The Local April 10,2023

The Local - The Heart of the Highlands

Front cover: Will Bennett and Emma Horsburgh run Pig and Earth, a sustainable free-range organic pig farm set on the volcanic plains just out of Kingston. Raising and selling fresh pork that’s been lovingly grown there allows them to lead a way of life that meshes with their ethos. Read their story, as part of our producers' series on pages 6 & 7.

The Local is a registered trademark of The Local Publishing Group Pty Ltd.

The Local is a member of the Victorian Country Press Association, with editor Donna Kelly, a former director.

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The content expressed within this publication does not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of The Local Publishing Group Pty Ltd. The Local Publishing Group's editorial guidelines and complaints-handling process can be found at www.tlnews.com.au We welcome all feedback.

The Local is a fortnightly community publication covering the Central Highlands of Victoria.

The next edition is out on Monday, April 24, 2023. or online on Sunday, April 23 at www.tlnews.com.au

Space bookings: Wednesday, April 19

Copy deadline: Thursday, April 20

Editorial deadline: Thursday, April 20

General manager: Kyle Barnes on 0416 104 283 or kyle@tlnews.com.au

Editor: Donna Kelly on 0418 576 513 or news@tlnews.com.au

Editorial assistant: Eve Lamb on 0493 632 843 or editorial@tlnews.com.au

Sub-editors: Nick Bunning, Lindsay Smith & Chester the Cat

Writers: Eve Lamb, Kevin Childs, Tony Sawrey, Jeff Glorfeld, Narelle Groenhout & Donna Kelly

Photographers: Kyle Barnes & Nadine Jade

Graphic designer: Dianne Caithness

Contributors: Glen Heyne (gardening), Darren Lowe (music), Richard Cornish (recipes), Clive Hartley (wine) & Bill Wootton (poetry)

Accounts | Julie Hanson Delivery | Tony Sawrey

Community vet clinic to open this year

The Regional Community Vet Clinic has been awarded $50,000 from the federal government in partnership with the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal.

The clinic, a Mt Alexander Shire-based organisation, received $50,000 which brings the organisation very close to its funding target to build a dedicated facility for not-for-profit veterinary care in regional Victoria.

The grant was awarded to the clinic on the grounds of reducing social isolation, providing volunteer opportunities, and fostering resilience post pandemic through supporting the establishment of a low-cost vet clinic for the companion animals of disadvantaged community members.

The clinic has been operating monthly pop-up clinics and expanded its social outreach program which has already amounted to more than 400 hours of volunteer time spent supporting the community.

The clinic was granted deductible gift recipient status in June last year with all donations over $2 fully tax deductible. To donate head to www,rcvc.org.au/donate/

The clinic is also inviting any organisations interested in corporate giving or sponsorship to contact them at info@rcvc.org.au, call 0493 447 394 or visit www.rcvc.org.au Anyone who wants to volunteer can also find information at those contact points.

The Regional Community Vet Clinic was founded in 2021 with the belief that companion animals play a vital role in the welfare and overall wellbeing of residents in regional communities.

Its mission is to establish facilities that provide affordable, quality veterinary care for companion animals when their owners are experiencing social disadvantage or financial hardship in Central Victoria.

The Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal is the only national foundation specifically focused on ensuring social and economic strength in rural, regional and remote areas of Australia by aligning government, philanthropic and local community purpose and investment.

FRRR provides funding and capacity building support at the hyper-local level.

Words: Donna Kelly

Image: Eve Lamb

The Local - The Heart of the Highlands

Above, from left, volunteer Gaynor Atkin with clinic directors Robyn Slattery, James Mack and Yvette Berkeley Image: Contributed

Ground-breaking AI defamation case

Gordon Legal has launched a ground-breaking defamation claim against OpenAI’s ChatGPT on behalf of Hepburn Shire Council Mayor, Cr Brian Hood.

Gordon Legal alleges Cr Hood’s reputation was defamed by the ChatGPT AI, which incorrectly identified him as an individual who faced charges related to a foreign bribery scandal, rather than his actual role as the whistle-blower in the case.

Cr Hood previously worked for Note Printing Australia - a Reserve Bank of Australia subsidiary - in the early 2000s, when he alerted authorities to officers of NPA and another subsidiary, Securency, paying bribes to overseas agencies to win contracts to print banknotes.

Cr Hood was not charged with any offences. Rather, he alerted the authorities to the wrongdoing and was praised for his bravery in coming forward.

ChatGPT made several false statements when asked about Mr Hood’s involvement in the Reserve Bank of Australia’s foreign bribery case. They included that Cr Hood was accused of bribing officials in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam between 1999 and 2005 and that he was sentenced to 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of false accounting under the Corporations Act.

All of these statements are false. And Gordon Legal filed a Concerns Notice to OpenAI on March 21 detailing the inaccuracy and demanding a rectification.

Cr Hood told The Local that one key objective with the claim was letting people know that ChatGPT was not as secure or accurate as many believed.

"There is not much regulation or control around it. And the information coming out of it has to be reliable. The really odd thing is that you can put in an enquiry and it spits out five or six paragraphs and some are absolutely accurate, with names, times and places all spot on, but then there are others which are false, complete garbage.

"That suggests it is going to certain sites to get the real information but where are the garbage paragraphs coming from? Is it creating them itself? There is nowhere on any site that suggests the sort of things I have been alleged to have done, nothing on the record anywhere, so where is that coming from?

"It is a really weird mixture of fact and fiction and the average punter won't know which paragraph is right and which is wrong. It needs to be nipped in the bud. When it is spitting out stuff that affects people's reputations, or causes harm or doubt, that is just wrong. You put garbage out there and some people will believe it."

Words: Donna Kelly

Your say...

Barringo Reserve

I am in Barringo Reserve, and in the waning sunlight, there is no path to organise my footsteps or show me a clear, linear way of moving.

Instead, I am guided by the rise and fall of the land’s contours and the pull of the plants which catch my eye. In this way, I break past the wall of long-leaved box trees (Eucalyptus goniocalyx) and move from the grassy paddock into the reserve’s wooded interior.

From above, my course of movement would look erratic and inefficient. I zigzag between violet chocolate lilies (arthropodium strictum) and carnivorous sundews (drosera hookeri). My eyes struggle to comprehend the latter, as the sundews have the bronze of the evening light trapped brightly within each green stamen, making me suddenly bent down and eye level with a small solar system.

With a field of these tiny suns blazing all around me, I follow a spur to the back of the reserve. Here, in secrecy, lives a community of grass trees (xanthorrhoea australis). Most are adorned in a brown skirt of expired leaves while some wear a crooked black spire upon their head, a reminder of a season’s flowering.

The grass trees are here every day, slowly rising in the blindspot of our rushing lives and hurried tasks. I contemplate their spindly leaves stretching for sunlight every morning as I eat my breakfast and reaching for eternity in the evening as I brush my teeth. This thought walks with me as I continue through the reserve.

I find my foot midway down a depression in the soil. Water has pooled at the bottom making a dark puddle. Fallen gum leaves, in various states of decay, swim in circles and the tannins steep like eucalyptus tea. All around me as I walk, I can see life leaving the reserve. There is an abandonment in the browning kangaroo grasses (themeda triandra) at this time of year. A goodbye in every ribbon of peeling bark.

I sit with my back sloped against a horse jump, legs straight out in front of me. I tilt my head back and my gaze settles on the canopy of peppermint gums (eucalyptus dives). Their dark, defined leaves fracture the blue dome of sky like a mosaic.

At present I’m inseparable from the droning of flies, the warm and drowsy sun. I feel calm, and my body dissolves like a teaspoon of sugar on my tongue.

- Joanna Beard, Macedon Ranges

Abbatoir thoughts

A flyer in the letterbox entitled ‘Say No to an Abattoir in Eganstown!’ says "our health, environment and way of life are under threat!"

The exclamation marks show the unidentified complainant clearly alarmed.

However, the nine reasons put forward seem exaggerated and inflammatory and on examination specious, not very convincing.

The complainant claims drinking water will be contaminated. A bit insulting to municipalities doing a good job at keeping water pure and potable.

Effluent and waste is to be put on paddocks. Shock horror. Sounds like a treechanger who doesn't know that manure from ruminants is the best fertiliser for regenerating soil, augmenting it with beneficial micro-organisms.

Other good and natural fertilisers are tree ash from fires, silt from floods, and ground rock. In contrast, industrial fertiliser for growing grain in quantity lowers soil quality - especially chemicals originally patented as an antibiotic. They deplete soil and can create a dustbowl effect by killing micro-organisms thereby preventing plants from absorbing minerals essential for health. Result? A booming supplements sector.

Noise and dust from trucks? How many additional trucks will be on the roads every day, one or two? Flies, they cries. Flies are a tiny price to pay for the many significant benefits of local production.

Every town needs its own meat processing facility.

The benefits will be obvious to all as time goes by: food security, local jobs, reduced imports therefore lower food miles, therefore less greenhouse gas emission.

It's neither cows nor rotting organic matter whether animal or vegetable that is the number one producer of greenhouse gases but transportation.

So more power to Tammi and Stuart's farm.

Localism and local produce, that's the way to go, for security, sustainability, real prosperity, and peace. Bankers, traders and internationalism not so much.

Which is why, to borrow the words of The Local editor from another context: "It is so important you support them. At least buy local."

At Least Buy Local. ALBL. And all will be well, O ye of little faith.

- Peter Jenkins, Blampied

Letters and thoughts are always welcome. Keep them shortish, to the point and interesting. Email news@tlnews.com.au

Any addressed Dear Sir will be deleted. You know why :) .

Just briefly...

Cafs' Thread Together Program has received a mobile wardrobe which will allow the delivery of new clothing to reach even more people experiencing hardship across the Central Highlands region.

Operating in Ballarat since 2021, Cafs Thread Together Program is stocked with new clothing and is open, via referral, to anyone in the community who is experiencing hardship including homelessness, women and children escaping family violence, long-term unemployed, refugees, people facing severe illness, children or young people in care and young adults preparing to leave care. Details: 5337 3333.

The federal government is set to fall well short of its goal of building one million homes over five years according a report from the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation, says Tim Reardon, Housing Industry Association’s chief economist.

“Every state and territory needs to take action to attract more investment in the housing sector to improve the supply of new homes,” Mr Reardon said. “Over the decade, this will see an expected 79,300 shortfall in the supply of new homes. This will see the acute rental shortage worsening and unnecessarily high increases in home prices.”

The Fred Hollows Foundation is searching for a new Junior Ambassador among year 6 students in Victoria as part of the 2023 Humanity Award.

The award celebrates children who show compassion, integrity and kindness in their everyday lives. Whether it’s helping others, supporting good causes or volunteering, no act of kindness is too small to acknowledge. In 2022, Matilda Goodbourn, of Emmaus Catholic Primary School in Ballarat, was nominated by her little sister for shining a light on social justice issues. Inspired by The Big Issue magazine, Matilda created her own social justice publication for kids, The Little Issue. Nominations close on July 21. Link: www.hollows.org/au/humanityaward

Hepburn Shire Council is reviewing its Outdoor Dining and Trading Policy.

Mayor Cr Brian Hood said the council made allowances for cafes and restaurants to offer more options for outdoor dining during the Covid-19 pandemic. "Outdoor dining is included in this review and we are interested to hear from the community, business operators and visitors to hear what they think as we plan for the future. We want to support our towns and communities to thrive, but we also need to ensure that these activities are done safely in our shared public spaces." The survey closes on April 14. Link: www.participate.hepburn.vic.gov.au/outdoor-trading

Ballarat local and Adnyamathanha Yuru man, Shu Brown, has been appointed to the Central Highlands Water board of directors as Independent Aboriginal Delegate.

Board chair Angeleen Jenkins said this was a significant position and Mr Brown’s input would enhance the reconciliation work of CHW across the region by strengthening understanding of First Nations peoples' strong spiritual connection to water in Aboriginal culture and identity, and the longstanding commitment to care for and protect water resources. Mr Brown manages the Cultural & Therapeutic Team at the Ballarat and District Aboriginal Cooperative.

Helicopters carrying patients requiring emergency care will be diverted to the Ballarat airport or an oval for three years while a helipad is built on the top of the new multi-level Ballarat Base Hospital.

Minister for Heath and Macedon MP Mary-Anne Thomas announced funding of $54 million to deliver the helipad and an extra 400 parking spaces for staff and patients. Construction on the tower begins next year and is set for completion in 2027. It will include a new emergency department, women and children’s hub, stateof-the-art theatre suite, 100 additional inpatient and short stay beds and the helipad. Ms Thomas said the new helipad would give patients quicker access to the emergency department and operating theatres – "ensuring patients in an emergency get the care they need as fast as possible".

Got a brief to share? Email news@tlnews.com.au

Clayton's story-telling dream

FILM director and producer Clayton Jacobson loves to tell a good story. And when he comes to the Central Highlands region to play double bass in the Duck Downpickers he can cultivate the emotional connections of story telling with his audience.

Their music is old timey/Americana; irreverent and joyful, a perfect medium for communicating tales directly from the heart.

We can often forget in these hyper-modern times the value of this ancient craft and Clayton wants nothing more than to bring such an immediacy found in live music to the medium of film. And his day job as CEO of Dreamscreen Australia is helping to do just that.

Clayton is best known as director for his 2006 debut feature film Kenny starring his brother Shane Jacobson, their dad Ron and himself as Kenny's brother. But over a professional career spanning 30 years he has worked in many areas of production including the ever increasing use of computer graphics and green screen.

Computer graphics production workshops drive the film industry. From superhero blockbusters down to commercials they provide the effects and scenery that help maintain the illusion we hope to be immersed in.

Green screen backdrops on studio stages allow performers to perform roles placed into those rendered virtual environments later on. The process is expensive, time consuming and often difficult for actors to work with.

It is one of the many reasons that the film art form (especially at Hollywood blockbuster level) has been criticised for losing its primary reason for existing; that of a medium for telling stories.

As productions have become more and more complicated and expensive, simple story telling has been buried beneath machinery and vast crews. Clayton, like many creatives in the film industry, started thinking about alternatives. For him that turned out to be the development of LED screens and virtual backdrops.

This is where highly detailed backgrounds, shot live or rendered on computer, can be displayed as virtual scenery for actors to work in front of. It is a simplification of the production process that is destined to take over the film and television industry with the audience never noticing the difference.

“I first came to this sort of technology back in 2004,” says Clayton. “Later in 2009 I did an online web series called Mordy Koots with a gaming company called Uber Soft. That was my first dip into this world of virtual backdrops and I could see the potential, but still the quality of the gaming engine wasn’t quite there.”

The key advancement came around 2016 when gaming engines (processors that live in a console allowing backgrounds in computer games to shift and change in real time) were producing noticeably higher quality rendered environments.

At this point it was just a matter of projecting them on LED screens at larger dimensions (they can be up to 12 metres high and 90 metres long) and since then the take-up has been rapid.

Today there are over 200 LED Volumes (production stages) around the world including Dreamscreen Australia’s 15x5 metre stage in Epping, Melbourne. And what gave Clayton the time and motivation to turn his own Volume I stage into a reality was the advent of Covid.

“When Covid hit I actually had a film I was about to make in Bulgaria with Guy Pearce,” he says, “but that was blown out of the water and I could see that Covid was going to be with us for a few years.

“So I decided to work on establishing Dreamscreen as a means to keep working while the entire film industry was halted due to travel restrictions, lockdowns, limited crews and social distancing.

“But I got so excited by this technology and getting the studio up and running that I’ve been happy to walk away from directing etc to concentrate on this new venture for now because I do believe this is the future of filmmaking.”

The new technology is set to catapult film and TV production through a revolution as seismic as the adoption of CGI in the 1990s. Live backdrop productions have created a disruption in the structure that normally dilutes the story teller's vision.

At the same time in Clayton’s view it is also a chance for those dreamers to broaden the scope of their ideas and a vision to life with an immediacy normally out of reach, something more like that a musician enjoys when interacting with their audience.

“It is no coincidence,” says Clayton, “that one of the first phone calls I got when I was talking publicly about Dreamscreen was from an Australian writer who does a lot of television.

“He was saying: 'Clay, I'm just so thrilled that you are doing this because it means that I’m going to be able to dream bigger, I’m going to be able to offer up stories to the networks that are on a larger scale and they won’t be cut down as easily due to budget constraints'.”

Which brings us back to the Duck Downpickers and the satisfaction of telling a story to an audience where the reactions and feedback are instant.

“I love it every time we play. We get to know the locals who come to watch. It is something to look forward to.

“I can leave all the troubles of the day behind and put it all aside and unlike film, the reaction from an audience is immediate, you get something almost immediately compared to work in the film industry which takes days, weeks, months, even years.”

Words: Tony Sawrey | Images: Contributed

As happy as a pig in mud, literally

The Local is running a producers' series over the next few editions. Here Eve Lamb talks with Will Bennett and Emma Horsburgh at Pig and Earth.

THE sky rolls wide and blue above Pig and Earth, a sustainable free-range organic pig farm set on the volcanic plains just out of Kingston.

For owners Will Bennett and Emma Horsburgh, raising and selling fresh pork that’s been lovingly grown here allows them to lead a way of life that meshes with their ethos.

A walking tour of the 16-hectare farm quickly illustrates that the Old English Large Black breed pigs that forage here - and their cute-as-pie piglets - clearly enjoy their days.

There’s plenty of wallowing in troughs, snuffling for ground treasures, piggy pranks and luxuriating in that rich volcanic earth.

“Each pig has plenty of room to roam, and spends their entire lives outdoors, with access to shelter from bad weather,” Will says.

“Because they're social animals, our pigs are generally kept in pairs or small groups, and young pigs are kept in sibling groups.”

Emma is Sydney-born, has a degree in international studies, and also works for Environment Victoria.

Will, a Victorian local, has a degree in agricultural science, studied fine art at Ballarat’s Federation University, and tries to read 52 books every year – “only succeeding twice”.

Will and Emma, who have an 18-month-old daughter, met while walking 300km across South Australia, campaigning to build Australia’s first solar thermal plant.

Since then they’ve been activists, students and workers engaged in environmental conservation and social justice. The way they farm is strongly informed by their underlying desire to minimise the carbon footprint that goes into keeping human beings fed.

“We’ll have been here for six years in June,” Will says, on the farm that also features their 1930s renovated farmhouse.

“At the moment we’re looking to grow our membership, our subscribers, a bit more.”

Pig and Earth supplies fresh free-range pork - including bacon, sausages, chops and roasts - to the local community and beyond, through a Community Supported Agriculture system.

The system aims to connect consumer and farmer more closely by offering shares into the farm's harvest for a season or for a year. By purchasing shares members, or subscribers, receive a percentage of the harvest weekly, fortnightly, or monthly.

There are various share options to choose from depending on your needs as an individual, couple, or group – including some lamb options as well.

“At the moment we have 50 members and we’re now aiming for 60 and, in the long term, 70,” Will says.

Will and Emma use a holistic approach to farming, incorporating permaculture, free-range and organic principles, paired with a desire to let their animals live as naturally as possible.

“It’s very satisfying, but it can be hard work and pretty full-on,” Will says. “It’s very satisfying knowing I’ve fed 50 or 60 families for the whole month.

“We work with our animals to improve the land that we are on, producing only as much as the land will provide. We’re a small farm with a big vision.

“Because pigs are not ruminants they don’t produce methane and with their feed we are diverting food waste streams from landfill so we’re minimising the carbon footprint.

“In the paddocks our pigs forage the ground as they would naturally, which helps to turn the soil and improve its nutrient content with manure.

“We believe that the best way to produce high quality meat is to be as involved in its production process as possible.

“We’re not just getting covered in mud while trying to care for a small patch of land - although we do love that. We’ve also got big ideas.”

Words & images: Eve Lamb (Next edition - Fleurs de Lyonville.)

Support for transgender and gender diverse Victorians

The state government is supporting transgender and gender diverse Victorians, their families and carers, with funding to expand access to vital mental health and support services.

The government will deliver a $900,000 package to eight organisations to help respond to the additional demand these services are seeing following events late last month.

Funding will go to

• Mind;

• Transcend;

• Transgender Victoria;

• Switchboard;

• Zoe Belle Gender Collective;

• Thorne Harbour Health/Equinox;

• Rainbow Families; and

• Queerspace.

Writing the Rainbow

"The toxic public debate around the hurtful, divisive Let Women Speak march – an anti-trans rally – has had a significant impact on members of the transgender community, and on their loved ones." the media release stated.

"This package will boost counselling and family therapy, referrals and peer support to ensure LGBTIQ+ Victorians, their families and carers can get the support they need – and that they know it’s available.

"Just as LGBTIQ+ Australians should never have been subject to a plebiscite on whether they deserved to marry the person they love, transgender Victorians should not have to endure their worth being debated by a so-called ‘mainstream political party.’

Minister for Equality Harriet Shing said trans people routinely endured abuse, violence, and discrimination in the name of free speech.

"The (debate) has caused further trauma for an already vulnerable group. Trans people deserve better, and this funding will help organisations to provide crucial support, safety, and care."

Meanwhile, Hepburn Shire Council raised the trans flag in Daylesford in recognition of Trans Day of Visibility on March 31.

Mayor Cr Brian Hood said the international Trans Day of Visibility was an important day and recognised and celebrated trans and gender diverse people and their important contribution to the community.

"The diversity of our community is one of the wonderful things about our shire.

"We strongly support inclusion and we are committed to ensuring our community is a place where trans and gender diverse people feel safe and welcome.

"We know that a number of recent events have regrettably impacted our LGBTIQA+ community. Council has a zero tolerance towards violence of any kind, which of course includes violence against the rainbow community.

"In our Prevention of Violence Leadership statement we declare that we condemn not only the abuse itself but also societal attitudes that normalise it, tolerate it or create an atmosphere to perpetuate it. Violent behaviour is inexcusable, preventable and simply unacceptable.

"As councillors, we feel a responsibility to help create a Hepburn Shire that is a safe place for everyone. Today we celebrate our trans and gender diverse people. We see you, we appreciate you. You matter."

Trans Day of Visibility is celebrated on March 31.

Link: www.tdov.org.au/

DAYLESFORD | KYNETON | TRENTHAM

New public art installed at Glenlyon Dam

THE Drop, a $30,000 Hepburn Shire Council public art commission by artist Yu Fang Chi, has been installed at the Glenlyon Dam. The sculpture is a 2.5 metre high reflective stainless steel sculpture in the form of a giant water droplet.

The work was chosen from a shortlist of artist proposals by members of the council's Public Art Advisory Committee.

A media release said the committee felt the artist’s concept connected on many levels to the local area "through the environment, climate change, community interaction with the dam, springs and river, the Djaara people and the overall importance of water to our community".

"A series of circular inlays on the concrete base of The Drop provide clues to the artist’s intentions. The Dja Dja Wurrung word ‘wanyarram’, (meaning ‘water’) connects the work to the importance of water to First Nations peoples. The colour of the inlaid details references the role gold played in the area during the 19th century."

Mayor Cr Brian Hood said the internationally renowned artist had created an important addition to public art in the shire.

"This piece fits so beautifully in the landscape. It reflects the surrounding area and is placed where it is visible right across Glenlyon Dam," Cr Hood said.

"Public art is meant to be accessible and engaging. It starts conversations and I expect this will get people talking."

The track to the artwork is blocked by a locked chain on both sides of the dam. A council spokesperson later said as "a water production reserve" vehicle access was restricted.

The council will host an official opening on Thursday, May 4 at 2pm.

Yu Fang Chi is a Taiwan-born, Melbourne-based artist working within textile, silversmithing, sculpture, and spatial installation.

Chi gained a doctorate from RMIT University and received the Diana Morgan Gold & Silversmithing Prize in 2018. In 2019, she received Career Development Grants from the Australia Council for the Arts and International Cultural Exchange Grants from Taiwan National Culture and Arts Foundation.

Words: Donna Kelly | Image: Kyle Barnes & contributed

Brendan rocking his life at Hepburn House

BRENDAN Dundas is, in his own words, a rock star. And it’s true. Brendan was one of the lucky 12 residents of Hepburn House who appeared in the 20/21 fundraising calendar with the theme of famous movies. Brendan donned a leather jacket and a plastic wig to transform into the role of John Travolta in Grease. And in the latest calendar, all about "ageing disgracefully", he is back just strutting his style again.

Celebrating his 70th birthday on December 4 this year, Brendan moved into Hepburn House 12 years ago and clearly loves his home. “There are great meals, great staff and great views,” he says. “I like everything here.”

On a Wednesday, “when I am not being a rock star”, he studies cooking at Daylesford Neighbourhood House, where his favourite meal is snags on the barbie.

He also heads there on Tuesdays to get involved in their gardening classes and happily joins in on trips to Melbourne for different excursions.

“I love being involved in different things. I enjoy my life, and everything is good.

“I grew up in Daylesford, went to school here, and I know a lot of people. It has changed a lot but I like that, it’s all good.”

Brendan was born in Melbourne and grew up with nine brothers and three sisters. His father worked in the cement industry and Brendan remembers lending a hand and helping carry bags of cement for delivery. He still has fond memories of his pet pooch at the time, a labrador called Blossom.

At Hepburn House, he keeps busy doing the vacuuming and still does his own washing. He will often meet up with his brother Ross and head out for lunch and the odd pot of beer.

As evident with his Grease role, Brendan loves listening to music and has quite the collection of tapes from the local opportunity shop. Horses are also an interest. He also has a ready smile and is always up for a chat with other residents or visitors.

Hepburn House is a progressive aged care centre offering a highly advanced, fully personalised range of aged care services for residents.

The dedicated staff work to create a comfortable, friendly and diverse community. Opening later this year is a LGBTIQA+ friends and allies wing along with a 15-bed state-of-the-art wing to cater for residents with dementia with a gym and theatre.

For information call 5348 8100 or head to www.hepburnhouse.com.au

The Local is running a

Mother's Day

advertising feature in the April 24 edition. To advertise contact Kyle on 0416 104 283 or sales@tlnews.com.au

Just briefly...

There is now a regional fare cap on public transport.

The cost of a daily ticket on the regional Victorian network is now capped at the same prices as metropolitan daily fares – currently $9.20 for a full fare or $4.60 for a concession. On a weekend or public holiday, daily fares are capped at $6.70 and currently just $3.35 for a concession. The fare cap applies to all PTV regional buses, town buses and V/Line trains and coaches.

Aboriginal elders in Ballarat will soon have access to a culturally specific independent living village.

Located near Ballarat’s city centre, the project includes eight self-contained units, a central hall for community meals, treatment rooms for medical personnel and a vegetable garden. There are more than 700 Aboriginal people aged 45 and over across five local government areas in western Victoria – including Ballarat and Moorabool, Hepburn, Golden Plains and Pyrenees shires.

Applications for the 2023 Upskill and Invest Young Farmers Scholarships are now open.

The program offers scholarships of up to $10,000 with each recipient initially receiving up to $5000 to support their training and study, and up to $5000 to invest in putting their new skills into practice. Successful applicants can receive training in areas such as business and risk management, genetics and pasture management, digital agriculture or adapting to climate change. When they complete their studies, they can invest in professional development and business planning, on-farm practices or equipment and technology.

Central Highlands Water says it has made good progress on the $15 million Daylesford Water Supply Pipeline, with 1.6 kilometres of the first stage of the pipeline installation now complete.

CHW managing director Jeff Haydon said the pipeline would provide, when required, more than 300 million additional litres per annum of supplementary water for the community and future-proof the water needs of the service area against the impacts of climate change. “Stage 1 of the pipeline installation has been focused on areas near Ridge Road, Daylesford, and is expanding to a new location, along the roadside of the Midland Highway from Blampied towards Daylesford.” The underground 400mm diameter water pipeline will extend from Blampied, connecting to the Goldfields Superpipe, with the end connection for the pipeline at the Daylesford Water Treatment Plant.

Residents are encouraged to have their say on the future electoral structure of Hepburn Shire Council, in response to the Victorian Electoral Commission releasing three preliminary options.

The options are: an unsubdivided electoral structure (no wards) with seven councillors elected from across the shire; a subdivided electoral structure with a total of four wards and eight councillors; or a subdivided electoral structure with a total of seven wards and seven councillors, one councillor from each ward. Submissions close at 5pm on April 19 and a public hearing will take place at 10am on Wednesday 26 April. Link: www.vec.vic.gov.au/hepburn.

The Daylesford Neighbourhood Centre has been given a $10,000 grant for its Community Co-Working Spaces to support community members working remotely.

The funding comes from the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, which has awarded $2.3 million in grants to 176 community projects across remote, rural and regional Australia as part of its Strengthening Rural Communities program.

The e-scooter trial is being extended across Victoria.

More than 3.7 million short trips have been taken on e-scooters in Melbourne, alongside more than 200,000 in Ballarat, throughout the trial. Riders must wear a helmet, be at least 16 and adhere to the same blood alcohol content and drug use restrictions as car drivers. E-scooters can only be used on roads with a speed limit of 60 kilometres or less and can be ridden on roads, in bicycle lanes, on bicycle paths or separated and shared paths – but not on footpaths. E-scooters cannot travel above 20kmh and 'devices' capable of exceeding 25 kilometres per hour are not classified as e-scooters and are still illegal. No passengers or pets are allowed. The trial starts on April 5. Link: www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/escooters

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Artists of the Central Highlands

AN ONGOING love affair with all things Italian informs the aesthetic in the much collected and admired work of Daylesford artist Brian Reberger. Each year, Brian spends time working in his studios in both Daylesford and Umbria, Italy. Now he’s preparing for a significant exhibition coming up at Steps Gallery in Carlton in May.

Eve: How do you describe your artistic style?

Brian: My artistic style isn’t easy to categorise. I guess a realist with a twist, capturing fleeting moments in people’s daily lives, or aspects of nature. The finished works often resonate deeply with the viewer.

Eve: How did you come to art?

Brian: I came to art almost by accident. As a floundering 19-year-old in a very small country hometown in NSW, one day a close family friend invited me to visit her art studio. She sensed that there was perhaps an untapped artist flair awaiting release. That day changed my life, I never looked back and I will always be indebted to Molly Lewis.

Eve: Which artists influence your own work?

Brian: My influencers and admired artist list has always been broad and varied. They include Piero della Francesca and Raphael for an Italian Renaissance mix. Then Edward Hopper, David Hockney, Francis Bacon and Jeffrey Smart for a more modern addition.

Eve: What is your medium or media of choice?

Brian: In the past I have worked in oil on canvas, and chalk pastel on Italian rag paper. For the past few years, I have specialised in charcoal on rag paper. It is a medium that many artists find difficult, but I thoroughly enjoy the depth of contrast achievable and the challenge of keeping it in total control. Sometimes I also incorporate a broad mix of varying media with the charcoal. It all depends on the individual piece, and the look I want in the finished work. I love that there are no ‘rules’. Anything is possible and experimenting can often surprise both the artist and the viewer in a very positive and unexpected way.

Eve: What is your subject matter of choice?

Brian: My subject matter has always had a very strong Italianate influence. Indeed, I have always had a very strong calling for everything Italian, and now I am very fortunate to spend time in Italy each year, cementing and gathering the inspiration, and working in my Italian second studio. The first studio being in Daylesford. It is fascinating how spending time in a place as a local totally changes the finished outcome. You are able to view from the inside, not merely as an outside observer passing through.

Eve: Have you ever worked in any other area besides your arts practice?

Brian: Of course, in my younger days there were the hospitality experiences to supplement my art practice. Later on I was fortunate to be the buyer for a boutique homewares store specialising in European high end products. Even though I am a full-time artist, I now work casually as an extra for film and television.

Working in the art studio can become a solitary, introspective experience, so the extras work allows me to meet new people, experience at very close range a totally diverse art practice - the crazy, manic world of film production - and travel to many varying locations. It allows great flexibility with working hours.

with Eve Lamb

Eve: What are you working on at the moment in your current arts practice?

Brian: I am completing two major private commissions to take back to Italy later this year. I have been very lucky in recent years to have successfully completed many major commission projects. This was particularly so during the Covid lockdowns. I am also working towards my solo retrospective exhibition to be held the first week of May 2023 at Steps Gallery in Carlton.

Eve: When you work in the studio do you like to play music?

Brian: This is a very important question for me, and one that artists are seldom asked about. My artworks take from weeks to months to complete each one, and for me working on them becomes like a form of meditation. Hence the preparation for work each day is an important ritual. With lighting, scent, and of course sound in the studio all being important considered elements. For the music I have created a carefully edited, and often tweaked, Spotify playlist for the studio comprising close to 10,000 tracks.

It is a very eclectic mix ranging from opera and classical, to ambient, Italian pop and current music, each one chosen for a personal resonance. Played on shuffle, so I am constantly surprised and the concentration is tweaked without being interrupted.

Eve: To date, what have been your career highlights as an artist?

Brian: Every exhibition is a wonderful highlight. Over the years I have had many, and the opportunity to share your work, and discuss it with visitors and clients, is always wonderful. Also I have been told on numerous occasions from collectors of my works that my paintings have changed their lives, or give them endless joy when they look at them daily. Such feedback is always such a positive affirmation that the time spent on the creative process is never in vain.

Eve: Do you have any exhibitions or special arts events coming up?

Brian: Yes, I have a very special exhibition planned very soon. This will be my 40 + 1 year retrospective exhibition. I have called it ‘My Italian Life’ and it will be a celebration of my career as an artist for over 40 years, and also celebrating my ongoing love affair with all things Italian, in particular the people, the landscape and its culture. Works from all periods of my career will be exhibited. It is at Steps Gallery, 62 Lygon Street Carlton (the city end) from May 2 to May 7. The opening hours are 11am to 5pm daily. I invite all your readers to visit if they can, and make themselves known to me, as I will be there each day.

Image: Eve Lamb

Bushwalker rescued from mine at Sailors Fall

A bushwalker in his 30s was rescued after falling down a mineshaft near Sailors Falls on Sunday morning, April 2.

Leonards Hill Fire Brigade captain Marc Dankers, who was the incident controller, said he received a call at 11.41am about the incident off Telegraph Road.

"It was a confined space rescue, a mineshaft, so that activated a specialist mining unit which was the CFA's Oscar 1 unit, located in Bendigo and Castlemaine.

"We also had Fire Rescue Victoria's Hazmat 68 from Lucas in Ballarat, and a FRV pumper from Ballarat City because of the possibility of toxic gases."

Support also came from Daylesford CFA, FRV's District Operations, Ballan Group FCV, Birch Group FCV, Ambulance Victoria and Victoria Police.

Captain Dankers said the man and a woman, in their 30s, had been bushwalking in the area with their dogs when the man "misstepped" and fell into the mineshaft.

The woman called triple zero.

"The mineshaft turned out to be reasonably small, with a narrow shaft and only about two metres deep. So that was very lucky," Captain Dankers said.

"The man just misstepped - there are heaps of mineshafts around that area - and despite a dislocated shoulder, was eventually able to climb out with assistance using a ladder. Everyone worked really well as a team to get that good result.

"It's the first mineshaft rescue I have been involved in but you hear about them from other areas, they do happen, but often people can get themselves out of trouble."

Captain Dankers said the rescue took a couple of hours and as they were debriefing, a call came from Ambulance Victoria that a man had fallen off his horse in Blampied. He had broken his femur, the thigh bone, and was in a lot of pain.

"He needed assistance so it turned out to be quite the afternoon - and I want to thank everyone involved."

Captain Dankers said being a CFA volunteer meant you could be called to any kind of incident "from car accidents and traffic incidents to fires and bush rescues". "It really is very diverse but that makes it interesting as well."

Words: Donna Kelly | Image: Contributed

Get to know your garden's friends

From the time Peta and I took over the drought-ridden property that became our home, we were determined to “practise what I preached” in all my writings and broadcasts - throw away those chemicals and let nature take its course.

The resultant health issues through growing up and working amid a chemical saturated, family nursery taught me that simple message.

Rachel Carson’s terrifying treatise on the destruction of wildlife through the use of pesticides, Silent Spring, was the final decider.

In the 15 years since we moved in, we’ve been delighted with the steadily increasing number and varieties of the avian and predator insect life. Thankfully it has also coincided with a dramatic decline in sap suckers and leaf chewers.

The bug hotels and other residential attractions and spider-web tolerance are beginning to pay dividends, it’s now our second year of aphid-free roses and our birdbaths are in constant demand.

The parrot nesting box has, for the third year, become a weekend retreat for a ringtail possum, and our slug and snail population is taken care of by Lennie the neighbourhood shingleback lizard.

So let’s all learn to identify, protect and encourage our resident predator insects to administer their own form of biological pest control. In some countries people have to buy them commercially to help keep their gardens and crops pest-free.

Believe it or not, one of the most effective of all predacious insects is that dainty, little, red-spotted ladybird beetle with a main diet of soft-bodied insects like aphis, mealybugs, scale and spider mites. Best of all, they begin their feasting while in the larvae stage and, if times are tough and food supplies are scarce, they’ll turn their attention onto the larvae of many beetles and weevils.

Next on the list is the praying mantis - that ferocious-looking grasshopper-like fellow with enormous eyes and two arm-like forelegs which are always ready to grab anything moving. It is an insectivore and won’t harm any vegetation. But is always ready to grab anything that flies or moves close by.

They don’t stray very far and stay localised in the same area so if you can gather a few they will serve you faithfully for a long time. They lay frothy egg cases with 50 or more eggs in each, several times a year, so can build up numbers quite quickly.

Lacewings, those fragile greenish, large mosquito-like creatures, just love aphis and similar soft-bodied insects. Their larvae, which some call ant lions, live in the sand in funnel-like holes and eat any unsuspecting ant or bug that might stumble in.

The hoverfly, pictured, is so named because of their striped abdomen and formation hovering habits and are quite harmless, mainly thriving on nectar. Their larvae feed on various larvae.

I am also compelled to mention spiders, because they play a major role as pest destroyers in the garden. I say 'compelled' because I confess to being a practising arachnophobe due to a somewhat embarrassing and terribly painful encounter (you guessed it) in my early teens. God bless modern internal plumbing.

I am more than comfortable in having our garden draped with spider webs as long as they continue to help keep the garden pest-free. I’m also quite comfortable with Peta naming the occasional huntsman that takes up residence in the house, as long as they stay away from our bedroom - and the toilet.

Huntsman spiders belong to the international tarantula tribe and are, on the whole, quite harmless as long they are left alone including, the golden huntsman, pictured, which prefers the outdoors, finding their food among the bark of large trees.

Show winners onto Melbourne

Two Daylesford Show winners are competing in the Royal Melbourne Show - after winning in their categories at the Midlands Group of Victorian Agricultural Show.

Sharni Digby in Crochet and Rosemary Keogh in the Open Carrot Cake were announced best in show at the Midlands Group's annual dinner at the Maldon Community Centre on Friday, March 24.

Eight Daylesford Show winners competed against winners from Ballarat, Beaufort, Clunes, Kingston and Maldon shows for the right to represent the district at the Royal Melbourne Show, from September 22 to October 2 this year.

The Daylesford Show last November featured 25 classes in the pavilion section and had nine winners represented at Maldon.

Those winners were: Crochet - Sharni Digby, pictured right, Carrot Cake - Open - Rosemary Keogh, Rich Fruit Cake - SeniorJanet MacDonald, Boiled Fruit Cake - Junior - Lachlan Apsley, Photography - Open - Emily Hicks, Blokes' Chocolate Cake - Mick Bolton, Embroidery - Gail Joordens, Set Subject Photography - Senior - Pam Sheean and Set Subject Photography - Junior - Albert Meadows.

Daylesford Agricultural Show president Don Harvey, pictured above, said the group dinner was attended by more than 70 show representatives and winners with speeches by junior and senior show ambassadors and a presentation from the former Bendigo Bank Community Development manager Geoff English.

Mr Harvey said Daylesford would be hosting next year's group dinner in the runup to presenting its 150th show.

"A number of classes had no representation this year including sewing, scones, cross stitch, decorated cupcakes and a posy of seasonal flowers - all of which you would think would be popular in Daylesford.

"Let's hope we can be represented next year by more winners from the Daylesford Show on November 25."

Tractors & classic vehicles

The Bullarto-Trentham Tractor Pull and Classic Vehicle Display will be held at Trentham Railway Station on Sunday, April 23 from 10.30am.

The railway site allows spectators to sit along the raised platforms on either side of the railway tracks for a better view of the tractors working hard to pull the sled for the full 100 metreshopefully allowing the crowd to call out "full pull".

Along with several classes of tractors there will also be about 60 classic vehicles on display under the auspices of the Trentham Car Club.

They will be judged by Graeme Orr, Ballarat MP Catherine King and Hepburn Shire Mayor Cr Brian Hood.

Bullarto Public Hall committee president Sandra Barnfield said there will be something for everyone who likes a country fair.

There is free entertainment by the Daylesford Community Brass Band and a free petting zoo for the kids. There's also a raffle and silent auction with tickets available and bids accepted throughout the day.

Entry is $5 with children under 12 free. Classic vehicle entry is $5.

MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR

VNI West project - Hepburn Shire Council has made a submission on the latest consultation report into the Victoria to New South Wales Interconnector West (VNI West) project.

Hepburn Shire is one of the most proactive and innovative councils within Victoria in supporting the transition to renewable energy. We also appreciate the need to secure the state’s future energy supplies while avoiding high energy costs to consumers. In that context, Council is keen to see clear and transparent processes in the planning, and the proper assessment, treatment and mitigation of impacts on communities. Decisions made about major transmission infrastructure will have very long-term implications for host communities.

There are already successful examples of High Voltage Direct Current underground transmission line projects in Australia (Murraylink) and overseas (SuedLink, Germany) that provide relevant case studies. Council and its local government partners will continue to advocate for consideration of the appropriate use of alternative underground transmission technology.

Council has also called for AusNet Transmission Group to release more detail on compensation plans as a matter of urgency. We are deeply concerned the proposed options will have a seriously adverse impact with 80 metre high towers and 100 metre wide easements encroaching across the state’s best agricultural land. This imposition warrants appropriate compensation determined fairly in accordance with the Land Acquisition and Compensation Act 1986. However, no matter the quantum of compensation it will never fully address the devastating, but avoidable, damage to farming, tourism and landscape amenity caused by these imposing towers and inappropriate route alignment.

Council will provide ongoing updates via Council’s engagement website https://participate.hepburn.vic.gov.au/VNI-West

And...what impact this scar across our landscape will have on the bid to have UNESCO list Victoria’s goldfields as a world heritage site remains to be seen.

Community grants open

Round 4 of Community Grants is now open until Friday 28 April. If you’re part of a community group or not-for-profit organisation and are looking to fund a new project, we want to hear from you. Take a look at the guidelines and apply via our website.

The Drop

A stunning new public artwork, ‘The Drop’, has been installed at the Glenlyon Dam. International artist, Yu Fang Chi, has created a polished stainless steel sculptural form that considers water in the landscape. It sits beautifully in the surrounding bush environment only a short walk from the entry road to Glenlyon Dam, in a location that also allows the work to be viewed across the water. The work reflects the artist’s focus on the natural environment and is a worthy addition to our public art collection. The piece was commissioned in 2021. Congratulations to the organisers on another successful CresFest event and thanks to the thousands who attended and supported numerous events over the weekend.

Cr Brian Hood, MAYOR

COUNCIL PLAN FOCUS AREAS

HAVE YOUR SAY ON OUTDOOR TRADING

We are reviewing our Outdoor Dining and Trading Policy and invite you to have a say. Outdoor dining and trading typically includes elements such as tables, chairs, barrier screens, umbrellas, A-frame signage, display stands and planter boxes. Find out more and complete a short survey at https://participate.hepburn.vic.gov.au/outdoor-trading before Tuesday 11 April. The survey opened Monday, 27 March 2023. We’re working on a broader project for dog parks around the Shire, and more information will be available later this year.

ANZAC DAY AROUND THE SHIRE

Daylesford

Dawn Service (6.15am arrival for a 6.30am start) at the Daylesford Cenotaph. March at 10.30am followed by a service.

Hepburn Service at 8.30am at the Memorial Gates in Tenth Street.

Trentham

Dawn Service at the Trentham Cenotaph commencing at 5.55am. March at 11.30am followed by service and wreath-laying.

Clunes

Dawn Service at Clunes Cenotaph - Cnr Fraser & Service Streets commencing at 6.00 am. Cemetery Commemoration Service commencing at 8.30am

March at 10.45am from RSL to the Cenotaph, with commemoration and wreath laying at the Cenotaph at 11.00am.

Creswick/Smeaton

Dawn Service at 5.50am at the Cenotaph, Albert Street, followed by the Gunfire Breakfast at Senior Citizens Rooms. March will commence at 10.30am from the corner of Midland Hwy and Victoria St. ANZAC Day Service at 11.00am at Creswick Cenotaph. Two up from 2:00pm in front of the RSL Hall.

Kingston

Assemble at 8.45am with service from 9am to 9.30am at the Cenotaph on the corner of Kingston and Victoria Rds.

Eganstown Service at 9.00am at Old Main Road.

Visit www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/ANZAC-Day-2023 for road closures and updates

PET REGISTRATIONS

Don’t forget that pet registrations are due by Monday 10 April. If your pet is already registered you should have received a reminder notice in the post. If you haven’t received it please get in touch with our Health and Safety Community Team on (03) 5348 2306. There are discounts for registration of older pets and working animals, and the first year of registration is free for desexed and microchipped dogs and cats.

Find out more at www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/Pet-registrations

The Council Plan 2021-2025 describes how Council will strive towards our vision, where to focus efforts, and how to measure progress. Each Focus Area has a series of priority statements, with actions against each item.

EAT | DRINK | ENJOY

Out & About in the Central Highlands

Let’s support our community

“Locals supporting Locals”

Restaurants, Bakers, Butchers, Cafe’s, Local vineyards, Distillers, Brewers and of course each other.

Remember we offer free delivery, T&Cs apply.

Delivery times are Monday to Saturday between 10am and 4pm.

We accept credit cards over the phone or we have an on-board eftpos machine. You will need to be at home for the delivery with proof of age if asked by the driver.

Give the Foxxy team a call on 5348 3577. Keep safe, everyone.

Wine notes with Clive Hartley

Gambling on gamay

Some of the first gamay vines were planted in Australia by Len Evans in 1976 at his aptly named home, Loggerheads. I remember driving past the vines on the way to see him and questioning his sanity.

“You obviously don’t have vision,” was his tart reply. However, I reckon the Hunter Valley is a tad warm for gamay and it is better suited to our cool climate region.

Lyons Will Estate definitely think so as they have just increased their plantings, and now boast of having the most comprehensive array of gamay clones in Australia. Owners Ollie Rapson and Renata Morello have joined forces with KC Vines and Rootstocks of Mildura and are trialling seven new clones.

They planted their first gamay vines in 2014 and started production in 2017 of this early ripening variety. In my books it is not much of a gamble. The grape is renowned for producing beaujolais in France and it has been a sweet-heart varietal in Australian sommelier circles for a while.

Styles vary from light and fruity to more serious pinot-like wines given oak treatment. Grapes often undergo what is called a semi-carbonic maceration whereby the bunches of grapes are placed in a vat and the weight crushes the grapes at the bottom which then starts to ferment.

This triggers all sorts of reactions including an intracellular fermentation in the unbroken grapes which makes a softer wine with cherry, kirsch and confectionery aromas.

Lyons Will 2022 Gamay has just been released and it's delicious. Fifty per cent went through a semi-carbonic maceration with another four weeks on skins and then it was matured in old French oak.

The resulting wine is full of aromas of cherries with some cinnamon and spice notes. The light bodied palate has more sweet red fruits with soft tannins, the finish is pleasantly persistent and long.

* Clive Hartley has just published the 7th edition of his book The Australian Wine Guide and is running a two-hour master class on the Macedon Ranges featuring 8 local wines on April 29 and June 3. To purchase a book or tickets go to www.australianwineguide.com.au

Wine notes with Clive Hartley will run regularly in the The Local

Music news with Darren Lowe

CresFest 23

From little things, big things grow. This festival went leaps and bounds toward establishing itself as a fixture on the music calendar in its second year, demonstrating a level of professionalism, confidence and maturity which was admirable and a credit to all involved.

This year ironed out a few glitches, ticketing being more streamlined and the sheer volume and good nature of volunteers helping to run the festival to make the spread of venues feel inclusive, unified, with a strong, palpable, sense of community.

Creswick had some beautiful venues and performers were suited to the room, the audience and the acoustics. Upstairs The American hosted a lovely opening ceremony then a constant stream of solo, duos and bands. I was lucky enough to hear Greg Champion, pictured, entertain a roomful of admirers followed by Cat Canteri with her heartfelt personal tales of inner city gut-wrenching material, where you could almost hear the audience holding their breath.

Archer, as always, is mesmerizing, channelling classic US mavericks such as Hank Williams, somehow incorporating Americana seamlessly into Outback Australian yarns, where it all makes sense. Combine this with Appalachian songstress, picker and two step dancer, Martha Spencer and you have a perfect combination.

Leavers Hotel is an amazing venue, often reaching capacity early but you wouldn’t change a thing to affect the ambience, even if you can't always get in.

The Town Hall held a range of acts in a traditional concert set up. The town's community centre, primary schools, churches and halls all became functioning performance venues. There were plenty of free gigs in The Farmers Arms pub and at various outdoor venues.

Sound was impeccable at all venues with stage managers running the gigs like clockwork. The word was out with impromptu jams occurring on the street and in the pubs with a distinct Celtic flavour.

The organising committee should be commended. Arising bravely in a nervous, not quite post-Covid environment, we now have a fully-fledged, mature and inspiring local festival. Make sure you get there in '24.

Gig Guide

Daylesford Hotel, Daylesford

Friday, April 14, 6pm – Ania (piano sessions)

Saturday, April 15, 6pm – The Martini Set

Sunday, April 16, 5pm – Rosario De Marco

Thursday, April 20, 6pm – Don Morrison

Friday, April 21, 6pm – Kim and the Meme

Saturday, April 22, 8pm – Isabel Rumble

Sunday, April 23, 5pm - Katankin

Palais-Hepburn, Hepburn

Friday, April 14 – Stevie Rigby & guests

Saturday, April 15 – D’Arcy Spiller & guests

Friday, April 21 - Honeyfields & Corn Nut Creek

Friends for over 20 years, Honeyfields’ bond was forged through sitting around kitchen tables or campfires singing and playing their favourite songs and tunes. Formerly known as The Beenies, they have performed together at major venues and festivals across Australia.

Bound together through sisterhood with a spiritual connection to nature, Corn Nut Creek's Danielle Vita and Tanya Bradley are storytellers whose original songs draw upon the traditions of Appalachian music. They were finalists and awarded Jurors' Top Five in the 2020 Blues and Roots Radio International Song Competition.

Saturday, April 22 - Stewart D'Arrietta - Tom Waits for No Man

Wombat Forest Vineyard

Saturday, April 15 - Annual Locals' Day - Music by Jared Brentnall, 1pm-4pm

one of a kind Be sure to book ahead for dinner, music, events & accommodation. Check for more details here: daylesfordhotel.com.au

The Daylesford Hotel is one of a kind. It’s majesty, it’s music and it offers many spaces, with over 100 year’s of history in the heart of town. A traditional style pub with all the modern delights, offering pub meals as well as a broader range for all dietary wants and needs. Wine & dine on the Sunset Balcony overlooking greater Daylesford or find a Cosy Corner and curl up next to the fire inside. Finally, after many years we are back. Open from midday everyday with lunch specials and entertainment in the evenings; including Open Mic on Mondays, Trivia on the Wednesdays & live music through to Sundays.

WELCOME TO

VICTORIA'S BEST COUNTRY PUB.

Christ Church Concerts

After the success of concerts last year and a recent four-concert music festival, Christ Church is holding a new concert series.

The six concerts start in June and will all be held at Christ Church, Daylesford.

They will cover from baroque to romantic periods with song and unique instruments, including the musette, the smallest and most charming bagpipe, to a full string ensemble and the big sounds of the much-loved town band, above.

Saturday, June 24 - Christine Douglas & Studio Singers, Adam Przewlocki pianist - a feast of song from Purcell to Puccini.

Saturday, July 29 - Ensemble Pompadour – Laura Vaughan viola da gamba and Simon Rickard baroque musette.

Saturday, August 26 - The Coomoora Ensemble – Alison Catanach baroque flute, Elizabeth Welsh baroque violin, Edwina Cordingley baroque cello, Ruth Wilkinson viola da gamba and Ann Morgan harpsichord.

Saturday, September 30 - The Saltbush Ensemble – Reidun Turner viola da gamba, Joy Lee harpsichord and Stephanie Eldridge baroque violin.

Saturday, October 28 - Klemantyne Ensemble – Nicci Dellar, Yvonne Holley first violins, Elise Wright, Jill Gilbert second violins, Louise Hildyard, Kate Both viola, Miriam Kriss, Nigel Smith cello and Francis Chataway double bass.

Saturday, November 25 - Daylesford Community Brass Band – Mark Lyall music director, Sue Morris deputy music director, Jenny Jordan artistic director. The much loved 160-year-old town band returns after their triumphant concert last year. Presenting Light of Gold, an evocation of music’s power to illuminate and inspire, drawn from various musical genres and styles, from classical to contemporary.

Link: www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1040691

@pigandwhistlehotel

705 James Lane, Trentham East, Victoria

Since 1887, the Pig & Whistle Hotel has nestled on a quiet corner in Trentham East, a living remain of the town’s early history. Truly a hidden gem, you’ll be transported back in time, with our newly-opened beer garden boasting uninterrupted views of Mount Macedon.

The Pig serves up a modern-Australian menu with honest hearty pub classics (we do a bloody good parma), along with seasonal global dishes. We take great care in delivering food of the highest quality, sourced from sustainable local produce, coupled with our praised friendly service.  The hotel is truly a local pub but a destination for all.

Bullarto-Trentham

Vintage Tractor Pull and Classic Vehicle Display

On Sunday, April 23, the Bullarto and Trentham communities will again partner to deliver an iconic and long-running Vintage Tractor Pull and Classic Vehicle Display in a combined meet-up at the Trentham Station. Trophies will be awarded to all winners. There will be a BBQ, coffee, cakes, entertainment by Daylesford

Community Brass Band, activities for the kids - including a free petting zoo, and plenty of spots for autumn picnics with family and friends. There will be a silent auction and raffles.

See the best vintage tractors from across Victoria compete and a terrific classic vehicle display by the Trentham Car Club and others. $5 for adults and children under 12 are free.

Sunday, April 23 10.30am to 4pm

Trentham Railway Station, Victoria Street, Trentham

For more information please email bullartohall@gmail.com or go to the Bullarto Tractor Pull Facebook page.

To market, to market

YOU can find everything you need at weekend markets, from fresh fruit and veg to handmade jewellery and wares, throughout the Central Highlands and surrounds. Here are just a few.

Daylesford Sunday Market – every Sunday

Wesley Hill Market - every Saturday

Daylesford Farmers Market – first Saturday

Trentham Neighbourhood Centre Makers Market - first Saturday

Golden Plains Farmers Market - first Saturday

Woodend Farmers Market - first Saturday

Castlemaine Artists’ Market – first Sunday

Trentham Community Group Market - second Saturday

Kyneton Farmers Market - second Saturday

Ballan Farmers Market - second Saturday

Kyneton Rotary Community Market – second Saturday

Maldon Market – second Sunday

Clunes Farmers Market - second Sunday

Trentham Farmers Market and Makers Market - third Saturday

Glenlyon Farmers Market – third Saturday

Leonards Hill Market - third Saturday

Creswick Market - third Saturday

Talbot Farmers Market – third Sunday

Woodend Lions Market - third Sunday

Trentham Station Sunday Market - fourth Sunday

Buninyong Village Market - fourth Sunday

Autumn Osso Buco

BY RICHARD CORNISH

This is a deeply satisfying osso buco that is made without tomatoes. It has a delicate citrus tang from a little orange rind and an earthy note from the sage. This is such a light version of osso buco, it can easily be served on its own with just a glass of refreshing white wine or a glass of pinot noir.

For this recipe and many others, click on the QR code below or visit daylesfordmeatco.com.au

WE OUR LOCALS

We are proud to offer you Green Hills Natural Beef and Lamb from our very own farm in Malmsbury. It’s as local as you are. In store today.

WHOLE GREEN HILLS PORTERHOUSE ONLY $99

Porterhouse is one of the most popular cuts of steak and what many call the “steak lover”. A whole porterhouse roast is an absolute sight to behold. Hold a whole feast. Or we can cut into steaks to your preferred thickness. Min 3kg.

PORK BELLY ROAST

From 1kg - 5kg. Only $19.95kg.

Richard Cornish, award winning journo, food writer and author, is writing a series of recipes for his favourite local butcher, The Daylesford Meat Co.

steak~seafood~ liquor

Open fireplace, Private dining, Balcony seating

over 100 cocktails

Gift certificates available online daylesfordsteakhouse.com.au

THE REGION’S BEST KEPT SECRET

Friday Night Raffle

Raffles drawn at 7.30pm

OPENING HOURS

Wed/Thurs/Fri - 3pm till late - Dinner from 5.30pm Sat - 12pm till late - Lunch from 12pm - Dinner from 5.30pm Sun - Lunch only from 12pm

35 Fryers Street, Guildford Victoria

Bookings Essential - 03 5473 4021

Two gardens open their gates in Trentham

Two private Trentham gardens will open their gates on Saturday, April 15 and Sunday, April 16 as part of the Open Gardens Victoria scheme.

Rhonda’s Garden, pictured top right, was created three years ago by local landscape designer Tim Pilgrim of TP Gardens. Designed around a new sustainable home, Tim has created a relaxing space full of light throughout most of the year.

Owner Rhonda Watson’s design brief was to provide a small lawn for her grandchildren to play on, a small vegetable patch, plants that attracted pollinators, and a garden that was sustainable and friendly to local wildlife. Tim then applied his artist’s eye to create a cottage garden full of colour and movement, informal and naturalistic.

“With great soil, wet, cold winters, and hot, dry summers, Trentham has plenty of beautiful cottage gardens growing in its midst. I wanted a cottage garden aesthetic and liked the style of Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf. His style of perennial mass plantings in a naturalistic style and planting in drifts rather than blocks appealed.”

At the other end of the village is Tranquillity, pictured below right, described by owners Margot Burros and David Kotzman as “an approachable, un-intimidating, nonprofessional home garden, evolving and adapting as we learn about our gardening conditions and as we ourselves change”.

Purchased five years ago, the owners changed and enhanced the established garden around the house, replacing scoria gravel with buffalo lawn and removing large clumps of flax to open up vistas. A group of xanthorrhoea johnsonii was also relocated to the front garden.

Plants in this area are mainly Australian, South African and New Zealand species. The ‘fence’ is an irregular line of upright bush poles with native plants and rocks scattered between, giving a sense of boundary but remaining open to ‘see in’ and allowing kangaroos to pass through.

“The original plan was to create mass with dense plantings of blackwood trees (acacia melanoxylon),” says Margo. "However, this species has not done well in open areas with our severe Trentham frosts. Consequently we are trialling new species, including several snowgums (wolgan, lacrimans) and swamp gums (E ovata).

Rhonda’s Garden is at 32 Park Street and Tranquillity is at 3 Gunyah Drive. Both gardens are open 10am to 4.30pm. The cost to view each garden is adults $10, students $6, under 18 free. Tickets at the gate or via Trybooking.

The Trentham Grasshoppers Women's Football 1957 team was featured in our March 13 edition with a few extra faces from the Trentham Historical Society photoshopped in. After a couple of requests here is the original photo. Go girls!

Anzac Day Services

Anzac Day commemorates the anniversary of the landing of Australian and New Zealand troops at Gallipoli, Turkiye on April 25, 1915. The date was the start of the major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand troops during World War I.

This Anzac Day services, marches, guest speeches and gunfire breakfasts are being held to commemorate the day at locations throughout the region with many local RSL sub-branches involved. They include:

Bullarto

1pm for 1.30pm start - Anzac Day Service at the Bullarto Hall

Clunes

6am - Dawn Service at the cenotaph, corner of Service and Fraser Streets, Clunes

8.30am - Cemetery Service at the Soldiers Graves, Clunes Cemetery

10.45 - March and Anzac Day Service. March starts at the RSL Building and concludes at the cenotaph with service and wreath laying ceremony.

1pm - Two up at the National Hotel, Clunes

Creswick

5.40am – Dawn Service - assemble at the cenotaph for a 5:50am start followed by the Gunfire Breakfast in the Senior Citizens Centre.

9.30am - Service at the Soldiers Graves at the Creswick Cemetery

10am - Service at the Memorial Stones, RSL Hall.

10.15am - Anyone wishing to take part in the March to assemble at the Splash Park (bottom of Albert Street).

10.30am - March commences.

11am - Anzac Day service - Creswick Cenotaph.

2pm - Two up at the front of the RSL Hall.

Daylesford

Please arrive 15 minutes prior for each of the following:

6.30am - Dawn Service at Daylesford cenotaph to be followed by gunfire breakfast at Daylesford RSL

10.30am - March from Daylesford Town Hall to the cenotaph for main Anzac Day Service followed by lunch at RSL building.

Eganstown

9am - Anzac Day Service at the memorial

Hepburn Springs

8.30am - Anzac Day Service at the Hepburn Springs Memorial Kingston (Avenue of Honour, Kingston)

9am - (arrive 8.30am) for Anzac Day Service at the cenotaph, corner of Victoria and Kingston Roads at the start of the Avenue of Honour. Service to feature guest speaker Lucas Duffy, great-grandson of WWI serviceman J.T. O’Connor.

Kyneton

6am - Dawn Service at the cenotaph to be followed by a gunfire breakfast by gold coin donation at the Kyneton RSL Club Rooms, Mollison Street.

9.30am - Parade to the cenotaph

10am - Anzac Day Service at the cenotaph to be followed by light refreshments at the RSL Club Rooms, Mollison Street.

Trentham

6am - Dawn Service, Trentham CFA Shed

11.30am - March starts at the Town Square and proceeds along High Street

11.30 - Refreshments at the Trentham Neighbourhood Centre

Woodend

11.30 - March up High Street to the Woodend RSL Building. Starts High St slip Rd (opposite supermarket)

11.45am - Anzac Day Service at the Woodend RSL Club Rooms to be followed by refreshments.

Lest We Forget

Kyle’s Rant

WHEN you live in the district for a while, as with my experience living here since 2005, you see life change, particularly as people age.

When I arrived, some of the folks were kids and now they have their own. Dudes with hair back in the day now have none and some of the people have thickened up a bit with a middle-aged spread.

Not being a breeder I don’t have many reference points to getting older apart from the mirror. Breeders can look at their offspring growing up and automatically feel their age. I get presented with my niece’s teenage son and scratch my head as to how that happened, when I reflect on her own birth and where I was and what I was doing.

Recently, my good wife has noticed some lines that go from the corner of my lip and proceed down my face to where my jawline ought to be - I now officially have a resting bitchface. Much like Ben Affleck, who said, “I have a very unhappy looking, resting face”, after being snapped at the Grammys with wife Jennifer Lopez.

Is this my future? A look of grimace when I actually have no emotion going on. These lines have just started so maybe some filler or whatever it takes to undo the ageing.

When I first started writing this column 10 years ago, I had to project an old grumpy man onto the page. These days the old boy is a little easier to channel.

Speaking of grumpy, I went down to the Glenlyon Dam the other evening to find a large reflective sculpture on the shores of the dam. I hadn’t seen it before.

At first glance I thought it was something like the terminator, the one where the free-forming blob of mercury turns into a policeman. I pondered if it had been dropped there by aliens - it also looks like that blob at the Millennium Park in Chicago, but on its end. Or maybe it was part of the reason why Red Rock Mining had been sniffing around the district - maybe another rare earth metal? The only thing that stopped me popping it in my ute to take down to the metals exchange was the rather large "no vehicle" chain gates.

I suppose it’s just another artwork thing like our giant rainbow that the council has decided will look good scattered around the place, but honestly, the Glenlyon Dam?

Before I park this rant up for another couple of weeks I wanted to relate an observation that a local shared with me recently.

He witnessed blackberry poisoning down at Lake Daylesford. All the poisoners were well kitted up with PPE gear, breathing apparatus and the like, while people walking their dogs were oblivious to the fact they were walking straight through the contamination cloud.

Not a sign to be seen apart from a very small one, out of the way, that could be seen from just one direction to warn the tourist blackberry pickers the job had been done.

Good luck with the lawsuit rant over…

Local Lines

Heat

Don't bring me flowers to mend a rift as if I’m still a gullible girl –it’s now after the straw has broken the camel’s back!

What I’m worth is a scoop of snow from the top of Kilimanjaro to cool my frustrated face; the last petal plucked from a desert bloom to hear it bleed sand now that I’m all cried out then bring me an open window high and wide silk curtains billowing hold it up to a pharaoh sunrise; milk pools of moon-lotus; a scared Ibis of ancient honey from a lesser King’s tomb will suffice and while you’re about it peel me a grape feed me slice by slice but don’t ever again bring me your armour of flowers from the last florist in the last street on the Free Park corner and paid for with leftover coin –in this heat they’ll be dead by morning!

- Jan Price

Local Lines features poetry by locals about local and any other matters. Please submit poems to Bill Wootton at cottlesbreedge@gmail.com

Jan lives in Ballarat and her poetry continues to be published in Australia, United States and now England. Her art and photos occasionally appear on literary covers.

Federal Member for Ballarat

Standing up for our Community!

Pick me, pick me!

G’day. I am one purr-sonalitypacked little calico cat. The humans have named me Iced - and I have a sister called Vovo. I am a sweet girl, just six months old. I’m partial to a pat and very playful. I can be a little shy when meeting new people, but it doesn't take me long to get to know you. You will then discover that I am actually very smoochy. I would love to find a home where I can have lots of love and attention. So, if you are keen for a new best friend, just contact the shelter in Castlemaine on 5472 5277 and we can meet up.

Microchip no. 956000016310915. Link: www.maaw.org.au

Just sayin’...

By Donna Kelly

THIS is a public service announcement. Ladies, check your boobs. Firstly, I am all good. Yay. But not everyone is so lucky. And it is one of those things, like so many of the health checks available, that if you get it early, you have a very good chance of winning. And it is usually very simple. Usually.

For some reason I have been asked by a specialist to get a check every year. Lumpy, bumpy breast tissue I think was the medical term. So every year in March I go along to Lake Imaging, even during Covid, and get a mammogram done and mostly after that, an ultrasound, just to be sure. That is their decision, not mine. They always say it is just routine but once I only had a mammogram so I dunno...

Anyway, a few weeks before I was thinking about making my appointment I thought I felt something, a little lump, and nearly died of a heart attack. I felt again, and nothing. Again and something. By this time I was starting to feel like a sex offender so I stopped feeling myself and called the doctor to get a referral. You need one if you have more than one mammogram every two years.

They, the doc, were a bit like "why are we doing this" and "it is radiation" but I mentioned maybe a lump and they agreed and I called to make the Ballarat appointment. The closest was about three weeks away, and yes, I did try other places, but they were all busy.

(Pick me, pick me is run in memory of Rosie & Curly - we picked them.)

And proudly supported by Daylesford's

So the three weeks went by and some days I thought about it, and some days I didn't. Well, most days I did, just wired like that for health things. Kyle could tell me we are about to go into bankruptcy - came close a few times over Covid - and I would think "oh well, bummer" but health is health.

Anyway, the day came and I went in and stripped off the top half and plopped my boob on the mammogram tray, leaned forward, with my right elbow back and my left hand holding the rail at the front, and my bum back and my hips twisted to one side and they lowered the top to squash my boob flat. A man made this machine.

And then I sat in the gown while they looked at the images and then they said they would just do a routine ultrasound. Hmmm, here we go, I thought. And felt a bit sad. Then I lay down and they pushed my boobs with the ultrasound thing and then the person said "something of concern here" and I felt really sad. It was noted as indeterminate and would need a biopsy.

So I went to another doctor the next day, the first one was busy, to get a referral for the biopsy and also to that breast specialist for any findings. And the doctor said it was already eight centimetres big and marked the referral with "urgent". By now I was pretty much getting my affairs in order...

I couldn't get a biopsy for two weeks, even though it was marked urgent, but finally the day came. They give you a local anaesthetic, which hurts a bit, which I find strange because its only job is to stop pain, and then put in a big needle which pulls out a bit of tissue, three times, making really loud clicking noises each time.

I had my next appointment lined up but not for a week. It was a long week but eventually came along and then I sat in the waiting room for 30 minutes past my time. I imagined the specialist was putting on his game face. And then in I go.

"Well Donna, what brought about this mammogram?" he asked. "You told me to go every year," I blurted. "And they found something?" "Yes." "And then had the biopsy?" "Yes..." "Well, it's all good, nothing wrong." F%$K! I mean, great news, but who is training these people? "Was it 8cm," I asked. "No, 8cm from the nipple, just 6mm, gee 8cm would have been a worry," he laughed. Yeah, it was.

Anyway, boob check done. I think I will take April off health worries. Just sayin'...

Ageing DisGracefully members, including Max Primmer, get together at the Daylesford Mill Markets cafe on Thursdays at 11am. All welcome. For information email ageingdis3461@gmail. com, call 0427 131 249 or head to the Ageing DisGracefully Facebook page.

Ageing DisGracefully is an initiative of Hepburn House.

Here is the crossword solution for Edition 276. How did you go?

All words in the crossword appear somewhere in the same edition of The Local.

Liquor licence application

We, BFG Daylesford Pty Ltd, applied to the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation on 28 February 2023 for the variation of a packaged liquor licence at 1 Howe St, Daylesford. The requested variation is to allow us to trade on Good Friday and to increase our liquor licence trading hours from 9.00am to 11.00pm on any day other than Sunday.

Any person may object to the grant of this application on the grounds that:

• it would detract from, or be detrimental to, the amenity of the area in which the premises are situated, and/or

• it would be conducive to or encourage the misuse or abuse of alcohol.

An objection must state the reasons for the objection. All objections are treated as public documents. Objections must be made in writing to:

Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation

GPO Box 1988

Melbourne VIC 3001

Objections must be made no later than 30 days after the date of this notice.

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PUBLIC NOTICE - LINGBOGOL CAMP AREA

Notice is given of a PUBLIC MEETING to be held at Lingbogol Guide Camp, Geddes Road Creswick North on the 1st May 2023 commencing at 6.30pm.

The purpose of the meeting is to nominate no less than three (3) or more than nine (9) persons as the Committee of Management for the Lingbogol Camp Area Creswick for a term of three years.

The current committee’s term expired on 5 January 2023 and all positions will be declared open and nominations will be accepted prior to or on the night. Nominations from women, Aboriginal people, people with disabilities, young people and people from culturally diverse backgrounds are encouraged.

Further information, nomination forms and nominee declaration forms may be obtained by contacting your local Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning office or at the meeting. For further enquiries please contact the Treasurer, William Bahr on 0419 500 983.

Legends: Eastoe and Murray drop a new life track

FROM supporting Pink Floyd and featuring on Countdown to doing guitar for The Wiggles, the combined experience of local musos Gilly Eastoe and Terry Murray is the stuff of legend.

Now, after 14 good years living at Strangways near Daylesford, these consummate muso entertainers are about to bid this region farewell to begin living a new melody in coastal NSW. Woolgoolga, about 25 minutes from Coffs Harbour, to be precise.

Anyone who’s ever enjoyed some ripping live music at a local pub in recent years has likely caught this generously talented duo doing what they do best. Since moving to the region 14 years ago they’ve become firm favourites on the local live music scene.

They’ve also been making life itself a far more cheerful gig for countless mature residents through their regular Morning Melodies performances at Maryborough’s Highland Society and also at Hepburn House.

As hinted at above, the background tales that these two have to tell are impressive. To give you just a little taster, Terry’s include playing and organising gigs for the Royal Family at Windsor Castle in England and performing with stars like Tom Jones, Randy Crawford, Tommy Emmanuel and Jimmy Barnes.

Originally an Englishman who left school at 15 to play with Thunderclap Newman - known for their hit single Something in the Air - Terry’s CV also includes supporting Pink Floyd at the ridiculously tender age of just 17, as part of the band, Berlin.

He moved to Australia in the 80s, became an Aussie citizen and chose not to return to his homeland due to the “dismal weather”.

Once over here Terry’s professional experiences spanned working with guitar legend Tommy Emmanuel and gigging with Jimmy Barnes to doing live stuff for Sydney’s Triple M, with Peter Garrett, Nirvana and Guns 'n' Roses. It also includes doing guitar and keyboard for children’s entertainer megastars, The Wiggles.

Gillian (Gilly) Eastoe’s background is just as colourful. She and her band Gillian Eastoe and King Dog featured on Countdown in heady 1979. Alongside Gilly’s powerhouse rock vocals, the Sydney-based band also featured Phil Emmanuel as lead guitarist, and Gilly toured extensively, performing on stage with many R & R greats including Tom Waits, Jimmy Barnes, Dragon, Midnight Oil, Rose Tattoo, Air Supply and Jon English.

Gilly is also a composer who’s written hundreds of original songs spanning rock to tracks especially for the popular ABC children’s 0-9 series.

In fact Gilly and Terry met while recording material for the ABC about 20 years ago. You don’t have to talk to them long to work out that theirs has been a winning partnership.

They’ve travelled all around Australia dispensing hundreds and hundreds of live shows, including many school-based shows, and inspiring countless new young musicians along the way.

Terry says they moved to Strangways because they loved the place and it provided a nice home too for their many animals including rescue horses.

Now though, the couple have accepted an offer they could not refuse, moving into a house on the beach at Woolgoolga, owned by their property developer sonin-law.

“He’s doing up the house as we speak,” Terry said.

Gilly says that while leaving Central Victoria will be a wrench, she’s looking forward to taking her beloved leopard appaloosa horse, Floyd, for walks on that very beach again – as they did many years ago when they lived in Sydney.

“He’s called Floyd because he’s got pink skin,” she says. “He won’t believe it when his hooves touch the sand.”

Terry notes that Floyd’s name is not the only ode to the famed English rock outfit. “Our son-in-law has plans to eventually build a retirement village with a bar to be called The Pink Floyd Bar and everyone who comes in can put a brick in the wall,” he says. “It will be like Hepburn House - lots of people ageing disgracefully.”

Now Terry and Gilly’s beloved Strangways property is on the market and Terry says they expect to make their big move in June or July.

But between now and then they’ll be doing plenty of gigs including private events and some public ones as well. These include gigs coming up soon at Maldon’s Kangaroo Hotel, the Pig and Whistle at East Trentham, and The Savoia at Hepburn Springs.

“It’s been a magic life. We’ve ridden the wave exactly when things were right,” Gilly says, generously sharing tales from their days on the road touring the length and breadth to dispense musical exhilaration “sometimes in a paddock, sometimes in a grand stadium”.

“You had to be absolutely versatile,” she says. “It was brilliantly demanding but I think we can say that we’re proud of the fact that we came up with the goods every time. We’ve loved being part of this community. This has been my little piece of heaven and I adore it here.”

Suffice to say, they’ll be missed. But this is a duo whose truly extensive repertoire straddles country, rock, classical and jazz and Terry says they’re already envisaging some intimate wine bar type gigs as they write their new life melody ahead.

Words: Eve Lamb | Images: Robbie Noakes