
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Apple TV fills up in Carlsruhe
Filming of a new Apple TV miniseries took place at the BP petrol station in Carlsruhe last Thursday and Friday. The new show is based on the book, The Dispatcher, by Ryan David Jahn, about a police detective whose life fell apart 10 years earlier when his daughter went missing. He receives a distress call…