Woodend
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Authors to livestream
Goldfields Libraries are participating in the much-loved Sydney Writers Festival ‘Live and Local’ program again this year. A selection of excellent speakers will be live-streamed to big screens at Castlemaine, Woodend and Bendigo libraries. Best of all, it’s completely free! The Sydney Writers Festival is Australia’s largest celebration of books and ideas, bringing the world’s…
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Vegelicious venues celebrated
The winners of the 2025 Edgy Veg Awards have been crowned and five local businesses in the Macedon Ranges and Mount Alexander Shires have been celebrated for their incredible vegelicious fare. The awards are now in their fourth year and expanded to Mount Alexander Shire for the first time in 2025. This event is the…
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WWII veteran to celebrate 100
World War II veteran Joyce Daymon is preparing to celebrate her 100th birthday in style. The Woodend resident is returning to Shangri-la resort, Fiji, with friends and family for her big day in May – where she celebrated her 99th last year. An overseas adventure is fitting for someone who spent her earlier years helping…
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Council to join service centre fight
Macedon Ranges Shire Council has slammed plans for a Calder Freeway service centre at Woodend and will join petitioners to fight it. Plans include three fast-food restaurants with drive-throughs, 174 parking bays for cars/trucks/caravans, internally-illuminated signage, and construction of two new on/off freeway ramps. Woodend residents have launched a campaign and petition to stop the…
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Fight ignites over service centre bid
Woodend residents are fighting an application for a freeway service centre at the edge of their town, just four years after VCAT rejected a similar proposal. Plans include three fast-food restaurants with drive-throughs, 174 parking bays for cars/trucks/caravans, internally-illuminated signage, and construction of two new on/off freeway ramps. The applicant, Welsh Leisure, has appealed to…
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Islay House elite
Woodend’s Islay House has ranked among the best Booking.com venues and won a Travellers Review Award 2025. Established in 1860 as the British American Hotel, Islay House was a coaching inn offering accommodation to miners travelling to the Bendigo goldfields in the 1860s. Owners Tarni James and Clive Warner worked to restore historical character in…
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Push for road levy
Macedon Ranges petitioners are leading the call for a road levy charge on registered vehicles in Victoria to help fund emergency wildlife care. The proposed levy is $2 per registered vehicle and would contribute to a consistent grant program for wildlife carers. Woodend resident Rhonda Gibbard is part of the group that launched the petition…
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Push to release road plans
Chaos at Woodend’s notorious Urquhart Street and High Street intersection has been flagged in parliament. Liberal Northern Victoria MP Wendy Lovell has called for the Victorian government to prioritise upgrading the intersection. Ms Lovell spoke in parliament to expedite the upgrade by releasing the design plans for consultation, and committing to fund the works. “The…
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Local talent to hone craft at VCASS
Two students from the Castlemaine region and one from Woodend have been selected to attend the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School in 2025. Muckleford’s Thea Sydes, Castlemaine’s Stella Carlon-Tozer and Woodend’s Claudia Campbell are thrilled to have won three of the 20 places to study a Theatre Arts specialism alongside their VCE subjects…
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Urgent traffic solutions sought
Macedon Ranges Shire Council is calling on Department of Transport for urgent traffic solutions for Woodend’s notorious Urquhart/High Street intersection. Users of the intersection contend with main street congestion, a confusing layout with several turning points and high volumes of traffic accessing service hot spots including the Coles supermarket and train station. More than four…
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Students learn bushfire readiness
Grade 5/6 students at St Ambrose Primary School in Woodend undertook an important project this semester, addressing a critical issue: the increasing risk of bushfires in Australia. Worsened by climate change, these events are becoming more frequent and severe, posing significant challenges to communities. Current research emphasises the value of place-based, action-oriented bushfire education to…
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Telstra upgrade for Macedon
Telstra will be upgrading its mobile base station at Macedon West to bring new 5G coverage to the area. The mobile site is on the Calder Freeway between the Macedon and Woodend turn-off and provides coverage along the freeway and the surrounding area. Telstra 5G delivers increased capacity, which means more consistent speeds, smoother streaming…