News

  • Barrier location under review

    VicRoads is reviewing the location of wire rope safety barriers along the Calder Freeway, including offset distances and the frequency of access breaks. VicRoads’ director of safe system road infrastructure program, Bryan Sherritt, confirmed to the Midland Express that the review was being undertaken at the request of the Roads Minister. Elphinstone Fire Brigade captain…

  • $11.75M scoop

    $11.75M scoop

    Castlemaine Secondary College is celebrating Friday’s announcement that the May state budget will include $11.75 million for it to continue its major capital works upgrade. State MP for Bendigo West Maree Edwards visited the college first thing on Friday morning to deliver the announcement the college community had been hoping to hear. The $11.75 million…

  • A family affair!

    A family affair!

    In a ‘perfect in every way’ coincidence, Sprout Theatre Company’s upcoming production of Mary Poppins the Broadway Musical boasts a host of performing families. Artistic director Billy-Jo Royle’s vision was to bring high-quality family entertainment for locals, by locals. Billy-Jo’s vision was shared by Green Room and Helpmann Award singer Tiffany Speight who came on…

  • A shared love of flowers and writing

    A shared love of flowers and writing

    A shared love of flowers and writing has seen an online Instagram connection between a Melbourne novelist and a local rose and peony farmer blossom into a real-life friendship. Finding herself inspired by the emerging ‘slow flower’ movement (micro, sustainable, flower farming) in Australia and the world over, Vanessa Carnevale decided to set her latest…

  • Songs in the sticks

    Songs in the sticks

    Tucked away deep in the local bushland, Chewton’s Dingo Conservation Centre makes a pretty special backdrop to this Sunday’s Songs in the Sticks music festival. The rather aptly named first-time festival is raising funds for the Fryerstown CFA, something the Conservation Centre’s operators have been keen to do for some time. “This is a specific…

  • A life-changing donation

    A life-changing donation

    Just over a year ago Clare Beatson would not have thought about competitive sport let alone getting into a pool, but a life-changing surgery has realigned her goals. The former Kyneton resident has just celebrated one year since her successful double-lung transplant and now has her sights set on swim training for a future Australian…

  • Brigade vehicle stolen and torched

    Brigade vehicle stolen and torched

    Thieves who stole and torched Langley-Barfold Fire Brigade’s support vehicle last week may be linked to multiple break-ins that occurred in Kyneton. The Ford Ranger was found burnt out in the Mosquito Creek area near Lake Eppalock early Wednesday morning; stolen from the brigade’s shed on Kyneton-Redesdale Road. Brigade captain Ian Lonsdale said the vehicle…

  • Art in unusual places

    Art in unusual places

    Art installations have popped up at unusual sites all over Kyneton this week. It’s all part of the inaugural Kyneton Contemporary Art Triennial, which was launched last Friday and continues until Sunday. KCAT2018 is a celebration of contemporary art and an exploration of the energies that resonate in place and community. Artists have engaged with…

  • Earthquake ‘so big and so violent’

    Earthquake ‘so big and so violent’

    ‘Harrowing’ doesn’t begin to describe the destruction left by Papua New Guinea’s 7.5 magnitude earthquake that shook the Southern Highlands, killing more than 100 people and injuring thousands more. Three weeks on from the tragedy, Dr Tana Kiak returned home to Kyneton for the birth of his second child to partner Katy Condliffe, but the…

  • Cats by just one point!

    Cats by just one point!

    The 2018 Riddell League football season kicked off on Saturday with a frenetic, pulsating encounter as reigning premier Macedon survived a desperate late charge by Riddell to win by a solitary point. The see-saw match before a massive opening round crowd at Riddell certainly lived up to expectations, with both sides showing they have the…

  • New prison centre

    New prison centre

    A new medical unit and programs centre is now operating at Loddon Prison providing better services to encourage better outcomes for the increased capacity at the prison. The $9.2 million Loddon Medical Unit and Programs Space, the Yaluk Centre, includes new consultation and treatment rooms, a pharmacy, increased space for rehabilitation programs and six new…

  • Tale of an unsung hero

    Tale of an unsung hero

    As Anzac Day nears, historian Ian Braybrook has been busy striving to ensure one of Castlemaine’s unsung war heroes does not become lost to the fogs of time. The keen local researcher said it was by chance that he learnt about the incredible wartime contributions of Castlemaine’s William Robert Wadsworth, also known as Bill. Bill…