The Local Issue 140 December 31, 2018

December 31, 2018 Issue 140 The year that was...

The Local - The Heart of the Highlands

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2 About Us Front cover: It's been another big year at The Local and these are just some of our favourite front covers.

Inside, we take a look back at some of our favourite stories and photos from the year that was.

Happy New Year!

December 31, 2018 Issue 140 The year that was...

e amount of news It's amazing that th e world every day that happens in th fits the newspaper. always just exactly - Jerry Seinfeld

Images: Kyle Barnes Graphic design: Dianne Caithness

The Local - The Heart of the Highlands

The Local is a fortnightly community publication covering the Central Highlands. The next edition is out on Monday, January 14, 2019.

Or online on Sunday, January 13 at www.tlnews.com.au The Local is a registered trademark of The Local Publishing Group Pty Ltd

Advertising deadlines for the next edition of The Local:

The content expressed within this publication does not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of The Local Publishing Group Pty Ltd.

Space bookings: Wednesday, January 9 Copy provided by: Thursday, January 10 Editorial deadline: Thursday, January 10

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.

Managing editor | Donna Kelly General manager | Kyle Barnes

T

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 affordable 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 the start, we have offered two free adverts in every edition for notfor-profit organisations along with a rescue pet looking for a new home. It's just our way of giving back. We really hope you enjoy this edition of The Local.

Cheers, Donna (Ed)

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

Sub-editors | Nick Bunning and Lindsay Smith Writers | Kevin Childs, Kate Taylor, Anthony Sawrey, Peter Young and Donna Kelly Photographers | Kyle Barnes and David White Graphic designer & HLH coordinator | Dianne Caithness Columnists | Glen Heyne (gardening) and Indre Kisonas (design) Accounts | Julie Hanson Delivery | Anthony Sawrey 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 See all our 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 as you like...

“The Local is the future of regional publishing!”

- former senator John Madigan in the Australian Parliament Just sayin’... :)

The year that was...

W

OW. Another year has flown past and we are staring down the barrel of Edition 140.

Meanwhile, a state election came and went. Pretty quietly for us. You have probably noticed by now that we are not big on photos of either politicians or political candidates.

And if I ran every email that came through my inbox on another political promise, that would have taken up most of The Local for about three months.

We also like to run mostly good news and steer away from council and courts.

You sleep better that way. Mind you, we did run a bit of council news. Mostly about a couple of Bromleys commissioned by the former Hepburn Shire CEO for The Rex building in Daylesford. And we might have mentioned something about the demise of the much anticipated Live.Love.Life. festival.

But back to good news. In this edition, "the year that was", we have chosen just a few of our favourite stories and photos. (You'll see in brackets which edition they ran in.) Oh, if you appeared in The Local and are not in this edition, don't worry. We started with a list of about 50 articles and had to whittle it down to about 10. It was a really difficult task.

Anyway, we hope you enjoy having a trip down memory lane and look forward to bringing you another 26 editions of The Local next year. To all our readers, thanks for reading, and to all our wonderful clients, thanks for your support. We are very appreciative. Thanks for being a part of The Local.

It's been a busy year at The Local. We have expanded our delivery to Creswick and Clunes, so that means we now cover Daylesford and Hepburn, to Trentham, Kyneton and Woodend. And everywhere in between.

We also recently joined the Victorian Country Press Association after changes to their constitution were adopted to allow non-weekly publications to become members. They are clearly moving with the times and we are looking forward to working with them in the future.

Back home, we've had a few staff changes. Journalist, and friend, Jeff Glorfeld and his wife Carol moved back to America, interior designer Indre Kisonas joined our House.Land.Home. team and next year Sam Redlich will be back writing about wellbeing for the mind and body.

We are lucky that from the start, more than five years ago, we have been able to attract really talented people. Among the first onboard, and there are now too many to list, were our wonderful sub-editors Nick and Lindsay. They are still working with us today and are the reason you don't see names spelt wrong, typos or even the wrong page number. Nick also keeps your mind active with our crossword!

Oh, I should mention one more - Glen Heyne. He was also with us at the start, helping us with design, getting our first corporate advert and now writing a great gardening column for each edition - with wonderful photos.

Cheers, Donna (Ed) The Local and its crew have been privileged to cover some great stories about local people and places this year - keeping to our motto "if you're not local, you will not be in The Local".

4 Our artists

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Finding excitement in realising a vision

D

AYLESFORD artist and gallery owner Michael Parker grew up in East Bentleigh with his parents and siblings. His mother was creative.

She always had her hands in clay or was painting away at home, doing oil paintings of landscapes and still lifes. From a young age there was a subconscious spark but it was a few years before Michael picked up a brush in a semi-serious way. Michael chatted to editor Donna Kelly.

Donna: When did you get into art?

Michael: At the age of 10 I started painting, I had some miniature canvases that I would paint on with oils and take to a local antique shop in East Bentleigh. I would cut into an eraser and rub the paint back, working into the painting and making different marks; it's actually very reminiscent of the way I work today, finding different ways to approach creating. I put about six paintings in that shop. It’s interesting thinking back that even from quite a young age I was thinking about how to sell my work.

Donna: What’s your medium?

Michael: I’m predominantly a painter although I do a bit of sculpture. I work with various mediums - acrylics, oils, encaustic wax and resin being the main ones. I also have styles which I like to include found objects in. I’m the kind of person who is constantly trying new things. I live to explore and find the excitement in realising a vision. A new idea I’ve started working on is a series of 100 encaustic wax paintings which I’m painting on vintage books that I’ve been collecting for years. They will be painted for the 10th year anniversary of Stony Creek Gallery, 10 books for every year.

Donna: You have two galleries, Stony Creek just out of Daylesford and Michael Parker in the middle of the town. Why two?

Michael: Why two? I needed more space. I love finding amazing artists and one gallery was simply not enough to fit all the artwork I was finding. Each gallery offers a different experience. Michael Parker Gallery on the main street showcases different artists and it allows people that are in the heart of Daylesford to get a taste of what my galleries are about. Stony Creek has a more intimate and relaxed feel and people can take their time walking around the gallery and sculpture garden with a complimentary glass of bubbles. Being a larger space there is of course a greater array of work to be found at Stony Creek.

Donna: You support. Is that important to you?

Michael: Yes, I think it's very important to give artists a platform for their work so that they are able to continue what they love doing. Without people supporting galleries and galleries supporting artists there wouldn't be that tactile place where people can come and feel, see, touch and experience the work the way it's meant to be experienced.

Donna: What are your latest works?

Michael: My latest works are something I’ve really enjoyed working on, with the idea for the work coming from a trip to Europe. I loved going through all the markets and antique stores in Paris and Rome discovering the hidden gems that I can use in my work. A beautiful stamp on an old hand-written letter, I even found some old glass slides which will be making an appearance in some works of mine soon, but as I looked through these stalls and shops I soon realised I was drawn to one particular kind of treasure and that was old frames. I was buying them up with a vision in mind, returning to the markets and antique stores hunting for beautiful old frames. It was the years of wear and the craftsmanship that captivated me. Each frame had a story, had a connection with its maker. I started painting contemporary portraits to put in these old frames. I packed my empty suitcase with nothing but frames and went back to my studio inspired and excited to start to put together this new idea. In some of the works I feel like I have a collaboration with an artist that crosses centuries as I’ve incorporated contemporary elements into a traditional painting.

Donna: What is your Central Highlands story?

Michael: I had been coming up to Daylesford for holidays, day trips, weekends for 20 years. Nearly 10 years ago my partner at the time and I were driving in and discussing our dreams to own a gallery. I started looking for properties and the last one was a stand-out. I went back to Melbourne and decided I was going to go all in. I sold everything I owned. I spent the next two to three months transforming the space from a gym into an art gallery and that was the start of Stony Creek Gallery.

Image: Kyle Barnes (Edition 120)

News 5

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The Big Bang theories (Exclusive to The Local!)

O

N WEDNESDAY, March 14, just before 10am, a large boom shook the region and within seconds social media went into overdrive. “Did you hear that?” “Heard it in Coomoora.” “Heard that out at Wheatsheaf.” “At the lake, my dog and I jumped a mile.”

“In Ballan too, made the doors rattle.” And so it went for most of the morning.

Descriptions of the sound were varied, though the general consensus was it was “biggggggg”, like a big fat possum or a bird jumping on their roof, only to find nothing amiss when anyone looked outside. People had their windows shaken and for farmers such as Natalie Hardy-Hurst at Blampied, a sudden array of nervous animals.

“I was out in the paddock and all the cattle were freaked out.

Our border collie ran and looked to the sky. It was a bang and rumble, like thunder, but the sky was clear and blue.”

After a while, it was becoming accepted that the noise, whatever it was, seemed to be centred on an area between Newstead and Franklinford. But as far as the source of the mystery boom, no-one was any the wiser and the event quickly became known as the Yandoit “big bang” incident. And it did not take long for rumours to emerge, spreading nearly as fast as the shockwave itself. Did someone's meth lab just blow up? Aliens? Steven Hawking leaving the planet?

Some people were sure the occurrence was an explosion related to gold mining operations in the hills south of Yandoit but a chat to Geoff Clarke, who has land nearby, quickly poured cold water on that theory.

“There was a mining lease out behind my place but they have not been there for at least 12 months. There was an explosion several years ago near my place, which was suspected sabotage and a crime scene for a couple of days. But the bang that took place last week was nothing like that. It was much bigger.”

Daylesford Police received lots of phone calls from anxious residents keen to report what they heard. They noted the bang was similar to an event at Werona nearly two years ago that broke windows, but as for the current matter? Investigations are continuing.

GeoScience Victoria, when contacted, were perplexed. Their last recorded tremor in the entire state was March 11, three days before the Yandoit rumble. Furthermore, they had no record of blasting, legal or otherwise, taking place in the area and could offer no more information. This also discounted any possibility of the extinct volcanoes of Mt Franklin or Kooroocheang stirring or any tremors associated with the nearby Muckleford fault line.

Some local experts were sure the noise was an aviation sonic boom but the Royal Air Force, which is the only body in Australia with aircraft capable of generating the effect, said in a very terse statement: “UNCLASSIFIED...The sudden sound was not caused by Air Force activity. Kind regards, Defence Media.”

There were suggestions that thunder could be a possible culprit. But the nearest Bureau of Meteorology weather station at Castlemaine records on the day only minor south westerly winds, a temperature of 14 degrees, zero cloud and definitely no storm activity that could have contributed to any sudden noises in the area.

With all such potential earth and atmosphere phenomena being discounted, this opened up the prospect of something extraterrestrial in origin. So it was time to contact the Astronomy Society of Victoria. An interesting response was forthcoming from president and current phenomena officer Perry Vlahos.

“It could have been a sporadic meteor as they can occur at any time, but most often they make no noise at all. I don't think this sounds like something from space.”

However the website, Fireballs in the Sky based at Curtin University in Perth, which documents meteor activity did have a report of a streak over Horsham three hours after our local big bang. There is a real possibility that these events are related and that the Yandoit event could very well be associated with a meteor or series of meteors entering the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds causing an airborne explosion.

And meteors, unlike meteorites, burn up in the atmosphere and don’t leave a crater.

Furthermore such a sound typically arrives many seconds after the visual light from a meteor disappears.

So while the matter may appear to rest with this conclusion, there could be more to the story than what is being let on. Maybe the authorities are not telling us everything. Perhaps all of this information is nothing but fake news and The Local is in on the deception. Why accept such a prosaic explanation as meteors? What about underground bunkers? The rippling energy of ley lines, the pulse engines of invisible spacecraft or patrolling black helicopters? Wake up sheeple, the rabbit hole is deeper than you think. To be continued.

Words: Anthony Sawrey | Image: Courtesy of Macedon Ranges Weather (Edition 120)

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VEAC debate

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O

N FRIDAY, August 31 the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council, an investigative body answering to the Victorian Government released its Central West Investigation Draft Proposals Paper concerning the use of public land of the Mount Cole/Pyrenees area, greater Bendigo and the Wombat Macedon region.

The lengthy report, over 200 pages long, examined current land use in these locations and came back with recommendations for some large-scale alterations. The biggest of those changes will be for the areas covered by the Wombat State Forest.

In essence, the recommendations for the Wombat Macedon block call for the establishment of a Wombat Lerderderg National Park covering 52,852 hectares.

There would also be two regional parks set up between Blackwood and Trentham and another west of Woodend totalling 9142 hectares.

In the process 48,605 hectares of what is currently state forest will be given over to create these new reserves. VEAC is currently accepting submissions for and against this draft document to be lodged by December 10 with a final report to be submitted to the state Environment Minister in March next year.

Unlike the bush areas in Victoria’s east, the area covered by the Wombat is relatively modest, surrounded by cleared private land, divided by at least 8500 hectares of public roads and interspersed with at least 28 towns, villages and localities.

Residing there is a diverse array of people with a range of different jobs, hobbies, interests, political affiliations and contrasting opinions on how, where and when the surrounding forest should be utilised and enjoyed. It is for good reason that the scrub around here is known as The People’s Forest.

For Gayle Osborne of Wombat Forestcare, pictured left, the recommendations have been welcomed as long overdue. “I think this draft is a very balanced response and recognises the high conservation value of the Wombat (State Forest) and the need for protection of threatened species including powerful owls and greater glider possums.

"At the moment most of the area is State Forest, managed for its resources and if it remains a State Forest, saw log harvesting will come in again and we do have to learn to curtail some of our activities if we want these creatures to continue to exist.

"I think that we should be proud of our national parks and it does bring a natureloving tourist to our area. But if people are not happy with the boundaries of the park they should put in a submission suggesting other boundaries.”

However, Charley Anderson, pictured right, of the group Bush User Groups United says he believes the proposal is taking the easy way out. “I agree with looking after the bush but I just think this idea is going to the extreme since there are systems in place that have protected the forest in the past and have been working well.

Extending them is a better option than a hard line National Parks approach.

"I reckon there is a fairly big tourism input from current users and that will be impacted heavily since National Parks normally exclude everyone except bush walkers, bird watchers and bicycle riders. And while I can’t see any great increase in the numbers that do that just because you turn the region into a National Park; there will be a drastic decrease in the numbers visiting here for other activities such as prospecting or horse riding. I think the recommendations will become a real election issue for a lot of people.”

The matter is sure to bring out some diverse opinions on how the area should be managed but for the majority of forest users there are points of agreement. Put simply, logging and mining should never return and threatened species should be protected.

The sticking point is just how that should be achieved.

To one side is the formation of a National Park that will replace the current patchwork of management and the other is one that leaves these arrangements in place.

But it is clear there is a broad middle ground that offers the way forward without dividing communities in the process. That way will recognise the importance of conservation protection and the needs of a wide array of bush users, without returning to the bad old days of industrial scale exploitation.

Words: Anthony Sawrey | Image: Kyle Barnes (Edition 135)

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It's a dog's life for animal wrangler Rebecca

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HERE are some job descriptions that just never turn up in the classifieds and animal wrangler for film, television and photography is one of them. But for Rebecca Faulkner of Coomoora, that is exactly what would go down on her CV. It is the culmination of a career trajectory that has seen her involved with all sorts of creatures great and small.

“I had the luck to land a job in the zoo industry back in England when I was 19 or 20,” says Rebecca, “and I started training in the presentation department doing free-flight bird shows, sea lion shows and educational demonstrations.

"Then in 2010 I came to Australia and got a job at the Alice Springs Desert Park when well-known film animal trainer Peta Clarke was managing there. That led me to working as her assistant on the Legally Blonde musical in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne and since then I have continued working with other animal coordinating companies and doing freelance jobs.”

As well as securing several film and television gigs for the upcoming year Rebecca also has two of her own canine talent ready for work. They are Teddy, an Australian Koolie and a little Jack Russell named Daisy. They are both aged around five years old and are rescue dogs Rebecca found and brought home to train.

And while they may not have any roles coming up at the moment, they recently took part in the 2018 Australia’s Hardest Working Dogs Calendar commissioned by the Home Timber & Hardware store chain.

“They feature on the front cover, February and September and they look just divine. We got that job through another wrangler when the production company needed 10 dogs for the job and she called me. We had access to a building site for a day, the dogs were dressed up in toddlers' clothes and I got them to stand and place their paws on various implements to get the shots.”

When Teddy and Daisy are at home, they carouse like any other dogs and are always ready for a pat and a bit of a play. But one thing is apparent with these canines, they are not in the business of performing tricks or doing circus routines and the backyard does not have a training course with any ramps, swings or flaming hoops. Rebecca’s skills as a trainer lie in her ability to get her dogs to be responsive and enthusiastic in scenarios outside of their day-to-day surroundings.

“For film work it’s not so much about tricks and they are not actually requested that often. Usually I am working towards them being very confident and comfortable in the real world with all its sights, sounds and distractions.

"Film sets and photography set-ups can be noisy, scary places at times so the dogs need to be used to lots of things going on around them. If they were uncomfortable or not familiar with the goings-on during a shoot then they would look terrible and not be able to do anything for the camera either.”

Rebecca says the fundamentals of training are the same regardless of whether you are working with birds, dogs, fish, a parrot or an elephant. But while with exotic zoo animals your interaction with them is limited to perhaps several times in a day, a dog is nearly a full-time relationship.

“The secret to achieving good performing animals like Daisy and Teddy is all about ensuring that what they are doing feels like fun. It is actually about games and not about strict obedience.

"It is really about building up behaviours and doing it in a playful way so that they want to engage and not be thinking: ‘God, I have to go and do this training stuff, I really don’t like it and I’m really uncomfortable and scared’. With these two it’s like, ‘what game are we going to play today? What are we going to do?’”

Words: Anthony Sawrey | Main image: Kyle Barnes

Right, Australian Koolie Teddy helps out his apprentice Jack Russell, Daisy, on the work site for the Home Timber & Hardware calendar (Edition 117)

News 7

8 Opinion

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Pick me, pick me...

Just sayin’...

By Donna Kelly

S

O, I am stepping into the New Year with a new man!

No, I am not dumping Kyle. Well, not yet. Never say never and all that. But with his back surgery done and dusted four weeks ago, he is a changed man.

The problem was a bulging disc. The solution was keyhole surgery to shave a bit off.

Simple, right? Hmmm.

Back surgery is probably not something you jump into if you can avoid it. So Kyle did.

For about two years. He had the support of his surgeon, who, funnily enough, seeing he does it as a living, also does not jump into surgery.

When we first saw him, he told Kyle, on hearing his back pain was receding, to give his body a chance to recover. It did. For quite some time. And then it got worse. So back we went to the surgeon who looked at the MRI and basically said it was time to stop mucking around and get things done. The other small thing he mentioned was a risk of permanent nerve damage if we did nothing - so that was a bit of a surgery sweetener.

We asked about risks. He talked about the anaesthetic. We asked about risks like not walking again. He talked about zero risk. So we made a booking. Luckily, when we turned 30 we both got private health insurance. It costs an absolute bomb and you hope you will never use it, but in this case it was very nice to sit down and talk about days, and even times, that would suit. And it only cost a small out-of-pocket bomb.

Anyway, the day arrived, in Kyle went and 45 minutes later, it was all over. The first thing he did was wiggle his toes. They worked. He had been going to play a joke on the surgeon and ask if he was meant to feel anything in his feet, but I said no. It would be funny for a second, right until he woke up after emergency surgery to perhaps no wiggling toes.

The next day, it was time to go home. Not even 24 hours later. Mind you, there is a fair bit of recuperation time which involves no sitting for more than 20 minutes - for six weeks. And no lifting anything over five kilos. And no bending or twisting. The hardest part about all that is that, as anyone would attest to, as you feel better, you want to do more.

Generalising here, but it may also be more of a bloke thing.

So I am the nagging wife. Sometimes I think I start every sentence with "don't". Mind you, Kyle has been proactive and bought himself one of those sticks with a handle on one end and a little claw-like piece on the other. And he is trying to help. I found him trying to load the washing machine, a front-loading washing machine, sitting on the floor, one piece of clothing at a time. A bath sheet was proving particularly tricky.

Anyway, in a couple more weeks, I will have my new man. And I reckon that's a pretty great gift for the New Year. Wishing you and yours a wonderful 2019 as well. I hope it's fun, prosperous (whatever that means for you) and most of all, healthy. Just sayin'...

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Walking country

"

It’s a tribute to their extraordinary adaptability that there are now over a million WE are not just going out there with a mob of camels and a mob of scientists, we are doing something in this country that has been done for feral camels in the deserts of Australia but sometimes with devastating effects on tens of thousands of years, which is of course, walking country." Andrew environment, water sources and property.

We walk. Driven into shape by the prevailing winds, the long red sand ridges run Harper, ABC documentary Running with Camels.

Two years ago - I watch that documentary about camels in outback Australia narrated by the likes of Robyn Davidson, (a household name since the feature film of her book Tracks) and Andrew Harper, modern day explorer and chief executive officer of the Outback Camel Company and executive director of Australian Desert Expeditions.

Six months later - I am lying in my swag, flap open to the uninhibited starlight after a day in the new office, the Simpson Desert, as a trainee cameleer.

I’ve forgotten to "turn off" Sultan’s bell and its clanging cuts through the gentler susurrations of the morning's outset. I pluck a handful of dead dry woollybutt grass (eragrostis eriopoda) to stuff inside and put it to daytime rest. Sultan (aka The Dark Lord) is a tall, dark, regal and aloof alpha camel, whose steadfast, unshakeable disposition filters down the string to his younger, less experienced, more irrational cohorts. He is the only one allowed to walk free all night and his bell can be a comforting lull to sleep or a raucous alarm pre-infiltration of wild dromedary. (Yes, all camels in Oz have one hump.)

One of the new guest expeditioners, we call them cobs, asks why Sultan bellows in our faces every morning as we load him. Charlie the botanist strides past on his 70-year-old legs of steel and laughs from under his wizard beard that we pay him double for the drama.

About a hundred years ago, the internal combustion engine, ie: the car, was becoming more accessible and the camels were getting replaced. The Afghans who had been brought out as "cargo" due to the White Australia Policy were now unemployed in a trade that they had perfected over centuries.

Their camels were not considered beasts of burden but a blessed animal who lived side-by-side with their ancestors to date. The legal cost of owning a camel was no longer an option and rather than kill them they set them free.

parallel from north-west to south-east. Today we are heading south-west. Jhumpa, the only female and lead camel, gives Max (expedition leader and chief scientist) the stink eye at the bottom of each growing incline of sand dune, before together navigating a path thoughtfully and skilfully for the rest of the 18 camels to pad in their tracks.

Then it's swale, the flats, the camels feed as they walk, the cameleers have a reprieve to take in the landscape and a head count; nine cobs, four cameleers and one botanist.

Camels cooperate best with routine, so do the 22 or so ecologists, up to 25 cameleers and more than 120 paying cobs that make up the season’s trekking. Sunrise: cameleers wake up, make fire, breakfast, shepherd the camels for their morning feed, bring them in, load them with the food, water, shelter and scientific gear then walk.

The day ends in the reverse of this. The camels are trained and led true to original Afghan cameleer’s practice to preserve the history.

This year marks the end of a five-year survey of the Simpson. Over 20,000km have been walked of which I've been privileged enough to do about 300. When I saw that ABC documentary two years ago I was so convinced that was what I wanted to do. I wondered how I could convince them to take me, I’m no scientist, I've never worked with large animals or in deserts.

I wonder at the serendipity of me meeting one of the cameleers later on the very same day and that leading to me being invited to join in the annual winter desert expedition. It was like I was handed a dream, and I close my eyes under the light of the now-full moon and accept tomorrow I will return to civilisation and a shower.

Words: Dani Bradley | Image: Contributed (Edition: 131)

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10 Opinion

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Kyle’s Rant

Sales consultant

A

S WE drift into the New Year, and possibly reflect on the last – good, bad or noneventful, we are told it's time to make new changes, resolutions and make good on opportunities lost.

But don’t worry, that thought bubble will be pricked around about lunchtime of your first day back at work.

Personally I prefer my resolutions to coincide with the Chinese New Year, the horrible hype of Christmas is over, you know all the pre-Christmas niceness and humanity feel-good rhetoric is a cloudy champagne-infused memory, the holiday fog starts to clear, the credit card gets set to bite you in the arse, and ahh, reality is once again upon us.

And we are back to the cut and thrust of life with every man for themselves, every dog having its day, what is going around, coming back around and all the rest of us reaping what they sow (a peaceful Christian saying for all occasions).

So that is the reason I follow the Chinese calendar and the time of year I raise my rude finger to the insurance and banking institutions while pounding down a greasy cheeseburger out of non-biodegradable Styrofoam container and wiping my mouth on the corporate Australian flag.

Actually, that’s a bit harsh, I simply pick up the phone and cross-quote everything from the car insurance through to the power bill. You see for a few years now, I have been reading The Barefoot Investor and what old “Nude Tootsie” says is that every year you should not be complacent and simply pay the bill. Ask around, shuffle the deck, take the bells and whistles out of the insurance package. After all you just want insurance, not to be riding around the back of a limo with a brand new set of threads thinking about how nice your house was. And if the worst happens there is nothing quite like a large cheque in your back pocket to absorb the pain.

So, during December while recovering from a bit of back surgery I started Operation Raise the Middle Finger early. If you haven’t done this for a while or ever, it is invigorating. It takes a few days to get your ducks in a row and discuss with your partner, but I was flat on my back so what the hell? As it turns out by simply switching from Foxtel to Stan and Netflix and adjusting my phone bill more in keeping with the digital age I saved $2500 for the year.

Then there is bringing up insurance excesses, trimming the fat out of old policies and checking out what new companies have on offer. There are even government assistance websites for the power so you're not relying on the word of an ageing, balding smelly meerkat. This time next year I will have saved $6500 for the year, $6500 post-tax dollars. A kick-arse trip to Europe in four years. That’s fantastic!

New Years Resolution rant – tick…

The Local Publishing Group, consisting of The Local, House.Land.Home., and The Little Local, is seeking an experienced sales consultant. The position is for up to two days per week, Wednesdays and Thursdays, with a retainer and commission negotiable, plus car and phone.

Please send resumes to donna@tlnews.com.au (No phone calls.)

Applications close on Monday, January 7 at 5pm.

PALMER STEVENS & RENNICK Barristers & Solicitors Property and Conveyancing Criminal Law Family Law Wills and Estates Commercial Law Employment Law Appearing in Castlemaine Court PLEASE CONTACT US

(03) 5422 6500 SINCE 1852

8 Jennings Street, Kyneton Email - psr@psr.net.au | Website - psr.net.au

7 acres of well organised, easy to navigate, recycled goodness in the heart of castlemaine.

Salvage Yard

Structural timbers, hundreds of doors and windows, landscaping timbers, ex-commercial double glazed glass, steel, masonry and found objects... right down to hard to find hardware and homewares!

Now also supplying a range of small production, sustainably sourced new timbers for flooring, decking, overlay and cladding.

Also, manufacturers of custom designed engineered trusses from recycled timbers.

6 Lewis Drive Castlemaine • 0435 500 112 • www.thesalvageyard.com.au

www.tlnews.com.au

Markets 11

To market, to market, to take a historic train ride

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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 Sunday Market – every Sunday (Pictured right) Wesley Hill Market - every Saturday Daylesford Farmers Market – first Saturday Trentham Neighbourhood Centre Makers Market - first Saturday Golden Plains Farmers Market - first Saturday Woodend Farmers Market - first Saturday Castlemaine Artists’ Market – first Sunday Trentham Community Group Market - second Saturday Kyneton Farmers Market - second Saturday Ballan Farmers Market - second Saturday Kyneton Rotary Community Market – second Saturday Maldon Market – second Sunday Clunes Farmers Market - second Sunday Trentham Farmers Market and Makers Market - third Saturday Glenlyon Farmers Market – third Saturday Leonards Hill Market - third Saturday Creswick Market - third Saturday Talbot Farmers Market – third Sunday Woodend Lions Market - third Sunday Trentham Station Sunday Market - fourth Sunday Buninyong Village Market - fourth Sunday

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 Petrol, oils, swap & go gas, firewood permits, farm produce / produce store, ice, milk, soft drinks, take-away pies, coffee, confectionery, local honey etc. rusty junk, secondhand books, old wares

12 News

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It's a grave job but Bronwyn never loses the plot

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LENLYON resident Bronwyn Rowbotham is one of those people who are always looking for career challenges and it has taken her into many interesting corners of the working world.

After initial studies in history and legal studies, she worked at the Motor Accidents Board (today the Transport Accident Commission) and Telecom before further studies led her into secondary school and adult teaching. But as always, Bronwyn was looking beyond the chores of the classroom. She has also worked in logistics, selling real estate, doing operations management and careers counselling.

Then, six years ago, Bronwyn found herself at a crossroads once again. At the time she was doing emergency teaching but during a quiet period over January a fourweek job at Box Hill Cemetery looking after the office was offered to her.

“It was no strategic career move but it was something different,” recalls Bronwyn.

“And something I have always done throughout my whole working life is try lots of jobs, often two at the same time, to gain broad skills; in fact, you can’t really be a guidance counsellor without wide experience in the world of work. Anyway, the CEO asked me to stay on to be part of a long-overdue project to reinvigorate the cemetery.”

What the project entailed was quite simply to make more space in the grounds to meet the funerary demands of the growing local population. Officially Box Hill Cemetery had no burial spaces left and Bronwyn was given the job of conducting research to find if there were any unused plots. That is, spaces that had been purchased more than 25 years previously, but for varying reasons had been left unfilled.

In previous centuries the practice of purchasing multiple interment plots was common (the first Australian crematorium did not appear until 1925) and people bought, depending on their means, not only for themselves, but also for the entire family, including sons, daughters and their offspring.

But naturally, the best-laid plans can go awry. Descendants move away, families drift apart, or people simply forget and it was quite common for these additional grave plots to go unfilled. Today, those empty graves are very much in demand.

“Essentially the law says if after 25 years you haven’t used a plot you purchased the right to be buried in, we can ask the question: ‘do you want to keep it?’ To find out which graves were empty we would go through the record books, find vacant plots and send a letter to the address on the records.

"We would also put notices in the paper to try to find the purchasers, but if we got no response to our notices within a reasonable time, we would reclaim.”

From these beginnings in 2013, Bronwyn’s temporary summer job has evolved into a unique occupation that fuses much of her knowledge and experience from previous jobs and education. It is work that is part detective, surveyor, registrar, and historian and covers some of Victoria’s largest and oldest cemeteries.

In the process, her work has offered a unique view into the practices and customs of interment over the years and the people who have lived and died in Victoria within the last two centuries.

But the task does not just stop at reclaiming neglected plots; Bronwyn’s work also covers the consolidation of cemetery reserves as well. This includes poring over maps, getting the measuring tape out and working out where new plots can be incorporated.

Sometimes this may be a matter of finding unused space on the end of a row or even appropriating redundant walkways but each cemetery presents its own challenges. It is a complex business and today Bronwyn oversees such tasks for more than 20 cemetery reserves around the state.

“We try to make room because communities want to be buried in the place where they lived,” she says. “That may not be a big problem when there is plenty of space remaining such as in rural areas, but for big metropolitan cemeteries surrounded by large populations, space becomes a real issue.”

And the big question? The cost of a grave? Bronwyn says they vary from one cemetery to another. In Box Hill graves are currently $15,235 and you can bury up to three people and inter up to 15 sets of cremated remains (or thereabouts). More locally, Daylesford Cemetery sells its earth graves for $990 while Glenlyon is just $525.

Meanwhile, what if you are just happily living a long life and forget about your purchase? Bronwyn says if someone (the right of interment holder) turns up after 26 years, then the law would state that they lose the grave, but most cemeteries would either renew their right of interment for that particular grave, or for another grave.

When someone buys a grave they are advised that it is very important to keep their address updated!

Words: Anthony Sawrey | Image: Contributed (Edition 128)

Dr. Susanne M. Heringslake Chiropractor Moments To Ponder

Essential Health Information For Residents And Visitors CODE RED (CATASTROPHIC) BUSHFIRE RISK POLICY

a little gift from me to you

Springs Medical is committed to providing essential health services to residents and visitors to our region.

A New Year before us... a promise, an opportunity, a gift.

A chance to become all you desire, any and every moment.

This New Year, who will you choose to be? [\ Happy New Year!

Dr Sue

THE PERSONAL SAFETY OF OUR PATIENTS, OUR STAFF AND THEIR FAMILIES IS PARAMOUNT.

For all enquiries and to book appointments, please contact: Dr Susanne M Heringslake Chiropractor Mobile: 0407 301 352

On all CODE RED days we will:

CLOSE

Springs Medical at Daylesford and Trentham.

Seek to provide an ‘Urgent Care’ service from Daylesford Hospital.

Please heed the advice of the CFA and other authorities.

For urgent medical attention on a CODE RED day contact the

After Hours GP Helpline 1800 022 222.

We recommend that you download the Vic Emergency App.

In an emergency always call 000.

Daylesford

10 Hospital Street tel: (03) 5348 2227

Trentham

22 Victoria Street tel: (03) 5424 1602

www.springsmedical.com.au

Rewarding career at Hepburn House

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ORRAINE Nock’s job is so rewarding that she brought her mum, Dorothy Nock, with her on the job over Christmas.

Lorraine actually works two jobs that happen to go hand-in-hand, as she is both a full-time carer for her mother and is also a personal care worker at Hepburn House.

“I love everything about working at Hepburn House - the residents, staff and management. It has a great atmosphere and it is an extremely rewarding job,” Lorraine explains.

Lorraine has worked at Hepburn House, a government-funded aged care facility which offers all levels of care from respite to permanent, since 2014 when she left her 13-year long career as a gardener for something more rewarding.

“I decided that a career change was in order, and it was while looking after my mother that I decided to complete the Certificate III in Aged Care. I love everything about my job, and I am constantly learning and happy to come to work.”

It was over Christmas that Lorraine not only came to work, but brought her mum with her for some respite care.

“I love the place so much, it was a great idea.”

Lorraine is part of the team of personal care workers looking after residents at Hepburn House who also have access to a team of allied health professionals who regularly visit Hepburn House, and there is also an in-house kitchen providing home-style meals.

Residents can choose to participate in a range of activities at Hepburn House, from exercise classes to craft groups and Morning Melodies. Regular outings are also held, for residents to head into town for coffee and shopping.

Hepburn House is located at 1 Hepburn Road, Daylesford. For more information, call 5348 8100 or visit www.hepburnhouse.com.au

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How the Wild West lives on in Yandoit

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Besides materialising as the maniac from Wolf Creek, Chris is known to put on a special show for Vietnam vets and people who grew up in orphanages in Ballarat and nearby, appearing with his sheriff’s badge, black Stetson and long dark coat to become that legend of the 30-second gunfight at OK Corral, Wyatt Earp.

We pass the gold mine, general store, the Mule Drool Saloon, visit the blacksmith’s shop, grain store, the outdoor butcher, the saddlers’ and are shown an More than that, the village represents generosity and heritage across the highlands and beyond. Fans of Westerns may recognise its name from The Fastest Gun Alive, the original Laurel kerosene tin, once the property of Daylesford mechanic Bill Dougall.

The butcher’s gear and the mine bucket came from Geoff Green at Strangways, 1956 film starring Glenn Ford, Jeanne Crain and Broderick Crawford.

Here, over 10 years, Chris built a living museum on 8ha in happily-named Mystic while the smithy’s coals are from a locally famous blacksmith, Tom Colmo of Shepherds Flat. Castlemaine folk donated the bellows.

Drive, the place as delightful as it is eccentric and representing his passion for the A couple of Friesians await milking, their cow bales 140-years old and gifts from past.

Dunc McKinnon, who lives in a miner’s hut not far away. Dunc, 80, also gave cactus It began in 2000 with a bullock wagon once used to cart wool from Swan Hill to for the garden. The buildings began life as garden huts. the Murray. “I had no intention of doing this,” says 72-year-old Chris, surveying the At Cobb & Co, the 1843 timetable notes departures at 10am and 3pm sharp dusty main street where a gunslinger lurks near a flagpole bearing the remnants of a from Forest Creek to Melbourne and Ballarat, one of many original trails, says Chris, Eureka flag. who knows of the Ballarat-Bendigo route not too far away.

He takes us to church. Visitors gasp as the door swings open on the life-size Chris, who drove trucks for the Hepburn Shire for 30 years and also raced cars, figures, five parishioners and a child intent on the minister in the pulpit. Light pours shows his mechanical skill by cranking up a generator and running a film in Christie’s in through a cracked stained-glass window, mostly sourced from the Mill Market.

Cinema, named after Max, who was the manager of the Rex in Daylesford. We plonk On the pews are prayer books bearing well-known local names such as Sartori, ourselves among the 13 red-plush seats, ready for viewings of thrillers, westerns and Eric and J. , as well as Yandoit’s Darren and Brett Priest. Like much of the village, silent comedy. these are contributions, as are a collection plate found at a tip and pennies brought Across the way, Judge Roy Bean holds court in his saloon. Known as the “Law from Maldon.

West of the Pecos”, he was so obsessed with the actress Lily Langtry that he named his Nine gravestones are in the cemetery next door, just one identified: tough Texan town of Vinegaroon after her. The name adorns his “courthouse” here, and for added interest, it holds a towering grizzly bear, representing the real-life beast Here lies Lester Moore he kept on hand.

Shot six times Capture, trial, execution was the judge’s style. Outside, a hangman’s noose awaits.

With A44 For Chris Olver’s Cross Creek, a saying from his beloved Wild West sums up, No Les “You don’t always have to be first. But being best is a whole lot better.”

No more

IKE the psychotic killer in Wolf Creek, Chris Olver appears in a check shirt, .303 rifle with telescopic sight slung over his shoulder and a scary Bowie knife at his hip. For Wolf Creek, however, read Cross Creek, an astonishing village in Yandoit where the American Wild West meets the Aussie frontier, with myth and history melding.

We visit the shotgun-toting guard in the general store where gold was traded. A hand-cranked Edison phonograph provides the entertainment.

Time to pop into Cynthia’s, a house of ill repute, where three ladies of the night await customers, watched over by a barman/bouncer. The “girls” are dressed by Chris’s wife Shirley, who made the clothes for all the exhibits, painstakingly recreating the period. On a hook hangs a red garter, the other décor includes drawings of Buffalo Bill and Wild Bill Hickok.

Words: Kevin Childs | Images: Kyle Barnes (Edition 121)

www.tlnews.com.au

News 15

Woodend's Repair Cafe popular

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OODEND'S first Repair Café was held on September 1 and proved an immediate success. It was started

by Jasley Wilding-McBride, who read about the worldwide organisation on somebody’s blog. The idea piqued her interest and she decided to research it. She chatted with Donna Kelly.

Donna: What drew you to the idea of a repair café?

Jasley: I liked the idea of a group of people with different areas of repair expertise coming together to actively help their community engage in trying to reduce waste. When I raised the idea of running it through the Woodend Neighbourhood House, Angela Van Dam, the coordinator, was very enthusiastic and proactive about the venture. Angela’s skill in the marketing and organisation of the project has led to its success.

Donna: Who is involved?

Jasley: The Woodend Repair Café only exists because people have volunteered their time. Members of the Woodend community and beyond have been offering a variety of skills. It is funded through gold coin donations. We have timed it so that it coincides with the Farmers Market that takes place on the first Saturday of the month. We are in the neighbourhood house, near the Farmers Market. The Woodend Repair Café is clearly signed.

Donna: Can anyone join in to either get something repaired, or to be a repairer?

Jasley: We will take any offers of assistance. If you don’t feel confident fixing things, then there could be a place for you on the welcome desk, or serving tea and coffee. It is always good to have a number of people who can be called on to help.

Donna: It’s been pretty popular…

Jasley: We have had quite a number of people dropping in with items needing repair. Items have included clothing, knives, bikes, furniture, items of a mechanical nature and toys being re-stuffed and sewn. With the market on at the same time, people can drop off their stuff, shop and return. It’s also great to see people gathering and chatting over repairs and biscuits.

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Donna: What happens with electrical repairs?

Jasley: Due to safety reasons, we don’t repair electrical items. There are some repair cafés that do.

Donna: Anything else you would like to add?

Jasley: Our motto is: Repair Reuse Reduce. The café provides the opportunity for people to drop in and chat and to see what they could have repaired. It’s always interesting to hear people speak about their favourite things that are broken. On the welcome desk, I get to see the before and after reactions: lots of thank yous and gratitude towards our repairers for saving valued items.

Links: www.woodendnh.org.au & www.repaircafe.org Above, "Dr" Alice Van Dam helps adds one more repair to a traumatised Teddy Image: Contributed (Edition 136)

16 News

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REIV regional round-up

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Meanwhile, Mr King said there were a number of towns to watch in the regional Victoria property market next year.

"Regional Victoria is attractive for investors and owner/occupiers (first homebuyers in particular) due to the affordable options it presents compared with King. the city market.

First homebuyer incentives of up to $20,000 are available for people "Population growth is also a significant issue, as are increases in transient worker populations on large infrastructure projects, particularly in regional Victoria. Investors purchasing or building a new home for up to $750,000 in regional Victoria.

"Topping the list of the REIV’s areas to keep an eye on in 2019 is Kilmore, where are retreating from the market with finance restrictions, regulatory uncertainty and the median house price has increased 20.1 per cent in the year to 30 September to tax imposts all major factors," he said. $462,500. The auction market, often a good barometer of interest, has also been Mr King said regional Victoria’s rental vacancy rate was sitting at its lowest level strong with 17 sales from 26 auctions held. since the REIV began collecting this data, at 1.3 per cent as at 30 November 2018 "Nearby Broadford is second on our list, with a 25.8 per cent increase in its which means that for every 1000 rental properties, only 13 of them are available. The median house price to $400,000 and a new auction record for the town with all 10 of figure has continued to drop from 2.1 per cent in November 2017.

"The reduction in the overall Victorian vacancy rate is less pronounced at 1.9 per its auctions resulting in sales under the hammer in 2018."

Mr King said Ballarat Central’s property market was excelling and there was a lot cent and 2.1 per cent respectively. A vacancy rate of at least three per cent is required of interest in the regional city. The median house price has increased 9.1 per cent in for a healthy rental market: where there is enough vacant housing supply to meet 12 months and 32 of the 37 auctions Ballarat has hosted have resulted in sales. demand.

Looking across to the Geelong region, REIV data suggests Drysdale is one to "Regional Victoria’s rental vacancy rate is lowest in Bendigo & Loddon and watch in 2019 with a 22.6 per cent annual increase in the median house price to Ballarat & Central Highlands at 0.7 per cent at 30 November 2018, compared with $515,000.

1.0 per cent and 1.9 per cent respectively in November 2017."

Finally, Mr King said the Gippsland coastal town of Loch Sport rounded out the Mr King said vacancy rates were also sitting well below the Victorian rate in Wodonga & Ovens Murray at 1.2 per cent, Latrobe Valley, South & West Gippsland REIV’s top five "towns to watch". On the Ninety Mile Beach, this town is becoming increasingly popular with tourists, which is having a positive impact on its median at 1.3 per cent and East Gippsland & Wellington Shire at 1.5 per cent. house price, having increased 24.3 per cent in the year to 30 September 2018 and Shepparton & Goulburn, Warrnambool & the Western District and Mildura sitting at an accessible $220,000. & the Mallee all have a vacancy rate of 1.6 per cent, with the biggest drop from "In 2019, we also expect the property markets in Koondrook, Wonthaggi, 12 months recorded in Mildura & the Mallee which had a rate of 4.2 per cent in Wendouree, Norlane and Mooroopna to continue their positive run."

November 2017.

The Wimmera has a vacancy rate of 1.9 per cent while Geelong & the Barwon Region have the highest vacancy rate in regional Victoria at 2.0 per cent.

"The REIV will continue to advocate for an easing of the property tax burden to incentivise investment in housing, in particular investment in rental stock."

ENTAL vacancy rates are a clear matter of supply and demand: Victoria needs a secure pipeline of rental housing stock to accommodate the increasing number of renters, says REIV CEO Gil

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

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HOUSE.LAND.HOME.

Your local real estate guide to the Central Highlands

House.Land.Home.

Bells Water Gardens @ Newlyn

Bells Water Gardens has been in the water garden business for over 25 years, building and maintaining ponds and growing a diverse range of aquatic plants for the nursery trade and public.

We are passionate about building natural eco-system ponds, adding beauty and encouraging wildlife, allowing interaction with nature. Water gardens built by us are quiet, contemplative places to rest and energise the senses.

Visit our display water gardens, water plant nursery and new pond shop for advice, inspiration and pond accessories in Newlyn.

Opening hours are: Friday and Monday 9am-5pm Saturday and Sunday 10am-4pm Call Richard - 0418 567 195 or Sally - 0412 090 850 www.bellswatergardens.com.au

If you are looking to downsize, maintain your independence and create new friendships, McAuley Retirement Community is the perfect choice for you.

Nestled in the quaint township of Trentham, McAuley offers two and three-bedroom units in the community you love.

• Spacious, open plan living • Kitchen with quality fittings • Landscaped courtyard • Single and double garages

Design

with Indre Kisonas

C

HRISTMAS has been wrapped, unwrapped and discarded for another 12 months.

2018 has equally been wrapped up and before we discard it for the next bright, shiny year, let us stop and reflect upon it. Did 2018 live up to your expectations? Did it captivate you and take you on an adventure? Did you revel in each and every day?

Personally, there were bright and happy moments but also I got dragged down some dark, mucky holes that made me think about how I got into these bogs and what I needed to do and learn, to get myself out onto the paved path again?

This year I was living by the saying that every day makes your week. Every week makes your year and every year makes your life. It has made me "appreciate the moments" and not "sweat the small stuff". Equally, to throw in another saying, I now "pick my battles". I find life is easier this way.

I have truly enjoyed contributing to The Local with my pieces of learning and experiences. Each article I write makes up the fortnight, which makes the month and now we find ourselves at the end of the year.

My year has been rich with experiences. Some experiences have taught me good lessons as well as providing platforms to grow and stretch. Grow and stretch personally as well as professionally. Growth can be enjoyed by all and fingers crossed, my articles for 2019 will share this growth. Let us stretch this new, shiny year into something we are all going to love being a part of.

For those of you who have genuine design queries that I can answer through an article, please don't be shy. Email me with your subject matter. It will give me food for thought and hopefully an answer or discussion for you.

Cheers to a new shiny year - Indre Kisonas - principal designer iok design

indre@iokdesign.com.au | www.iokdesign.com.au

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Have a safe, healthy and fun f illed 2019.

From the team at:

House.Land.Home.

P

LANTS are not just for Christmas - with care and a little know-how they can be encouraged to stay around for quite a while.

Obviously, gifted trees and shrubs are meant for the garden, so shouldn't be expected to survive indoors any longer than Christmas/New Year before being planted outdoors. It's the highly desirable container-growing ornamentals that can often survive way beyond the first summer.

In general terms, the main requirements are water, light and air - all in the right amount and frequency. Most plants will thrive if placed in front of a preferably west or south-facing window - out of direct sunlight. For the delicate ferns and other cool climate species, early morning sunlight is preferable to the hotter afternoon blast.

Frost-sensitive plants such as poinsettias need the protection of double glazing or a constantly warm room, to survive the worst of winter.

Take care not to overwater your plants, they are more likely to rot off or drown than to suffer from a few days of dry soil.

Ferns, coming mostly from the depths of rain forests, prefer to be out of direct sunlight so can tolerate longer spells of low light. They grow best in porous waterholding peat moss blends or sphagnum moss to encourage their delicate roots. They should never be allowed to dry out.

Moth orchid, or phalaenopsis, although delicate looking are among the easiest of house plants to grow and keep for a long time. They thrive in a small pot and need only repotting into fresh sphagnum moss every several years. Don't assume the flowering life is over once the blooms fall off. It is from those stems that the next crop of blooms will appear. They like a cool, well-lit spot. A cunning trick is to water the plant and keep it cool by placing an ice cube in the pot to slowly melt away. Feed them with a very small dose of your favourite indoor plant food after each flowering period is over.

Cyclamen, the hardy little favourite, seems to thrive indoors forever as long as they are out of direct sunlight when flowering and are placed into a dark place to recycle through their dormant period, being brought into the light and watered at the first sign of new growth.

Hi Glen, I'm having trouble with caterpillars on ornamental grape vines. Can you advise how to treat the infestation? Wendy Hi Wendy, The phalaenoides glycinae or grapevine moth is the cause. The result of its spring visits to your garden laying eggs is those horrid grubs eating your vine leaves.

A soaking with soapy water or with the marvellous bacterial organic spray called Dipel, only harmful to caterpillars and grubs, will do the trick. Glen

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Our musos 23

Alfie - music a certain part of life's journey

A

LFIE Pleasance still has more than a year to go at Daylesford Secondary College but he already has a very clear picture that music will be his life’s journey.

The son of well-known musicians, Richard and Michelle Pleasance – dad Richard was a founder of Boom Crash Opera and has credits including composition of music for SeaChange, Kenny and for a new Clayton Jacobson movie, Brothers' Nest – Alfie is not sure whether music chose him or vice versa.

“It was probably a bit of both,” he says.

Alfie, pictured left, can’t remember how old – or young – he was when he realised that music was going to be an intrinsic part of his life.

Growing up in a house that was always full of music and full of “way too many records” was a positive influence. And living at Elevated Plains near Hepburn has been the ideal environment. “The nearest house is about 500 metres away and that means a lot because I can play as loudly as I want,” he said.

And being surrounded by nature has been a positive and enlightening influence, with walks to the nearest springs for example, giving him the ability to clear his mind and come up with songs that he likes to get right in his head before trying them on an instrument.

He started playing with his parents when very young and while it was so long ago that he can’t remember the details, he suspects his first non-school public performance was probably playing with them at the Hepburn pub.

Most people around Daylesford who have seen him play probably see him as a pop music guitarist but it is the saxophone that is emerging as his main instrument.

He first played the sax when he was about 10 but set it aside when surging adolescence and its testosterone drive saw him get into pop, rock and punk.

“As I started to chill out I got into jazz and started to play the sax again."

He credits teachers Michael Timcke and Denis Toner for their influence and says Daylesford Secondary also inspired him with his music.

Current musical influences include greats such as Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane and the jazz musicians of the 1960s.

It is important to him to be as broad and well-rounded a musician as possible and so while the sax is his main instrument, he continues to work on developing skills with other musical instruments as well.

Next step in his musical development is to become more comfortable improvising, which will require a lot more work really understanding his instrument, as well as working on the particular mindset that musical improvising requires.

And while he is convinced music is his destiny, he is aware it is a hard gig.

“The most obvious way to make a living from music to most people is to become well-known and have people buy your music but that is really tough and is not necessarily the happiest way because it can tie a musician to the expectations of the public and make composing less personal,” he said.

However, there are lots of other musical paths that interest him, including teaching which is, like music, a bit of a passion.

In fact, he is just starting to cast around locally to see if he might be able to find students wanting to learn and is keen for it to be known that he would love to pass on some of his passion and knowledge.

Words: Peter Young | Image: Kyle Barnes (Edition 127) MONDAY IS LOCALS' NIGHT AT THE ARGUS DINING ROOM $45 pp feed me (normally $65) includes glass of house wine or beer.

Bookings essential. Open Monday from 6pm to 9pm.

CHRISTMAS DAY $125 pp includes glass of bubbles – 3 course sharing menu.

Bookings essential. Closed for Dinner.

NEW YEAR’S EVE $140 pp includes 2 hours of canapés and bubbles on the lawn with live music 4-6 then the feed me option for dinner.

Bookings Essential.

NORMAL HOURS Open Monday – Sunday for Breakfast and Dinner Open Saturday/Sunday for Lunch. www.mineralspringshotel.com.au Bookings: 03 5348 2202 124 Main Rd Hepburn Springs

Do you feed and water people?

. .

EAT DRINK LOCAL . DRINK . LOVELOVE . .

EAT LOCAL EAT DRINK LOVE LOCAL Kickback back in the best be Kick and and relax inrelax the region’s bestregion’s beer garden

Advertise Kick backin and relax in the region’s best beer garden The Local!

. Cnr High . www.thecosmopolitanhotel.com.au 03 1516 St &High Cosmo St Rd,& Trentham . Cnr 035424 5424 1516 Cosmo Rd, Trentham . www.thecos

03 5424 1516 . Cnr High St & Cosmo Rd, Trentham . www.thecosmopolitanhotel.com.au

Daylesford

Cellarbrations @ foxxy’s - our region’s largest local and boutique wine specialists.

Open every day until late.

55 Vincent Street, Daylesford.

5348 3577

www.tlnews.com.au

Meal Deals 25

Meal deals for locals...and visitors too!

E

VERYONE loves a good meal deal. So here are some of the dining establishments offering great food and great prices!

Sunday:

Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn - Roast - $16-$22 - depending on time Daylesford Hotel, Daylesford - Roast, a pot or glass of wine or soft drink - $25

Monday - Friday (Not available public holidays or school holidays)

Monday:

Daylesford Hotel, Daylesford - Monday Meatball Madness - $20 (Vegetarian too) Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn - Parma Night - $16-$22 - depending on time Daylesford Cidery, Musk - Pot of Daylesford Cider & any pizza - $20 Peppers Mineral Springs, Hepburn - Feed me - includes a glass of beer or wine $45pp

Tuesday:

Galley Diner, Daylesford - lunch deal - burger, soft drink, fries - $17 Casa El Rey, Daylesford - lunch deal - burrito, soft drink - $15

Community Lunch:

The 5000 Club, Daylesford is open for lunch from noon every Friday at Stanbridge Hall, Central Springs Road, Daylesford. All welcome.

Raffles:

Daylesford Hotel, Daylesford - Burger Night with chips - $20

Wednesday:

Daylesford Hotel, Daylesford – Pot (or glass of house wine) and Parma - $20 Cosmopolitan Hotel, Trentham - Locals' Night. Weekly specials @ $18

Fundraising raffles for local organisations are held on Friday evenings at the Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn, the Farmers Arms Hotel, Daylesford and the Cosmopolitan Hotel, Trentham.

Thursday:

Daylesford Hotel, Daylesford – Steak Night - $20 Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn - Burger Night - $16-$22 - depending on time The Plough, Trentham - Locals' All Day Dining - 2 courses $27/3 courses $32 The Cosmopolitan Hotel, Trentham - Woodfired pizza specials

Friday:

Criterion Hotel, Castlemaine - Express Jalapeno Poppers $12, Fried Chicken Wings $12, Refried Bean Rolls $12, Fried Baby Calamari Tostada $16, 12-2.30pm Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn - Parma Night - $16-$22 - depending on time

Introducing our newly refurbished (and now private) dining room.

Perfect for functions and parties.

For bookings please email functions@farmersarmsdaylesford.com.au 1 EAST ST DAYLESFORD

•

03 5348 2091 • THEFARMERSARMS.COM.AU

Some of our favourite photos from 2018 Images: Kyle Barnes and David White (bottom right)

www.tlnews.com.au

Gig Guide 27

Gig Guide Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn Live music, drink specials and early bird parma night - Monday, December 31 Friday Frivolities - Friday, January 4 Jessey Jackson - Saturday, January 5, 8pm Bec Peel - Sunday, January 6, 5pm Liz Stringer - Friday, January 11 Ash Egan - Saturday, January 12, 8pm Sean Dixon - Sunday, January 13, 5pm

Criterion Hotel, Castlemaine Balls ‘n’ All - Monday, December 31 AC2ZZ - Saturday, January 5 Howling Owls - Saturday, January 12 Wildthings - Saturday, January 19 The Drowning Sorrows - Saturday, January 26

Blue Bean Love Cafe, Hepburn The Cartwheels - Friday, January 4 Sean Dixon - Saturday, January 5 Buck Jr. - Sunday, January 6 Brett Franke - Friday, January 11 Ellerby - Saturday, January 12 Open Mic - Sunday, January 13

Spa Bar, Daylesford Ive Streep and The Zero Point - Monday, December 31, 8pm

Got a gig coming up? Email donna@tlnews.com.au It's free!

Daylesford Cidery, Musk Kelana - Saturday, January 5, noon-3pm Martel Blues Trio - Saturday, January 19, noon-3pm

subj All gigs ect t Che o chang e! ck the v with enue .

Peppers Mineral Springs, Hepburn Live music on the lawn with JJ & Ray - Monday, December 31, 4pm-7pm Live music on the lawn with JJ & Ray - Friday, January 4, 4pm-7pm

ON THE BANKS OF LAKE DAYLESFORD

Exquisite water views from any vantage point, The Boathouse Restaurant offers a sophisticated dining venue for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You can take in the beautiful views from our warm and cosy indoor dining area for winter catch ups and our outdoor deck and seating area during the warmer months.

The Boathouse Restaurant provides year-round comfort with stylish food and a relaxed yet professional style of service, making it the perfect place to enjoy a glass of wine over a meal with family and friends.

CHRISTMAS/JANUARY DINING HOURS Xmas Eve & Day Dec 26 – Jan 6 Jan 7 Jan 8 – 13 Jan 14 – 15 Jan 16 – 20 Jan 21 – 22 Jan 23 – 24 Jan 25 – 27 Jan 28 – 29

Closed Lunch & Dinner Closed Lunch & Dinner Closed Lunch & Dinner Closed Lunch Lunch & Dinner Closed

RETURNING TO REGULAR DINING HOURS WEDNESDAY JANUARY 30 Lunch

Wed – Sun

Dinner

Fri & Sat

Breakfast Sat & Sun

The Boathouse Restaurant does not take bookings for breakfast and lunch but welcomes guests on a walk in basis. Reservations are available for dinner.

2 Leggatt Street, Daylesford | 03 5348 2199

28 Trades

www.tlnews.com.au

Builder

of Beautiful Homes

A unique heater manufactured in Daylesford from Australian products

8-10 Star Energy Rating Super Insulated Strawbale Construction Carpentry Consultancy PER BERNARD Registration DBU-3633

pershivajai@gmail.com

0418 133 426 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

Railway Crescent, Daylesford P: 03

5348 2586

F: 03 5348 1200 E: nedkelly@woodheaters.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

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

Servicing Daylesford and Districts.

0427 508 840

www.tlnews.com.au

DAYLESFORD APPLIANCE SERVICE

Trades 29

das3460@bigpond.com

Clement F Mooney

Email: c.mooney@bigpond.net.au

electrical appliance repair service washer, dryer, fridge, dishwasher, oven, cook top etc.

das3460@bigpond.com

PH: 0400 059 613 - 5348 6634 ADMIN@JESSEDAWKINSGARDENS.COM.AU WWW.JESSEDAWKINSGARDENS.COM.AU

A.B.N. 37 961 487 978

Certified Practising Accountant Registered Tax Agent B.Com, C.P.A., M.B.A.

Tel: 03 5424 1441 Mobile: 0142 584 555

Call Kiyo on

0419 267 685

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.

Office: 19 Albert Street, Trentham 3458

Malone Tree Services Liam Malone . Limited Access . Fully Insured .Specialists Qualified . Mulching Available

0423 945 436

Servicing all Daylesford and Districts wastewateraus.com.au MOB: 0427 508 840

Daylesford Newsagency & Tattslotto Newspapers, magazines, Tattslotto, dry-cleaning, stationery, photocopying and lots more...

We stock The Local!

55 Vincent Street, Daylesford 5348 2061

30 Crossword

www.tlnews.com.au

W RD

CROSS

Challenge yourself with our crossword. Look for the answers in the pages of The Local. See last issue's solution below.

OZ - TRANS

DAYLESFORD The ‘Local’ Blokes

FURNITURE REMOVALS

GENERAL FREIGHT

Melbourne & Country Victoria daily 0407 697 877

services

SEPTIC SYSTEM INSPECTION & MAINTENANCE

LAND CAPABILITY ASSESSMENT

services

SEPTIC SYSTEM INSPECTION & MAINTENANCE

SEPTIC SYSTEM INSPECTION & MAINTENANCE

PERIODIC INSPECTION AND REPORTING OF WASTEWATER 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 4852 or 0437 747 619

Here's the solution for Issue 139. Solve it?

Do you help people get fit, stop smoking, maybe learn a new language...?

Advertise in The Local's New Year's Resolutions feature in the January 14 edition.

Contact Kyle on 0416 104 283.

Happy New Year from The Local!