News
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Nalderun celebrates friendship
A Reconciliation Week (May 27 – June 3) exhibition was officially unveiled at the Castlemaine Market Building last Friday morning. The day saw team members, friends and supporters of local Indigenous service, Nalderun, gather for speeches, the presentation of Nalderun Awards and a morning tea to launch the week. The event was opened by Nalderun’s…
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Thought-provoking film and Q&A
Northern Books and Nalderun are partnering up to bring an exciting Reconciliation Week event to Castlemaine. The event will see a screening of the provocative and award-winning short film, Refugium, followed by a Q&A session with the film’s creators. Refugium is a short film of speculative fiction in the climate emergency context, by artist-researcher Jen Rae (Métis)…
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Honing healthy skills
Nutritious and delicious food made from scratch is on the menu at Gisborne Secondary College. Students have been sharpening their skills through a cooking course delivered by local culinary nutritionists Expert Eats, Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health, Healthy Heart of Victoria and Macedon Ranges Shire Council. The classes are based on the cooking videos of…
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Saving gorgeous Gertie
Guildford-based animal welfare group Parrot Conservation Australia is appealing for community help following a costly surgery to save one of their beloved sulphur-crested cockatoos. The local grassroots organisation rehabilitates surrendered and injured birds and has been battling to stay afloat for the past two years due to the impacts of COVID. However, founders Roger Sellwood…
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Mobile disruption for Riddells Creek
Riddells Creek residents may notice some disruption to Telstra mobile coverage this week, as NBN installs new fixed wireless antennas on Telstra’s 35m high mobile tower located near Sutherlands Road. Telstra regional general manager, Steve Tinker, said the NBN work would require the mobile base station to be turned off while their technicians were working…
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RAAF thanks for a centenarian veteran
A Kyneton resident who was among the first girls in history to be enrolled in the Royal Australian Air Force was last week honoured for her service to the nation during WWII. At age 19, centenarian Margaret Emily Green (nee Selway) was enrolled with 15 other girls at No 1 Recruiting Centre, Queens Street, Melbourne,…
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Future brighter for RM Begg
The future of Kyneton’s beloved not-for-profit RM Begg Aged Care facility now appears more secure thanks to a proposed federal government funding model. The new Australian National Aged Care Classification is due to replace the Aged Care Funding Instrument from October 1, 2022. Adopting the new funding model was one of the key recommendations from…
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Truffle farm build rejected
Building on a small Farm Zone property has been rejected to support what Macedon Ranges Shire Council has described as “de facto hobby farming”. Plans were to build a home in support of a two-hectare truffle orchard and seasonal grazing on 17 hectares in Lauriston. While no permit was required for the farming activities, building…
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Eye-catching issue
Eve Lamb A Castlemaine resident has used public question time at last week’s Mount Alexander Shire Council meeting to raise concerns about the ongoing prevalence of graffiti in the town and wider shire. Retired school teacher, Bill Wiglesworth, has little time for uninvited graffiti in public places and has long been pressing to see it…
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Bid to build in farm zone
New Kyneton farmers aiming to be among Australia’s largest Shropshire sheep breeders are fighting to build in the Farm Zone to realise their dreams. The Pinto family seeks to build shedding, water tank and a family home but their property falls under the 40ha build requirement for the zone. Farm plans present a vision for…
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Taproom art supports war-torn Ukraine
Eve Lamb A new art exhibition that’s just gone up at Castlemaine’s Taproom is raising funds to help people impacted by the war in Ukraine. Simply titled 71, this bold, bright showing features large-scale architectural deconstructivist works by well-established Castlemaine artist Phillip Head. “They’re all a play on deconstructing architecture of the same Bendigo building – No…
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Inquiry examines impact of incarceration
The far-reaching benefits of a program providing vital connection between incarcerated parents and their children has been highlighted in a submission to a Legislative Council inquiry. Friends of Castlemaine Library representatives made the submission to the inquiry examining the impact of parental incarceration on children. FOCAL’s submission addressed the positive impacts of its Read-Along Dads/Mums…