August 29, 2016 Issue 79 The Local celebrates its 3rd anniversary
The Local - The Heart of the Highlands The Local - The Heart of the Highlands
2 About Us
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Front cover: The Local celebrates its third anniversary. Read the full story on page 12.
August 29, 2016 Issue 79 The Local celebrates its 3rd anniversary
The Local is a fortnightly community publication covering the Central Highlands. The next edition is out on September 12, 2016. Advertising deadlines for the next edition of The Local:
Image: Kyle Barnes
Space bookings: Wednesday, September 7 Copy provided by: Thursday, September 8 Editorial deadline: Thursday, September 8 Managing editor | Donna Kelly General manager | Kyle Barnes Sub-editors: Nick Bunning and Lindsay Smith Writers: Kevin Childs, Anthony Sawrey, Kate Taylor, Donna Kelly, Jeff Glorfeld
The Local - The Heart of the Highlands The Local - The Heart of the Highlands
Photographers: Kyle Barnes, David White Graphic designers: Dianne Caithness, Robin Archer The Local is a registered trademark of Kyle Barnes and Donna Kelly
Layout: Donna Kelly
The content expressed within this publication does not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of The Local.
Money, money, money... Advertisements in The Local are very affordable - unlike traditional print media we don’t charge like wounded bulls! So here goes with our loyalty prices...for six consecutive editions, or more... An eighth of a page - $55 plus GST A quarter page - $110 plus GST A banner - $110 plus GST A half page - $220 plus GST A full page - $440 plus GST (Prices are per edition)
Columnists: Glen Heyne (gardens), Samantha Redlich (fitness), Roy Lever (ales) 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 $20 each and will be emailed at high resolution. You can print as many copies as you like...
The Pool Room! The Local - winner of:
But wait, there’s more! All adverts in The Local are full colour (it is 2016...) and we have fantastic graphic designers who can help you with adverts and branding - also at very affordable prices. So, if you want to get your business or organisation out there in the community, in the best-read publication in the Central Highlands, give us a call or send an email. (See our details right.) Oh, we also have an average reach of 14,000 readers - in print and online! Even more reasons to get in touch today.
*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 Now that’s award winning...
“The Local is the future of regional publishing!” - former senator John Madigan in the Australian Parliament Just sayin’... :)
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Our traders 3
Tourists trading in teddy bears at Trentham
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Her on-line collectors are all over Australia, from far north Queensland down to Tasmania, and across through South Australia to Western Australia. "There is a big collectibles market for bear artists' hand-made bears and there is Town newsagent Michelle Bergelsohn has uncovered a booming national market also strong demand for second-hand bears.� Michelle has been in the district for 20 years, working as a chef for most of that for her bears since she started stocking a variety of hand-made UK bears. time, including most recently in Tylden and via the Trentham Golf Club catering She has sold 400 bears of one Cornwall brand in 18 months alone, with a regular contract before that. procession of Melbournians arriving in town to browse and buy. She has owned the Trentham newsagency for four years as of this September and "It's been a real eye-opener to see how they affect people," she said. For example, one out-of-towner walked in when Michelle was unpacking her first has built toys and gifts as a specialist activity to broaden from traditional newsagency newspaper and magazine staples. shipment and burst into tears when she saw a yellow bear named Lionheart. It was her tiny grandson's nick-name, given to him after coming through a series of heart Words: Peter Young | Image: Kyle Barnes operations. Another lady who had never contemplated bears before walked in and found a bear called Dillinger would not stop looking at her. She has now bought nine bears. Michelle said people would be surprised to know who collect bears. "We have hidden collectors in town, including big, tough men.�
EDDY bears are helping to rekindle Trentham's tourism economy, with Melbourne soft toy fans emerging as a surprise niche visitor market.
Boathouse Daylesford Open 7 days a week for breakfast and lunch Located on beautiful Lake Daylesford, providing year round comfort. Perfect for a meal, wine or coffee with friends. For more information about Boathouse Daylesford, please visit our website: www.boathousedaylesford.com.au 2 Leggatt St, Daylesford 03 5348 2199
4 Our artists
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Realistic sculptures cast in bronze
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AX Irvine spent his working life first as a draughtsman and then as a project manager with Ford and then smaller engineering companies. One of the things he most enjoyed about his early years as a draughtsman was putting pencil to paper and creating from a blank page a technical drawing that at times looked like a work of art. When computer drawing came along he lost interest as there is not the same creativity involved. Max spoke to Donna Kelly. Donna: When did you get into sculpting? Max: I have always had an interest in drawing and to a lesser extent sculpture. About 25 years ago a new friend was into sculpture and I mentioned to my wife that I wouldn’t mind trying my hand at it. Pam took me at my word and arranged a few lessons and away I went. I found that I enjoyed it and with a lot of time and effort I could produce something worthwhile. Donna: Which media do you mainly work with and why? Max: All of my sculptures are cast bronze pieces. I normally begin my work sculpting in wax. I prefer it over clay because it doesn’t dry out. I can leave it for months and when I come back to it there is no change from when I left off whereas clay has to be kept moist. Wax also accepts a lot of very fine detail that I like to put into my work. Once I finish sculpting my pieces I send them off to Rod Legge in Woodend. He makes a mould for me and then casts the piece in bronze using the classic lost wax process. Donna: Do you have themes in your work? Max: I don’t restrict myself to any particular theme other than figurative or birds and animal pieces. My work is as realistic as I can make it. I do not do abstract pieces. Although I am not a “horse” person, I appreciate their form and beauty so I quite like coin sculptures of them. I’ve done a light-horseman, a dressage horse with rider and a race horse with jockey. I’ve recently been working on a polo horse and also a smaller horse that may be more affordable. Donna: What does your work mean to you? Max: I like to make something with my hands. When I get involved in a piece I sometimes feel that all I’m doing is bringing Donna: Anything else you would like to add? out the shape that is already hidden inside the wax. I really enjoy the Max: I would encourage anybody who has any thoughts of creative process. I also like the idea that my work will be around for taking up some form of artwork to have a go. You never know a very long time. what talent you might have until you try. Donna: Why did you get involved with The Little Gallery in Trentham? Max: I joined the Macedon Ranges Art Trail last year on an off chance. Rose and Fran saw my work in the brochure and asked me if I’d like to join the gallery. I was looking for new opportunities after losing my wife after a long illness and caring for her. I needed a new outlet and the gallery has given me that. It has been part of a healing process for me.
Donna: Oh, what are you working on in this photo? Max: The piece that you photographed me with is of the footballer Jim Stynes. I, like most other people, admired him for what he achieved on the football field but more importantly what he achieved in his life. When the work is finished I intend to share any proceeds with The Reach Foundation that Jim set up. I haven’t approached them yet but if the work comes up to my expectations I will contact them to offer my support.
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Book Week
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ARRY Potter, The Cat in the Hat, pirates and a host of princesses, pictured above, were among those on show at Hepburn Primary School last Friday.
The school held a Breakfast Club followed by a Grandparents & Special Friends' Day with the students dressing up as their favourite book character as part of Book Week. Along with a parade showing off the costumes there was also a presentation for the best outfits, followed by a delicious morning tea. The staff also got into the swing of things with principal Robert Walsh donning his Bob the Builder outfit and teacher Fiona Cooper bringing out her cow onesie for the day.
Funding for CFA
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OUR CFAs in Hepburn Shire will receive funding under the 2016-2017 Volunteer Emergency Services Equipment Program.
Glenlyon CFA received $100,000 for a new light tanker, Franklinford CFA received $11,000 for concrete paving of its CFA building, Leonards Hill & District CFA received $4305 for a pergola and Musk CFA received $2163 for a life-saving defibrillator. Under the program, the government commits $2 for every $1 raised by volunteer groups to help them buy additional trucks, tankers, watercraft and trailers, and carry out minor facility upgrades. Macedon MP Mary-Anne Thomas said she had supported the Glenlyon application for a new light tanker after the brigade treasurer wrote to her informing her that Tanker 2, which will be replaced by this funding, was 20 years old. “These grants will provide a welcome boost to volunteer CFA brigades in the Hepburn area, helping them buy the equipment they need to keep Victorians safe.�
Our families 5
6 Crossword
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Challenge yourself with our crossword! Look for the answers in the pages of The Local. Last week’s solution is on page 31.
Check us out on-line in a fully readable digital magazine format, simply go to www.tlnews.com.au and hit the “Read The Local” button. This will give you all The Local stories from our second edition onwards. (Sorry, we didn’t have the technology for edition one!) You can also download your copy and print it out on your home printer - wow, now that’s home delivery! August 29, 2016 Issue 79 The Local celebrates its 3rd anniversary
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News 7
Welcome to Oz Annual Book Fair Places for people
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EN Hepburn Shire residents, pictured above, became Australian citizens last week at a ceremony at the Daylesford Town Hall with Ballarat MP Catherine King, above far right.
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AYLESFORD Primary School's Annual Book Fair will be held on September 3 and 4.
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LACES for People funding program is now open for applications.
The Macedon Ranges Shire Council program offers community groups the opportunity to share in $45,000 for planning and infrastructure projects which The new citizens are Glenn Fitzgerald and his enhance shared community spaces. daughter Isabelle, Lyndsey Iles, Veronika Molnarova, Projects eligible for Places for People funding relate Jacques Nel, Antonio Nery, Stephen Pearce and his to improvements to community infrastructure, township daughter Alysha Leaver-Pearce, Nicolas Rowberry and enhancement projects, master plans for community Helen Tuo. pre-loved books are donated by the community, infrastructure and feasibility studies for future Their countries of birth included the United States, and gifted to the school by publishers. Prices start England, Slovakia, South Africa, Brazil, United Kingdom from $1. The fair will be held at Daylesford Primary infrastructure projects. Eligible local community groups with ideas for place and New Zealand. School’s gymnasium from 9am to 5pm on Saturday, making projects are encouraged to develop their projects September 3 and 10am to 3pm on Sunday, September over the coming weeks, read through the guidelines and 4. discuss their ideas with council. Details: Nel Staite on 0437 628 911 or Daylesford Submissions close on September 19. Primary School on 5348 2480. The fair is the school’s major fundraiser for the year and raises much needed funds to enhance the literacy program at the school and has raised more than $30,000 over the past five years. Thousands upon thousands of high quality,
Link: mrsc.vic.gov.au/places-for-people
Spring is just around the corner. And our love for our locals is as strong as ever! Local $20 meal nights Mon-Thur from 5pm. MONDAY MEATBALL* MADNESS
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8 Opinion
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Just sayin’... By Donna Kelly
Pick me, pick me...
A
UGUST 17 was my dad's birthday. Here he is below with my mum dodging confetti! He would have been 92. Sadly he died 30 years ago - on August 13. I was 21 and never knew him as an adult. Me, that is.
Random thoughts... Going with dad as a kid to get fish and chips every Friday - we also got a chocolate bar each. Dad always got left with the Violet Crumble. I only realised later that he may have actually liked the Violet Crumble. Slow learner. Me, that is. Telling him that mum would love a toy bunny - she still has it. "Are you sure?" he asked. Dad giving me a beautiful ornamental hair comb from China. Not mum, just from dad. Still have it. Driving with him to stay with my grandparents in Bendigo. Just me and him. Going to the MCG to watch the Tigers and hearing dad scream at the ref that he was blind. So embarrassed. Teenage years - he understood nothing. Dad picking me up from school so I didn't have to walk home. Going to hospital with mum. Getting the call. Sitting, watching the television with mum, no conversation, ads yelling "buy now for Father's Day". Hmmm. Just thoughts from a long time ago. But if you have a dad - maybe make it a Happy Father's Day this Sunday. You never know. Just sayin'...
Hi there, I am Stallion, a four-year-old male greyhound. You have probably heard that the ban on greyhound racing in NSW has now passed parliament, so it's a good time to consider adopting a greyhound..well, just pick me. I am a sweet, relaxed boy who needs a loving home where I can sleep inside at night (of course I am house-trained!) and receive plenty of TLC as I am recovering from a recent injury. I do need further socialisation with different breeds and get along with most dogs, but no cats, puhlease! MC# 956000008213628 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 DAYLESFORD
PRIMARY SCHOOL
6TH ANNUAL BOOK FAIR SEPT 3RD & 4TH THE Local believes in giving back. So we created a “Connecting the Community” project. Each edition The Local has two free advert spaces to give away to not-for-profit organisations. Just because we can. So if your group needs a helping hand just email donna@tlnews.com.au If we receive more than we can use we use the tried and true “put them in a hat” system but also work a little bit on timing.
SAT 9AM-5PM SUN 10AM-3PM
NEW AND SECONDHAND BOOKS
AT GREAT PRICES
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Our producers 9
Certified organic status brings customers
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HAT does locally-produced actually mean? Along with other claims tacked onto vegetables, fruits and herbs offered to shoppers, its meaning is vague and often very misleading.
Consumers have begun to get wise to these deceptions and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has recently fined some supermarkets and suppliers for making such false claims on the produce they sell. However, in our regional context, locally-produced means exactly that; produced and sold locally by farmers who buyers often know personally. For grower Florian Hofinger of Mt Franklin Organics, that has meant knocking back potential customers from Melbourne. He has had to say, “you can’t get my produce there, you have to come to the Sunday Market in Daylesford”. For his regular buyers living in and around town, there is no such problem, since he is only 10 kilometres up the road. The costs to get his vegies to market are low and offset the expense of being a fully certified organic farmer. It’s a win/win arrangement for everyone. Florian is a trained chef originally from Salzburg in Austria. In the course of his former job he worked in Germany, the USA and on cruise ships before coming to Australia in 1990. He moved to the area in 2000 and over the following decade worked at the Palais Theatre in Hepburn Springs and the Farmers Arms in Daylesford before moving to his property in 2006. He finally hung up his chef ’s hat to farm full-time in 2010. “I had to keep working at the Farmers Arms two days a week till I could be sure I could do this,” he recalls. “A mate of mine built me the house but there was so much work. This was just a sheep paddock when I started here. "Today I grow everything from vegetables to green beans, rainbow chard to radishes, and herbs to berries. It is a whole mixture. But probably my main crops are garlic and heritage tomatoes. My produce is all very high-end and I sell a lot of stuff to local restaurants and at the Sunday Market.” In the beginning, Florian was fortunate that the land he bought was not affected by mining as many neighbouring properties had been in previous years. This meant he was able to secure a certified organic accreditation through the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Australia. Upon joining, the association came and did soil tests on his land and put the property through a threeyear probationary period. That process was completed in 2012 with Mt Franklin Organics achieving full accreditation, which Florian is now permitted to use on the produce he sells.
His accreditation is effectively the gold standard in Australian organic farming and the NASAA was the first Australian certification body to achieve accreditation through the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, the United States National Organic Program and the Japanese Agricultural Standard. With this accreditation Mt Franklin Organics is able to target what is a growing market for produce coming from sustainable agriculture. “The industry is really growing. There are just more and more people attracted to it. My turnover is definitely increasing year after year and, I mean we are lucky here, because there is quite a lot of interest in Daylesford; there are a lot of vegetarians living in town for starters so there is a ready-made market. The restaurants also buy my stuff because it is locally grown.
"At the market I have a lot of customers who buy my produce because of its certified organic status.” Florian, his partner Mel and eight-week-old Max, have much to be proud of. Their property on the eastern side of Mt Franklin is cosy, warmed by a passive solar system and completely off grid. They have 12 hectares in total with about 1.2 hectares under cultivation. While this may seem like a small operation, they sell everything they produce and have no need for cool rooms or other storage. “The trick is not how big your farm is but understanding how to sell everything you grow. You also have to work out what grows well and be efficient with that instead of working with sheer volume. That is the key to success on a small scale.”
Words and image: Anthony Sawrey
10 News
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Inspiring 11
Going for Baroque with a vision splendid In Xanadu did Kubla Khan A stately pleasure-dome decree: Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man - Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
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AYLESFORD’S new pleasure-dome is unique in the world, according to its creator, and thus likely to lure even more visitors to the region.
The golden heights of Montacute at Villa Castagna, in Stanhope Street, cannot but draw the eye. Inevitably it is a place that inspires almost everyone to opinions measureless to man, and even passion. It is the passion of David Marshall, 65, with his partner Lisa Beaven, both authorities on Italian Baroque art and architecture, and forms part of the 6000 square metre garden they are developing on Wombat Hill called Villa Castagna, after the ancient chestnut trees that dominate the property. This is inspired by a range of Italian, English, French and German sites, gardens and buildings. The gardens include a hedge theatre that was the setting for Marshall’s son’s wedding and a concert (“The wind in the trees drowned out the harpsichord”). Garden rooms are named after gardens in Italy, England and Germany that they resemble: a herbaceous border area is named after Hestercombe, a lawn with macrocarpa pyramids after Athelhampton House, which has stood for over five centuries in Dorset. More are to come. As Marshall says, as with Baroque artists, he likes to “take the most admired model and improve on it by going back to nature”. In this case the model is a pair of 1560s dining pavilions behind Montacute House in the English county of Somerset. Montacute, which in Latin means pointed hill, was rescued from pending destruction by Ernest Cook, grandson of Thomas, the outstanding travel entrepreneur. Marshall, a Daylesford resident for 45 years, has long admired the Montacute House pavilions as examples of perfection. Now he has reinvented them for modern use through today’s materials. Recreating and reinventing, his shining vision is, he says, as an antidote to the banality of many modern buildings. This he tells in an A3 message on a stick in front of Montacute, which also tells the visitor that the place owes much of its inspiration to the Arts and Crafts movement of the early 20th century, when Elizabethan buildings like Montacute House were being rediscovered and lovingly restored. It is also part of a contemporary movement, the neo-Baroque, which makes fresh use of European forms of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Hardly something you would expect on a hill overlooking the town. But it’s on this hill, using tradies who almost all come from within a few blocks, that he began building in February after more than 18 months of planning. “The carpentry detailing is quite intricate,” says Marshall, “and would not have been possible without the skill of the carpenter, Ben Lynch, and his team.
The roof, by plumber Brendan Lawlor, is a tour-de-force. The craftsmanship is amazing. “It’s not a building driven by function but by architectural meaning.” Shining in the sun are six wooden obelisks covered in sheet brass and copper and lacquered to gold, and a crowning finial. “Getting them up was fun,” says Marshall, “especially the finial,” while pondering aloud the possible lasting quality of the lacquer. There is philosophy here, too, for the crowning finial is a pair of intersecting circles, echoing Plato’s attempts to picture the universe as a series of nested geometrical forms. The battlements are based on those at the superb Jacobean manor house, Stanway House, at the foot of the English Cotswolds. An abbey for 800 years, it’s been in the one family for 500 more years, and is known as a place of almost magical harmony. Montacute’s battlements are of a special tough imported pine treated with vinegar, called Accoya. Once complete Montacute will provide luxury two-bedroom visitors’ accommodation for the romantically-inclined, looking down on both a formal garden on a level surface called a parterre and vast spreads of daffodils and bluebells under ancient spreading chestnuts, which are on the register of significant trees. Montacute may come as a surprise after the dull repetition of so many of today’s homes, but this is soon followed by a smile, when you realise that this is a building designed to give pleasure, to the passer-by as well as the occupants.
Words: Kevin Childs | Image: Kyle Barnes
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12 Our third anniversary
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The Local celebrates its third anniversary
W
OW. It’s our three-year anniversary at The Local. Who knew? We hoped.
Anyway, I thought it was maybe time to tell the tale of its beginning. It’s a good story – and one that gives hope to all small businesses out there. It begins four and a half years ago with Kyle’s bright idea to go and explore the Pilbara, He was offered a job with a tourism organisation, so we packed up from our Glenlyon home and hit the road. Then with the realisation of how boring it was over there, I was desperate to get any job on the east coast to get us out of the mining hell hole and found a job in Logan, Queensland. Yes, it might not be the end of the world – but you can certainly see it from there. I should have picked up on one of the selling points of my editor’s job that it was “near the airport”. Anyway, we were unhappily living in Logan, when Kyle had to pop down to a conference in Melbourne. It was just before Christmas and he decided to stay in Frankston with my mum – who had been complaining a little of not eating much and losing weight. But, hey, a couple of kilos couldn’t hurt. But it turned out it was a lot of kilos and Kyle called to say “I think your mum is dying and we need to move back." When your husband says he wants to move in with his mother-in-law you know something is wrong. He flew back and we packed up that week and hit the road. We left behind jobs, a house we were still paying rent for and our furniture. Mum was really sick but we pushed the medical fraternity along and it worked. Finally, after weeks of specialists’ appointments, there was an emergency operation and a few days later mum was eating again and looking forward to celebrating her 80th birthday in June. I headed the invites “And you thought Betty wouldn’t make it!” And we moved back to Glenlyon. We had finally managed to get our furniture back, stop paying rent when our lease expired and taken our agents to QCAT after they charged us a $600 cleaning fee. We won but the agents, without our knowledge, placed us on a “do not rent to them” watch list. Spite is a funny thing. Back in Glenlyon we had no jobs – and had not worked for more than two months – so money was an issue. Kyle thought about going to Queensland as a fly in/fly out worker and I tried every avenue I could think of - finally getting a couple of days a week writing for a sustainability website at $25 an hour. It was the most complicated writing I have done, a huge learning curve, and probably the least I have earnt. Kyle eventually landed a part-time gig doing photography at The Advocate. Less money than me – and we watched our bank account dwindle. Well, dive really. Meanwhile we had been approached by another newspaper company to start up a Daylesford Hepburn-based newspaper for them but nothing came to fruition. And then, around July 2013, Kyle came home and said “people think we should start our own newspaper”. “Sure thing,” I said. “Just one tiny hitch, we don’t know anything about publishing.” But desperation can help at times and armed with an A4 Word document that looked something like a magazine, we finally made our way around Daylesford and Hepburn and asked “would you be interested in advertising with us?”. Astonishingly quite a few people said “yes”. And we will be ever grateful to them! But what to call our newspaper? We had a load of ideas and until this day we fight over who came up with the name, The Local. Kyle claims he heard a bloke say he wanted to put an advert for his garage sale in “the local” meaning the local newspaper. And I know I chose the name because it’s where you get your news – the local pub. Anyway it doesn’t matter, I guess it’s origins will remain a mystery even to its owners. Let’s just say The Local was born on September 1, 2013. We opened our bank account with a $200 cheque from a freelance job Kyle had done – and were away. The Local, in a smaller format than today, was duly printed and delivered – all 500 copies. And in just a couple of hours, even before we had finished our delivery, based on people’s comments it went immediately from monthly to fortnightly. Mind you, like many small business owners, we were still working at other jobs. Kyle worked a few jobs from freelance photography to helping to clean up the backyard of the Radio Springs Hotel and was also down in Melbourne working with Transport Safety Victoria’s Maritime Division while I was still plugging away as a freelancer. They were tough times and gruelling hours but a lot of fun as we saw The Local gain traction. A little further down the track The Local became bigger – the same format we publish today – and we are now at 4500 copies each fortnight with an ever growing online presence – and delivering around the Central Highlands. We are now up to edition 79. Just over a year ago we came up with the idea of The Little Local for visitors to the region and then a few months ago Kyle came over to my desk and said “look what I made” and that was House.Land.Home.. “That’s enough for a bit,” I said. But we also have a fantastic team working with us. All locals. Once we made sure there was enough to employ ourselves – and I didn’t see a pay cheque until about four weeks ago – we found fantastic writers, photographers, sub-editors, graphic designers, columnists, book-keepers. They are pictured, in a selfie, above right.
Being able to rely on an experienced team has been wonderful. And they have all come along in a serendipitous route. A kind of “meant to be”. And that’s the story so far. There are other little bits and pieces, as there are in all stories, which don’t need to be explored. Like going to Centrelink in Frankston to check out our options only to be asked very loudly by the security guy “WHAT ARE YOU HERE FOR?” and then after our reply that we were out of work, coming back with a booming “WHAT? BOTH OF YOU???”. Or opening a café for a very short time – until we realised we didn’t like the general public. Small things alerted us to this – like Kyle throwing out our second patron who said that our café looked like crap. So much for customer service skills. But no need to go there. We are here. The Local, The Little Local and House. Land.Home. are all happily bubbling along – connecting the community. It’s a good news story. And one we are happy to share.
Cheers, Donna
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(Limited stock at this old price!)
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).
Recently, the Mark Ward Group acquired Decor Impact – a dynamic business featuring great visual items for sale and hire. Life size animals, figures, dinosaurs and outdoor props. A great range of exciting new stock will be hitting the country on a monthly basis. Showrooms open at all Mill Markets venues!
14 Happy & Healthy
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Surge in edible gardens leads to open day
K
YNETON Transition Hub will hold an Open Edible Garden Day on Saturday, September 3 from 10am to 4pm at 11 Kim Martin is just one avid gardener gardens around the town. who will have her edible garden on There has been a surge in edible gardens around Australia, sometimes display. Image: contributed.
replacing lawns or in pots on a balcony. Edible gardens have many benefits. It’s an activity that children can take part in with older members of the family. They produce a common thread with community and strangers alike. They make people move and exercise in a gentle and productive way. They give access to fresh wholesome foods grown for taste not transportation. They help achieve food security. The Open Edible Garden Day gives locals a great opportunity to see what others are doing in the community. It’s an opportunity to get ideas for gardens in harmony with soil, sun, and plants The event will demonstrate edible gardens in progress from vegetables to fruit and nut trees, herbs, companion plants, bird and insect attracting. Organiser Nea Gyorffy said the gardens “are not what you would call immaculate but they demonstrate the work and consideration that goes into them to provide healthy, fresh produce for the household”. Two community gardens and a school garden will demonstrate what the school and community can achieve together. A new and exciting addition is a verge garden demonstrating hardy and sometimes rare plants growing in harsh conditions. A list of the gardens and opening hours can be found in the Daffodil and Arts Festival brochure.
Link: www.kynetondaffodilarts.org.au/gardens.html
SisterNails Manicure $25 Pedicure $35 Manicure & Pedicure $50 Winter Special Full Set $40 SNS Colour $45 Shellac $25 Gift vouchers available Shop 2/ 52a Vincent St. Daylesford
John Bohn Member of A.S.C.H Are you stuck? Help is available. Need help to quit smoking? Do you have an eating disorder? Do you suffer from low self esteem? Do you have any other addictive issues? Or emotional and personal sexual issues?
Gift Certificates . Ghd Irons Dryers & Brushes . Matrix Hair Products
Hypnotherapist 22 years of experience FreeCall: 1800 063 450 or 5348 1214 Email: hypno@daylesford.net.au Webpage: www.daylesford.net.au/hypno
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PHONE: 03 5348 2939 16 Albert St - Daylesford | www.springsfamilydental.com.au | info@springsfamilydental.com.au We will start seeings patients from 4th of May & phone bookings accepted from 27th April.
16 Appointments
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D
AYLESFORD resident Lance DeBoyle, pictured below, is the official ambassador of ChillOut Festival Daylesford.
Festival director Merryn Tinkler said Lance was the natural choice as ChillOut ambassador – “he’s gay, entertaining and lives in Daylesford”. ChillOut celebrates its 20th year in 2017 and plans to present the festival with a retrospective encompassing the growth and coming of age of regional Australia’s largest GLBTQI event. Lance is known best for his monthly local pop-up event The Bassey. He has gone to produce The Jewel in the Crown – drag pageant and the inaugural fundraiser Winter Chillin’ - which raised $1572.50 for the festival. Keep an eye out for collaborations between Lance and The Daylesford Hotel throughout the year. Lance and The Daylesford Hotel presented the successful Eurovision night, which kicked off a string of fun karaoke nights in the Drag Bar.
Link: www.lancedeboyle.com.au/
Image: Nadia Moth
F
IONA Robson, above, has been appointed manager of the Daylesford Neighbourhood Centre.
Ms Robson has a strong background in management and community programs. She has formal training in community development, as well as strategic planning and change management with the Australian Institute of Management and international accreditation in project management. Ms Robson worked for Shell Australia for 20 years and since living in Daylesford, she has also worked for Hepburn Health as a rural access worker and community engagement officer. She is also a director of the Daylesford and District Community Bank and started the Daylesford Community Fair. Ms Robson has said she will contest Birch Ward in the upcoming Hepburn Shire Council elections.
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The Rant
Opinion 17
by Kyle Barnes
I
N THE words of the Hoodoo Gurus “Now you’re flying…”.
So I have taken a couple of trips away this winter. I am not talking your big overseas trips where you get to hole up in a Mediterranean mansion for the season. No, this is my real world - a couple of mini breaks to get away from the Shire of the Plethora of Potholes and the long winter that is now almost in the rear vision mirror. On these escapes I found the general public is a fairly self-centred lot with a carefree holiday-type brain which included the accompanying over-indulged children. My experiences started with not being able to use the self-check-in. And when I approached the young lass from the airline I was given a roll of the eyes as if to say “you techno-phobe old bastard, come here, and I will help you get on the airplane, and oh, do you need to check-on your Zimmer frame?” Then there are the many queues, particularly the one around security. Come on, we have been in the line for 10 minutes and just now at the X-ray machine you have figured out that you have to separate your gear? Next up, there is the bomb girl. Yes, the one everyone tries not to look at and yes, it’s me she always chooses, the suspicious looking bastard. Hands up swipe, swipe, swipe – “no, that’s all OK sir”. Really, the only bomb I know of is the one I learnt to drive in. Now, if I had my own airline I would make rules like - don’t throw your seat back in the reclining position for any flights under three hours, and children should be seen and not heard or felt, as in the angelic little monster that on one of my winter flights kicked my kidneys in. I had to reprimand the parents. And his tiny little legs could hardly reach my seat, but the poor thing had to keep stretching his legs and his lungs out. Then there was the woman on my last flight who had to put her seat back the whole way moments after take-off. She threw her seat back and immediately started snoring. For God’s sake, we are only in the air for two hours and, of course, I drew the lucky straw with the only seat that didn’t recline. The attendant was too polite to ask the woman to put her seat back to the upright position even when the food arrived. But who needs tray tables anyway? And when I watched the safety talk I realised I was already in the brace position. So there were upsides. The final straw is with the airline taking away the little pleasure of the video screen on the back of the seat of that elusive tray table. I think the option was “entertain me”. Well, if you have booked a trip a little while ago on a budget or not so budget aircraft like our national carrier, you can forget about that. The airlines have decided because most of us carry devices and screens we don’t need an entertainment system. Hang on a minute, I spend my life in front of a screen, the last thing I take on holidays is another screen. So the dumb techno-phobe sits there looking bored while everyone else is laughing and enjoying themselves via their own devices. And this really doesn’t help my efforts to ignore the kid behind me, to try not to inhale the woman’s hair in the seat in front or forgive the continuing stream of trolleys as they bump into my shoulder. Hmm, road trip anyone?
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SCHOOL HOLIDAY PROGRAM @ the ARC Wildlife Show Mon 19 Sept Halloween Science Workshop Tue 20 Sept Clayspace Workshop Mon 26 Sept Army Challenge Wed 28 Sept Archery Thur 29 Sept Plus much much more. Look out for our program
TERM 3 CLASSES @ DNC
Offices in Daylesford & Woodend Call 5427 3112 visit NaturalGrace.com.au
Bike Maintenance @ ARC Food Safety Handlers Cert Responsible Service of Alcohol Worm Farming & Composting Food Handlers Supervisor
Sat 3 Sept Tue 6 Sept Wed 7 Sept Sat 10 Sept Tue 13 Sept
TERM 4 BROC HURE OUT SOON
All Bookings: 03 5348 3569
Email: daylesford@ourneighbourhood.org.au Website: www.ourneighbourhood.org.au
Standing up for the Hepburn Community
P: (03) 5338 8123 F: (03) 5333 7710
18 Our musos
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This couple is definitely married but not old
T
Donna: What can people except at the Blackwood Merchant over September? HE Old Married Couple is Katie and Riley Beech, a couple of twentyKatie: People can expect a fun show from us, we'll be playing mostly original somethings with a sense of humour and a lot of love to give. They music with a few fun covers thrown in - most likely nothing you'll be expecting. are the Blackwood Merchant’s Friday night residency throughout We'll be playing some old favourites as well as testing out some new songs that may September. Katie chatted with Donna Kelly.
or may not make it to the album that we're recording next year in Portland, Oregon. We hope our audience has a bit of fun, we like to turn frowns into smiles and still Donna: What are your backgrounds? feet into tappers. We love to see our audiences laughing along, clapping, singing and Katie: Riley has quite an eclectic background in music, he played bass in a punk band for many years called Dinkibike, he's played bass for country bands, had his own dancing. Anything in the name of fun. We have a lot of fun performing together, it's suburban-folk solo music and is now working in The Old Married Couple. I used to something that brings us both a lot of joy. do a lot of musical theatre as a teenager, however I never in a million years thought I'd Donna: What’s your Central Highlands story? be making a career out of singing, but here we are. Katie: It's very short so far. We only moved down here from Sydney in April. We moved for two reasons, the first being that Sydney housing prices are basically a joke Donna: How did you get together? and we wanted to wind down our day jobs and focus more on our music and other Katie: We met in high school and started dating, we both attended a performing creative projects. Secondly we were coming down to Melbourne so frequently to play arts high school in Sydney and had a lot of classes together, however I never took music. Riley wrote his first duo song Stuck with Me and it all snowballed from there. music that it made sense to move down to Victoria, however neither of us are city And we aren't old yet, but we are married, we've been married for two years, together people, it's too busy and too cramped for us so we looked at places to build a house so for 12. We're thinking when we do get old of changing our name to The Newlyweds that we had enough time to get our heads around moving interstate and get organised for such a big move. We looked around at quite a few areas and fell in love with just to keep the joke alive. Bacchus Marsh, the trees, the farms, the small town. Donna: What sort of music do you play? Donna: Can we see you anywhere else soon? Katie: We like to call it swing-folk, it's a mixture of swing and folk music. We Katie: We've got a couple of shows/appearances in the area, The Red Hill Hotel draw inspiration from Cole Porter, The Andrews Sisters and Paul Simon... in Chewton, the grand opening of The Brazen Fox in Bacchus Marsh, we have a few shows in and around Melbourne then in October we're playing at the Bendigo Blues and Roots Festival.
SUNDAY September 11th
Fresh local produce including a wonderful range of meat, fruit and vegetables, cheese, wine, honey, preserves, pastries, coffee, plants, chickens and more. Free music and entertainment, and gorgeous alpacas.
SECOND SUNDAY O F E V E RY M O N T H
Collins Place, Fraser Street, Clunes. Enquiries: 0439 717 006 Visit us at www.clunesfarmersmarket.com.au Connect with us on facebook
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Markets 19
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 Daylesford Farmers’ Market – first Saturday Golden Plains Farmers’ Market – first Saturday Trentham Neighbourhood Centre Makers’ Market - first Saturday Castlemaine Artists’ Market – first Sunday Kyneton Farmers’ Market - second Saturday Kyneton Rotary Community Market – second Saturday Ballan Farmers’ 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 Talbot Farmers’ Market – third Sunday Trentham Station Sunday Market - fourth Sunday
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
Second Sunday of every month Next Market 11 September
9 - 2pm Fountain St & Shire Gardens, MaldOn Facebook.com/maldonmarket www.maldonnc.org.au
The Trentham Farmers Market has joined with Trentham Makers Market
Third Saturday, 9am - 1pm
20 Out & About
$35 per hour Recording Mixing Mastering Two engineers
Tuesday 30 August 10am Central Intelligence 6pm Love and Friendship (PG) Friday 2 September 5:30pm Jason Bourne 8pm Absolutely Fabulous Saturday 3 September 3:00pm Jason Bourne 5:30pm Absolutely Fabulous 8pm Sing Street Sunday 4 September 1:00pm Sing Street 3:30pm Absolutely Fabulous 6pm Jason Bourne Tuesday 6 September 10am Sing Street 6pm Absolutely Fabulous
A big thank you
Denver, Vic
to the generous contributors to our recent fire fundraising. Special thanks to Farmers Arms Daylesford and Hocking Stuart. Full details on our Facebook page. And donations still welcome at gofundme.com/5hthk5g4
Friday 9 September 5:30pm Absolutely Fabulous 8pm The Suicide Squad Saturday 10 September 3:00pm Mustang - Subtitles 5:30pm The Suicide Squad 8pm Absolutely Fabulous Sunday 11 September 1:00pm The Suicide Squad 3:30pm Absolutely Fabulous 6pm Mustang - Subtitles
www.daylesfordcinema.org.au
all movies & screening times are subject to change
Open Caption Selected Sessions
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Out & About 21
T
HE Daylesford Anglican Ladies Guild Annual Flower Show will have its opening night on Friday, September 9 with drinks and nibbles from 6pm to 7pm.
The show, the third annual, will then be on display on Saturday, September 10 from 10am to 3pm. This year’s theme is The Gumnut Babies with a host of categories up for grabs including The Tea Tree Babies (pink and white), Snugglepot and Cuddlepie (a twin arrangement), Big Bad Banksia Men (perfect for men), Gumnut Babies, Rose Babies, Sweet Pea Babies and Mrs Koala (for the children). There will also be awards best decorated saucer with gumnuts and leaves and an open section using any topic from the Gumnut Babies book. Entries must be delivered to the Anglican Church in Central Springs Road on Friday, September 9 between 3pm and 5pm. There will also be a trading table and raffle. Tea and coffee with a piece of slice is $3. A gold coin donation at the door would be appreciated. Father Jeff O’Hare said the flower show was the chance for the whole community to participate. “Children, families, single people...let your creative juices flow.
There will be judging and certificates given for winners and runners-up in various categories.” Left, an entry from last year's flower show
6:00
What’s Happening at the Kyneton Bowling Club
Morning Melodies 4th Monday of Month 10.30am. Free Entry. Tea and Coffee provided Bingo Every Sunday 11.30-1.30pm Big Bucks Jackpots starting at $30,000 plus in-house jackpots.
Kyneton Bowling Club (03) 5422 1902 Bistro reservations (03)54221744 www.kynetonbc.com.au manager@kynetonbc.com.au tonysplacerb@kynetonbc.com.au 61-79 Mollison Street Kyneton
22 Out & About
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Gig Guide Farmers Arms Hotel, Creswick Live music - Friday and Saturday from 8pm, Sunday from 1pm Horvats Supper Club, Daylesford Pianist Adrian Deakin - Friday nights Live music - Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons The Grande Hotel, Hepburn Springs Cherry Flambe – Friday, September 2, 8pm Spicks and Spectacles – Friday, September 9, 8pm Poptastic – Friday, September 16, 8pm
SMALL HOLDINGS FOOD / WINE / COFFEE
Fresh simple, Italian inspired food, great coffee and country hospitality. 90 Mollison Street, Malmsbury / 5423 2391 smallholdings.com.au
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20% off 4 or more bottles of wine One per customer per day.
Conditions apply - see staff for details Offer ends 11/09/16 Cellarbrations @ foxxy’s our region’s largest local and boutique wine specialists Open every day until late 55 Vincent Street Daylesford Tel: 03 5348 3577 *Not available on already discounted wines and special items
S PA C E N T R E M E A T S Suppli e rs of Ge nuin e l ocal prod uce
Superior Local Spring Lamb
RANGE OF TRY OUR GOURMETALLGOODS HOUSE-MADE SM ct le rs now make a se Our expert butche s, m Bacon, Ha range of Smoked ises. sburg on the prem ra Ham Hocks & St you more products so And we’re adding usive can enjoy an excl lly ca selection of lo made gourmet smallgoods .
mes from the selected Pork co All our specially d is top quality an rat Family in Balla local Beaumont rk po Australian grown the ef is produced on be ed ag & b y& ur sb lm Our prime lam Ma ar n Hills Natural’ ne family farm ‘Gree in Daylesford. s ise em pr r ou the beef aged on bs, eprepared Keba llent range of pr We make an exce , including the es sag sau et urm Schnitzels and go laysian chicken, lian ‘Bull Boar’, Ma famous Swiss Ita re. mo d an Greek lamb
ylesford. 37 Vincent Street. Daus on Facebook d Fin Phone 5348 2094.
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24 Out & About
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Planned burning integral part of Cornish Hill plan
T
HE Cornish Hill Fire Management Plan has been developed by the Country Fire Authority, in consultation with the Cornish Hill Committee of Management, Friends of Cornish Hill and other stakeholders and is intended to provide strategic direction in using fire as a fuel management tool within the Cornish Hill Reserve in Daylesford.
The aim of the committee and Friends Group is to restore the 38 ha reserve to a healthy and diverse bushland as part of the natural heritage of Daylesford and the use of controlled burns will help enable that. The vegetation was completely cleared by mining practices and when mining ceased, a lack of management enabled large infestations of environmental weeds to establish - gorse, broom, blackberry and pine trees - and dominate many areas. The difficulty in managing these weeds has resulted in the fuel load accumulating and the reserve has now been assessed as having an overall fuel hazard rating of extreme. Planned burning is integral in the future management of the reserve. It will be used to reduce the fuel load and therefore minimise the fire threat to life and property within and adjacent to the reserve.
Appropriate planned burning in areas not being actively managed by the committee and the Friends is also important in enhancing environmental values. To simplify the task of introducing planned burning, the reserve has been divided into 10 discrete fire management blocks, covering approximately two thirds of the whole reserve. The management blocks have been created based on existing roads, tracks and natural features that can be used as fire control lines thus minimising any disturbance to the natural environment. “The development of the plan is the first step with discussions with key stakeholders in the implementation of the plan now to follow. It is envisaged that only 1-2 burn blocks will be completed in any one season, developing a mosaic effect on the vegetation across the reserve. Priority will be given to those blocks that have the greatest impact to reduce the bushfire risk to the neighbouring surrounds,” said Vegetation Management officer Dom Uljanic. “Before any burning is undertaken, an engagement strategy will be developed to make sure the local community is aware of an upcoming controlled burn. The public will have opportunities leading up to the next fire season to review and provide comment on the plan and these will be considered in the implementation” said Dom.
DAYLESFORD BOWLING CLUB
65 Gingell St Castlemaine VIC 3450 I Phone 5472 1250 www.railwayhotelcastlemaine.com.au I railwayhotelcastlemaine
EXPERIENCE THE WARMTH AND CHARM OF A MUCH LOVED AND HISTORIC PUB
Daylesford Bowling Club & Bistro Come and enjoy a meal and a quiet drink while taking in the beautiful view of Daylesford. Club opening hours Sunday to Thursday 10am – 11pm Friday & Saturday 10am – 12 Midnight Bistro opening hours Wednesday to Sunday Lunch 12pm – 2.30pm Dinner 6pm – 8.30pm Happy Hour Friday 6pm – 7pm Friday Night Raffles & Members Draw Every Friday from 7pm
All welcome!
From Monday June 27 to August 21 when you spend in venue we will match with Auction Dollars to collect over the period then come and bid on your favourite Auction Prizes.
Locals Bar Beer Garden Bistro and Bar Function Room Cosy and warm surrounds OPEN FOR DINNER DAILY AND WEEKENDS FOR LUNCH
8 Camp Street, Daylesford Phone: 5348 2130 www.daylesfordbowlingclub.com.au
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Nom Nom Nom 25
New lease on life for Creswick's Farmers Arms
T
HE Farmers Arms Hotel in Creswick has had the pub equivalent of an identity makeover.
What was once little more than a low-key drinking den has returned to life under the capable stewardship of publican Chris Molloy. For those who don’t know her, just think Perfect Drop in Daylesford, one of that town’s most popular gathering spots for good food, entertainment and fine wine. “I live in Creswick,” says Chris. “I’ve lived here for 10 years and I have been travelling to Daylesford to manage the Perfect Drop but I wanted to get something that was closer to home and I wanted a pub. I took over the Farmers Arms in January this year, closed it and spent several weeks getting a complete refit done.” The result is stylish, comfortable and the rejuvenated Arms has foodie-types from all over the district raving about it. The first thing you notice about the menu is it’s a combination of new and old, as Chris explains. “We wanted to continue with traditional pub food such as the parma, and fish and chips but we also wanted more kinds of cutting edge fine dining like the lamb three ways, pan fried scallops, and appetisers such as pork terrine.” With such an introduction, we wasted no time sampling the menu. For starters I chose the Pan-fried Diver Scallops ($19) with cubes of roasted pork belly & Jerusalem artichoke quarters. My partner Amanda selected the Terrine of the Week ($13) with pickles, toast, leek and fruit chutney. The scallops were crispy and flavoursome and went very well with the delicate cubes of roasted pork belly. Amanda’s terrine, a French dish made with more coarsely chopped ingredients such as pork and similar to pâté was perfectly complemented by subtle fruit chutney and pickled cabbage. A quick note here on the meat ingredients we sampled. The Farmers Arms has eight chefs including a full-time butcher doing the preparation of the cuts on-site. Where possible the meats are sourced locally and they use in-house aging up to 90 days. As well as using the highest quality free-range stock, these techniques contribute to the amazing tenderness and flavours of the meats on offer. If there was one reason alone to sample the menu at this establishment it would be this one. Next up I tried the Barramundi ($30) with potato, tomato, olive, and leek puree. Ah barramundi, reminds me of hanging out in Darwin. What better dish could you have on a freezing day in Creswick to warm the soul? It was a perfect flavour combination of sweet vegetables with the clean, buttery flavour of this iconic Aussie fish. What’s more it was capped with a roasted skin like pork crackling and if there is one thing I like best, it is eating everything else and saving the crispiest treat for last. For the obligatory wine I went for the sauvignon blanc ($9) from Coola Road, Mt Gambier which was ideal. Amanda for her selection went all traditional and chose the 250-gram Scotch Fillet ($38) with local spuds, leaf salad, mustard and jus. It was huge and normally you would not see such a vast spread of beef outside of a truck stop. The important difference here is the aforementioned aged preparation. The scotch was incredibly tender and so worked perfectly with its light salad and local spud chips (another crispy delight). The wine selection was a local pinot noir ($10) from Bress Winery, Macedon. For afters we had the option of either cheeses or desserts. Amanda suggested cheeses but I was curious about the Apple Crumble ($14) with in-house gingerbread ice-cream and brandy custard. My will prevailed and out it came. There is a huge difference with the Farmers Arms in-house desserts and most sweet offerings. They prove that you don’t have to load them up with tonnes of sugar to be tasty. The apple crumble (which we shared) was a fine conclusion to a wonderful lunch. Our visit was on a Thursday but Chris said that there is much more on offer. There is now live entertainment in the main bar on Friday and Saturday evening and the restaurant is extremely popular on the weekends, not only with the locals, but also visitors from Clunes, Daylesford and Ballarat. It is great to see such an iconic landmark get a new lease on life and it will not be the last time we will be visiting the Creswick Farmers Arms for a drink and a superb meal.
The Farmers Arms Hotel, 31 Albert Street, Creswick. Phone: 5345 2221 bookings@farmersarmscreswick.com | www.farmersarmscreswick.com Words & images: Anthony Sawrey
The Perfect Drop Restaurant & Wine Bar Monday to Tuesday - 4pm until late Friday to Sunday - 12pm until late Live Music in the bar on weekends. www.theperfectdrop.com 5 Howe Street, Daylesford 5348 1100
Locals Night - Tuesdays $55 - 5 courses inc bubbles Happy Hours 4pm - 6pm Daily $12 Cocktails & $2 Oysters
Sunday (Funday) $3.50 Pots all day
NEW BREAKFAST MENUU
Brioche Belgian Waffles Malted Honey Ale Sourdough Campos Coffee Cereal Milk Bottomless Cups Unlimited Eggs www.galleydiner.com.au
Lunch - Friday to Sunday - 12 noon until 3 pm Dinner - Thursday to Tuesday - 6 pm until late Locals’Night - Monday Night
MERCATO @ daylesford
32 Raglan Street Daylesford 03 5348 4488 www.mercatorestaurant.com.au
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Dining 27
Meal deals for locals...and visitors too! EVERYONE loves a good meal deal. So here are the dining establishments offering great food and great prices! Monday Passing Clouds, Musk - (lunch from noon) main and side from the grill with a glass of wine - $30 Mercato, Daylesford – main dish & a glass of local wine - $30 The Grande Hotel, Hepburn Springs - two courses & a glass of house wine, beer or bubbles - $38 Daylesford Hotel, Daylesford - Monday Meatball Madness with a glass of house wine, Furphy pot or soft drink - $20 (Vegetarian option available)
Tuesday Perfect Drop - five courses with a glass of bubbles or beer - $55 Blackwood Hotel, Blackwood - Parma Night - $15 + glass of house wine or pot Daylesford Hotel, Daylesford - Burger Night with chips and a glass of house wine, Furphy pot or soft drink - $20 (Vegetarian option available)
Wednesday Daylesford Hotel, Daylesford – Pot (or glass of house wine) and Parma - $20 Belvedere Social, Daylesford - four shared courses with glass of wine - $50
Thursday Daylesford Hotel, Daylesford – Steak Night - $20 Belvedere Social, Daylesford - four shared courses with glass of wine - $50 Small Holdings, Malmsbury - (lunch), Soup of the Day - $8, or House-made Gnocchi with a glass of house wine - $25
Friday
Grange Bellinzona, Hepburn - two courses and glass of wine - $45 Blackwood Hotel, Blackwood - Fab 5 meals specials from $18 Blue Bean Love Cafe, Hepburn - Burger Night with vegan options - $16 Blackwood Merchant, Blackwood - House-made pizza - $16-21 Small Holdings, Malmsbury - (lunch), Soup of the Day - $8, or House-made gnocchi with glass of house wine - $25 5000 Club, Anglican Church, Daylesford - Free community lunch, 12pm - 1pm
Sunday Grange Bellinzona, Hepburn - two courses and glass of wine - $45 Blue Bean Love Cafe, Hepburn - Curry Night with vegan options available - $18
Happy Hours Daylesford Bowling Club has Happy Hour ‘n’ a half, from Monday to Thursday, from 4.30pm to 6pm. And Happy Hour on Friday, 6pm to 7pm. Perfect Drop, Daylesford, also has a Happy Hour, Thursday to Monday, from 4pm to 6pm with $12 cocktails and $2 oysters. Blue Bean Love Cafe, Hepburn has Happy Hours from Friday to Monday from 4pm to 6pm with $5 beer, wine or bubbles
Raffles Fundraising raffles for local organisations are held on Friday evenings at The Farmers Arms Hotel, Daylesford, Cosmopolitan Hotel, Trentham and the Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn.
Open 7 days lunch & dinner Join us to experience the real country charm and all the fun at Daylesford's oldest pub. Enjoy our tasty menu and drinks from our extensive beer and wine list.
We don't take bookings, so just pop on down.
thefarmersarms.com.au I 1 East Street Daylesford I ph: 03 5348 2091
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28 Hub Bub
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$5.9m for Hepburn Hub, trouble for Trentham Hub
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“It is however proposed that a shorter loan period of 10 years is committed to. EPBURN Shire Council has paid $5.995 million for The Rex as part of the overall Hepburn Hub project taking in the former theatre and The financial impact of the 10-year loan term is a net result after capital repayments and the reduction in interest from cash held of $87,300 saving per year. the Daylesford Town Hall.
It will spend another $350,000 on land at 8 Duke Street, another $1.25 million for library and offices fit-out at The Rex and $5000 in title office fees. Then there is another $200,000 for the outdoor community plaza and pool on the town hall site, and $750,000 for renovations at the town hall and seniors’ centre. That’s a total of $8.55 million. There will also be $700,000 in swimming pool upgrades and $500,000 for biomass cogeneration to help with renewable energy generation and green waste management. A report to the last meeting of council said the Hepburn Hub project was a transformational project for the Hepburn Shire community that will deliver significant social, environmental and financial benefits. “The revised direction does not diminish the benefits of the former proposal at the Town Hall site. It does however demonstrate from a time, cost and quality perspective that The Rex combined with the Town Hall option will significantly improve the delivery time frame, increase financial benefits to ratepayers and improve the quality of the project; in particular, minimising risks associated with construction. This has been confirmed and supported by the community during the community consultation process. “It is also noted that, prior to (when) negotiations with council commenced, the current owner of the property had lodged a planning application to further develop the site. The owner has formally suspended the application.” The report said the total cost of $9,750,000 was proposed to be met through a series of grants, asset sales, council cash reserve funding and borrowings of $3.405 million. “If the capital principal is paid off over 20 years (consistent with previous Hub modelling), the net result after capital repayments and the reduction in interest from cash held is a $257,550 saving per year, compared to $122,660 saving per year for Concept 02 at the Daylesford Town Hall site.
“It should be noted that the financial benefits above reflect an improved financial position compared to what was presented to the community. This is due to a reduction in the acquisition cost of the two properties compared to what was originally modelled.” The report also said the new proposal for the Hepburn Hub across The Rex and Town Hall sites met the aims of the project, and was responsive to community feedback during consultation. Council officers were working with the Daylesford Cinema for a site in either The Rex or the existing Daylesford Library site. Meanwhile, in regard to the Trentham Hub, Holcombe Ward councillor Bill McClenaghan moved a motion that “the site for the Trentham Community Services Hub shall be council owned land at 14A Victoria Street, Trentham”. The motion, which was carried, has angered many Trentham residents who were keen to see the hub built on land in the main street on the Mechanics Hall site. But Cr McClenaghan said his motion's purpose was to “decide on a suitable and available site for the Trentham Community Services Hub and to work with the residents and ratepayers regarding the design and content of the Hub on that site so that there is a clear path ahead”. “This is seen as a logical and sensible solution to the controversy generated by an earlier proposal to build the Hub on the site of the old Trentham Mechanics Institute at 66 High Street, Trentham that involved the demolition of the old Mechanics Institute Hall. This proposal allows for the best of both situations to occur whereby: 1. Trentham gets a new Hub and community facility that is fit for purpose and delivers a significant degree of equity with other Hepburn Shire towns; and 2. Trentham also gets the opportunity to keep its Mechanics Institute Hall as the only hall in town with a stage and other useable facilities. A motion by Coliban Ward councillor Sebastian Klein for modified plans to construct the proposed Trentham Hub on the Mechanics site, with a design that incorporates the existing hall as part of the total floor area, was lost.
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Our schools 31
The Battle for Bullarto: a bush school teeters
W
HEN a bush school shuts, part of a community dies with it. Watching kids waiting in the rain for buses in Glenlyon, Musk and now Smeaton tells part of the story. With the church in decline, a school is often at the heart of the community.
Now the five-pupil Bulllarto Primary may be for the chop. “We’ve managed to hang on and hang on,” says principal Arthur Lane. “If this happened it would be really sad.” The school is fighting back, hosting an open day over the past weekend to showcase its achievements giving visitors a chance to see, among other sights, at least one pregnant goat, a wombat’s burrow, vegie garden, a light, airy school and the wide-open grounds edging Wombat State Forest. Founded 143 years ago, State School No. 1288 has 27 “fence people” to welcome visitors: highly coloured figures made by students about six years ago. Because one pupil was on a holiday trip and two others unwell, The Local met 11-year-olds Ben O’Leary and Jay Hetherington apparently enjoying this remarkable student-teacher ratio. The problem with Bullarto is that, unlike Musk, Lyonville and Trentham, home building is scarcely an option, says Lane. The school is within a water catchment, which is great for the local spud farmers but not if you want to build. One translation says the name means fertile or place of plenty. Once it had a mechanics' institute, an excellent library, a church, two hotels with stores and a mineral spring. Timber mills operated until early this century: the decaying skeleton of a mill still stands. And although the Carlsruhe-Daylesford railway line shut in 1978, the rail trail excursion from Daylesford is a tourist treat. Two pupils come from Trentham by bus; once some came from Daylesford. Enrolments reached 30 but are now as low as they have been. Lane, who’s been there five years, says it’s not state government policy to close schools, but things could be made “very difficult”. He has one other teacher two days a week, as well as a Ballan Italian teacher giving weekly lessons by live video. “It’s absolutely amazing how much they will learn from a teacher who’s not here!” he says. We visit the goats, Eve (who may or may not be pregnant) and the soon-to-give birth Leia (as in the Star Wars princess). They are Anglo-Nubian by breed, placid, inquisitive and good with children, Lane says. The kids collect the goat poo for the school garden and harvest, then cook the vegies. Baked potatoes rate highly on their cuisine. The pupils’ cubby under two great fallen logs has been forsaken in favour of the never-seen wombat. Just two new pupils at each year level would save the school, says Lane, but with parents choosing schools that, among other perceived benefits, give their children a greater chance to socialise, brightness and bush charm may not rescue Bullarto.
Ben O’Leary (left) and Jay Hetherington hang out as their school’s fate hangs in the balance Words: Kevin Childs | Images: David White
Here’s the solution for last edition’s crossword for Issue 78. Solve it?
32 Our gardens
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Fruit from even the smallest garden There’s nothing nicer than picking fruit fresh from your own garden - even if it’s only a lime for your G&T. But if you are restricted in what you can grow either by lack of space or living in rented accommodation your options may have been limited. Until now that is. There have always been ways of squeezing fruit crops into confined spaces, some more successful than others:
Espalier or trellis One attractive and very productive method of growing fruiting trees, especially deciduous ones, is to grow them against a wall or fence. Encourage only lateral branches to grow horizontally along the fence and remove all other growth. Another space saving idea is the multi-grafted fruit tree where three different varieties of the same fruit family are grafted onto the one root stock. An added advantage is that you will have a sensible crop and a longer fruiting season. One disadvantage is that not all varieties grow with the same vigour and size often leading to a lop-sided tree or worse, one variety being overgrown. A better solution is to plant two or three different varieties - within about 30cm in the same hole. Pruning can ensure a large shapely tree.
Ballerina apples and other dwarf types These wonderful apples grow almost as tall and crop as well as normal apples, but are narrow and erect like small poplars. They look particularly good grown in a narrow bed along a path or driveway. Released about the same time was a range of dwarf fruiting peaches, nectarines and apricots. They are best grown as an ornamental as fruiting can be erratic and seldom successful.
Miniature fruit trees These are created by grafting popular fruiting varieties onto a small growing rootstock that allows the tree to grow, flower and produce normal-sized fruit on a tree restricted to perhaps one metre high. I currently have a mandarin and Tahitian lime in full fruit and doing extremely well on my deck, pictured right. *Each year since we moved into our current house we’ve been entertained and delighted by a pair of spotted pardalotes and their offspring as they zip in and out of their little tunnel nest in our rock garden wall. Occasionally the male, pictured right below, arrives a little early in the season.
Manage Your Habitat • • • • • •
Property planning for biodiversity and sustainable living Garden design and planting Specializing in native and cottage gardens Old gardens renovated Fruit and nut trees Watering Systems Marita McGuirk B Ap Sc (Environmental Science) Masters Forest Ecosystem Science 0417 572 460
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Open garden 33
Last chance for Teldorado as Terry reaches bucket list
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HE ultimate bloke’s backyard is back, but for the last time ever.
Terry Moore’s unique garden Teldorado will be opening again over two weekends in September as part of the Daffodil Festival’s Open Garden Scheme – but for just one last time. Terry first opened his place in 2013 and over the subsequent years has raised $7500 for mental health in Macedon Ranges and Hepburn shires. This year, he has decided that if he raises another $2500 for a new organisation called Macedon Ranges Suicide Prevention Action Group that his bucket list or $10,000 will be complete. This year, Terry has a new bar, a safer place for his dog, “Digher”, a couple of new water tanks and loads of other stuff. Seven days a week Teldorado is primarily his place, but he also knows it’s a pretty good bloke’s backyard and things just look better than last year. The cool room is covered in beer coasters and the outdoor pizza oven will be running flat out cooking healthy pizzas. Terry wouldn’t be able to open without the support of various departments of Hepburn Shire. He says they have been great and supportive considering there was some confusion in the first year. Terry says he has learned a lot and he appreciates the great advice and direction from the shire over last couple of years. Teldorado now has an outdoor wood-fired pizza oven and will be cooking pizzas, nachos and Sunday lamb roasts rolls both weekends. Activities include live music, hula hooping workshops, Holgate beer and Zig Zag Wines tastings for adults, free fruit for children at the shop and plants for sale. Then there’s also pool table, air hockey, outdoor table tennis and bocce. Over the first weekend, Teldorado opens on Friday, September 2, Saturday, September 3 and Sunday, September 4, all from 11am to 5pm. Over the second weekend, the property is open on Friday, September 9 from 11am to 5pm, Saturday, September 10 from 11am to 5pm and Sunday, September 13 from 11am to 8pm. Terry said 100 per cent of everything that is raised is donated to the cause. “Although this is the last open gardens I have a lot more to contribute to the mental health discussion, maybe in a different space. I would also like to thank all the sponsors and diggers (volunteers) who have backed me." Entry is via gold coin donation. Teldorado is at 311 Taradale Road, Drummond North with carparking opposite in the Belltopper Reserve carpark. Details: Terry Moore on 0439 559 587 or email tmoore@mrsc.vic.gov.au
Image: David White
Call Jonathan Hurst 0411 216 043
Gardening: • Mowing including ride-on • Hedging, Pruning • & Brushcutting • Maintenance & Establishment of all gardens • Holiday rental Maintenance
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RING FOR QUOTATION / ADVICE 5348 4045 Studio 18 37 East Street, DAYLESFORD
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Sport 35
Woodside Park's part in the sport of kings
F
OR most people, thoroughbred horse racing begins and ends with the Melbourne Cup and the yearly office sweep. To those within it, horse racing is a vast enterprise with networks of supporters around the globe, including South Africa, America, and Europe as well as being increasingly patronised by Chinese investors.
Thoroughbred racing has been known through history as the sport of kings, an over-used cliché to be sure, but there is no denying the fact that the industry is shaped by wealth and generous sponsorship. For the commercial operators who breed, sell, train, race and maintain the horses involved, their business functions on a scale and intricacy that is astounding to the uninitiated. Woodside Park Stud, just outside Tylden, is just such a place and comprises 291 hectares of land straddling some of the most sought-after horse country in Australia. It is a world-class facility stunning in its scope and ambition, employing a dedicated staff of over 25 equine specialists to keep it all going. “The property was established in 2007 by Peter Rowsthorn,” explains Will Rowsthorn, grandson and publicity manager at Woodside. “He had a passion for racing and wanted to set up something in this area and built the stables, yards, training and exercise facilities that make up the property today. He also financed the original trainer and imported a stallion by the name of Grey Swallow from Ireland in 2006 to run in the Cox Plate at Flemington and to be the farm’s first breeding sire.” Woodside Park consists of two farms. On the day I visited, the staff had three 18-month-old trainees sloshing around in the aqua walker, another horse was taking a swim in their 50-metre straight pool, more were being lunged in round yards and galloping on a 2400-metre racing track. Inside, still more guests stood contentedly in their stables eating premium feed mixtures, having their teeth and feet done or being fussed over by a vet on call 24/7. It was a scene of constant activity and pampering with a standard of luxury that would beat any human health and well-being retreat hands down. “They get treated very well here,” agrees Will, “but considering the type of investment owners put into them, it is important that they get the maximum care we can possibly give them.” In 2013, Peter’s son Mark Rowsthorn took over Woodside and expanded the operations further. Mark turned the business into a commercial concern and introduced additional services to clients and their race prospects including breaking in young horses, pre-training, and rest and rehabilitation for competition horses during their times away from the track. He also began upgrading the bloodstock interests of the stud, which entailed adding quality progeny to the resident broodmare band and taking on new stallions including Written Tycoon. Written Tycoon is available as a sire for a $49,500 service fee and plenty of owners have sent their mares to him. At last check Tycoon’s Australian based progeny have earned over $10 million on the track. “Originally they trained and raced only their own horses here,” says Will, “but now it is a fully commercial operation, one of several in Victoria but the only one in this area. We have 65 of our own mares here but also have hundreds of other people’s horses coming through every year for everything from agistment to breeding.” It is very obvious that Woodside Parks’ efforts have been paying off. They have a wide range of clients from all over Australia and the world. In recent years that has included more and more clients from China. Presently the Chinese racing industry is only situated in Hong Kong and Macau. The rest of China is restricted because the government does not allow betting, which is part and parcel of the allure of thoroughbred racing. However, there are a lot of wealthy Chinese investors who are banking on this changing very soon.
Above, Lauren Bilner on Wolfie, Matty Upton on Iris Emily and Will Rowsthorn Words and image: Anthony Sawrey
36 Trades
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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
Daylesford Newsagency & Tattslotto 185
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Trades 37
Business & shopfront Business & Shopfront
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Miles Electrical.Rec15116.
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Servicing all Daylesford and Districts wastewateraus.com.au MOB: 0427 508 840 www.humevalegates.com
38 News
services
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Monthly Medals for winter golf
H
EPBURN Springs Golf Club’s Women’s June Monthly Medal, sponsored by Muffins ‘n’ More was won by Shirley Rodda.
She also won the Elaine Kirby trophy donated in memory of a past member and sponsored by Mitre 10. Julie Higgs won the Monthly Medal in July which was sponsored by Finishing Touch Décor and Design. Julie Azzopardi won the August medal sponsored by Wombat Hill Nursery. She also won the Monthly Medal in April sponsored by Country Cuisine and the inaugural Gale Orford trophy donated by Julie Guiney. The club appreciates the support of all its sponsors.
From left: Julie Azzopardi, Julie Higgs and Shirley Rodda Image: Contributed
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Sport 39
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EPBURN CFA firefighter Aaron Faulkhead, 20, left, and Daylesford CFA firefighter Dylan Godfrey, 21, will compete in the Melbourne Firefighter Stair Climb on September 3.
Wearing full structural fire-fighting gear, including breathing apparatus, the pair will make their way up 28 floors of the Crown Metropol Hotel. The 3rd Annual Melbourne Firefighter Stair Climb is a charity event run by the Firefighters Charity Fund Melbourne. It will see 500 career and volunteer firefighters come from all over Australasia and the world to compete. The event simulates the actions of a firefighter entering a burning high-rise building, so is exclusively for firefighters in full structural firefighting protective clothing, and wearing self-contained breathing apparatus. The climb will raise money for the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. The aim is to raise $343,000 to fund research and improve outcomes for a variety of childhood illnesses. Aaron said with his 21st just a day before the event he was asking for donations for the event rather than presents. To donate go to www.firefighterclimb.org.au, hit donations and then donate
to type in a firefighter's name or station.