News
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It takes a village
How the community can work together to address Mount Alexander Shire’s housing crisis is the focus of a new 10-year social and affordable housing strategy to be launched at Castlemaine Town Hall next week. My Home Network developed the Mount Alexander Shire My Home Network 10-year social and affordable housing strategy in collaboration with a…
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Dog attack devastates
Two escaped dogs attacked a flock of sheep at Baynton last week, killing two and maiming 33 that later had to be euthanised. Farmer Daniel McKenna discovered the gruesome scene on his property last Wednesday. “It was like a battle scene,” he said. “There were sheep lying down kicking in the air everywhere. “The dogs…
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A fence too far?
Twelve Lancefield residents have until December’s end to tear down their fences and gardens to accommodate a new council footpath. The High Street residents discovered, in May, their properties encroached the road reserve and they would need to foot the bill to correct it. Some are being asked to shift entire front fencelines for as…
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$120,000 boost for rail trail
Plans to develop the Castlemaine-Maryborough Rail Trail have moved a step closer with the state government committing $120,000 to assist with crucial planning for the project. Bendigo West MP Maree Edwards visited Joyces Creek on Friday to announce the funding for a feasibility study at the foot of the now disused 1940 Joyces Creek Railway…
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Old hospital reno begins
Building works begin this week on the long-awaited redevelopment of the old Kyneton Hospital precinct. Aged-care provider Embracia Victoria is planning co-located aged care and childcare for the Simpson Street site. Stage one of the project will see a 120-place childcare centre built opposite the heritage-listed bluestone building, which will offer long daycare to local…
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Comp tempts taste buds
Holgate Brewhouse is tempting taste buds through a competition tapping into one of its most popular beers. The Woodend brewery is offering a $500 prize pack to the most creative and delicious recipe starring Holgate’s Temptress Choc Porter. Holgate’s Lucy Watson said the malt-driven beer was infused with Dutch cocoa and vanilla beans. “It’s ideal…
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Spicy taco looks likely to warm
Eve Lamb It’s an attention-securing start to our phone conversation. “All my life I’ve been joking about how I’m half-Colombian because my mum got knocked up when she was backpacking through South America,” comedian Aidan Jones says. Melbourne based Jones is getting set to tour his award-winning show, Taco, to the ‘Maine for a one-night stop…
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Farmers win favour
A Kyneton sheep farming family is bound for big plans after a critical decision was made in their favour. The Pinto family aims to be among Australia’s largest Shropshire breeders and said a permit to build was a “make or break decision”. Their Baynton Road property falls under the 40ha build requirement for the Farm…
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Urgent plea on netball needs
Kyneton netballers have made an urgent and desperate plea for action to bring their facilities up to code. Last week, Kyneton Football Netball Club secretary, Vinitha Pinto, made an appeal for funding in Macedon Ranges Shire Council’s 2022/23 budget. “The netball courts we have in Kyneton are not as per code and for the last…
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Honour ‘quite a shock’
Eve Lamb Truth is we all get old, if we’re lucky, so it’s nice to know that someone like Marilyn Bennet is out there doing what she does. The prodigious amount of work that the longtime Castlemaine local pours into improving her community, and particularly the lot of seniors, has played a major role in…
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Royal honour for fest favourite
There’s hardly a person in Kyneton who doesn’t know Marg Dearricott. In perhaps her best known role as the long-running secretary of the Kyneton Daffodil and Arts Festival, Ms Dearricott has been front and centre in celebrating her close-knit community for the past 18 years. It’s that commitment to community that has seen her awarded…
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Practical support for learner drivers
Getting that all-important driver’s licence is one of those rights of passage most teenagers aspire to when they turn 16. Today’s laws require the budding driver to have 120 hours’ practise with a licensed supervising driver in the passenger seat. For any family, that takes serious dedication to the task and the ability to have…