August 14, 2017 Issue 104 Us Two - Vicky and Wakka
The Local - The Heart of the Highlands
2 About Us
www.tlnews.com.au
Front cover: Vicky McCurdy always had a love for the Central Highlands and bought a tree change property in Trentham East in 2010. Meanwhile, Wakka, her alpaca, arrived on March 1, 2014, with her mum sadly losing her life while giving birth. Vicky came to the rescue as a surrogate mother. Read their stories on page 11.
August 14, 2017 Issue 104 Us Two - Vicky and Wakka
THE real estate guide to the Central Highlands! Now in The Local!
Image: Kyle Barnes
The Local - The Heart of the Highlands
5348 7883 | 0416 104 283 The Local is a fortnightly community publication covering the Central Highlands. The next edition is out on Monday, August 28, 2017. (Or online on Sunday, August 27 at www.tlnews.com.au)
The Local is a registered trademark of The Local Publishing Group Pty Ltd The content expressed within this publication does not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of The Local.
T
HE Local is a free publication distributed throughout the Central Highlands of Victoria. The first "monthly" edition was published in September 2013 and immediately became fortnightly thanks to the demand of our readers and advertisers.
The Local is brought to you by a team of local journalists, photographers, columnists, sub-editors, graphic designers, book-keepers and, of course, great delivery people. So when we talk about being local, we really do put our money where our mouth is. The Local's motto is to "connect the community" by bringing people closer with great features on amazing local people and ensuring you know what is happening around your community, whether that's a festival, a fete or maybe just a great special from one of our fantastic advertisers. Content is key. We love writing about local people doing inspiring things and even local people doing ordinary things. And as some people, mostly politicians, have found out, if you are not local you will not appear in the pages of The Local. You will find The Local, and all the back copies, online at www.tlnews.com.au and we deliver bulk drops throughout the region along with smaller "cafe" packs to every cafe, hotel, bar and restaurant we can find. We've even heard of The Local turning up in places like a cafe in St Kilda and a bar in Bali! All up we have a print and online readership of about 14,000. The Local's advertising rates have always been kept low so even small advertisers can advertise big. Colour is free, the sizes are an eighth, quarter, banner, half and full page and we can help with making up branding and graphics. The world is confusing enough, so we like to keep things simple. Finally, from almost the start, we have offered two free adverts in every edition for not-for-profit organisations and we also have the "Pick me, pick me" feature for RSPCA pets looking for their forever home! It's just our way of giving back. We really hope you enjoy this edition of The Local. Cheers, Donna
The Pool Room! The Local - winner of: *Daylesford Rotary's 2017 Employee of the Year *Rural Press Club of Victoria 2015 Best Feature Series *Daylesford Rotary’s 2015 Business of the Year *Kyneton Daffodil Festival Parade 2015 Best Commercial Entry
Advertising deadlines for the next edition of The Local: Space bookings: Wednesday, August 23 Copy provided by: Thursday, August 24 Editorial deadline: Thursday, August 24 Managing editor | Donna Kelly General manager | Kyle Barnes Sub-editors: Nick Bunning and Lindsay Smith Writers: Kevin Childs, Kate Taylor, Donna Kelly, Jeff Glorfeld, Anthony Sawrey, Dan Lonergan Photographers: Kyle Barnes, David White Graphic designer: Dianne Caithness Columnists: Glen Heyne (gardens), Samantha Redlich (wellbeing), Matthew Richardson (money) Delivery: Damon and Noni O'Donoghue Great editorial and affordable sales - 5348 7883 | 0416 104 283 news@tlnews.com.au | ads@tlnews.com.au donna@tlnews.com.au | kyle@tlnews.com.au Free e-editions at www.tlnews.com.au See a photo you like? Photos are just $22 each, or $55 for commercial use, and will be emailed at high resolution. You can print as many copies as you like...
“The Local is the future of regional publishing!” - former senator John Madigan in the Australian Parliament Just sayin’... :)
www.tlnews.com.au
News 3
Makayla reading 100 books to help her dad with MS
M
AKAYLA may be only seven years old but she has a big target in her sights for this month.
The St Michael’s Primary School student is taking part in the MS Readathon and will read 100 books throughout August. And while it seems like a mammoth task, by August 11 she already had 45 books under her belt – with the Sylvanian Families her favourite - and had raised $1335 towards her goal of $1500. It’s a cause that is close to the grade 1's heart with her dad Michael Doggett being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in February last year. “I thought I’d had a stroke, the whole right side was gone and I couldn’t walk and had slurred speech. So I went to rehab and while I was there they did a lumbar puncture and sent that away for testing and it came back as MS. “From pretty much March to October, I slept, but I was having an infusion each month and by October I was starting to feel better. I am not 100 per cent by any means, probably about 80 per cent, but I have gone back to part-time work as a handyman. “And that’s because it’s hard to work for anyone else, you can’t just say ‘I am tired now’, an eight-hour day no longer exists for me. But I might mow a lawn for an hour, and then have a break for two hours, and then do a little bit more.” Michael said he was keeping positive and continued to push himself a little further each day. “If I do that, the following day I can cope better. If I stop and don’t do anything, then that’s when you have dramas. “I also try to keep actively fit and losing eight kilos has helped a lot. I want to lose another five.” Michael said he had good days when he felt “normal” but other days he could be tired and irritable. “But I eat right, look after myself and focus on my wife and daughter. With everything else I just don’t worry about it anymore.” Michael said he was very proud of Makayla, saying her reading ability was way above that for her age. “I see the books she is reading and some of them are more like for high school students. She’s pretty clever, must be the mother’s side.”
If you would like to donate to Makayla and the MS Readathon go to www.doitforms.org.au/index.cfm?fuseaction=donordrive. participant&participantID=5291 Words: Donna Kelly | Image: Kyle Barnes
“I see the books she is reading and some of them are more like for high school students. She’s pretty clever, must be the mother’s side.”
Let’s meet and talk travel Paul Pearman Personal Travel Manager
M: 0433 751 671 E: paul.pearman@travelmanagers.com.au travelmanagers.com.au/PaulPearman
Leanne Pearman Personal Travel Manager
M: 0467 594 444 E: leanne.pearman@travelmanagers.com.au travelmanagers.com.au/LeannePearman
4 Our artists
www.tlnews.com.au
Open studios to meet the region's potters
S
OMEONE once suggested to ceramicist Angie Izard that making creative choices was a way everyone can add something beautiful to the world.
Moving from Melbourne to Porcupine Ridge more than 20 years ago to build a house and raise her children with her partner, Angie has been intent on living out these words. Having dabbled in drawing, painting and bookbinding, Angie embarked on a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Fine Arts) at Federation University after a career as a journalist. She majored in ceramics and three years out of the degree continues to refine her skills on the wheel. “Most of my work is wheel-thrown stoneware and I make mostly functional ware from large bowls through to beakers. I am a slow learner. I take none of my abilities for granted and I try to work every day at honing and developing my abilities. "The wheel is an arduous master that requires full and open attention. It is an activity that requires head, heart and hands and that is part of the appeal. I am half theorist and half practitioner, and ceramics rewards both. “I find it hard to see themes in my own work but there is a gentle progression. My palette is limited, which helps push me to find expression in quite simple materials – clay, oxides, sgraffito, ash. I make almost everything I use from raw materials, which helps foster a deep connection with everything that I do. “Living on 20 acres of mostly bushland I often feel as though I am living in a giant embrace. The light through the trees, the movement of the clouds, the curl of the foliage and its colours all feed into a sense of belonging and connection. These are also the raw materials of my creativity.” Angie and four other regional ceramicists – Jeannine Hendy in Trentham East, Ellen Hansa-Stanyer in Maldon, Sarah Koschak in Newstead and Frances Guerin Greenwood in Wheatsheaf – have created the Central Victorian Mud Trail, as part of the Australian Ceramics Association’s Open Studios program. Over the weekend of August 19 and 20, 10am to 4pm, studios across Australia will be open for visitors to meet the makers and see how potters create their work. “Visitors to my home studio will see a progression of work from greenware to glazed pieces. It is a great way to get a sense of the how and why of ceramic practise specific to the artist you visit. “All five of us have different approaches to ceramics, from sculptural and decorative work to contemporary tableware. I feel privileged to be included in such an accomplished group of artists.” Angie Izard’s studio is at 64 Pine Court, Porcupine Ridge.
Link: www.australianceramics.com/events/australian-ceramics-openstudios-2017/ Below, from left, Central Victoria Mud Trail participants Angie Izard, Sarah Koschak, Jeannine Hendy, Ellen Hansa-Stanyer and Frances Guerin Greenwood
www.tlnews.com.au
Our musos 5
Peter Fernon performing The Wheel at WIW
F
ROM his beginnings as an artistic and musical nomad, Peter Fernon’s career has evolved in a way that is almost as fullcircle as the wheel which is the overarching theme to his upcoming performance.
Always talented with words and music, Peter initially performed as a children’s story-teller, touring around Victoria and New South Wales, performing in primary schools and, later on, telling epic stories for adults, trying out acting and poetry and singing. “When I started out, I had a degree and I went into teaching – then I discovered acting, a revelation to me,” Peter explains. He worked as an actor for a few years, but folk music, singing, and poetry drew him away, as did shadow puppetry. “And then I got the idea of storytelling and that included everything I did in one package, and it worked and I was getting gigs. “I was earning money, and I felt in the right place, I wasn’t wandering from one art form to the other not making much progress.” Fast-forward “many” years, and Peter has spent the past 15 of them living in Trentham with his wife and two children – he’s now a busker, a musician, and a storyteller, all-in-one. “I’m a storyteller, and I play musical instruments, and I make those two things work together at the moment, it’s a new way of doing it. I always have songs in my stories, there’s always a musical element to it.” Now, as a presenter for Trentham’s Words in Winter festival, Peter is getting ready for his Saturday night performance at The Pig and Whistle Hotel. “The theme this year is ‘origins' and I’ll be telling a story of my family’s existence in Australia mainly, covering about seven generations.” The starting point is the death of his brother Richard, who died at the age of 45. “It was a pretty sad thing, and I think the experiences of my brother have been experienced in previous generations, and we go through much the same things over and over again. The more I thought about my family history, the more I realised that my brother's life was just another turn of a wheel that had been rolling on for generations.” It’s a story he’s been taking time to perfect, and one that will be an original in its incarnation at the festival. “I do enjoy performing very much, I have a lot more pleasure than pain.” Peter Fernon will be performing ‘The Wheel’ as part of the Words in Winter festival on Saturday, August 19 from 8pm at The Pig and Whistle Hotel, East Trentham, tickets are $15 with no bookings taken.
Words: Kate Taylor | Image: Kyle Barnes
“The theme this year is ‘origins' and I’ll be telling a story of my family’s existence in Australia mainly, covering about seven generations.” - Peter Fernon
6 Our musos
www.tlnews.com.au
I know, it’s only Sturrock ‘n’ roll, but I like it
T
HE guitarist’s hands are almost a blur. He’s playing percussion, tapping on the body of the acoustic instrument, melody and bass with his left hand and between beats strumming, and picking out a melody.
At a music festival a director from another festival runs into the marquee where Marcus Sturrock is performing. “I thought there was a band,” he says, astonished at what this single musician is producing. He approached Marcus and said, “Our festival committee views many performer applications, yours was one and I’ll get sacked for knocking back a musician of your calibre. Although it’s unheard of to ask musicians to perform so close to the festival’s start, I’d like to offer you a main stage performance along with other headline acts”. So began a career on the world festival circuit. Virtuoso scarcely fits the description for this musician who, as well as touring, produces albums of opera, jazz, Celtic and rap. Now, after 40 years in WA, he’s moved his studio to Clunes and is taking a break after a 10-month, 22,000km tour of the nation, followed by 5000km across New Zealand. His world is vivid. Consider, the drummer in his Perth band was one of the detectives who headed the macro task force hunting the killer of young women. Two decades after the serial killings, 5000 interviews over five years, a man has been charged. Scottish-born, Marcus has a fine story about the drummer, who’s now a forensics expert in counter-terrorism. He performs with Marcus at the annual Burns Night celebration in Jakarta among Australian spooks and cops, many of Scots origin as well. He almost makes the piping-in of a haggis a sight worth seeing (and hearing). Aged just six when his family moved to Melbourne, Marcus was raised in North Balwyn, his father being a successful businessman, Spitfire pilot and pianist as well as a bagpiper. Early on Marcus said he wanted to be a guitarist, partly inspired by listening to a vast range of music and performing in a local coffee shop when he was 13. Forsaking a private school for Ringwood Freedom School, where one teacher, a professor, went barefoot, with his hair at waist length, Marcus found academic success. He also found ashrams, spending time at them while at school, seeking inner peace and calmness. “I don’t know whether the guitar is your thing,” the private school music teacher had told him. Twenty years later this teacher was in the front row for a Marcus performance and asked him to join his band. Marcus took himself off to WA to live with Aboriginal tribes, an experience that was less than he had imagined. Contrary to this experience, he helped with audio engineering and lighting for the Creative Native Aboriginal Dance Group. Moving to Perth he linked with bands such as Hya and the PJ Hooker Band, performing before crowds of 1500 in sold-out venues. But in the eyes of the young Marcus this was a "plastic" scene, which he rejected. Not so now that he's older, however. "I would go for it," he says. A decade away from the stage followed. Then came the day when a sage said, “You should get into the folk festival scene.” As a young boy in Melbourne, Marcus’s dynamic adopted aunt, a publicist for the outstanding entrepreneur Hector Crawford, secured front row seats to see the incredible genius of Manitas de Plata, the gypsy who sold nearly 100 million records and inspired Pablo Picasso to exclaim: "That man is of greater worth than I am!” After meeting him Marcus tells of de Plata, “He leant forward and I saw this finger going off, I went home and did what he did”. Next he met the American virtuoso guitarist Joe Pass, one of the greatest jazz guitarists of the 20th century, whose astonishing playing opened new possibilities for the jazz guitar and had a profound influence on other guitarists, including Marcus. Among the varied styles of guitar, influences included rock legend Steve Vai and Tony McManus, a profoundly brilliant Celtic guitarist and one the greatest players the world has seen since guitar came into existence.
Marcus played on stage with Tony and a friend obtained a written tribute by him: "Marcus has forged a truly unique sound from the acoustic guitar, melody, harmony and in your face rhythm on one instrument, astounding.” - Tony McManus Now Marcus is a regular at festivals from Port Fairy to Queensland, performing his astonishing range of music, as well as playing keyboard drums, percussion, bass and guitar and lead vocals in many bands. He’s also composed for dance, visual art, the theatre and short films, taught guitar and judged song contests, as well as playing in fund-raising events for groups such as Walk Against Want. Away from the stage he is equally involved as a volunteer, being named WA’s Volunteer of the Year and now puts in a day a week at the Daylesford Regional Visitor Information Centre. Whether it’s working with some of the world’s leading scientists as a music therapist for the profoundly autistic, being listed in The Who’s Who of Rock and Roll book or foiling an armed bank robbery, he promises that it will all be revealed in his real life stories in a book titled Truth Through Fiction. “Don’t worry, it will have some dirt on myself, not everything is rosy but hey, that will make for some good reading.” As for his craft, “I’ve practiced really hard which led to playing on some main stages,” says 61-year-old Marcus, in a statement that’s hard to challenge.
Words: Kevin Childs | Image: Kyle Barnes
www.tlnews.com.au
A MESSAGE TO ARTISTS interested in Daylesford Macedon Ranges Open Studios
Artists residing in Hepburn and Macedon Ranges Shires wishing to participate in the April/May 2018, Daylesford Macedon Ranges Open Studios (DMROS) please see application guidelines & forms @ http://dmropenstudios.com.au Inquiries: info@dmropenstudios.com.au Applications close Friday 15 Sept - 5pm The Open Studios program is staged each year to showcase the talents of artists living and working in the Daylesford Macedon Ranges region over three weekends and is an opportunity for the public to become involved in the arts by meeting the artists in their studios and seeing how they produce their work.
Cupcake Day
News 7
Live4Life award
L
M
Link: www.rspcacupcakeday.com.au
The Live4Life initiative, which aims to prevent youth suicide and improve mental health knowledge in local communities across the shire, won the Community Development award. Live4Life is a unique partnership between local secondary schools and key community agencies. It was established in 2010 in response to a number of youth suicides in the local area and a reported increase in the number of young people experiencing mental ill health and distress. Live4Life educates Year 8 students on mental health and provides leadership opportunities for Year 9 and 10 students to assist and advise in delivering key elements of the program. In 2015 Live4life incorporated teen Mental Health First Aid training for all Year 11 students.
ucky pooches, Dolly and Arkie, pictured above, got an early taste of the RSPCA’s Cupcake Day last week.
The day is officially Monday, August 21, however, participants keen to fundraise are encouraged to share sweet treats any day during August in return for a donation to the animal welfare charity. All money raised through the sale of RSPCA Cupcake Day goods and events goes towards helping animals in need. Anyone who registers as a RSPCA Cupcake Day host receives a free host kit with host guide, pop-up donation box, decorative bunting, promotional posters and a recipe book that even includes pup-friendly cupcakes. There are no rules on how to run a RSPCA Cupcake Day event - it might be a cupcake party at home, a bake sale at school, or you could bring cupcakes or bought goods to work and ask for donations or an entry fee.
ACEDON Ranges Shire Council’s Live4Life initiative has been recognised at the 2017 Life Awards for Excellence in Suicide Prevention for its ongoing work to improve youth mental health.
Image: Kyle Barnes (No dogs were fed chocolate in the making of this image.)
We really heart our locals. So we now have $20 meal nights Monday-Thursday from 5pm. MONDAY MEATBALL* MADNESS
WEDNESDAY POT & PARMA
TUESDAY BURGER* NIGHT * Vegetarian options available
THURSDAY STEAK NIGHT
TO VIEW OUR MENU OR TO BOOK ACCOMMODATION, VISIT OUR WEBSITE OR CALL US ON 03 5348 2335
DAYLESFORDHOTEL.COM.AU
8 Opinion
www.tlnews.com.au
Just sayin’... By Donna Kelly
Pick me, pick me...
J
UST had a few days warming up in south east Queensland. You know, beautiful one day, perfect the next.
And it was. About 25 degrees for days on end and loads of sunshine. These Queenslanders don't know what winter is. One woman up there said to me "it must be so nice not to have to wear a jumper". I looked at her astonished. I wanted to say "it's not just a jumper, it's thermal underwear, coats, scarves, hats, shawls - and that's just inside the house". And then when it dropped to about 21 degrees the Queenslanders got out their one jumper or hoodie and popped it on and complained about how cold it was. One person called it "a cold snap". Aghhh. I wanted to say "a cold snap is when your wooden deck freezes over and you have to lie towels along it and then down the steps just to get out without breaking your neck - and by the way you still have thongs on!" But it was a great break. We didn't do much touristy stuff because we have lived there before. I worked as a Japanese-speaking driver/tour guide. Picked up my itinerary from a hotel in Surfers Paradise about 3am then drove to Brisbane Airport and found my six guests about 4.30am. They were mostly honeymoon couples and I would drive them to a country farm for breakfast followed by a bit of whip action - nothing kinky, just stockmen cracking whips, that kind of thing. And then we would head to a "world", mostly Movie World. I reckon I have been there about 100 times and the shows did get a bit tiresome. I am sure they have changed now - in the old days it was mostly Police Academy and a horse show. Just checked, it's now a Hollywood driving stunt show. So not that different. Anyway, when Movie World was over, I would drive them to a restaurant for dinner and then take them to their hotel. A long day out for them and me. Driving those honeymoon couples was how I ended up married. No, not because they looked so in love but because I returned home one night, absolutely exhausted, and there was Kyle asking me to join him on the balcony. Next thing he had thrust a glass of bubbles in my hand (there was even sugar on the rim) and then out came the box. He was so nervous he broke the lid off as he tried to gallantly flip it open, and then he said those words "Will you marry me?". I thought if I say yes there's a chance I get some sleep. And so I did, say yes. Sleep was still a question away. "Shall we call your mother and tell her the good news?" Kyle asked, all bright-eyed. "No," I said, "it's late and anyway, you know she doesn't like you." Kyle took it all in his stride. Apparently he had seen that in a movie, where you called the parents, and not having done the proposal thing before, thought it was de rigueur. Anyway, 23 years later we were back on a balcony on the Gold Coast. But this time it was a beer for him, chardy for me, a barbequed chook and salad from up the road and the realisation it's all going too fast. Just sayin'....
Hey there, my name is Pipper. And I am a ripper of a cat. You
shouldn’t ask a girl her age but I am five and a half. So I am grown up, past my kitten days, and pretty happy to just laze around my forever home. Of course, there will be loads of affection on offer from me in return. Meowww! MC# 982000356664345 Castlemaine RSPCA is at 24 Langslow Street, Castlemaine. Phone 5472 5277. Open: Monday to Thursday 10am to 5pm. Friday to Sunday 10am to 2pm. (Pick me, pick me is run in memory of Rosie and Curly. We picked them.)
The Local - Connecting the Community Taking enrolments for 2018
The Local believes in giving back to the community. Each edition The Local has two free advert spaces for not-for-profit organisations. Because it's right. So if your group needs a helping hand just email donna@tlnews.com.au The Local, your True Advocate for the Central Highlands. Ts & Cs apply.
Live to be kind. Learn to be wise.
w: dharmaschool.com.au p: 5348 3112
www.tlnews.com.au
News 9
Trentham doctor honoured in exhibition
G
WENETH Wisewould (1884-1972), Trentham’s longest serving doctor (1938-72), is one of 10 women honoured in the Her Place: Women of Influence exhibition running at The Warehouse in Clunes until September 3.
Unconventional, artistic and bohemian in outlook, the motorcycle-riding Dr Wisewould ran foul of Dame Mabel Brookes who was president of Queen Victoria Hospital. After getting the sack, she moved to Trentham with her lifelong companion, Isabella Bell. Driving a big old Dodge pick-up truck and dressed in men’s clothes and boots, Dr Wisewould initially shocked the conservative local community but her outstanding medical skills and devotion to patients – and her reluctance to bill them – soon won over even her most trenchant opponents. Women of Influence is the fourth exhibition organised by Her Place Women’s Museum Australia. It tells the stories of 10 women, including several from central Victoria, who have contributed to Australian society at both national and local levels through their work as pilots, politicians, scientists, sportswomen, doctors, farmers, adventurers, and community activists. Eight of the women featured in the exhibition have been inducted onto the Victorian Honour Roll of Women. Leading Senior Constable Sharon Radau was inspired to find out more about Dr Wisewould after discovering the monument to her in High Street when she moved to Trentham nearly three years ago. “I read her book, Outpost, which she published in 1971 just before her death. It details her experience as a doctor but it didn’t say much about herself. Perhaps this was because of her refusal to conform and ‘play the game’, I’m not sure. I became curious about who she was and why she came to Trentham. Her own story turned out to be fascinating,” Sharon said. “What I am sure about is how loved she was by the locals. Many were deeply impoverished and she was renowned for not charging patients who couldn’t pay. She was such a strong person but very caring. And so talented. She also painted, wrote plays and poetry. She was also a staunch Anglican. “Every year she would create a witty Christmas performance with lines about pretty much everyone in the community. She was a real character – smoked like a chimney and was a terrible driver. She burned through clutches and knocked over posts as she dashed around the countryside.” Sharon feels she is walking in Dr Wisewould’s footsteps. “I am only the second female police officer to have served in Trentham over the past 151 years. Some of the people in her book are still around. Dr Wisewould is an inspiring role model.” Sharon staged an exhibition about Dr Wisewould over Easter this year in conjunction with the Trentham Historical Society which was held in the old police station and behind the current one. She is thinking about holding another exhibition. Castlemaine resident, Ian Braybrook, was so fascinated by Dr Wisewould that he wrote a book about her – Gweneth Wisewould: Outpost Doctor in 1993, republished 2016. “Gwenny was our family doctor until the death of my father when I was eight when we moved away. She was a hero to our family. She didn’t leave many papers but, after interviewing lots of people in Trentham and Melbourne, I discovered she was a hero to many, not just my family,” Ian said. “She came from a very wealthy background but her heart was with the local spud growers and timber workers who were very poor. She was a marvellous doctor – very talented and was highly regarded as a surgeon in Melbourne. She saved a lot of lives. That’s what I’d like people to remember. She was just a wonderful person.” Eight of the women featured in the exhibition have been inducted onto the Victorian Honour Roll of Women.
Image: Courtesy of Her Place Women's Museum Australia The other women featured in the exhibition are: Pat Bigham AFSM, CFA volunteer; Aunty Fay Carter, Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Wurrung Senior Elder; Joan Kirner AC, Victoria’s first female premier; Val Lang AM, farmer and mentor of women in agriculture; Deborah Lawrie (Wardley) FRAeS MAP, first Australian female commercial airline pilot; Florence McKenzie OBE, Australia’s first female electrical engineer; Halima Mohamed, Somali community activist; Brigitte Muir OAM, first Australian woman to climb Mt Everest; and Peta Searle, first female AFL football coach. To accompany the exhibition, Her Place is delivering a Public Program on Thursday, August 17, 6pm; a Teacher’s Professional Development workshop on Thursday, August 24, 4.30pm; and Educational Guided Tours and Victorian curriculum-linked primary and secondary educational resources. The exhibition opening hours are Monday and Thursday, 10am-6pm; Wednesday and Friday, 10am-4pm; Saturday, 10am-3pm; and Sunday, 11am-3pm.
Boathouse Daylesford
Open every d ay ! Located on beautiful Lake Daylesford, providing year round comfort. Open 7 days a week for breakfast and lunch
Perfect for a meal, wine with friends. For more information about Boathouse Daylesford, please visit our website: www.boathousedaylesford.com.au
2 Leggatt St, Daylesford 03 5348 2199
www.tlnews.com.au
10 News
Books galore
T
HE Daylesford Primary School Annual Book Fair will be held on September 2 and 3.
The fair is the school’s major fundraiser for the year and raises much needed funds to enhance the literacy program at the school. It has raised more than $30,000 in its just six-year history. The event is coordinated by parents and teachers who strongly believe that literacy matters. The school has been inundated with book donations of all genres, and preparations are well in motion to present a diverse and well categorised fair. Thousands upon thousands of high quality, pre-loved books are donated by the community, and gifted to the school by publishers, with prices starting from $1. The Book Fair will be held at Daylesford Primary School’s gymnasium with entry via Vincent Street. Link: www.facebook.com/ DaylesfordPrimarySchoolBookFair Details: Nel Staite on 0437 628 911 or Daylesford Primary School on 5348 2480.
Getting books sorted is not as easy as it sounds, as students James, Tyson, Maeve and Jaime, found out Image: Kyle Barnes
Challenge yourself with our crossword! Look for the answers in the pages of The Local. Last issue's solution is on page 43.
Us Two - Vicky and Wakka
V
Wakka icky McCurdy always had a love for the Central Highlands and As I was coming into the world I was unfortunately twisted inside my mother bought a tree-change property in Trentham East in 2010. It’s now a B&B. Meanwhile, Wakka, her alpaca, arrived on March 1, 2014, with but after the vet and my adopted mum tried in vain to save my birth mum she her mum sadly losing her life while giving birth. Vicky came to the rescue as unfortunately died. From the age of two days old Vicky bottle-fed me and took me inside and I a surrogate mother. They told their stories to Donna Kelly. Vicky My heart was always with Victoria and I had a love for the Central Highlands area and lived here on and off throughout my life. I was drawn to the Central Highlands when a girlfriend moved up and married a local spud and beef farmer. After visiting numerous times I fell in love with the area and decided this is where I would like to live on day. I had been operating my own landscape design business in Brisbane and decided it was time to get out of the sun. I bought my tree-change property in January 2010, moved with my son Michael and proceeded to turn my renovator’s delight into a B&B. The old house has given me a few challenges mentally and financially but the good that has come has been well worth it. As I have said, an amazingly beautiful home with a doubly amazing community. I love animals and needed something to maintain my three-acre property and fell in love with alpacas. Wakka was born on my property. It was a little traumatic when she entered the world of East Trentham but put the biggest smile on my face. It was love at first sight, a cria is so soft and beautiful and incredibly cute. And I love the way she comes running when I call her and still nuzzles up to me. I don’t like it when she gets grumpy and jealous and is ready to have a tantrum and spit in my face. That's not very polite. Wakka also has a tendency to push the others out the way. But I know my place and Wakka is the celebrity around here. I am just fortunate to serve her and realise I am not the master or mistress in my case. And our journey will continue with improving my labour of love, Plum Tuckered Inn. I intend to enjoy the rest of my life and probably spend it in the Central Highlands surrounded by my animals and the beautiful Wombat Forest.
WEEKLY SPECIAL OUTDOOR SIDE TABLE Wrought Iron. Green. Normal price $160.
Sale price $110. offer ends 30 August or while stocks last IMPORTED WOODEN AND IRON FURNITURE, HOMEWARES ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES
See weekly specials & wrought iron gates at...
Call us for appointment at warehouse
KUKI 34 High St Trentham or call us
bengalmoon.com.au 0418 518 322
became one of the rescued animal clan with two dogs and one cat. It wasn’t love at first sight for me. She didn't look and smell like me. Her neck wasn’t long enough and she wasn't soft and cuddly But Vicky took me inside and heated up bottles for me. She even took me in the car with her to work until I got too big. And even now she gives me hugs and kisses and I feel special. Now I am too big she takes me more for walks and to visit the neighbours. We even go to the Pig & Whistle pub for a chat with the locals. The only things I don’t like about Vicky is that she sometimes shows the other girls way too much attention and I think she should only have cuddles and pony meals for me. She also doesn't take me in the car anymore, which I loved, and gets grumpy when I eat the roses. I have been in the limelight from a young age with guest appearances at The Great Trentham Spudfest and Sunday afternoons at the Pig. Also, Gold Street Studio is next door and I have been a model for many a student photographer. I see my future staying in the Central Highlands with my alpaca family and my great servant Vicky. Hopefully as I get older I will be able to come inside every winter in front of the fire. Especially when I have been shorn. It gets a little nippy up here. But being born and bred in Trentham East I feel lucky. The weather conditions are perfect for an alpaca. Not too hot and there’s usually lots of green grass. I have learnt to live with fame and can’t imagine being anywhere else. I hope I spend the rest of my life here with lots of friends and fodder and, of course, the odd Guinness for medicinal purposes only.
Do you know an Us Two? Email news@tlnews.com.au
12 Opinion
The Rant
by Kyle Barnes
A
N ORIGINAL idea is hard to come by especially these days. Back in the olden days original ideas had to be curbed.
For instance, in history at sea the sailors who were pressed into service by the British Royal Navy were told that whistling at sea would challenge the wind - in a bad way. This is, of course, the last thing you want to do while bobbing around in the middle of the ocean. The actual reason for this myth being invented was to stop the sailors using a whistling code to plot a mutiny. The other thing that was banned onboard the old Royal Navy windjammers was the mention of fresh food. You see, back then the crew would survive on limited dry rations for years on end so they invented code words like cackleberries for eggs. Then in the safety of port the first pub you came to was the Pig and Whistle, of course that’s where you could safely talk about fresh food and whistle to your heart’s content. There are, of course, other theories about the origins of the name Pig and Whistle however mine was passed down from an old sailor I meet while hunkering down from a storm for 24 hours in a bar in Fiji, and yes, rum was involved, so I guess that makes mine fair dinkum. On the subject of words and ships did you know “ship” is now a trending word, it’s an abbreviation of the word “relationship”. I find it amazing how these words are making their way into our vocabulary. The other day in mid-conversation I heard a grown woman say LOL which I thought was reserved for texting – oh yeah, a special shout-out to Julie from Accounts. But I digress, back to original ideas. Recently there has been an upsurge in the use of the word “local”. I have heard of new Central Highlands brands popping up with all sorts of tags on the word “local”. They are coming up with everything from “I once tripped over a local” to “Go pro a local”, whatever that means, maybe I have it wrong but you get the idea. We have been asked recently if these unoriginally-named products have anything to do with our magazines, The Little Local and of course The Local, so I am using my column to clear the air. Actually, we at The Local have spent a lot of our hard-earned protecting our names from being used in the Central Highlands. We have built a reputation as The Local magazine in print and online which promotes business in the Central Highlands and we do not want to see others leveraging off that reputation or diluting it. But although these new players are wearing me a little thin, I am not of a litigious nature and in the spirit of good business and the local economy, I just wanted to let the readers of this magazine know that there is only one local to seek out, The Local. Rant over…
Returned & Services League of Australia Daylesford Sub-Branch Inc.
Notice of A.G.M. The Annual General Meeting of the Daylesford R.S.L. sub-branch will take place on Wednesday, September 6 at 7pm. All current members are asked to attend. The financial figures for 2016 plus the plans for welfare will be presented to all at the meeting. Please do not forget Vietnam Veterans Day on Friday, August 18 at 11am at the Cenotaph. After the ceremony everyone is invited to the hospitality of the Daylesford R.S.L. sub-branch.
St John's Lutheran Church Ballarat is seeking expressions of interest for those wishing to attend worship services in Daylesford. Looking for a spiritual home? If you are looking for Christ-centred, word-focused worship, the Lutheran Church might be the place for you. St John's Lutheran Church Ballarat is looking at holding monthly worship services in the Verey Chapel, 43a Millar Street, Daylesford. The services would include Holy Communion and would be followed by a time of fellowship where light refreshments would be served. If you are interested in joining us please contact Andrew Nuske on 0438 021 611. Further information on the Lutheran Church Australia can be found at lca.org.au
Lutheran Church of Australia The Lutheran Church of Australia is the major Lutheran denomination in Australia and New Zealand. It counts 450 congregations and 70,000 members according to official statistics as of 2013. The first Lutherans to come to Australia in any significant number were the immigrants from Prussia, who arrived in 1838 with Pastor August Kavel. This period in Prussia was marked by a persecution of "Old Lutherans" who refused to join the Prussian Union, under King Friedrich Wilhelm. Today, the Lutheran Church of Australia is made up of people from all backgrounds who walk together in Christian faith.
Geelong Businessman, Mark Ward has ownership of the Mill Markets group and brings years of expertise to this amazing concept. The Mill Markets operate three massive venues located in Ballarat, Daylesford and Geelong. With a total of over 12,000 square metres of undercover floor space, (3 acres), treasure hunters have the opportunity to spend many hours browsing and meandering through the eclectic mix of products. There is a fantastic variety of home decor, furniture, records, vintage and new clothing, books, fine china, glassware, industrial items, jewellery, antiques as well as Australian pottery, homewares, memorabilia, retro fashions and collectables. We also have many stalls selling new products and have gift vouchers for those people who have everything!
All goods are from the 1850’s right through to present day. Mill Markets lease space to hundreds of dealers, which allows small business operators and collectors who otherwise could not afford the overheads of their own shops, to showcase their goods. This equates to a wide and diverse range of products, available and open to the public, seven days a week. Enjoy a wonderful trip down memory lane through hundreds and thousands of items available for purchase at all three locations. With over 500 stall holders over three venues, there is always something for everyone. Travel The Amazing Mill Markets ‘Golden Triangle’ and enjoy quality food and coffee at each. All venues open 7 days 10.00am-6.00pm (excluding Christmas Day).
14 Advertorial
www.tlnews.com.au
"From little things, big things grow”
H
(Paul Kelly)
AVE you noticed that we are more than half way through winter and the usual whinging about the weather, self-defeating thoughts and winter blues are not present this year? Or perhaps it’s just me?
Not only that my boys have fallen in love with footy and are now playing for one of the local teams, I see this as a positive step in us integrating more permanently into this amazing community and being able to sustain ourselves for the longer term.
Last winter I decided – this is it. I cannot live through another Daylesford Winter where mind viruses creep in and erode relationships, where health and fitness takes a back seat over w(h)ining and dining to make me us feel better, where I attempt to keep up a work standard that is impossible for family and personal harmony.
I started the gym with a wish – a wish for a new Xistance (existence) and it seems that wish is slowly starting to come true. From little things, big things grow!
So I planted a seed, a small seed of intention. The intention was to create a new impetus in myself and in my clients to live a healthier, happier and more harmonious life. Throughout the Spring the seed was sown and a shoot arose in the name of Bodycombat. A wonderful high intensity class that not only works both sides of the brain and body, but also assists participants to work to their full power potential. And if you know any of these “Combaters” then you will see for yourself the positive effect it is having on them and their lives. By Summer, the sun shining into the group fitness room spoke wonders to the mood lifting of anyone who walked through the front door. Beautiful meditations in Bodybalance brought together unlikely friends to sit and Be. Not only did the class help people to relax and take a breath, it actually breathed the same essence throughout the whole gym population. A lovely calm and relaxed atmosphere of friends and community was awakened. Autumn came with a cleanse. A new gym opening close by was challenging, but as they say competition is healthy, and it sure has proven to be so. Not only have we solidified our loyalty base, but we have been able to define our gym and services as promoting the Health and Wellbeing for all, and will soon be working with Springs Medical Centre on a wonderful initiative – Put a Spring in your Step. And here we are back in Winter a year later. That small seed planted last year has started to blossom. People prefer a healthy approach to their lives more readily, mindsets have become a little more positive, and there is a beautiful coherency in people and their relations to others. Interestingly, I also was contemplating my future with the gym. A couple of years left on my lease and I wondered if my family and I could continue to handle the load. I voiced this to some dear friends, and as a result a wonderful rallying of support has occurred. The gym community accepting our changes in opening and closing times to support our family’s welfare as well as servicing their needs.
I’d like to thank everyone who has made it possible for us to exist within the Daylesford/Hepburn community as a health and wellbeing service and I look forward to continuing with what we do here for you as a gift back in reciprocity.
Best wishes and much LOVE Sam "The intention was to create a new impetus in myself and in my clients to live a healthier, happier and more harmonious life." - Sam Redlich
holistic fitness
A WHOLE FAMILY GYM
Xistance provides fitness services that promote health and wellbeing for individuals, families and the community.
PARENTS AND BABIES TEEN GYM GROUP FITNESS and LesMills MULTIFUNCTIONAL GYM STRONG OLDER ADULTS Come and join our unique, friendly and all inclusive gym community. 10 Mink Street, Daylesford, VIC
Samantha Redlich
www.xistance.com.au
0433 848 292
XistanceHolisticFitness
samantha@xistance.com.au
SKIN CANCER CLINIC • Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. • 2 in 3 Australians will develop skin cancer. • 1 in 17 will develop a melanoma – the most deadly form of skin cancer. Have you ever been sunburned? Do you work or play sports outdoors? Do you have fair skin or red hair? Have you or someone in your family had skin cancer? Are you worried about any spots on your skin? If the answer is YES to any of the above, NOW is the time to get your skin checked.
Please call and book a skin check with Dr Brad Wyer. (Diploma of Dermoscopy and Skin Cancer Surgery from the
Spa Attendant Vacancy at Daylesford Day Spa
Australian College of Cutaneous Oncology)
We are looking for an energetic and dedicated Spa Attendant to join our passionate team of massage and beauty therapists. Must be available weekends. Training provided for immediate start. Please email call us on 03 5348 2331 to arrange an informal interview.
Managing the spa at Peppers a dream job
M
anaging the beautiful spa at Peppers Mineral Springs Hotel is, for Fiona Craig, a job that really is as good as it sounds.
She looks after thousands of guests per year, as well as about 20 staff, as part of a job that involves everything from HR to customer service and finance - everything, essentially, that running a business involves. “It’s a good place to work, it’s a good place to come to,” Fiona explains. “I do enjoy meeting all the people that come in here, it is a really lovely mix that we get through – and I really enjoy working with our people, they are really talented therapists. "It’s a destination that people go to for a real wind-down, and the most popular experience on offer, the mineral water therapy area, is attracting locals as well as tourists. “It really is one of the most approachable in terms of pricing, so it’s very popular, people like to go in groups or with their partners – the place is just flat-out, it’s lively. “And massage is definitely the most popular treatment, people get a really decent, skilful massage, it’s always a classic.” So far, Fiona has been in the job for about four years, loving not only the short drive to work but also having a great boss. “Bobby really does genuinely care about the staff and about people, he’s very kind.”
Peppers Mineral Springs Hotel is at 124 Main Rd, Hepburn Springs. Phone: 5348 2202.
Advertorial
PETER STEVENS BALLARAT BLIZZARD
BARGAINS JEEP DEMO SALE
ALL LOW KMS - ALL WITH NEW CAR WARRANTY
$39,990
GRAND CHEROKEE LAREDO
GRAND CHEROKEE LIMITED
DRIVE AWAY
DRIVE AWAY
• • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • •
RENEGADE LONGITUDE
CHEROKEE LIMITED
$24,990
DRIVE AWAY • • • • • • •
ANE806 - 1.4 TURBO 6 SPEED AUTO REVERSE CAMERA ALLOY WHEELS BLIND SPOT MONITORING SILVER 832km
DRIVE AWAY
ANY053 - 3.2 V6 4X4 8 SPEED AUTO SATNAV HEATED FRONT SEATS PUSH BUTTON START SILVER 58km
$49,990
$59,990
ANE835 - NEW MODEL 3.6 V6 4X4 8 SPEED AUTO REVERSE CAMERA AUTO HEADLIGHTS HEATED FRONT SEATS GRANIT GREY 102km
ANY005 - TURBO DIESEL 4X4 SATNAV 20” ALLOYS LEATHER TRIM VENTILATED FRONT SEATS BLACK 42km
LIMITED STOCK - RARE OPPORTUNITY
Peter Stevens Motorworld 615 Creswick Road Ballarat - Cnr Howitt Street - Opposite the Ballarat Showgrounds
5336 8777
www.psm.net.au
Find us on Facebook
LMCT265
www.tlnews.com.au
Advertorial 17
Windarring is providing disability services in Daylesford
W
INDARRING has started providing disability support services within the Daylesford community.
Chief executive officer Mr Chris O’Connor said: “Windarring has a proud reputation and history, providing disability services in the Kyneton, Castlemaine, Bendigo and Gisborne regions. We’re delighted to be extending our services to Daylesford. "We’re a dynamic, person centred, community based, not for profit organisation committed to providing support services for people with disabilities and their families. “Windarring partners with individuals and their networks to develop support plans which include a choice of activities, community participation, connection and inclusion. "Support services are focused on achieving individual outcomes, consistent with Disability Industry Standards. Windarring is a registered and operating National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provider. "We aim to ensure that all people with disabilities, their families and carers have freedom to choose individually tailored services that open up opportunities for participation, inclusion and acceptance within their local community." Services include: • Individual or group support tailored to individual needs; • Recreation, life skills, information technology, art and social outings; • Respite services; • Independent living support; • Employability training and support; • Supported holidays and events; and • Communication support. Di Nancarrow is the key contact person at Windarring. She can be contacted on (03) 5422 7001 or by email intake@windarring.org.au
Jenny, a Windarring client, irons Boomerang Bags as part of the plastic bag free initiative in Daylesford
Holistic Funeral Directors
Sustainable & authentic funerals Call 5427 3112 visit NaturalGrace.com.au
Standing up for the Hepburn Community
P: (03) 5338 8123 F: (03) 5333 7710
Over 150 years of service to the shires of Daylesford, Hepburn, Creswick, Clunes ,Trentham, Kyneton and surrounds. ————————
Andrew Nuske and Alicia Kay 24 Bridport Street Daylesford 3460 53482762 info@vereyfuneraldirectors.com www.vereyfuneraldirectors.com.au ————————
Pre-paid and Pre-planned funeral plans available
Great fun on offer at Daylesford Play Café
G
OOD food and good fun are going hand-in-hand seven days a week at the Daylesford Play Café.
Taking kids to a play space that features not only great equipment, but a great little café as well, is always going to be popular with the whole family and Daylesford Play Café is the best place in town. Owner Meg Adam has created a unique venue and, having a background in nutrition, she has made sure that the café is stocked with healthy options including vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, sugarfree, nut-free and soy-free. “It’s all child-friendly, and reasonably priced so that families can afford to come,” Meg explains. And the coffee? It’s great. “The café area runs the length of the venue, so you can have a coffee and something to eat and still be able to see the kids the whole time. Plus we have cushions and blankets in the seated area to help keep warm, and the venue has a woodfire.” There are two play areas, as well as varying prices, with kids under 12 months of age free, $8 for a regular pass, and $5 after school between 3.30 and 5.30. “There’s also a $65 book of 10 passes, which works out to $6.50 per visit – and it’s valid for 12 months, so there’s no rush to use it.” Parties are also popular – there’s a gorgeous woodland-themed party room, and packages for kids' parties include food, beverages, unlimited play access, take-home party bags, and a free pass for the birthday boy or girl.
Daylesford Play Café is open 9.30am-5.30pm seven days a week, and is located at 8/39 East St, Daylesford. Advertorial
www.tlnews.com.au
T
HECHO!R is getting its groove on, in preparation for Thank You For The Music at the Daylesford Town Hall on Sunday, August 20 at 2.30pm. The concert will be conducted by their founding artistic director and Daylesford local, Jonathon Welch.
Thank You For The Music is a fundraiser to support the 5000 Club in Daylesford with its work with the homeless and marginalised members of the community. “We are absolutely thrilled to be able to offer our support through this concert,” Jonathon said. “We hope to see everyone there and pack out the town hall. The 5000 Club does such amazing work and has touched the lives of so many.” THECHO!R, was created by Jonathon in February 2009 and is now in its 9th year of performances.
“THE MAGIC OF NATURE” EXHIBITION OF PHOTOGRAPHS, GLASS JEWELLERY, GLASS OBJECTS & CARDS BY
MARGARET CHANDRA
GALLERY 40 ON 9 PIPER ST KYNETON Open: 11am – 4pm
August: Sat, 26 - Mon, 28 September: Fri, 1 – Sun, 3: Thurs, 7 – Sun,10
Ph 0438 356 025
Out & About 19
THECHO!R shares its joy of singing with a common passion and commitment to support communities through fundraising activities. There are over 120 singing members from all walks of life, ranging in age from 18 to 85. “We have been to Daylesford numerous times and just love performing here. The Daylesford Town Hall is such a glorious space to sing in. We have been having a blast rehearsing the wonderful, groovy and soulful songs which were part of the 70s. From ABBA to David Bowie through to The Carpenters, Queen and Peter Allen to Barry Manilow. Who doesn't love the music of the 70s?” Tickets will be available at the door from 2pm, adults are $20, concession and U16 are $15.
Link: www.thechoir.com.au Image: Matthew Jones
Relocation
SALE Up to 50% off selected items DAYLESFORD CINEMA
Open 6 days 10am to 5pm (Closed Tuesdays)
We stock cloth, yarn, haberdashery, bed linen, homewares & other handmade treasures 6 Howe Street Daylesford Victoria 3460 hello@thehaberdashery.com.au www.thehaberdashery.com.au t +61 3 5348 1325 m +61 408 968 843
The Haberdasheryp
Doors close 5pm Thursday 31 August Melbourne's most exciting non-auditioned choir
presents
Tuesday August 15 10am Kedi (G) 6pm Lady Macbeth (MA15+) Friday August 18 6pm Una (M) 8pm Baby Driver (MA15+) Saturday August 19 3.45pm Kedi (G) 5.5pm Baby Driver (MA15+) OC 8pm Una (M) Sunday August 20 2pm Kedi (G) 4pm Una (M) 6pm Baby Driver (MA15+) Tuesday August 22 10am Una (M) 6pm Kedi (G) Friday August 25 5.15pm War: Planet of the Apes (M) 8pm Dunkirk (M) Saturday August 26 3pm War: Planet of the Apes (M) 5.45pm Dunkirk (M) 8pm Monsieur Chocolat (M) Sunday August 27 1.15pm Dunkirk (M) 3.30pm Monsieur Chocolat (M) 6pm War: Planet of the Apes (M) Tuesday August 29 10am Monsieur Chocolat (M)
Sing along to all your favourite hits from ABBA, David Bowie, The Carpenters, Peter Allen, Elton John, Barry Manilow and more!
CI AL ER
CI AL
M CO M
DAYLESFORD 9,1&(17 67
OUTSTANDING HOSPITALITY OPPORTUNITY • Fantastic lease terms • Floor space 140sqm • Newly renovated LEASE NOW PRICE $3,779 PCM CONTACT Dani Sutherland 0439 864 486
PRIVATE OFFICE SPACES ‡ 6LWXDWHG LQ WKH KLVWRULF 2OG 9LF +RWHO ‡ 2IIHULQJ VHSDUDWH VSDFHV :& NitFKHQHWWH • Plenty of stoage, great lease terms LEASE NOW PRICE $1,830 PCM CONTACT Dani Sutherland 0439 864 486
GORGEOUS HISTORICAL BUILDING • Two great retail shops • Fantastic opportunity for your new business • An inspection will impress LEASE NOW PRICE $1,740 PCM CONTACT Dani Sutherland 0439 864 486
PERFECT TREATMENT/CONSULTANT ROOMS ‡ 5HFHQWO\ UHQRYDWHG LQ WKH 2OG 9LF +RWHO ‡ 1HZ FDUSHWV EDWKURRP NLWFKHQHWWH • Located in the centre of town LEASE NOW PRICE $1,370 PCM CONTACT Dani Sutherland 0439 864 486
LE FOR AS E
DAYLESFORD 40 PERRINS ST 3
1
MODERN VILLA IN CONVENIENT LOCATION ‡ :RRG ½UH KHDWHU [ VSOLW V\VWHPV ‡ 2SHQ SODQ ORXQJH NLWFKHQ JDV FRRNLQJ ‡ (QFORVHG \DUG SULYDWH GHFNLQJ FRXUW\DUG LEASE NOW PRICE $380pw CONTACT .DWLH /HQQR[
1
DAYLESFORD $ )8/&+(5 67
1
NEAT & TIDY BRICK HOME ‡ &ORVH WR 0LOO 0DUNHWV ORZ PDLQWHQDQFH ‡ 6SDFLRXV OLYLQJ NLWFKHQ ZLWK JDV FRRNLQJ • Gas ducted heating throughout LEASE WK $XJXVW PRICE SHU ZHHN CONTACT Stefanie Jones 0437 808 087
DAYLESFORD 5,1*6 5'
1
QUAINT COTTAGE ON LARGE BLOCK ‡ 2SHQ NLWFKHQ ORXQJH SOHQW\ RI FXSERDUGV • Ned Kelly wood heater • Two-car garage LEASE NOW PRICE SHU ZHHN CONTACT .DWLH /HQQR[
A of CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL DAYLESFORD 8–10 SEPTEMBER
visit mco.org.au/feast
LE FOR AS E
DAYLESFORD +2:( 67
LE FOR AS E
CO M
CO M
M
M
ER
ER
CI AL
CI AL ER M CO M
DAYLESFORD 9,1&(17 67
LE FOR AS E
HEPBURN SPRINGS 114 MAIN RD
FOUNDATION EVENT PARTNERS
YANDOIT <$1'2,7 &5((. 5'
1
PRIVATE RETREAT COTTAGE â&#x20AC;¢ Modern style double storey cottage Â&#x2021; 6SDFLRXV ORXQJH ZLWK ZRRG ½UH KHDWLQJ Â&#x2021; .LWFKHQ ZLWK JDV FRRNLQJ IDQWDVWLF YLHZV LEASE NOW PRICE SHU ZHHN CONTACT Stefanie Jones 0437 808 087
1
DAYLESFORD 8 MORELLA COURT ONE OF DAYLESFORD’S HIDDEN TREASURES This historic residence sits in the shade of a majestic walnut tree on over 2000 m2 of land and has been extensively renovated and redecorated. Nestled in beautiful established gardens with spectacular long views to Mt Franklin and beyond, this classic residence features high ceilings, generously proportioned living areas with French doors opening onto a huge entertaining deck. With 3 bedrooms, large bathroom including a deluxe 2-person spa, euro laundry and entertainers kitchen with granite bench tops. A genuine rare opportunity to acquire such an outstanding property.
௭ 3 º1 Ê 4 FOR SALE PRICE $835,000 CONTACT Tom Shaw 0438 118 903 Michael DeVincentis 0417 142 152 OFFICE 43 Vincent Street, Daylesford 5348 2328 DAYLESFORD 3/34 SMITH STREET BRIGHT SINGLE LEVEL RESIDENCE IN QUIET COURT AREA Bright and beautifully presented, this single level home is located in a quiet court location and presents the opportunity for low maintenance permanent living, or would suit as a rental investment or weekender. A screened sunny entry deck opens to the spacious living-dining area with large picture windows and there are 2 large bedrooms, both with built-in robes. The smart kitchen is well appointed with plenty of storage space and a large central bathroom has a bath and separate shower. The lovely sheltered rear courtyard would be perfect to establish vegetable and flower gardens.
௭ 2 º1 Ê 2 FOR SALE PRICE $345,000 CONTACT Rae Corris 0408 358 772 OFFICE 43 Vincent Street, Daylesford 5348 2328
Wanting to sell in the Macedon Ranges?
Contact Garry Seddon, your local Branch Manager to discuss your needs. Garry Seddon 0418 586 523
Shop 3A, 81 High Street, Woodend, VIC 3442 Office Phone 03 5427 3200
Raine & Horne
rh.com.au/woodend
®
Bruce Bavin 0419 027 722
24 acres with a mix of bush & cleared land Main house features four bedrooms Plus original cottage & shedding Large dam with pergola/bbq area
25 Doveton Street North, Ballarat
A rare find, superbly located in a quiet tranquil little known location midway between & easy to stroll to both Lake Daylesford & Victoria Park. With four separate parcels of land going to auction you have the option to purchase the large family home on approximately 1,000m2 allotment with existing shedding or also available there are three separate vacant blocks of land ranging from approximately 985m2 up to 1,871m2 in size. Approximately 1km to Lake Daylesford Rare building opportunity in such a premium location All properties will be auctioned separately commencing @ 11.30am starting with 5 Park Avenue Terms: 10% deposit - Balance 30/60/90 days
KORWEINGUBOORA 20 SUCKLINGS LANE
ABSOLUTE SECLUSION Set for a tree change - then this is what you have been looking for. This is your chance to secure a beautifully treed 27-acre block with direct access to walking and riding tracks though the Wombat State Forest. Craftsman built house, only 10 years old, set in a peaceful clearing with adjacent shedding provides the perfect off-grid weekender or permanent home. This 3-bedroom home with separate bathroom and laundry boasts an extensive open plan living room. This self-sufficient home has its own tank water, solar power, wood heater and septic system.
௭ 3 º1 Ê 2 FOR SALE PRICE $515,000 CONTACT Tom Shaw 0438 118 903 Michael DeVincentis 0417 142 152 OFFICE 43 Vincent Street, Daylesford 5348 2328
Words in Winter Daylesford Images: Broderick Photography
26 Our authors
www.tlnews.com.au
Canine heroes to the rescue in latest book
T
It’s Dee’s 18th book – or maybe it’s her 17th. She has a problem that most authors would love to have – two books that she has authored are coming out at the same time, so Canine Heroes could be either number. “It could be my 17th, it could be my 18th – I also have a picture book, about a Dee, pictured centre above, used to walk her dog around Woodend to get her creative juices flowing, having already written 16 books which have won both awards deaf girl, coming out, it’s a diversity book.” Book launches are also something Dee has mastered over her 10 years as a writer and critical acclaim, but it was the passing of her beloved pooch last year that inspired – and although writing is something she wanted to do ever since she was a kid herself, Dee to write a book about dogs. writing children’s books “wasn’t considered a job back then” so it wasn’t until 2008 It’s not a book about just any dogs – it’s about their ability to save humans, and that Dee has taken her passion and turned it into a career. it’s told from different perspectives which combine to create tales to entertain kids as “I’ve always wanted to write books, I had kids and got interested in writing books much as adults. for kids and teenagers.” “My dog had rescued two kittens, and she was a beautiful dog - and I thought So far, her work has been published in Australia as well as overseas and earlier this there’s so many stories of people rescuing dogs, but there’s so many stories of dogs year she spent a month in Paris after having received a grant to research a future book. rescuing people that just aren’t told,” Dee explains. And it’s in her home town of Woodend that Dee will launch Canine Heroes “It’s for children ages nine-plus, and adults will enjoy the story too.” at book shop New Leaves on August 26 at 10.30am, with the support of the local Canine Heroes comes together as four stories of brave rescues which are library – and with canines in mind. fictionalised in Dee’s award-winning way, but which are based on true events from “It’s a community launch, and people can bring their dogs along and there will be around the world. prizes for the dogs too.” “There’s one from America, one from Canada, one from France, and one from Australia. The Australian one is a Queensland story, about two dogs that dragged a Words: Kate Taylor | Image: David White small child from a dam. “And the one based in Canada is about a dog that saved a boy from a cougar, and part of it is actually written from the cougar’s point of view and part of it from the dog’s point of view, and it’s based on a true story – it’s a different perspective on them.”
HEY’RE man’s best friend – and woman’s too, might we add – and now, canines are the topic of renowned author Dee White’s latest children’s book.
Act now! (Before it's too late...) *The Spring edition of The Little Local is out in September. If you want to get your business in front of visitors to the Central Highlands, book your space today. Bookings close August 16! *Father's Day is looming. And the next edition of The Local, August 28, is all about dads - presents (no jocks and socks...), places to go, things to see and restaurants to book. Let readers know how they can spoil their dad. Bookings close August 23.
Dine review 27
www.tlnews.com.au
27 parmas and plenty more at The Royal
T
HE Royal Daylesford has been serving great fare for just over 100 years and there has never been a better time to visit than right now.
There's a new menu, which has all the pub favourites and then some, and then there's the 27 Parmas Menu which offers amazing value on Wednesdays and Thursdays with a second parma only $5. We were warmly greeted by manager Beth O'Brien, who has been with the hotel for about four years, with a little time off to try a "nine-to-five job" but she missed the staff and customers. With so many starters on offer, and a rising feeling of FOMO (fear of missing out) Beth suggested the kitchen, headed by the very talented Suraj Panday, formerly head chef at Mantra on Southbank, whip up a bit of a tasting plate. OMG. Out came a huge wooden platter heaving with a perfect start to a meal. In fact, it could be a meal in itself. In no particular order, we had the Otway Pork Spare Ribs with a homemade barbeque sauce and a house kohlrabi slaw ($15), Spiced Chicken Ribs with slaw, lemon and spicy mayo ($14), Calamari with a light paprika dusting ($17), Tomato & Ricotta Bruschetta with artisan bread, marinated cherry tomatoes, basil and balsamic vinegar ($13) and finally, Croquettes of Murray cod, dill and a caper mayo ($13). Every single bite was an amazing fusion of flavour and texture. All winners. But the mains were yet to come. Kyle, of course, opted for the parma but with 27 to choose from, was wracked with indecision. The Far-Ken-Ot (say it quickly) caught his eye, as did the Surf & Turf, Break The Fast and The Texas. But he finally decided on the Farma Parma - "a taste of the fresh harvest", the schnitzel layered with potato, pumpkin, broccoli, cauliflower and garden peas all melted under a chunky mornay sauce - with real gravy and a side of crunchy chips ($27). With a tap beer on the side, he was in heaven. He now has a plan to make his way through the 27 parmas at a rate of one a week. Beth recommended the Slow Cooked Lamb Stroganoff ($23) and the Crispy Otway Pork Belly ($27.50) but I couldn't go past the Seafood Linguine, which was chock-full of garlic fried prawns, squid, seasonal fish, tomato, chilli, fish broth and chives ($26.90). Perfectly cooked, full of flavour and just a hint of heat. We really couldn't manage dessert but Beth brought out a delightful Apple and Rhubarb Crumble with vanilla bean ice-cream and raspberry coulis ($12.90). A delicious finish to a really wonderful meal. Oh, while Kyle enjoyed his beer I had a couple of lovely glasses of Captains Creek chardonnay ($32 bottle). The wine menu is extensive - and affordable. Beth said Royal owners Cameron Stone - who was the creator of Australia's largest parma menu of 101 selections at his last establishment, and Joe Morello, who took over a year ago, had been busy with the new menu and a renovated kitchen, and were starting on more renovations in summer. If our experience was anything to go by, watch this space!
Words: Donna Kelly | Images: Kyle Barnes
THE
R O YA L D AY L E S F O R D EST. 1916
27 WAYS TO EAT A
Every Wed & Thurs All Day Dining 11.30 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 9pm * Buy 1 get your 2nd for $5
TRADITIONAL | NAKED | SURF & TURF | NACHO NACHO MAN BREAK THE FAST | FAR-KEN-OT | HAPPY BIRTHDAY THE MEAT AXE | GLUTEN FREE | MIXED GRILL THE BBB | FARMA PARMA | DYNAMIC DUO THE TEXAS | FOR THE LADIES | CARBONARA |CALABRESE THE CANADIAN | KIDS | PULLED PORK | THE ITALIAN JOB FOR THE VEGETARIAN | SICILIAN | GREEK ADONIS CBA | MARGARITA | TROPPO
27 Vincent Street, Daylesford Ph: 5348 2205 E: admin@tdrh.com.au
28 Our volunteers
www.tlnews.com.au
5000 Club celebrates 6 years and 11,500 meals
S
The charitable organisation, Second Bite, through Daylesford Coles, supplies fruit, vegetables and bread, to use to cook Friday meals, and to provide the attendees with produce which is available to take for free. Coles has provided approximately 12,800kg of goods for the 5000 Club, a wonderful contribution to a community project. As the club became recognised as an established part of the area, and open to all, many local businesses and individuals donated goods, services and cash donations so that the club is financially very secure. Hepburn Shire Council provides an annual Since that start, there have been about 11,500 free hot three-course meals prepared and served in a warm, welcoming cafe atmosphere every Friday at noon. The grant and other businesses giving generous support are The Daylesford Meat Co, Bakers Delight, Albert Street Butchery, The Farmers Arms, Wombat Hill Nursery, venue is the historic Stanbridge Hall adjacent to Christ Church Anglican Church. Hepburn Spa Company and The Local. Everyone is welcome, and all are treated with respect and consideration. One of the So many kind and generous local people arrive with donations of goods... regulars calls it "the happy place", and though people appreciate the meals, the major anything from potatoes, apples, rhubarb, greens to frozen ducks, chickens, pork... benefit is the friendship and social interaction difficult to find in this busy world. all gratefully received. There are also donations of hand-knitted goods, clothing, The age group is very wide, from three or four years to 96. Many of the attendees books and magazines for people to take with no charge. The community has been so have been coming since earliest days as have several of the foundation volunteers generous in support of the club, which makes the task of the group, and the work of including the Pavlova Queen - Dawn Hewitt. the volunteers who are the heart of the activity, so rewarding. As the kitchen is run by a trained chef and an experienced cook, the food is of a consistently high standard, and the menus are constantly changing, with vegetarian Details: Loretta on 0439 364 857. options always available. The special Christmas lunch each year is a highlight.
IX years ago, the former Daylesford Anglican Parish priest, Father Andrew Eaton, agreed to help set up a Friday lunch club for Hepburn Shire residents. Loretta Little, pictured top row, third from left, gathered a group of volunteers together, and the 5000 Club was born, named by Father Eaton referencing Jesus feeding the 5000.The Anglican Church auspices the club, and under the present priest, Father Jeff O'Hare, provides support and backing.
In-house butcher
DAYLESFORD
Localised produce Gastro pub
Paddock to plate Open 7 days lunch and dinner w: farmersarmscreswick.com p: 5345 2221
Dining at itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finest Nose to tail, in-house butcher, local produce
Dining 29
CELEBRATE FATHER’S DAY AT BELLINZONA SUNDAY, 3 SEPTEMBER
TASTINGS FOOD & WINE HUB
Regional wine tasting and casual dining experience with gourmet fresh wood fire pizza lunches. Sat & Sun, 12 – 6pm
HERITAGE RESTAURANT
Classic Italian cuisine dinners. Freshly handmade pasta. Wed – Sun, 6pm till late. COMPLIMENTARY DAYLESFORD ALE FOR DAD WHEN YOU DINE IN.
BELLINZONA (03) 5348 2271
77 Main Road, Hepburn Springs bellinzona@grangecc.com.au www.grangecc.com.au
DELI // SANDWICH // COFFEE
Open 7 days from 7am
30 Gig guide
www.tlnews.com.au
Gig Guide
The Spa Bar, Daylesford Piano Improv – Wednesday, August 16, 7pm-10pm Gillian & Terry – Thursday, August 17, 7pm-10pm. DMT DJ Grooves with DJ EZC – Friday, August 18, 9pm-11pm Pugsley Buzzard Trio – Saturday, August 19, 7.30pm-10.30pm Piano Improv – Wednesday, August 23, 7pm-10pm Michael Timcke jazz quartet – Thursday, August 24, 7pm-10pm. DMT DJ Grooves with DJ Trent Niske – Friday, August 25, 9pm-11pm The Cartwheels – Saturday, August 26, 7.30pm-10.30pm
Blue Bean Love Cafe, Hepburn Springs Scott Fraser - Friday, August 18 Five Mile Sniper - Saturday, August 19 Buck Jr. - Sunday, August 20 Jazz Deuce - Friday, August 25 Caroline Gale - Saturday, August 26 Stand Up Comedy - Sunday, August 27
Ballan RSL Hall, Ballan
Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn
The Good Girl - A Song Project - Saturday, August 26, 2.30pm
Harry Hookey – Friday, August 18, 7pm Chris Wilson Band – Saturday, August 19, 8.30pm-11.30pm Mark Smith & Marni Sheehan – Sunday, August 20, 5pm-7pm $5 entry Gillian & Terry – Saturday, August 26, 8.30pm-11.30pm Salvatore Rossano Duo – Sunday, August 27, 5pm-7pm
Got a gig coming up? Email news@tlnews.com.au
Baked eggs with chorizo, tomato and fetta by Tonia Todman A great stand-by for a quick meal – and excellent for a leisurely brunch. Pour a little olive oil into a large heavy-based pan, then add tinned chopped tomatoes, some sliced and chopped pink or white onions, sliced chorizo sausages and/or some good quality spicy sausages, tiny fresh tomatoes, chopped parsley, some torn basil, pepper and salt. Cook over low heat until it's all converted into a luscious mix. Cool overnight in the fridge, OR go straight ahead and fill your ramekins, see below. If required, warm the tomato mixture over low heat. Put this mixture into individual oiled ramekins, level the tops but make an indentation in the centre into which you break an egg. Sprinkle generously with fetta cheese, pushing some down into the tomato mixture, parsley, salt and pepper. Place ramekins on an oven tray, place on centre shelf of a 180c oven and bake until egg has set. Serve with crusty fresh bread.
Copyright: Tonia Todman
THE OLD HEPBURN BAR | DINING | LIVE MUSIC OPEN FOR DINNER
Weds - Sun 5pm....Breakfast & Lunch From 9am Weekends... Frugal foodies $20 Menu Mon/Weds/Thurs $15 Schnitzels between 5-7 Thurs $15 Roast from 12pm every Sunday
LIVE MUSIC EVERY WEEKEND 5348 2207 | 236 Main Road, Hepburn | www.oldhepburnhotel.com.au
Free courtesy shuttle
www.tlnews.com.au
Meal Deals 31
Meal deals for locals...and visitors too!
E
VERYONE loves a good meal deal. So here are the dining establishments offering great food and great prices!
Monday:
Daylesford Hotel, Daylesford - Monday Meatball Madness - $20 (Vegetarian option available.) Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn - Frugal Foodies - $20 Grande Hotel, Hepburn Springs - Locals' Night - 2-courses $35, 3-courses - $45
Tuesday:
Perfect Drop, Daylesford - five courses - $55 Daylesford Hotel, Daylesford - Burger Night with chips - $20
Wednesday:
Daylesford Hotel, Daylesford â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Pot (or glass of house wine) and Parma - $20 Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn - Frugal Foodies - $20
Thursday:
Daylesford Hotel, Daylesford â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Steak Night - $20 Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn - Schnitzel Night - 5pm-7pm- $15 Frank and Connies - $30 for a dinner and a glass of wine
Friday:
The Surly Goat - lunch special - two courses and a glass of wine - $40 Grange Bellinzona, Hepburn - two courses and a glass of wine - $45 Tastings at Bellinzona, Hepburn - free wine tasting of up to six choices of regional wines when you order a pizza, platter or purchase a bottle of wine. 5000 Club - three-course lunch at Christ Church Anglican Hall, Daylesford
Saturday:
The Surly Goat - lunch special - two courses and a glass of wine - $40 Tastings at Bellinzona, Hepburn - free wine tasting of up to six choices of regional wines when you order a pizza, platter or purchase a bottle of wine.
Sunday:
The Surly Goat - lunch special - two courses and a glass of wine - $40 Grange Bellinzona, Hepburn - two courses and a glass of wine - $45 Old Hepburn Hotel - Sunday roast - two choices of meat with all the trimmings $15 from noon until sold out.
Happy Hours:
Perfect Drop, Daylesford, has a Happy Hour, Thursday to Monday, from 4pm to 6pm with $12 cocktails and $2 oysters.
Raffles:
Fundraising raffles for local organisations are held on Friday evenings at The Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn and The Farmers Arms Hotel, Daylesford.
GENUINE LOCALLY GROWN BEEF AND LAMB Our prime lamb & aged beef is produced on the family farm ‘Green Hills Natural’ near Malmsbury & the beef aged on our Daylesford premises. Our pork and free range poultry is sourced from local suppliers in Central Victoria and where possible everything else is sourced locally. We have renamed and refurbished our premises Daylesford ethos, our heritage and to continue our commitment to the community. Our business is a well known Daylesford icon, and has supplied the locals and visitors with genuine locally grown produce for over 50 years and will continue to supply the highest quality produce for the best value. The on staff expert butchers make a select range of specialist sausages including our famous ‘Bull Boar’ which is another Daylesford icon. OUR GOURMET RANGE OF HOUSE-MADE SMOKED SMALLGOODS Bacons, Chorizo, Terrines, Ham Hocks, Strasburg, Pastrami and more. Shopping at The Daylesford Meat Co. is an experience not to be missed so come in and talk face to face with the friendly people who make and prepare your food.
37 Vincent Street. Daylesford. Phone 5348 2094. Find us on Facebook
Mon - Thurs: 7am - 5.30 pm Friday: 7am - 6pm Saturday: 7am - 1pm
Show this ad in store and receive
20% off 4 or more bottles of wine One per customer per day.
*Conditions apply. Not available in conjunction with any other offer. Offer applies to single bottle price only. Available on selected sparkling wines only. Offer does not apply to champagne. See staff for further details. Offer ends 27/08/17
Cellarbrations @ foxxy’s our region’s largest local and boutique wine specialists Open every day until late 55 Vincent Street, Daylesford Tel: 5348 3577 * Not available on already discounted wines and special items
News 33
www.tlnews.com.au
The old smoke and mirrors trick with a 2017 twist
F
OR a very simple idea, a mirror box really does work miracles. And it’s just that, a box and a mirror.
But when Graham Downie, who had a stroke two and a half years ago, puts his left hand into the closed side of the box and his right hand into the mirrored side, something magical happens. As he moves his right hand and watches it happen in the mirror, his damaged left hand, sometimes also makes the same movements. His brain is being “tricked” by the mirror into believing his left hand can move like his right. In just two weeks the Daylesford resident can now move his left hand from being clenched to being outstretched. And that’s the miracle – because in days of old, victims of strokes and major trauma were told if they did not regain use within six months to a year, to “learn to live with it”. Graham’s occupational therapist, Paul Lamb, who works with Hepburn Health, says it is all to do with neuro-plasticity, a fairly recent discovery but one that has been proven with MRIs. “What we do know is that if you imagine a movement of any part of your body then the brain fires neurons as if it is real – even if you are not doing it. So what we are trying to do here, with Graham, is to trick the brain to fire those neurons and then that area of the brain that has been damaged starts recruiting other neurons and creates new pathways. “By using constant repetition, we actually recruit unaffected neurons and they start to take over and that’s when movement happens. And the pathways get stronger and stronger. “This is only part of his therapy but it is a major part and it works.” Paul said mirror boxes had been around for 15 to 20 years but were being used more now that neuro-plasticity had been recognised. “Even people with no disability use neuro-plasticity all the time – if you learn a new skill then that is neuroplasticity. The brain recruits other parts of the brain to learn that skill.” The making of the mirror box came as a joint project, with funding from the Daylesford and District Community Bank and the construction by a few of the Daylesford Men’s Shed participants. They have also built an extra mirror box for Hepburn Health. Now recovering well, Graham said he and Paul also hope to take technical drawings of the mirror box to other men’s sheds, health organisations and Stroke Victoria so more people can receive its benefits. “I have seen the stroke from the inside. Everyone is pleased with how I am recovering. They told me to never stop walking or talking, that’s easy for me. I used to need a support on my leg, which I don’t now and I am getting to where I will no longer need a walking stick. “But it would be good to go around and give people the view from the inside.” Paul said he and Graham have a three-day pushbike ride planned with Graham on a tricycle and Paul on two wheels. We’re not sure when that will be, but that’s our aim.” Graham holds a monthly informal stroke group at the Mill Market in Daylesford on the third Thursday of the month. Details: Diana on 0407 176 400.
Words: Donna Kelly | Image: Kyle Barnes
For all the news that we can’t squeeze into The Local, follow us online - we’re everywhere news is!
heart_of_the_highlands www.facebook.com/DHSLocal
34 Our people
www.tlnews.com.au
Meet Penny: writer, poet, photographer, bard
A
WHILE ago, 1703 to be precise, a rare eyewitness account of the training of bards emerged from Scotland. “They shut their Doors and Windows for a Days time,” it said, “and lie on their backs with a Stone upon their Belly…, their Eyes being cover'd they pump their Brains for Rhetorical Encomium or Panegyrick; and indeed they furnish such a Stile from this Dark Cell as is understood by very few; and if they purchase a couple of Horses as the reward of their Meditation, they think they have done a great Matter.”
Daylesford’s bard has not, it emerges, trained with a stone upon her belly or won a couple of horses by her meditation. Instead, Penny Reilly has completed her training as a bard, officially defined as one who sees their creativity as an innate spiritual ability and nurtures this ability through Druidism. Now she has finished studying to become an ovate. In ancient times, an ovate was a prophet and healer, but now you study or practice herbalism, healing and divining as you move up the order of druids. Sitting opposite me at a round table covered with a cloth bearing traditional symbols, Penny fixes me with her compelling gaze. Her eyes, she tells me later, are blue-grey and sometimes green. We are in the tarot reading shop, Beyond the Gate, in Vincent Street, Daylesford. In a back room a reading is under way, while around us are stacks of tarot cards, books on mysticism and all the paraphernalia of the seer business. Penny worked with a mentor to become a bard, whose job once was to poetically sing the praises, much like a Middle Ages PR man to be crude, but without tweets. “A bard,” she says, “is part of poetry, working with nature, connected with the land…it is the language of the trees, connected with Welsh philosophy.” She is also, she says, a medical medium, working with chiropractors and herbalists. “I spot weird things like lung flukes and liver flukes, that are not normally picked up. Then they send for blood analysis.” So how did a person growing up in the surrounds of the English county of Hampshire become a bard. Firstly she studied fine arts, then married young and moved to Switzerland. Her daughter was five when she divorced, her sister had moved to Sydney and her parents emigrated here in 1980. She followed and studied the psychology of human movement, teaching dancing and gymnastics. A knee accident ended that. She had done some work with chiropractors and says her medical medium role emerged from that. Twenty years ago she moved to Daylesford, running a seven-day-a-week business. And the tarot cards ($70 for 30 minutes)? “They’re just tools,” she says, “a different way of utilising how clients see.” Her website says it is good to help people find a different way to be creative, to face head on things that life deals out, to heal from the deep within all the things that hinder one from being one’s very best. Although she’s now retired from card-reading, I press her on what happens if a card or palm reading reveals an impending disaster. “If catastrophe is looming there has to be a way to coax them (the subjects) in a different way and give them options. Ill health comes from a basis of not looking after oneself.” And what of the gaggles of women who swarm here for a palmistry giggle session? Her husband David firmly guides them. There is a tedious aspect to her life. “What’s the weather going to be like?” locals ask her, quickly adding, “Oh, you know!” Boom, boom. Relationships have ended over the tedious repetition of such “humour”. “It shows very little respect for what we do.” On the other hand, some people have been surprised by insights of which they were unaware.
Penny is a prolific writer and poet. Scraps and Wild Gatherings is a collection of short stories based in the English West Country into the border with Wales. Two years ago she began a series of five books, Silver Threads. “I started dreaming and got a full stanza of many verse poems.” These urban fantasies for adults are self-published for worldwide distribution, also electronically distributed and available on demand. Penny is also a photographer. “As soon as the sun comes out, I’m out with my camera.” She grows her own vegies and fruit at her home and jokes about her purple nail polish covering gardening blemishes. Stands of old European trees at her home reflect her lineage. “We’re nearly self-sufficient, and off the grid, with solar.” Clearly, she does not immerse herself in local life. “I’m on the fringe,” she says, “a fringe-dweller.”
Words: Kevin Childs | Image: Contributed
' Whatever comes out of the pot! 97 Main Road, Hepburn Springs, Victoria
Open Wednesday to Sunday for dinner - Open Friday to sunday for lunch and dinner
For bookings call (03) 5348 1156
www.frankandconnies.com.au caliopi@frankandconnies.com.au
www.tlnews.com.au
Gardening 35
Spring has sprung! Well, the current spell of weather may not indicate it but everything in the garden is just itching to get a move on once the warm days return. If, like me, you've neglected to finish the pruning of your roses and deciduous fruiting trees, it's time to make the effort and get these things done before the sap really starts to rise and the fruiting and flower buds swell and burst open. Now, the soil is so moist, if not water-logged by the recent copious rainfall, the weeds are still small and can be easily dislodged from the beds, and a dressing of organic plant food will immediately disperse into the soil and take immediate effect. Similarly, a covering of organic mulch will help retain much of the moisture for when the warm weather really arrives. If anyone is doubting that spring is well and truly on its way, these two photos,
Going potty Tubbed outdoor and potted indoor plants can be either upsized into larger containers…or if they've reached the upper size limits, planted out into the garden now that the warmer weather is close at hand. That is, all but the frost-affected ones. Leave them until the risk of any sneaky late frosts has diminished. Trim back any rank or poorly shaped growth, and remove any dead, weakened or sickly stems. A handful of blood and bone or your favourite organic fertiliser will ensure plenty of new healthy growth once they are established in their new home.
taken last weekend in sunny Warrandyte should dispel all fears. Unknown variety, but a beautiful pink anemone-centred camellia, and acacia baileyena (John Williamson’s famed Cootamundra wattle) cascading over a front fence.
A quick question… We have just removed a rather large old ramshackle shed from behind our house and I want to replace it with a pathway flanked by two beds of perennials. The area is covered with a century's worth of compacted and uneven gravelly, hard-as-concrete, slurry. Can I plant a garden over all of it if I put down a base of gravel and then a thick topping of good quality garden loam? I just don’t want to have to try and dig the stuff up or to pay to get it done either. It will have a good covering of loam so do you think it is necessary to put down gravel as a base? I thought this would help with drainage. I wouldn’t be planting anything that requires a good root run as such, just perennials, pretty flowery stuff etc and some miscanthus and other assorted grasses. Denise, Woodend You should have little problem with most ground covers and perennials if you build up the area with at least 30cm of good garden loam before planting. Border the pathway with timber or old house bricks to keep things separate. You don't say how dense or solid the base is you're working on. If it is a non-porous mess you would do well to first soak the area and go over it with a crowbar and pack holes through it 40-50cm apart to aid drainage. I've overcome a similar problem by watering the area with a mixture called "liquid clay breaker" which will break up the solid masses of heavy soil or clay. Spread a layer of well-rotted compost or animal manure before putting on the loam. Apart from feeding the plants, this will encourage the root system to delve down for nourishment.
Got a question for Glen? Email glenzgarden@gmail.com
THE HELLEBORE SPECIALISTS
p OS t office farm NURSERY
Open to the public every Sunday in July, August and September
36 Our students
www.tlnews.com.au
MasterChefs of the future at Hepburn Primary
M School.
OROCCAN couscous, stir fries, fried rice, savoury rolls, homemade pasta, quesadillas and corn fritters are just some of the recipes that have been on the menu for the students at Hepburn Primary
Principal Robert Walsh said the school was committed to educating the whole child and catering for the individual strengths and interests of all the children. “One such program introduced in 2017 is cooking. The program provides children with basic cookery skills, enabling them to make healthy food choices for life.” Mr Walsh said using the Get Kids Cooking program, all classes cooked for a term, with the 5/6s class kicking off in first term, and the 3/4 class currently creating various culinary delights. “The children are so enthusiastic and engaged, with many children cooking the recipe from school, at home. All week I hear, ‘When are we cooking? What are we cooking? I can’t wait for cooking!’.” Mr Walsh said the cooking program was supported by the science program, with science specialist teacher, Sally Koerner, ensuring each class researches seasonal vegetables and herbs, designs the layout of the garden beds, plants and cultivates the produce. “Our commitment to ensuring children have a variety of learning experiences means children have specialist classes in science, Italian, art, PE, music and cooking with robotics to be added to the curriculum next semester. These programs are only possible due to the wonderful staff and the individual expertise they provide.” Get Kids Cooking is run by Joanne Bowskill and Holly Boal who had success on last year's Shark Tank Australia with Dr Glen Richards becoming a share holder. “For many Australians, cooking is a real pleasure and a genuine lifestyle interest as well as a necessary and useful capability”, says Holly. “Once kids get into cooking, they really love it. Using our step-by-step program, students build on the skills they learn and discover the joys of cooking for themselves, taking these techniques beyond the classroom and into their own homes for their families to enjoy”.
MasterChefs of the future from left, Maisy McRae, Jake Chapman and Tilly Overstead Image: Kyle Barnes
Back to Hepburn
T
HE big men flew, with plenty of spectators, as Hepburn Football Netball Club celebrated its 150th anniversary over the weekend with Hepburn 17.15-117 defeating Learmonth 11.8-74. Images: Kyle Barnes & Donna Kelly
Roses are red, Violets are blue, Spring is almost here, And The Little Local is here for you too. Want to put your business in front of 1000s of visitors? Take a space in The Little Local. Bookings close on August 16!
Brian & Wayne Mobbs, 45 Lyman St, Daylesford Vic 3460 Ph (03) 5348 2357 Brian: 0427 482 357 Wayne: 0427 373 044 Kevin: 0428 531 173 Email: highspa@highspa.com.au Website: www.highspa.com.au
MESSAGE BIRD BIRD MESSAGE
DESIGNS
SPRING OPEN DAY/BULL SALE SUNDAY, AUGUST 27th, 2017 - 9.30am to 4pm SPRING OPEN DAY/SALE SUNDAY, AUGUST 28th, 2016 - 9.30am to 4pm
High Quality, performance recorded, working •• High Quality, performance recorded, working and yearling salefrom bullstop from top sires age andage yearling sale bulls sires • DetailsSale performance recorded females andPTIC directions visit www.highspa.com.au Details and directions visit www.highspa.com.au
Out & About 39
www.tlnews.com.au
To market, to market, to buy some fresh spuds
Y
OU 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 Railway 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 Castlemaine Artists’ Market – first Sunday 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 (pictured left) Glenlyon Farmers’ Market – third Saturday Leonards Hill Market - third Saturday Creswick Market - third Saturday Talbot Farmers’ Market – third Sunday Woodend Lions Market - third Sunday (Back in September) Trentham Station Sunday Market - fourth Sunday Buninyong Village Market - fourth Sunday
Want to advertise your market? It's free. Just email news@tlnews.com.au
The Trentham Farmers Market has joined with Trentham Makers Market
Third Saturday, 9am - 1pm
TRENTHAM PETROL & STUFF
1 Market St PH 5424 1611 Mon - Sat 8am - 6pm Sun 9am - 6pm
Open gardens
K
YNETON Transition Hub Open Edible Garden Day is on Sunday, September 3 from 10am to 4pm.
Organiser Nea Gyorffy said eight gardeners from Kyneton and surrounds were opening their edible gardens to show others how sustaining and life affirming an edible garden could be. “The event gives everyone the ability to learn practical, inexpensive ways of replenishing their soil, water management, weed and pest control and growing plants from seed using natural (chemical-free) methods. Petrol, oils, swap & go gas, firewood permits, “Edible gardens give everyone the ability to have farm produce / produce store, ice, milk, soft drinks, access to fresh wholesome foods grown for taste, not take-away pies, coffee, confectionery, local honey transportation and to reduce food miles.” etc. Where these gardens are and their opening times can be found in brochures of the Kyneton Transition rusty junk, secondhand books, old wares Hub and the Festival which are available at Aesop’s Attic Bookshop and the Kyneton Mechanics Institute in Mollison St, the official information centre for the Kyneton Daffodil & Arts Festival.
Link: www.kynetontransitionhub.com
40 Trades
www.tlnews.com.au
A unique heater manufactured in Daylesford from Australian products Servicing Daylesford and Districts.
Railway Crescent, Daylesford P: 03
5348 2586
F: 03 5348 1200 E: nedkelly@woodheaters.com.au
0427 508 840
POOL AND SPA MAINTENANCE SERVICES DAYLESFORD AND SPA COUNTRY Over 25 years’ experience in the Pool and Spa industry. Cleaning and servicing of pools, hot tubs and jacuzzis. Water chemistry and water balance Commercial properties Domestic applications Reasonable rates All enquiries welcome Noel 0419 554 319 Declan 0438 212 107
Consulting in Administration & Management Book-keeping Administration Payroll Temp service Supplier monthly reconciliation Qualified to manage a small team of office workers Christ Jules Services Julie Hanson 0459 619 701 julphil.hanson@gmail.com www.christjulesservices.com.au
www.woodheaters.com.au
PLASTERER DAYLESFORD FIBROUS PLASTER WORKS (MACKLEY’S) • NEW HOMES • RENOVATIONS • CEILING ROSES • ORNAMENTAL CORNICE Daylesford
Peter Mackley 5348 3085 or 0418 571 331 Gary Mackley 5348 1108
Daylesford Newsagency & Tattslotto Newspapers, magazines, Tattslotto, dry-cleaning, stationery, photocopying and lots more... We stock The Local! 55 Vincent Street, Daylesford 5348 2061
www.tlnews.com.au
Trades 41
Business & shopfront Business & Shopfront
Digital Printing Digital printed full colour graphics
Vehicles & Transport
Hand Painted & Gold Leaf
Promotional & Event
General Signage
Clement F Mooney
Email: c.mooney@bigpond.net.au Available to assist with all general accounting services and preparation/electronic lodgment of Tax Returns and BAS for Individuals, Sole Traders, Partnerships, Trusts and Companies.
A.B.N. 37 961 487 978
Certified Practising Accountant Registered Tax Agent B.Com, C.P.A., M.B.A.
Office: 19 Albert Street, Trentham 3458
DAYLESFORD APPLIANCE SERVICE
das3460@bigpond.com
electrical appliance repair service washer, dryer, fridge, dishwasher, oven, cook top etc. Call Kiyo on
0419 267 685
das3460@bigpond.com
Servicing all Daylesford and Districts wastewateraus.com.au MOB: 0427 508 840
PH: 0400 059 613 - 5348 6634 ADMIN@JESSEDAWKINSGARDENS.COM.AU WWW.JESSEDAWKINSGARDENS.COM.AU
Are you a tradie? Want people to be able to find you? Why not advertise in The Local's Trade Pages? They are really well read and it costs just over $20 per week. And unlike other newspapers, we don't cram your advert into the smallest possible space! And let's face it, you are reading this!
42 Sport
www.tlnews.com.au
Hepburn Golf
T
HE 54 Hole Stroke Championship winners, from left, A Grade winner Rose Mobbs, B Grade Shirley Rodda and C Grade Shirlene Nevill. Biljana Krunic won the Net event. The championship was sponsored by Double Nut Chalets. Image: Contributed
Central Highlands Football League Ladder Beaufort 60 Hepburn 60 Springbank 60 Buninyong 56 Waubra 52 Gordon 52 Bungaree 48 Daylesford 36 Dunnstown 36 Learmonth 32 Ballan 26 Creswick 22 Rokewood Corindhap 20 Newlyn 16 Carngham Linton 16 Clunes 16 Skipton 04 Smythesdale 00
FLYSCREENS MEASURED,
MADE, AND FITTED ON THE SPOT! FROM $ 00
03 5464 7380
• Roller Shutters • Security Doors • Fly Screens
39
SECURITY DOORS MADE TO MEASURE AT FACTORY DIRECT PRICES *Conditions apply.
Hepburn Shire & Ballarat
Phone: 03 5464 7380 or Michael 0422 643 901 Email: sales@onsiteflyscreensballarat.com.au www.onsiteflyscreens.com.au
www.tlnews.com.au
News 43
Words in Winter
J
ILL Rivers says that although she was drawn to the world of imagination and writing as a child in country New Zealand she was a late starter in engaging in arts and culture.
It wasn’t until she was in her early thirties that she started writing while she was living in a country village in England with her husband and children. After a career in writing and marketing the arts, she has written a book – The Arts Apothecary – a vital prescription for health, happiness and wellbeing, with a strong message of the underrated healing power of arts and culture being rediscovered and advocated across the globe for future generations. She’ll be telling more in an author talk for Words in Winter, in Trentham at Dr B's Bookstore on Sunday, August 20 at 11am. The germ of the idea for the book The Arts Apothecary began during the Conversations in Pubs program when she came across a research paper by Arts Council England on the benefits of arts and culture to health and wellbeing, that proved that engaging in arts and culture could change lives.
www.wordsinwintertrentham.com
Here’s the solution for last edition’s crossword for Issue 103. Solve it?
Also mobile on-site service available
OZ - TRANS
DAYLESFORD The ‘Local’ Blokes
FURNITURE REMOVALS
GENERAL FREIGHT
Melbourne & Country Victoria daily 0407 697 877
The Local loves promoting local services sports - whether that's SEPTIC SYSTEM INSPECTION & MAINTENANCE a club profile SEPTIC SYSTEM orresults, services just someone doing INSPECTION & MAINTENANCE something amazing at PERIODIC INSPECTION AND your club. REPORTING OF WASTEWATER
SEPTIC SYSTEM INSPECTION & MAINTENANCE
TREATMENT SYSTEMS
TROUBLESHOOTING AND MAINTENANCE SUPERVISION OF SLUDGE PUMP-OUT LATEST SLUDGE-JUDGE TECHNOLOGY
www.sanae-svcs.com.au
PO Box 1040, Daylesford, VIC 3460 koos.hulst@sanae-svcs.com.au (03) 5348 6749 or 0437 747 619
Email us with all your sporting news at news@tlnews.com.au and we'll make sure you get your 15 minutes of fame - at least!
Back to Hepburn
T
HE big men flew as Hepburn Football Netball Club celebrated its 150th anniversary over the weekend with Hepburn 17.15-117 defeating Learmonth 11.8-74. More photos page 27. Image: Kyle Barnes