Bendigo Magazine - Issue 64 - Spring 2021

ISSUE 64 | SPRING 2021 www.bendigomagazine.com.au

FROM THE

HEART

MOTHERS SHARE THEIR GRIEF THROUGH PODCASTS AND ART

MIRACLE OF WORDS A LOCAL AUTHOR HELPS OTHERS FIND THEIR WAY

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

THE SKY’S THE LIMIT FOR SALLY POLTROCK’S CREATIVE FLAIR

Positioned in a quiet bushland setting, discover a place of tree-lined boulevards and native flora and fauna, where majestic parks meet with thriving wetlands, and all are just a stones throw from every home. Whether you are looking for a large home site for luxury family living or a low maintenance allotment, Viewpoint has been designed to cater for your lifestyle.

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Participation is easy, simply: 1. Visit bendigohealthfoundation.org.au/m4mh to register

Register as an individual, a family or rally your work colleagues or friends to create a team!

2. Create your own Move for Mental Health page 3. Move towards your fitness and fundraising goals. You may wish to walk each day, take regular gym classes or cycle 50km a week, the choice is yours 4. Share your progress with your social network to encourage donations of support

Registration is $25 per person for individual or team participation and $50 for families

5. Improve your health and the mental health services provided for patients in the Loddon Mallee region

For more information visit: bendigohealthfoundation.org.au/m4mh Major Sponsor

Sponsors fundraising & foundation

MANAGING EDITOR Dustin Schilling

dear reader, The blossoms are blooming, the wattle abounds and the days are getting longer and warmer. Spring is such a beautiful time of the year especially when you’re surrounded by national parks and have access to a myriad of incredible local parklands.

Lovers of flora and fauna can take advantage of the upcoming Festival of Gardens. This biannual event provides an opportunity to visit some of Castlemaine’s awe-inspiring private gardens. Geoff Hocking provides more information on what’s in store. Marina Williams opens the door to a stunning urban barn. With its monochromatic palette and sleek accessories, this home offers family living but with cutting edge architecture and design.

You wouldn’t normally associate frisbee throwing with golf, but Raelee Tuckerman uncovers the mystery surrounding the steel structures at Quarry Hill Golf Course. And with the cool evenings still around, Beau Cook’s delicious Shepherd’s Pie is an ideal choice for dinner.

While this year hasn’t gone to plan, and many of our city’s regular attractions haven’t gone ahead due to the pandemic, there are plenty of activities and businesses open and waiting to be enjoyed. And so many talented and hardworking residents creating beautiful art, thriving in their business despite the odds, and reaching for the stars always.

Stay safe and best wishes to all of our readers.

FROM THE TEAM

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PHOTOGRAPHERS Leon Schoots, AJ Taylor and Daniel Soncin WRITERS Dianne Dempsey, Geoff Hocking, John Holton, Raelee Tuckerman, Sue Turpie and Marina Williams CONTRIBUTORS Beau Cook, Lisa Chesters, Tamara Marwood, Emily Patterson and Ashley Raeburn 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.

Visit the Living Arts Space

Showcasing works created by local artists from Bendigo and the central Victorian region, the Living Arts Space presents exhibitions, workshops and artist talks throughout the year for a unique visitor experience celebrating the region’s contemporary arts, culture and heritage.

Find us on

Image credit: Daikota Nelson

Edible gifts Unearth locally grown and produced delights from the City and region of Gastronomy. Indulge with delicious treats to take home and savour your Bendigo experience.

Can’t decide on a gift for that special person in your life? Come in and let us help you create a one-of-a-kind, City of Gastronomy hamper.

Shop in-store or online.

Gift wrapping and click and collect available. www.uniquelybendigo.com.au

Make your own hamper • Local produce • Hand crafted items • Something for every budget • Complimentary gift wrapping

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.bendigoregion.com.au • #Explore Bendigo • Find us on

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contents ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

PEOPLE & LIFE

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The art of changing lives - Sally Poltrock

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The write direction - Gena McLean

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Best foot forward - James Campbell

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FOOD, WINE & HOME 72

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An old classic - Beau Cook

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Delightful drops - Ashley Raeburn

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Above and beyond - Landscape feature

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Designer style - Home feature

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Life-changing opportunities - Hue Hoang From the heart - The Loss Mothers Project A whole new dynamic - Clear Dynamics Sandhurst. Genesis.

- Geoff Hocking Fostering inclusion - Ronda Chamma 150 years of Bendigo - Lisa Chesters Natural beauty - Castlemaine and District Festival of Gardens Emily and Daniel - Wedding Feature Disc drivers - Bendigo Disc Golf

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Bendigo’s Creative Industries Coworking Community

Emporium Creative Hub is your space to connect, learn and grow.

S

upporting local creatives with affordable and flexible desk hire,

studio space, business development programs, and opportunities to connect with fellow Bendigo creatives.

Emporium Creative Hub is an initiative of Learn more at emporiumcreativehub.com.au

out and about

The region puts its best foot forward for mental health, while performances push the boundaries in art, culture and sport.

TIME TO MOVE TO SUPPORT HEALTH FUNDRAISER

Skye says Move for Mental Health is a great opportunity to get active.

It’s time to get moving for Bendigo Health’s Move for Mental Health fundraiser.

“Exercise has been proven to reduce feelings of stress, anxiety and depression, as well as improve sleep, cognitive function and help us to maintain a healthy weight,” she says.

All money raised will go to improving mental health services in the Loddon Mallee region and providing specialised exercise programs for mental health patients.

Move for Mental Health is a virtual fitness and fundraising challenge for people of all abilities that lets participants set their exercise goals while raising money for local mental health services.

They are encouraged to log their exercise on World Mental Health Day on October 10, and can walk, run or wheel their way to their own fitness and fundraising goals.

Doctor Skye Kinder, a regional health advocate and former Greater Bendigo Young Citizen of the Year, is patron of the mental health promotion.

A passionate advocate for rural patients and their communities,

“Our bodies create endorphins when we exercise, which helps to improve our mood. There is substantial evidence that confirms regular exercise can make a huge difference to the prevention of, and recovery from, severe mental illness.

“In 2021, we plan to grow the specialised exercise program that was introduced in our mental health departments last year, so more patients will benefit from this program when they receive treatment and when they are discharged from hospital.”

Bendigo Health Fundraising & Foundation is delivering the initiative to raise funds for specialised medical equipment and services so more people in our region are treated closer to home and their loved ones.

To register or for more information, visit bendigohealthfoundation.org.au/m4mh

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SELINA JENKINS IN BOOBS BOOBS is a ground-breaking tale of mammary proportions that follows one woman and her two boobs through a life-changing decision, a million opinions, a natural disaster and an ‘Australian first’.

When Selina chose, as a grown woman, to undergo elective surgery of a fiercely personal nature, she hoped for good health and great results. She hadn’t anticipated the metaphorical hurricane that surrounded her decision or simultaneously weathering a literal one. Selina Jenkins is a multi-award-winning artist, acclaimed musician and celebrated musical comedian.

Jenkins’ distinctive style of storytelling marries humour and heartbreak amongst cleverly written songs and thought-provoking anecdotes.

Boobs is on at The Engine Room on October 9.

Bookings through gotix.com.au

BAAI (HOME) Born out of a unique collaboration between artists Eliza Hull, Ajak Kwai, Awak Kongor and the young generationof Bendigo’s South Sudanesecommunity, Baai is a spectacularvideo work and performance thatrepresents the vibrant and colourfulworld of South Sudanese culture.

Intertwined with stories and original songs of life in South Sudan and personal accounts of each of the performers’ unique journey in now calling Australia home, Baai is a celebration of identity, a joyful and captivating experience for young and old.

The show is presented by Arena Theatre Company and designed for families toshare. It is suitable for ages 8-plus. Bring a picnic blanket, warm clothes and food to share.

Baai is on at 8pm on November 13 at The Sculpture Garden at Ulumbarra. It is a free performance but tickets can be booked viagotix.com.au

Photo credit - Atong Atem 10

Brett Whiteley Drawing is everything Bendigo Art Gallery 31 July – 31 October

Greg Weight Portrait of Brett Whiteley 1976 (detail) © Greg Weight

‘Brett Whiteley was the most naturally talented draughtsman I have ever met ... he could draw like an angel.’ Artist Colin Lanceley

BENDIGO CUP It’s time to dust off the bow ties and fascinators as the countdown to the city’s biggest horse racing event begins. The Bendigo Cup has firmly held its position on the city’s sporting calendar as one of its annual highlights for over seven decades now. Since 1946, national and international competitors have come to Central Victoria to compete for this coveted prize in the horse racing industry. Off the field, spectators enjoy the fun and frivolity from the grassy general admission area to the corporate tents and boxes.

This year, the Bendigo Jockey Club will be hosting the 2021 Apiam Bendigo Cup on Wednesday, October 27.

With over $350,000 in prize money, it attracts a world class field in the lead up to the Melbourne Cup held at Flemington. Past winners include Francis Of Assisi (2016), The Offer (2015), Sertorius (2013), Puissance De Lune (2012), Tanby (2011), Gallic (2004/2006), Frontier Boy (1993) and Manakau (1947).

The Bendigo Marketplace Fashions on the Field will also be held this year hosted by MC Bree Laughlin. As always there will be the Bendigo Marketplace Lady of the Day, Local Lady of the Day, Man of the Day, Millinery Award, and People’s Choice Award.

There are a variety of ticket and package options for punters. For further information visit country.racing.com/bendigo

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JULY 14, 2022 BENDIGO ULUMBARRA THEATRE

Book now at gotix.com.au

firm on carbon-neutral Eplus Architecture is committing to become a carbon-neutral practice and encourages other businesses in the building sector to transition Australia to a low-carbon economy.

The firm was prompted to act following the fallout of the devastating Black Summer bushfires of 2019-2020 and the impacts of climate change, becoming a signatory to the Australian Architects Declare Climate & Biodiversity Emergency pact.

In April, the business attained NoCO2 Certification under the Carbon Reduction Institute NoCO2 Program, which is aligned to the Greenhouse Gas Protocols and Global Reporting Standards.

The protocols are a global framework measuring and managing greenhouse gas emissions from private and public sector operations.

To become NoCO2 certified, the firm conducted a carbon audit and has fully offset all emissions relating to its practice. All services provided to clients will be certified as carbon neutral, says co-director Rimmon Martin.

“The commitment to become carbon-neutral certified is a very

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important step for us. It forced us to consider all facets of our business, not just those impacts directly relating to our projects.

The audit identified all emission sources of our business, which has provided focus on how to reduce our avoidable emissions,” Rimmon says.

“As facilitators of change in the built environment, we believe that, as an architecture practice, we need to lead by example. And the first step in this process was to become a carbon-neutral practice to lead others to change and to walk the talk.”

Rimmon is calling on other businesses to follow eplus architecture’s lead. “By achieving carbon-neutral certification, we hope to show our clients, other local businesses and all levels of government that this is achievable – and it’s achievable now.

“We hope that this action will encourage others to consider their impacts and set their own footprint-reduction goals.”

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the art of

changing lives

During a holiday in Sydney as a child, artist Sally Poltrock found inspiration in a Brett Whitely exhibition from which she’s created a life of constant expression.

By Dianne Dempsey - Photographs by Leon Schoots On this sparkling day in Iate winter, I peer through the expansive windows of Sally Poltrock’s house admiring the view of Axe Creek, green foliage and deliriously happy birds. Behind me are sun-filled rooms where all is colour, peace and light; the furnishings are multi-textured and sculptures and art works abound.

Surrounded by so much colour and movement, I find it hard to concentrate on the job at hand. It is clear that Sally’s home, where she lives with her husband and three boys, is an expression of her creative impulses. And that Sally firmly believes if we can design our homes, workplaces and schools with artistic love, the happier we will be. She extends this artistic eye to the way she dresses, which is with great flair. In fact, a service she provides for friends and clients is to edit their clothes with a view to quality over quantity, and a personal, optimal style.

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Before visiting Sally’s studio, she takes me for a tour of her home, and it is then I start to appreciate the multiplicity and complexity of her arts practice. In the family living room, moving across the wall above the fireplace, are six linear art works, part collage and part acrylic and ink. There is a playful, almost anarchical aspect to the subject matter of kangaroos, echidnas and the native birds – decked out in ultramarine blue. When I ask Sally about the provenance of the work, she tells me about an idyllic childhood holiday when she was sent up to Sydney to stay with a favourite aunt. When her aunt took her to see a dazzling Brett Whiteley exhibition, she fell in love with drawing. “I was nine at the time and I was amazed by his work,” Sally says.

The Sydney holiday made even more of an impression on Sally because she grew up in the comparative aridity of the Swan Hill district. Here, her small rural school seemed to sit in a vast empty paddock and around her were farms with characteristically discarded, rusty machinery. Her family manufactured innovative farming implements. “In the early days when the business was starting, we actually lived in the factory to save money,” Sally laughs.

Apart from providing a unique environment of metal and machines, Sally says her dad was always drawing and designing and her mum influenced her development by giving her the freedom to experiment with stray objects and textiles. “I always gravitated to the cupboard filled with fabrics and trims. Mum used to say, ‘If you can’t make it, you can’t have it’.”

It was the love of drawing, design and creating that took Sally from school at Girton College to Gordon College in Geelong, where she studied fashion design and production. From there, she worked as a pattern maker and fashion designer for labels such as Veronica Lodge. When working with Ellen Walker, she participated in the wonderful fashion institution, the Gown of the Year. It was in the early 2000s, when garment manufacturing was increasingly sent offshore that Sally returned to Bendigo and marriage, house renovation and a Visual Arts degree at La Trobe University.

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“I loved it at university,” she says. “I needed to find my tribe and that tribe loves talking, philosophy, reading and studying and, most of all, creating. I grew to love the way study and reading feeds into your art practice. Art has to mean something, otherwise it is meaningless.”

When Sally wants to discuss her installation work, we go outside to her studio, located in a self-contained area of her husband’s huge machinery shed. It seems Sally is destined to dwell in the world of metal and masculinity. And when you see her dramatic installation hanging from the studio’s ceiling, you clearly see the influence of that masculinity.

Sally’s work is complex and filled with dichotomies. The masculinity of the rust and rudimentary fabrics of the installation contrast with the femininity of its ribbons of kelp-like shapes, colours and fabrics.

“My work has dualistic properties that morph into each other,” she says. The installation, which was recently exhibited at Castlemaine’s Lot 19 Gallery, has received significant recognition and praise. A careful look around Sally’s studio reveals that the sculptural forms of the installation carry into her two-dimensional work, where she employs photography, acrylics, fabrics and a variety of other mediums. I also observe figurative subject matter: a still life; a portrait of a greyhound; a display of photography; and a rack of clothes that Sally has designed and made herself.

When I confess to feeling dazed by the diversity of Sally’s practice, she explains that a natural progression for her as an artist, when she finished her degree, was to partner with the Emporium Creative Hub. “I have a lot of skills and I’m putting them together with the help of the Emporium, where Leah Sertori is helping me to reach a client base,” she says.

And when Sally describes herself as essentially a stylist and curator, she brings the panoply of her work together. Her artist’s eye isn’t just on one object, it embraces the entire room and its contents, as well as the people who dwell within it.

For information about exhibitions, consultations about art acquisitions, and interior design and fashion design on a private and public scale, contact Sally on her social media outlets. She also works with Nick Truscott at Truscott Art and Framing.

Visit www.sallypoltrock.com or follow @sallypoltrock - Instagram photos and videos for more information.

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David Whitfort, Frances Triolo, Luca Whitfort, Caroline Whitfort, Dane Keuken and Sienna Whitfort

Emma, Meg and Lahni Tyrrell and Jac Louttit

Jeremy Waters and Emily Heislers

Skyrah, Tim and Lincoln Cain, Donna Wood and Lennie Cain

Jack Dyer, Tanya Cavallaro and Mackenzie Dyer

Taine Lang and Abby Perdon

EXHIBITION AWAKENS THE SENSES It’s hard to imagine Rosalind Park could get any more beautiful, yet in June it twinkled under the lights of Awaken: Bendigo Brought to Light.

At 13 spots dotted around the park, illuminated displays highlighted the city’s rich history, proving a showstopper for visitors who braved the wintry June nights.

Empowering dreams for

The world is your stage

P

erforming Arts is about inner exploration, creative expression, social harmony and global connection. It provides an identity to communities; celebrates history, culture, diversity & talent; and brings economic & employment prosperity.

© COPYRIGHT 2021 ZFIT STUDIOS PTY LTD, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. All other logos and trademarks used are properties of their respective owners. Z Fit Studios claims no direct endorsement from any external organisation/company.

Alexandra Young, Charlotte Luttick, Cosette Sayasane and Ava Young

Greta Pearce, Ivy Sargeant, Lucy Huang and Ella Solomano

BRAVO, AS DANCERS STEP OUT Holly Saari, Scarlett Abbott and Amarlia Bourke

Jessica McGrath, Olive Powell and Abigael Overall

Isabella Bigmore and Tessa Patton

Mimi Cook and Anna Reynolds

A sold-out crowd filled the seats for the dance program of the 95th Annual Eisteddfod for the Bendigo Competitions Society in July.

Soloists, duos, trios and quads of all ages embraced the chance to return to the stage and perform to an audience once again after COVID-19 cancelled season 2020.

ENROLMENT FOR 2022

COLLEGE TOURS

VISIT VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSE

We welcome enrolments from all families in our region.

Book online for your small-group tour.

(Tours run subject to COVID regulations.)

Videos, virtual tours, handy tips, FAQs and more... openhouse.cmc.vic.edu.au

Places available in most year levels for 2022 - enquire now!

2021

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Helping students

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Helping students allto God all God made them be.made them to be.

Year 11 and 12 International Baccalaureate Programme now available.

Information Packs and 91 Creek Street, Bendigo | www.creekstreet.vic.edu.au College tours available upon request.

Creek Street ChriStian College 91 Creek Street Bendigo 3550 t: (03) 5442 1722 e: info@creekstreet.vic.edu.au

www.creekstreet.vic.edu.au

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the write direction

When life presents challenges, the power of pen and paper helps this Bendigo author find meaning, purpose and a positive way forward. Now she’s written a book to guide others along their journey.

By Raelee Tuckerman - Photography by Leon Schoots Gena McLean believes words can work miracles. That’s why she starts each morning by journaling her thoughts and feelings in a quest to make sense of the experiences, situations and environments around her. Three pages minimum, every single day.

“I wouldn’t understand myself and other people if I didn’t write my way through everything,” she says. “And if someone said to me, Gena, you can’t write anymore, I’d be devastated because something miraculous happens when you put pen to paper. If you are a journeytaker, writing is such an amazing way to connect with yourself, to process, to understand and to heal.”

What Gena has learnt about herself forms the basis of her selfpublished book, Find Your Way – a compilation of reminders and

affirmations to assist her fellow “travellers on the journey of life” navigate through challenge and change to achieve clarity and fulfilment. It is based on five pillars: living aware; looking within; leading with purpose, letting life change you; and loving yourself through the process. And it emphasises there is no right way or wrong way, only “your way”.

Gena has experienced many personal challenges in her 50 years that have informed her work. She has lived with chronic undiagnosable gastrointestinal pain since she was a teenager; she has survived breast cancer and endured loss through miscarriage; she’s moved interstate and changed jobs multiple times; and she’s faced the fear of failure and of not knowing what future direction to take.

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“My compassion and empathy for other people’s suffering has developed from those experiences,” she says. “Hurt, anger, depression and frustration – those difficult emotions that come from challenges are universal and I can relate to people through that.”

Her health issues, in particular, have had a defining impact on her life.

“After years of going from doctor to specialist to naturopath looking for answers, how do you live with debilitating pain and still function?

I end up going to the metaphysical, psychological, emotional and spiritual aspects because there’s so little I can do about the physical itself.

“I can’t have gone through the last 32 years with these symptoms for nothing – I have to have grown from it and through it or I’d feel like it has robbed me.

“When little gems of wisdom come through in my journaling, it’s like giving and receiving a pep talk to myself. And if I need to hear them, other people need to hear them. If I’m struggling to love myself through the process and let life change me, other people will be, too.”

After starting her career as a high school sewing/cooking teacher, Gena moved into adult education, writing and delivering self-esteem building programs in Bendigo, then became a life coach with a blog and local business called Seeker and Sage. She considers herself both teacher and writer still.

“The passion has always been there for me to share knowledge and wisdom, along with the burning desire to help people. If we look outside the box, I’d also say I’m a ‘meaning-maker’.

“Meaning is so important to me that I find it daily in my experiences.

When I work with people, I try to help them find meaning in their challenges or traumas. There’s so much healing of the heart and mind that comes from connecting the dots, helping people see things differently.

“That’s where Seeker and Sage comes in. The seeker in me searches for the meaning and the truth and has done since I was teenager, and the sage has found the meaning and understanding and healing and wisdom through life’s experiences and then puts it into words to share with people.”

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In 2009, Gena produced a series of cards called Note to Self, published through Innovative Resources, that originated from a 50,000-word self-help manuscript she’d written. “They contain statements like, ‘I have choices’ that are empowering reminders for life that help us explore what we’re feeling and evaluate our own behaviour. My book is similar but there’s a lot more I can say.”

Find Your Way was inspired by the blog about her own journey Gena started almost a decade ago and the social media posts she made after her 2018 breast cancer diagnosis. Most of these carefully crafted musings have their roots in the personal journals she adds to daily.

“The words would come to me during my own unpackaging and I would need to share it with others,” she says. “But social media posts have a short shelf life of only a couple of hours and I couldn’t bear the thought of these messages being seen briefly and then they were gone.

“That’s when a friend suggested turning them into a longer form like a book.”

Gena began the project in earnest in November 2019, sent her manuscript to a publisher seven months later, then waited. She heard nothing, so took full ownership and self-published.

COVID-19 scuppered her official launch party in June, but she held a live video launch on Facebook instead. She has also been reading excerpts on her Find Your Way podcast, broadcast from her cosy studio at home in Mandurang, surrounded by the serenity of birds, garden and native bushland.

Future plans include publishing journals to encourage others to use writing as a tool in their lives, and holding workshops where people can gather to explore her concepts.

Meanwhile, Gena continues to turn to the written word for comfort and meaning.

“I’ve just come out of a three-month relapse of daily chronic pain from my gut issues, since the book was released. I’ve had to read my own words and follow my own advice to find my way through it.”

Find Your Way by Gena McLean is available at Organise My in Bath Lane, Readings bookshop in Carlton, via www.seekerandsage.com and @seekerandsage Facebook and Instagram.

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AUSTRALIAN GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS

THE

with the Southern Cross Orchestra

i still call australia home G u e s t S op r a n o Gi u s e p p i n a Gr e c h Internationally renowned for thrilling audiences around the world with the power of their beautiful voices. Five of the best tenor voices in Australia are bringing a sensational new program for 2021 Featuring Verdi’s-Anvil Chorus, Puccini’s Nessun Dorma and such songs as: The Impossible Dream, Somewhere, the Hallelujah Chorus and beautiful duets.

THE CAPITOL BENDIGO SUN 21st NOVEMBER 2021 | 2pm SHOW BOOKINGS: 03 5434 6100 | ONLINE: WWW.GOTIX.COM.AU TICKETS: ADULT $85 | CONC: $81 | GROUPS 8+: $78 | MEMBERS: $79

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enquiry@tenors.com.au

Angela Cole, Violet Bradbury, Sage Peake and Krista Phillip

Angela Mundy, Tania Reichart and Adrienne Stoke

Madilyn Bowler, Denise Bowler, Lucy Hill and Pauline Hill

Martine Elms, Peter Rainey, Georgia Rainey and Ashlie Rainey

Mitch Chambers and Nathan Cordell

Victoria, Glen, Tanya and William O’Halloran

THEATRE GROUP ROCKS IT They were champions, indeed, with the Bendigo Theatre Company shaking up Ulumbarra Theatre in July with a brilliant interpretation of the popular rock and roll show, We Will Rock You. With the audience joining the cast and crew in song, there wasn’t a quiet place in the house.

- AdvertIseMent -- AdvertIseMent AdvertIseMent --

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

Alex Macpherson, Ben Potter and Alyce Masal

Belinda Banaszak and Daniel Peck

CHEERS TO A TASTING SUCCESS Belinda Kostos, Luke Hipwell and Laura Hipwell

It was wine tasting on a grand scale, when seven of Bendigo’s finest winemakers threw open their cellar doors to share the secrets of their finest drops in early July.

Christine and David Schepisi

Russell Kelly, Sally McKinley, Michele Harrison and Mark Hall

Visitors were able to taste myriad samples and enjoy a tour of the wineries during the popular Barrel Wine Tasting Weekend.

Chris Kirwan and Valma Datson

THE GIRTON GRAMMAR JUNIOR SCHOOL

OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND!

Gurnivaz

Alyssa

Lucia

Dane

Zeenat

Toby

Harshil

Prep

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

Commencing in Prep, by the time your child finishes Year 6 they will have: • • • • •

enjoyed specialist PE classes from Prep been immersed in a first-class academic and emotional intelligence education learned at least one musical instrument discovered the world around them and beyond undertaken specialist science classes

• •

played in a music ensemble with their peers and performed in three major theatrical productions

Contact our Registrar on 5441 3114 or see our website to discover the amazing opportunities that come with a Girton Junior School education. www.girton.vic.edu.au

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life-changing

opportunities

From poverty in Vietnam to a successful business in Bendigo, Hue is perfect proof of what can be achieved when given an opportunity.

By Sue Turpie - Photography by AJ Taylor There are times in your past that you could describe as life changing, but for Hue, a chance meeting on the streets of a city in Vietnam put her on a path that she would not have dreamed possible. Hue was a teenager with a loving family but living in poverty and taking on responsibilities at a time in life when many of us were able to just enjoy our youth. She was approached by a kind-hearted woman who had connections with KOTO, a not-forprofit enterprise and an acronym for “know one, teach one”. Thanks to this organisation and her own tenacity and hard work, Hue runs a successful hospitality business in Bendigo, has completed several qualifications including a tertiary degree, and is still a source of support for her family.

KOTO was established by Vietnamese-Australian Jimmy Pham. In 1999, he opened a hospitality training centre in Hanoi, with the aim of giving at-risk and disadvantaged youth an opportunity “to break the poverty cycle by forging a better future for themselves, their families and their communities”.

“I am humbled that my desire to provide nine street children with training, a stable income and a safe workplace in a small unassuming sandwich café in Hanoi has evolved and grown over the last 20 years,” he says. “Thanks to the support of our donors, sponsors, partners, volunteers and staff, KOTO has now provided almost 1000 disadvantaged and at-risk youth with an opportunity to improve their lives, their families and often their community.

The graduates are thriving working as executive and sous chefs, hotel and resort general managers, business owners and university graduates. They’re contributing to society, breaking the poverty cycle, and helping other members of their family as well.”

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Hue is a wonderful example of what can happen when someone is given a chance in the right environment. She was one of the first students to attend KOTO. And while it has changed, the goal is the same; to help impoverished young people in Vietnam turn their lives around.

“There were 17 of us from the first class,” Hue recalls, “now there are over 30 trainees at a time in the program, which runs for two years. The program is more structured today and trainees now graduate with a certificate in hospitality from the Box Hill Institute.”

The school not only teaches skills in the hospitality industry. It also helps its trainees learn life skills and English. They’re provided with employment, education, accommodation and a small allowance.

KOTO is a not-for-profit organisation funded by the KOTO Foundation, which is supported by an international body of individual and corporate sponsors, donors, partners and goodwill ambassadors. It also secures funds through charity events. Hue recently helped host a function at a motel in Daylesford where 60 guests were treated to beautiful food and in return they helped support this worthy cause. “KOTO also did an online concert with musicians and the money raised went to the program,” Hue says.

For Hue, the comforts of her Bendigo home are a far cry from the streets of Vietnam where she grew up quickly. Her first time in Australia was in 2004 as a tourist, when she met the founder of KOTO and took part in a fundraising dinner. She was in Australia again in 2009 to undertake an Advanced Diploma in Hospitality on a scholarship, returning to Vietnam in 2010 to assist KOTO. An opportunity arose in 2013, when Hue was offered a scholarship to attend La Trobe University in Bundoora, where she completed a degree in human resource management.

“It was then I decided to stay here,” Hue says. Her first business was in Echuca-Moama, where Hue lived for five years. However, when the pandemic arrived and restrictions were introduced, having to travel across the NSW and Victorian border took its toll. “I had a permit, but you still had to wait in a queue,” Hue says. “Sometimes 36

it was an hour before you could cross over.”

“Last year, I thought it would be nice not to need a permit to get to work,” she laughs. She decided to open Nem Vietnamese Street Food, a restaurant and takeaway store in Kennington Village, in the middle of January.

“We’ve been really welcomed in Bendigo,” she says. “People have been coming into the restaurant and saying beautiful things about the food and our business. It’s been very humbling.”

Hue said it was a “horrible time” in Vietnam before she became involved in KOTO. Her father helped fight against Pol Pot and was affected by the Agent Orange before he married Hue’s mother. His health continues to suffer today. Hue is the eldest of five children and says she felt responsible to help.

“Mum had to work to raise five children and we had to pay for food and medical bills,” Hue remembers. “I left school at 13 to earn a living and help Mum with the financial burden.” By the time Hue was 15, she was working 10 to 12 hours every day selling postcards on streets. Hue’s mum has sadly passed away, but her father remains in the countryside in Vietnam not far from Hanoi. Her youngest brother came to Australia three years ago and Hue couldn’t be prouder of his achievements.

“When I left school, I promised myself I would help my family.

My brother came here three years ago has since graduated from university with his Masters.”

It was a chance meeting that changed Hue’s life.

“The lady who found me on the streets was Tracey Lister and we’re still in contact with each other. She’s produced five Vietnamese cookbooks and now has her own cooking school in Melbourne. She was also a guest at the recent fundraising event in Daylesford.”

Hue said that if she hadn’t met Tracey her life would have been very different.

“And I am forever thankful.”

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Caitlin Epps and Bec Gallagher.

from the heart

Two sisters have combined empathy and talent to produce the Loss Mothers project, exploring grief through interviews and art.

By Sue Turpie - Photography by Bec of Words & Pictures As a parent, you imagine that losing a child is the worst experience you could endure, and yet maternal grief is still well down the list of subjects to talk about when it comes to our emotional health and wellbeing. But two sisters are slowly changing that in their own unique and caring way.

The Loss Mothers is a project run by photographer Bec Gallagher and midwife/nurse Caitlin Epps, honouring personal stories that help us understand the complexity and depth of a mother’s grief. The initiative comprises a series of interviews presented as podcasts, to be followed by a photographic essay that bring together the stories and experiences of mothers who have loved, endured loss, and are grieving the death of their child.

“Women from all walks of life are telling their story, the narrative is theirs,” they say. “To share how the death of their child has changed their world, their grief and how their children continue to enrich their lives. We are exploring stories from women, young and old, who have lost babies, children, teenagers and adult children.”

Some topics, such as mental illness and cancer, are now widely spoken of, while the process of grief and its continued impact still seems to be a subject that could be further explored and accepted

as part of life’s journey.

“We hear about miscarriage, termination, adoption, stillbirth, SIDS, terminal childhood illness, tragic accidents, suicide, death from terror attacks and war in the news, but rarely do we get to gain insight and learn about a mother’s loss and grief in the days, weeks, months and years following.”

It was around two years ago that Bec was searching for a special project to undertake. While she spent time photographing families, Bec had experience with photoshoots that were cancelled due to the loss of a family member. The sisters also had close acquaintances who had endured loss.

“The idea grew from there, but I knew it wasn’t something I could undertake on my own,” Bec says. “My sister’s own experiences being a midwife, and her ability at empathising meant she was the perfect person to get on board.”

Caitlin says: “When I first started nursing, I had some experience with palliative care, but being in my early 20s I hadn’t had much experience with death or dying. Transferring into midwifery, I knew that loss would be a part of my work.

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“In hospital you see that initial phase, for perhaps a week after, but it wasn’t until we had a mutual friend lose a baby and another friend whose teenage son (passed away) that I was opened to life-long grief and how much it changed a person’s life.

“We’re very good at dealing with rituals and knowing what to do around the funeral, and perhaps even the weeks and months following. But after a year, as a community, we might not be as comfortable exploring how that grief is evolving for the people around us.”

You could think that revealing such a personal story would be difficult, but Bec and Caitlin have discovered participants have been very receptive to the opportunity to talk, which the sisters also found made their job more comfortable.

“Having seen how people want their child to still be such a big part of their life and talk about them, helped take away that fear from us in approaching these mothers to be a part of the project,” Caitlin says.

Those who have been featured in the podcasts so far include Merna Curnow, who lost a daughter in the Bali bombings; Corinne Scullie (Ervin), who lost her entire family in a car accident around Castlemaine; Alannah McGregor from SPAN, who lost two children to suicide within a month; and Shelley and Eric Hocking, who suffered two stillbirths.

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Merna Curnow

Corinne Scullie

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Shelley Hocking

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“We touch on all ages, from babies to adult children,” Bec and Caitlin explain. “As hard and confronting as the topic is, we are helping a lot of the mothers’ friends and family understand their grief and even deal with their own. I think our audience will also find inspiration from each mother surviving the grief and loss of a child.”

In the interviews, the mothers are given space and support to open up about their individual experiences, which can be both confronting and inspiring.

“We are delving into the uniqueness of each woman’s experience, while coming to understand that the bonds of shared grief create universal threads that echo through time,” they say.

“We aim to shine a light on maternal grief, provide a safe space for mothers to share the love, laughter and joy of motherhood, along with the raw reality and constant journey of grief that comes with losing a child. Our intention is to honour the mothers who participate in The Loss Mothers project as the life-giving spirits they are.”

Alannah McGregor

And this, Bec and Caitlin have done in abundance. The Loss Mothers series can be accessed via Apple Podcasts.

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COVID and communication

All I can say is that whoever invented ear-hook face masks didn’t wear a hearing aid!

By Dirk de Moore — Audiologist, Bendigo Hearing Clinic I originally wrote this article for the Bendigo Magazine’s 2020 Spring Edition, so it is with a sense of sadness that my message is still relevant this springtime. As we all know, we will be living with ongoing restrictions of some sort for a long time. COVID-19 has affected our way of life but also impacted our ability to communicate.

While it is the hearing impaired – who I deal with most – who have been severely impacted, we all will have to live with three key factors that will continue to affect our communication.

Face masks I’ve lost count of the number of patients who have told me they’ve almost lost a hearing aid removing their face mask. Washable cloth masks are quite popular and comfortable and better for the environment, given I have read that worldwide we are using a staggering 129 billion disposable masks each month. Apart from not seeing someone’s expression, which I personally find most disconcerting, masks adversely impact communication in two ways. First, they act as an acoustic barrier and drop the speech signal anywhere from three to 12 decibels, depending on the type of mask. But acoustically, they also act as a lowpass filter allowing low speech sound through but reducing high-pitched sounds, making it even harder to hear that girl at the

supermarket checkout.

However, the most obvious impact masks have is to reduce our ability to lip read. Those with significant hearing loss can lip read anywhere from up to 50% to 80% of speech, but we all gain about 15% of speech understanding from lip reading. A simple exercise to demonstrate this is to watch the nightly news and cover the TV with a blanket and then turn the volume down to a level where you can’t quite follow the speech.

Remove the blanket and you’ll be able to follow every word.

Social distancing For 38 years as an audiologist, I’ve been telling people to move closer together. Now we are telling everybody to move further apart!

Understanding speech relies on gaining a person’s attention, facing them and being close enough to allow them to hear you. With social distancing, we are making it harder to understand speech because every time we double the distance from someone, say from the mandated 1.5 metres to three metres, we drop the speech signal by six decibels. This might not sound like a lot, but it reduces the sound level 50%, making perceived speech 30% softer. Also, we are pushing others potentially closer to other distracting noises like traffic or air conditioners,

further reducing the signal-to-noise ratio and hence speech understanding.

Internet quality Poor internet speeds and connectivity are not helping communication during this pandemic.

Zoom conferences range from high to appalling in quality with images sometimes freezing, faces fuzzy and with the sound often distorted.

Looking at measures to improve your internet connectivity and even investing in good-quality headphones (or better still if you have even a mild hearing loss, the latest hearing aids that have superb Bluetooth streaming capability) will improve your chances of successful communication.

Stay safe, stay well, stay positive.

For more advice on improving your hearing and ability to communicate, make an appointment at the Bendigo Hearing Clinic by phoning 5442 5800 or visit www.bendigohearingclinic.com.au

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a whole new dynamic The historic Beehive Building is abuzz with excitement thanks to a world class software company deciding to call Bendigo home.

By Tamara Marwood - Photography by AJ Taylor I feel like I am in New York City when I emerge from the stairs into the first-floor space of one of the world’s leading software startups, founded here in Bendigo. Yet, I am amongst the peaceful leafy tree tops of Rosalind Park.

If you grew up in the region, you might remember shopping in the Beehive Building. I was a child holding my mum’s hand, and I distinctly remember the creaking floor under our feet as we browsed. Fast forward 35 years, there is no creaking floor beneath the Clear Dynamics team. This once-bustling retail centre is now a rapidly expanding beehive of programmers and software engineers pushing the possibilities of artificial intelligence to create software solutions for their enterprise customers.

Leafy plants cascade themselves between computer screens, couches and bean bags lounging on the polished wooden floor. To the rear of the space is a basketball court and an unusual artwork collection that is ever evolving from cheesy op shop finds by the prolific yet allusive artist ‘J Jackson’.

Establishing Bendigo as the location of its head office was a deliberate decision for Clear Dynamics, with additional branches in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, the US, and UK. Bendigo is the home of the company founder, has all the lifestyle advantages for the company and can attract the right talent locally or further afield.

Although Bendigo isn’t yet renowned for its tech capability, Bendigo is well known for its strong history of entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity.

Investment into its people and backing local leaders like Manager of Engineering and Development Stef Cola, to thrive in all aspects of her life, is one of Clear Dynamics critical strategies for its exponential success.

It wasn’t the lure of tech in Bendigo that brought Stef back to Bendigo, after studying her business degree in the US; it was homesickness. She admits that she accidentally fell in love with digital and web development while working for a desktop publisher.

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Led by her entrepreneurial spirit and innate curiosity, she saw the potential of digital and tech. She quickly founded a new business unit in the publishing company and a side hustle to build mobile, website and software solutions.

“I didn’t study tech at university or take a traditional path. I have come to be a leader in software engineering because of curiosity and an enterprising spirit.”

Stef describes herself as a ‘technologist’ and nurtures her team at Clear Dynamics to understand the business impact of what they are developing. “Software is no longer mindlessly building systems, it’s about meaningful solutions for people. It’s about being led by curiosity – problem solving and creating the balance between this and what works for people.

“We have a fundamental philosophy at Clear Dynamics. When 50

people are working on the right thing at the right time with their skills and interests, people are using their superpowers!

“What has been important in my life and my career, when you are in a minority, like women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) it is important to be visible and diversity is celebrated.”

She encourages other women to take up opportunities to be visible in the community. Stef co-founded the Bendigo Developer Meetup, regularly posts on LinkedIn and shares her story as a female leader in tech at schools and universities. “Don’t be afraid to share your story, it might give another person a fresh perspective on their career opportunities.”

“Diversity has so much value. Differences in thinking creates an organisation’s superpower to solve a problem and innovate. There

is power in working for a company where you can bring your whole, true authentic self to work and often it is what people have in their lives outside of work that brings real value into a workplace, especially when building tech to address realworld problems for people.”

Outside work Stef is a mum with a toddler and lives with her wife, who is also a business owner in Bendigo. During Victoria’s sustained lockdown in 2020, Stef and her sister founded the subscriptionbased side hustle ‘Teeny Tiny Farmer’ - a curated heritage vegetable and herb seed monthly delivery to subscribers’ mailboxes!

Teeny Tiny Farmer is paused right now as Stef continues the art of juggling 50 things at a time. “Being a working mum during a pandemic is tricky, combined with my MBA studies in innovation and technology something had to give. I stay open to change in my personal life too – sometimes you need to know when to drop what

you want to do and when the right time is to pick it up again.”

Stef has witnessed people’s values shifting, moving from ‘businessas-usual’ to realising and understanding that organisations need to modernise. “It is an exciting time. As a leader, I approach change with an open mind and look for potential in all situations.

“Before and even more so during COVID, we have gone through a massive digital disruption. It highlights how adaptive we need to be in our business leadership and our lives.

“Bendigo is a perfect location for startups. There are endless opportunities that are presenting themselves in a digital-enabled world. Clear Dynamics is a great demonstration that it can happen and you don’t have to be in one of the big cities to be successful on a global scale.”

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Sandhurst. Genesis.

Hasn’t this year been an interesting one for everybody? Everyone is sick of hearing about the thing, so I am not mentioning it by name this time.

However, there have been some positives.

By Geoff Hocking - Photography by Leon Schoots With extended periods when we have been unable to leave town, and became increasingly unwilling to even leave the safety of our own living rooms except to get some bread and milk and toilet paper (what was that all about?), and maybe take a turn around the block to stretch the legs in a vain attempt to stop our old bodies from seizing up completely, we have found plenty to do.

The garden has never looked better. The chickens are well fed and supplying us with eggs every day. We have cleaned up years of rubbish that has seemed to just accumulate in all the corners, hidden behind sheds and kept out of sight, but kept, in case it could ever be made useful. But it couldn’t, didn’t or wouldn’t, so it has finally gone, Marie Kondo-ed out of existence. Every piece of combustible material has paid the supreme sacrifice and kept us warm over what must be the coldest ‘winter of our discontent’.

Lengths of timber, once stored for that day when they may be needed, found their purpose and provided warmth.

We raked over the property. We had large and enjoyable stumpburning fires that burnt for more than three days, providing full-family enjoyment on the one weekend before we weren’t

allowed to enjoy ourselves for a while – and the grandchildren had a ball. We roasted spuds in tin-foil, just like we used to do on Guy Fawkes Night when we were their age, more than half a century ago. We cooked snags on an open fire. We sat and looked at the flames, poked at the burning stumps, fed the fire sticks and gum leaves, smelt the smoke and just sat, and watched, and talked, and laughed, and another bottle of red went down with the sun.

The ‘bush TV’ just kept on crackling and throwing little showers of glittering sparks into the night and everything felt good, and the world was forgotten – for a while.

Then we had rain. For one day, and another, and it rained for a week and the fire went out and we retreated inside.

I found some projects that I had been playing around with for a while. Christine knitted some beanies for the grandchildren. She baked a lot, cooked gourmet dishes, cleaned the house from top to toe; clearing out, ‘filing’ old and unneeded things into the recycling bin and reading family stories that her father had been keeping for years and were left until we had the time to look at them – and that time had come.

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I am often asked about one or two of my earlier books but have to admit that they are no longer available, so I thought it was time to remake them. With the assistance of Steve Bright at Bart ‘n’ Print here in Bendigo, we have produced two books titled The Rebel Chorus and EUREKA!, in small-number print runs. The first is a history of the dissident voices that have shaped Australian Democracy, from the Tolpuddle Martyrs (not the Peter Rechter Band) to the film The Castle and all things in-between. It includes contributions from cartoonists Les Tanner, Bruce Petty, Michael Leunig and Cathy Wilcox, artworks from Norman Lindsay, Brett Whiteley, Noel Counihan, WEP and Gary Shead, and a design for a new Australian flag from John Williamson.

The second book, EUREKA!, is a comprehensive study of the events that led to the storming of the stockade on December 3, 1854. This story of protest and agitation against unfair taxation began with the Great Meeting of Diggers at Chewton on December 15, 1851, moved on to the Red Ribbon Rebellion at Bendigo in August 1852, and saw the end game on the Ballarat Diggings.

Both represent a panorama of protest across Australian history. This idea of standing up to authority appears to be an obsession when I consider the third unfinished project, titled 100+NEDS. This is a collection of more than 100 images of Ned Kelly, as represented in popular media: movie posters, books, cartoons, t-shirts, tea towels, toys, concrete garden sculptures, tattoos and even a bong. Included in this collection are one or two pictures I made, on the theme of Kelly, when I was a student at the Tech in the ‘60s. It seems I have been tracking Ned now for more than half a century.

It kept raining, and the three titles above were complete so I had a look at something else I started quite a long time ago – a book I had given the working title Sandhurst. The First Generation. It was to 54

be a pictorial history of the first 50 years of the city of Bendigo. The greatest shock came when I reopened the file and discovered I had last shut it down in 2008.

I have been working away at it for two or three weeks now, and it is coming along slowly. I am very aware that the story of Bendigo is a field frequently ploughed by authors such as James Lerk, Mike Butcher, Yolande Collins, Ruth Hopkins, Beverley Carter and of course my old teacher, the late Frank Cusack. While I recognise their expertise and find their work more than helpful for the detailed information they provide, I guess they are why I gave up all those years ago, thinking it had already all been done.

But time passes and new things come along.

The internet is a blessing, making historical pictures held in libraries all across the country available at my own desktop. Most are now more than 100 years old and out of copyright, so it is just ‘click and save’, and I am finding things I didn’t even know existed.

Trouble is, it is a rabbit-hole – I get stuck for hours chasing down one hole after another, sampling and saving. I think with this access to historical information at my fingertips, without having to leave home just yet, there is another way of telling the same story.

However, I must remember to go for a walk. Feed the chooks.

Chop some wood. Light a fire. And when we can, go and see those grandchildren. I hope they haven’t grown too fast while we have been ‘kept’ away.

P.S: I am always looking for pictures of anything Bendigo. There is nothing more disheartening for an author than, once a book has just been printed, you get a call from someone who says, ‘you didn’t have a picture of my very important grandfather, our house, his horse, down his mine, my grandmother, etc’, when, if only you had known...

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best foot forward

Though still at school, this ambitious young designer is seeing his shoe designs on the world stage.

By Jennie Mellberg & John Holton - Photography by Leon Schoots Bendigo Senior Secondary College student James Campbell loves shoes – I mean, really loves shoes.

He uses paints purchased in the United States and leather that is cut and stitched to enhance many of his designs.

The teenager started to collect footwear of all kinds from around the age of four, but it was when, as a Year 9 student, he saw a YouTuber applying their own special brand of creativity to them that his interest in retrodesigning sports shoes was kindled.

“Depending on the complexity of the design, a pair of shoes can take anywhere from a few hours to a couple of weeks to complete,” James explains. “So far I’ve produced over 200 commissions.”

“I remember thinking, I’d really love to do that for people in the Bendigo region,” James says. “I want to make something no one else has.”

His first design was on a pair of Nike Air Force using just two colours, but it sparked plenty of interest.

“I sold them two weeks later and realised I was onto something,” James remembers. “I set up an Instagram account and things really grew from there. I never expected it to take off like it has.”

James’s process begins when someone approaches him with an idea or a request. He produces a mock-up design and then, if the client is happy, purchases the shoe of choice in the appropriate size and begins work.

His designs aren’t just grabbing the attention of his school friends, family and the local community. Recently, a pair of his shoes made it all the way to the Tokyo Olympic Games, worn by Australian Opals basketballer and AFLW player Tessa Lavey.

The shoes feature the Olympic rings on the heel and golden flares along each side.

“Channel 7 included a close-up of the shoes during their broadcast of an Opals game,” James says. “It felt awesome to have my design showcased in that way.”

Basketballer Dyson Daniels, who plays with the NBA’s G League Ignite program, also has two pairs of James’s shoes.

“It’s great to have high-profile sports people choosing my designs,” 57

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James says. “I had my first overseas order last December and have now sold seven pairs around the world – including a pair to Latvia.”

His school, BSSC, has also been a great support, treating his design work as a meaningful and valid pathway to life beyond VCE.

Once he finishes his VCE, James’s long-term plan is to have his own business. In the meantime, he’s doing his best to become as well known as possible – as quickly as possible.

“My art teacher is really happy for me to use the airbrush room if I need to,” James says. “Studying art at school has made me realise I’m much more interested in the practical aspects of design than in theory.”

“I’ve always wanted to work for myself doing something I love,” he says.

“So I’m hoping this is the pathway to achieving that.

James is also studying VET outdoor recreation, physical education and business management as part of his VCE program.

“My family has been a great support and really encouraged me to follow my passion. My aunty even ordered nine pairs to give as gifts to her staff and my grandparents often buy me supplies.”

“I really love anything to do with the outdoors,” he says. “I play basketball and have loved sports all my life. I think sport, along with my business studies, really complements my career path.”

As he’s still too young to have a driver’s licence, James’s dad often helps him drop off local orders, while his mum helps with the media side of things.

While James has his future design pathway in his sights, he’s intent on finishing his VCE and sees BSSC as a great preparation for life beyond school.

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“The college really encourages independent learning, but also offers great support,” he says. “There’s a much more relaxed atmosphere and a freedom to follow the things you’re passionate about.”

James says the most important thing he’s learnt during his two years at the college is not to care so much what other people think of him.

“If you focus on the people who don’t like you, or don’t support you, you’ll end up in a bad place,” he says. “BSSC is big enough and diverse enough that you find your people.”

James is always seeking inspiration, both for his designs and his future business aspirations. If he could have a conversation with anyone, living or dead, it would be Elon Musk and the late NBA champion Kobe Bryant.

“I’d ask them how to set myself up for success,” he says “…how to live my best life.”

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fostering inclusion La Trobe University student Ronda Chamma wants every child to feel connected and included within their school community. Now she’s using her strong drive, and learnings from her postgraduate studies, to make it a reality.

By Emily Patterson - Photograph by AJ Taylor As the daughter of immigrant parents from war-torn Lebanon, Ronda Chamma knows just how important it is to feel connected and supported at school.

“It’s a program that aims to have a masters-qualified inclusive education teacher on staff at every Victorian state school – which is such a good thing for students.”

“I felt a little different to my peers at school and I remember feeling more vulnerable than them, too. Having felt that vulnerability, I understand what a lot of kids go through.

As a single parent, Ronda has encountered many financial barriers in returning to study. Earlier this year, she was awarded a Flo Robinson Education Memorial Bursary to purchase a new home computer.

“It’s so important to have teachers who can recognise a child who is at risk and help them manage their feelings of disorientation and anxiety. It can make a huge difference to their lives.”

With that understanding firmly in mind, Ronda has spent most of her working life helping children with additional needs.

After studying behavioural science at La Trobe University around 20 years ago, Ronda worked in a wide range of roles – including as a play therapist at the Royal Children’s Hospital.

In 2019, she cemented her commitment to inclusive education, returning to La Trobe to enrol in a Master of Inclusion and Diversity.

Ronda now juggles part-time study with caring for her two sons – Hayden, 8, and Lincoln, 11 – along with her role as a visiting teacher, specialising in supporting students with autism.

“I observe how students with disabilities and learning difficulties interact in the classroom, and then use this to provide teachers with strategies to help them improve things further for the child.

Administered by the Bendigo Tertiary Education Anniversary Foundation – and established through an initial donation by the late Miss Flo Robinson, a former principal at Kangaroo Flat Primary School – the bursary supports female students from regional Victoria studying education.

“The bursary came at a great time, as I was trying to complete assignments on an old laptop that I was sharing with my boys while they were learning from home because of the pandemic.”

After delving into topics like inclusion, equitable customs and diversity, her studies have reinforced where Ronda wants to take her work.

“I want to research how classrooms across Victoria can be restructured to better suit children with special needs.

“Understanding children’s needs is complex, but I would like to support all teachers to recognise the individuality and diversity of all children in the classroom to ensure full inclusion for everyone.”

“Sometimes it’s just about tweaking what the teachers are already doing and finding some universal design learning strategies that work for the whole class and specifically for the student.”

Ronda says it can be difficult for teachers to provide a range of supports to children and young people with varied abilities in their classroom.

By establishing positive relationships, finding personal connections and creating a safe environment in the classroom, Ronda believes at-risk children can thrive at any school.

She doesn’t believe the path to including all kids lies in telling teachers what to do, but rather building on what is working well for them now.

“With the right supports, they’re not limited to only being able to go to a special school.”

“It’s really about working with what they already know and the system that they are working within, and moving the goalposts slightly so that it accommodates a lot of the kids’ needs and they aren’t singled out.”

Ronda is firmly focused on bolstering the knowledge and experience she has built up in the classroom.

“I wanted to know that I was doing the right thing as a visiting teacher and to understand the theory behind it. I wanted to ensure that I was up-to-date with the latest research and evidence-based best practice.”

Working in a field where specialists are hard to come by, Ronda received a Department of Education and Training scholarship from the Victorian Government to complete her post-graduate degree.

Though Ronda finds the juggle of work, study and raising children a challenge, she knows she’s exactly where she should be.

“I just reflect on my time being the only Lebanese student at school, and how valuable it would have been to have a teacher who understood the challenges of not entirely fitting in.

“If I can help even one student develop more confidence and realise their potential, it will be worth all the study and hard work.”

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150 years of Bendigo While celebrating a rich chapter of the city’s history, we also acknowledge the wonderful cultural heritage and connection held by the traditional custodians.

By Lisa Chesters, Federal Member for Bendigo - Photograph by AJ Taylor This year, we celebrate 150 years of Bendigo.

It is important to acknowledge that our history extends long before this, beginning with the first inhabitants and traditional owners of the lands on which we live today.

Before Bendigo was known as Bendigo (or Sandhurst), this region was and continues to be the home of the Dja Dja Wurrung Peoples of the Kulin Nation. They are the traditional custodians of this land.

Djaara (Dja Dja Wurrung People) have lived on these traditional lands and cared for djandak (Country) over many thousands of years.

For them, djandak is more than just a landscape and it is more than what is visible to the eye; it is a living entity that holds the stories of creation and histories that cannot be erased.

It is true that the Goldfields played no small part in building our town and state into what it is today.

This trajectory was set in 1851, when two women – Margaret Kennedy and Julia Farrell – discovered alluvial gold in the Bendigo Creek. This soon saw the word ‘gold’ become synonymous with Bendigo.

Tents came first and then with the wealth from the gold came magnificent public and commercial buildings, iconic streetscapes and monuments that are still used today.

During the Christmas of 1851, there were 65

800 people on the Bendigo field. By the following June, 20,000 diggers had arrived.

The diggers travelled from all over the world and risked everything to make a living (and, if they were lucky, a fortune) from gold mining in Bendigo. And we have continued to grow and grow and grow ever since.

As the city grew and the amount of gold found in our region rocketed skywards, so did the town’s status. Over 150 years ago, on July 21, 1871, the Borough of Sandhurst (as it was then known) would be crowned as a city.

As the city changed, so did its name. It was officially changed to Bendigo in 1891 following a plebiscite when all the residents voted, with 1515 in favour and only 267 against.

Back then, Eaglehawk was its own shire and township. On April 7, 1994, the Borough of Eaglehawk was abolished and – along with the City of Bendigo, the Rural City of Marong and the Shires of Huntly and Strathfieldsaye – merged into the newly created City of Greater Bendigo.

Today, you will still meet old-timers debating whether it was the right call to merge. Many in Eaglehawk, who warmly refer to it as the ‘Borough’, will still ask if you have paid the toll going over the bridge or query if your passport got stamped on the way into town.

Some refer to Bendigo as a large small town. In a place like Bendigo, it’s rarely a case of six degrees of separation; it’s more like two or three. Your neighbour’s brother works with your sister, or something like that.

Generations have grown up in Bendigo, learning and handing down family and local stories.

A popular story is the day Princess Di and Prince Charles visited Bendigo and stayed at the Shamrock hotel in 1983. They waved from their balcony as they watched a special performance by Sun Loong on the streets below.

My son, Charlie, is named after his greatgreat-grandfather, Charlie Peter Krausgrill, who was captain of the Eaglehawk CFA and played for the Eaglehawk football team. He was only 34 when he passed and, in honour of his service to his community, his fellow brigade members lined the street at his funeral.

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It is these thousands of local stories that weave together to create the rich tapestry of our city.

accreditation recognises our community’s commitment to cultural diversity, Aboriginal reconciliation, and social cohesion.

We are also a town of great diversity. From our early goldfield days to today, Bendigo is home to people from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds.

Bendigo is a welcoming multicultural centre, we have a strong and vibrant history, and we are a place that people want to live.

In November 2020, Bendigo was recognised as a Welcome City – the first city to achieve this accreditation in Australia. The

It’s been an eventful and significant 150 years. I can’t wait to see where we go next.

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natural beauty From the French Provincial to iron works of art, the Festival of Gardens offers the perfect blend of Castlemaine’s best.

By Geoff Hocking The Festival of Gardens has a long history It began more than 25 years ago as an event to plug the gap in the off-year of the biennial Castlemaine State Festival. Since then, the Castlemaine and District Festival of Gardens has offered visitors and garden lovers the opportunity to enjoy more than 200 gardens across Mount Alexander Shire.

When the first festival was held in 1991, there were 50 open gardens. To get around all of them would have been a nearimpossible task for even the most dedicated visitor.

As the years have gone by, festival organisers have settled on an average of 24 gardens each year. Even that is a big task for garden enthusiasts who want to fit in all on offer. It would usually mean visiting five or six gardens a day, over the two weekends of Melbourne Cup Week, or squeezing in a couple during the week as well.

This year, 10 gardens are on display – COVID-19 has forced the festival to reduce the number, as some gardeners just did not feel able to open.

But the organising committee believes they are still offering a full garden experience with those properties that have signed up, giving visitors the best of Castlemaine’s town gardens, including; the beautiful Waverley villa and its gorgeous back garden, which has influences of Provincial France; the lovely small cottage garden just up the road at 121 Hargraves Street; and Inclinations, another cottage garden in Bowden Street, which was a favourite during the last festival in 2018.

Mossbank, on the Bendigo side of town, has been a garden exhibitor almost since the beginning, and visitors have been able to watch the garden mature and the buildings grow over time from the first charming mud-brick home in its rural setting, which now also houses a two-storey B&B and studio.

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One garden that showed for the first time in 2018 and is again on display is another offering B&B accommodation. Haven on Barkers is a rambling garden combining native and European plantings.

Situated along the Midland Highway at Barkers Creek, the garden lines the creek that in times of consistent rain can threaten its very existence, but the old eucalypts stand firm while the house garden is safe, set on a rise well above any invasive waters.

Also at Barkers Creek are two festival favourites. Next-door neighbours Hedgehogs and Lixouri are a must for visitors, many of whom come time and time again, festival after festival, to enjoy them once more and to see what changes have been made, what has bloomed and what has not. They will open both weekends of this festival, but will be closed to visitors during the week.

A little further out of town are three quite different gardens, each an easy 10-15-minute drive from Castlemaine: Antares Iron Art Garden and East Meets West at Laceys in Newstead, and Forest Edge at Muckleford.

Antares Iron Art Garden is a completely different kind of garden. Not so much a display of plants, but of art and sculptures constructed from thousands of items of repurposed metal – old tools, axe heads, rusting machinery, wire and tin.

Here, Roger McKindley lives in an off-grid old farm cottage surrounded by the most imaginative collection of old iron arranged in the most surprising ways. This garden was featured on Gardening Australia and will delight as much as it surprises.

East Meets West, in the small township of Newstead, is an eclectic array of exotic plants, bonsai displays, sculptures and garden enclosures with an Eastern influence.

At Muckleford, a little off the well-worn track but well worth the diversion, is the charming rural garden named Forest Edge.

Sprawling over a large farmhouse property, it features garden

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rooms that stand alongside old farm buildings. This is a working farm where the owners have spent countless hours creating an oasis of flowering plants, ornamental shrubs and flowering trees.

Festival of Gardens 2021 may be showing a smaller number of gardens this year, but visitors can be assured it offers excellent gardens – ranging from miner’s cottages to grand homes, rural and farmhouse gardens.

The big challenge for garden lovers will be to see them all in just two weekends over Melbourne Cup Week.

Another outstanding feature of Castlemaine’s historic Goldfields community is the Castlemaine Botanic Gardens and Lake Joanna.

This beautifully maintained public garden sits between Barkers Creek, the railway and the historic Thompson’s Foundry. It was first set aside for a public reserve in 1860.

Philip Doran was appointed the first curator of the gardens in 1866.

Doran had served as an apprentice to the great British landscape designer Sir Joseph Paxton and, during his time in Castlemaine, fostered a close relationship with Baron von Mueller, director of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens.

Hungarian emigré and renowned silversmith Ernest Leviny, who developed a Victorian home once known as Delhi Villa into the mansion now known as Buda, was an acquaintance of von Mueller, and the Baron’s influence can be seen in Buda’s extensive gardens.

There are many significant trees in the Castlemaine garden, with several on the National Register, including the magnificent oak planted in 1863 to celebrate the marriage of HRH The Prince of Wales to Princess Alexandra of Denmark.

Believed to be the oldest planted tree in the gardens, the ‘Royal Oak’ was voted Victoria’s Tree of the Year in 2021.

The Botanic Gardens are opposite the popular Mill Vintage Bazaar, Shedshaker Bar & Brewery and Das Kaffeehaus – definitely a destination for the visitor to take a welcome break while deciding which garden to visit next.

The 2021 Castlemaine and District Festival of Gardens will be held from Saturday, October 30, to Sunday, November 7.

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an old classic

By Beau Cook Photography by Leon Schoots

Enjoy this personal take on a traditional favourite, the humble yet delicious Shepherds Pie. SLOW-COOKED LAMB SHEPHERDS PIE Serves 6

• 1.6kg Dutch cream potatoes, peeled and cut into 2.5cm cubes • 125g unsalted butter, melted

Stew ingredients:

• 150ml milk

• 1kg diced lamb (shoulder)

• 1 tsp. sea salt flakes

• 2 tbl. plain flour

• 80g grated cheddar cheese

• 3 tbl. olive oil • 1 large brown onion, diced • 2 sticks celery, diced • 1 large carrot, diced • 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped • 1 sprig rosemary, leaves picked and roughly chopped • 3 sprigs thyme, leaves picked • 330ml bottle of stout or porter • 250ml beef stock • 400g tin of crushed tomatoes • 1 tsp. raw sugar • 1 tsp. sea salt flakes • 1 tsp. cracked black pepper

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Mash ingredients:

Method: 1. Preheat oven to 150C. Toss lamb in flour and prepare vegetables.

2. On the stove, heat a large ovenproof pot or dish (that has a lid) over a med/ high heat. Add 2 tbl. of olive oil then fry lamb in two batches until browned all over. Set aside.

3. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil then add onion, celery, carrot, garlic and herbs, reduce heat to medium and sauté vegetables until onion is translucent and starting to caramelise.

4. Pour in the stout, along with stock, tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper, simmer for 5 minutes then cover with

lid and place in the oven for 2 hours or until meat is tender and sauce has thickened.

5. During the last half-hour of cooking, start the mash. Simmer potatoes in a large pot of water for 10-15 minutes until soft, strain then return to the pot and mash along with the butter, milk and salt. Check seasoning and adjust if required. Cover and set aside.

6. Remove stew from oven then evenly spread mash over the top. Top with cheese then return dish to the oven uncovered, increase heat to 200C and bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is golden brown all over. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

7. Serve with steamed peas mixed with fresh mint.

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delightful drops

Our Central Victorian region winemakers continue to raise the bar during adverse times.

By Ashley Raeburn - Restaurant Manager - Alium Dining - Photography by Leon Schoots

TURNERS CROSSING, ROSÉ 2019 - BENDIGO

MANDURANG VALLEY, RIESLING 2020 - BENDIGO

This delicious Rosé is produced from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, something not seen too often but the results are outstanding. Showing a mid-salmon hue, aromas of fresh strawberries and raspberries abound from the glass. The palate is quite rich and mouth-filling, yet with the perfect amount of acidity to provide excellent length and poise. Those fresh summer berry flavours continue throughout the glass, making for an excellent spring or summer beverage. An excellent choice with a fine charcuterie board or a beetroot and goat’s cheese salad with fresh herbs.

As one of the few Riesling producers in Central Victoria, Mandurang Valley consistently presents a delicious wine that punches well above its price point. Light golden straw in colour, the initial nose delivers aromas of freshly grated lemon and lime zest, leading into a gentle but lively palate that will please the most discerning Riesling drinker. Notes of honeysuckle, orange blossom and fresh autumn fruit (apples and pears) are balanced with just the right amount of acidity, providing excellent depth to the finish. Dishes with a subtle hint of spice would work well, as would freshly cooked scallops. It also displays the potential to age quite well over the next 5-7 years.

All wines are available to purchase via www.turnerscrossing.com.au, with unlimited free shipping to the Bendigo region and some fantastic deals to help with any lockdown blues.

During the challenging times of COVID-19, Mandurang Valley has been very proactive, offering many special deals and free delivery to the Bendigo region with orders of six or more bottles. Keep an eye on social media or via their website, www.mandurnagvalleywines.com.au

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SANDHURST RIDGE, CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2012 - BENDIGO I absolutely love the fact that the Sandhurst Ridge winemaking team keeps stock of some older vintages. Here, the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon is really coming into its own. Delightful nose of blackberry, blackcurrant and plum makes your mouth water for that first mouthful. It is decadently rich, with further dark berry characteristics, complemented with some dark chocolate and menthol flavours. The tannins have softened over time, yet remain fine and prominent, providing excellent length. The long, rich finish is a delight to savour and is the perfect pairing to some slow-cooked lamb shanks or, for something a little bit different, try with some quality aged cheddar.

If you can’t make it out to the tasting room or prefer delivery, the Sandhurst Ridge website has a fantastic selection of both current-release wines and some excellent back vintages available for purchase. Visit www.sandhurstridge.com.au and keep an eye out for special codes to receive fantastic discounts as well!

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Leah MacDonald and Carlie Boyer

Kieran Douglas and Jesse Munzel

Bridie and Frankie O

Sophia Harris, Jessica Lawry and Bree Tucker

PAINT-AND-SIP CLASSES OPEN With the bottles – paint and wine – uncorked it was time for the small group to hit the canvas for the opening of Pinot & Picasso Bendigo.

Temeka Turner and Justine Turner

Photo: Proudly sold by Waller Realty during lockdown 2020

Tammy Shaw, Sharyn Maltby and Fiona Smith

The studio offers a unique paint-and-sip experience to guests who are stepped through their artworks by local artist hosts.

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Experience the Waller Realty difference with our dedicated Sales team working for you.

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Emily and Daniel This loving couple said ‘I do’ not once, but twice, so they could share their special day with loved ones.

Photography by Justin & Jim

Seven months after eloping, Daniel and Emily excitedly said ‘I do’ once more, but this time much closer to home and with extended family and friends lovingly watching on.

With children Jim and Levi, the couple married at Harcourt Valley Vineyards on May 1.

“It meant a lot to Daniel and I to have Jim and Levi come along on the journey with us – not once, but twice – and capture the day. Both days were beautiful in their own way, but this 78

was so special to have our family there to celebrate with us,” Emily says.

The couple, who met in a supermarket car park nine years ago, eloped to the Grampians in October 2020 after restrictions brought on from the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of their first planned wedding day.

In wanting to exchange vows in front of loved ones, they opted to ‘take two’ and do it again.

“We could only have two witnesses and our

children then, so we decided to renew our vows at this beautiful venue. All the vendors were booked for our first official wedding and then again for our renewal. Not all could attend the first one so it was epic to see it all come together in May.” The national park was chosen for the scaled down wedding as it’s the place where Daniel proposed while on a family holiday.

“It was at Boroka Lookout,” Emily says.

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“Daniel got down on one knee, and at first I was wondering what he was doing on the ground. It wasn’t until I looked down and could see he had tears in his eyes and the gasps from everyone else around us, I clicked what was about to happen.”

When it came time for the larger wedding, Emily says they chose the vineyard as it reminded them of the Grampians and reflected their rustic style. She is proud to say they decorated it together, complete with florals. In wanting an intimate celebration, they deliberately kept the guest list small so they could spend time with everyone in attendance.

“We ensured there was enough time to sit and relax with our guests and soak up the whole day. So many times you hear of couples not getting to talk to some of their guests. We knew we did not want that to happen.”

During the ceremony, they released butterflies in memory of loved ones who had recently passed. “It was a beautiful part of the ceremony,” Emily says. “Everyone had tears in their eyes.”

Reflecting on their day, the couple say there are many special memories, including the surprise fireworks show, secretly planned

by Emily. “It was the icing on the cake and the perfect way to finish the night,” she says.

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Adds Daniel: “To see the kids running around having fun and the fireworks at the end were pretty cool. I had no idea Emily had organised them. Our real wedding day was super special to me.”

With the pandemic ongoing, there’s been no opportunity for a honeymoon “just yet”.

“But it’ll be amazing when it does happen,” Emily says. “Life is not all that different to before we were married, but it is still amazing and wonderful. We both love that we can call each other husband and wife and to wear a ring that symbolises our love and happiness.”

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above and beyond

The charm of Mia Mia soon had Viv and Neil transitioning from weekend visitors to permanent residents. The recent addition of a pool to their property has elevated their piece of country to a restful retreat.

By Marina Williams - Photography by Leon Schoots

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Viv and Neil had always wanted to escape to the country – for weekends, that was. But after experiencing the charm and sunny climes of Mia Mia, the couple soon bade farewell to inner Melbourne and made their holiday house in the picturesque Central Victorian town their home.

They bought the land overlooking the valley towards Bendigo about 10 years ago, with Neil building their contemporary home with open-plan living, expansive windows and a deep verandah to take in the breathtaking views. The inside was prepped with all the mod-cons and the outside clad in the crisp, clean lines of iconic corrugated iron that is also proving a low-maintenance winner over the years.

“It just sits beautifully on the land, overlooking the valley,” Viv says. “From a holiday house to our full-time home for the past five years has been brilliant. I smile now, but I can say it did take me a good four years to get used to not being able to walk down to the supermarket, but I am in the zone now of planning and rethinking everyday shopping tasks. It has been worth it, as it is a beautiful spot.”

More recently, a pool has been added to the site, with Evolution Pools siting it close to the home and valley to capture the views.

“It’s in the right spot. I never thought of having it so close to the home, but they were spot on with it. It is magical, we can sit or float here, relax and just take it all in,” says Viv, pointing across the valley.

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“Interestingly, I never, ever wanted a pool, but when we stayed in a villa in Italy in 2019, I was taken. Mind you, it did take me three days to get into the pool, but I finally relented because it was so damn hot that year. Once I got in, I thought ‘why have I resisted this all my life?’.”

On returning home, plans were set in motion to purchase a pool and re-landscape the garden. “The Evolution Pools team was brilliant from the get-go,” says Viv. “Once they started digging we had a pool in no time.”

With Mia Mia’s summer temperatures a solid 4C higher than Kyneton, their new pool is set to provide much-needed relief from a blazing sun, and an additional water source in hot, dry summers.

The couple chose a simple rectangle shape, measuring 9.5m x 4.5m, and finished in a twilight blue to best suit the landscape. Largeformat pavers and coping tiles edge the pool, with a nearby lawned area providing an ideal place to throw down the towel and relax.

Neil built the gazebo that has already proven a popular spot during family get-togethers. “He likes to call it the pool shed,” laughs Viv. “We’ve got a pizza oven in there and you can sit under the shade and have a drink out of the sun.

“The pool also has a child-friendly ledge so kids can walk around the edge and have that stability and feel safe; and we can sit on the side and dangle our feet in the water and watch the sunset if we don’t want to swim or float around. It’s simply gorgeous out here with so many options to enjoy the space.”

With ongoing COVID-19 restrictions tipped to curtail international travel, Viv says the family is all set for another Christmas by the pool.

“It’s a gorgeous spot, so calming and quiet, so we are excited and looking forward to creating some more family memories this summer.”

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designer style A monochromatic palette and sharp lines set the scene for this stunning contemporary abode in Central Victoria.

By Marina Williams - Photography by Leon Schoots

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Kristie Cairns says she has the best of both worlds – living in a contemporary ‘urban barn’ on acreage just minutes from Bendigo.

With a desire for space and comfort, the designer was in her element creating the new home for her family of four, including husband Damian and their children Marshall and Harlow.

After managing four new builds and living through 22 house moves, Kristie wasn’t expecting to move again so soon. But when land in their desired suburb came up for sale, they had to buy.

“We always kept an eye on land in the area and came across the block… we made an offer and ended up buying it. A week later we had our house on the market and sold within six weeks.”

After moving into a rental, the couple started devising plans for a home that would suit their growing family. After an eight-month build, in November 2020 they stepped through the front door.

“Growing up as the daughter of a builder meant we moved every couple of years,” she says “We wanted a home with space to move around as the kids grow.

Large, open living with lots of natural light and a connection to the outdoors was a must. We were after an urban barn style with a modern take, something custom that you don’t see every day.”

The home has a striking monochromatic palette that provides a dramatic backdrop for the semi-rural landscape and interior decor.

The exterior, with its gabled roof, is clad in charred timber. Inside, there’s cool white on the walls, with black fittings and fixtures helping create calm and inviting spaces.

The home has been designed as two wings that run almost-parallel to a pool. One for the (three) children’s and guest bedrooms, spacious family bathroom, laundry and lounge; the other hosts the parents’ retreat, main living areas and undercover alfresco. Entry to the home is through a custom-made door that blends seamlessly with the facade. In contrast, the light-filled entry hall is spacious and inviting, with a large window giving visitors an enticing view of the pool and central garden.

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To achieve a unique home, the design is the couple’s own. They engaged Lloyd Sage Building Designers to bring the plans to life.

When it came to a builder, without question it would be Kristie’s dad Paul Crawford.

“Working in interior design and having moved so often, we had a very clear vision on what we wanted to achieve. Although we are on five acres, our building envelope wasn’t huge so we had to make sure we could position it correctly on the block,” says Kristie, who runs Simplism Interiors. “Dad is a fourth-generation builder and knows how to complete a high-quality custom build. He has built all of our homes.”

High ceilings feature throughout, and give the “dream kitchen” a grand sense of scale and practicality with plenty of storage behind matt black cabinetry.

Appliances are integrated, with the fridge “hiding” in a smart walk-in pantry that holds the “must-have splurge” instant hot-water tap. “No more kettle and hello instant hot water,” Kristie says.

The splashback and large island bench, with a curve at one end (courtesy of the creative team at VGroup Bendigo), are finished in natural stone.

“The kitchen, dining and living space is my favourite area. We have a view from every angle – into the pool, to the other side of the house, up the bush and out the back. With lots of natural light coming in from the large windows, it’s where we spend most of our time.”

With the onset of warmer months, the next project is the garden. “We have grass out the back and are already sharing it with hundreds of kangaroos that settle in the paddock. We often wake up with them right near the alfresco,” says Kristie, excited about their future plans.

“We will definitely be in this home until the kids are older. It has everything we could ever need and we are surrounded by beautiful bush scenery and lots of privacy. We could not be happier with the space and absolutely love it.”

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disc drivers

An unusual sport has taken flight in Bendigo, offering a different spin on the age-old game of golf by combining the fun of Frisbee throwing with the challenge of navigating obstacles to make par.

By Raelee Tuckerman - Photography by AJ Taylor

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To the layman, the nine steel structures strategically placed around Quarry Hill Golf Course could possibly be mistaken for possum traps. Or plant trainers. Or ball storage units. But no, these eyecatching devices are targets for players of disc golf – a pastime fast growing in popularity.

As its name implies, the game has similar goals, rules and etiquette to traditional golf and is played on existing fairways and greens or on custom-built courses in public or private parks. Rather than using clubs to hit a ball into a hole, these golfers aim to hurl their weighted polypropene discs into the elevated chain-andbasket stands that catch them mid-air. Each disc golf ‘hole’ has a designated number of throws as its par score.

Bendigo Disc Golf founder Jackson Adams remembers the first time he encountered the sport four years ago, driving past Barwon Valley Park in Geelong. “I saw some baskets and wondered what the heck they were,” he says, “so I went home and Googled, found disc golf on YouTube and thought it looked pretty cool.

“My fiancée and I had a Frisbee at home that we used to throw for fun, so we thought we’d have a crack. It’s a sport where you can just grab a disc, walk around different courses and get right into it.”

Jackson was quickly hooked and when he moved to Bendigo, was keen to establish a local venue. The result is the nine-basket, 18hole, par-62 disc golf course, which launched on the Quarry Hill site in January last year.

“We are lucky in Bendigo because Quarry Hill is very hilly, and the uphill and downhill holes make it different to any other disc golf course in Victoria. You get some great views from the top of the course – you can see right across to the Cathedral and the Bendigo Hospital.

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“We call Hole 5 ‘Top of the World’ because it’s so high and you throw the disc down a massive hill, which is a lot of fun. And on the 18th hole, you can try to throw it over the dam, which is a 75-metre clearance, otherwise you have to throw around it.”

Disc golf spans all ages and abilities, from recreational through to professional leagues offering monetary prizes. At the top end, it can be extremely lucrative with American icon Paul McBeth recently signing a 10-year, $10 million sponsorship deal.

“He’s the best in the world, but that’s a lot of dosh,” quips Jackson.

Casual participants can use a single Frisbee to play, while serious athletes choose from a wide variety of discs, each designed to have different speed, glide, turn and fade properties, making them suitable for different distances, angles and throwing skills.

“Similar to golf, our discs come in putters, mid-rangers, fairway drivers and distance drivers,” explains Jackson. “That can be hard for beginners to learn, so I get my mates started by throwing a putter and a mid-ranger and build up their skills from there. Keep it simple is the motto.”

Throwing techniques involve backhand and forehand. “Backhand is easier for beginners because it’s the way we all learnt to throw a frisbee as kids,” says Jackson. “As a cricketer, I find the forehand action similar to throwing a cricket ball. But it all takes practice and time. We always say, don’t try and throw too hard – the smoother the throw, the further it goes.”

The origins of disc golf are slightly unclear. Canadian schoolchildren reportedly played a version in 1926 – decades before Frisbees were invented – using tin lids. Other accounts of casual games date from the 1930s through to the 1960s, with several attempts at commercialising the idea or turning it into a formal organised activity. It wasn’t until 1970 that a small group of New Yorkers started playing disc golf regularly, including competitive leagues, and four years later held the inaugural American Flying Disc Open national tournament.

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Australia’s first course opened in Hobart in the mid-1980s. There are now more than 70 nation-wide and 8000 internationally, with an estimated 20 million regular players.

Jackson co-designed the Bendigo layout with Geelong-based expert Andrew Ferguson, whose company Recreation Activity Design has installed over 40 disc golf courses across Australia.

It took about two years from their initial approach to the City of Greater Bendigo to get the course in the ground, which was ultimately achieved with the help of a council grant and funding from both the Rotary Club of Bendigo Strathdale and their supportive host, Quarry Hill Golf Club.

While the pandemic has hindered attempts to establish itself and build its local following, Bendigo Disc Golf plans to run regular come-and-try days, a pro-am tournament and Friday Night Disc-o events – with coaching, a mini-round and barbecue – when restrictions and daylight allow.

“Disc golf is a great sport to play with friends,” says Jackson. “My mates and I go every Wednesday night in non-COVID times to have a throw, chin wag and catch-up.

“People can be as into it as they want; they can use one disc or several; they can play socially or seriously. There are courses everywhere and new ones are popping up all the time. Tournaments are held most weekends somewhere in Australia, and there are social days where groups of the not-so-serious can still compete.

“As a physiotherapist, I know the importance of getting outside and moving and disc golf allows people to do that amongst nature.

It gets them out and about and helps fulfil health guidelines of doing five 30-minute sessions, or 150 minutes a week, of moderate exercise.”

Bendigo Disc Golf is based at the Quarry Hill Golf Club and costs $5 for a casual round, with discs available to hire or BYO. For details, visit facebook.com/bendigodiscgolf

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