Castlemaine
-
Last push to release aid
Last year, a group of dedicated volunteers in Mount Alexander Shire spent countless hours gathering and filling a 40-foot shipping container with essential items to send to Uganda through the charity organisation I Am Someone. The shipping container, which has travelled across the world to Mombasa, Kenya, has unfortunately been detained by customs for more…
-
Tiny book makes epic journey
A small book has made an unexpected overseas journey and returned to its original purchaser’s family in Castlemaine more than a century later. It is believed a member of the Tingay family, who lived in Castlemaine at the time, purchased The Illuminated Scripture Text-Book For Every Day from a book store in Victoria in 1881.…
-
The Goddess comes to the Theatre Royal
After 40 years composing for films and television, including The Truman Show, The Secret River and Wolf Creek, Burkhard Dallwitz was interested to take on the challenge of a live performance score. And not just co-composing it, but performing it too. “Getting out of my studio and performing again made me nervous but also excited,”…
-
Not lovin’ it – kids rally against Maccas
A vocal group of primary and secondary school students from Castlemaine and surrounding districts gathered for the Kids Against Maccas rally in Castlemaine last Thursday afternoon. About 300 young people, parents and supporters wearing anti-McDonald’s shirts and carrying placards picketed the site of the proposed McDonald’s restaurant on the corner of Forest and Hargraves streets…
-
MAIN Game returns
94.9MainFM’s highly anticipated and much-loved community event, the MAIN Game, returns for its seventh year on Sunday June 7 (King’s Birthday long weekend). The historic Camp Reserve in Castlemaine will host the Aussie Rules footy friendly between the Rockatoos and the Radio Galahs. The MAIN Game brings footy and fundraising together for local radio station…
-
A simple way to connect
Castlemaine creative Scott Rossiter is inviting people to slow down, sit together, and share the stories behind the objects they hold dear with Adult Show and Tell. Held at Sac‘O’Suds Launderette, the evening invites audience members to bring along an object of personal significance and speak about its meaning. The objects themselves are wildly varied:…
-
Building a work of art
Castlemaine’s industrial past has been brought quietly back to life, with Shades of Gray owner Peter unveiling the painstaking restoration of a second workshop space in the heart of town. What could easily have become another demolition site or block of flats has instead been transformed into a richly detailed 1940s-1950s workshop restored almost entirely…
-
More than just a free shower
A collaborative effort between Mount Alexander Shire Council, Dhelkaya Health, The Salvation Army Castlemaine and other agencies has enabled the Salvos to host a mobile shower truck in Castlemaine. The custom-built mobile shower trailers bring dignity directly to communities, but offer more than just a free shower — they provide a full wrap-around service of…
-
An artist, a rockstar and the Archibald
Castlemaine artist Ned Middleton is a bit of a music buff, and while Tim Rogers’ band the Hard-Ons isn’t really his cup of tea, Ned was happy to have the chance to paint the legendary rock star for an entry into the Archibald Prize. After two sittings, a lot of research and guidance from his…
-
A transformation of the CBD
Works to transform the heart of Castlemaine’s CBD are now under way and are expected to be completed by mid-2027. The $12.1 million redevelopment of Frederick Street has drawn mixed reactions from residents, though the mayor Cr Toby Heydon has described it as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to create a safer, greener and more connected town…
-
Tamworth success for Colin
Castlemaine country music singer and songwriter, Colin ‘Fish’ Fraser, was honoured to be a finalist in the recent Tamworth Songwriters Salute Awards. The 76-year-old said that he discovered his passion for music later in life. After a relationship breakdown at 55 he picked up the guitar and hasn’t looked back. “I had a few lessons…
-
Ensemble brings high-quality theatre
A bold new chapter for performing arts in regional Victoria begins this June, as Castlemaine’s newest theatre company, The Ravens Theatre Company, launches its inaugural production: The Seagull by Anton Chekhov, in a new adaptation by Anya Reiss. Originally staged by the National Theatre in London, Reiss’ acclaimed adaptation brings new immediacy and a contemporary…