Castlemaine
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Recreating a lost giant
On a frosty morning in Castlemaine, in a large tin shed at Lot 19, a small team of humans gather together. Clad in dusty op-shop clothes, hands and tools working feverishly on hard plastic, bone and steel. All jacked up on lattes, their monkey brains are busy with problems to solve. They are here to…
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Young women to broadcast
A pilot program is offering young women in Mount Alexander Shire the opportunity to develop a podcast to be broadcast on MainFM radio show, Femme Fortissima, which airs on Fridays from 11am – 1pm. The hands-on podcasting workshop series is tailored for young women, providing skills in audio storytelling, editing, interviewing and podcasting. The program…
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Paving the way forward
Older Women in Cohousing is a stone’s throw from reaching its target of $1.4 million to support the Middle Women’s Housing Fund, paving the way for the construction of a sustainable, low-impact cohousing village on their five-acre property in Castlemaine. Wanting to reflect the diversity and financial status of all women, WINC is ensuring that…
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Mass murderer relocated to Castlemaine
Notorious Hoddle Street killer Julian Knight, 57, has been moved from maximum-security incarceration into the medium-security Loddon Prison in Castlemaine. On August 9, 1987, the then 19-year-old Knight fired a semi-automatic rifle on Hoddle Street, Clifton Hill, killing seven people and injuring 19. The former Australian Army officer-cadet pleaded guilty and was sentenced in 1988…
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Castlemaine through the lens
Various Castlemaine vistas are featured in a new photo book by talented Melbourne photographer Warren Kirk. Beyond Suburbia has been published via Scribe Publications and hit bookstores earlier this month. Author and screenwriter Don Watson says that in the margins between the city and the bush, Kirk uncovers the quiet poetry of Victoria’s hinterlands. “These…
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Mapping waterways and connections
Artist Kathy Landvogt is fascinated by rivers – specifically the immense Loddon River and the system that connects her town, Castlemaine on Barkers Creek, with tributaries upstream and downstream. When she saw an old CFA map, and with her interest in women’s traditional handcrafts, she began to think about how to celebrate the river’s significance…
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An invitation to recalibrate
Anyone in the vicinity of the Phee Broadway Theatre last Friday would have been witness to a constant stream of middle-aged women steadily making their way into the library foyer in a manner somewhat reminiscent of a clandestine suffragette meeting (perhaps the women of Castlemaine are ready for their own uprising?). The meeting was, in…
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Measuring our compost ingredients
When we first learn to cook, a recipe is our lifeboat, and we follow it to the letter. As we begin to trust our intuition, we need the recipe less and less, substituting an ingredient here, estimating a measure there, cooking more by feel than by the absolutes of cups or grams. Even when we…
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New store to deliver big savings
Just three months after the opening of Castlemaine’s new Woolworths supermarket, the town is set to see the opening of another major retail outlet. Castlemaine’s new Reject Shop will open its doors this Thursday morning, September 11. Local residents have been keenly watching the development of the new store at 112-116 Barker Street in recent…
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Barry’s bus fulfills final wish
Barry Lacey was one of those indescribably special people who leaves a mark on you. In the last few months of his life, Barry gave one last gift to those left behind – a transport bus for the aged care residents at Dhelkaya Health. Barry and his wife, Jenny, relocated from Melbourne to Newstead in…
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Santa’s helpers fashion new bells
Billmans Foundry in Castlemaine has teamed up with a number of talented local tradespeople to craft a set of five new Christmas bells for the former Apex Club of Castlemaine’s annual Santa Run. The beloved event is a longstanding tradition in Mount Alexander Shire and celebrates its 88th anniversary on Christmas Day 2025. Former Apex…
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Underground dance-off electric!
Hot Moves No Pressure is an invite-only, underground-style dance battle, where each performer can invite one guest only, making it the hottest ticket in town! The energy at Boomtown Winery last Saturday night for the Castlemaine dance-off was electric! (In fact, the moves were so hot that the power blew halfway through the performances…) A…