Bendigo Magazine - Issue 52 - Spring 2018 by Bendigo Magazine

ISSUE 52 | SPRING 2018 www.bendigomagazine.com.au

TIME MACHINE TRAVEL BACK TO THE ’50S

SNAPPED THE PEOPLE’S PHOTOGRAPHERS

soldier on

WAR STORIES TOLD

ISSN 1833-1289 AUD $5.95 (Inc. GST)

djaara power

CELEBRATING CULTURE

G IN LL SE W

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dear reader, You don’t realise how many wattle trees are by Bendigo roadsides until spring arrives. Just as we were putting this issue to bed, as we say in the business, the wattle was cracking. Bright bursts of sunny yellow blooms reminding us that warmth is on its way again and thank goodness for that. The lovely weather ahead will bring us out into the world. Kate will be out with her donkey, Anthony with his dinosaurs, Skip with his skateboard and Peter Russell-Clarke with his barbecued loin chops. For further information, see stories within. Also this issue Sarah Harris catches up with a couple of lads on the land, Raelee Tuckerman meets the good people behind pop up soccer and John Holton talks genes with a young woman of science. This issue is a true celebration of the people, places and culture that make Bendigo special, starting with the Dja Dja Wurrung community. Theirs was the first culture, and as Trent Nelson explains, it lives on with strength and pride, often unseen in the everyday life of most locals. This November however we’ll all get the chance to experience some of the Indigenous stories of this region through the ceremony of Yapenya. It’s free and it’ll be fabulous. We’ll see you there.

LAUREN MITCHELL

WALK

TRACY WILSON RELAY

EDITOR Lauren Mitchell PHOTOGRAPHER Leon Schoots CREATIVE DIRECTOR Dustin Schilling WRITERS Ben Cameron, Sarah Harris, Geoff Hocking, John Holton, Paula Hubert, Kate O’Connor and Raelee Tuckerman CONTRIBUTORS Beau Cook, Lisa Chesters, Tamara Marwood, Justin McPhail, Peter Russell-Clarke and Finn Vedelsby EVENTS PHOTOGRAPHER Ashley Taylor PRINT MANAGER Nigel Quirk ADVERTISING advertising@bendigomagazine.com.au 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 publisher accepts 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.

PEOPLE & LIFE 20

107

Making tracks - Kate Lawless The duality of caring - Dr Katharine McKinnon Caravan parked - Alison Mulqueen All in the genes - Nicole Lake Call in the techies - Bendigo Tech School Get onboard and volunteer - Lisa Chesters The raptor wrangler - Anthony Fraser Shear talent - Sam Mackrill Fighting for full inclusion - Ann-Maree Davis Pot talk - Geoff Hocking

107 The tricks of life

contents

- Albert Skipper

110 The ball for all

- Multicultural Pop-Up Soccer

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 14

Yapena comes together - Sharing dreaming stories Behind the lens - The people’s photographers Finding the Bendigo boys - Piecing together history

41 HOUSE & GARDEN 64

103

Floral fest - Castlemaine & District Festival of Gardens Local loves - Gift ideas Budding backyards - Justin Carr

103 All about that view

- Rimmon Martin

FOOD & WINE 31

Mushroom magic - Chris McLoghlin

84 Souperstar

- Beau Cook

Mojito’s back - Finn Vedelsby

Chop, chop - Peter Russell-Clarke Fall for the frothy - Justin McPhail

ON THE COVER: Leon Schoots’ photograph of Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation chairperson Trent Nelson was inspired by the work of Aunty Linda Ford. Aunty Linda photographed a host of Dja Dja Wurrung people who are taking part in the ceremony of Yapenya this November. Her pictures can be found within the magazine. We’ve used the cover line ‘Djarra Power’. Djarra means ‘people’ in the local Dja Dja Wurrung language. 4

events

September 7 - 9 Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music www.bifem.com.au September 13 Headmaster’s tour Girton Grammar School www.girton.vic.edu.au September 18 Dream with Kate Ceberano and the Forever Young Choir www.thecapital.com.au September 27 AFL Grand Final Eve Eve Race Day Bendigo Jockey Club country.racing.com/Bendigo September 28 – October 6 Greece the Musical Bendigo Theatre Company www.thecapital.com.au October 6 – February 10 Gothic Beauty Victorian notions of love, loss and spirituality www.bendigoartgallery.com.au October 7 – 8 Heathcote Food and Wine Festival www.heathcotewinegrowers.com.au October 12 – 20 Bendigo Uncorked Week www.bendigotourism.com/bendigouncorked-week October 18 Bendigo TAFE Experience Day www.bendigotafe.edu.au October 20 – 27 BendArts Festival www.bendartsfestival.com October 31 Beach Party Race Day Bendigo Jockey Club country.racing.com/Bendigo October 21 An Afternoon at the Proms Ulumburra Theatre www.thecapital.com.au October 26 – 27 Bendigo Agricultural Show bendigoshow.org.au October 27 – 28 Open House Bendigo openhousebendigo.org October 31 Bendigo Cup Bendigo Jockey Club country.racing.com/Bendigo November 3 – 11 Castlemaine Festival of Gardens www.festivalofgardens.org November 4 Bendigo Bank Fun Run www.bendigobankfunrun.com.au November 8 – 11 Bendigo Blues and Roots Festival www.bendigobluesandroots.com.au November 16 – 18 Embroiderers Guild exhibition St Andrews Hall www.embroiderersguildvic.org November 30 Mo Laughs Bendigo Comedy Movember fundraiser www.thecapital.com.au

WEEK OF WINE October 12 - 20 Steady yourself, the local winemakers have a whole seven days of events planned for Bendigo Uncorked Week. It all starts with Bendigo Heritage After Dark in the gold crushing room at Fortuna Villa and ends with a competition to choose Bendigo’s best shiraz - your chance to be a professional wine judge for a day. Included in the program is everyone’s favourite Heritage Uncorked, a day spent wandering the city’s historic buildings and sampling local food and wine. There are also dinners, tours and a film night at The Star to bookmark. Go to www.bendigotourism.com/bendigouncorked-week for more details.

spring it on

Step into the action this season with a host of creative events set to inspire the city. Plus, it’s fun run and frock up time, with a much-loved fundraiser and the Bendigo Cup on the cards. FESTIVAL COMES TO FRUITION October 20 - 27 Hugh Waller was a respected Bendigo artist who spent much of his life creating art and exhibiting nationally and internationally. Waller’s unexpected death in 2017 after a short illness inspired his friends and colleagues to carry his dream forward for a new art festival in Bendigo. In memory of Waller, the inaugural BendArts Festival will be launched at a gala dinner at the Bendigo

Pottery on October 19. Between October 20 to 27 the Bendigo Trades Hall will host the Waller Exhibition and a Waller art award winner will be announced on October 28. The BendArts Festival will support and encourage arts excellence inspired by Waller’s artistic vision. For further details and tickets go to bendartsfestival@gmail.com. Find it on BendArts Festival Facebook, Twitter and www.bendartsfestival.com

RUPTURE BY JESSIE BOYLAN September 22 – February 10, 2019 Local artist Jessie Boylan is the Bendigo Art Gallery’s Going Solo artist for 2018. Working closely with gallery curators Jessie has produced an ambitious new body of work, Rupture. Rupture investigates the ways in which the body and the world mimic each other in modes of panic and crisis. In this immersive video and sound installation, Boylan collaborates with trauma-informed psychotherapist Jenna Tuke, digital media artist Linda Dement and writer and performer Virginia Barratt to interpret how symptoms of ‘disorder’ can be seen as an appropriate response to personal traumas and global catastrophe. Going Solo is an annual exhibition in support of a contemporary Central Victorian artist.

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ARVO ENTERTAINMENT October 21 With a new program for 2018, this stunning spectacular salutes the famous BBC Proms Concerts of London’s Royal Albert Hall and includes well-known favourites Rule Britannia, Jerusalem, Radetzky March and Elgar’s Land of Hope and Glory. Australia’s most acclaimed international violinist Ian Cooper will be joined by opera stars, prima ballerinas, Australia’s foremost Bagpipe Band and the Blue Danube Orchestra to evoke the sheer exuberance of An Afternoon at the Proms - A Musical Spectacular. Enjoy selections from The Sound of Music, The Merry Widow, Carmen and The Waltz King - Johann Strauss, plus can-can and tango dancers. Feel the romance and emotion of the Hungarian Gypsy Orchestra’s, haunting renditions of Irish favourites and the Pipers’ tribute to the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Bring your flags and join the fun and frivolity of Ian Cooper’s An Afternoon at the Proms at Ulumbarra Theatre.

CUP FULL OF FUN October 31 The Jayco Bendigo Cup is country Victoria’s feature thoroughbred event, plus one almighty excuse for a day off and a party. The Bendigo Jockey Club is once again preparing to welcome serious punters and funsters trackside for the $150,000 race. Make the most of the public holiday, catch up with family and friends and get a taste of what country racing is all about. Try your luck on the gee gees and the Fashions on the Field competitions, or simply kick back and take in this iconic annual event while the racecourse roses are blooming.

POPPET AND PUPPET October 20, 8:00pm This free performance event at the Rosaland Park poppet head features aerial acrobatics, dance, puppetry, music and interactive projections. It’s a collaboration between the artists of ACT Natimuk – featuring Jillian Pearce of Y Space, Dave Jones of Transience and shadow puppeteer Mary French, with sound design by Russell Goldsmith and lighting by Tom Willis. Poppet is aided by Sam Thomas, Kate Stones, Kayla Baksh, Mick Bourke, Jida Gulpilil and Rebecca Phillips from the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation, the Golden Dragon Chinese Museum, CreateAbility, Z Fit, Camp Hill Primary School students, the Bendigo Field Naturalists, and the Bendigo Historical Society. Don’t miss it.

RUN FOR HEALTH November 4 Set to take place on an iconic CBD course, with optional colour powder stations and all the great distance events you know and love, the 2018 Bendigo Bank Fun Run promises to be the best yet. Register as an individual, or as part of a team with your family, friends, school or colleagues. Early bird pricing until September 23. Distance events include the 5km walk/run, 10km run, 15km run, 21km Half Marathon and the Tracy Wilson Relay. Be part of this truly special day, with all funds raised going to the Bendigo Hospital Residential Care Appeal. For more information or to register head to www.bendigobankfunrun.com.au

THE HAPPY BLUES November 8 – 11 The Bendigo Blues and Roots Festival is a predominantly free, grass-roots, community event that brings world-class music, local and independent talent to the heart of the city. This year’s festival will again be filled with performances and workshops, by more than 100 artists from all over Australia (as well as some internationals), in over 30 venues. The centrepiece is an all-day, free-entry, family-friendly concert featuring over a dozen great acts in Rosalind Park on the Saturday. Bring your deckchair and we’ll see you there!

STITCHED UP November 16 – 18 Join the talented Bendigo Branch of the Victorian Embroiderers Guild for its 26th biennial exhibition at St Andrews Church Hall in Myers Street. The show will feature exquisite work by many of the guild’s 110 members, who range in age from 23 to 95. Through the exhibition these well-stitched crafters aim to foster a love of hand-made items, educate and raise money. The guild provides scholarships to local secondary textiles students, it sponsors the embroidery sections in the Australian Sheep and Wool Show and the Bendigo Agricultural Show and subsidises classes for those who wish to further encourage and educate people in the art of embroidery.

BENDIGO HEALTH Did you know Bendigo Health is the major hospital of the Loddon Mallee region? It services a population covering 26 percent of Victoria, that’s more than 310,000 people and 10 Local Government Areas.

time to take part

Join the many families who’ve already donated to the New Bendigo Hospital Appeal. And join with us in congratulating an enterprising local on clocking up a milestone. TICKING OVER 12 MONTHS Time flies all right, even for a watch designer. Dave Ruffell has just clocked up one year as the co-founder of Mr Wolfe watches. Twelve months ago the jeweller launched The Bendigodesigned wrist watch collection onto the market with eight on-trend models. Now Mr Wolfe features 36 ladies and gents models available worldwide. So, how to mark the milestone? “We are going to the Hong Kong watch and clock trade fair in early September so will be seeking inspiration on current world trends,” Dave says. The current collection’s signature style can be described as pared-back luxury with sleek finishes like matt black and rose gold and large, clear round faces that make a statement. Dave says they’re the only locally-designed timepieces. Dave’s surname may ring bells too, along with his dad Martin Ruffell the pair have a combined 58 years of experience as jewellers in Bendigo. They also both have a crazy love of watches, which led to pursuing a long-held dream of designing high quality, clean, comfortable and stylish timepieces for ladies and gents of all ages at an affordable price. Objective achieved, they plan to spend the next 12 months adding to the range and expanding into more retail outlets. Apart from the www, Mr Wolfe watches are available in Eaglehawk, Maryborough, Swan Hill, Robe, and in Bendigo at Ruffell Jewellers in Mitchell Street.

We moved into the brand new, world class Bendigo Hospital in January 2017. At this time we launched the New Bendigo Hospital Appeal to raise $4 million and have purchased equipment that we know has already saved lives. This includes specialist diagnostic imaging equipment such as the new Cath Lab used to view the arteries and chambers of the heart and treat any stenosis or abnormalities. Remaining monies raised will be spent on high-tech pharmacy dispensing equipment to further improve services offered by Bendigo Health to our community. It’s not too late to contribute to the New Bendigo Hospital Appeal. Your family or business can be recognised on the Bendigo Health Foundation Donor Board in the hospital. Neil Beattie is a local farmer and family man. He will tell you that he is alive today due to the excellent care provided by Bendigo Health. Neil and his family (pictured) have generously contributed both their time and funds to support the Appeal. Talk to the Bendigo Health Foundation team about how your donation, small or large, can make a difference to our regional hospital and the health of our community. Help us provide Excellent Care. Every Person. Every Time. For more information please contact Rachel Mason or Amanda Lonergan from the Bendigo Health Fundraising & Foundation team on 1300 243 000 bendigohealthfoundation.org.au

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yapenya comes together

The time is right to unite and celebrate Dja Dja Wurrung culture as locals prepare to share their Dreaming stories in the heart of Rosalind Park. By Lauren Mitchell - Photo by Leon Schoots

Graham Atkinson - Photo by Aunty Linda Ford

It’s easy to think the pastoral settlement and historic gold rush of Bendigo obliterated all before it. The earth was turned upside down in pursuit of gold, the creeks muddied and the forests felled. The Dja Dja Wurrung population decimated and dispossessed. But across the goldfields several old River Red Gums and Box Ironbarks persisted. Trent Nelson likens their spirit and tenacity to that of the region’s first people, his people, the Dja Dja Wurrung. He says long after the frenzied hunt for gold had faded, these trees resisted the changes non-Aboriginal settlers wrought upon the landscape. “The young saplings still spring up and grow along the waterways and the bush,” he says, “very much echoing our own families’ survival.” The Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation chairperson says ours is a cultural landscape that is much more than tangible objects. Imprinted in it are Dreaming stories, law, totemic relationships, songs, ceremonies and ancestral spirits. And this November the wider community will have a chance to celebrate these little-seen aspects of Indigenous culture, through the ceremony of Yapenya.

“Yapenya is about making people aware that the culture here still exists,” Trent says. “It’s not stagnant. It’s letting people know they’re a part of it as well, educating them and their kids to understand it. We’re here, we never left and our spirit connects us to this place.” Yapenya means celebration in the Dja Dja Wurrung language. Trent says this ceremony will celebrate the local Dreamtime stories that connect Aboriginal people to this region. Up to 40 locals will take part, from elders to babies. “People who regularly do ceremonies, dancing and movement and who are artists in their own right and others who for them this is a learning step,” Trent says. “They’re taking part and standing up as proud Dja Dja Wurrung people. “The main thing is to bring Dja Dja Wurrung people together, build our cultural aspirations and knowledge of culture using art and dance and song as a narrative. It will depict Dreamtime stories that connect us to the place of our ancestors, such as our connection to the stars and alignment with our animals and our seasons.”

Marilyne Nicholls Atkinson - Photo by Aunty Linda Ford

Tori Kerr - Photo by Aunty Linda Ford

Dancers will pay respect to Bunjil, the eagle hawk, and Dja Dja Wurrung creator, who helps his people understand their connection to each other through his lore. And Mindi, the giant serpent, who implements the lores and ceremonies that ensure the continuation of life. Yapenya will also mark the five-year anniversary of the Recognition and Settlement Agreement signing. This agreement with the Victorian Government recognises Dja Dja Wurrung people as the traditional owners of the heart of Victoria. It formalises Dja Dja Wurrung people’s rights in terms of access to, use and management of natural and cultural resources. “Dja Dja Wurrung is now a partner with the State Government, which gives Aboriginal people rights on their country for different types of gain, like personal development, education and health,” says Trent, who played a key role in the negotiations. Trent grew up in Shepparton and came to Bendigo eight years ago, although this was a place he visited throughout his life. His

grandmother is Yorta Yorta clan and his grandfather is Dja Dja Wurrung. “I’m proud of anything I can do with my people, especially doing something in the centre of Bendigo for the wider community as an acknowledgement of culture,” he says of Yapenya. “To share the experience with people, to dance and sing on our country is very important to connect us back to the old people. It heals the country and the people and it’s part of our lore.” Trent says Dja Dja Wurrung family groups regularly go onto country to practice ceremonies but the wider community doesn’t get the chance to see that. Yapenya will bring those practices to the heart of Rosalind Park for a free ceremony at 8pm on November 17, in association with the Regional Centre for Culture. “It’s saying Dja Dja Wurrung people are here and present,” Trent says. “Our songs and stories still connect us and they’re strong.”

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TOAST TO TOURISM Bendigo’s tourism identities strengthened ties at the Discovery Science and Technology Centre in July. The Bendigo Tourism Partnership Launch provided a sneak peek of upcoming campaigns. It was a chance for tourism operators and accommodation providors to swap notes on the industry.

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OPEN COLLEGE EVENTS

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making tracks Bendigo is a key exchange in the donkey telegraph, as Kate Lawless discovered on her epic quest to find a walking companion. By Lauren Mitchell - Photography by Leon Schoots Meet Kate Lawless and Trail Blazer; rebels by name, rebels by nature. When Bendigo Magazine first encountered the pair they were walking along a dirt track where the Whipstick forest meets the subdivisions, map flapping, packed to the flanks. They were part-way through a six-day walk of the Greater Bendigo Trail, a dedicated track traversing the bush around about and through the city. “That was something I’d wanted to do for a while,” Kate says, a couple of months after completing the trail. “Of course I was nervous but the nerves were something I wanted to overcome. I thought, it’s close enough to civilisation if anything goes wrong. The people I met were really wonderful. Some invited me to camp at the bottom of their garden or their fields. One gave me oats for Blazer because they knew where I was going there wasn’t a lot of feed.” Since Kate and Blazer began walking together two years ago the journeys have been getting ever more adventurous. Eventually Kate plans to go bush for two or three months. But first, let us go back to when her dreams of a donkey were just that. Kate was walking part of the Australian Alps Walking Track with a

friend, weighed heavy with a tent, sleeping bag, food and anything else she’d need for a night spent camping, when she had an epiphany. “I said to my friend, ‘I just want to stay out here but I can’t keep carrying everything. I think I need a donkey’. She laughed at me and has been laughing ever since.” Kate began her quest by taking note of donkeys in paddocks and stopping to talk to their owners. She quickly found herself part of a donkey telegraph and learnt of a few key people who could help. “I was told there were a couple of women who knew all about donkeys that I needed to talk to – Fiona in South Gippsland and Chris in Lockwood. Both said come and stay for the weekend and I’ll take you out and teach you a bit about them. I did just that and they continue to support me. “I didn’t know anything about donkeys and actually I was terrified of them. But I’ve done a lot of interesting things in my life and I always think, if someone else can do it, I can do it too. If other people know what to do with donkeys, I can learn the same things.” (On ‘interesting things’, Kate spent six years living in third-world, wartorn Uganda, with three young children and her water driller husband. “You learn to be very resourceful,” she says.) 21

And so Kate began her donkey apprenticeship, learning how to communicate with them and how to care for them on a journey. “I learnt the commands with a rope, hand signals and voice, how to put the halter on, pick their hooves up, all the stuff that’s necessary,” she says. Then, Kate learnt of Trail Blazer, a donkey in need of a purpose. “I didn’t want to own a donkey, I wanted to borrow one and I thought, I’m sure somebody has got a donkey who’s just lonely, just standing in a paddock,” she says. ”That’s where Blazer came into it. And that’s how I met Gary, on whose property Blazer was agisted. Gary helped me overcome my fear of donkeys and is another amazing mentor.” The Bendigo donkey was much-loved but being used less and less by the two girls he was bought for and who were quickly growing up. Now, he and Kate spend weekends walking together, when Kate makes the journey to Myers Flat from Melbourne, where she lives and works full time. “He is affectionate and he knows me now,” Kate says. “When I arrive and call out ‘Blazer’ his head goes up. I love him. I miss him when I’m not with him.” Kate says he’s great company in the bush and the pair take reciprocal care of one another. Blazer carries all Kate needs, and some little luxuries, like books and an iPad. “He’s very good at carrying whiskey, too,” she says. Just about the only thing Blazer doesn’t usually carry is his own food and water, so Kate must take constant note of where to find them. “He knows what to eat and I watch what he eats,” she says. “If we come across a place with feed I’ll let him have a break and I’ll stop and boil the kettle. One evening when I set up camp there was literally nothing for him to eat.” After a short rest Kate rose at 4am, packed up and kept walking until she found Blazer some breakfast before making her own.

As we speak he’s sampling something new by Old Sandhurst Town Road. And he’s making way for more… “That’s very healthy if you’d like to know,” Kate says of the fragrant donkey droppings. “That’s another thing to look out for in the bush, that they’re peeing and their stools are well formed.” Kate’s now dreaming of a longer journey through the High Country. She’s inspired by the people she’s met in Bendigo who have made the trek before her. And by others, such as Robyn Davidson, who famously took a herd of camels across the Western Australian desert, then wrote about it in her book Tracks. “She’s one of the people who I thought, if she can do it, I can do it. I’m healthy and I’m damn lucky to be able to do what I can. You get inspiration from all sorts of places.” 22

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Kirstie O’Niell, Dorinda Toll, Kader Short and Kim Eliades

Luke Thompson, Courtney Walls and Kimberly Walls

Nate, Colin and Georgia Thompson and Amy Clark

Kyra Bethell and Sheree Pratt

BLUES AT THE VINE A whopping 16 acts donated their time and talents for a Bendigo Blues & Roots Music Festival winter fundraiser at the Golden Vine in July.

CRICOS Provider 00115M DC35216 08/18

The line-up included Lily & King, Jarrah Thompson, Messin’ ‘Round, Wayne Jury, Alister Turrill w/Toby Johnson, Spiritus, William Alexander, Ben J Carter, Dave Diprose, Mariah McCarthy, Pat Ward, Jarrod Shaw, Groove Juice and Sons of The Blues, all of which will also play the main event when the festival takes over Bendigo in November.

Artist’s impression of the new Engineering and Bendigo Tech School building designed by Vincent Chrisp Architects

Madeline Hudson and Spring Blossom

Sue and Vic Caruana

JAZZY NAMES, HEY Deb Shaw, Peter Abbinga and Lorna Atkinson

John Bye, Lynn Felder, Jenny Bond and Rod Miller

Harry Oakley-Warren and Pamela Oakley

Justin Thomas and Ann Craig

You gotta love a jazz band name. Consider just a smattering that played at the Castlemaine Jazz Festival… Annie Goes to the Movies, Cheap Frills, Rubble and Flint’s Tones and our fave, Miss Brigid and her Mixed Nuts. No doubt the festival was just as fun as the folks who played it, taking over Castlemaine with smooth jazz tunes for the long weekend in June

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Lisa Chesters MP - a strong VoiCe for Bendigo Lisa Chesters Lisa Chesters MP MP -- a a strong strong VoiCe VoiCe for for Bendigo Bendigo federal Member for Bendigo Ifederal am honoured to have been elected as the Federal Member for Bendigo. Member for Bendigo federal Member for Bendigo As your Federal to Member of Parliament, my office and I can provide a II am honoured have elected Federal Member for am honoured to have been been elected as as the the Member for Bendigo. Bendigo. As your Federal Member of Parliament, myFederal office and I can provide a wide range of services. As your Federal Member of Parliament, my office and II can provide a wide range of services and support. As your Federal Member of Parliament, my office and can provide a Please don’tof hesitate to get in touch with me anytime, either at my office wide range services. wide range services. on (03) 5443of9055 or by lisa.chesters.mp@aph.gov.au Please don’t hesitate to email get inat touch with me anytime, either at my Please don’t hesitate to touch with me Please don’t hesitate to get getorin inby touch with me anytime, anytime, either either at at my my office office office on (03) 5443 9055 email at lisa.chesters.mp@aph.gov.au on (03) 5443 9055 or by email at lisa.chesters.mp@aph.gov.au on (03) 5443 9055 or by email at lisa.chesters.mp@aph.gov.au

www.lisachesters.org Authorised by L Chesters, 16 Myers Street, Bendigo www.lisachesters.org www.lisachesters.org

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the duality of caring Juggling career and family responsibilities is a challenge many women, like La Trobe University researcher Dr Katharine McKinnon, know only too well. However, a workplace that recognises the inherent value of both roles is not such a familiar story. By Kate O’Connor - Photography by Leon Schoots When Dr Katharine McKinnon flew to Fiji eight years ago to conduct research on local economies and gender equity, she took along her six-month-old daughter. “So there I was with my baby, running workshops with local researchers, and women from the community would take her away, walk her around while she slept and then bring her back for breastfeeding, and it was all very fluid,” she says. However, upon Katharine’s return home, that easy transition between her two roles immediately disappeared. “There was no more space for that kind of fluidity between home and work – between me as an academic and a researcher, and the person who’s a mother and carer for a child.

“I had to drop her off at a childcare centre and then go and be a professional. In the workplace it felt like there was no room to be that empathetic, caring, attentive person. A lot of women I speak to feel the same thing – it can be very hard to navigate these awful transitions between the separate compartments of your life.” It’s these abrupt transitions – plus the ‘career lag’ that many women face after returning to full-time work after a long absence – that La Trobe University is actively trying to address. As part of its commitment to the SAGE Athena SWAN accreditation program – an international scheme to improve career outcomes for women, trans and gender diverse researchers – over the last two

years the University has introduced several initiatives, including flexible work arrangements and expanded breastfeeding facilities on campus. As a mid-career researcher with a promising future, whose career was interrupted because of caring responsibilities, Katharine is a worthy recipient of another of the University’s programs in this sphere – the Tracey Banivanua Mar Fellowship. Named after a much-esteemed member of the Department of Archaeology and History, who passed away in 2017 after a long period of illness, the Fellowship aims to reduce the impact of career breaks, or intense caring responsibilities, on research outputs. La Trobe’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), 27

Professor Keith Nugent, says Tracey Banivanua Mar was considered a pioneering and profoundly influential historian. “She was also a mother of two young children and no doubt shared similar experiences with our three Fellows in having major caring responsibilities while building an academic career.” The three-year Fellowship will assist Katharine at a time when, because of the extended break she took from full-time work to care for her three daughters, she feels ‘behind’ many of her peers. “I finished my PhD, started my academic work and then had a family. I’ve kept working but have also been the primary carer through this time, which really curtails the number of hours I can spend working or engaging with colleagues out of hours. “I have to compete for jobs with other people at the same career stage who have been able to produce a lot more than me. They’ve not only produced a lot more publications, and received more grants, but they’ve formed bigger networks too,” she says. “So the Fellowship is trying to find people who are in that position in the university, who have a lot of potential and who they want to foster back into a really good research career – with the intention of helping them to step into those leadership positions further down the track.” Although Katharine’s work as part of the

Fellowship will focus on models of care in childbirth, her research in Fiji was about the ‘gendered economy’ – in particular how we, as a society, tend not to value the unpaid work typically carried out by women.

opportunity, and somehow the solution to providing for that is to have childcare services available. And so it’s a real focus on a woman as an individual advancing on the same basis as a man in terms of her career,” she says.

“We live in a society where the most value is placed on the work that earns money, and how much money you’re making is often a big part of that. We tend to ignore the really foundational value of all the unpaid work that is done in both the home and the workplace, and an important part of that is the care work that we do throughout all areas of our lives,” she says

“Rather than thinking that way, perhaps there’s a different model that we could use. So one of the things I learned in Fiji was how empowering it was for people to understand that they were making valuable contributions to their community, regardless of whether or not it involved payment.

“For example, in a workplace you can’t be productive if you don’t have a functioning social relationship with your colleagues; things fall apart. And that takes work. And it’s work that we don’t often put on the surface and value.” Katharine also points out that people can’t attend paid work without the basics of life covered – including being fed, sleeping well, having clean clothes and, just as importantly, being able to maintain relationships. “So when you sit down and trace out all the contributions that are made through these unappreciated, unacknowledged, invisible bits of labour, it’s really significant.” For Katharine, our approach to care work and gender equality needs to shift. “We often talk about equality here as pay equity, equal

“They spoke a lot about the importance of togetherness, of sharing, and of valuing the different work done by women and men. There needs to more men sharing in that care work that is often done by women – but also, that work needs to be valued more.” Although Katharine’s three daughters are now 10, 8 and 5, and her current work requires less overseas travel, the caring role she plays is no less significant. “That trip to Fiji was enlightening, not only because of the discussions we had around the value of unpaid work – but because it gave me a glimpse of a different way to do things. I didn’t have to leave my baby behind, or stop being a loving mother while I was working. Quality childcare is really important, but I wonder if we can’t do more to help women and men be good carers without giving up their careers?”

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mushroom magic

With a mushroom disco and some cool robots, a very savvy Newbridge farmer hopes putting the fun into harvesting fungi might just help save the planet. Words and photography Sarah Harris

It’s only partly because he didn’t want be left in the dark and fed the proverbial in a starving world that Chris McLoghlin became an organic mushroom farmer. The 2018 Australian Young Grower of the Year and self-described “mushroom geek” also holds no small measure of respect for fungi which he calls “nature’s internet.” “I basically view fungi as amazing technology,” he says. “It has unparalleled capacity. Like we are just trying now to build neural networks and deep-learning algorithms that could do 1/100th of what a mycelial network does in a forest or any landscape really. “It is able to take live rolling stock of every nutrient and resource that is available in the ecosystem. It knows which organisms have them at what levels, what they are short on, then it actually breaks the stuff down to its base form and delivers it to where it is needed. “I view the emergence of the internet as some kind of feeble attempt to mimic that design and resource allocation protocol.” Well before the city-raised business administration graduate and his wife Natalie bought a “beat-up old Datsun” of an organic mushroom farm at Lockwood South in 2015, Chris had an interest in food politics. “By the time I was in uni I had taken the view that we had about 30 or 40 years of topsoil left and then we were all going to either starve or go to war over food and water,” the 32-year-old says. “I formed the view that the massive agribusiness chem-farming, mono-cropping GM model was a recipe for disaster. And it is. It turns soil to dust and if we keep using it we will starve, there is no two ways about it. “So how do you fix that? Well, there are a whole bunch of economic drivers that have the incumbent system in train and it is like a glacier you have to turn around.”

Organic farming and permaculture, Chris says, at least offer an alternative to this bleak picture. In the years between finishing his degree and buying his first farm Chris did some serious food-related homework. He co-founded the Roller Door Cafe, a popular West Melbourne eatery with a focus on ethical, seasonal produce. He also did several agricultural courses, worked in the supply chain at the markets to find out how food moved around and ran his own online organic produce delivery service. “I started going to farmers’ markets and rattling the cages of some of those smaller scale farmers and begged to hang out with them on their farms for an afternoon. So I spent a few years trying to figure out an entry point and then I got a call about this farm, I was already buying from, that was about to fall over.” For a while it looked like it might defeat the new owner, too. “We spend a whole lot of money fixing it up because the infrastructure was shot only to realise that, even with it running optimally, it was not a viable size. Twenty years ago there were between 140-150 mushroom farms in the country, now we are down to 41 and that is through consolidation, basically much bigger farms. So unless you are servicing the supermarkets you are going to struggle to get the economies of scale in production to be cost effective. I figured that out … a few months after having bought the farm!” A merger with a Bulla-based farm and associated compost-supply business at Newbridge saved the business and the jobs of workers, many of whom come from Bendigo’s Karen community. The Bulla farm, while bigger, was also at the point of being marginal so Chris’s new partners Bill Littleson and Mick Surridge embraced the idea of going organic to become the largest certified organic mushroom farming company in Australia. Now able to offer a consistent supply to supermarkets, the number of staff across the business has since trebled and it is producing between 10 – 12 tonnes of organic mushrooms a week with construction of a third farm underway at Newbridge. The new site will feature technology that takes the production and harvesting of the world’s oldest land-based organism into the future. “People will still do the picking, but we have automated a bunch of that process with some cool conveyors and robots so they will be able to pick twice as fast,” Chris reveals. “We are also working with Northraine, a deep-learning software company, to develop some additional technology which will help tell our pickers which mushrooms to pick, which it will do by pointing lasers or LEDs. “Then we can gamify it for our pickers, we can add music and we want to do that. I did mushroom picking for 12 months when we first bought the farm and believe me it can do your head in, so anything that can break the monotony of that will be beneficial.” The new plant will employ 20 per cent more people than the Bulla facility, but produce four times the volume. Automated post-pick cutting will mean even the extra chunk of stalk which is wasted at present because of supermarket specifications, about 3000kg in all, can be saved to process for soup or stock. “We have a target to get to 100-tonne capacity over the next handful of years by adding 24 tonne-a-week tranches. It will be powered by some of the leading state-of-art solar technology on the planet. “We can’t compete with Costas and the like using the same stuff so we needed a point of difference and that difference is technology. This way we will be able to produce to a similar degree, cost and level of efficiency as a farm that is five times as big as us.” But the really big picture dream is ultimately to map the innate genius of mycelium to provide a blueprint for allocating resources in our food ecosystem to their highest and best use including determining the future use of farm land. “The outcome of doing all these things inefficiently is that the value gap is being made up by our ever-decreasing level of nutrient base and that is what we depend on for survival,” Chris says. “We fix that or we starve.”

foundation foundation foundation It’s not too late to contribute to the It’s not too late toHospital contribute New Bendigo Appeal.to the It’s not too late to contribute totarget. the Help us achieve our $4million New Bendigo Hospital Appeal.

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New Bendigo Hospital Appeal. Help us achieve our $4million target. Help uswithachieve our $4million target. “I had a bit of a hiccup cancer and a heart attack. I was a sick boy, I shouldn’t be here except for the good work from Bendigo Health...” It’s It’s not not too too late latetotocontribute contributetotothe the “I had a bit of a hiccup with cancer and a heart attack. “I Ihad of aboy, hiccup with cancer andBendigo aexcept heart attack. New New Bendigo Hospital HospitalAppeal. Appeal. wasa abitsick I shouldn’t be here for the good I was a sick boy, Iwork shouldn’t be here except for the good from Bendigo Health...” work fromHelp Bendigo HelpHealth...” ususachieve achieveour our$4million $4milliontarget. target. - Neil Beattie, Boort farmer of 50 years and proud supporter of the New Bendigo Hospital Appeal.

- Neil Beattie, Boort farmer of 50 years and - Neilsupporter Beattie, Boort farmer 50 yearsHospital and proud of the Newof Bendigo Appeal. proud supporter of the New Bendigo Hospital Appeal.

“I had “I had a bit a bit ofof a hiccup a hiccup with with cancer cancer and and a heart a heart attack. attack. I was I was a sick a sick boy, boy, I shouldn’t I shouldn’t bebe here here except except forfor thethe good good work work from from Bendigo Bendigo Health...” Health...” - Neil - Neil Beattie, Beattie, Boort Boort farmer farmer of 50 of 50 years years and and proud proud supporter supporter of the of the New New Bendigo Bendigo Hospital Hospital Appeal. Appeal.

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caravan parked

One enterprising local is welcoming guests into her Bendigo backyard, lured by the promise of one sweet night with Amelie. By Lauren Mitchell - Photography by Leon Schoots It’s a winter Saturday morning and most locals would be nursing the second cuppa of the day, just gearing up. Not Alison Mulqueen. She’s already faced the cold, visited a few garage sales and has popped back home to meet Bendigo Magazine before an op shop hop. Her latest mission is all about mission brown. And orange. She’s scouring Bendigo for all things ’70s and having a ball in the process. This is not work, surely? Read on… Three months ago the photographer took a good hard look at her backyard studio/office and decided she could put it to a different use, give herself a break from taking photos full time and dip her toes into the Airbnb phenomenon. “I’ve worked as a photographer for over 10 years and I felt like a change,” Alison says. “I thought I could utilise the shipping container a bit better, so I moved my office inside the house and created this space.” Then, she added an en-suite to her outside laundry, and was set to welcome guests to her garden.

Alison’s first guests in March this year were fellow Airbnb operators from Melbourne. “For me that was quite daunting, but I kindly asked them for their recommendations,” she says. The suggestions were simple things like putting away anything personal, having a notepad and pen handy and a power board to charge those go-everywhere devices. Just three months later Alison added her beloved Amelie to the mix; a 1950s caravan she and her partner Marcus restored for their own use. Amelie is the fifth caravan the couple has brought back from the brink. “It wasn’t bought purposefully for Airbnb, we do up vintage caravans and we take them away on adventures ourselves,” Alison says, adding Amelie was their most ambitious restoration yet. The ‘before’ photos of the grotty, rotting shell that arrived on the back of a truck would be enough to scare off most. She took six months to restore and couldn’t be more adorable.

Now, Alison’s once-utilitarian steel box is a creamy bohemian boudoir of vintage finds and faux fur. “Nearly everything in here is second hand except the bedding,” Alison says. “The rug is a favourite. I’d previously seen it for over $200 and picked it up for $10 at a garage sale. There are plenty of bargains around if you search hard for them.”

“For me, I’d always wanted to have a cute caravan in the backyard all set up so I could come in and enjoy the atmosphere,” Alison says. “For Marcus, he grew up going on caravan trips with his family and he wanted to continue doing that. We both love vintage and vintage shopping, so the best part is collecting things and finding treasures to go in the vans, we just love it.”

The space is so sweet it quickly gained attention on the accommodation booking site that’s swept the world, allowing everyday people to let out their properties, spare rooms and sundry shedding to guests.

Alison says all their vans have a theme, and Amelie’s is a combination of pretty 1950s florals and pastels and Art Deco-era highlights for added fun. “There was a fluorescent light recessed into the ceiling that

I didn’t like,” she says. “We were vintage shopping one day and saw an Art Deco ceiling rose and I thought that would be perfect to cover it, then Marcus looked online and saw you could buy foam ones, so that’s a foam ceiling rose.” It inspired the whole Art Deco theme. Alison says the pink and white van is now booked out most weekends as well as the odd weekday. “It’s been really popular. I think because it’s somewhere different and unique to stay. Generally our clientele are younger couples, and the same with the shipping container, but there have been some older people stay as well. “It’s much busier than I had anticipated. I’m concentrating more on Airbnb than my photography now and I’m really enjoying it. So much so that I’ve just purchased a 1970s caravan to restore which will be nestled in the side garden.” Hence the hunt for the orange treasures. “I found a few ’70s things this morning. It’s my age bracket and I want people my age who stay to be able to look around and say ‘that reminds me of something that was in my house’.” Alison says despite being in-demand by others, Amelie still provides her with moments of peace and quiet. “I still sit in here and have a coffee,” she says. “And the kids love having sleepovers in here, it’s a real novelty for their friends. It’s just really pretty, especially at night when you draw the curtains and turn on the fairy lights. It takes you away to a different place and it’s just beautiful.” Plus, seems there’s still time for the Airbnb host to take her own holidays. Alison has just returned from three weeks in Italy, where she stayed solely in fellow Airbnb properties. “It was great to see what other hosts were doing. But I was very proud of myself, of what I’ve achieved and what I offer my guests.” Yes, dreamy spaces to rest awhile just a stone’s throw from the centre of Bendigo, breakfast provisions courtesy of the backyard Isa Browns and even a cat or four to warm the feet. “I did have a guest message me one night to say one of our cats had joined her in the caravan and could she sleep with her? I said yes, of course!”

Photo supplied by Alison Mulqueen

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GREATER CREATIVE What is the potential for reinvention of our city? This was just one of the many questions posed to a panel of experts for the Creative Conversations discussion at Ulumbarra Theatre in August. City of Greater Bendigo mayor Marg Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Rourke joined creatives David Astle, Marcus Westbury, Jacqueline Millner, Bec Phillips and Rosemary Sorensen for this third chat in a series spurned on by the Greater Creative Bendigo draft strategy.

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Punters brought a relaxed country feel to the Bendigo Jockey Club in June for the Elmore Cup, although it was anything but on the track for this hotlycontested annual race day. Jockey Jamie Mott took out the big race on Gimme Strength, no doubt causing all others to adopt that catch cry when thinking what might have beenâ&#x20AC;Ś

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behind the lens

We’ve dubbed them ‘the people’s photographers’, three locals who are documenting the faces and places of Bendigo for love. By Lauren Mitchell - Photography by Leon Schoots

Never before has life been more photographed. Louise Firli wonders, does the world need more images, as saturated as we are in social media snaps. She concludes what we need is less clutter and more careful observations. Cue Lou’s work and that of the other two Bendigo photographers highlighted here. Each has taken up the mantle of

documenting life in Bendigo, turning up at festivals and events, quietly being there for small, moving moments, capturing memories that may otherwise be forgotten. AJ Taylor’s mantra is ‘making memories last’. ‘I know how much photos mean to me looking back on them and I want to give that same kind of fondness to other people by taking photos of anything and everything,’ he says.

Ashley J Taylor, Denis Fitzgerald and Louise Firli

Denis Fitzgerald has gifted himself a life-long education in photography, with Bendigo being his chief subject. Turns out the city is a sultry muse, providing no end of inspiration. It’s often said a picture tells a thousands words, turns out the tales being the images are also telling, in this case they’re stories of passion, art, adventure and appreciation for one place and its people. Enjoy. 41

RIGHT: A selection of images from Ashley J Taylor’s instagram feed.

“There’s a great diversity in the events I go to and because of that there’s a great diversity in people. One week I might be at a marathon in Heathcote, then a wine event in Castlemaine, then at the Eaglehawk Dahlia and Arts Festival. I’m photographing kids, adults, seniors. I just need to be really kind and not take myself too seriously, because I’m going up to strangers. I know that’s weird and I accept that. I know I don’t have a normal job. “I probably get one in 10 people who say no to having their photo taken but most people feel kind of special when I ask them. It’s weird at first but they appreciate it in the end.” While AJ’s job is all-consuming, and at all hours, there are still some photos he takes for the pure pleasure. Come December 31, at 11.59pm, you’ll find him poised high above the Queen Elizabeth Oval, just because. “My New Year’s Eve fireworks photos are my most liked on Facebook,” he says. “I know people wait for it and anticipate it each year.” He says the QEO is the ideal spot to get the nearperfect shot. “If you shoot from Rosalind Park you miss the landscape and the people and the culture of going to watch the fireworks.”

Ashley J Taylor has rewritten the rules on how to have a photography career. He says as media and marketing evolves so do the opportunities to make a living from taking pictures. Five years after AJ graduated from Bendigo Senior Secondary College and registered his own business, he’s now a fulltime, largely self-taught gun-for-hire. And if he’s not commissioned to take the shots, he’ll take them anyway. It’s a can-do attitude that’s paying off. Although AJ says he was the unofficial photographer at high school, he didn’t consider it a career option until graduation day. “Everyone was asking the question, what are you going to do next? I thought, well, I guess I’ve been the school photographer, so I’m going to drop the ‘school’ and be the ‘photographer’.” He started small, covering friends’ birthday parties and taking every lead he had, which 42

led to promotional shots for construction and trades and documenting car shows and deb balls. While these jobs still form an important part of his working week, he says his first love is journalism and telling the story of Bendigo people. AJ will literally turn up somewhere with his camera, and take the shots. He then posts thumbnail images to social media, and Bendigo being Bendigo, “someone will know who’s in the photos and tag them”. AJ then gives people the option of going to his website and buying the picture. “Being independent, I can take that sort of risk,” he says. In an average week AJ works for five to eight different entities. One of those is Bendigo Magazine. As the events photographer, he will photograph close to 400 faces for each issue. He says it’s a gig that has given him great insight into the community.

AJ is now sharing his success story with other young creatives. “I tell them a degree is not always necessary for many creative fields,” he says. “If you want to be a journalist roaming around like I do, then you’re better off saving the thousands of dollars a degree would cost and putting that money into a really good camera. “I never did business classes at school and that was my biggest hurdle to overcome – how to write an invoice, how to work out my profit and loss, how much do I charge? I wanted to be able to move out of my parents’ place. These are the things I had to learn the hard way.” He said as far as the technicalities of taking photos goes, “the world is full of information for free, online.” But what can’t be taught is perhaps the values of kindness and humility that are key to AJ’s reputation. “People notice me with my camera and there’s pride in that but I don’t let it go to my head,” he says. “I work for the people.”

LEFT: A selection of images from Denis Fitzgerald’s instagram feed.

Denis Fitzgerald lost count of his attempts to get permission to take pictures inside the old Bendigo Gasworks. He laughs it wasn’t easy getting in, but it was even harder getting out. Earlier this year the local photographer accessed the heritage site on the coattails of one of his colleagues at Bendigo Heritage Attractions, where Denis works as a Central Deborah Mine visitor services officer. The attraction has housed some of its more derelict vintage trams at the gasworks for decades, which they’re now preparing to move. So finally Denis was in, camera in hand, to get up close and personal with one of his loves; Bendigo’s built history. Only to be left and locked in. “I had to scale a fence to get out,” he laughs. But Denis is used to going above and beyond, up and over, in pursuit of a good shot. He’s amassed a beautiful collection of images of historic buildings, public and private, through doing just that. His passion for photography has seen him document Bendigo’s character – built and otherwise. His portraits of locals have won him several national awards. Denis has been taking photos since his mum gifted him a black and white film camera when he was eight. “I used to take photographs of anything that moved. Like my family and my cat. But because of the cost of developing the pictures Mum soon wished she hadn’t bought me the camera. Many years later, after leaving school and working, I bought my own, a Minolta XG1 and my love of photography grew.” It’s been a staple his whole life, first film and now digital. For Denis, photographs represent moments in time. “They’re memories,” he says. “They can write history and stir emotions, both happy and sad. For example when you look over photographs of your children when they were young or pictures of family gatherings or friends.” Being generous with his talents means Denis has seen the power of this first-hand. He and wife Debbie love to travel, with the camera as companion. On the streets of Penang, Malaysia, Denis noticed a man on a building site, stripping plastic from copper wire. “He had the most amazing eyes, I’d never seen eyes like them,” Denis says. The man allowed Denis to photograph him. The next year the Bendigo couple returned to that same place and Denis sought out the man, still working at stripping wire. “He was there, I gave him a copy of the photo and he started crying, he couldn’t believe it.” It was likely the only photo of himself the man had ever seen. Denis says he’s getting braver at asking to take people’s portraits. Which is just as well, because he’s drawn to the most interesting

faces. “They’ve got to have certain lines on their face, or eyes that make you melt, like little babies.” Which brings us to Leo; Denis’ first grandchild, born this year. “That’s new life,” he says. “I’d love to be taking more photos of him.” Denis shares the photos he’s most proud of on social media. He’s also contributed to ABC Open, which is a platform that empowers people to share their own stories. “I don’t saturate Facebook or Instagram but tend to pick photos that make me feel proud and hope that others get something out of it,” he says. “I like to capture moments that are subjective and cause discussion.” The gasworks pictures did just that, generating a long comment stream of memories and appreciation. And then there are the moments that as a photographer, Denis simply appreciates

being there for. He worked as a wedding photographer for many years, which he gave up 15 years ago, but a friend recently coaxed him out of retirement for one more gig. “I thought it would be too much of a challenge and originally said no. But after pestering me a bit I relented and accepted. And, it was a challenge as Robyn’s wedding was special,” Denis says. “Living as a gay couple, Robyn and Tegan have a select group of friends and family they trust so in the end I wanted to take a special photo for a very special moment and I was thankful she trusted me to have a free run on expression.” Denis says the couple’s celebration at the Ulumbarra Theatre was a prelude to them travelling to New Zealand to legally tie the knot. “When the same sex marriage bill was passed this year I kept thinking of those two, and if only that had happened when they wanted to get married.” 45

RIGHT: A selection of images from Louise Firli’s instagram feed.

swarm of pigeons. “He was very theatrical about it. While the world swirled around him, he was in his own little world, interacting with the birds, and no one was noticing him. But I did.” She wonders if she’d have had the courage to take that picture if her camera was there too. Lou says one of the necessities she grapples with is the intimate act of photographing strangers. “You’ve got to counter people’s reactions. Only once, in Bendigo, someone told me to put my camera away. I’ve got to overcome that fear, because I’m not very good at concealing what I’m doing. You do own copyright in public and you can go and take a photo of someone but I’m very aware of thinking, how would I feel? If people understood my motivation, they’d know it’s art and that I’m not exploiting anyone.” That motivation has led Lou to document many local events, like ANZAC Day, the cultural festivals, the Blues and Roots Festival and the controversial United Patriots Front rally. “I went along, just to capture the emotion of that,” she says. “When I go to any event that’s what I want to do.” Lou is happy to share the images she’s most proud of but she’s tempering the urge to further saturate social media. “You can become obsessed by it and consumed by it,” she says of platforms like Instagram and Facebook. “Even my kids have said – how many likes did that get? It doesn’t matter about those insidious little likes. “It helps to have social media, but it’s not essential. You can still be a good, respected photographer without it. I’m reading The Soul of the Camera by David duChemin. He talks about the need for more soul and less noise.

It’s fair to say Louise Firli sees the world a little differently to the rest of us. This quiet power she has to see meaning in fleeting moments was probably always there, but it came to the fore once she picked up a camera. Take, for example, this shot of a man and child in the Sacred Heart Cathedral. “I was there visiting, I had my camera with me and I wanted to get a photo,” Lou says. “I saw this and I snapped it and I thought, nuh, I didn’t get it. He was too far away, he had his back to me and I was skulking around. I thought I’d get home and look at it on the computer and I might be able to crop it. “Turns out it’s one of my favourite photos. There’s just something about it. The light. The moment. It’s got this ethereal, mysterious feel that I love. They’re my favourite moments to capture, the candid moments. It’s the art of observation.” It’s been just three years since Lou decided to make photography a priority in her life. “I went to see a careers counsellor,” she says. “My kids started school and I thought, what do I do with myself now? I’d been a stay-at46

home mum for seven years. Photography kept coming up as an option. So the counsellor said, why don’t you buy a camera? And so I did, for my 40th birthday.” To start with Lou joined the local camera club, began entering the odd competition and took a couple of photography subjects at La Trobe University. “I was only photographing flowers and plants, pretty boring things, but I still really enjoyed it,” she says. “I loved the creativity of it. Then I moved onto people.” Lou soon found her stride with photo journalism, documenting moments that are just as much about herself as her subjects. “For me the camera is an extension of myself,” she says. “When I take an image there is a lot of myself in that image. That shot at the cathedral, there’s a certain amount of soul in that image, and it’s my soul. It’s all about my observation. I don’t always succeed. I take a lot of shitty photos, and I often see moments and don’t have my camera with me.” She remembers seeing a homeless man during a visit to Melbourne. He was standing at a busy intersection, feeding crackers to a

“He says, slow down, take your time, stop worrying about what people think, the numbers on social media, and get back to basics, get back to you. Connect with the camera and the world around you, and I really like that.” She says trying to find an online audience is almost the antithesis of her photography. “It’s a quiet means of creativity where you need to switch off from everything else. It’s easier said than done but that’s when the best photos are made.” If you see Lou out and about with her Canon, she says don’t be nervous. “I just want people to think that I’m creating art, and to not be offended by it. And to come and chat to me.” …After we chat, Lou emails a direct quote from duChemin’s book. It seems apt to share it for it rings true, in regards to life even beyond photography. He writes; “As the number of images created and shared – worldwide, every day – increases, the noisier it becomes, the harder it is to be heard. The answer is not more photographs. Not more noise. The answer is more signal. The answer is photographs that connect, photographs that rise above the banal and the solipsistic, the selfie and the trivial. The answer is more humanity. More soul.”

AN EXTRA XMAS Plenty of ugly sweaters saw the other side of the wardrobe during a Christmas in July event at Big Hill Vineyard. The celebration was a fundraiser for The GIFT, which is a group of friends who raise money to support cancer services in Bendigo. Revellers dressed up and dug deep to find more than $5,200 to donate to the cause.

Adrian & Kylie Sbrugnera

Jemma, Morgan, Natalie, Kel, Rhonda, Danka, Lorrian, Kiraly and Pam

Byron Perrin, Robyn Lindsay and Janelle and Nathan Willits

Cheryl Storer and Kathy Roberts

Kel Dickins and Rhonda Reilly

The G.I.F.T - Andrea, Elizabeth, Vicki, Amanda and Janine

Mick Farrell, Troy Coates and Jason Priestley

Benjamin Lester, Jayden Donaldson, Lachlan Sharp, and Lachlan Bonney

HIGH FIVES HELP Footy team Strath Storm took on Castlemaine and provided the main entertainment for Bendigo’s Gimme 5 For Kids Day in May.

Roger Barbetti

Steve Falconer, Cooper Manton and Grant MacDonald

The Southern Cross Austereo initiative raises funds for the Bendigo Hospital’s children’s ward and encourages locals to find a fiver for sick kids. Bendigo businesses also dug deep, including magazine supporter Forty Winks.

STUDENTS FIND THEIR PLACE AT GIRTON At Girton Grammar School, students have a sense of belonging which stems from being known and supported by teachers and peers. In fact, students speak of Girton as being their second home. At Girton, a positive, nurturing culture opens the minds of children of all ages from Prep to Year 12 to learning and success both emotionally and academically. Come and see the School in action on our next Open Day, Thursday September 13 or Headmaster’s Tour, Tuesday November 6. To find out more, contact the Registrar: (03) 5441 3114 or registrar@girton.vic.edu.au or see our website: girton.vic.edu.au

OPEN DAY • THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 13 HEADMASTER’S TOUR • TUESDAY NOVEMBER 6

www.monalisa.com.au |

all in the genes

A new approach to genetic analysis could end the ‘diagnostic odyssey’ faced by families of children with baffling, often fatal, inherited diseases. Words and photography by John Holton When Nicole Lake attributes her success in the field of genetic research to “following her nose” there’s clearly some understatement going on. But for this Bendigo Senior Secondary Collage alumna, there’s also a sense of serendipity that stretches back a dozen years to her days as a VCE student. “I loved my time at BSSC,” Nicole says. “The independent learning style really suited me and allowed me to develop initiative and selfmotivation… two things you really need at uni and in scientific research.” What began all those years ago with a VCE program steeped in maths and science has led Nicole on a journey of study and research into the cutting edge of genetic analysis. Her work at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute over the past five years has helped to improve diagnostic rates for children with baffling and often fatal mitochondrial diseases. And it’s turning heads internationally. Later this year, Nicole will join the Department of Genetics at Yale University. Not bad for a Bendigo girl whose favourite memories of school involve meeting up with her friends in Rosalind Park each day, and hanging out with like-minded maths-science students in her chemistry and biology classes. “I just remember it being a great environment in those classes,” Nicole says. “I was one of those students who always went to the teachers with questions, and they always went out of their way to help. That’s one of the great strengths of the college.” During Year 12, Nicole worked on a small research program with the CSIRO, regularly

travelling to Melbourne to visit the lab… her first taste of scientific research. In the summer of 2005/2006 she was also selected for the National Youth Science Forum in Canberra and, as a result, became the female representative for Australia at the Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar, run in conjunction with Nobel Prize Week.

– Genetics and began working on a full-time research project at the Baker Heart & Diabetes Institute, identifying genes that control levels of good cholesterol. It gave me my first real taste of the world of medical research and I loved it.

“The Stockholm seminar was in December, so I missed out on graduation,” Nicole remembers. “The VCE results came out the night I was at the Nobel dinner, so between courses, I was in the loo trying to get the results on my phone.

“This is where the ‘following my nose’ bit kicks in,” Nicole says. “It really was the catalyst for my PhD and the past five years working at the MCRI. I’ve essentially learnt the skills to be a scientist — scientific writing, presenting, analysing data, conducting experiments, and working with a team of students, scientists and lab assistants.”

“It’s funny the things that come back to you. One of my most vivid memories from Year 12 is the day Steve Irwin died. It was definitely one of those ‘where were you when’ moments. Everyone in the corridors was talking about it.”

During her PhD, Nicole identified mutations in a gene in patients with a form of childhood mitochondrial disease, Leigh Syndrome. She describes the process as like trying to find a typo amongst three billion letters.

Nicole’s connection to the college also included a 12-month stint as a staff member. In 2007 she spent her gap year working as a curriculum assistant while completing a Certificate III in Business Administration.

“To put it simply, genes are like the recipe for the building blocks of the human body. If the recipe is missing eggs, for example, the cake won’t work. If you have a problem with a gene it can be devastating to your health.”

The following year, she began a Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne that included a year overseas at the University of Edinburgh on student exchange.

At Yale, Nicole will be working with cuttingedge technologies and a new team, something she’s really excited about.

“The exchange was great,” she says. “Not just because Edinburgh is a beautiful city, but because the learning style was so different. It was difficult to begin with, but when I returned to Australia I really felt like I’d got ahead of the pack.”

“Currently, genetic tests fail to find a diagnosis in nearly half of all children affected by a serious genetic disorder,” she says. “The Yale project will use newly-developed genetic technology to identify the causes of genetic disease and will help to improve outcomes for affected children and their families.

Towards the end of her degree, Nicole realised that research was something she had a passion for. “I enrolled in a Master of Science

“Scientific research is definitely a rollercoaster ride. I never take it for granted… I’m lucky to do what I do.” 51

finding the bendigo boys Researchers at the State Library are piecing together the identity of Bendigo people who sat for the studio camera of Vincent Kelly prior to World War One. Here are the stories behind four of the thousands of pictures found in a Bendigo basement. By Madeleine Say and Jane Miller In 2016, State Library Victoria received a large donation of glass plate negatives from the studio of Bendigo commercial photographer Vincent Kelly. The donation was made by the Rosenberg family, after the material was discovered in the basement of a building in Pall Mall. While the library’s Preservation and Digitising teams work on making these thousands of images available to the public online, librarians are busy researching the identity of the people who sat for the studio camera. Fortunately, this research has been made easier by the studio practice to inscribe the client’s name into the photographic emulsion along the side of the glass negative. Using these names as a starting point, librarians searched across digitised newspapers, electoral rolls, post office directories and genealogical resources. Snippets helped to piece something of a life together – an address, an occupation, mentions in local newspapers. The service records digitised by National Archives of Australia can provide information beyond the military – next of kin, place of birth, or a marriage while enlisted. Army uniforms, stripes and badges also help to cross-reference and corroborate sometimes sketchy details. Here are some images of Bendigo soldiers, and the stories library staff uncovered about their war service and family life. 52

JOHN HENRY WILLIAMS John Henry Williams was born and lived in Long Gully. John and his brother Alfred both enlisted, signing up in Eaglehawk. He served at Gallipoli as a sergeant and asked to be reduced to ranks, and a few days later transferred from the 24th Battalion to the 4th company of field engineers, where he became Sapper Williams. The commendation for his Meritorious Service Medal writes of his “ability, consistent good work and devotion to duty on the front at the Somme and Flanders fronts”. The portrait by Vincent Kelly shows John with his new wife Emily, (they were married in Glasgow 28 May 1919), and their baby daughter Paulette Frances. The couple also had two sons – John Patrick and Stanley James. John returned home from war but that did not mean normal life resumed. Paulette died in 1922 and John died in June 1930 as a result of mustard gas exposure. Emily and her two boys were living in Abbotsford Street, West Melbourne, at this time. According to the Grylls’ family tree, which researchers found on Ancestry, she later returned to Ireland with her son John, where she died in 1993.

John and Emily with PauletteÂ Williams - Pictures Collections State Library Victoria.

JOSEPH FRANCIS PINDER OR THOMAS WESLEY PINDER This image shows a ‘copy photograph’. Photographic studios often re-photographed prints, creating a negative from which new prints could be made. Here the photograph of a soldier and his family has been pinned on a board for copying. The photographic studio stamp for Kalma studio, which operated at Pall Mall in Bendigo, is embossed in the lower right hand corner. Reading in reverse, the client’s name is Pinder, and the other annotation reads ‘6 PC’, which is believed refers to the quantity and size of prints ordered. Pinder is not wearing any service badges, so the original photograph was taken around the time of enlistment in January 1915. Researchers are still uncertain of this soldier’s identity and his relationship to the woman and children pictured with him. There are at least five men called Pinder who give their home address as Bendigo on the embarkation rolls. Only one of them, Joseph Francis Pinder, was married at the time of enlistment. His enlistment records gives his age as 26, that he was married and had three children. Alternatively, this photograph could be of Thomas Wesley Pinder, Joseph’s brother, with one of their two older sisters Gertrude (Mrs Masters) or Ethel (Mrs Green) and their children. Thomas, aged 27 and single when he enlisted, was killed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. We can hardly imagine the huge journey the soldiers made from Vincent Kelly’s photographic studio in Bendigo, complete with backdrops and props, to the very real Great War, and the family and friends they left behind.

ABOVE: Edward and Annie with Alec, Gordon and Hugh Boyd.- Pictures Collections State Library Victoria

EDWARD JAMES BOYD Sergeant Edward James Boyd was from Yass, NSW but his wife, Annie, was born in Bendigo. They had a daughter Jessica, who died in 1912 and three boys; Alec, Gordon and Hugh. Edward enlisted in 1917 as a communications engineer with the 4th Divisional Signal Company, Australia Engineers, and was awarded the Military Medal. He was killed in August 1918. Annie lived in Melbourne with her sons and died in 1929.

SAPPER HENRY JAMES BIRD. Sapper Henry James Bird, born in Paynesville, Gippsland worked at the Bendigo butter factory as a cream grader, butter-maker and engine driver for four years, before enlisting. Serving in the Second Field Company Engineers he was killed in France on 19 August 1916. His service record contains the transcription of a letter sent to a sister, Bertha, in Bendigo. He wrote, “Just a few lines to let you know I am well and out of the trenches again, we was only in four days and that was long enough.” There is also an exchange from his mother, Helen Bird, writing to the officer in charge at Base Records, querying his death, originally reported as 19 July, in the hope that a letter she received written after that date meant that her son was still alive. “I am naturally very anxious and will be thankful if you will inform me whether you can obtain further information.”

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Whe that’s the fl It transpired the original date was incorrect. We have a range of locations across Queensland so if you’re thinking about s is a picture librarian and Jane Miller is a digital access taking aMadeleine breakSay give us a call on 1800 572 347. librarian at State Library Victoria.

LEFT: Sapper James Bird - Pictures about We have a range of locations across Queensland soHenry if you’re thinking Collections State Library Victoria taking a break give us a call on 1800 572 347. 54

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Tyler Spicer & Monique Ryan

Julie Burnett & Peter Couzens

Julie Mowat, Holly Mowat & Ashley Copping

Troy Davis, Jesse Clark, Jackson Deviny & Riley Hird

Marlene Kelly, Maz Baines, Vanessa Wee Hee, Sue Barr and Vicki Robinson

Maureen Green, Michelle Robertson, Amy Beattie, Wayne Mannix and Jayden Mannix

STEEPLE COMPETITION Hall of Fame inductee Karisi led out the Mosstrooper Steeplechase field at the Bendigo Jockey Club for a day of jumps racing in July. Jockey Richard Cully rode Wells first to the finish line in the dramatic race for the second year in a row. The $100,000 steeplechase was marred by three falls at the second-last obstacle, making compelling viewing for the local crowd.

Your story can inspire

As Alumni, there are meaningful ways you can be involved in the life of the college and help build a culture of aspiration among our current students. Bendigo Senior Secondary College provides the largest range of VCE, VET and VCAL options in Victoria.

Alumna, Shay Murphy, speaks with BSSC students about her Law/Business degree at La Trobe University Bendigo. C O N TACC TOUNSTAC T U S facebook.com/bendigoseniorsc Phone 61 3 Phone 5443 1222 61 3 5443 1222 facebook.com/bendigoseniorsc Bendigo Senior Bendigo Senior www.facebook.com/bendigoseniorsc www.twitter.com/ bendigoseniorsc Fax 61 3 5441 Fax4548 61 3 5441 4548 twitter.com/bendigoseniorsc twitter.com/bendigoseniorsc Secondary Secondary College College instagram/bendigoseniorsc gplus.to/bendigoseniorsc admin@bssc.edu.au Email admin@bssc.edu.au gplus.to/bendigoseniorsc Rosalind Park, Rosalind Bendigo Park,Email Bendigo Web www.bssc.edu.au youtube.com/user/bendigoseniorsc Box 545, Bendigo www.youtube.com/user/bendigoseniorsc youtube.com/user/bendigoseniorsc Web www.bssc.edu.au PO Box 545,PO Bendigo VIC 3552 VIC 3552

CONNECT WITH US: www.bssc.edu.au/alumni www.facebook.com/bsscalumni

Craig Middleton and Lisa Boland

Nathan Zuzek and Zoe Atkins-Holt

Julie and Colleen Schloss

Jennifer Teh and Glenda Thwaites

Julia Birch, Bec Bentley and Peter Willmott

Mari B-Li Donni and Alexander Day

SEE WEBSITE FOR STOCKISTS 16 Mitchell St, Bendigo | P: 5443 5755 | MrWolfe.com.au

FACES IN FOCUS Craig Middletonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s photography exhibition launch at the LQ Market in July shone light on the stories of locals. His exhibition, Faces of Bendigo, showcased a stunning display of portraits of local people he met in the community. The exhibition was also a chance for Craig to share his own remarkable story of loss and renewal.

Graeme Wiggins, Sei Pailthorpe, Sam Graham and Eve Fetherstonhaugh

call in the techies

A top group of talented secondary students are at the forefront of the Bendigo Tech School development, which will foster inquisitive minds just like theirs. By Tamara Marwood - Photography by Ashley J Taylor Not all of us can be rocket scientists, but those with the smarts, like Sei Pailthorpe, will soon have a flying start thanks to the Bendigo Tech School. The latest local education initiative is currently under construction at the La Trobe University Bendigo campus and will offer free tech-focused learning to every Bendigo secondary school student from the start of 2019. Thirty young leaders have been collaborating with local industry to co-design programs for the school. Their vision is to create learning experiences that prepare the young people of Bendigo 58

to thrive in their future workplace and move smoothly between industries and occupations.

him get there. His dream is to be on the aerospace engineering team that designs the first passenger shuttle to Jupiter.

Research by the Foundation for Young Australians shows the average 15-year-old today can expect to work 17 jobs across five different careers.

“I’ve always liked planes and wanted to be a pilot. I love understanding the inner workings of things,” Sei says.

According to the student ambassadors of the new Bendigo Tech School, collaboration and technology provide the basis to prepare for the jobs of the future, not working your way through a maths sheet.

Sam Graham is currently completing year 7 at Eaglehawk Secondary College and his aspirations are more traditional, but with a tech twist. Sam sees himself teaching and using tech in a primary school classroom in the future.

With ambitions to be a rocket scientist, Year 10 Girton Grammar student Sei Pailthorpe wants the Bendigo Tech School to help

“Getting involved in the Tech School gives me a head start on using technology and how to get other people involved,” he says.

she says. “Working in 3D with a 3D printer I can change things, I can try out and resolve ideas quickly.” Fittingly, as one of the winners of the 2018 Bendigo Tech School Furniture Design Competition, Eve was awarded her own 3D printer. Her entry the ‘Design Thinking Studio’ contains what she calls the ‘thinking tree’ and will be implemented into the design of the Tech School. “I am into hands-on stuff, rather than a teacher telling me how to do it,” says Eve. “At the Tech School there will be spaces where people can collaborate and come up with ideas.” She wanted to create a space where young people feel comfortable, brave and connected to Bendigo. “As a teacher you need to be multi-skilled. I am interested in so many things – it is the humanities I would like to teach and take students to places and experiences they could never imagine, like ancient cities.” Through his role as an ambassador, Sam recently volunteered at the Bendigo Discovery Science and Technology Centre to train other young people in the applications of virtual reality. “I see so many possibilities for virtual reality in a classroom,” he says. “I can provide students with interactive and immersive experiences.” Sam believes it is through experience, trying and experimenting that people learn best. Budding architect and Year 10 Victory Christian College student Eve Fetherstonhaugh describes her future in 3D. “I’m a 3D person and I just can’t get my head around how everything fits together in 2D,” “Bendigo is the city in the forest. Connecting our native landscape with technology is important,” she says. Bendigo Tech School director Graeme Wiggins says the school’s programs will prepare students for the world of work and are aligned to industries predicted to experience strong economic and employment growth in the Bendigo region: medical technology and pharmaceuticals, new energy technologies, food and fibre, transport and defence, advanced manufacturing and professional industries. “We are committed to investing into the latest technology to enhance the learning experience of all Bendigo secondary students,” Graeme says. Tech Schools are part of the Victorian Government’s commitment to deliver the Education State vision for Victoria. Find out more about the Bendigo Tech School at bendigotechschool.vic.edu.au or facebook. com/bendigotechschool, Instagram @bendigotechschool, and Twitter @BendigoTS 59

Harshil Balraj, Harry Miller and Lachlan Edwards

Holly Bawden, Erica Ma Son, Zuzu Voke and Jenna Ackland Hester

John and Joanne Rynehart

Maddy McArthur and Sarah Crosby.

Mackenzie Bickley, Olivia Ciancio, Henry Rathjen and Nathan Brain

Lisa Banks and Paris Stanley.

MINI MAESTROS The Girton Grammar junior school students were placed under the lights of the Ulumbarra Theatre in August for their Ensembles Showcase. Many hours of study and practice were put to performance as strings, brass, percussion and voices were heard to rapturous applause by friends, family and the school community. The wide repertoire included classical favourite Ode to Joy, Aussie staple Waltzing Matilda and even a traditional Russian Yiddish song.

CAFĂŠ now open

Aaron, Eliza and Miriam Boyd and Jeremy Johnstone

Ben Anderson, Stephen Robinson and Stuart Riley

ORCHESTRAL Q & A

David Chalmers, Brian and Elspeth Noxon

Jennifer Bilkey, Marjorie Goldsmith and Dawn Hollis

Jenny and Ken Mann

Nigel McGuckian and Dafydd Camp

Orchestra Victoria returned to town for its fourth annual Bendigo Festival in August. The orchestra’s ensembles packed out venues across the city for a series of mostly free concerts. Music lovers gathered at the Bendigo Tafe for a performance delightfully titled Music is definitely the answer, I don’t remember the question. Where were we again? Oh yeah, Orchestra Vic. Bendigo thanks you.

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Discover quality souvenirs made in Bendigo and the region. Indulge with artisan gifts and delicious treats to take home and savour your Bendigo experience. Unearth stories of our history, covering everything from food to gold and even art, with our broad range of books by local authors. www.uniquelybendigo.com.au

Follow theThread Living Arts Space exhibition

AUGUST 1 – NOVEMBER 11, 2018

An exquisite exhibition of needlecraft, textiles and artworks by eight of central Victoria’s arts and crafts practitioners. Follow the Thread includes an array of decorative objects, wall-hangings, artworks and garments by exhibitors: Alice Clague, Jenny Campbell, Beverley Downie, Viv Holmes, Marj Jones, Yvonne Campbell, Liz Sardone and Helen Fraser.

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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 • #Explore Bendigo • Find us on

get onboard and volunteer Lisa Chesters says many local organisations wouldn’t exist without volunteers. She meets three of them at the Bendigo Tram Depot. By Lisa Chesters - Photograph by Ashley J Taylor Our volunteers really are the unsung heroes in the community. Each and every day they make a huge difference in our communities, creating a sense of belonging and inclusion. If you’ve boarded a Bendigo tram you would have met one of the many volunteers who help ensure the iconic rattlers run every day of the week. During a recent visit to the Bendigo Tramway Depot I caught up with a few of the amazing volunteers. Ian, Sandra and Des all volunteer for Bendigo Heritage Attractions. Des is a tram conductor and began volunteering in 2016. He said he really enjoys meeting overseas visitors and sharing his knowledge of Bendigo. Des is really proud of our town and equally proud to share local stories. Sandra started volunteering on the trams nearly seven years ago. For her, it’s an extra special role as her father was a conductor and driver back when the tram was a public service. Ian has worked on the trams for over five years. He told me he just loves meeting really nice people and hearing the stories of international visitors on their journey around Bendigo. Central Victoria has one of the highest rates of volunteerism in Australia, with more than

31,000 people volunteering for a variety of organisations, charities and community services. Earlier in the year I celebrated and thanked volunteers in the electorate for their contributions. Volunteers like Rodney Doyle at Remembrance Parks Central Victoria. Rodney volunteers over three days per week, demonstrating RPCVs’ values of compassion, integrity and community. Rodney is always willing to help people locate a grave or just provide some flowers for someone to place on a grave. He has worked tirelessly to unblock drains and make a difference for the better across all Bendigo cemeteries. Perhaps one of the biggest demonstrations of volunteering takes place on any given Saturday during football season; hundreds of volunteers from sporting team coaches to game officials to canteen staff ensure game day runs smoothly. Community leaders often joke that if volunteers went on strike, Bendigo would come to a standstill. They are right. So much of what we love about our community, that makes central Victoria vibrant, inclusive and fun, relies on the support of our volunteers. The good news is our volunteers are unlikely

to be striking anytime soon! Whether our volunteers support a sporting club, not-for-profit, charity or health organisation, there is something incredibly special about being around like-minded people giving back to their communities. One of the main reasons I volunteer at the Bendigo Farmers’ Market is because I enjoy supporting local producers and connecting with community. Volunteering is often about giving back and supporting causes that wouldn’t exist or take place without volunteers. It gives people the opportunity to be a part of something bigger, to create positive change in their communities. At the same time, volunteering can spark real change in the lives of those who volunteer through broadening experience, starting conversations or meeting new people. Everyone should be encouraged to volunteer or join a service organisation as it’s never too late to give a little time to change a lot in our community. There are just so many organisations to join that help give back to our local community. To find out more about local volunteer opportunities check out www.bgovolunteers.org.au 63

floral fest Escape the hoopla of the Melbourne Cup week and catch up with the good gardeners of the goldfields, says our Castlemaine correspondent. By Geoff Hocking It all began 25 years ago when an organisation known as Promote Castlemaine Inc. was looking for an event to plug the gap year between the biennial Castlemaine State Festivals. One committee member, Ian Huxley, who at that time had an extensive rose garden spilling down a hillside near Guildford, suggested an open garden program over Melbourne Cup Week — and the first Festival of Gardens was born. In that first festival 50 gardens opened, the second two years later offered 66. In later years the Castlemaine & District Festival of Gardens has cut back to a much more manageable offering of around 25 gardens — just enough to get around over a two-day weekend in November. The ongoing identity of the Festival was established right at the start with each of the festivals souvenir programs featuring a couple of gardeners hard at work. The first, published in 1991, showed a black-bearded gardener watering an impossible rose bush. This luxuriously-bearded gardener has gone grey over the years: acquired a female companion, several geese, a couple of chooks and a magpie or two always at their sides, but they remain hard at work in their gardens, tackling the impossible soils and fickle weather conditions that are the bane of the central Victorian gardener. The gardens featured in Castlemaine & 64

District in Melbourne Cup Week, every second year, range from the classic to the colonial, from farmhouse to inner city; there are native gardens, sculpture gardens, some are formal and some very rustic, individual, quirky and above all, fascinating. This year, 2018, several festival favorites throw their gates open again, as they have for every festival over the past 25 years. Gwen Davey’s ‘Forest Hall’ in Burnett Road (just turn to the right and cross the creek before you go under the railway line, if you are coming from Bendigo), is always a must-see. ‘Forest Hall’ is a classic Victorian Homestead and has an extensive, formal garden, replete with a brick-paved driveway, flanked by majestic gums which have stood since before the gold rush; flagged paths and stone walls, a gorgeous vegetable garden and a timbered shade-house. ‘Forest Hall’ is a garden that repays its owner, in abundance, for the years of hard work that she has put into it. Not to be confused, ‘Forest Edge’ is a wide-open garden on a rural property at Muckleford, showing lots of interesting ideas as you walk around, from gardenroom to garden-room. We saw this one for the first time last festival and it is one we will see again, to see how ‘their garden grows’. Visitors can make quite a day-trip, driving tour around Mt Alexander Shire, taking in

the various types of gardens on show from Sutton Grange, Metcalfe and Harcourt; Barkers Creek, Castlemaine and Yapeen, Muckleford, Newstead and Maldon — there is much to see and plenty of good places to stop for a good coffee or a bite to eat along the way. Two gardens at Barkers Creek, right beside one another, are also Festival favorites. Both in rural settings, ‘Lixouri’ shows a hand-made, two-storied, mud-brick house looking out over its own small lake (well big dam really) surrounded by a profusion of trees, flowers and grasses. ‘Hedgehogs’ is a country farmhouse featuring stonewalled terraces, a well-protected fruit orchard, even a couple of fruiting avocado trees (there are lots of cockatoos and parrots around all year long) and interesting sculpture placed among the trees. Another garden featuring sculpture is ‘Mica Grange’, a property reviewed by Australian Country magazine as one of Australia’s finest country gardens. On the slopes of Mount Alexander ‘Mica Grange’ has sweeping lawns, roses, rockeries and panoramic views over Sutton Grange — and sculpture.

From the broad-acre expanse of the rural property to the more intimate environment of the compact suburban garden. Take a drive to Newstead, just 15 minutes from Castlemaine, and pop into ‘Serenity’. Here the name says it all. ‘Serenity’ has a small footprint but every square inch is blooming. This is a lovely garden and for most urbandwellers it offers an achievable inspiration. It has only been opening for one or two festivals and is one of the most popular. Another garden that gets the unofficial ‘people’s choice’ award is Roger McKindley’s ‘Iron Art Garden’. Also in Newstead, out a little bit overlooking a bend in the Loddon River, the ‘Iron Art Garden’ has very few plants or flowers. The garden is an artistic expression from end to end. Featured recently on Gardening Australia, Roger has collected, and re-assembled — or re-imagined — thousands of iron and steel objects into something unique and inspiring. Back into Castlemaine itself there is ‘Mossbank’, just up behind the Botanic Gardens, where a charming mud-brick cottage sits well-placed in a broad garden of stone-walls, vegetable beds, fruit trees, flowering and native plantings— and ‘Rosebank’, a classic Victorian weatherboard home set into the hillside adjacent to the old gaol. This garden has hundreds of roses, a sheltered vegetable patch, and a shaded, stonewalled patio; an ideal place for a quiet sit down on a hot November afternoon. All of the gardens mentioned here were open last Festival and we enjoyed our visit at each one. I am sure the gardens opening for the first time this year will give us much to think about as we once again take all that Castlemaine has to offer. The Castlemaine & District Festival of Gardens offers a great day’s outing for locals and visitors alike — or a great weekend away. A lot of city dwellers escape the hoopla of the Melbourne Cup Week and make a long weekend of it, giving themselves plenty of time to dip in and out, from garden gate to garden gate. About 25 gardens over a few days will send every garden lover heading back to their everyday lives inspired, or at least, invigorated by their time spent in the beautiful garden environments of the Mt Alexander Shire. The festival is open from Saturday 3 to Sunday 11 November 2018. Souvenir programs are available, in Bendigo, from the Tourist Information Centre, and from other selected outlets or by mail: contact the Castlemaine Festival of Gardens at: www.festivalofgardens.org 65

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Bendigo’s original market in garden still operates • Indulge yourself our farm kitchen today, 150 years •later, Farm’s social enterprise. Pickwithin & payPepperGreen from our market garden E x p•ePurchase r i e n c e o from u r d iour v e rplant s e h inursery ve of activity • Meet the artists at our studios • Indulge yourself in our farm kitchen • Take a tour through our unique history on site • Pick & pay from our market garden • Enjoy a Devonshire tea on our tram • Purchase from our plant nursery • Meet the makers at our community market • Meet the artists at our studios • Take a tour through our unique history on site Open Monday - Saturday • Enjoy a Devonshire tea on our tram 44 Thunder Street, North Bendigo • Meet the makers at our community market

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the raptor wrangler

On the outskirts of Bendigo there is a secret place where prehistoric creatures still rule. Where hornets make nests in the mouths of raptors and pterodactyls glide between ironbarks. By Lauren Mitchell - Photography by Leon Schoots Behold Anthony Fraser’s collection of almost life-sized dinosaurs, discovered after a wild goose chase based on rumour and rare sightings. The bush location of Anthony’s home is obscure, and that’s the way the geologist likes it, so you’ll have to live vicariously through us. Picture an otherwise peaceful property peppered with massive plastic replicas of the world’s most famous dinosaurs; you’ve got your T-rex, triceratops, stegosaurus and brontosaurus, among others. Herbivore and carnivore cohabiting among the trees. It’s every young child’s dream. Anthony’s nine-year-old son Lugh casually shakes it off. “I think it’s normal,” he says. Then again, Lugh’s childhood proves otherwise. He and his sister have travelled the world courtesy of their dad’s obsession with all things old. They’ve fossicked for meteorites in northern Queensland, minerals in the Philippines and crystals in Japan. Anthony says he’s been obsessed by rocks since before he was Lugh’s age. “Since I was six years old I’ve had my nose to the ground,” he says. He spent his childhood in Ballarat then moved to Bendigo at the age of 13. Growing up on the goldfields fuelled his interest, and he

went on to study geology at the local university. “When I graduated there was a slump in the mining industry and it was impossible to get a job,” Anthony says. “The only opportunities I had were delivering pizzas or doing further study.” So Anthony pursued post-grad qualifications in Tasmania and Townsville. He’s spent much of his working life as a mining geologist and professional fossicker. He describes geology as an “all-encompassing science” of which palaeontology is a major part. Cue the dinosaurs. In 2010 Anthony became co-owner and curator of the National Dinosaur Museum in Canberra. He and his business partner turned the then-struggling museum around to become one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country’s capital. One of the first things they did was to populate the museum with these plastic replicas. “We bought a shipping container full of animals, around 80 of them,” Anthony says. “When we first bought them we were very interested to see how they would withstand the climate in Australia, see how they’d handle being placed outdoors.” So his Bendigo home became a test site. 67

Anthony has since sold his share of the museum and is now an agent for the dinosaur manufacturer. He sells to other public and private museums, businesses who want to attract attention and “crazy individuals like me who might want to have them in the yard as garden art”. “I’ve sold them all the way to Mexico and Morocco and everywhere in between. A high-quality replica dinosaur can cost $30,000 to $50,000. We can sell people a container-full for the same price.” Not all of Anthony’s collections have been so instantly acquired. His home harbours hard-won crystals, rocks and meteorites, and a collection of fowl – that’s geese, ducks, peacock, guinea fowl and turkeys – “a turkey is the closest thing in DNA to a dinosaur, which is why I love birds,” he says. No doubt one of the best finds to come from Anthony’s life’s obsession is Nadine. He met his partner in Tucson, Arizona, at the world’s biggest rock show. “She was selling Moroccan fossils at the time. I walked into her booth and before I knew it I’d spent $1000. I thought, what just happened? I didn’t even want to buy fossils. My head was spinning.” When Nadine’s not accompanying Anthony on his fossicking expeditions she can be found at her restaurant on Boracay Island in the Philippines. Her business in the holiday hotspot is famous throughout Asia for its calamansi lime muffins. The couple’s lives seem worlds apart, but it’s their shared interest that binds them. “I’m a collector as well,” Nadine says. “You can only live with a collector if you’re a collector too. I love crystals. Dinosaurs are fun, but I can’t tell you the names of them. You know when you’re a young person and you’re searching for your passion or purpose? At that point in my life I was questioning, what is it that I want to do?” It was then Nadine started learning about the earth’s treasures and she was hooked. “I’m a layperson, I’m not a studied person. I learn by talking to people.” Want to learn something? We ask Anthony if there have been dinosaur fossils discovered around Bendigo. He says in Victoria, the Otways and Inverloch have the monopoly on the hard evidence, but “there’s no reason why there couldn’t have been dinosaurs here.” It’s just at that point in time conditions weren’t right to preserve their fossils. 68

“The fossils around Bendigo totally pre-date dinosaurs,” he says. “They’re from the Ordovician Period. Graptolites. They’re a very important fossil, but quite a boring one. Bendigo is actually one of the key locations in the world for them. The whole geology of Bendigo was delineated by graptolites. They are one of the first living things to have had a central nervous system.” Anthony ducks into the house and returns with a pale mudstone he found 35 years ago at the back of the Spring Gully Reservoir. It’s between 440 and 480 million years old and contains graptolite fossils, small burgundy markings that seem etched into the surface. Anthony says graptolite translates to ‘writing in stone’. “It’s a very important fossil in the evolution of life.”

shear

talent

Shearing is yet to be officially recognised as a sport in Australia, but that won’t stop a young gun from Rochy vying for a place on the national team. Words and photography Sarah Harris When Sam Mackrill takes his stand at the National Shearing and Woolhandling Titles in Perth this month it could be the ticket to France for the world championship in July 2019. There, in the picturesque medieval walled village of Le Dorat in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of western France, the best blades will shear off for the world crown. It’s the third consecutive year Sam has earned a place in the Victorian Sports Shear team, most recently finishing second to his old boss, the veteran gun Jason Wingfield in the 2018 state finals held during the Australian Sheep and Wool Show in Bendigo. Sam went into the final 13 points up on his nearest rival to qualify for that shear, but anything can happen on the day. “Things change from shear to shear,” Sam says. “Things go up another notch, it’s faster, there are more sheep so you try a bit harder and maybe also make more mistakes and every 20 seconds it takes you is worth one penalty point.” Whatever the outcome in Perth, shearing has already taken Sam, at age 22, a good deal further than many young men of his age. Far from the stereotype of shearers as hard-playing drifters, Sam coowns a 320 acre farm carrying 600 sheep and lambs with his partner Kimberley Allison. The couple also recently welcomed baby Dustin. Sam has a clear vision for his future and always has. At 15 he wrote his note telling teachers at Rochester Secondary College, “this will be my last ever day at school”. “The principal got me out of the class later in the day, had a chat to me and wished me best of luck,” he recalls. Within weeks of leaving school he was already shearing over 200 a day alongside his shearer dad Chris. Last summer he achieved a new personal best of 506 sheep in an eight-hour day. “I always wanted to be a shearer, nothing else,” Sam says. “I shore my first sheep when I was eight.” With the wool industry enjoying record high prices of $18 a kilo in 2018, there is strong demand for shearers, with fewer than 4000 of them to tend to the 70 million strong national flock. 70

Australian Wool Innovation has been running “shearing schools” to try to get more people into the industry. But while the money – a minimum $3.11 -a-head - is good, it’s undeniably hard and dangerous work. “The risk isn’t necessarily sheep kicking you, but kicking the blade into you,” Sam says. “There have been cases of people dying after copping it in the throat. My dad has a scar on his forearm from where the comb and blade got kicked out of his hand and came down and went straight into his arm so you could see the tendons. He has another on his chest.” Part of the problem is antiquated, poorly maintained overhead shaftdriven equipment still used in some sheds. “If you have a lock up, it doesn’t stop spinning around so it smashes around everywhere. If it hits you in the arm it will break your arm. I have had a lock up before and broke my hand. “The farmers’ thoughts on this are we only shear one or two days of the year, but it is only a matter of time before it is made law and you are not allowed to shear a sheep unless it is on a single stand overhead electrical machine,” Sam believes. Meantime, when he is faced with a machine he believes is dangerous, he puts up his own. In New Zealand where shearing and woolhandling is actually recognised as a national sport, the vocation also enjoys a greater respect. “I think it should be recognised as a sport,” Sam says. “Not only can you compete at national level, but you can represent your country all over the world. There’s no doubt top end shearers are athletes – some go to the gym after shearing 200-300 sheep.”

Sam with his new personal best of 506 sheep shorn eight-hour period over the last summer.

in an

The Australian Sport Commission may have rejected repeated attempts for recognition by Sports Shear, but the ringers … they won’t be beaten by a blow.

Miranda Brewer and Fiona Beecham

Andrew Wrigglesworth, Laura Coates, Kristy Cox and Hugh Curtis

Bronwyn Ross and John Pollock

Gloria McDonnell and Janet Stobaus

Wayne Scarlett and Chris Wales

David and Liz Bannon

GOT THE BLUES Two of Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premier bluegrass acts performed at The Old Church on the Hill in August, thanks to the Bendigo Blues and Roots Music Festival. Kristy Cox and The Weeping Willows had the appreciative crowd positively weeping for more. Luckily they wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to wait too much longer, as festival organisers prepare to stage another big weekend of blues and roots music across the city come November.

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fighting for full inclusion

Amicus supports people with a disability to dream big and to live a good life. They invite the community to do the same. Amicus Group executive officer Ann-Maree Davis is on a continued mission to make life better for people with a disability, and she’s inviting Bendigo businesses and community groups to join her. Many already have. Bunnings has recently worked with Amicus to welcome a couple of new employees, as have B & B Basil and the Theatre Royal in Castlemaine. Ann-Maree says when people with a disability are equally considered for employment opportunities alongside those without a disability, it goes a long way to ensuring a fully inclusive community. Approximately 22,000 people in Bendigo experience some form of disability, and that number is expected to grow by 25 per cent over the next three years. “Disabilities come in many forms and people may experience a disability at any stage of their life,” Anne-Maree says. “There are thousands of people locally with a disability who simply wish to have easier access so they are able to participate and enjoy more experiences in everyday life.” She says the National Disability Insurance Scheme has allowed many people to access services and experiences that they couldn’t in the past, however Bendigo still has a long

way to go towards being a fully-inclusive community.

can reach their full potential, our community never will,” Ann-Maree says.

“The delivery of a fully inclusive community ensures that every member of our community, whether they have a disability or not, is equally considered for the same opportunities and is actively involved in decision-making processes, policies and programs, including those directly concerning them.

“Whatever a person’s abilities, talents or gifts, everyone has something to offer and we all have a responsibility to ensure that they can, in a community where they can thrive, follow their passions and ambitions and make valued contributions.”

“We have come leaps and bounds over the years, however there is still much that can be done in our pursuit for full inclusion and I challenge our community to think differently and to embrace change in order to achieve that.” The 2016 National Disability Strategy consultation report, Shut Out, highlights when people with disabilities experience isolation, it has a profound impact on their self-worth. Examples include children finding themselves excluded from the school system and everyday common human interactions, people in wheelchairs may not be able to access facilities that others in the community take for granted, and qualified and competent candidates for jobs are overlooked because of their disability. “Unless every member of our community

Ann-Maree says local business owners, community groups and individuals can all assist in developing a fully-inclusive environment. “Flexible and accessible workplaces for people with a disability to work, volunteer, shop are extremely important,” she says. “Carefully-considered changes that allow a person to access something that they have never been able to experience in the past can make a huge difference in the quality of life for an individual and their loved ones. Often this is as simple as being able to spend some time each week in an environment or workplace that interests them.” Business owners, community organisations and groups who are interested to know more about how they can join Amicus in working towards full-inclusion can contact the organisation at www.amicus.org.au 73

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anything but grim A move to the region has been good for Grim Fawkner, who is just about to head into the studio with Kasey Chambers before this year’s Bendigo Blues and Roots Festival. By Lauren Mitchell Grim Fawkner is pinching himself between musical milestones. The singer/songwriter has just returned home after four months as the support act to Kasey Chambers’ regional Campfire tour. And the week after chatting to Bendigo Magazine he’ll be heading up to the country star’s central coast studio to record six songs written from his bush bolthole near Bendigo. “She’s going to sing on one of the songs and I’m going to basically use that as my meal ticket for the rest of my life,” Grim says. The recent success proves moving here has been no barrier to progressing his music career. Grim first picked up a guitar in his Tassie home town at the age of 15. The acoustic Yamaha was offloaded to him by a cousin who was moving to Melbourne to chase the music scene. A mate showed him a couple of power chords, but the guitarist largely taught himself. “I’ve developed my own style and a lot of guitarists have told me it’s wrong, but it works for me,” he says. When Grim was 20 he left Tasmania to take his place among Melbourne’s musos, but after five years of constant gigging around the city, he began looking for a fresh scene. “I came up to Bendigo one weekend not knowing what to expect and I met an amazing music community at an open mic night at the Golden

Vine,” he says. “Just after that night I met Col Thompson and he was able to swing me a lastminute gig at the festival.” Colin is the Bendigo Blues and Roots Festival director. “It was amazing,” Grim says of his first Blues and Roots fest. “I’d never seen a town come to life so much and I thought, how can I be part of this more often? So I moved to Bendigo. I wanted to be around musicians and music lovers and Bendigo is a great city for that while also being a place where you can still afford to live. It was the best decision I ever made.” Grim is currently living an hour away, near Rushworth. He says the 80-acre property provides not only a place to sleep between gigs, but peace and quiet to write and record. Last year he produced an EP here, Vessels Part One, featuring a handful of “quite emotional and personal” songs. It was released online while Grim was touring overseas. “A couple of mates back home wrote my car off while I was away,” Grim says. “I only had five songs but I needed to raise some money to buy a new car. I released it and got $2000 in a week.” He laughs the Mitsubishi Challenger he bought had an apt name, such was its mechanical status. Grim says it’s hard to fit his music into any one genre. While it certainly deserves to be on, and

fits perfectly with, the blues and roots program, it also draws on folk, pop and bluegrass, with his trademark quick finger picking. He names Aussie powerhouses Dan Sultan and The Waifs as early influences. Kasey Chambers is someone else he’s long admired. Grim describes linking up with Chambers as “one of those occasions when social media actually worked”. A friend had videoed him performing one of his songs, posted it and tagged in someone they knew – Chambers’ step mum. The clip filtered down to the country singer who recognised Grim’s talent and thought he’d be a good edition on tour. Grim says he thinks his relaxed online profile actually worked for him, as Kasey could see wasn’t part of a clique and didn’t have an agenda beyond making great music. He says he’s spent the past months playing ahead of Chambers to down-to-earth, appreciative audiences in beautiful regional theatres. And he hopes the new EP will be ready for this November’s Blues and Roots Festival, where you can catch him, and a whole heap of other local, national and international acts, live throughout the city. This year’s Bendigo Blues and Roots Music Festival takes place November 8-11. Keep an eye on www.bendigobluesandroots.com.au for line-up announcements, special offers, the program release and much more.

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pot talk

Pour a cuppa and settle back for a tale of old gold Bendigo, when curly mos, boxers and bottles of Cohns were everyday talk around the table. Words and illustration by Geoff Hocking I bought myself a new teapot the other day. New to me that is. It is a lovely old-fashioned teapot. It looked a bit dirty, grey and unused, but after I got it home and gave it a good rub with the Brasso, it started to gleam. On the base it has a mark that shows it was made by the Phoenix Manufacturing Company; silversmiths who began operation in Melbourne in 1919. It is not solid silver but is marked EPNS, yet it is beautifully made and also bears the stamp: Warranted Hard Soldered. That is obviously a good thing as it is now more than a century old and we use it every day— several times a day—which, I think, is a lot more than it has ever worked in its life. While cleaning the teapot I discovered on one side the engraved inscription: Presented to Miss M Thomas, from Norman Bros, with best wishes, 17.9.26. I wondered who Miss M Thomas was. Was this a gift from Norman Bros. on her retirement? Or what I would think is most likely, a gift to a young woman who is leaving her job to be married. In 1926 it was most unusual for a lass to stay in employment after she had wed, even more unlikely for one to be in employment long enough to reach retirement age. Counting backwards, she would have to started with Norman Bros. around 1875. While this is possible as the company had started business in Richmond in 1881, moving to new Elizabeth Street premises in 1923, I prefer to think it was a wedding gift. The teapot looked as if it had never been used. In all truth it doesn’t pour quite as well as I had hoped; tea leaves seem to clog the small perforations just ahead of the spout and its shape makes it a bit difficult to empty, but it makes a really good cup of tea. I thought about Miss Thomas. Picturing her putting this elegant teapot in her glory cupboard, inscription facing out, to remind her of her days in the office, or behind the stationery-shop counter before she was burdened with the duties of home, hearth, husband and family.

We have a large timber wardrobe in our bedroom. On the mirrored door in the centre panel there is a small metal plate. On it is inscribed the words: Presented to Ex-Mayor Franklin. Sebastopol Municipal Council. October 2, 1901. It is not the most functional of wardrobes. It is certainly one of the heaviest pieces of furniture I have ever tried to move about, but I bought it home just for this little metal plaque. In it there is a story. I have no idea what that story is, and I can’t imagine why any former servant of the people of Sebastopol would choose a wardrobe rather than a gold watch, mantel clock —or serviceable teapot—but there is a story nevertheless. It is another that I can spend idle moments thinking about. I am a sucker for things that have seen other lives, especially those things which tell of the people who owned or used them before, or things that meant something to them in their lives. My late father-in-law treasured an old cloth-bound book, on mining matters and engineering. On its frontispiece it bore, in pencil, the signature of Mr Henry Frencham, the man with the curly moustaches, who rivalled Mrs Farrell and Mrs Margaret Kennedy for the honour of the discovery of the first gold in Bendigo. Frencham did not succeed in his quest; the prize went to the enterprising ladies from Barkers Creek instead, but he did leave his moniker on my father-in-law’s book and it gave him a direct connection to the history of Bendigo gold every time he opened it. I have a ‘silver’ serving plate given to my father by the management at his workplace which reads: Presented to SEN Hocking as an expression of warm appreciation for 25 years of service to Myer Emporium Limited. This was obviously an interim appreciation as he notched up another 20 years after that —but— who gets a warm appreciation any more? Who actually stays in the same job for 45 years? I was told the other day that the Myer Bendigo building was to be sold. I do not know whether that means that Myer, as an operating department store, was leaving

Bendigo. If so, that would be a sad day. Myer—the first Myer store gone from its birthplace! The last page of its first story brought to an end. I am glad that I have my father’s plate. It serves to remind me of the days when jobs were for life, when they weren’t all casual and when staff earned the warm appreciation of their bosses, and staff were happy to put in the hours and the years in their service for the security of their position. I do collect other items that connect to Bendigo’s past: a couple of Cohn’s bottles—still full; I have a double-sided metal footpath sign for Gillies Bros. Pies and Pasties; and two pairs of doors from the old Princess Theatre. Another object that was a real find, at a nearby antique and collectables fair, is a beer tray, advertising BENDIGO Strong Ale, from the Home Brewery Co. Ltd., Daybrook in Nottingham. It depicts the bare-knuckle boxing champion William ‘Bendigo’ Thompson, in typical fighting stance, after whom our home-town is named. I googled the brewer and discovered that since 2015 a craft brew is available again in Nottingham using the same design on their bottle labels as on my old tray. The past is never far away when these markers act as a talisman—as a touchstone to our memories—whether imagined or real. It’s best not to throw too much away, if we do we can lose that connection to our past. 77

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Bright florals and buzzing bees have emerged to inspire your inner shopper this season. By Jaimie Orr - bob boutique

8. 3.

1. Saff Collective earrings from Made in Common $44.00 2. Empire of Bees Penny purse from Made in Common $59.00 3. Girl in the Pink Dress handmade upcycled vintage fabric 70’s inspired dress from Made in Common $170.00 4. LaLaLand greeting card from bob boutique $7.00 5. Bok Bok B’gerk “Save the bees” studs from bob boutique $18.00

6. Honeybee reusable wraps. from Made in Common Prices start at $13.00 for small wraps 7. LaLaLand “Cleopatra” melamine serving plate from bob boutique $18.00 8. Lost Lust enamel lapel pins from bob boutique $18.00 each 9. Lunch Lady magazine from Gathered $19.95 10. Kip and Co bare tassel throw from Gathered $269.95

10.

8. 2.

11.

10. LOCALLY OWNED

5. 1. Jamie Kay Navy bodysuit from Tiny Sprout $29.95 2. Grey Clouds short sleeve Onesie from Tiny Sprout $24.95 3. Grey Baby Journal from Tiny Sprout $39.95 4. Honeybee reusable wraps from Made in Common Prices

start at $13.00 for small wraps 80

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6. 5. Hunter Lab hand and body wash $39.95 & shave cream $32.95 from Made in Common

9. Terry towelling hat (lots of colours to choose from) from Made in Common $29.95

6. Mr Elk Mand bag in tan from Gathered $399.95

10. Custom coffee from bob boutique $10.00

7. Standing Sheep Grey & White from Tiny Sprout $29.95

11. Hot sauce from Flight Bar

8. Koala teething rattle from Tiny Sprout $21.00

12. LaLaLand melamine serving plate from bob boutique $18.00

(Prices vary)

1. 3.

SHOP BENDIGO

6. 5. 9.

1. Toots & Co Everything backpack + Orbit Cross body bag combo from Gathered $569.95

4. Status Anxiety Antiheroine clutch teal croc embossed from Robe $109.95

7. LaLaLand greeting cards from bob boutique $7.00 each

2. Toots & Co Outrigger cross body bag from Gathered $199.95

5. Gloss & Co nail polish, new moss colour from Robe $22.00

8. Sass & Bide Dream Scene blouse in forest from Robe $390.00

3. Rollie Nation Madison Mule green velvet from Robe $129.95

6. Assorted vintage brooches from Julieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Boutique (Prices vary)

9. Status Anxiety Exile Handbag green from Robe $199.95 81

Carl Stone and Luke Broad

Charlotte McRae Mcleod, William John Torrance, Emily Owens, Jack Saunders and Coco Garrett-Kellett

Lucas Taylor, Jake Hagan, Lena Goddard and Charlie Buckler

Phoebe Malone, Carissa Haw and Akaisha Arnold

Purdy Buckle, Orlo Buckle, Kasey Sparks, Kite Kunzea, Ana Demarco and Camilo Demarco

Sally Spark and Georgia Mills

A BOOK IS BORN The Vox Bendigo Book Young Writers Anthology of 2018 has an apt title; Curious. It was launched in August with the bunch of curious kids featured within. This anthology of student writing brings together like-minded contributors from schools within and around Bendigo, fostering a love of the written word among the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s young storytellers. The publishing initiative is part of the Bendigo Writers Festival.

Big city bar culture, bold menu. Long lunches, late night drinks, or an intimate foodie escape where contemporary design meets historic ambience.

NEW MENU LAUNCHING OCTOBER

Open for Lunch and Dinner. Everyday.

Head UNDERGROUND for hidden evening of cocktails, food and fun. Private booths, chesterfields and plush velvet furnishings.

Open 7 days, lunch and dinner 12 View Street, Bendigo VIC 3550 P 03 5441 2222 E dine@rocksonrosalind.com W rocksonrosalind.com

Dianne Dempsey, Lauren and Ollie Mitchell

Harvey Champness and Ken Stent

WHIPSTICK CRACKED

Jessica Stuart and Leanne Wyatt

Susan Green, Lorena Carrington and Jenny Carrington

Penny Davies, Tru Dowling, Nadine Bird and Mary Pomfret

Wendy Bridges, Mark Brandi, Bridget Robertson, Éireann Nankivell and Mary Pomfret

A new anthology of emerging Bendigo writers’ work pays tribute to the mysterious and moody Whipstick Forest, north of Bendigo. Eight local writers contributed to the book, following a mentoring session with Australian novelist Mark Brandi at the Eaglehawk Library. Mark was on hand to see the book launched during the Bendigo Writers Festival. Whipstick is an initiative of the festival and the Regional Centre for Culture, and is published by Bendigo-based Accidental Publishing.

Bendigo Uncorked Week 12 to 21 October 2018 12 to 21 October 2018

Bendigo Bendigo Uncorked Uncorked Week Week is is aa wine wine and and food-filled food-filled escape escape in in Victoria’s Victoria’s historic historic Bendigo Bendigo

If you love wine and food, this is the week for you! A whole week If love wine andexperiences food, this isfrom the week for you! A whole week of you boutique crafted Bendigo’s winemakers, of boutique crafted experiences Bendigo’s winemakers, featuring wine walks, incredible from dinners in historic buildings, featuring wine walks, incredible dinners in historic buildings, a wine-themed movie and niche events to ignite your senses. a wine-themed movie and niche events to ignite your senses.

Event tickets from www.bendigotourism.com Event tickets from www.bendigotourism.com Thanks to sponsors Bendigo Bank Insurance, Visit Victoria, Thanks sponsorsBart Bendigo Bank Insurance, Visit Victoria, FastwaytoCouriers, N’Print, Bendigo Tourism. Fastway Couriers, Bart N’Print, Bendigo Tourism.

All the details at www.bendigowine.org.au All the details at www.bendigowine.org.au

souperstar Discover a star starter for dinner.

By Beau Cook - Photography by Leon Schoots Is there a lovelier spice than star anise? We don’t think so, and so it’s a pleasure to bring you this warm and delicate dish using this gorgeous spice as the perfect way to start your next dinner party, or simply impress your loved ones mid-week, why not? Asparagus is one of the gifts of spring. This beautiful vegetable is loaded with nutrients, being a great source of fibre, folate and vitamins A, C, E and K. Best of all, it’s delish.

CREAMY ASPARAGUS & STAR ANISE SOUP Serves 4 Ingredients: • 4 bunches of asparagus (green or white) • 3 large shallots • 4 star anise • 2 tbl. olive oil • 1 tsp. sea salt flakes • 500ml chicken stock • 200ml pure cream To serve: • 1 baguette, sliced on an angle • 80g Persian fetta • Lemon infused extra virgin olive oil • Salt and pepper

Method: 1. Trim woody base of asparagus and discard, cut spears into 1cm long pieces then peel and finely chop shallots. 2. Heat a medium sized saucepan oven a low/medium heat, add 2 tbl. olive oil then sauté asparagus, shallots and star anise for 3min or until shallots have softened. 3. Add chicken stock and salt, let simmer on a medium heat for 5min or until asparagus is tender, be careful not to over cook it. 4. Take soup off the heat and let cool for 5min. Place soup into a stick or jug blender along with the cream, blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt if needed. Return pureed soup to pot and keep warm over a low heat until ready to serve. 5. Serve soup with some crumbled fetta over the top, a drizzle of lemon infused olive oil, cracked pepper and some toasted baguette.

Amelia McCrabb and Phoebe McCrabb

Cally Sinclair and Leonie Gudgeon

Carla Sparkes and Valentina Verbni

Denise Spicer and Dorothy Tonkin

Gladys Harley and Karen Dewar

Heather Fry and Kaye Stubbings

WINTER WARMER Former Vogue Australia editor-in-chief Nancy Pilcher headlined this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Women of Wool luncheon at the Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show in July. Hundreds of wool industry advocates gathered to talk fibre and fashion over good food in what has become a highlight of the annual wool show. Models showcased the latest in woollen wear, plus some creative creations entered into the eventâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fashion stakes.

Cellar Door Open Daily 11am-5pm Taste and Purchase Current and OlderVintages | Boutique Accommodation Now Available 156 Forest Drive Marong,Victoria Australia | Phone: (03) 5435 2534 | Fax: (03) 5435 2548 | wine@sandhurstridge.com.au

Paul and Sue DeAraugo

Nick Kay and Janine Cugura

A NIGHT OF WHITE Eliza DeAraugo, Kirsty Johnson, Amanda Lonergan and Tara Everist

Travis and Donna Holt

Keith and Karen Sutherland

Mike and Sonya Kuchel

Oh what a night... for the fifth and final time, the Bendigo Toyota showroom was transformed for A Night of White. Over 200 guests enjoyed fine dining by Two Sisters, cocktails by the Caravan Bar, entertainment by Nick Kay – professional mindblower and fabulous music with Eliza & Co. The night was a celebration of fundraising for Bendigo Health Foundation, with all proceeds supporting patient care at the Bendigo Hospital.

OFFERING CUISINE WITH A BLEND OF PERFECT ASIAN TECHNIQUES & CULINARY ADVENTURES….

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mojito's back Inspired by a cocktail tour of America, our resident barman is adding fresh new twists to some favourites this season, and cheers to that. Pear and fennel mojito anyone? By Finn Vedelsby — Rocks On Rosalind - Photography by Leon Schoots The word ‘cocktail’ was first printed in 1806 by The Balance & Columbian Repository, New York City, with a quick-witted quip in political banter. Throughout the following centuries it has come to mean many things; a memory of a special celebration, a night of glamour, sparkles and sore feet from dancing. “Cock-tail is a stimulating liquor, comprised of spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters - It is vulgarly called bittered sling, and is supposed to be an excellent electioneering potion, in as much as it renders the heart stout and bold, at the same time that it fuddles the head. It 88

is said also to be of great use to a democratic candidate: because a person, having swallowed a glass of it is ready to swallow anything else.” - The Balance & Columbian Repository, 1806, Hudson, New York.

cocktail convention Tales of the Cocktails, I am inspired to share my experience with alternative ingredients.

This is why we call it an ‘old fashioned’ drink when we simply stir down a favourite spirit of any kind, add bitters with sweetness to balance.

A shrub: a zesty fruit cordial with basic pickling, done either one of two ways can be a great and versatile alternative to citrus in a mixed drink.

Having just returned from a cocktail tour of America, including New York City, Washington DC and down to New Orleans international

1. An acidulated beverage popular in 1700s in England made by adding fruit and sugar directly to alcohol.

Currently trending is the Kombucha Craze, but Rocks has one better.

2. A drinking vinegar flavoured with fruits, herbs and spices and balanced with sugar to form a flavourful and crisp syrup, popular in the colonial era of the United States. This syrup not only offers the flavours of the ingredients but touches acidic high notes that would usually be achieved by adding citrus juice. Imagination is the only limitation when preparing a shrub. It is also a fantastic way to preserve fruits and vegetables in the off season. Fill a large mason jar with complementing fruits, vegetables and

spices. Add a mix of vinegar and diluted sugar (not too sweet yet, we can adjust after the fruits have infused). Let this sit for some time - one month or so to taste. Strain out the fruit and cook into something cool, bring your solution to the boil for three minutes to kill any nasties. Let cool and taste, adjust with sugar. Bottle. This technique was invented to preserve things, so it will last well in the fridge. Rocks on Rosalind is experimenting with the following combinations which will be appearing on the cocktail list this spring:

strawberries and black pepper, beurre bosc pear and fennel, peas and mint. We can acidify a favourite cocktail eg. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the last wordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; substituting pea and mint shrub for lime, or simply add soda to strawberry and black pepper to enjoy a non-alcoholic refreshing tall drink. Beurre bosc pear and fennel with white rum makes a twisted springtime mojito, adding fennel fronds instead of mint. The possibilities are endless. Come in and see what weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing at Rocks today. 89

Come for the chicken. Stay for the beer. Come for the chicken. Stay for the beer.

chop, chop

Peter Russell-Clarke has just the trick to get you firing up the barbie this season. Photography by David Field

Spring into lamb. Certainly lamb chops will put a definite spring into your step. But only, I suggest, if you don’t leave them in the pan or on the barbecue until any moisture the season has given them dries out. Because, dear reader, the moisture is the flavour. Without it, you’re left with nothing but stringy, tough fibre. Therefore undercook the chop because, remember, the internal heat will continue to cook it once it’s left the heat source, is carried to the table and before you cut into it.

minus the tail which consists mainly of fat (and tough, stringy meat). The chop meat, known as the noisette, that you’ve sprinkled with a little cumin and coriander, is put spice side down in the pan for one minute. Turn off the heat, turn the chop over and leave it for another minute. While the chop continues to cook, remove the browned garlic. Take the chop from the pan, place it on a plate, pour a little oil over the top, then the garlic.

If you are grilling a lamb chop, pour a little water in the tray of the griller. Place the chop on the rack above the water. The heat of the flame above the chop will create steam which, in turn, keeps the chop moist.

I haven’t taken the noisette off the bone, as many fine Australians like to pick up the bone and gnaw the meat. And it’s almost impossible to convince people to throw away the tail. But, believe me, you don’t need the fat or gristle.

But this recipe requires a hot pan, wet with a little olive oil, into which you’ve scattered sliced garlic and the chop,

PS: The small piece of meat on one side of the bone is the eye fillet, the larger piece is the porterhouse. 91

Jo Lampert and Jenny Mitchell

John Flanagan, Kristin Gill and Gina Pederick

Leira Woodman, Sue Gillett and Taylor Shanks

Lianne Brett, Chris Kennett, Emma Roberts and Sue Gentry

James Farquharson and Sarah Mayor Cox

Pam Harvey, Murene Cassai, Adele Walsh and Miffy Farquharson

KID LIT LOVE Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s literature lovers gathered at the Malayan Orchid in August to welcome visiting authors to Text Marks the Spot. Award-winning writers, and sisters, Kate Forsyth and Belinda Murrell were guest speakers at the welcome dinner ahead of a full day of wordy fun for primary and secondary students. Text Marks the Spot is La Trobe Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s schools day during the Bendigo Writers Festival.

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WINE. FOOD. FUNCTIONS, WEDDINGS & CONFERENCES Visit our Cellar Door and Gallery. You can relax and enjoy wine tasting in air conditioned comfort or relax outdoors in the gardens.

“AN EXCELLENT WINERY, PRODUCING WINES OF HIGH TO VERY HIGH QUALITY” JAMES HALLIDAY Open at weekends, at other times by appointment - (03) 5439 5367 - 77 Faderson’s Lane, Mandurang - (9km South - East of Bendigo, Off Tannery Lane)

fall for the frothy Looking for a spring fling? Fall in love with some crazy ales from Oz and across the ditch, including a Bendigo beer that’s got to be tried with a side of fries. By Justin McPhail - Photography by Leon Schoots

KAIJU – HOPPED OUT RED

FLIGHT BAR & CORNELLA REAL – CHICKEN TWIST

GARAGE PROJECT – WHITE MISCHIEF

COLONIAL – ESSENDON BOMBERS - KOLSCH

Who makes it? Kaiju, a bunch of hop-obsessed legends making big bitter beers with vibrant Japanese monster movie-inspired packaging.

Who makes it? The concept was between local craft beer bar, bottleshop, fried chicken joint Flight and Heathcote brewery Cornella Real.

Who makes it? Three mates in a derelict petrol station in Wellington, New Zealand. Well, that’s where it started anyway, they now operate from a few different sites across Wellington, with a dedicated experimental brewery for the stranger beers in the range.

Who makes it? Colonial Brewery, with homes in Western Australia and Victoria.

What is it? A salted white peach sour wheat ale. Kettle souring (leaving a beer in the kettle overnight for a rapid ferment to create sour flavours) has worked wonders with the addition of white peaches for a refreshingly fizzy and sweet beer. The closest thing to prosecco in the beer world.

Try with: Friday night footy.

What is it? A red ale that has been loaded with tropical hops for the aroma, and grassy bittering hops. The strength of the beer leads to a great caramel base for the hops to hit you. Try with: Sweet desserts or tropical fruits like pineapple.

What is it? A chicken salt gose. The gose is a salted, lightlysoured style of beer. The salt used here is your good old fashioned fish ‘n’ chip shop chicken salt. A unique blend of “flavour enhancers” helps to create a herbal flavour that is as refreshing as it is strange. The result is a surprisingly refreshing savoury beer that is perfectly matched to chicken and chips. Try with: Fried chicken and crinkle cut chips at Flight Bar.

What is it? A beer made for footy fans. A simple Kolsch style, super crisp and refreshing, light straw in colour and as simple as you need it to be.

Try with: A cheese platter and sunshine.

Servicing Central Victoria for over 40 years. 1977

Years

2018

Printing in Central Victoria

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Promotional material

Digital printing

Signs, Flags & Banners

Offset printing

Laser engraving

Large format printing

Website development

and so much more... 20-22 Deborah Street, Bendigo

5441 6600

hearing aid technology By Dirk de Moore — Audiologist, Bendigo Hearing Clinic The future is here! In the mid-1990s I was at a conference where leading US hearing aid researcher Sergei Kochkin was describing what he saw as the future of hearing aids. He described a world where hearing aids would be tiny, cosmetically-desirable hearing computers that would do much more than help you hear. They would connect directly to your phone, be digital headphones for music and TV, automatically zoom in on a speaker in a crowded room and translate foreign languages into English. Frankly, it sounded like mere science fiction given that at the time the internet was still in its infancy and the first smart phone was more than a decade away! But guess what folks, the future is here! Latest technology features Connectivity - having trouble hearing your mobile or landline phone? Modern hearing aids can either be Bluetooth paired or use DECT technology to link directly to your phone, TV or tablet. For example, when your mobile rings, you hear it in your aids and answer the call with a simple touch of the hearing aid and talk hands free. Your voice is picked up by the hearing aid microphone and transmitted via your phone to the caller. Most

manufacturers can connect with Apple technology (iPhones) but only Swiss manufacturer Phonak, which the Bendigo Hearing Clinic specialises in fitting, can talk to any mobile with Bluetooth capability, a significant advantage given that more than 80 per cent of people worldwide use generic smart phones instead of iPhones. Rechargeability - Never again lose battery power at a critical time. With new fully rechargeable hearing aids, you’ll save money, eliminate the danger of a child swallowing a battery and help the environment. Only Phonak aids use Lithium Li-ion technology to provide wearers with 24 hours of uninterrupted hearing. Performance in noise - Super directional hearing aids have microphones that can either be automatically or manually operated to zoom in on a speaker even in a very noisy café or restaurant. Also, Roger technology (designed by Phonak) provides state-of-the-art listening over distance and in noise. It is so advanced that it is used by the US military and the Australian police in high level surveillance operations. Finally, Teleaudiology - This will soon allow an audiologist to remotely adjust your hearing aids no matter where you are in the world!

Why choose the Bendigo Hearing Clinic? I have been fitting hearing aids for over 34 years and understand what is required to achieve successful outcomes. Independent company EARTRAK surveys all of our clients post hearing aid fitting and we routinely receive a five-star rating showing that over 95 per cent of our clients are highly satisfied with their outcome and our service. We only service the private hearing aid market and while we specialise in Phonak hearing instruments, we are a truly independent clinic, not commercially linked to any manufacturer, and place a premium on high levels of service and ethical practice. To learn more about the latest hearing aids or to arrange a free trial contact the Bendigo Hearing Clinic on 5442 5800 or visit www.bendigohearingclinic.com.au

Life Amplified

Maree – bank manager, mother of two, hearing aid user

DIRK de MOORE – Audiologist • Latest technology • Hearing assessments & hearing aid fitting • 60 day trial periods

• Cosmetically appealing solutions • Worksafe, industrial, earplugs • Professional independent advice

(03) 5442 5800 13 Rowan St, Bendigo

www.bendigohearingclinic.com.au

FI2643

Bendigo 127 Mollison Street Ph: 03 5442 4298 fortywinks.com.au

budding backyards Bendigo gardens are being re-imagined to provide the type of lifestyle we all crave; less time behind the mower and the hose, and more fun with family and friends. Photography by Leon Schoots Once beyond the backdoor of a Bendigo Cal bungalow you could expect to see a concrete path leading to the Hills Hoist, right beside the lemon tree. Well, take a look at the done thing now. This beautiful new garden near the Sacred Heart Cathedral is a top example of just how bold and savvy we’ve become in the backyard. When landscape designer Justin Carr was called in to lend his time and talents to

re-imagine the space, it contained a newlyminted pool and not much else. His brief was to create a low-maintenance landscape with a little bit of lawn, some height and structure, and space to back and park the trailer, because some things don’t change. In the can-do spirit that we’re renowned for in Bendigo, the owner, a keen gardener, also wanted to have their input, so much of the planting and plant selection was left to them.

Justin says this collaborative effort is common place when working with private clients, and it’s something he’ll see more of now the warmer weather is on its way, the buds are bursting and we’re more inclined to spend time in the garden. He says as gardeners we’ve gotten smarter and our ideas are getting more sophisticated. “We’ve seen what’s done well through the drought and have followed on from there,”

100

Justin says. “People are fairly savvy about what goes into their gardens now. They know the limits with how much lawn to have and how much they can water.” Popular plant choices in Bendigo, as featured in this space, include succulents, grasses, drought-tolerant Coolabah turf and hardy vines. The chunky timber structures seen here will soon be covered in ornamental grape foliage and wisteria flowers. Justin says we still want trees, and pencil pines and ornamental pears are both proven performers in smaller backyards. Another sign of the times here is that sparkling pool. “Years ago to find a home with a pool in the backyard was rare in Bendigo but now every third or fourth person building their first home is looking to have a pool,” he says. “They take up quite a bit of room, so the garden gets built around that.”

Justin has been designing local landscapes for over 20 years. When he began, irrigation systems and large expanses of lawn took up much of his time. “We wasted a lot of water on hedges and other really thirsty plantings,” he says. “People still want a green space but they’re doing it on a smaller scale. There’s also been a big emergence of indoor plants, every second nursery in Melbourne now is selling indoor plants. The garden has moved indoors and it’s gone back to the ‘70s and ‘80s. I have a lot of clients asking for hanging baskets and wall-mounted plantings.” Justin says with the arrival of spring local gardens will be at their best. It’s not surprising to learn it’s his favourite season. “It’s perfect, the best time of the year. It’s not too hot but we’ve got some warmth back in the soil. The mornings are easier and the days are longer.” Enjoy these photographs of what’s possible with a little imagination, some expert help, just a whiff of water and warm Bendigo sunshine. 101

Justin carr

landscape constructions

design, supply & install 0411143 097 - justin-carr@hotmail.com

Artistic render

all about that view Enjoy a rare glimpse of a new build that’s largely, ironically, hidden from view. By Lauren Mitchell - Photography by Leon Schoots You don’t expect to see a modern, minimalist creation in one of Bendigo’s first gazetted streets. And truth be told, you won’t. Although it does exist, this house was built to be almost hidden from its historic streetscape. It’s a feat of architectural brilliance beyond the modest heritage building at the front of the block. But that’s not even the most impressive aspect of this latest build by BLR Provincial Construction. It’s all about that view. “It’s a real surprise, this site,” says the home’s architect Rimmon Martin, of E+ Architecture. His brief was to make best use of light, space and any potential view from the block’s slight vantage point above old gold Bendigo. “We had an inkling the view was there but it really wasn’t until the first floor frame and some of the floor sheeting went down that we could see how amazing it was.” Let us flag some of the highlights; the Sacred

Heart Cathedral spire, Coolock House, Bendigo hockey fields, One Tree Hill and event Mount Alexander rising cool and blue in the background. Closer to the home it’s all date palms and peppercorns, rusty roofs and red brick chimneys. “You don’t realise how green and leafy the city is until you see it like this,” Rimmon says. “It’s always great to be involved in sites like this and seeing the client’s passion for Bendigo made me really work hard to get the views and the light.” Apart from that one blinding wow factor, Rimmon says this home is otherwise deceptively simple. It’s a two-storey, threebedroom house with a timber frame with cement sheet exterior. Inside, it’s all crisp white plaster walls, matt blonde Tassie oak floors and full-height windows. “A fair proportion of the budget for this house is 103

in these windows – having them this size and getting the performance out of them,” Rimmon says. They’re double glazed with insulated, honeycomb-pattern blinds that open from the bottom up to maximise privacy and views.

Rimmon says it’s terrific to see unique sites such as this reach their potential through good design. “People are becoming more savvy about design and what that can bring to a house, particularly on a site like this,” he says. “Although I drive around Bendigo and I see a lot of lost potential. I see what could have been.”

He says the heritage areas of the inner city ironically provide more opportunities for modern design and creativity than, say, new-home subdivisions. “This property has a heritage overlay but the main restriction was that it had a blank face from the street and didn’t draw attention to itself. You’ve got more things to respond to with a site like this. Sometimes it’s harder to design a house when there are no constraints apart from the fact it has to be brick and have a pitched roof. That can be more limiting than being in a heritage context.”

Rimmon was born in Bendigo, grew up in New South Wales, and worked in Melbourne before moving back here with his wife nine years ago. He says in that time he’s seen more clients willing to invest larger amounts

Although this house is modestly tucked away, Rimmon says there is one point from a street beyond where he can look up and get a good view of his work. He won’t ever be able to drive past now without doing just that.

The main bedroom and open-plan kitchen/ dining/living room are dominated by the sky. However the kitchen does hold its own with a stone benchtop and imported Spanish wall tiles.

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into their homes. “Certainly with houses in particular we’ve seen people willing to spend larger sums and in the last four years there’s been a jump again and we’re seeing million dollar-plus houses built in Bendigo.”

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EDUCATION EDUCATION

photo: Glenn Hester Photography photo: Glenn Hester Photography

the tricks of life

Re-living a sport you enjoyed as a teenager may not seem like the best idea when a few decades have passed, but Albert Skipper is not like most people. The forty-something has rediscovered the thrills and spills of skateboarding and wants the rest of us to get on board. By Paula Hubert - Photography by Leon Schoots Not many people in Eaglehawk know Albert Skipper but it appears everyone knows “Skip”. The 46-year-old describes himself as a ‘borough boy’ so it made sense to open up a skateboard shop opposite the Star Cinema eight months ago where he sells skateboards, teaches the sport and holds competitions. His passion for skateboarding is infectious. “It makes me feel alive and it gets the blood flowing again,” Skip says. “I’ve tried surfing and snowboarding, but there’s nothing else like it. Skateboarding is bloody hard and when you achieve even the smallest trick it makes you feel connected to life. I don’t do drugs but it’s like the biggest high,” he says. Skip is delighted that skateboarding has

been included in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, recognising the aerial skills and expertise needed to do the tricks. “Skateboarding never stops evolving. There’s a science in it which is why every kid is trying to take it to the next challenge.” Skateboarding has also turned Skip’s own life around. It was at the lowest point in his life eight years ago that a friend in his 40s called and suggested they go skateboarding. Skip’s reaction was understandable – “I said ‘how old are you man’?” Skip took up the offer, ‘’borrowing” his young son’s skateboard that was gathering dust from under-use. “I was an ‘80s teen skater and it ignited a passion.” says Skip.

“I started going to the skate park where I met a handful of gents of my ‘vintage’ and a new friendship was born with Bendigo Old School Skaters: BOSS. This group has over a hundred members with the same thing in common. We’re all family-committed and we skate a couple of hours on a Saturday or a Sunday. “We call it going to church. It’s like the men’s shed of skateboarding. It’s a brotherhood with people looking after each other. “At first the teens would look at us and think we were idiots, but we now mentor the kids and try to lead them down the right path – put rubbish in the bin, look after the park. “I’ve watched these kids grow up,” he adds. For 20 years, Skip dedicated his life to music, starting out as a primary school music teacher 107

in the area. He was also known for his rock/ funk band Ethanol and for running a music therapy program ‘taking on students no one else wanted’. His work in music therapy was all-consuming dealing with kids with mental health issues and he admits it took its toll. “I was drawn to them because I was an angry kid. The downfall is that you burn out. You’re their teacher and their friend. It started to come into my music. I would sing to a full house but my heart was hurting and I was crying. I was having a breakdown.” That casual telephone call inviting Skip to hang out at a skateboarding park helped to get his own life back on track. “If it hadn’t come along I would not have been around. Skateboarding makes you feel connected with life,” he says. “I look at everything with a different perspective. People say it’s the calmest that they’ve ever seen me. My mind forgets everything else when I’m skateboarding. It’s a spiritual journey. “We all know there’s a danger that comes with 108

it. That’s the culture.” He has a steel rod in his left leg to prove it. “I was on a giant 15ft ramp. You’re looking down and your heart is racing. I went down, flew in the air and came back down and smashed my leg, but I loved it. “I got a steel rod put in but it was the quickest recovery and I trained my legs to get stronger. I was back skateboarding in eight weeks. “It has connected me and I’ve never travelled so much. I discover towns that I’ve never heard of and we meet other skateboarders. “My son started to skate a year ago and now we’ve got a common bond,” he says. Skip is also trying to encourage more females to get into the sport locally, including his female friends. Sarah Wilson, a student at La Trobe, has taken up skateboarding again thanks to Skip’s encouragement, making her feel welcome at the McKern Skate Park. “Skip is incredible and so supportive. It’s considered a masculine sport as you have to take a lot of risks. I skate every day; I just love

it and want to be a positive image for it,” says Sarah. Sarah also enjoys hanging out at Skip’s Skateboard Shop which is equipped with a mini ramp and a wall of vibrant graphicadorned skateboards that would sit well in any art gallery. There’s also a Gray Chapter Coffee shop run by barista Mick Wright, who also owns the Coffee Business in Bendigo. It was Mick who suggested combining the two businesses in one spot. They both love Eaglehawk’s vibe. “I’m a borough boy and Eaglehawk has a great community.” Skip says. “They embraced us when we opened the shop. We had the old and young in one room. That’s beautiful. It’s more than just a skateboard shop. “We get a diverse range of people coming in here. We’re showing that it doesn’t matter who you are.” A Buddhist monk is a regular at the shop and Skip’s ambition is to get him on a ‘deck’. So if you spot a maroon-robed Buddhist monk skateboarding in Eaglehawk, you’ll know why. 109

the ball for all

Take a diverse group of newcomers to Bendigo, throw a round ball among them and watch as the global game unites cultures and creates a sense of community and belonging. By Raelee Tuckerman Photography by Leon Schoots In her native Malaysia, Kalapriya “Riya” Selvaraj would never have dared run around a field chasing a football, despite being an avid fan of the sport who often watched her brothers play. But that has changed since she arrived in Bendigo last year and joined the Multicultural Pop-Up Soccer program designed to welcome migrants, refugees and international students to the region, build friendships and extend their links with the local community. “Soccer has given me a golden opportunity,” says Riya, who plays in the weekly all-age, mixed-gender social competition alongside her partner, Danny Richard Agustin. “I had never tried it before in my life. Asian girls can be shy and I would worry, for example, if I bent down, people would see me, or if I ran, I was scared people were looking at me. But this gives ladies like me the feeling we are part of a big family and nobody will look us up and down. “I feel more confident and don’t worry any more. I can run and play with them all. I love it.” 110

Pop-up soccer is run jointly by Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Services, La Trobe University’s International Student Services and the Bendigo International Students Club, under the guidance of Bendigo City Football Club coach Aaron Vissers. In its first season, from last October through to July, it attracted participants from nations including Afghanistan, China, France, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Myanmar, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Senegal, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Tanzania and Uganda.

“The beautiful thing about football is that it’s a worldwide sport,” says Aaron. “You throw a ball among a group of people and they know exactly what to do with it.” It was Aaron who approached Multicultural Services with a proposal to use football to engage migrants and international students with each other and the wider community. Ironically, they and La Trobe had both already identified social soccer as having the potential to address the loneliness and isolation often felt by overseas arrivals, so Aaron’s offer to help get it off the ground

brought all the threads of the idea together.

they don’t feel like outsiders anymore.”

“My parents are Dutch and I was aware how important football and the sense of community that comes from a club is, in giving you a sense of belonging,” he says. “This is a way of helping migrants and international students become involved in the local community but still keep touch with their culture, because for many, football is a big part of their own identity.

Games are played at the La Trobe University oval on Saturday evenings, from 6pm-8pm during daylight savings and earlier when the clocks change back.

“It allows them to belong to something bigger than themselves, to something that is both Australian and a part of them, too, so

“It’s very social,” stresses Aaron. “There are no set teams or structure – everyone who comes gets to play – old or young, male or female, beginner or experienced. We make two even teams, throw some bibs out and they go for it.” Fun, fitness and friendships are not the

only benefits. Participants learn about community values (when to play hard and when to go easy on a novice opponent); cultural traditions (from Ramadan fasting to the context of Anzac Day); and further opportunities (some young social players have since joined local competitive soccer clubs). A monthly post-match barbecue helps families get to know each other off the pitch. “This is an entry point for people from our international communities,” says Multicultural Services Executive Officer Kate 111

and acceptance is crucial to the welfare of new arrivals to any community. “That is so important for people to be able to engage and give back to the city,” she says. “If you feel you belong, you don’t feel so isolated, you don’t feel like you are being pointed at, you don’t feel like you are different. “If people feel they belong here in Bendigo, are part of our city and there is a lot of support for them here, we will have many more wonderful stories. It is the key for successful settlement.” Riya and Richard, who volunteer in the community with Multicultural Services, agree playing pop-up soccer has enhanced their life in Bendigo and helped make the city feel like home. “When I lived in New South Wales last year, I saw Aussies playing in the park and I wanted to play but I didn’t know how to ask if I could join in,” says Richard. “But here with the pop-up soccer, there are so many multicultural people playing, not only me, so there is less dread. “It feels safe for me to play and it brings me such happiness.” The new season of Multicultural Pop-Up Soccer starts in late September. For details, email Multicultural Services at info@lcms.org.au McInnes. “You don’t need to speak English to take part, because kicking a soccer ball around is a skill many people already have so it’s a social activity people can feel confident and comfortable with and whole families can come and play.” Organisers are introducing two exciting new aspects to the program for the coming season. A junior clinic for children aged 6-16 will run every second week alongside pop-up matches, with links available for those who want to go on and join local clubs. There will also be a development opportunity for multicultural youth who are passionate about soccer. “We want to recruit young people as junior coaches and support them to become future leaders,” explains Kate. “Their role will be to mentor and train younger children, and in return their soccer club fees for the next season will be taken care of. This is a chance for children from multicultural and refugee backgrounds to get involved in the sport of soccer, to become engaged in the community and to have a pathway for development.” La Trobe International Student Services coordinator Badraa Al-Darkazly says inclusion 112