Castlemaine
-
Join the fun at Mondo Lounge
Friday afternoons look a little different for young people at the moment so Mount Alexander Shire Council’s youth initiative Mondo Lounge has moved online. Mondo Lounge is mixing things up with approved social distancing activities, including a virtual dance lesson! People aged 12 to 25 years are invited to join a free online hip-hop dance…
-
Return to the post-punk scene
Castlemaine author Kirsten Krauth has launched her second long-awaited novel, Almost a Mirror. The book was seven years in the making and was developed while Krauth completed her PhD. It explores music of the 1980s, what we make of memories and what they make of us. Like fireflies to the light, Mona, Benny and Jimmy are…
-
Impact and opportunity for VGR tourist railway
The coronavirus pandemic has forced the Victorian Goldfields Railway to suspend all of its advertised passenger service until the end of June. The VGR has also had to halt its project taking up the old disused main line track between Guildford and Castlemaine for recycling on part of its tourist line. “We’re not happy with…
-
Local business offers smart response to crisis
Local businesses are finding innovative ways to adapt amid the current coronavirus restrictions. One such businesses is Castlemaine’s Mulberry’s Delicatessen, which has been quick to respond to the crisis by developing a new phone and email based ordering and home delivery service. The innovative new way of continuing to function rolled into action on Friday…
-
Cheese please! A new venture for Castlemaine
A new artisan cheesemaker and cheese school is being establishing in Castlemaine, adding an additional attraction to the town’s Mill complex and tapping into newly emergent demand. Building work is well underway to develop existing premises in the site’s specialty food and beverage precinct. The Cheese School and artisan cheesemaking enterprise – Long Paddock Cheese…
-
New Castlemaine locomotive stable takes shape in $1M move
Work has begun on Victorian Goldfields Railway’s new Castlemaine locomotive stable as part of a wider project forecast to boost tourism to Castlemaine and surrounds. The $1 million service reorientation project has $500,000 in state funds with VGR adding the rest in a move that will see it shift its operating base from Maldon to…
-
New works to conserve old treasure
Vital works to conserve Castlemaine’s historic Buda House are to begin in coming days after the local attraction earlier secured a $120,000 state Living Heritage Program grant. Victoria’s planning minister Richard Wynne visited the grand old home and gardens late last week to announce that applications for the next round of Living Heritage Program grant…
-
Upper circle sitting pretty – Vintage 1930s seating restored at Theatre Royal
Taking a seat in the upper circle at Castlemaine’s historic Theatre Royal is acquiring a new significance. Seat by seat – row by row – the 150-year-old theatre’s vintage 1930s upper circle seating is gradually being restored to its former glory. Theatre managers Felicity Cripps and Tim Heath said they were amazed to discover 1930s…
-
Castlemaine wildlife reserve welcomes friends
It’s a little natural jewel, easy walking distance to the centre of Castlemaine, and right under residents’ noses. But many locals don’t even realise the Kaweka Wildflower Reserve is there say the dedicated committee members who help look after it. Kaweka Wildflower Reserve is an L-shaped 2.5-hectare parcel of conserved bushland that was presented to…
-
Bonjour madame! Renault mini muster to roll into town
There will be a hint of French flair around the towns of Castlemaine and Maldon when the coming Labour Day weekend arrives. The Renault 4cv Register of Australia is holding its very first mini muster across the two towns over the long weekend from March 7-9. Members from Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia,…
-
Exploring Ibsen in Castlemaine theatre residency
Castlemaine’s latest At Home Phee Broadway Theatre residency kicks off today and will explore the dark themes of 1881 play Ghosts by 19th century Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. In this unique residency, three women explore their lives and culture in these horrific times and find connections to Henrik Ibsen’s amazing play and the echoes of…
-
NETWORKS DOWN
Residents across the region vented their anger last week with mobile phone services disrupted from Tuesday to Thursday and power outages during Friday’s 40-degree heat leaving many sweltering. Seven days of planned works to the Kyneton area mobile phone network were abandoned on Friday after Telstra reassessed their suitability going into the day’s forecast heat…