Bendigo Magazine - Issue 45 - Summer 2016/2017

ISSUE 45 | SUMMER 16/17 www.bendigomagazine.com.au

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from the team

There were times it felt like summer would never arrive with so many cold and dark days. But it’s December now, officially summer, and with the end of the school year only weeks away, and Christmas just after, it’s time to start enjoying the festive season.

It’s such a great time of the year. Children who were struggling during those last days in the classroom suddenly find a new lease on life when term ends and they can count down the days until Christmas morning. As parents, we want to make the time with children special – it goes so fast. One minute they’re more interested in the boxes and wrapping rather than the actual gift. The next they’re rolling their eyes when you talk about Santa coming and are more interested in going to the pool with friends than hanging decorations on the Christmas tree.

For some this time of year is about finally having a decent holiday, spending time with family, or spending many a night sitting on the decking or in a local beer garden or wine bar, enjoying a tipple or two. The beauty of Bendigo is there is never a shortage of things to do during summer. We have so many beautiful parks and gardens, cafes, wineries, children’s activities.

The city’s annual Summer in the Parks, see page 54, is a wonderful initiative and a must on this season’s calendar. For those of us lucky enough to live in Bendigo, we already know and look forward to the myriad of events planned. For visitors, it’s an opportunity for us to showcase to them the amazing talent and community spirit of the city. There are a few new and exciting inclusions for 2016-2017 too.

We all know this is the time crowds frantically hit the shops, stocking up on gifts for family and friends. This year, we encourage people to keep it local and have included a few pages of gift ideas all Bendigo Made, see page 81. The newly-launched Bendigo Made is helping local artisans and businesses showcase what they have to offer.

As a special treat, Bendigo Magazine has some wonderful Bendigo Made products to give away. Keep an eye on the Bendigo Magazine Facebook page to be in the running.

Wishing you a happy, fun, and safe Christmas.

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MANAGING EDITOR / CREATIVE DIRECTOR Dustin Schilling DEPUTY EDITOR Sue Turpie CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER David Field WRITERS Ben Cameron, Sarah Harris, Geoff Hocking, John Holton, Paula Hubert, Colin King, Justin McPhail, Raelee Tuckerman and Finn Vedelsby PHOTOGRAPHY Ashley Taylor PRINT MANAGER Nigel Quirk ADVERTISING advertising@bendigomagazine.com PO Box 5003 Bendigo, VIC 3550 Phone: 0438 393 198

Bendigo Magazine takes all care but accepts no responsibility for unsolicited materials. Bendigo Magazine holds copyright to all content unless otherwise stated.

ISSN 1833-1289.

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication, the publishers accept no responsibility or liability for any errors, omissions or resultant consequences including any loss or damage arising from reliance on information in this publication.

The views expressed are not necessarily endorsed by the editor or the publisher.

81

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contents

PEOPLE & LIFE

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

14

Lending a helping hand

26

Making waves

31

Safe place for storytelling

34

A long tale of puppy love

39

Many layers of ‘home’ Happy feet

20

Silver & gold

40

47

Collaboration creates new possibilities

45

Cheers to buying local

49

Elmore PS

54

Summer in the parks

53

The driving force

57

Four Lions

59

Let’s reward uniqueness

60

So natural

88

Sam & Karlie Baker

65

Creative souls

66

Beyond genre

111

20

108 Baby workout 111 Hitting it for six

FOOD & WINE 70

Summer stubbies

73

Sweet sensation

76

Summer on the rocks

79

Master stroke

99

70 HOUSE & GARDEN 81

Time for giving

91

Architectural accolades

93

Built with love

97

Revolution by design

99

Quality built

102 Being green 6

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THE FESTIVE SEASON Throughout December

fun and festivities

This season we’re lighting the Christmas tree, being treated to new works of art, celebrating the Chinese New Year, and having a Scots Day Out. Fun times ahead.

The decorations are going up and children are counting down the sleeps until Santa visits. Throughout the region there are a host of activities planned for the festive season. The only thing residents and visitors will be limited by is their time. Bendigo’s annual Christmas Carols and Lighting of the Tree is always a delight for families.

There’s the wonderful Summer in the Parks offering a packed program of events and in outlying towns, there are festivities and fun days aplenty.

For more information on these and other events and activities throughout summer, visit the Bendigo Visitor Centre, 51-67 Pall Mall.

It’s open 9am to 5pm daily, except for Christmas Day. Or you can phone 1800 813 153. www.bendigotourism.com

CHRISTMAS RACEDAY December 18 This is an opportunity for family, friends and the usual punters to enjoy a race with a difference. The Bendigo Jockey Club is this year hosting Christmas Raceday. Sit on the manicured lawns trackside and watch the thoroughbreds thunder past.

Or head to the CJ Watson Bar or Silks Dining Room for food and drinks. There’s a great view of the track from the Heritage Grandstand, and there is sure to be plenty of entertainment throughout the day. www.countryracing.com.au

CHINESE NEW YEAR From January 28, 2017 The Lunar New Year goes back thousands of years and is one of the most important traditions in Asian culture. Bendigo’s community will be treated to 15 days of events in honour of the 2017 Chinese New Year, which heralds the Year of the Rooster. There will be a community celebration on January 28, 2017 at the Dai Gum Precinct at 7pm, as well as traditional ceremonies throughout. www.bendigochinese.org.au

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events

Until February 12 Summer Drift Living Arts Space www.bendigotourism.com

Until February 12 Menagerie: Animals in Bendigo History Post Office Gallery www.bendigoartgallery.com.au December 10 Bendigo Chamber Choir Bendigo Town Hall www.thecapital.com.au

SCOTS DAY OUT February 11 Tartans, clans and family heritage … this is the day we celebrate all things Scottish.

Situated in beautiful Rosalind Park, the event draws a large crowd each February.

Visitors to this annual event can expect to see pipe bands and highland dancers, as well as quite a few kilts throughout the day. Try some haggis or have a taste or two of some Scottish whiskey. It’s a colourful and cultural fun day out for everyone. www.scotsdayout.com

MATICEVSKI: DARK WONDERLAND

December 10 Bendigo Community Farmers Market Sidney Myer Place www.bcfm.org.au December 16 Comedian Alex Williamson The Capital www.thecapital.com.au December 17 Moonlight Market Hargreaves Mall www.moonlightmarketbendigo.com.au December 25 Community Christmas Lunch All Seasons Bendigo Register by December 9, 5434 6000

Until January 15 Pushing the boundaries of fashion, Toni Maticevski’s designs are internationally renowned and revered.

His collection currently on show at the Bendigo Art Gallery demonstrates his manipulation of traditional fashion silhouettes and innovative use of materials and fabrics. The exhibition is a stunning collection of works and objects that showcase this innovative, homegrown artist. www.bendigoartgallery.com.au

January 1 Hanging Rock New Years Day Races Hanging Rock Reserve www.countryracing.com.au January 13, 2017 Deadly 60: Pole to Pole Live Ulumbarra Theatre www.thecapital.com.au January 21, 2017 Moonlight Market Hargreaves Mall www.moonlightmarketbendigo.com.au January 27, 2017 Rocking the Vines Sutton Grange Winery www.suttongrange.com.au

GIMME FREEDOM (OR GIMME DEATH): JUD WIMHURST Until February 12 Pushing the boundaries of contemporary art today is Jud Wimhurst, the Bendigo Art Gallery 2016 Going Solo artist. Going Solo gives contemporary artists who live and work in central Victoria the chance to work collaboratively with curators and produce a new body of work for solo exhibition at the gallery. Jud’s work is a mode of social commentary.

Through his art he explores the ideas of consumption, choice and mortality.

Based in Kyneton, Jud uses humour to draw attention to the dark side of consumerism. www.bendigoartgallery.com.au 10

February 2 and 3, 2017 Sanguine Estate Music Festival Ulumbarra Theatre, The Capital, Bendigo Art Gallery www.thecapital.com.au February 17 Bendigo Pacing Cup Lords Raceway Trotting Track www.bhrc.com.au February 18 Marong Cup Bendigo Race Course www.countryracing.com.au February 25 Tapestry: The Songs of Carol King Ulumbarra Theatre www.thecapital.com.au March 4 to May 28 Collective Vision: 130 Years Bendigo Art Gallery www.bendigoartgallery.com.au

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news in business

From staff awards to going local, expanding practices to the latest treatment. Bendigo businesses are forging ahead.

AWARDS FOR ELLA BACHÉ STAFF It was a proud moment for Ella Bache Bendigo recently with Kim Stewart wining State Salon Manager of the Year, and Emma Chalmers receiving the State Therapist of the Year.

The awards recognises staff who go above and beyond to promote products, demonstrate knowledge of treatments and enhance the customer journey. The State Salon Manager of the Year is passionate about the Ella Baché philosophy and motivates team members to be the best they can be, while the State Therapist of the year demonstrates their commitment to the brand through training, marketing and promotions.

In addition to achieving high retail targets, Kim always goes the extra mile to help support the salon owner and therapists even if it means helping on her days off. Always excited by new products, she organises in-salon VIP nights to help support and introduce new product releases to the community. Emma is a consistent high performer and has a commendable can-do approach to her work, always looking at improving her skills.

For more information phone 5441 4022 or visit www.ellabache.com.au

GREENCROSS VETS EXPANDS PRACTICE It’s been a busy time for the staff at Greencross Vets, but they are excited to now provide services from two new facilities at either end of Bendigo for the benefit of clients and patients.

Greencross Vets White Hills veterinary director Dr Jack Lang says the new clinic at Kangaroo Flat is located inside Petbarn and makes for a complete experience for the pet owner.

“We provide a full range of veterinary services from consultations to surgery and x-rays,” he says. “After their appointment, owners and their pets can browse the full range of accessories and food available at Petbarn. The clinic is open all day Saturday and Sunday.”

Greencross Vets White Hills is now located in a new building at 354 Napier Street.

“This grand building has on-site parking and provides spacious reception and consulting areas to minimise the stress of a visit to the vet.

We continue to provide a full range of veterinary and grooming services.”

To make an appointment, phone 5443 0044, or you can follow Greencross Vets on Facebook.

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lending a

helping hand

Willing to sacrifice the comforts of home to travel to remote places and help people they have never even met, these Bendigo residents have been working with African doctors on the practice of midwifery and putting a new roof on a school in East Timor.

By Sue Turpie It says so much about a person who is willing to sacrifice the creature comforts of home and travel to some of the remotest places in the world to help people they have never met.

For Bendigo Health midwives Elise Hore and Bronte Castle, travelling to Odede in Kenya as part of a nurse action organisation was an easy decision to make.

“Bronte and I both always wanted to volunteer,” Elise says, “so once we’d finished our studies in midwifery we were like ‘Right, let’s go, let’s do it’. I’ve done a lot of travelling as a tourist, but being someone who can volunteer for something is so much more special.

I thought it’s time to give something back using what we’re qualified in and go and help people who really need it.”

“It was always something I wanted to do and be a part of,” Bronte says. “It’s about educating and helping women and on a global level.”

The pair have been friends for years before deciding to embark on their adventure, with both studying nursing at La Trobe University Bendigo and VCE at Bendigo Senior Secondary College. The volunteer opportunity combined midwifery and nursing, but also involved raising $4000 each for medication to distribute to residents.

“Our main role was providing medical camps so people from all over the area would come and get free treatment with Kenyan doctors there,” Elise says. “There was 12 of us from Australia, and we’d diagnose on the spot. We did malaria testing and HIV testing if needed.”

In between the medical camps, the two friends would do placements, from dressing wounds to delivering babies to sitting in HIV clinics.

Through their experience the two nurses learned a lot about HIV and malaria, which are diseases they’re not usually faced with.

“We went over thinking we had a lot to teach them, but we actually learned a lot from them,” Elise says. The women still 14

provided information and suggestions to the hospital they were working at. However, their facilities are the antithesis of the new Bendigo Hospital development. While the doctors there have some knowledge, there is a great lack of resources available to them so the Bendigo volunteers had to work within the small parameters.

“We were there for a month. The first three weeks taking part of everything and finding out their routine and the way they do things.

Then for the last week, to come up with plans … but it was more of a discussion than us teaching them,” Bronte says.

“Everything there is run on Kenyan time so the nurses mightn’t turn up on time, they might get there later. They’re lucky if they have a nurse there for the entire day. When we were giving out education packages we had the clerks learning what to do because in an emergency everyone comes in and helps because they don’t have the people and resources.”

“There were also simple things such as explaining that giving birth is like running a marathon and women need to be able to have access to water to drink during the birthing process,” Elise says.

“Their water is so precious. They have to walk to the nearest creek or lake where they collect the water and bring it back and boil it,” Bronte says. “When the women come in with labour they have to bring their own towels. The hospital doesn’t provide anything. I had a 15-year-old girl come in to birth her baby and she only had the sarong that she was wearing and nothing else. No sanitary pads for bleeding afterwards, no blanket to wrap the baby in. That’s something we take for granted.”

While you may think people living in poverty would be despondent about their situation, Bronte and Elise found the opposite was true.

“The Kenyan people were just absolutely beautiful. They were so thankful for everything we did for them and were so happy for us to be there.”

Elise Hore and Bronte Castle 15

It was a sentiment echoed by Rotary Club of Bendigo Sandhurst members Martin Ruffell and Doug Lougoon who had travelled to Maubisse in East Timor.

“The thing that still amazes me is that we’re miserable here with everything we’ve got and they’re happy but they have nothing by comparison,” Martin says.

“And they’re very appreciative of what gets done,” Doug says. “They look after everything that’s been given to them. We work with them in all instances, and they’re grateful for the help that they get.”

This isn’t the first time these two Bendigo businessmen have been to Asia as part of Rotary, and they’re always happy to contribute.

“It’s the satisfaction of being able to help a less-fortunate community,” Martin says. The trip involved four Rotary members, and associates and friends of the Bendigo Maubisse Friendship Committee, which is a City of Greater Bendigo initiative that recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.

“It’s one of 32 friendship groups in Timor,” Martin says. “The Timor Government set it up to help groups like ours go and help different communities. Maubisse is our designated community.”

The friendship committee works with the government to determine projects, and organise materials which are shipped over. Then members of Bendigo Sandhurst fund their own way to the country to carry out the work.

“This time was putting a new roof on an existing primary school in a community (Maulau) that was about a 25-minute drive from where we were staying in Maubisse,” Martin says.

“It was a reasonable-sized school, about 25 metres long and eight metres wide. We had the trusses prefabbed here and joined them together when we got there and put them up with insulation. Then we did the ceiling in Colorbond,” Doug says.

16

Doug Lougoon and Martin Ruffell

“One of our volunteers is an electrician so he does Australian standard electrical work which is much better than what they’ve got. And there was help from the local community with young fellas doing some labouring work. That was the main job and it took most of the two weeks we were there.”

While they were there they also oversaw the installation of computers donated by Girton Grammar School.

“One of the IT guys came over to help put some 45 computers back together; we had to remove the existing programs and reboot with new programs – simple word processing and Excel spreadsheets.

We put seven into a clinic and they were networked together for the doctors and medical staff that work out of there, as well as four other clinics … and then the others have been donated to schools in the area,” Martin says.

“Last year when we were there we opened a community kitchen, built to Australian standards. It is such an impressive building that the government is looking to replicate it alongside the building we worked on. It’s got sinks, microwave, and a large oven that’s used to

cook bread every day for the community.”

“They go out into the community and take a couple of weeks’ worth of meals out into the community,” Doug says. “One of the sisters who came here a couple of years ago saw how they did Meals on Wheels … they came up with a Meals on Heels project because it’s basically walking around the villages. Part of the deal was that if the government gave them money they did it for malnourished children as well so they’re supplying children plus the elderly with a good feed.”

“One of the other things we did was hand out clothing packages to the community,” Martin says.

“Penny Cotton from Rotary has a knitting project which has been going for a few years, “ Doug says. “Our club finds wool and all these knitters from all around Australia send in their knitting. It fills up the spaces in the container to go over there. All the clothing packages then go out to needy communities.”

“It’s funny because with all the clothes donations over the years you can see a kid walking around wearing a Bendigo South East College jumper,” Martin laughs.

17

Andrew Holland and Carolyn Wild

Daniel Treacy and Shae Cook

INNER-CITY DEVELOPMENT The public was invited inside the doors of 111 Mitchell Street, Bendigo, to help celebrate the opening of the new development.

Morgan and Andy Lawson

Nick Hall, Jayden Donaldson, Michael Brooks and Glenn Rae

Sharee Mangan and Sharon Harrington

Steve and Meredith Carter and Nikki and Meghan Ketterer

The event was hosted by McKean McGregor Real Estate and Scott Jackman. Guests were treated to gorgeous views of the city at dusk while enjoying drinks to mark the occasion.

For further information visit www.111mitchell.com.au

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VINEYARD HOSTS ANNUAL FESTIVITIES Dara Haagenson, Patrick McIntosh and Ebony Kennedy

Grant Leader, Renelle McManus, Gina Burns and Paul Brindle

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Crowds flocked to Belvoir Park Estate to enjoy quality food, wine and entertainment.

The Australian Queen Tribute Band headlined this year’s Belvoir Park Estate Food and Wine Festival. It is the third year in a row that the boutique winery has hosted the event. With some 1500 guests relaxing amongst the vines, there was plenty to enjoy with local vineyards offering tastings of wines, boutique ciders and craft beers, as well as vendors offering local foods and live entertainment throughout the day.

silver & gold

There be way more than dragons at Bendigo’s showcase of Chinese heritage, and this world-class collection has just celebrated its 25th year with some stunning acquisitions.

By Sarah Harris The many comments on the world’s largest travel forum Trip Advisor are conclusive: the Golden Dragon Museum is a gem. Yet how many locals can say they have seen the exquisite solid jade carriage that bore nobility of the Qing dynasty more than 150 years ago?

The carriage – weighing 2.2 tonnes, carved with 188 dragons, 18 phoenixes and 36 bats, and fringed by 155 strings of stone beads – is just one of the breathtaking exhibits in a world-class collection.

“The carriage was donated to us by the NSW Government,” Golden Dragon Museum general manager Anita Jack explains. “We were incredibly lucky to get it. They were originally looking to loan it, then one of the Chinese Australian Historical Society members came down here and she was like, ‘oh, my goodness. You should have the carriage’. It is nigh on impossible to value it.”

The carriage sits alongside a more humble looking wooden carriage which dates from around 1760.

“I actually love this one. It sort of debunks the myth that all the Chinese who came over here were all poor and all gold miners,” Anita says. “This was found in Lismore (NSW) on the site of an old Chinese market garden and the owners would have paid a lot of money to bring it over and have it on their farm. It is really rare because a lot of these things were pulled apart in the 20th century and used as decorative art.”

which dates from the 1860s. Another family has given us a bible that belonged to the Protectorate of the Chinese during the gold rush. All these things are helping us redefine our exhibition space, meaning we could really re-curate all the spaces again with significant and unique artefacts. The problem here now is that we are at maximum capacity. We have around 38,000 items in the collection, our archive upstairs is just incredible.”

Extending the museum is a key to cementing Bendigo’s place as the Chinese cultural centre of Australia.

“We have just finished a strategic plan and are looking at what the next 20 years will look like and hope to have some nice announcements to make in the future,” Anita says.

Part of that planning process included serious consideration of whether the museum should be moved out of Bendigo to a city where it might be better supported.

“We did look at what that might mean and that was a good exercise because it meant people thought, ‘oh, what would we lose?’ ” Anita says. The design plans for a stunning three-level extension which wraps itself around the existing building is proof of the museum board’s good faith in the city. But it remains a challenge to keep the museum profitable, especially as it is largely doing it alone and relies on the hard work of volunteers.

The quality and world significance of such items underscores the importance of the museum, which often lends from its collection to national and international institutions for display.

“Having a museum that runs solely by admissions at the door is really hard,” Anita admits. The museum attracts some 35,000 visitors a year, many of whom come from overseas, and this is more due to word of mouth than any advertising budget. Chinese tourists are often overwhelmed to discover treasures such as the Horrie Bridges coin collection which includes currency dated back to 1100 BC. But for all that it is a key attraction which helps set the city apart it receives no local government funding.

“We have items on exhibition in the National Museum of Australia year-round and we are working at the moment on an exhibition in Hong Kong,” Anita reveals. “We continue to be given very significant donations in regards to our own history here. The other day we were given a garment from a European man who was with the Chinese,

The Golden Dragon Museum was the brainchild of Anita’s father, Russell Jack, AM, the long-time stalwart of the Bendigo Chinese Association. It would take almost 20 years for the funds to be raised and the project to be approved before the first sod was turned on the site in 1990.

In addition to such gifts, to mark its silver jubilee the museum added 17 more important acquisitions including a second Qing dynasty cloisonne lion to complete an original pair, a 19th century dragon boat, and a rosewood imperial throne.

20

21

Its most famous resident and foundation artefact is, of course, Loong – the oldest imperial dragon in the world – who made his first public appearance as part of the Bendigo Easter Procession in 1892.

But there are many other treasures that date from the time the Chinese first joined the Easter Procession to help raise funds for local charities and specifically the Benevolent Asylum.

A papier mache fan banner inlaid with kingfisher feathers from the processional regalia the Chinese wore during the fair in the 1880s is one of Anita’s favourite items. The survival of such delicate items is remarkable.

“We are really lucky here in Bendigo because the air is dry. Unlike other communities around Australia or the diaspora of Chinese that went out to Vietnam and Thailand there is no humidity here, so these artefacts had a greater chance of surviving,” she explains. But even with all the care in the world a dragon can only take so much and this year will see the launch of a fundraising campaign to replace Sun Loong (new dragon).

“Most dragons in the style of Sun Loong only last about 10 years,“ Anita explains. “He has lasted 47 years. He has had a lot of care, a lot of repairs and conservation, but he needs some major work now. He is the world’s longest imperial dragon and last remaining dragon made by Lo On Kee and we have to make sure we keep him in the best condition because he is internationally significant.”

The new dragon, to be called Dai Gum Loong (big gold dragon), will take up to a year to make. He will take his cues from the grandfather of the Bendigo dragons, Loong, but how he will look is yet to be decided. While ever a dragon dances in the streets the future looks golden for Bendigo which has always enjoyed the “best of the best” when it comes to the Chinese contribution to city life. www.goldendragonmuseum.org 22

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April, Phil and Ella Downing

Ingrid Fisher and Kylie Clark

Lara and Nicole Judd

Madison and Noah Ashby

Matt Buckell and Toby McCaig

Maxwell Kingdom and Di Long

FUN RUN FUNDRAISER More than 2000 people joined in the Bendigo Bank 2016 Fun Run raising funds to buy equipment for the new Bendigo Hospital.

While the weather was gloomy, there were plenty of smiles as participants of all ages ran and walked the 5km, 10km, 15km and 21.1km circuits. This annual event has also become a favourite for serious runners, while family and friends were happy to take things at a slower pace.

For further information visit the Bendigo Fun Run Facebook page or go to www.bendigobankfunrun.com.au

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Ben Jones, Nic Watson and Dylan Lefevre

Charlotte McMillan and Victoria Hall

AND THEY'RE OFF Ella Neivandt, Joe Agresta and Alysha Elliot

Manny Cao and James Farrier

Jason Canterford and Teagan Theobold

Stella Capewell, Emma Dockery, Laura Mclean and Kirsten Costello

It was fascinators and dress ties aplenty at this year’s Jayco Bendigo Cup. Thousands were trackside for the annual event, which included the coveted Fashions on the Field, live music, food and wine. The race meet attracts some of the country’s best trainers and riders, as well as being one of the most popular social events in the Spring Racing Carnival. This year’s winner of the Jayco Bendigo Cup was St Francis Of Assis.

Gold rush stories come to life at our iconic attractions We specialise in school excursions, enhancing student learning through authentic experiences.  Explore the honeycomb of underground tunnels at Central Deborah Gold Mine.  Visit Australia’s oldest operating Tram Depot, Bendigo Tramways.  Discover more about our Chinese culture at the Bendigo Joss House Temple.

Stories you’ll remember Speak to our Bookings Coordinator about tailoring a package to your needs: (03) 5443 8255 bookings@bendigoheritage.com.au bendigoheritage.com.au

making waves Nine-year-old Liarra Pule-Leech is already living her ambition of being a radio presenter, thanks to her show on Bendigo community radio station Phoenix FM.

By Sue Turpie Sitting at the announcer’s desk at Phoenix FM, surrounded by microphones and electronics, Liarra Pule-Leech looks right at home, and she’s only nine years old, making her possibly the youngest presenter who’s licensed in Australia.

of a host of volunteer presenters at the station and each has its own flavour depending on the musical tastes of the host. Liarra has an appreciation for all music that belies her years but there are a couple that stand out.

“I’ve been doing radio since I could speak,” the young disc jockey says. There is a confidence in Liarra’s voice and an obvious joy that she gets being at the community radio station. She has been on the airwaves since she was about two years old, having been introduced to radio by her mum Nicole, who was already a presenter.

“We play different pop music,” she says. “My two favourite bands are Justice Crew and Wolfstone, they’re folk music. The Justice Crew music is more hip hop. But I like everything. We talk about kid celebrities, and acting tips and audition tips, what to wear to special events, and that. “

It is a family affair with Liarra’s dad hosting his show, Game of Drones, while her mum is on the air for her show, Goldfever.

There are also furry guests on the show, such as the orangutan King Loui, a penguin Pingu, a seal Tripper, and the snow tiger is Stripes.

There’s also Big Ted.

“I was interviewing her on my show about her acting because that was taking off, and she thought ‘I can do this a bit better than you mum’,” Nicole laughs. She was interviewed in May of this year, and then after three times on air Liarra had to be made a member of the radio station. Her aim was to do something specifically for children.

“She said ‘mum get me to the committee because I want to be a presenter.”

In order to allow Liarra to go on, they had to ask for special permission from the committee which resulted in a change of policy.

“There are kids who might talk as guests or who might do a spot… but as far as we know she is the youngest presenter in Australia who has an actual licence,” Nicole says.

It’s that confidence that comes through in Liarra’s shows. That and a love for what she does, and for music.

“Doing the show is really fun, I love mainly everything, but the show that I’m doing now … I love chatting to my mum and spending time with her,” Liarra says. “I also get to express my own views to people who are listening and I don’t really get to do that anywhere else. I know one person who listens while he’s driving his truck. Because I play the bagpipes for my dad and he plays the bagpipes.”

Liarra’s on air from 8pm to 9pm every second Monday. She is one 26

“They’re like celeb toys,” Liarra explains. “We have a different one each time. It’s hard to do all their voices because sometimes I get mixed up. I just randomly make up a voice and then try to remember it the next time.”

Liarra was trained by Tanya Jones, as well as Jenny Rainsford, at the station and Tanya notes how much the grade-three student has grown in skills and confidence since first starting.

“The main things we covered in training were dealing with both the technical side and performance,” Tanya says. “It was training her to speak clearly and project her voice so the audience enjoy listening to her. Listening to her last show you could hear that she’s coming along in leaps and bounds, and becoming more confident with each show.

“Radio is a good training for everyday life because you learn how to be confident presenting on all sorts of platforms, such as public speaking which we’re all afraid of. To have that platform when you’re younger is good. It helps when applying for jobs later in life, too.

“I remember as a kid I used to have my tape recorder in front of the TV, and to have this opportunity is pretty unique.”

For Liarra her ambition is to be either a radio presenter or an actress. She’s well on her way.

Amy Harding, Abbey Klemm, Rhaiden McQueen and Mikayla Peace

Paul Smout and Katie Wingate

Charle Loughlin, Chloee Bennett and Darcy Fletcher

Kack Di-Valentine,Daniel Baldwin and Claudia Millington

Tabitha Howarth, Siahnna Abbas, Taj Ryan and Timmy Herbert

Sam Walker, Todd Nester and Jackson Taylor

IT'S SHOW TIME From arts and crafts to heart-stopping rides, horse jumping to monster trucks ‌ This was the 156th year of the Bendigo Agricultural Show, and it again proved to a great success with thousands converging on the Prince of Wales Showgrounds for the annual event.

Families and friends wandered through the sheds filled with produce and animals, all competing for prizes. There were sideshows, show bags, the family circus, and loads more to entertain visitors of all ages. www.bendigoshow.org.au

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Emily Percy, Bruce Taylor and Jacob Percy

Helen and Guy Miller

A COMMUNITY CARING FOR PETS

Jess Eather and Alex DeAraugo

Petcarers Bendigo hosted a not-for-profit community day as part of its goal to improve the lives of animals and the bonds they share with their owners.

Kyle, Tracy and Evan McClellan

Special guests on the day were Debra Tranter and Oscar from Oscars Law. There was also a range of pet experts who shared their knowledge of pet care with owners, as well as pet rescue groups who spoke about the role of foster carers and rescue adoption.

Leeanne Hales and Mark and Debra Tranter

Sharon Moore, Liz Hill and Rikki Donkin

For information on Oscars law visit www.oscarslaw.org. For Petcarers Bendigo go to www.petcarers.com.au

HAVE YOU HEARD? GREENCROSS VETS WHITE HILLS HAS A BRAND NEW HOME!

The team at Greencross Vets White Hills are excited to announce that we have relocated to our new home at 354 Napier Street, White Hills - just 150m down the road from our old clinic.

Our new facility includes: ✔ State-of-the-art veterinary equipment ✔ Large reception and consultation rooms ✔ Ample on-site parking for your convenience ✔ Professional dog groomer ✔ And much more Coming Soon - Our old building at 362 Napier Street is undergoing renovations to accommodate a brand new boutique style Cat Boarding Facility unique to Bendigo.

For enquiries regarding our services please phone us on 5443 0044 Greencross Vets White Hills

354 Napier Street, White Hills

greencrossvets.com.au

30

safe place for

storytelling

It was only three years ago that Caleb Maxwell’s passions were so divided between acting and filmmaking he wasn’t sure what his next move should be.

By John Holton “I desperately wanted to be a professional actor, but I’d become a professional auditioner instead,” says Caleb, who graduated from Bendigo Senior Secondary in 2008.

“I’d had a few small roles in things, and had even made it through to the third casting call-back for the Australian film, Animal Kingdom.

I loved being around actors and filmmakers, but just couldn’t land that major role.”

It was around this time that Caleb’s sister turned 21, so he and fellow BSSC Alumni Levi Ingram (Class of 2012) decided to document the occasion in video.

“Levi had a Canon 60D and a video mic. What began as a simple birthday video turned into a half-hour documentary including interviews with friends and family members,” Caleb says. “We didn’t realise it at the time, but we were teaching ourselves to be filmmakers. It was the genesis of Hebron Films.”

Three years down the track, and with a string of high-profile local clients, Hebron Films is building a reputation for telling local stories with heart and soul. But as Caleb explains, the learning curve has often been a steep one.

After graduating from BSSC, Caleb spent three years studying filmmaking at Holmesglen TAFE, and credits the lecturers with fasttracking his knowledge of the industry.

“My directing teacher was Andrew S Gilbert – the dad from Around the Twist – a real stalwart of the film and television industry,” Caleb says. “My writing teacher, Ben Michael, wrote for Australian soapies and was a script editor for the Cat Stevens musical, so between them I just learnt so much.”

Back in Bendigo however, it was a combination of door-knocking, persistence, and some serious leaps of faith that gained the boys their first break. Armed with a list of ‘dream clients’ and a good dose of youthful confidence they cold-called local businesses.

“Our first ever client was PH Property,” Caleb says. “We told them, ‘We’ve seen your ad and we think we can do a better job.’

“The truth was we had no idea what the process was for making a TV commercial – we didn’t even own a tripod at the time – but we came up with a concept, hired a slow-mo camera, and learnt as we went along.”

At the same time, the boys made a promotional video for their friend and business colleague Jesse Gollan at Naked Espresso. It became their calling card and allowed them to show Bendigo what they were capable of.

The impressive list of clients is testament to Hebron’s core value of setting others up for success, whether it be the people within their own creative team or businesses such as Masons of Bendigo, Rocks on Rosalind, Bendigo Tourism or the Boardwalk Café.

“We’ve tried to build our business around storytelling and creating a safe environment for people to tell those stories,” Caleb says.

“Stories… narratives… they are what engages an audience. The skill is to draw that out of people who aren’t natural storytellers.”

Caleb credits BSSC with helping him find his own brand of creativity and exploring it across a whole range of subjects including media studies, drama, and photography.

“At BSSC I was able to build on the creativity I’d developed at Creek Street,” Caleb says. “Socially, it was quite an awakening for me, and I was so excited by the array of subjects on offer.

“The teachers really invested their time and energy in me and I’m sure that encouraged me to take chances and find success. I went back recently to talk to the current media students, which I loved.

The college holds a special place in my heart.”

That connection continues to grow, with current BSSC student Micah Gregory the latest member of the Hebron team.

And the future?

“I hope I’ll be speaking to the students one day as the director of a feature-length film,” Caleb says. “Interpreting stories visually … that’s my passion. Creating that safe place.”

31

BSE CELEBRATES CENTENARY Past and present staff and students visited Bendigo South East Secondary College in honour of 100 years of education at the Flora Hill site as well as the official opening of BSE as a school.

Audrey Radford and Emma Snowdon

Bev Faull and Dawn Gray

Helen Stevens, Helen Clees and Dororthy Jalland

Jacinta Allan and Ernie Fleming

Jack Ryan, Amy Bilkey and Ben Hubbard

Joy Benstead and Merna Curnow

As part of the celebrations, the school hosted an official ceremony with guest speaker Minister Jacinta Allan. Guests also included students who attended the school as far back as the 1930s, others who have maintained friendships since the 1940s.

The school first opened in August 1916 as the Bendigo School of Domestic Arts.

A book written by Michele Matthews about the educational institute was also launched as part of the weekend’s events.

GIF T A

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You will be sent a donation certificate which can be personalised to give to friends and family acknowledging the unique gift you have donated in their honour.

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Silver jubilee for festival This year was the 25th anniversary of the Castlemaine and District Festival of Gardens.

Photography by Ashley Taylor Visitors enjoyed wandering through grand and historical gardens as well as small cottage plots and community gardens.

Thanks to good winter rains, there were many properties opening their gates to the public again. This year included, for the first time, a school garden at Winters Flat Primary School. Other events were held during the festival such as an exhibition of garden-related paintings at the Castlemaine Art Museum. www.festivalofgardens.org Maxine Testei and Gwen Davey

Meg Clancy and Terry Moloney

Peter and Judy Sherlock

33

a long tale of

puppy love

For 50 years Bruce and Olive Heider have volunteered for Guide Dogs Victoria, raising puppies and raising funds. It’s with fond memories they’re saying goodbye.

By Sue Turpie Whether you look at it as five decades, half a century or 50 years … it’s an impressive amount of time. For Bruce and Olive Heider it’s been a labour of love volunteering for Guide Dogs Victoria for that long. However, the couple has decided it’s time to say goodbye.

It was catching an advertisement on 3BO that led Bruce and Olive to this calling. Their own dog had just passed away and it seemed a natural progression to give that love to another furry friend. Or three, or four, or five …

there was never a shortage of love when they were boarding at the Heider household.

“In the early years they had a lot of donated dogs, so they didn’t know the history of the dogs and didn’t know much about them … but the latter years saw a pretty good breeding program in with the various organisations overseas in Britain, America and Germany,” Bruce says. “They swapped breeding stock, and now they’ve got their biggest percentage of passing dogs now.”

“They wanted people to take these puppies, guide dogs, and look after them for 12 months,” Olive says. “So we put our name down.”

When a guide dog is in action, it’s a given that they’re not allowed to be petted, which can be difficult given they’re such loving and gentle creatures.

A representative from the organisation visited their home to ensure it was suitable, and it wasn’t long before the couple had its first puppy. Many furry friends have slept on the doggy beds in the sunroom of their family home since.

“When you see them working, it’s just amazing what they do,” Olive says. “Well the person puts their life in the hands of the dog,” Bruce adds.

“That was in 1966,” quips Bruce. “We’ve had 25 pups over a period of more than 25 years, but as well we’ve had mature dogs that have needed to have a holiday.

They come up for maybe a week. All up we did that for about 30 years.”

For Bruce and Olive, the time frame for hosting the dogs slotted in well with their work schedules.

“Being a tradie, I’d get time off at Christmas,” Bruce says. “We’d be given a dog at the start of the year, and we’d go caravanning at Christmas so we’d just drop the dog off at the centre. Then if we were coming back the same way we could call in and pick up a different dog.

“Other times, whoever was in-charge of puppy raising would bring the vehicle up the back and the dog would go out and be wagging his tail, excited he was going for a drive. The dog wouldn’t even bother to look back,” Bruce laughs. “We’d just see the back end as he drove away.”

The couple have photos of many of the puppies and dogs that stayed with them. Not all puppies were suitable for being guide dogs, but 34

The couple were also instrumental in starting the Guide Dog Auxiliary Bendigo some 40 years ago, through which vital funds were raised and the association was publicised.

There were visits to the local schools, socialising the pups and explaining the work that guide dogs do, along with dropping off and picking up the well-known plastic dogs that the public drop their donations into.

Before counting machines, countless hours were spent counting and bagging the donations by Bruce and company, and then again at the bank.

“Nowadays we make sure it’s goes in a bag and into the bank and into the coin machine, and since that I reckon it’s saved us, in a week, about four hours.”

It would be impossible to put a price on the amount of time Bruce and Olive have given to such a worthy cause, but they have nothing but love for the memories it’s given them.

“We’ve enjoyed our time with the association over the years,” Bruce smiles.

For information on Guide Dogs Victoria, to inquire about raising a puppy or make a donation, visit www.guidedogsvictoria.com.au

35

Bec O’Brien, Chooneng Seah-Fagavao, Saari Frochot-Ryan and Maddy Walter

Brad Chalmers, Aaron Nitschke and Callum Rowe

Harrison Mulqueen, Blake Arnell and Rowan Knight

Jasmine Turner and Mandi Bruce

Jayden Dunne, Alysha Elliott and Milly McEwan

Sandra Wallace and Caitlin Cox

ON THE RUNWAY Celebrating a decade of local fashion, the Bendigo Fashion Festival presented its 10th Anniversary Runway Show.

For the first time, the event was held at Ulumbarra Theatre and brought together local retail, boutiques and designers for an exciting night of fashion, music, performance and style.

The audience was treated to a beautiful collection of ensembles featuring clothing and accessories from the local fashion scene. www.bendigofashionfestival.com.au

Become a Bendigo Ambassador today If you’re a Bendigo local who loves showing off Bendigo’s best experiences, places to eat, drink and stay to your visiting friends and relatives then the Bendigo Ambassador Pass is for you.

Save on entry fees, gain valuable discounts and enjoy the best of Bendigo on us!

Bendigo Visitor Centre Open 9am to 5pm daily (except Christmas Day)

Visit bendigotourism.com/ ambassador for more information.

51-67 Pall Mall, Bendigo Phone: 03 5434 6060 tourism@bendigo.vic.gov.au

Sign up and collect your Pass from the Bendigo Visitor Centre. It’s free! #ExploreBendigo

Bendigo Visitor Centre

Jacqui and Josh Hogan and Brent Millar

Jason and Steph Pay

GRAND OPENING John Van Orsouw and Sara and Ellie Mills

Kieran and Lauren Nihill and Sue O’Connor

JM Homes recently celebrated the opening of their new display home, the Hampshire.

Builder Sam O’Connor, staff, tradies and guests toasted the event, held at the display home which is in the Imagine Estate in Strathfieldsaye.

Tara, Sophie and Sam O’Connor

Tom Stevens, Phil Gattuso and Cam Moore

BEST WESTERN CATHEDRAL MOTOR INN Situated 500m from the CBD and adjacent to the beautiful Sacred Heart Cathedral • Featuring 31 spacious rooms • Wireless broadband and complimentary Austar • All rooms include a queen size bed with spa rooms available • Breakfast service available

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Guests were given the opportunity to wander around and inspect the new quality-built four-bedroom property. www.jmhomesbendigo.com.au

Cogho and Ez

Julie Bulger and Helen Reynard

Kate Murphy, Catherine McLean, Mary Murphy and Sonia Elliott

Kelly Buckell, Nicole Spedding, Cathy Ritchie, Kate Murphy and Jan McInnes

Mel Gilligan, Ann-Maree Reid and Meagan Southgate

Naomi Egglestone, Cathy Ritchie and Nicole Spedding

GIRLS NIGHT IN Bendigo hosted its own Cancer Council Girls Night In raising more than $10,500 for cancer research.

The girls enjoyed food, drink and fun company at the All Seasons Bendigo … and all for a good cause. Just Like Eddie provided the entertainment, and there was plenty of support from local businesses.

For further information, you can visit the event’s Facebook page.

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many layers of 'home' Since moving from their home in Bangladesh, Nasrin and Nasim have found their place in the Bendigo community and the beginning of a journey to independence.

By John Holton

“Home is freedom,” says Nasrin Shah Naaz. “Freedom from the outside world, freedom from judgement, freedom to be yourself.

Home is somewhere warm with love. A place where you can laugh and cry without fear.”

“Bangladesh is a country blessed with natural beauty. It’s green and lush with rich, fertile river flats, forests, and the world’s longest beach. The air has a special quality … it’s almost as if you can ‘feel’ the oxygen. It’s not how most people think of Bangladesh.

For Nasrin, who migrated with her husband Nasim and daughter Janeeta from Bangladesh seven years ago, home is also about people; her parents and extended family who still live in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh; her sister in Great Britain; and her friends and neighbours that have become such an integral part of her family’s new antipodean home … first in Adelaide, and now Bendigo.

“Dhaka, where I grew up, is developing fast as a modern metropolis.

It’s known as the city of mosques, but it actually has a very secular outlook. It celebrates all cultures and religions. My parents are Muslim, but they also go to Hindu and Christian celebrations.

In Bangladesh, Christian, Buddhist and Hindu festivals are all celebrated as national holidays.”

“We’ve been blessed with the people we’ve met and the friends we’ve made since coming to Australia,” Nasrin says. “Our first neighbours in Adelaide still treat me like their family and never miss a birthday.”

While there’s a lot Nasrin misses about her home of almost 30 years, she feels lucky that technology allows her to carry that home with her on a daily basis.

That same sense of community has followed Nasrin and her family to Bendigo.

“When we moved into our new home in Bendigo it happened to be on the day of Ramadan. We had no food in the house and we were tired after the move. Someone knocked on the front door and it was our new neighbour with a cake. She thought a cake would be a great way for us to break fast. It wasn’t just her generosity that touched us so deeply, but the fact that she knew we’d been fasting; that without even knowing us she cared enough to consider our beliefs.”

It’s a story Nasrin likes to tell whenever she can as a way to break down the negative stereotypes so often reported in the media. For her it was a key moment in her understanding of home.

“Home is not just about the place where you live, but the peacefulness of your surroundings,” she says. “Bendigo has already given us so much. Our son, Keyaan, was born here; Nasim and I both started our professional careers; we built a home … we strongly believe we are meant to be here.”

Of course any move that involves crossing continents comes with sacrifice. For Nasrin and Nasim it meant leaving family behind as well as their beloved Bangladesh – a country that Nasrin describes as being very different to many people’s perceptions.

“Thank goodness for Skype,” she says. “I can see and talk to my family every day, so it always feels like they are close. We can catch up with family every year, both here in Australia and with trips back to Bangladesh, so the children don’t miss out on seeing their grandparents. I also have a sister living in Ballarat, so I’m lucky to be surrounded by that sense of home.”

Nasrin believes she is a different person to the one who left Bangladesh in January 2010, and describes her arrival in Australia as the beginning of her journey to independence.

“In Dhaka, I lived like a princess, where I was surrounded by so many supports to carry out day-to-day tasks. I was totally focused on my career as a teacher and wasn’t spending time with my family.

But after moving here, I found the other side of life – the balance between work and family – and I became self-dependent.

“While there are many things I miss about Bangladesh – especially my students and the cultural celebrations – moving to Australia has been very positive. I feel like I’ve become a real mum here. I’ve learnt to drive, to cook, to clean … and our children will be a lot more independent as a result. It was God’s plan for me.”

Nasrin is a community development worker at Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Services, while Nasim is a pharmacist at Chemist Warehouse.

39

happy feet Be it ever so humble, Bendigo’s most unlikely export success story is proving the old advertising jingle “Oils ain’t Oils”.

By Sarah Harris As products go the Worlds Best Hoof Oil is no show pony. But while it doesn’t have the boutique appeal of gourmet goods or the wow factor of large-scale engineered products this homemade horse hoof conditioner is responsible for many millions of happy feet.

Just how this humble product went from being a mum and pop operation in a backyard in Longlea to the number one best seller in the US and many other countries is a story in itself.

“When we sent our first shipment to America I got a letter from the US Food and Drug Administration saying that they weren’t going to let the product in because the name was insinuating American manufacturers couldn’t make it. I replied ‘Yes, that’s right,’ ” the product’s inventor, Bruce Dalton, chuckles.

“After I pointed out that the business was not only registered, but trademarked they let it in. That was 11 or 12 years ago and now we are number one over there, although we have 80 competitors in the market.”

Bruce and his wife Margaret have always had an interest in horses.

Over the years they have owned successful thoroughbreds and trotters and Margaret is a former Horse Riding Club Association of Victoria State Champion.

“The farriers that used to come out here always used to say, ‘Your horses have the best feet’ and that is kind of when the seed was planted for Worlds Best Hoof Oil,” Bruce recalls.

He first started making his own hoof conditioner after finding a 100-year-old recipe from the Snowy River area.

“I am always tinkering around with ideas from the past. After I came across this recipe I played around with it for about 15 years and continued to improve on it, but never in my wildest dreams did I think I was ever going to sell it,” he laughs.

That changed when, after 40 years in the marketing business, Bruce was made redundant and decided to put his skills to use selling his own product.

“There’s an old saying; ‘No hoof, no horse.’ People who are not horsey don’t understand how important the hoof is. A hoof injury will not only force a horse out of performance, but could finish it for life.

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A hoof needs to be flexible and moist to grow correctly and the more the hoof grows the better the quality of the hoof.”

Bruce and Margaret’s customers include everyone from Arab sheikhs and the King of Malaysia to Melbourne Cup winners including Delta Blues and Pop Rock – the Japanese horses that finished first and second in the Cup in 2006.

“The market is not limited, we have trotters, quarter horses, show horses,” Bruce says. The product is now sold in more than 60 countries. “I don’t think there would be anyone in Bendigo who exports to as many countries as we do. We reached our first million in end-user sales about seven years ago and the business has grown every single year. But people who are ignorant and don’t understand what the product does for a horse give it no respect. I don’t mind because I keep going to the bank.”

The hoof oil is so effective that Bruce once even had an inquiry from the owner of a large chain of beauty salons in the US who wanted to bottle the product in small vials for use on clients’ fingernails. “We had to decline that,” he laughs.

While the ingredients of Worlds Best Hoof Oil, including pharmaceutical grade Stockholm Tar, are listed on the can, the exact recipe remains a closely guarded secret.

“People say ‘What’s in it, how do you make it?’ Why would I tell them? You tell me what is in KFC, Coca Cola or even Nivea,” he says.

Now aged 71, Bruce is starting to think about retirement.

“We work seven days a week at times to meet demand and at any given time have about half-a-million dollars worth of stock here for export orders. We have had two very serious offers which would see the company go to New Zealand or America, but I’m holding off because I would like to see it remain here.”

These days Bruce is philosophical about the circumstances that saw him cantering down a new straight in his mid 50s.

“I guess everything happens for a reason. When we first bought this property I thought one day, when I retire, I might sell tomatoes out the front. I haven’t had time to grow tomatoes – that might be next.” www.worldsbesthoofoil.com

UNCORKING BENDIGO'S FINEST DROPS

Carolyn, Peter Wiseman and Lorraine Coulton

Elyssa Williams, Emilie Beattie, Pene Wood and Carlotta Standen

Kellie Brick and Marc Bauer

Kellie Stagg and Susan Furness

Lorinda and Raelene McKenzie

Marino Greblo and Malcolm Campbell

The annual Bendigo Heritage Uncorked again showcased the best regional wines, food and gold rush architecture the city has to offer.

Participants, complete with their souvenir tasting glass, strolled between eight venues in central Bendigo, sampling wines from throughout the region which had been matched with gourmet food. This year the venues included Ulumbarra Theatre, Bendigo Town Hall, Bendigo Art Gallery, Rocks on Rosalind, Bunja Thai, La Piazza, the Hotel Shamrock and the Chinese Gardens.

For information on this event, wineries and other events involving local wineries, visit www.bendigowines.org.au

Committed To Providing Quality Care WELCOMING NEW PATIENTS. CALL TO BOOK AN APPOINTMENT. We provide a comprehensive family medical service in a friendly, relaxed environment with 7 doctors, 3 nurses and 7 administrative staff. It is a happy environment for staff and patients alike and we take pride in the services we provide to our patients.

Ph: 03 5441 4554 41 Eaglehawk Road, Bendigo www.goldencitymedicalclinic.com.au

Opening Hours: Monday - Friday: 8:30am - 5:30pm Saturday: 9:30am - 11:00am

Anderson Price-Brown and Wendy Holmberg

Carolyn Bourke and Talia Harrap

LIGHT THE NIGHT

Cooper and Mitchell Coll, Millicent Cross and Ryan Coll

Liam Giofrelle, Campbell McClure, Mikayla Giofrelle, Madison Giofrelle and Olivia Saunderson

Levi and Anthony Ilott

Phoebe and Hannah Garrett

It was a lovely sight as Bendigo residents walked around Lake Weeroona for the Leukaemia Foundation’s annual Light the Night Walk.

More than 60,000 Australians are living with blood cancer, and every day, another 35 people are diagnosed with leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma.

Crowds gathered at the lake as night fell, with participants lighting lanterns in remembrance of someone special, and to raise funds to help beat blood cancer. www.lightthenight.org.au

www.ccb.vic.edu.au

Ask for our 2017 Instrumental Music Program brochure

Visit our College and meet our community CATHOLIC COLLEGE BENDIGO Open Evening: Tuesday 28 February 2017 LA VALLA CAMPUS (Years 7 - 9)

COOLOCK CAMPUS (Years 10 - 12)

Places currently available in Years 7 - 12.

Open Evening: Tuesday 28 February from 4 - 7pm.

Book a personal tour and find out about our VCE and VCAL pathways.

Transition Day: Tuesday 28 March for Grade 6 students entering Year 7, 2018.

Families interested in enrolment for 2017 and 2018 are warmly invited to visit our College.

Enrolment enquiries & tour bookings: Mrs Trish Martin, College Registrar tmartin@ccb.vic.edu.au (03) 5449 3466

Principal’s Tours: 9am on 23 February, 2 & 30 March, 4 May or by appointment.

A Ministry of Mercy Education Ltd ABN 69 154 531 870

Brendan Watson, Brendan Baker and Simon Penny

Dick Phillips and Chris De Araugo

Hamish Riley, Betty Shalevski and Brent Mason

Mark Blabey and Terry Wallace

Rachel Mason, Emma Nielson and Kerry Krenz

Steve Smith and Matt Davis

BLOKES BEFORE THE BOUNCE Bendigo blokes came together to have a fun night out while helping raise funds for the Otis Foundation.

There were prizes up for grabs through a fundraising auction, and the guys got to listen to guest speaker AFL legend and coach Terry Wallace. OTIS Foundation general manager, Rachel Mason says while it was an excuse to get mates together to kick-off the AFL grand final weekend, the funds raised will help the foundation continue to provide retreats at no cost to people living with breast cancer. www.otisblokes.gofundraise.com.au

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AT GIRTON GRAMMAR SCHOOL Girton Grammar School proudly announces our Scholarship opportunities for 2017/18.

Girton provides specialist academic instruction delivering the region’s strongest VCE results, excellent pastoral care and a vast array of co-curricular activities; all in a fun, caring environment where students are happy to attend their school.

1. The Girton Scholarship (Means Tested)

Available to students entering Years 5 to 9 in 2018 Registration Closing Date: Monday, 6th February, 2017

2. The VCE Scholarship (Means Tested)

Available to new students entering Years 10-12 Access to these scholarships is possible at any stage in the academic year for Years 10-11. Year12 applicants need to complete a full year.

3. The Betty Higgs Music Scholarship (By audition)

Available to new and current students entering Years 7-12 in 2018

4. The Performing Arts Scholarship (By audition)

Available to new and current students entering Years 7-12 in 2018 The moment the door opens on a Girton Education, students enter an environment where they are encouraged and supported to realise their potential. Immerse your child in a culture where achievement is socially acceptable and applauded, individual pathways are developed and every child is known and nurtured.

Come and see Girton on Friday January 20th at 10.30am with a Headmaster’s Tour and Scholarship Information Session. To book call our Registrar Mrs Louise McWaters, on 5441 3114 or go to: www.girton.vic.edu.au

HEADMASTER’S TOUR AND SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION SESSION - FRIDAY 20th JANUARY A S P I R E TO S TA R

cheers to buying local When we by wine from regional winemakers and vineyards, we’re not only supporting a local industry but are building local relationships both in business and pleasure.

By Lisa Chesters It is not unusual for me to arrive at an event in Canberra with my own bottle of wine. But before you judge, let me explain.

Members of Parliament are bombarded with invites to events, dinners and functions during sitting weeks in Parliament House in Canberra. MPs also host their own events and meetings either inside or outside of Parliament.

Usually the wine on offer is something you can buy at the local outlet of a chain of cheap liquor stores – bulk wine produced by a large multinational. So I have a choice.

Either to drink standard wine that is not from our region and doesn’t taste anywhere near as good as those that are, or to bring my own. I decided early on that if I am going to host an event or head out for dinners, I should always have a bottle of local wine on offer.

We live in a great and unique winemaking area. Our wineries are small, independent operations that produce a diverse and dynamic range of wines. From rich, ripe reds to elegant whites, the wines from Bendigo and central Victoria are a wine lover’s treasure.

Many of our boutique wineries offer a welcoming cellar door experience. It is not

uncommon for you to meet the winemaker, who’ll be keen to chat about the latest vintage or their favourite drop. And they are found throughout the region. In fact, there are more wineries and winemakers in the Bendigo electorate than there are schools.

opposition has worked with industry and stakeholders to help save the Liberal Government from themselves. In its original form, the reforms to the WET could have cost local jobs and forced wineries to scale back production.

This is why I have been strongly advocating for our local wine industry in the face of proposed changes to the Wine Equalisation Tax (WET). On Federal Government Budget Night 2016, the Treasurer shocked the local wine industry by announcing radical changes to the WET. These changes would have crippled local wine industries such as our own.

Ultimately, the goal is to see the Parliament House cellar filled with bottles of Bendigo wine.

I can remember on that night, after receiving a phone call from a local winemaker, I literally grabbed a bottle of his wine from my office and headed to the Shadow Minister’s and Treasurer’s offices to explain what impact the region’s winemakers believe the proposed changes will have on their business and industry.

Through quick advocacy, engagement with the sector and Labor opposition, it appears the government will now redesign the measure to support and not hurt independent and boutique winemakers.

It was another example of how Labor in

Making sure my Canberra office is stocked is a small way that I can support our local food and wine producers. And it’s also something you can do to support our local winemakers and wine industry.

By buying local produce and goods at local shops, you are buying a local relationship.

Your community benefits, your economy benefits and your neighbours who have jobs benefit.

Bendigo and central Victoria is hub for regional food and wine producers and for consumers. If we buy local, we help keep dollars in the community.

It’s really important we support our small businesses year-round and in the best way we can – by shopping at them. Let’s keep the local economy ticking over by buying locally. And take a bottle of local wine, or two, to your functions this year.

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Ali Hillman and Laura Washbourne

Alicia Taylor, Rick Stearns and Shannon Judd

Antonia Cassetta, Alicia Taylor, Cheryl Luvara, Dekoda Emeny, Shannon Judd and Tilley Rose

Jordan Patullo and Jasmine Noske

Michelle Heigh and Zarsha Lewis

Sophie and Sarah Fawcett

A NEW SHADE OF PANDORA Pandora Bendigo hosted a VIP event to celebrate the launch of its new Pandora Rose Gold jewellery collection.

The jewellery is a sterling and copper mix, and proved popular among guests at the special evening.

Over the hours, some 100 VIPs and clients visited Pandora Bendigo keen to try on their latest products.

The rose gold collection appeals to people of age groups and the Bendigo kiosk was rapt with the response. www.pandora.net

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collaboration creates new possibilities With Bendigo Art Gallery director Karen Quinlan now also head of La Trobe Art Institute, a stronger collaboration between the two institutions means exciting times ahead.

By Kate O’Connor While the internationally-successful Marilyn exhibition attracted more than 140,000 visitors and injected more than $13 million into the local economy, it was the public’s reaction to the larger-than-life sculpture at Charing Cross that Karen Quinlan says was most rewarding.

“Whenever I drove past there were smiling faces, happy faces. That’s where the rewards are, and you can’t quantify it – it’s social capital, it’s quite brilliant,” she says.

Karen is hoping to foster more of what she describes as “civic pride” in Bendigo’s arts precinct when she rolls out her plan for the La Trobe Art Institute – an umbrella organisation comprising the La Trobe Visual Arts Centre in View Street, plus exhibition spaces in Melbourne’s CBD and the Bundoora campus. Initially there will be an intense focus on the university’s own art collection – some 7000 artworks currently based at La Trobe’s Bundoora campus.

“It is a nationally important collection, and we need to review and conduct a significance and conservations assessment to help realise the new vision for the institute,” Karen says.

What is known is that the collection includes more than 2000 post war and contemporary Australian pieces by artists such as Bernard Boles, Allen David and Etta Hirsh – many of which will be available for public viewing in mid-2017. As part of La Trobe’s 50-year anniversary celebrations Karen’s team will curate a travelling exhibition featuring select artworks from the university’s collection.

“We want to present an exhibition that honours and reveals the best of that collection,” she says. Starting in Bendigo, the exhibition may later travel to regional Victoria and Melbourne. “Wherever there is a campus or facility to show it, it will go there. It’s quite exciting.”

Karen will also turn her attention to La Trobe’s own gallery spaces, in particular the Visual Arts Centre in View Street.

“The Visual Arts Centre has been doing a great job promoting the work of Australian artists, but it is also a facility used by the university and by the community and I think that it’s due for a degree of refurbishment. We are putting together a plan, so that as a facility it can offer more,” she says. All aspects of the venue will be reviewed to make it a stronger public drawcard.

“What we need is international standard conditions in terms of climate control, so that when you do borrow from state or regional galleries, or other universities, we have that correct – because at the moment we can’t do that,” Karen says. Making the space more community and visitor-friendly is also a priority.

“I like to think that eventually when the plan is completely rolled out, we will have more visitation in Bendigo’s visual arts centre,” Karen says. “I see it as a facility that could offer more to primary and secondary schools. As an adjunct to what Bendigo Art Gallery is doing, it offers something quite unique as a space in many ways.”

Underpinning these projects is Karen’s belief that stronger collaboration leads to better outcomes – both in terms of economic benefit, and the “social capital” that is so important to her.

“I hope this will create a stronger linkage between the university, art gallery and the City of Greater Bendigo, because sharing of the resources is the best way that you can intensify programming and make it work for a community,” she says.

Under Karen’s leadership there is no doubt that Bendigo’s arts precinct has a bright future.

“There’s always going to be more to do in this space so we’ve still got a way to go,” she says. “We’re not finished, but we’ve certainly got the bare bones of something fantastic. That’s why people admire Bendigo for investing in that and sticking to it, and really celebrating it.”

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www.bse.vic.edu.au www.bse.vic.edu.au Strive for Excellence Strive for Excellence

ES T BSE & COMMUNI A TY CELEBR

2016

milies alo ng w ls fa o r n ith t e s t b n eing heir s e m l tudents tak ro e n n no e w for 2017

Step up to new opportunities

BSSC 2017 Our ROLE is to empower learners for individual, community and global leadership. We value Respect, Optimism, Learning and Environment.

“Studying at BSSC has given me the confidence and the belief that I can achieve my VCE goals. The teachers support students to achieve their goals, whatever they may be, and this has set me up for success both inside and outside of school.

I am looking forward to dealing with all the challenges thrown my way in 2017. ” TOM FLOYD – COMPLETED UNIT 3/4 PSYCHOLOGY AND FURTHER MATHS IN YEAR 11 “I’ve become more resilient as a result of my first year at BSSC, and I’m enthusiastic about the challenges ahead. If I could offer new BSSC students one small piece of advice, it would be to choose subjects you have a genuine passion for and always endeavour to improve your skills. ” C ON TAC T US

ANGELA STEVENS – COMPLETED UNIT 3/4 GERMAN IN YEAR 11 ON NTAC TACTT U USS CCO Bendigo BendigoSenior Senior Secondary SecondaryCollege College Rosalind RosalindPark, Park,Bendigo Bendigo PO POBox Box545, 545,Bendigo Bendigo VIC3552 3552 VIC

Phone Phone61 61335443 54431222 1222 Fax Fax61 61335441 54414548 4548 Email Emailadmin@bssc.edu.au admin@bssc.edu.au Web Webwww.bssc.edu.au www.bssc.edu.au

Phone 61 3 5443 1222 Bendigo Senior Fax 61 3 5441 4548 Secondary College Rosalind Park, Bendigo Email admin@bssc.edu.au facebook.com/bendigoseniorsc facebook.com/bendigoseniorsc www.facebook.com/bendigoseniorsc Web www.bssc.edu.au PO Boxbendigoseniorsc 545, Bendigo www.twitter.com/ twitter.com/bendigoseniorsc twitter.com/bendigoseniorsc VIC 3552 instagram/bendigoseniorsc gplus.to/bendigoseniorsc gplus.to/bendigoseniorsc www.youtube.com/user/bendigoseniorsc youtube.com/user/bendigoseniorsc youtube.com/user/bendigoseniorsc

facebook.com/bendigoseniorsc twitter.com/bendigoseniorsc gplus.to/bendigoseniorsc youtube.com/user/bendigoseniorsc

Elmore PS

The teachers, support staff, students and school community are top of their class at this rural primary school, as principal Michelle Griffiths explains.

By Sue Turpie

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For 140 years, countless teachers and staff at Elmore Primary School have been educating and supporting children from throughout the surrounding rural districts. Principal Michelle Griffiths moved to Bendigo from Melbourne, teaching at several schools in the city before taking on her current role at the regional school five years ago. It was based on the need for a tree change, a move which Michelle says she has thrived on.

“What I love about Elmore Primary is the community,” Michelle says, of the township situated about 44km north-east of Bendigo. The school welcomes students from further afield than Elmore. “We’ve got kids who come in on the bus from Toolleen, another from Colbinabbin.

We’ve also got the option of a bus from Bendigo.”

Michelle believes the quality of education offered at Elmore Primary rivals any metropolitan school, and the work of the students supports this with over 90 per cent of students working at above expected standard.

“The product that we offer is first class,” Michelle says. “If you’re a parent and your kids are at school, you want them to be happy, you want them to be successful, you want them to be good at literacy and numeracy and have passion and interest in their learning. We’ve got it all, and with space to play and fun things to do.”

Like tending to the resident chickens or the vegie patch in the playground.

“We’ve been studying waterways so we’ve been down to the Campaspe River to check that out. The students then came back and built their own waterway in the sand.”

There have been changes made at the school since Michelle took on her role, and time was spent investigating what needed to be done to improve the environment and curriculum for the students and staff.

“It’s been a huge journey,” Michelle says, “but I think it’s about having the persistence to pursue the vision. We knew we had potential here, so it was about identifying the things we knew we needed to change. I love that saying: ‘When you’re about to give up that’s just about when you crest the wave.’ Now we’re reaping the benefits.

50

“We’ve got two young, enthusiastic teachers who know their stuff.

They’re up with the latest pedagogy around, but their top skill is the capacity to build relationships, so every child in that grade and every parent that comes into that room, and every contractor that comes into the school, and every person that visits gets a warm welcome and feels like they’re respected. When children feel respected and valued, of course, their learning is going to soar. They know someone is there for them. This is the value for the school and the teachers.”

Aside from the curriculum the children are offered guitar tuition and Rock School is held regularly. A music teacher comes to the school once and week and there’s cluster activities with surrounding schools.

“Offering music is about fine motor skills, balancing their left and right brain, about making neurological connections with learning.

While there is no specific PE teacher we do lots of sports, we do an interschool sports with the local Catholic schools, a swimming carnival … and one of our teachers does PMP (perpetual motor program) with the kids. The other teacher does regular PE classes with his. It is hard fitting everything into the curriculum.

“We do have a strong focus on numeracy and literacy and that’s always going to be a priority as it builds foundation skills you need to progress through your years of education no matter what you end up doing.

“The first thing though is we make sure the kids understand they’re responsible for their learning … explain to them that this is their future. It’s about getting kids to feel engaged and supported in their learning.”

But rather than focusing on specific results, and having to tick a box, it is about children moving forward and specific and personal goals.

“Kids develop at different rates, so it’s not about performing at an expected level, it’s about performing at your best level. Supporting that child to do what they can do,” Michelle says.

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Jamie Simmons and Imogen Alexy

Cameron and Rob Jenner

SHOVEL FEST BENDIGO Now in its third year, Shovel Fest Bendigo has been embraced by the Australian motorcycling community.

Visitors to the event were treated to an impressive display of historic motorbikes and to talk shop to fellow enthusiasts. There was the usual Harley Parts Swap Meet and vendor stands, as well as new trade stands. Shovel Fest proudly supports the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and Men’s Health. www.shovelfestbendigo.com

Jennifer Jones

Kayden,and Shellie Laird and Taylea Wernicke

Samara Belz and Mathew Holmes

Sole Ritchie and Martin Helgensen

Weeroona College Bendigo We create brilliance...

VISION We prepare students for personal excellence through STEM fields of study to succeed as future leaders and innovators in our local and global communities.

6

The

deep learning

competencies

•Character •Citizenship •Collaboration

•Critical Thinking •Creativity •Communication

MISSION We aim to provide students with real world opportunities to learn through an innovative, technology based curriculum for scientific and mathematical literacy, emphasising the six deep learning competencies with an interdisciplinary focus.

For more information on enrolments for 2017 at Weeroona College or the STEM program please contact our office on 5443 2133.

www.weeroona.vic.edu.au WEEROONA COLLEGE BENDIGO 383 Napier Street, Bendigo

the driving force

Two Bendigo women took a confident turn in their careers to become bus drivers for Bendigo Coachlines. They’re now riding high in a welcoming, male-dominted industry.

By Sue Turpie It was an inbuilt driving force that found Marjorie Decker and Diana Pace working for a local bus company. And while at the time the industry was a male-dominated profession, the two women settled into their roles so comfortably they couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

“There’s a lot more women in the profession now than there was 20 years ago,” Diana says of when she started at Bendigo Coachlines.

“It was a man’s job; there were no other women driving for that company at the time. But I just wanted to drive a bus; put me in a truck and I’ll drive that too,” she laughs.

Diana was in her 40s when she first sat behind the wheel of the bus and is gradually slowing down now, but her enthusiasm for the job hasn’t diminished. Marjorie had always been a bus enthusiast, but it was when her husband passed away that in 2009 she decided to pursue a career as a driver. A natural progression from a passion for mechanics that her father fostered when she was a child.

“Since I was 12 I was into trucks and buses,” Marjorie says. “My dad taught me how to drive a crash gearbox, which some buses have. I used to bike to the local bus operator and check out which coaches were out for the day. I could stand there and watch the buses come down the road and tell you what their registration numbers were.”

From reading travel bus magazines when working in an office to being offered a drive in a bus by a family friend, the notion of pursuing what some might deem a more appropriate interest for a woman never occurred to Marjorie. Nor to Diana, who only ever

encountered a moment of disbelief from one patron who took a while to realise she wasn’t joking when she said she was the bus driver.

“I wasn’t getting told a women’s place is in the kitchen or in the home,” she says. “But I don’t’ take crap; there’s no need for it. I just go into the bus and didn’t take any notice of whether or not the other drivers accepted me. They all spoke to me and were polite. I just figured I was doing my job.”

“The touring coaches is a male-dominated field,” Marjorie says, “But the men were really co-operative and helpful to see us in the industry.”

There would be thousands of kilometres between them, from Bendigo to the Daintree, Gippsland to Adelaide. Diana applied to Bendigo Coachlines thinking she could do the “town run” but instead found herself travelling the roads between here and up north. Marjorie did the “day trips” for the first couple of years, then undertook one tour per term.

However, it is the journey and not the destination that is the reason Diana and Marjorie do what they do. Including people they have met along the way. Both women speak highly of the schools and students they’ve driven to camps, as well as mature tour groups.

Regardless of what was happening elsewhere in the industry Marjorie and Diana were given a chance to prove themselves at home. “The Bendigo bosses are great,” Marjorie says. “They want to see what you’re capable of and will give you a chance.”

53

Photograph by David Field

summer in the parks

Central Victoria’s beautiful parks and gardens will again be filled with the sounds of music, singing and laughter for the highly-anticipated 2016-2017 Summer in the Parks.

By Sue Turpie It could be said that the annual Summer in the Parks event pretty much sums up what the season is all about for the people of Bendigo. Being outdoors with grass underfoot and majestic trees overhead. Children laughing. Music playing. Good food and good company. Fun times. Feeling festive and just embracing being part of a great community.

“It’s about getting people in there, and showing how our parks and gardens are an asset to the city, and a great location to host and hold different events,” she says. “Summer in the Parks is for familyfriendly events, and providing free or low-cost things to do.”

For more than 15 years, this culmination of things to do has been held in the city’s beautiful parks and gardens, and have included iconic events such as the much-anticipated lighting of the Christmas tree near the Alexandra Fountain at View Point.

“This year we’re having an outdoor cinema in January. There’s a national pop-up cinema coming to Bendigo. They contacted the city and asked to visit as part of their regional tour. In addition, there’s also outdoor cinemas in Redesdale, Heathcote and Maiden Gully.”

As City of Greater Bendigo community events officer Kate Lawrence says, Summer in the Parks is another way of using the beautiful green spaces throughout the city.

This summer there’ll be lots of “come and try” activities, where regional community groups invite the public to see what they’re about.

54

And residents and visitors can expect a few different listings on the Summer in the Parks program.

“The locals really appreciate the events. They take them on board and get involved. There’s lots of come and try events we haven’t seen in the past, such as twilight golf croquet. The Bendigo Laughter Club has come on board so people can join in and see what they do.

“And we’re featuring all local bands this year. We really wanted to give the Summer in the Parks a local theme.”

Some of the activities this year include: Strathfieldsaye Community Carols at the JG Edwards Oval on December 7. The barbecue and kids’ program starts at 6.30pm while the carols program begins at 7pm.

Try your hand at Bendigo Ultimate Frisbee from 7pm to 8.30pm on December 9. Participants aged under 14 years need to be accompanied by an adult.

The Heathcote Christmas Carols will be held from 7pm to 9.30pm on December 10.

The Axedale and Districts Community Carols will be held on December 11 from 5pm to 10pm with performances by the Axedale Primary School, Axedale in Harmony and the Bendigo Brass Band.

Canterbury Park Gardens will be decking the halls for the Eaglehawk UFS Dispensary Canterbury Carols on December 11, starting with a barbecue at 6pm and then carols from 7pm to 9.30pm.

Try some new moves with the Connected Circus, on December 15.

Rotary Club of Bendigo Sandhurst Carols by Candlelight will be at Rosalind Park on December 18, from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.

The traditional New Year’s Eve fireworks will again go off at Rosalind Park on December 31. There will be an early fireworks for the youngsters at 9.15pm, and the main fireworks at midnight.

Many events are held more than once, and there are too many fun-filled activities to list here, so visit www.bendigosummerintheparks.com and click on the ‘find an event’ icon for loads more information.

Photographs supplied

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SE AS ON 2017 SOmEthiNg fOr EvEry SEASON iN 2017 image: Bangarra Dance TheaTre

tErrAiN

a hymn To counTry Through conTemporary Dance

fEbruAry 15, 2017 ulumbArrA thEAtrE viSit gOtix.cOm.Au fOr mOrE pErfOrmANcES At ulumbArrA thEAtrE, thE cApitAl ANd thE ENgiNE rOOm.

proudly owned and operated by The city of greater Bendigo.

Four Lions

Greg Perry, Shann Lions, Keith McQueen and Gav Moncrieff.

Photograph supplied

After nearly a decade on the sidelines, Shann Lions is back in the game.

By Ben Cameron The former front man of power pop act Ruteger hung up the mic for eight long years for personal reasons.

But the musical drought broke at the end of 2014 with new group, Four Lions, which he fronts alongside Keith McQueen, Greg Perry and Gav Moncrieff.

Four Lions is no egotistical statement though, rather a reference to the four lions marked on a local drinking fountain and the band’s passion to pump up the city they live in.

They might play Americana, but they’re as Bendigo as the bank.

boulder that was broken into pieces, but a splintered relationship.

“I write from the heart, mate. It’s like a diary, my recordings,” he says.

“It’s about putting mechanisms in place for people wanting to change, change their lives,” he says.

“It’s just a question if they want to.

“That’s the only way I can write, it’s got to be heartfelt.

“It’s about not pushing values on people, there’s nothing worse than doing that.”

“People say how dark my music is. Well, this is life.

While he’s a hard man to catch these days, Bendigo Magazine finds him on a rare day off after an old back injury from his football days, flared up.

“I find the whole writing process quite cathartic to get things out, to be able to move through a song is a way of cleansing yourself of those experiences.”

He relishes the parallels between sport and music.

The band charts bad relationships, grief, loss, loneliness and resilience, and Shann knows them all like long-held friends.

“It (music) can be a solo pursuit, but like everything in life, everything is better shared,” he says.

“I wondered why in Australia we tend to do that.

He says leaving one bad relationship was “the best thing I ever did”.

“I wanted to make it (Four Lions) as Bendigo as I possibly can, be proud of the town and promote the town.”

“That was one of the reasons, mate, why I gave up music for eight years,” he says.

“It’s the camaraderie and sharing experiences of other fellas ... you’ve got common goals.

“I didn’t catch up with any of my mates.

He’s called Bendigo home for 20 years.

“It got pretty bad. I gave up who I was, I was a shell of a person.”

“People within the industry would almost say ‘You can’t say you’re from Bendigo,’ ” Shann opines.

“It’s got opportunities, it’s got culture, the only thing Bendigo lacks is a beach,” he says.

“From where I came from (Catch Carag in regional Victoria), moving to Bendigo was like moving to New York.

“Where I grew up was a population of about 30 people. It was daunting.”

The band’s work is not all Bendigo promo though and Shann still writes about heartache; recent track, Welcome Stranger, is not just about the famous 68kg gold

While Four Lions have been flat out recording – three singles, two albums and an EP so far – Shann the man is still working his day job case managing Aboriginal elders across the state.

“I’ve always been in community services.

I started out at the bottom with violent offenders,” he says.

He can see his old self in some of the people he helps.

“Whether that being winning a premiership in footy, or evolving a piece of music into something that’s playable and to a standard you’re happy with.”

Were there any doubts with a return to music?

“I reckon there was ... but you’ve just got to be persistent, do everything you can possibly do and the universe will look after you,” he says.

“Everybody in life needs to set some sort of goals. That’s what life’s about.”

Four Lions will play at the Summer in the Parks on February 3.

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Summer Drift 9 November 2016 – 12 February 2017

An exhibition of inspired artworks, ceramics and jewellery by artists Jessica Spalding and Katherine Wheeler.

Bendigo Visitor Centre

Open 9am to 5pm daily (except Christmas Day)

51-67 Pall Mall, Bendigo • 03 5434 6060 tourism@bendigo.vic.gov.au • www.bendigotourism.com

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Bendigo Visitor Centre

Quality Souvenirs Locally Made Gifts Local History Books Visit us in store or online at www.uniquelybendigo.com.au

let's reward uniqueness

From local enterprise and character to chain stores and conformity ...

By Geoff Hocking Have we paved paradise and put up a parking lot?

Christine was going through some boxes of old stuff from her old school days and began reading through the 1965 issue of COOINDA, the end-of-year magazine from her secondary school, the now-defunct Bendigo Girls School, which was housed in what was supposed to be a temporary building standing on the site of the present Bendigo East Secondary School.

Scores of these pebbledash-concretepanelled and light timber buildings were thrown up across the state to accommodate the explosion of secondary school age children known today, sometimes it seems rather disparagingly, as ‘baby-boomers’.

These school buildings were meant to be temporary, to last just until better, more substantial buildings could be brought on line, but most stood for half-a-century or more.

Technical schools, girls secondary schools and some primary schools were constructed alike — grey walled, lino-floored, with long central corridors and classrooms to left and right. Zig-zag welded steel beams traversed the ceilings and banks of openable tripletiered wooden-framed windows flanked the outer walls on both sides, affording a view of a patch of grass and another identical classroom over the way.

Every school was the same.

In this 1965 issue of COOINDA, Christine read out to me a long list of sponsors’ awards offered to the girls of the ‘class of ’65.

The names of those who rewarded the girls of ’65 for their efforts reads as a litany of

names past. The list consists of business names that once seemed as if they would be in Bendigo business forever, but almost all have now gone.

Only a few remain: Myer; GJ Coles; Floods Motor Services; Hartley’s Sporting Goods; Sandhurst Dairies and WB Mason the Glass Merchant have lasted out the half-century since the class of ‘65.

My assumption is that most of those who made awards had connections to the school in one way or another. The trades may have been called upon to provide their services and in turn offered a prize. However, I assumed that a lot of those business people may also have had their daughters at the school and saw this as a way of supporting them as well.

The list is interesting. Most of these I well remember but how quickly they have disappeared when they too probably once believed they would last forever.

Baker and Woods Electricians; John Brownhead P/L; Bendigo Butter Factory; Cambridge Press Printers; Cohns Bros.

Soft Drink Manufacturers; Owen Duffy Bakers; FJ Every Booksellers; GR Glover and Sons Cordial Manufacturers; AC Hampton Booksellers; Hanro Knitting Mills; RO Henderson (Beehive); WM Higgs Sports Store; R Holden Bus Services; Kerr’s Cycle and Sports Store; Mamouneys Home Furnishers; Maples Home Furnishers; Potter Bros Wholesale Fruiterers; HW Snell Quarries; Trewartha’s Dress Material Specialist; D White and Co. Grocer; and the View Point Newsagency.

Most of these businesses were run by

Bendigo people, raising Bendigo families and investing their efforts, time and capital in Bendigo business. This was a time when business was truly local. You knew who you were dealing with, and business people built, and held, a reputation because they were invested in their community.

I guess things must change. Nothing ever remains the same. The mum and dad stores have gone. The family operated businesses given way to the juggernaught of bigger businesses so much so that almost every town, every city and every shopping centre looks the same no matter where you are in the country — the same stores, the same franchises, the same supermarkets, the same chemists, the same bakers, bottleshops, boutiques and “swingin’ hot-spots” (to quote Joni Mitchell).

The ubiquitous, identical shopping malls seem to have extended the concept of conformity as once evidenced in school architecture.

Was it intentional to turn every student out to be the same, like compliant automatons from a sausage machine readied to be identical consumers in identical stores, in identical shopping malls?

Have we unknowingly “paved paradise and put up a parking lot”?

Or is there a new set of mums and dads in new businesses who are giving out prizes to a new set of kids in the new individually designed schools? I hope so and I hope they last at least another 50 years.

At least the new trees dotted around the car parks may have grown by then and we won’t have to go to “a tree museum to see them”.

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so natural

For Bendigo-based artist Clair Dubyna her creations and her desire to create both come from a strong call of nature.

By Sue Turpie There is a natural beauty to the works by Clair Dubyna, which is not surprising given the artist’s work is inspired by nature. The colours, the texture, the subjects. They flow within the art... if you look at her resin art for long enough you could swear the swirls of resin actually move.

Clair’s outlook on life and her love of nature is almost childlike and explains – if we needed an explanation – her ability to also create art for children, such as the Alphabet Animal Poster, and the series of Jimmamila endangered animal cards inspired by a trip to Melbourne Zoo. “My son is fascinated by the animals,” Clair says. “So we’re going to do prints and fact cards that are appropriate to a younger and older demographic. That way we’re building awareness about the endangered animals, I still get the creative output and challenge myself.”

While her son helped with choosing the animals it’s easy to see that the artist herself has kept that inquisitive nature that we often lose once we reach adulthood. And thank goodness. Her journey hasn’t been easy but, if you believe in fate, you could say Clair is in the exact place she should be.

Clair’s mum passed away when Clair was 14 and her father was in the Australian Defence Force. Then there were the three children from her mum, and three from step-mum. Clair admits she made poor choices and ended up enrolling in Catholic school halfway through the term.

“Only bad kids go in the middle of the term,” she says, “and then I ran away from school and lived with a family friend and she had the lifestyle I would never want … that was the kick in the guts and I decided to go back to school. I finished and got terrible grades.

Then I met my now ex-husband six months later and that was kind of the end of it.

“After we’d been together for two years I redid Year 12 online and got a higher score so I could go and study medicine. So the lesson kids is to study,” she laughs.

From studying biomedicine, falling pregnant, getting married, moving to Bendigo, getting divorced, it’s hard to believe 60

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someone so young has experienced so much.

One constant in Clair’s life has been her love of art.

“It’s taken me a long time to work out what is my style. My style isn’t as refined, but I really think in the last 12 to 18 months that I’ve found myself as an artist even though I’ve been doing it forever.

“When I was nine I won $50 for a drawing of my dad at Bunnings.

Then every year thereafter I entered some kind of competition, and then my Year 9 artwork sold. I’ve always done art and made money from it.”

Clair admits the business side of art, including selling yourself, can be daunting, but the process itself is part of who she is.

“I almost think when I do a painting it’s got nothing to do with where it ends up at the end,” she explains. “It could take an hour to do a painting or it could take six weeks. I get, internally, something out of it … and I hope that whoever ends up with that painting also gets something internally out of the work like I do.”

Her resin art includes images of sea animals but also hidden shapes and designs inspired by the region’s landscape.

“We go to the river near Goornong and Crusoe, we try to get to outdoor areas as opposed to just the ocean and a lot of the colours, the base colours, and the lines will be like tree branches that have come from photos we’ll take while we’re out there.

“We’ll be running around taking photos of our fingers on rocks, because we’re really big kids,” she laughs. “It is inspiring and I want to keep the progression of my art even doing the animals. Keep things as much to their region as possible. Even the paint I get, everything is sourced renewably, and in a perfect world everything would be sourced locally.”

Even her dream is local. To live under Mount Alexander, drop the kids to school, have her hair in a topknot, wear overalls and paint all day … A good dream to have. jimmermila.bigcartel.com

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CHOOSE LA TROBE latrobe.edu.au/choose

Menagerie: animals in Bendigo history 26 August 2016 – 12 February 2017 This exhibition surveys relationships between humans and animals that have shaped the region observing the animal as guide, commodity, sustenance, nuisance, entertainment, companion and objet d’art.

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Brothers Dick and Robert Brown with racing goat Miss Muffett at the Upper Reserve, Bendigo, 1910s silver gelatin print. Courtesy Aylene Kirkwood

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creative souls

Artists Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson are an iconic Aussie pair and Bendigo was privileged to host an exhibition of their unique works spanning over three decades.

By Sue Turpie It’s a creative partnership these two Australian artists describe as a meeting of the souls. Before then Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson had been touring different parts of the world but happened to return to Sydney at the right time for their paths to cross.

“We were fated to meet,” Jenny says. “I’d come back from London and Linda had been travelling all over the world. I was just about to open my shop, Flamingo Park, and I met her and made a huge order with her because her clothes were exactly what I was doing.

Linda was into the 50s, I was into the 50s, she was making this extraordinary beachwear... I met Linda and my whole world just became magical because I had met a twin soul.”

Linda says they arrived back in Australia in time for the opening of the Sydney Opera House in 1973.

“That was an incredible inspiration,” she says. Their work is inspired

by Australia – Uluru, opals...

The story of the lives of this creative pair is inspirational in itself. And Bendigo was given the opportunity to see their creations first-hand thanks to the recent exhibition at the Living Art Space. Interviewing Jenny and Linda near their works, it was easy to see the effect they had on fans of their creations. Many a visitor did a double take when they saw the two standing there in real life.

“Well, I think the exhibition has been phenomenal,” Jenny says.

“There’s the Toni Matecevski exhibition on at the Bendigo Art Gallery but everyone’s flocking here as well which is fantastic.”

The pair have created some of the most vivid, unique, colourful and imaginative clothes and accessories. When combined in one location, their bold forms of expression are quite astounding.

“I love the way the exhibition was set up because it is a riot of colour with outfits that are completely amazing and colourful in the

way that Linda and I used to work,” Jenny says, “and I think that’s personified in the show, from the ‘70s right through to now, because there are pieces from then to now. In a way it’s showing us over a long period of time and showing that our work is timeless. It’s also very collectable. Now to buy a piece of Linda or me, it’s highly prized. Our vintage work is very collectable and our new work is very collectable. People know that we’ve stood the test of time.”

As Linda explains there was never a desire to mass-produce their works.

“It’s all in small quantities because they were limited editions, and we had one big, beautiful collection a year that we worked on together inventing, creating, experimenting and exploring different ways of putting the Australian landscape and flowers into our work.

“One a year – a big spectacular show – and we did that together for about 10 years. So it wasn’t doing the four collections a year, selling to shops and doing the wholesale thing, it was a completely different way of looking at it and that’s what this room shows.”

Jenny describes their creations as “a wearable art collection”.

“Linda and I started doing art and fashion back in the ‘70s but it was always made to be wearable art. I love to think that everything I do is wearable. Women were ready for our clothes, the first jumper I put in the shop was $55 and they walked out the door. Linda’s daywear of beautiful ‘50s shorts and tops and jackets, they just went.

“Young women responded to it. They wanted to be different.”

“We were inspired and put that into our clothing, and that’s what captured people’s imagination as well. And the sense of humour – being cheerful and loving what you do was a catching fever, Flamingo fever we would call it,” Linda laughs.

65

beyond genre Where do you start? Illustrator, columnist, graphic designer, artist, record cover producer, art director, author... It seems that Geoff Hocking has done it all.

By Sue Turpie It’s nigh on impossible to put Geoff Hocking into a specific genre. He seems to defy labels … except for maybe ‘artist’.

qualifications, Geoff decided to work in advertising, securing a job at Cunningham Hurst Advertising first as an artist then art director.

Record covers, calendars, books, magazine columns and cartoons.

Geoff has created them all.

“But one day I decided to stay home and work on books; I’d won a contract to do six books so ‘I thought that’s it, home I go’. So I sat at home for next three months and knocked them over.”

Life began in Golden Square, and following his early education, he attended the Bendigo School of Mines to study art and design, earning a diploma.

From here he worked for the World Record Company in 1966-67 which he describes as an innovative studio which nurtured – or let run free – some talented fellow artists.

“We mostly sold classical music but it was a really innovative studio,” Geoff says. “It wasn’t promotional. Things were sold by post and people didn’t see the covers until they turned up because they ordered them from a catalogue.

“We could virtually do whatever we wanted. It was good at developing talent and we got away with murder. There were some innovative people there who’ve become icons in our trade. I was very lucky to have been a part of that then.”

From there Geoff gained his teaching qualifications working at technical schools in Shepparton and Wangaratta before travelling to London with the aim of studying at the Central School of Art. Thanks to upfront fees and a failure to recognise his Australian 66

Given Geoff spent two years in his Shepherds Bush flat illustrating books and the like, it’s only natural that his work would reflect his surroundings.

“I learned how to draw in a very English style. It took ages to draw more Australian stuff.” From hedgerows to bottle brushes. Geoff’s drawings first reflected the manicured landscape of England but now capture rough and tough of Down Under.

“I mean gum trees are the most untidy trees you can come across.

There’s always rubbish underneath them everywhere,” he laughs.

It was time to move back to Australia in 1975, does some work as a lecturer at Swinburne University of Technology before establishing Geoff Hocking Graphics. Then there is a book shop in Castlemaine, lecturing at La Trobe University and continuing to produce drawings and so on. There’s a lot to cover here.

Some of Geoff’s latest creations were for books and calendars that embody all that is Australiana.

After discussions about revisiting a technique he’d used 20 years ago, Geoff suggested using his paintings instead. These became the images for the Australiana 2017 calendar, while his other works have been used for the Ford and Aussie Slang calendars. Geoff also has put together images for pop-up books featuring the works of a couple of iconic Aussie institutions; Ford and Holden. There’s also a Bygone Australia pop-up book.

The tounge-in-cheek images reflect Geoff’s sense of humour. While it would be easy to fill pages with anecdotes and tales from his past and present, you’ll just have to read his books... or his calendars... or visit one of his exhibitions.... Phew!

For more information visit www.geoffhocking.com.au

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ful ack one

CHUM PRESS A collection of Reminiscences | GEOFF HOCKING NEW

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Alexandra Fountain

Brigade St. Killians Rifle Mt Korong Road

The Golden Gate

California Gully

City Family Hotel Central Deborah

Tysons Reef Rose of Australia Weroo na t Lake High Stree Golden Square LakeView Hotel Jobs Gully Eaglehawk inus Shamlrock Term StreeT Long Gully National Hotel Mitcheler Carpent Street

Railway Station specimen Hill Charing Cross Hopetoun Hotel Queen Elizabeth Oval

Sacred Heart Cathedral

Pall Mall View Street CApital Theatre

Bendigo on my

mind

A Collectio n of Reminisc ences

Almost a Decade of Stories from

Bendigo Magazine & other thoughts considering the meaning of life

GEOF F HOCK ING

Bendig o on my mind

f a o

“Brown Trout rang me and they had a book of mine of Australian slang and they wondered if they could use the drawings. I checked with the publisher of the book and he suggested doing them again.

And he was right. The calendar is a certain size and the images in the books weren’t and they weren’t colour either.”

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COPIES OF GEOFF HOCKING’ S WORK

LEFT: Geoff has put together a collection of the colourful yarns he’s contributed to the Bendigo Magazine over the past 10 years.

Helen Byrne, Lottie Noyce, Claire Nankivell and Mia Noyce

SUPPORT IS IN THE BAG These kind-hearted women came together in an Axedale garden setting for fun, food and a good cause.

An advocate for this women’s charity, Helen Byrne recently hosted the Breast Cancer Garden Party fundraiser for the Share the Dignity’s It’s in the Bag initiative.

The new campaign by Share the Dignity was a way of providing support and care products to at-risk and homeless women at Christmas. As part of the campaign women were asked to donate a handbag and fill it with items that would make a woman feel special. Even including a thoughtful note.

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summer stubbies

When summer comes around it’s all about the outdoors, barbecued foods, sessionable ales and good company (all in moderation, of course). I’ve chosen four beers that are well suited for sessionability and sharing, as well as being something different to the standard lager you see in everyday Australian life. A bonus is all of these beers are produced in central Victoria.

By Justin McPhail Castlemaine Gold

Brookes Pale

Brookes Lager

Castlemaine Red

Michael Wolfe and his brewer Brad Iles have come together to build the Castlemaine Brewing Company. Originally contract brewed out of our local brewer, Brookes, the company has built a custom brewery in amongst other artisans in the Old Mill in Castlemaine.

Having been around for a couple of years, and through many iterations, the latest batch of Brookes American Pale is arguably the best. The dank bitterness is dialled up, the fresh hop aroma is greater than ever, and it’s matched with a big malt backbone to help you get from aroma to bitterness.

Stone fruits on the nose, big bitterness at the end. At 5.2 per cent it’s good for a couple, but can catch up on you if you have more than a few.

Summer is the season of lager. And here is a lager with a bit more flavour than the traditional lagers on the market.

It’s similar to the Vienna-style lager, which is traditionally heavier handed on the malt bill, making for a remarkably smooth taste (sounds like an advertisement from the big boys). The malt bill features dark Munich and crystal malts to give the beer a rich copper hue, classic lager hop Saaz is featured, alongside Cascade to boost the aroma.

This beer is for those warm summer nights that call for an ale with a bit more soul.

A Celtic red ale in style, the roasted toffee/caramel flavours dominate the palate, without becoming cloying. Castlemaine has managed to offset the sweetness of the malt with a deep dank dry bitterness courtesy of US classic Chinook hops. Mosaic hops are added in to help create a bright mango, lemon and stone-fruit mix on the nose.

This sparkling ale is a classic English Pale Ale. It’s straw in colour, lightly hopped and fruity on the nose, making it a pretty sessionable beverage. Goldings and Pride of Ringwood hops make for a classic Australian bitterness that will feel pretty familiar to those of you looking to try one of those trendy craft beers.

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Luckily it’s brewed with all natural ingredients so there won’t be a hangover if you do.

Brookes Lager is a perfect match for test match cricket, in-depth conversations about foreign policy and barbecued snags.

Castlemaine Red is a good match to red meats, sweet desserts and sharp cheese.

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84

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sweet sensation

Bendigo dessert maker Daniel Treacy has put his own spin on a traditional Aussie favourite.

A pavlova with seasonal fruit and homemade sorbet makes an ideal summer treat.

By Daniel Treacy It was an interesting leap for Daniel Treacy, from recruitment officer and security guard to contenstant on the reality TV series Zumbo’s Just Desserts.

However, his passion for creativity and pushing boundaries when it comes to creating desserts hasn’t waned since then.

With the warmer weather comes delicious summer fruits and berries, and this dessert makes the most of what is seasonally available.

While we like to claim this dish as our own, new research has shown it originated in Germany... oh dear, we can still pretend.

Daniel’s take on the pavlova blends together the fruit flavours of strawberry, passionfruit, blueberry and raspberry. Topped with chantilly creme, it’s a sweet and light summer treat.

To see Daniel creating this dessert, visit the Bendigo Magazine Facebook page.

PAVLOVA • 200g egg whites • 200g caster • 5g cream of tartar • 200g pure icing sugar • 7g egg white powder • 20g cornflour • 4g vanilla paste Preheat oven to 150˚C, stack two egg rings together and line with baking paper.

Place egg whites and egg white powder, cream of tartar and caster sugar in an electric mixing bowl with the whisk attachment and whisk on medium speed until increased in volume and stable.

Fold in vanilla paste, cornflour and icing sugar until well combined.

Bake for 20 minutes then reduce heat to 100c and leave in oven until ready for assembly.

STRAWBERRY SORBET • 500g strawberry puree • 100g sugar • 25g glucose • 2g stabiliser • 100ml water Place half puree, sugar, glucose and water in medium-size pot and heat until dissolved.

Transfer mix to a glass bowl and stir over an ice bath.

Churn in ice-cream maker.

Store at -13˚C and remove from freezer 20 minutes before serving.

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RASPBERRY CREAM • 125g raspberry puree • 50g unsalted butter • 2g citrus pectin • 55g egg yolks • 2g gelatine • 12g cold water • 25g caster sugar Bloom gelatine in cold water.

Mix pectin with caster sugar.

Place puree in small saucepan and heat until warm to touch.

Whilst whisking, sprinkle in the caster sugar and pectin mixture with the puree and bring to boil.

Once puree has boiled, temper in the egg yolks and place the puree, egg yolk mixture into the saucepan and bring to 80˚C whilst continuously stirring.

PASSIONFRUIT CURD • 100g passionfruit puree (juice from approximately 20 passionfruits) • 7g cornflour • 20g milk • 20g full cream • 130g caster sugar • 3g gelatine • 18g cold water • 100g unsalted butter Place the gelatine in with the cold water to bloom.

Bring the puree, cornflour, sugar, milk and cream to boil in a medium saucepan.

Once boiled, remove from heat and add gelatine and water mixture.

Pour mixture into a tall jug and cool to 50˚C. Once below 50˚C, use a hand mixer to blitz in the butter, taking care not to use too much movement.

You can alter this recipe to make lime, lemon, or yuzu curd just by replacing the passionfruit puree with the applicable juice.

CHANTILLY CREME • 300g cream • 5g vanilla paste • 2.5g gelatine • 15g cold water Bloom gelatine in cold water.

Heat half cream mixture in small saucepan until boiling, remove from heat and incorporate bloomed gelatine.

Incorporate the gelatine and heated cream mix with the reserved cream mix and place in a bowl covering the cream with cling film.

Refrigerate overnight.

Once ready for assembly, whip the cream to medium peaks and transfer into disposable piping bag.

BLUEBERRY FOAM • 200g blueberry puree • 30g caster sugar • 4g modified soy protein • .4g xanthum gum Place all ingredients in a mixer fixed with a whip attachment and whip until stiff peaks.

Transfer to piping bag.

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summer on the rocks

With long sunny days ahead, it’s time to stock the cellar with some delicious seasonal drops.

There’s a white pinot to enjoy with those weekend lunches, a rich red that’s the perfect friend for lamb chops on the barbecue, or an Elderflower Sour.... just because.

By Finn Vedelsby Curley Flat White Pinot Macedon produces some of this country’s best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with Curly Flat creating wines that are among the favourites. This offering from the wonderful team at Curly Flat is a cracking drink for this season.

Haliday tells us that a rosé by any other name, though far more sophisticated than the everyday rosé. The fresh juice merely brushing the skins has imparted a pale blush hue, and three months on lees has built persistence, emphasising wonderfully vibrant, high altitude acidity. It’s pretty, understated and impeccably crafted.

Drink this at lunch with food or during a lazy afternoon, as an aperitif, or an accompaniment to cheese after dinner. Just give it a go.

2008 Downing Estate Shiraz Downing Estate is a small 25-acre boutique winery, producing outstanding red wines from its Heathcote vineyard. It has a well deserved 5 red-star rating from James Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion 2016.

Its 2008 Shiraz is a fantastic rich and lithe wine made in tough drought conditions.

Red and black fruits abound this elegantly poised Heathcote red.

a soft, floral sherbet lemon, pear and passionfruit style liqueur that’s integrated, harmonious and beautifully balanced. A near perfect, very special liqueur.

It has truly developed well with time in the bottle, emergent tertiary sweet spice characteristics integrate with the fruit and supple ripe fine tannins.

This drink is delicious by itself, on the rocks, stretched tall with soda – any which way. But a fantastic thing to do is balance sweet and floral with sour so today I will give you my recipe for the Elderflower Sour (pictured).

This wine ticks so many of my boxes, whether it is a glass with lamb chops from the barbecue or decanted and served alongside the most perfectly balanced fine dining dish, this wine is a must.

Ingredients: 60ml St Germain Elderflower Liqueur

I pour it at Rocks on Rosalind to please the crowds and I have a stash in my private cellar to look at in a few more years.

30ml lemon juice – if really tart then add about 7ml of 50/50 simple syrup.

Elderflower Sour

Method:

What a classy drink. I learned this at the Dispensary in Chancery lane when the clever bartender suggested my wife have an elderflower drink. This was one of those experiences I will remember for a lifetime.

Shake it without ice to activate the eggwhite’s creamy texture, then do a big shake with heaps of ice. Double strain the mix into a cocktail glass or dump it onto some rocks in a short glass if you need to look tough. It is great like this, but if you want to add another dimension stain it with a delicious crème de cassis.

It’s an exquisite concoction made from hand-picked elderflower blossoms from France. A seductive bouquet introduces

15ml egg white

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master stroke

Beau Cook takes us through cooking the perfect steak and tossing together a delicious salad on the side.

By Beau Cook Going by Beau Cook’s website this former MasterChef contestant is encouraging us to get back to basics, live in the moment, and eat fresh, unprocessed food. He attributes this outlook to his country upbringing, which isn’t surprising. And he is right, today we can race towards fast food outlets, and take-away restaurants, forgetting that it’s just as easy to put together a healthy, hearty dinner in half the time.

The combination of steaks and summer is as Australian as Brock and Holden, Warnie and spin bowling, or something a little less cliched ... but seriously, enjoying a perfectly-cooked steak is one of life’s great joys.

Here, Beau serves his dish with a crisp, fresh salad.

Hearty, healthy and delicious. Enjoy.

TAGLIATA Ingredients

Method Prep salad ingredients, set aside.

Heat a pan over a high heat.

• 2 x 250g top quality steaks (I used a dry aged wagyu sirloin)

Rub both sides of the steaks with olive oil and generously season with sea salt.

• Olive oil for cooking steaks

Place steaks in pan and cook to your liking (medium rare works best for this dish).

Two-thirds of the way through cooking bash garlic with the side of a knife so it opens up then add into the pan along with butter, thyme and a good splash of olive oil. When butter has melted spoon over the steaks continuously until cooked. Remove from heat and place steaks on a board or plate and let rest for 5 minutes.

• Two knobs of butter • 2 cloves garlic • 4 sprigs of thyme • Sea salt and pepper • Salad • 2 big handfuls fresh baby rocket • 2 Roma tomatoes deseeded and finely diced • ¼ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese • 1 tbs of balsamic vinegar • Juice from one wedge of lemon

Meanwhile, mix salad ingredients together then dress with lemon and balsamic.

Once steaks are rested slice into 1cm-thick strips and serve alongside the salad. Finally spoon some of the butter, garlic and thyme from the pan over the steaks and season with freshly cracked pepper.

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time for giving Advent calendars are up and the countdown to Christmas Day is under way. Here are some home-grown gift ideas to get you started.

Photography by David Field | Styling by Melissa Kerr

Rivergate Wines, 2007 Reserve Shraz, $35, www.rivergatewines.com.au | Habitue small leather handles basket, $65, www.habituedesign. bigcartel.com | Jimmermila “Megaptera Universe” Resin Art, $280, jimmermila.bigcartel.com | Coral and Herb big spot planter, $35, www.coralandherb.com | Scents of the Earth, hand poured ‘Hawaiian Breeze’ sandstone soy candle, $25, and hand poured ‘Freesia and Summer Breeze’ copper soy candle, $35, www.instagram.com/scentsofearth | Mandurang Valley ‘Old Vine’

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Seriously Milestone cards (original and toddler), 29.95 each, www.seriously.net.au | Simply Type ‘Chill it’s only chaos’ wooden banner, $49.95, www.simplytype.com.au | The Wall Collective DIY Wall Hook, $28; and Train Night Light, $55, www.thewallcollective.com.au Petit Pixel Design ‘Bendigo Map Neon’ print, $35.00, www.petitpixeldesign.com

Talking Red Chambray Romper, $38, www.talkingred.com.au | Happy Hands Happy Heart Spearmint Playdough, $14, rolling pin and cookie cutter, $4, branded calico bag, $3.50, www.happyhandshappyheart.com.au | Little L dusty pink and silver knot cushions, $50, www.bigcartel.littlelinteriors.com.au | Flavour and Heart Macarons, various flavours, $2.50, flavourandheart.com | Red Tree Pompoms Wooden Abacus, $28, www.etsy.com/au/shop/ redtreepompoms | And The Rest organic wrap, $34.90, www.andtherest.net.au

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Earth Goods Bendigo lemon-scented eucalyptus with poppy seed olive oil soap (green), $4.50, second soap (yellow) is lemon myrtle olive oil soap, $4.50, www.earthgoodsbendigo.com.au | Coral and Herb wall weave, $35, www.coralandherb.com | Simplicity Aromatherapy, 125ml Balance Facial Cleanser, $20, 125ml Balance Rose Water Facial Toner, $17, www.simplicityaroma.com | Saff and Sassi Dotti pendant, $45, and Resin Bangle, $45, www.saffandsassi.bigcartel.com | Raf and Hop “Eva” curved bar necklace, $23 and ‘Piper’ beaded necklace, $18, www.rafhop.etsy.com | Urth Goods Palm free, vegan, artisan soaps locally crafted, $6.50 each, available at Hunt Gather Grow or www.urthlyorganics.com.au | Jimmermila ‘Wild and Wonder’ print, $27, jimmermila.bigcartel.com

www.miltandjoe.com.au acorn • aden and anais • all4ella • alphabet soup • anarkid baobab • b.box • bibalicious • bobux • click clack toys coco and ginger • down to the woods • d lux • gaia organic cotton • feiyue • fiona walker • heico lamps • hello toes hug a planet • huxbaby • jujo baby • kiko • kip and co kippins • lil’mr • littlehorn • little red owl • little wings • mae miann and co • milestone baby cards • milk and masuki minti • mister fly • munster kids • oyoy • paper wings peggy • plae • pretty brave • rock your baby • sack me saltwater sandals • seriously milestones • soopsori toys sudo • tikitot shoes • uncle goose • walnut melbourne

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AVA IL A B L E AT O R GA N IS E M Y, M ILT & J O E, G AT H E R E D A N D O N L IN E AT S E R IO U S LY. N E T. A U

Jenna and Zeb Neate

Vintage and glam, with a dash of travel. This was the theme for the wedding of medial imaging clerk Jenna Harper and her husband, and carpenter, Zeb Neate.

Photography by Terri and Bec “We were able to us so many bits and pieces from our lives that we had collected over the years,” Jenna says. “Our love for travel was present on our day with vintage suitcases and a world mapping seating chart.”

bright red dress and gold crown from Davis bridal.”

They also turned to Pinterest during the planning process. “And bridal magazines from the last 10 years had a wealth of ideas.”

“On the wedding day we awoke to beautiful blue skies hoping that the forecast for rain has been blown away overnight, and then shared a lovely breakfast prepared by my bridesmaids,” Jenna says. “Then we were off to Silk Day Spa to have our hair and make-up done. But in order to enjoy a glass of sparkling, the girls had to make a quick trip to Cole for a bottle opener because they’d brought without a cork.”

The couple spent 18 months planning their big day, from the time that Zeb proposed. Jenna describes it as a scene from a movie.

“It happened in Central Park on a winter’s day with snow on the ground,” she recalls. “Zeb had been holding onto the engagement ring waiting for the perfect moment to propose. And then there he is, in Central Park on bended knee saying some very heartfelt words.”

Jenna prepared a special surprise for her husband, booking a second honeymoon to the USA for them both – complete with NBA and Coachella tickets. The groomsmen all presented Zeb with a box on the morning of the wedding each containing part of the surprise. She also treated her bridesmaids to a similar surprise of a week in the Whitsundays.

For their special day, the bride took a relaxed approach to her wedding gown.

“I knew that I would find something when the time was right. It was capped sleeved, beaded lace, pronovias gown, with a Gatsby feel,” Judith says. “I surprised my guests arriving at the reception in a 86

The bridal party hired a house for the night before the wedding. It was a lovely time for the girls to hang out together and then prepare for the big day.

It was back to the house to meet the photographer and videographer, then the men arrived in the limo to collect the bridal party for their photo shoot. In an interesting change on tradition, Jenna and Zeb saw each other before the ceremony.

“Zeb and I had arranged to have a first look before having most of our wedding photos taken before the ceremony. With a love of books and love stories we headed into Book Now in Farmers Lane to capture some images. The heavens opened and we waited inside for the rain to pass.”

Unfortunately the rain didn’t let up when the couple arrived at Fortuna for their wedding, but that didn’t dampen their spirits. Instead, the event and the 112 guest were moved inside.

“We had both written our vows making promises to each for each

day forward. Showing a lighter side of marriage and wanting to make our vows about us we threw in a few light-hearted ones that had our guests in hysterics,” Jenna says.

The couple decided to have a wander through the Moonlight Market, enjoying some ice cream on their way to the reception at the Bendigo Town Hall. Arriving at the historic venue, Jenna changed into her red strapless gown for their surprise entrance.

The bridesmaids all spoke of the love and happiness that Zeb had brought to Jenna’s life, before the couple thanks their guests for their friendship over the years.

“The day ended with lots of hugs and kisses,” Jenna says. “As many people say, it goes by quickly and this was the case on our day – not enough hours to spend with all our fabulous friends and family. But a lifetime ahead of us to celebrate our marriage.”

Offering advice to future brides and grooms, Jenna says to make sure the day is about you and your husband.

“People can be very helpful and suggestive about what is best for you.

And sometimes things can get bigger than big. The first look was one of the most magical moments of our day. We had time to share our first kiss together, put everything on hold and be in the moment.”

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Sam & Karlie Baker

From the romantic engagement through to the beautiful wedding ceremony, Sam and Karlie were thrilled to share their emotional and fulfilling journey with their families.

Photography by Whites & Woods Sam chose the couple’s anniversary in May 2015 to propose to Karlie.

“He had arranged dinner with our families at Barzurk under the premise that we were celebrating Sam’s mum (Nola), brother (Jack) and my own birthday which all occur in that week,” Karlie says. “Barzurk was the first place he had taken me on a date and had been a favourite venue for us over the years. Sam got down on one knee after dinner in front of our families and a restaurant full of strangers. It was an emotional moment, I am still yet to officially say ‘yes’.

“I’ve never seen him so short for words and overcome with emotion ... I did a happy dance and said something along the lines of ‘Is this really my moment?’ through tears. It was the perfect sentiment, I loved sharing the moment with those who love us most. He certainly knows me well.”

In planning the big day, the couple turned to Pinterest for inspiration envisaging a fun-filled day which was relaxed yet romantic.

“Additionally, we used our friends and our own experiences of weddings to guide us, particularly in deciding what were the most important elements for us.”

Of course, one was the venue, which was picture perfect.

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“Sutton Grange Winery was our choice largely for the beautiful scenery it offered. It was a quick decision for us once we had a tour and we couldn’t have been happier with our decision,” the happy couple says.

“We envisaged a fun-filled day based around a relaxed, romantic, party theming. We wished to reflect who we are as individuals and as a couple hence the relaxed feeling with the focus being on mingling with our guests and enjoying formalities intimately with a reduced sense of scheduling.”

Karlie looked stunning in in her bridal gown from Raffaele Ciuca Brunswick Bridal Emporium.

“I spent some time across the week browsing various bridal stores and trying different dress styles,” Karlie says. “This process helped me to decide what I did and didn’t prefer and led me to a very easy decision the day I visited Raffaele Ciuca.”

The final choice in design was somewhat of a surprise for the bride.

“I never envisaged myself in a strapless gown. In fact, I continually turned down suggestions to try gowns with this neckline,” she laughs. “I eventually obliged and am so grateful that I did as I fell in love with my dress. I opted for ivory lace over light gold to give the dress a romantic and warm hue. I truly felt fabulous in my dress on the day.”

That feeling was shared by all, especially family and friends who the couple involved in the proceedings of the day.

“Sam’s cousins Jess and Mitch Greer performed acoustically for us on the day. They sang our processional, Sam Smith’s Latch, the father and daughter dance, John Mayer’s Daughters, and then Dirty Dancing’s The Time of My Life for the bridal dance. It made these moments even more memorable and meaningful for us.”

A special treat for guests was watching the couple do their bridal dance – something the couple had been rehearsing. It was also a highlight for Sam. “The excitement of our guests in the room brought what we had been practising to life. That lift was executed to perfection,” he says.

A friend of Sam and Karlie’s, David Hickman conducted the wedding ceremony, “which was simply wonderful and helped us to feel comfortable and personalise this part of our day”.

“We were supported by a wonderful bridal party made up of friends and siblings. It was lovely to have their support on the day and in the lead-up to it.”

For Karlie, there were touching moments with her father on the day which the bride says she’ll never forget.

“One of my favourite moments was setting up a dress reveal with my dad and sister,” Karlie says. “That moment and the emotion on my Dad’s face will never leave me.”

“I’d also asked dad to pre-prepare a ‘dad joke’ for the walk down the aisle to calm my nerves. He proceeded to remind me as we walked that I shouldn’t worry if Sam looked like a frog at the moment as he was sure when I kissed him he’d turn into a prince. It certainly worked a charm, I laughed through tears.”

For the Sam and Karlie, their wedding was the opportunity to formalise their commitment to each other ... “We’re now ready to navigate life’s path together. It is a privilege to share life with my best friend.”

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For further information on holding your wedding at The Grounds of the Ravenswood Homestead, please contact Grace Cowling on 0428 194 857 or via email grace@thegroundsravenswood.com.au

architectural accolades

When it comes to the city’s plethora of celebrated architecture, we all know what we like. But what do the experts think? Three Bendigo architects tell us their favourites.

By Colin King In The Age Traveller’s Twenty Reasons to Visit Bendigo, the top four reasons are all architectural.

It’s the first thing most visitors notice, and not just the opulent 19th century marvels that dominate the city centre. Bold modernism, such as the Bendigo Bank head office, police station and new schools all turn heads. From another world, the Great Stupa has risen from the bush in record-breaking proportions. The challenge for our architects is to choose just one design — other than their own.

Terry Mitton is a director of e+ architecture whose projects include Girton Grammar and BTEC. Terry has given his nod of appreciation to the new Bendigo library. The building sits well in Terry’s ideal of Bendigo becoming Australia’s Columbus.

Since the 1950s the American city, which is half the size of Bendigo, welcomed modern architects to design its public buildings. Now, each year 40,000 people make a pilgrimage to see some of the finest modern architecture in the US. Terry believes that in time, this could happen in Bendigo.

“The architecture and solutions we need to be looking at now needs to be improving the building stock and architecture in Bendigo.”

For Terry’s trained eye, the library stands out as a “well-considered architectural outcome” on many levels.

“The materials are good, the use of space is good, the introduction of light, the adaptive use of the existing building, the splash of colour, its orientation to the library gardens and the town hall. Even inside, because it’s got that visual connection to the library gardens, it gives you an extension of space. It’s a total solution.”

Others in his profession must agree because the library was shortlisted for an Australian Institute of Architects award.

Matt Dwyer of Y2 Architecture is best known in Bendigo for Ulumbarra Theatre although the practice also had a hand in designing four of the town’s secondary colleges. Matt prefaced his selection by declaring: “One of my own passions is Art Deco. I love that movement. Not only from an architectural point of view but generally from a style and design point of view. I think being an architect in that period would have been quite spectacular.”

It’s a fair bet that the building nominated by Matt flies under the radar of most Bendigonians. It’s the three-storey premises above the Off Ya Tree shop at 13 Mitchell Street. The facade was restored in original 1930s Art Deco colours after being purchased for apartments in 2012.

“What I like about Art Deco architecture is, it strips away the wedding cake cream of classicism. It’s the geometry, the line and the style … although classicism is beautiful in terms of craftsmanship and is very good for public buildings.”

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Matt’s favourite on Mitchell Street leads him to the non-classical style of Mr Beebe’s at View Point, which was built in 1908. In its Art Nouveau design, he sees a connection backwards with Art Deco.

“Bringing architecture, art and design into everyday life,” he says.

Dennis Carter, who moved to Bendigo some 20 years ago, takes an analytical as well as a practitioner’s perspective. Local examples of his designs are the Otis Foundation retreat and YMCA House.

Dennis cites Bendigo’s 19th century architectural legend William Vahland as a “fairly pivotal influence”. Not for the grand designs you might expect but for the town’s humble miners’ cottages.

As Dennis describes it: “Vahland designed the houses, built the houses, and set up the building society to finance the people into houses. There was a real altruism there. He made the money out of his big buildings I believe, to provide the affordable housing.”

Dennis notes parallels with innovative modular systems introduced in the 1980s.

“Vahland would start off with one single room and virtually no facilities, maybe a fireplace, to which could be added as money was available. You could add another hip roof, and another hip roof, and a lean-to. That’s Vahland. All prefabricated.

“He had a building factory that did the building. He had a syndicate that helped him buy land and he also started up a building society.

Vahland put it all together into one package without middle men.

That is the most important initiative, to my mind, for housing in Australia.”

Dennis’ career-long interest in affordable housing has led him to the pointy end of developing a revolutionary system he says is, “ironically following on from what Vahland did in the 19th century”.

And there you have it. Our three architects’ selections. No obvious icons among them but each thoughtful choice borne from individual professional passions. We expected no less.

A typical ‘Vahland Villa’ in the back streets of Eaglehawk.

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Restored in original 1930s Art Deco colours, 13 Mitchell Street.

111 Mollison Street Bendigo

www.eplusarchitecture.com.au

Phone: (03) 5443 0055

built with love

The journey to building Kez’s Hideaway has been an emotional one. But as these women can testify, the gratitude by cancer survivors to Paul Gray is beyond measure.

By Sue Turpie Not everyone becomes emotionally connected to a building. For some, a house is simply bricks and wood. An object that serves a purpose until it’s not needed any more. For those involved with Kez’s Hideaway in Redesdale, nothing could be further from the truth.

If you need proof of how much this building, the result of a project between the Otis Foundation and Bendigo builder Paul Gray, means to people you only need to speak with the women who have stayed there.

Recently Christine Hills and Judith Saliba spent a long weekend relaxing with friends at the retreat. Almost all of the women have known each other since high school and been there for each other through many of life’s battles, including breast cancer. Christine was diagnosed in 1998 and underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Judith was diagnosed five years ago and went through the same process. Both women are in remission now.

“I’m lucky enough to still be alive,” Christine says. “You often feel survivor’s guilt because you’ve lived and other people haven’t.”

What is inspiring is the outlook that Judith and Christine now have – there is no hint of self-pity but a want to savour and enjoy life.

“In some ways, cancer just gets rid of all the small stuff. It makes the crappy little bits not important,” Christine laughs.

The stay at Kez’s Hideaway was a way for Judith to show her appreciation of the support her friends had given her during her 94

battle with breast cancer.

“I’d heard about Kez’s Hideaway through my breast cancer nurse, but at that stage I wasn’t well enough to use it,” Judith says. “When you’re undergoing chemo even getting from the bed to the toilet is a big enough challenge.”

Not that anyone staying at Kez’s Hideaway would want for anything.

The house was built by Paul Gray in memory of his wife Kerri who died from breast cancer in 2011. It was designed for a family to use, is spacious, light-filled and stylish with four large bedrooms and three bathrooms, and an open plan living space. Being on an elevated block, it boasts beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. It impressed Judith, Christine and their friends.

“We were blown away by the house, it’s so amazing,” Christine says.

“It’s such a beautiful part of Victoria, and a beautiful tribute.”

“We drove up in two cars and I remember when we arrived and walked through the door we all just said ‘oh, wow’,” Judith says.

“I brought a friend of mine with me who had lost her husband to brain cancer,” Christine adds. “It was nice to be able to have her experience this. Everyone has been touched by cancer either through the loss of a spouse, or themselves or some other way.”

“It was built under such sad circumstances but Paul would have to realise how much we appreciate what he has done,” Judith says. www.kezshideaway.org.au

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revolution by design The desire for uniquely designed furnishings is growing, as is the demand for bespoke furniture design and production service, all of which are being made right here in Bendigo.

There has been a quiet revolution happening in the world of retail, and it could be said that Bendigo and surrounding regions of central Victoria are proudly at the forefront.

It is the move away from mass-produced homewares and a growing desire for custom-made and locally-created furniture and accessories.

The ability to create unique and stylish homewares is a skill. As is the ability to help clients choose the perfect pieces for their

home. Pieces that reflect their own style personality.

While it is recognised for its furniture gallery and online store, Make Your House A Home also produces custom-made furniture crafted at its Bendigo warehouse.

Regular products include fabric and leather dining chairs, timber pieces, bed heads, ottomans, artwork and shelving designed by owner Lisa Smith and her clients, and then created by husband Norm and their team.

The design and layout of each room is taken into consideration and each element carefully interpreted from customer sketches, mood boards or simply their own vision.

The in-store colour room, fabric gallery and interior design service provides access to hundreds of colours, timber stains and fabrics. Also, older beloved sofas and family heirlooms can receive a new look by using the in-house upholstery service.

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quality built Builder Sam O’Connor has taken a JM Homes design and added a touch of Bendigo to create something stylish and new that will stand the test of time.

Clean lines, monochromatic interior, quality accessories, and attention to detail. This newly-built four-bedroom property in Imagine Estate in Strathfieldsaye is the display home of JM Homes Bendigo.

JM Homes was established in the beach town of Torquay so it might have seemed a peculiar move to establish a branch or the company in Bendigo… a city famous for its surrounding bushland. However, choosing builder Sam O’Connor to head operations was a smart move given he was born and bred here and has a keen eye for design features that reflect the city’s flora.

Sam explains that the work done by JM Homes is custom-made, catering for second, third or fourth homebuyers. What works with

this property is that while it has room enough for a family it has been streamlined so all that’s left are specific spaces. There is nothing extraneous about this home’s features or layout, and the quality speaks for itself.

“I’ve taken a design that we already had and modified it to suit what I wanted and what I thought would be good for Bendigo,” Sam says.

These added details include an extra bedroom and skylights in the south side of the house allowing for more light during the winter months, as well as different timber finishes bringing them in line with the central Victorian landscape.

From the front entrance, the flooring is burnished concrete through the

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main living area. The white interior walls and ceilings make the natural tonal character of the concrete stand out. Whether polished or burnished, what used to be an industrial flooring has been transformed into a modern and attractive alternative to floorboards.

The living area is open plan with the kitchen featuring Statuario Venato Smartstone benchtops which sit nicely against the white drawers and timber-look cupboards. Overhead is a raked ceiling of 2.7 metres above the kitchen and dining area and then raised to 4.4 metres in the living room, which features a gas log fire. The design cleverly makes the room feel bigger and draws your eye to the glass windows and external sliding doors giving the impression of an uninterrupted flow from inside to outside.

The decking off the living area is Hardideck which is a low-maintenance, cement-based product, taking the headache out of having to regularly oil the wooden decking.

Moving further through the house there is a study nook and then three bedrooms, the family bathroom with separate powder room. A strategic inclusion is the family room next door to the bedrooms. As Sam says it means that retirees can use the open-plan living area and master suite as their main living space, leaving the other end of the house for the grandchildren or visitors. It would be equally as suitable as a teenagers’ retreat.

Quality features include Argent tapware, square set plaster, Oliveri sinks, James Hardie cladding … nothing has gone into this house without due consideration.

“We don’t do houses just off the plan, we do custom builds, renovations and extensions,” Sam says. “It gives people something different, something that stands out. And we use all local tradies, local business owners and local suppliers. The JM brand is from Torquay but we’re all Bendigo here.”

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being green

Having been blessed with a green thumb may be the secret to a long, healthy and happy life reveals gardener extraordinaire Ken Maes.

By Paula Hubert For as long as he can remember Ken Maes has had a passion for flora and fauna and he has no doubt that being so close to nature every day has given him a strong constitution.

“I’m 89-and-a-half years old and gardening keeps me going; it keeps me fit,” he says.

To prove the point, he touches his toes with ease and agility.

“I get edgy if I can’t get out into the garden 102

every day. It’s something to look forward to when you see a job you’ve got to do. Looking at my handiwork is so peaceful.”

Climbing geraniums, gladioli, campanula, lilies, palms and billbergia are among the glorious flora enveloping the 1906 miner’s cottage in Eaglehawk where Ken and his wife Muriel have lived for 32 years. There was only a driveway when they first moved in so the entire garden has evolved over the decades.

displays were showcases,” he explains.

Blessed with a green thumb, Ken has worked his magic at a number of prominent places in Bendigo during his gardening career. He was the curator at the Bendigo Racecourse and head gardener at the Georgian residence Hunter House in Queen Street where he “liked the English garden aspect and the formal beauty”. He then landed his dream job.

“A miracle happened and I became the head gardener at Fortuna Villa for 12 years.”

The villa was under the auspices of the Ministry of Defence at the time.

“I was very happy there. The camaraderie was so wonderful with the army personnel.

The gardens were formal but on a huge scale with the Pompeii Fountain, roses, palms and camellias.

“I have been blessed. All of my jobs have been public venues for everyone to admire and now I’ve got my own special garden.”

The beauty of the garden is in its simplicity.

“It doesn’t have a set pattern. This is a happy marriage of natives, exotics and succulents,” he says.

Ken’s interest in tending to plants started when he was just a young boy. His head teacher at Gravel Hill gave him the chance to update the school garden after he showed an interest. “I knew all of the names of the plants including the Latin ones,” Ken says.

At 14, his first job was at the Bendigo Council nursery in Rosalind Park where pots of blooms would be transferred to the conservatory by horse and cart. Ken would help stage five flower shows each year, filling the glass house with seasonal collections – tuberous begonia, cyclamen, schizanthus (poor man’s orchid), cineraria, and a rainbow of chrysanthemum.

Ken’s Eaglehawk garden attracts visitors like bees to a honeypot when he and his wife hold open days each year. They’re delighted that a small door entry donation from these open days has raised $4000 for a hospital in Nepal and the Leprosy Mission there.

Among the quirky garden features admired by visitors is a mini Stonehenge and the Merry Maidens in Cornwall. The displays hark back to Ken’s time in England when he travelled as a young man and saw English garden settings. ”We can’t have an English garden here. I only grow things that are hardy and adapt to conditions. I’ve lived through severe droughts so I’m dedicated to watering early in the day.”

Ken has a wonderful collection of aloe, bromeliads, 13 jade trees and imposing cacti that stand tall and proud. Walkways are bordered with pink and purple flowering beds and succulents.

“The chrysanthemums were spectacular with three blooms per plant and 10-inch flower heads. We potted them in three stages so it was a lot of work.

He is well known among gardening circles where swapping cuttings and seedlings is part of the ritual. What is guaranteed is that each week someone will pop in to say hello and visit his garden.

“People would flock there in their hundreds to these seasonal displays. People in that era were very garden conscious and these

“Everyone who comes to visit says it’s very tranquil here,” says Ken. “It’s a world within a world.”

it's too noisy in here Why noise levels could be harming your business:

I often joke with my patients that the first café or restaurant that bothers with good acoustic design and advertises “Almost as quiet as a library” will do a roaring trade and make itself a fortune.

Sadly not enough attention is paid by owners of restaurants and cafes to minimise noise levels.

Simple solutions such as acoustic panelling along walls and ceilings, tablecloths, rubber caps on chair legs, soft or carpeted floors and monitoring ambient background music levels make for a far more enjoyable social and dining experience.

As an audiologist with over 30 year’s experience and also a keen foodie, I am well qualified to advise restaurateurs and café owners on the perils of an establishment that is just too noisy.

So much attention gets paid to food quality and hopefully also service. But how much attention is paid to acoustic design and management?

From my experience very little or none at all.

Yet it is excessive noise which can destroy one’s culinary experience. How do I know? Because everyone over 40 years of age complains to me about it. It’s different when you’re 20-something, the more noise the better. But when you’re 40-plus you start to become irritated by noise in cafés and restaurants.

Music levels:

The question I would ask is: Why have music in the first place?

Is it really necessary, especially first thing in the morning? How about a “no music till late morning” policy? If you must have music, then ask your customers if the level of background music is acceptable.

Also is the music appropriate to the customers you are trying to attract? Who chooses the music and sets the sound level? Are they really the age and demographic of the customers you are trying to attract?

If you are a café or restaurant owner reading this you may think I’m exaggerating this issue.

But I can assure you I know what people think and Australians don’t like to complain. If it’s too noisy they’ll just go elsewhere next time.

Tips for consumers: Here are some suggestions for consumers worried about noise.

Check reviews of restaurants online and if words such as noisy, lively or bustling get mentioned it might be worth booking elsewhere.

Check the restaurant's website for photos of the interior. Bare walls and floors and lots of glass suggest that the venue will be noisy.

When booking, request a quiet table or at least when being seated ask to not be seated near

By Dirk de Moore Audiologist, Bendigo Hearing Clinic speakers, open kitchens or coffee grinders.

Avoid dark restaurants as they make lip reading much harder.

Finally, if noise is an issue let the manager know, as this may prompt them to turn down the music or better still, prompt some redesign initiatives.

Café owners can monitor their noise levels using a simple decibel app on a smart phone. Ideally the aim should be to limit background noise levels to below 80dB. Better acoustic design will increase business and put money in their pockets.

I guarantee it.

For more information or to make an appointment, contact the Bendigo Hearing Clinic on 5442 5800 or visit www.bendigohearingclinic.com.au

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uncovering skin cancer What is skin cancer?

Skin cancer, for the most part, occurs when cells in the outer layer of your skin, the epidermis, are damaged, most commonly by UV radiation. In Australia, our outdoor lifestyle means most of us are exposed to plenty of opportunities for the sun to damage our skin.

How common is skin cancer in Australia?

Australia has some of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world; two out of three people will have had at least one skin cancer treated by the time they are 70.

How is it treated?

In most cases, the first step is identifying the type of skin cancer as there are a number of ways to address skin cancer and it can depend on which type you have. Whilst simply looking at a suspicious lesion can give you some degree of certainty in your diagnosis, performing a biopsy is the only way to be sure of which type you have.

Once a diagnosis is made, a treatment plan can be implemented. Whilst small lesions can be excised and the wound simply sutured together, others require a more complex reconstruction to preserve form and function.

What is a flap?

A piece of tissue which has its own blood supply.

After a skin cancer has been surgically removed a patient is left with a hole or ‘defect’. The first

step in reconstructing this defect is to determine what is missing. Depending on where on the body the defect is, there can be subtle variations in skin texture, colour, thickness and contour.

Flaps come in various shapes and size, and can be located close to the defect (local flaps) or on a separate part of the body (distant flaps). Your surgeon will anticipate the defect that will arise following excision of the lesion and choose a flap that best restores the anatomical form, and in some cases, will restore or preserve function.

What is a skin graft?

A skin graft, unlike a flap, does not have its own blood supply. A graft relies on the available blood supply in the defect created by excising the skin cancer. When your surgeon takes a graft it can come from just the outer layers of the skin (a split thickness skin graft) or all the layers (a full thickness skin graft). Which is used depends on the defect and what the surgeon is trying to reconstruct.

Do I need a graft or a flap to reconstruct my skin cancer?

Your surgeon will anticipate the defect that will arise from the excision of the lesion. If the thickness of the excised tissue, and therefore the defect, is more than a few millimetres then a skin graft is usually not suitable. Whilst the wound will heal, a large pit will be left behind in the skin, this is particularly unacceptable

By Broughton Snell (FRACS Plast) when reconstructing defects on the face. In this instance a flap will be needed. In saying that, on some parts of the nose, the eyelids and the ears, where the skin is very thin a graft is the perfect option to restore form and function.

How can skin cancer be prevented?

Follow the ‘slip, slop, slap’ campaign. Slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on a hat when outside. As cumulative sun exposure seems to be the problem, make sure your kids slip, slop and slap every day.

How do I know if I have skin cancer, I have ‘spots’ all over me?

Your GP is the best person to see for a skin check. We are fortunate in central Victoria to have excellent GPs who are all familiar with identification and management of suspicious lesions.

Bendigo Private Oncology We are thrilled to announce that we have three new oncologists who will be consulting and admitting patients at St John of God Bendigo Hospital.

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“ Everyone was so nice, making you feel so comfortable ”

advances in eye surgery “ If I could ...reserve a spot for all the future procedures, I would ”

Bendigo recently saw the introduction of an advanced surgical treatment for glaucoma, an eye disease affecting one in 200 people in Australia who are over the age of 60.

not enough to control matters. If things deteriorate, the next step is eye surgery for glaucoma to lower the pressure. This is a serious step with attendant complication.”

Recently a stent drainage mirco bypass device has been developed. It is microscopic in size, 20,000 time smaller than an intraocular lens and can be positioned in the drain “like a small pipe” to aid the drainage of the eye Peter Burt, the Clinical Adjunctive Professor fluid naturally; this procedure is performed of Monash University in Bendigo, says: inside the eye. Due to the common nature of “Glaucoma is a common eye condition in “ Excellent lovely cataract surgery, the stent can be positioned which the pressure inside the eye gradually staff... very good by the eye surgeon at the time of cataract increases to a level which causes the vision to surgery. be destroyed. The control of the eye pressureexplanations given...”

Professor Burt and Dr Shiu have both worked is very important. We have traditionally in the Glaucoma Unit at the Royal Victorian used drops and if the situation worsened, Eye and Ear Hospital. Professor Burt operates we embrace glaucoma surgery to control at all of the Bendigo hospitals: Bendigo eye pressure. In recent times the range of Health, Bendigo Day Surgery, and St John pharmaceutical drops has increased and of God. Dr Shiu operates at Bendigo Day laser therapies to the drainage have further Surgery. Both eye surgeons consult from the helped.”

Bendigo Eye Clinic, where Professor Burt is “The eye naturally makes fluid which drains director and Dr Shiu has worked for 15 years. out through a filter system,” Professor Burt Stent surgery for glaucoma can be combined says. “Eye pressure is a balance between seamlessly with cataract surgery with no production and drainage. Glaucoma occurs additional stress to the patient. commonly when the drain blocks up. Drops and even laser to the drain are sometimes Commonly patients will not require glaucoma The new treatment follows years of design and research. Eye surgeon Peter Burt and his colleague Michael Shiu recently introduced the Intraocular Stent surgery to Bendigo.

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“We are conducting research in this area at the Bendigo Eye Clinic in the future,” Professor Burt says. “It is a very exciting development which I hope can help patients here in Bendigo.”

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baby workout Finding time to get fit and healthy is made easy by enjoying an at-home workout, and with your own custom-made baby weights, it can be great family fun too.

Now I’m not a mum – that much is pretty obvious. I am, however married to a fabulous woman who’s an amazing mum to our two-year-old daughter. I also train a great many other amazing mums, so I think after all that I have learnt a thing or two from them all.

Let’s begin by playing the ‘way back when’ game. Do you remember back that far?

Before kids, I mean, when you just had the basics; your work, your partner, your friends and that amazing little thing called free time. If you try really hard you’ll be able to picture it because I know for many of you reading this it’s probably all but a distant memory.

Your life and daily tasks fitted nicely into a regular schedule, one you could adjust on a whim to fit in an extra PT session 108

or give yourself time to get out and enjoy nature by going for a run around Rosalind Park or Lake Weeroona. Those clothes always looked amazing on and you never hesitated entering your favourite shop because you were worried about the next potential fabulous purchase not fitting. You felt amazing every day. Felt like you had time on your side and never had to sacrifice precious ‘me’ hours to anyone else. Always had time for that next workout.

So what happened? Kids happened, that’s what. Those gorgeous little munchkins who came into your life and made you that much better, that much more complete. But, like a cat burglar in the night, also stole all your free time. So you sacrificed, because you probably thought that running around after little ones was your new lot in life. Gone were the days of feeling fit and healthy.

By Arj Perera

Gone were the days of just ‘throwing something on’ because you know anything will look good on. Gone were those favourite workout sessions at your gym.

It doesn’t have to be like that you know …

I promise. You can get back that ‘me time’ completely, or learn to share it with your little ones and make the experience even more enriching for all of you. The best part is, you don’t even have to leave the house.

Yes, you don’t need to prepare snacks, get bottles ready, get the spare nappies, get the wipes, get the change of clothes, remember where you (or your kids) put your keys, and then sift through everything to find workout gear to wear or get somewhere by a set time to make the class.

All you need is to clear a little space in the living room or head out to your backyard.

Easy, isn’t it?

At-home workouts are the saviour to your sanity, the restorer of muscle tone, and the provider of all-important stress relief.

You can do them whenever you like – even wearing your PJs if you can’t be bothered getting changed.

I know what you’re thinking now: “So how much stuff am I going to need to buy to be able to do this at home?” You’ve seen all the amazing workout toys in gyms these days, don’t worry though, I’m sure if you look at what’s crawling or running around your house at the moment you’ll find something to workout with pretty quickly. Not only do at-home workouts help you regain that ‘me time’, your kids can join in too by becoming your very own, custom-made resistance item. If they are old enough then they can also join in the workout with you. Are you ready? Let’s get into it then.

Mountain Climbers

Mum & Bub’s Push Ups

Set yourself up in a push-up position, then start by bringing your right leg up towards your chest and then alternate legs in a jogging motion. Best to set bubs to the side of you as you’ll be going at a reasonable pace here.

Set bubs up between your hands whilst in a push-up position (knees or toes) then slowly bend your elbows and lower down towards the floor. The odd sneaky raspberry on the belly works a treat here to keep it fun.

Partner Squats

Mum and Bub’s Leg Lifts

Rock and Press

Holding bubs high on your chest facing you or facing away, hinge at the hips and bend the knees until you’re about 90 degrees. For beginners use a chair or bench to learn the movement.

Set yourself up on the floor with your legs at 90 degrees, feet off the floor and bubs resting on your shins. Hold your hands underneath the arms and gently slide your legs away from you, then bring them (and bubs) back.

This is fun and challenging. Kneeling with bubs held at chest height, engage your core muscles and gently rock backwards as you press bubs into the air. Only rock back as far as you feel comfortable.

Rotation Lunge

Romanian Split Squat

Post Workout

More challenging as you’re holding bubs away from your body. Perform a lunge and then rotate and swing bubs to the outside of the front knee. Stand back up and repeat on other side. As you get better increase your speed.

Hold bubs for an extra challenge or without for beginners. Place one foot on a bench, table or chair and the front leg in a lunge position. Drop back knee towards the floor and drive up. Do all reps on one leg at a time.

Congratulations, you did it. Never forget to celebrate a fantastic workout and some excellent mum and bubs time with something to drink afterwards. Then it’s time to stretch and cool down.

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Sarah Hunt, Leigh Morgan and Brigitte Moore

Katherine Johns and Edward, Thomas and Georgia Coverdale

Rod Fyffe and Georgia, Thomas and Jo Coverdale

Kirsty Phillips, Caroline Whitfort, Hayden Schreiber, Heath Maher and Brodie Stearns

Jeannie, Tara and Tony Mangan

Connor Gleeson, Michelle Henry, Kiarah Witcombe and Robert and Arlo Wheeler

BELLES OF THE BALL Students from the Bendigo Special Developmental School stepped out in style for their biennial debutante ball.

The colourful event, centred on the theme Somewhere Over the Rainbow, was held at All Seasons Bendigo, and the special guest who received the 17 debutantes was former mayor Cr Rod Fyffe. Participants had spent months practising the dances and performed beautifully in front of family, friends and school staff.

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hitting it for six

Female cricket is enjoying increasing appeal in our region – and with a hat-trick of state honours between them, this teen trio is extending the boundaries for a new generation.

By Raelee Tuckerman

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Jasmine Nevins had never played a formal game of cricket when she turned up to try out for a Victorian girls’ representative team at the urging of her primary school PE teacher.

Yet the talented Kangaroo Flat bowler proved such a natural she was selected in the state squad that won silver at the School Sport Australia 12-and-under championships in 2016. She was the third local female in as many years to play in the prestigious carnival, after White Hills medium-pacer Letesha Bawden and Bendigo allrounder Kate Douglass.

“I had no previous experience,” the now-13-year-old says of her rapid rise, which has also seen her and Letesha named in the Victoria Country Female Academy under-15 squad after training throughout winter with Cricket Victoria’s elite program.

“I used to bowl with my dad and brother Aaron in the backyard for fun. But as I went through the trials, I decided to play in the Bendigo junior league for more experience so I joined the Kangaroo Flat under-14 boys. I still play for them on Saturdays.”

It’s a similar story for the other girls – both began their cricket careers in boys’ teams because, until recently, taking on the lads at the “gentleman’s game” was their only option.

Letesha, 14, recalls that playing for Victoria in Darwin in 2015 was the first time she’d ever been part of an all-girl cricketing group – and she loved it.

“I still have a lot of friendships made through that team,” she says.

“Girls have more fun – we still try our hardest, but we don’t always take the result as seriously as boys.”

Not to mention that no boy likes to be dismissed or hit for runs by a girl.

Letesha has never been intimidated being outnumbered on the field – she tagged along to training with her older brother as a tot, bowled at the big boys every chance she got, then made her debut at eight when his under-11 team was short of players.

She has gone on to represent the Northern Rivers region in female state championships, and embraced the chance to attend the highperformance academy with Jasmine in Melbourne.

“It has been a lot harder than what we are used to,” Letesha says of the gruelling sessions that include physical and skill-based development.

“We work hard on our fitness, doing an intense warm-up before we even pick up a bat or ball, but they incorporate games into it to make it fun as well.”

Jasmine agrees the experience has been challenging, but worthwhile: “It’s pretty tiring and I was initially sore afterwards because I’d never done that much physical activity before.

“Being in an all-girl environment is quite different, too. Boys seem to have much more confidence in their abilities, while many girls are still discovering their talents.”

Jasmine and Letesha have been invited to train and play with Melbourne-based women’s Premier Cricket club Plenty Valley, where Kate is also on the roster.

Achievements like these pave the way for female stars of the future to follow their dreams in what was once a male domain.

The growth in girls’ cricket has prompted Bendigo District Cricket Association to this season appointed Carli Eaton as its first women’s co-ordinator.

The former Canberra player says it was a rarity to see girls out on local pitches a decade ago – and then, only in boys’ teams – but more than 50 girls took part in the BDCA’s first all-female competition last season.

“This summer, we are running two girls’ divisions on Wednesday nights in under-13 and under-16 age groups, following last year when we had just one encompassing everyone.

“We’d like to see this grow into a real opportunity for women’s cricket in Bendigo and eventually mature into a senior women’s competition as well.

“It will help develop the local talent pool – we want it to be a combination of girls having fun playing the game, but also learning the skills they need to really improve.”

Kate Douglass says the girls’ competition complements her other cricketing commitments: Bendigo’s under-16 boys’ side, Plenty Valley, and the Northern Rivers under-16 regional squad that are defending state champions.

“There is so much more opportunity for girls in Bendigo than when I first started,” the 15-year-old says proudly. “If any girls are interested, I would say definitely give it a go.”

Cricket Victoria regional manager Ben DeAraugo agrees: “It’s a very exciting time to be a young girl in sport and cricket provides great opportunities for talented players.”

Wednesday girls’ cricket is played at Beischer Park, with three rounds before Christmas and three after the holidays. New players are welcome any time. Contact your local cricket club or email bdca@impulse.net.au for details.

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