The Local July 3, 2023

The Local - The Heart of the Highlands

Front cover: Italian born Daniele Tarasco brings a personal passion for fresh, flavoursome food and his background as a high-end chef to running Meraki certified organic farm at Newlyn North. Read his story by Eve Lamb on pages 16 and 17.

Image: Eve Lamb

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

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

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

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

The next edition is out on Monday, July 17 2023. or online on Sunday, July 16 at www.tlnews.com.au

Space bookings: Wednesday, July 12

Copy deadline: Thursday, July 13

Editorial deadline: Thursday, July 13

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

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

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

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

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

Photographers: Kyle Barnes, Eve Lamb & Nadine Jade

Graphic designer: Dianne Caithness

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

Accounts | Julie Hanson Delivery | Tony Sawrey

We’d love to hear from you and welcome your feedback. chw.net.au/letstalkwater

The Local - The Heart of the Highlands

Want to support local, quality journalism? Donate by scanning the QR code.

Local ‘gold’ shines in ABC’s Gold Diggers

THERE’S bound be quite a few local households glued to their TV screens for this week’s premiere screening of new ABC comedy series Gold Diggers.

Not only does the new ABC TV and ABC iView series promise a uniquely comedic romp through the old Central Victorian gold mining era, it also features many current locals from the wider Daylesford, Castlemaine and Ballarat area, who were extras for filming of the series that took place early this year.

The debut series was largely filmed at local locations including Maldon’s Porcupine Village which series producer Muffy Potter of KOJO Studios (that coproduced the series) says was just perfect as it’s already an 1850's historical gold mining-themed tourism attraction.

Gold Diggers is a riotous, rapid-fire, eight-part series that follows Gert and Marigold (played by Claire Lovering and Danielle Walker), two sisters who move to the goldfields in the 1850’s in the hopes of catching newly rich idiots to marry.

The dialogue is modern and brilliantly witty, featuring modern day lingo that jars hilariously with the 1850’s setting.

“In total we had 72 extras from the local area,” said Muffy, speaking to The Local about what it was like filming in Central Victoria amongst the rich gold rush history, and why it was important to cast some locals in the series.

“It was really important to us to find a group of locals from the area,” she said.

This was partly due to their ready availability on set when required, but the wealth of historical local knowledge held by those who reside in the area also came in extra handy during filming as well.

“Many of the locals (who were extras during filming) knew a lot about the gold rush and were happy to pass on that information. We even had one local extra who was able to tell us that we weren’t using one of the props properly.”

Considerable effort was made to faithfully capture historical details and intricacies of the time and the production team also worked with local historian Fred Cahir.

“I should say that this is not a history lesson. It has a modern vernacular, but we were trying to stay true to history,” Muffy says. “It (the gold rush era) was an incredibly exciting moment in history and a lot of storylines were very much inspired by actual events.”

Some of the shenanigans, that history indicates occurred on the old goldfields, are just one aspect that the series aims to honour. “By all accounts there was a great deal of partying in the goldfields.”

Muffy also says it’s pretty interesting to see just how many issues from back then are still issues today. “It’s surprising how relevant 1850s issues can relate to contemporary issues - like the evolution of feminism, society’s approach to equalityracial equality and gender equality. Also the distribution of wealth was very much an issue then as it is today.”

There is no doubt, though that Gold Diggers is “a comedic romp”. “Comedy pushes the boundaries and the envelope and goes to contemporary issues. Good comedy can push the boundaries when it comes to social issues.”

Muffy says about 50 per cent of the filming for the series was done in the area, much of it at Maldon’s Porcupine Village with some scenes also shot at a couple of locations in Newstead and at a farming property at Baringhup West, just out of Maldon. Filming had originally been planned to take place primarily at a location in South Australia, with the Maldon area initially down among the secondary alternative options, but when Muffy visited Maldon and its unique historically themed Porcupine Village, the series producer knew they’d struck gold.

“The (village) property had been put up for sale in 2020 and somebody sent me the ad,” she said. “Once I walked down that street I knew that was our town. There are still diggings at the Porcupine Village. It felt really right.”

While Gold Diggers premieres on ABC TV and ABC iView on Wednesday, July 5 at 9.10pm, Muffy says the series was always intended for an international audience. This means that the Central Victorian goldfields locality is destined to be showcased far and wide.

“The intention of this show is for the global marketplace and to show off this part of the world is very exciting,” Muffy said.

“It’s been fantastic to explore that local area. It’s absolutely stunning.”

She says that the producers are also “very hopeful” that this first series of Gold Diggers will be followed by a second series. Should that turn out to be the case, there’s no doubt, Muffy says, that the cast and crew will be returning to Maldon and the wider goldfields locality.

“We hope to have a series two and we would definitely return to the area and to Porcupine Village. We couldn’t afford to build something like that.”

Words: Eve Lamb | Images: Contributed

Timeless Outdoors is a local landscaping and construction company focusing on high end, medium/large scale landscape projects from design to construction and all aspects within.

Timeless Outdoors has recently had a large scale project postponed until 2024, opening up an opportunity for a fourmonth period for the right project.

If you wish to make an appointment to see if Timeless Outdoors is the right fit for your property, and are ready to complete your project in 2023, please feel free to get in touch.

Timeless Outdoors is also taking bookings now to secure design and project allocations for 2024.

Email: admin@timelessoutdoors.com.au

Words in Winter guest speaker Jon Faine

JON Faine left the ABC after over 20 years as morning radio host in September 2019 – just a few months before Covid hit.

Used to a busy life, he had plenty lined up. First there were publishers knocking at the door looking for a memoir – to which he said no.

“I told them I was not going to leave a job I loved and immediately start reliving it, I wanted to look forward through the windscreen, not into the rearview mirror.”

A few gave up but eventually Jon agreed to write a “thinly disguised memoir” about a disputed deceased estate – with materials he had been collecting for four decades. The book, Apollo & Thelma, A True Tall Tale, published last year, is the story of the Mighty Apollo, a strongman and circus performer and his sister, Thelma, the publican at Top Springs in the NT for more than 20 years, who died in 1981.

“I had been collecting materials for this story for 40 years and whenever I found stuff that was relevant I put it in this box and tucked it away for later. I had a lot of oral history on cassettes. It was one of those backburner things to do when I retired.

“Eventually when I did leave the ABC I had a number of things lined up and then because of Covid they all collapsed. There was one time when I had absolutely nothing in my diary except a dentist’s appointment. That was it for the rest of my life and for someone who has been really busy that is actually quite confronting. I don’t mind telling you I got a bit miserable and felt sorry for myself and retreated into my shed where I started pulling things apart – I play with cars.

“But after a week or two I gave myself a kick up the arse, told myself to get a grip and to find things to replace the ones that had vanished. So I climbed up a ladder, pulled out the box and started going through it. I thought if I am ever going to do it, now is the perfect time, and if not now, when.

“So I got myself an office at the Abbotsford Convent and put in a secondhand stand-up desk and a computer and I used to lock myself in the room. The offices there are the old nuns’ bedrooms and the walls are about a million metres thick and they are absolutely silent.

“Just read things, whole lots of books and interviewed people over the phone to fill in the gaps and it was very therapeutic. It was the opposite of what I used to do and for someone whose entire working life had been talking to people all week it was pretty different and probably good for me in hindsight.”

Jon said he delivered his first draft to his publisher who read it and said the first third was fine but then it fell apart. That was when Jon’s father died. The second draft was returned with the comment that the first two thirds were good…and that was when Jon’s mother died. Both were in their 90s “and it was horrible but it’s what happened”.

Jon was also told to give more of himself in the book which he found difficult as a private person and very much in charge during his radio work of how much he shared of his personal life.

But he says publishers exist to save authors from themselves and editors “to tell you are not as good as you think you are”. “Once a book is printed it can’t be finetuned – fresh eyes are vital.”

Jon said he was happy with the finished book but Apollo’s sons (Thelma’s nephews) are not, despite being interviewed on the record. Apollo, says Jon from his many interviews and personal knowledge was extremely vain, and Thelma, who he never met, was widely known in the 50s, 60s and 70s as a racist redneck.

“The sons are not happy with the final product. They view their father and aunt differently to everybody else. Families are complicated but I am really sad about that. I asked the oldest son if he would launch the book and he said no, he couldn’t do it.”

Jon, who also wrote a travel book about journeys with his son back in 2012, From Here To There, said he had no plans for another book but “you never say never”.

Currently he is working half-time at the University of Melbourne and “pretty much working harder than I have ever been”. At 66 he says he is too busy and young to retire and it’s also not a good idea to go from “100 miles an hour to zero – a lot of people who retire are miserable”. He left the ABC, a lifestyle, because he was tired of waking up at 4.15am and also wanted to choose his own time of stepping away.

Jon is the guest speaker at Words in Winter and will be in conversation with Marieke Hardy at The Palais-Hepburn on Saturday, August 26.

He first met Marieke at her grandfather Frank Hardy’s funeral, just one of the many stories in his book, but said they had talked many times since. As to their August conversation: “Marieke is going to interrogate me and anyone who has been on the other side of a conversation with Marieke would be very brave to predict where it might go and I am not that brave. I have know her a very long time, she was just a teenager at the funeral, but then to reconnect in her glittered, celebrated media life and to host her in the ABC studio many, many times over the years was nothing short of a delight.

“When they said would you come and speak at our festival and we will ask Marieke as well, I just thought how wonderful that would be. I am really looking forward to it.”

Jon said he was also a regular visitor to “your delightful neck of the words as long as I can remember” and Hepburn was a go-to destination for holidays. “So also to be invited to come and speak in a community that has been so consistently a place we have visited is just lovely and it doesn’t get much better.

“These regional festivals are a really important part of the cultural life of a town or region or state and they happen all over the place. They are a wonderful celebration of your community and what it has to offer and it is great to be asked to be invited to be a small part of it.”

Link: www.wordsinwinter.com

Words: Donna Kelly

World championship wins for Beth Whiting

Daylesford's Beth Whiting has returned from the World Kettlebell Sport Federation championships in Hungarywith a swag of medals.

Beth walked away with six medals - three gold, one silver and two bronze.

On her Integrate Fitness Facebook page Beth said the championships had been an incredible experience.

"To be a member of the Girevoy Sport Australia Association (GSAA) Australian Kettlebell team has been nothing short of amazing.

"To make the team is one thing. To be a part of this team is another. I am honoured to call each of these incredible humans my friends. We have shared the highs, the lows, tears, bloody hands, amazing experiences and so much more.

"On a personal note, I am so proud of what I have achieved in this competition.

"When my coach (Shannon Pigdon) asked me years ago what my goal was, to which I replied with a shrug 'to make the Australian team', I never quite understood the gravity of that statement. Whilst standing with him in the stadium it finally sunk in.

"I am a world class athlete and had just won gold at a world championship level. Standing on the podium alongside other insanely strong women had made the years of hard work to get here absolutely worth it."

Beth thanked her coach, her friends and family including her "rock", her husband Brett, the Australian crew and her Integrate Fitness family.

Beth told The Local back in early May, after qualifying for the world championships, that being good at kettlebells was all about a combination of mental and physical resilience and the ability to keep going, no matter how tough that going gets. In competition, once you start, you never, ever put a kettlebell down.

Competitions include single and double lifts and range from 10 minutes to half marathons of 30 minutes and full marathons of 60 minutes. The competitor’s weight, the weight of the kettlebell and repetitions completed all come into the winning equation.

Words: Donna Kelly | Image: Contributed

Living local, working local, caring local.

Thinking about selling your property?

Christine left the world of Private Banking in London for her treechange dream of running a guesthouse in Daylesford-Hepburn Springs. She has worked in the world of people and property for 30 years and has been a local resident and community contributor for over 2 decades. Striving to ‘go the extra mile’ to achieve the best results, her style combines old fashioned nurture and hard work. Christine believes property is about helping people secure their financial and lifestyle goals.

“A tailored sales strategy to match the desires, budget and timelines of each property owner have been the key to selling 10 properties in the last 15 weeks,” Christine says with a smile.

Call Christine to find out the 5 steps to exceptional sales results, or to discuss ‘anything property’. She is always happy to share a cuppa and a chat.

Premium results set us apart – these properties sold under 60 days on market.

2 1 Sixth Street, Hepburn Springs $720,000

1 1 Sixth Street, Hepburn Springs $511,500

2 1 1 Tiernays Lane, Daylesford $725,000 3 2 2 Main Road, Hepburn Springs $1,005,000

1 1 2 Fourth Street, Hepburn Springs $550,888

3 2 4 Hepburn Road, Daylesford $899,000

3 2 3 Vincent Street North, Daylesford $845,000

4 2 2 Vue Court, Daylesford $925,000

In-home care concerns

More people have contacted The Local to speak out against in-home care provider, Benetas.

One of them, a male who asked not to be identified, said the service was "a shambles" and he was thinking of quitting because of the stress of trying to get regular carers for himself and his home.

The man said the carers were all "great people" but they were being let down by Benetas and its lack of organisation.

Benetas took over the Commonwealth Home Support Programme from the Hepburn Shire Council 12 months ago.

A woman, quoted in the last edition of The Local, (June 19) said she had a number of concerns with the service.

They included the cost of using the in-home CHSP care services rising by around 130 per cent for her, with the changes becoming effective from July 1.

The woman, who also asked not to be identified, said there was also a lack of support workers, saying it was sometimes just the "luck of the draw if your support worker arrives on the day allotted to you".

A Benetas spokesperson told The Local the organisation was concerned about the experiences that had been raised.

"We would like to assure our clients and the community that we are improving our systems and processes to provide consistent support.

"As a not-for-profit provider, our absolute focus is on ensuring that we can provide our clients with a level of service that is appropriate and supports the diverse health needs of the local community.

"As the broader health and aged care sector continues to experience workforce challenges in regional Victoria, we are making every effort to ensure that our valued clients in the Hepburn area receive the most consistent care possible.

"We encourage any of our clients who may be experiencing difficulties with their service to contact us to discuss their individual circumstances and how we may assist them."

Hepburn Shire Council CEO Bradley Thomas said the council had continued to work with both new aged care and disability service providers, Benetas and mecwacare, after the transition of service delivery in July 2022.

“Council has received both positive feedback about the transition, and a very small number of concerns from clients, relating to scheduling and communication around the services they receive.

“In these instances, council has worked with the new provider to ensure client needs are met and have supported clients to engage with the service providers directly where appropriate, with positive outcomes.

“Council continues to work actively in the positive ageing space, undertaking a number of actions to support our community and on priorities for access and inclusion for people living with disability, in addition to the services provided by Benetas and mecwacare.”

In regards to the increase in pricing, a Benetas spokesperson was quoted in the June 19 edition, saying that in order to keep pace with cost of living increases and supplier charges, there had been a review of the organisation's pricing.

"This has resulted in price increases for some services, in line with pricing recommended by the government."

“As a not-for-profit organisation, it is essential that we remain competitive on pricing compared to other service providers in the market, so we can provide the best level of care for our clients in the long term.

“In order to keep pace with cost of living increases and supplier charges, we have recently completed a review of our pricing schedule. This has resulted in price increases for some services, in line with pricing recommended by the government.

“We continue to invest in improving the services we provide and in supporting our team members with appropriate remuneration in recognition of the important contribution they make in caring for our clients.”

Do you have feedback on your service provider?

Email donna@tlnews.com.au

Words: Eve Lamb & Donna Kelly

Just briefly...

Hepburn Shire cats must be kept on their properties between sunset and sunrise from July 1.

The cat curfew aims to reduce the chance of cats breeding, fighting, becoming injured or killing wildlife. Mayor Cr Brian Hood said a survey found 90 per cent of respondents wanted the curfew. To report a breach of the cat curfew, call the council on 5348 2306 or report it at hepburn.vic.gov.au A community safety officer will investigate.

Students will have safer school environments with the state government's Bushfire Preparedness projects.

Macedon MP Mary-Anne Thomas said 350 schools would be embarking on a maintenance blitz in coming weeks with a total of $13.5 million allocated. Recipients include Tylden Primary School - $23,232.05, Woodend Primary School- $43,724.85, Yandoit Primary School - $18,116.32, Hepburn Primary School - $21,838.56, Trentham District Primary School - $23,269.63, Bullarto Primary School$20,007.26, Malmsbury Primary School - $22,124.55, Daylesford Primary School - $27,498.67 and Daylesford Secondary College - $35,111.04.

The Creswick Town Hall is back to its former grandeur and ready to reopen to visitors and locals thanks to support from all levels of government.

The upgrades included roof plumbing, a new flagpole and access ladder, accessible entry, electrical work, painting, and masonry repairs. The project was jointly funded with $500,000 from the Victorian Government’s Regional Infrastructure Fund, $432,000 from the Australian Government’s Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program, and $251,017 from the Hepburn Shire Council. The Creswick Town Hall opened in 1876.

Six local lakes have been stocked with rainbow trout in time for the school holidays.

They include Nursery Reservoir in Macedon, Quarry Street Reserve Lake in Trentham, Glenlyon Dam, Hanging Rock Lake in Woodend, Jubilee Lake in Daylesford and Walter J Smith Reserve in Riddells Creek.

Hepburn Shire Council has adopted a $59 million budget for 2023/2024. Major project investment includes: $5.90 million – completion of Creswick Trails; $3 million – renewal of the historic Wheelers Bridge in Lawrence with $2.8 million federal government funding; $2.73 million – renewal, resealing and gravel re-sheeting of roads across the shire; $2.02 million – completion of the Trentham Community Hub in early 2024; $1 million – Stage 1 of remediation works at Daylesford Town Hall, with a further $200,000 for scoping and planning of staff accommodation and Birch Ward community facilities; $150,000 for detailed design of the Glenlyon Recreation Reserve Pavilion; $100,000 to further designs for the Clunes Recreation Reserve Masterplan; and $140,000 for remedial works at Trentham and Drummond tennis courts.

Visitor expenditure in Victoria has hit a record high of $35 billion annually, with regional Victoria continuing to deliver outstanding results with all tourism regions hitting all-time highs.

Overall intrastate overnight visitation numbers to regional Victoria were up six per cent since 2019, with total nights increasing by eight per cent and expenditure up 58 per cent. China has returned as the number one international market after only reopening in January and India continues to be a growing international market with visitor expenditure now 11 per cent higher than in 2019.

A Macedon Ranges Shire Council swim teacher has again been recognised for her dedication to her students at this year’s Aquatics and Recreation Victoria Industry Gala Awards.

Marie Noonan was presented with the Swim Teacher Award For Persons with a Disability. This is her second career award recognition, having been previously presented with the Teacher of Swimming and Water Safety Award in 2014. The annual awards recognise and reward outstanding achievement and commitment to the aquatics and leisure industry. Council’s aquatics and leisure facilities and staff were well represented on the night, with finalists across eight other award categories.

Got some news to share? Email news@tlnews.com.au

Order of Australia for staunch advocate

Grateful is the way Clunes local, proud Yorta Yorta and Barkandji woman, Karen Heap humbly described being appointed a Member of the Order of Australia.

“I’m not really an awards sort of person,” said the highly respected Ballarat and District Aboriginal Cooperative CEO, who was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in last month's King's Birthday honours.

Speaking to The Local just ahead of NAIDOC Week, Ms Heap said she was “fully supportive” of The Voice To Parliament and urged all Australians to support it.

The Indigenous leader also encouraged everyone to get along to any of the many activities taking place this week as part of NAIDOC Week including the NAIDOC Family Fun Day in Ballarat Showgrounds Great Hall on July 5.

Her recent OA honour acknowledges the fact that for just shy of 20 years this Hepburn Shire local has been leading advocacy for the betterment of the region's First Nations peoples.

There are now known to be about 4000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the wider Ballarat region, and that figure is understood to be increasing with more people moving from Melbourne to regional Victoria. Indeed, some of those making the shift report moving to the region due to BADAC's reputation for healthcare and Indigenous support and cultural programs – programs which have expanded under Ms Heap’s leadership.

“I just do my job and that's the way I see it - just doing my best job for the community needs," said Ms Heap who paid homage to the entire team at BADAC, stating all of the staff there were responsible for its achievements. “There is a lot happening at BADAC and hopefully it's for the betterment of the whole community,” she said. "Our growth and being sustainable is important so we don't need to rely on government.”

Ms Heap says sharply rising living costs are currently seeing growing demand for crisis support being placed on BADAC and other welfare organisations in the Ballarat area. "We're trying to think of new ways of supporting community,” she said. “We’re also supplying more emergency support."

Providing a new means to showcase the region’s, and other, Indigenous art talent is just one recent example of how the work of BADAC is benefiting the wider community as a whole.

Earlier this year BADAC opened its first gallery dedicated to Indigenous art and storytelling, while also preparing to open the cooperative's third childcare centre in the region. Perridak Arts gallery opened in Ballarat’s Mair Street three months ago as a way to empower First Nations artists both through generating income and sharing their storytelling.

Community Elder Uncle Frank Laxton recounts that he identified Ms Heap as the future leader of BADAC way back in 2004.

“Karen is widely regarded as an inspirational leader by her staff and colleagues, government agencies and bodies, and most importantly, by her community, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community of the broader Ballarat region.” Words: Eve Lamb | Image: Contributed

Dr Mohammed Al Naima

Daylesford

Dr Sadia Asad

Daylesford

Dr Sashika Darshani

Daylesford Kyneton

Dr Sandeep Dhaliwal

Daylesford Kyneton

Dr Jilly Gallagher

Dr Amy Harper

Daylesford Trentham

Dr Gerard Ingham

Daylesford

Dr Fred Jayawardene Trentham Kyneton

Dr Holly Lewis

Dr Falak Naz

Daylesford

Dr Ellie O’Connor

Daylesford

Dr Gabby Ray

Daylesford

Dr Nick Rhead

Daylesford Trentham

Dr Danielle Robinson

Daylesford Trentham

Dr Adam Rouse

Daylesford

Dr Kacey Shale

Daylesford

Dr James Smith

Daylesford Kyneton

Dr Ruth Spencer

Daylesford

Dr Sorcha Stapleton

Daylesford

Dr Madison Stephen

Daylesford Kyneton

Dr Kate Turnbull

Daylesford Trentham Kyneton

Dr Brad Wyer

Daylesford Trentham

Daylesford

Kyneton

Dwarf hydrangeas

Our 2008 move across town, from The Coach House to our present house, gave us the opportunity to restore a tired and drought-ridden, multi-level hillside property.

The clusters of elderly eucalypts, rhododendrons, camellias and photinias, and random stone walled terracing, told us it had once been a beautiful garden. It also gave us the drive to bring it back again - and take it a few steps further in planting many other shrubs that would have been popular back when.

Unfortunately, we have never been able to find a suitable spot or space for the one shrub Peta desires, a hydrangea. And that is although hydrangea, or to call them by their botanical name - hortensia - are among the easiest of the flowering plants.

But they grow into enormous shrubs, almost small trees, and in their early years need shelter from direct sun away from hot winds and almost constantly-moist soil.

Their young growths and leaves are soft and sappy. If in their early years they are subjected to hot, drying winds and/or summer sunlight, they will collapse and wilt no matter how many times they’re watered.

It isn’t as though our garden beds are lacking in shady spots. It’s just that they’re either open to the north winds, or just not large enough to accommodate a huge shrub, and we are located on a clay-bound ridge of non-porous soil commonly known, I believe, as Lizard Country. Thus leading to working over it with lots of mulch and composted loam.

But we do have several narrow east-facing beds along the front wall suitable for small shrubs. And just by chance when visiting the Ballarat Botanical Gardens with friends, we spotted a display of plants for sale at the entrance of the Begonia House. They were from the adjacent nursery and included a range of several varieties of dwarf hydrangeas.

Needless to say, a subsequent trip to the gardens, and of course the nursery, resulted in a sizeable collection of dwarf hydrangeas now gracing our garden, one of which, named pistachio, has already flowered. (Pictured.)

There are now dwarf versions available of most hydrangea varieties, mostly with similarly large flower clusters as their bigger cousins. The only difference is the smaller foliage and a maximum height of about one metre. Also, like the large varieties, the flowers can be either blue or pink, depending on the acidity of the soil.

Fans of the oakleaf hydrangea, H.quercifolia, will be pleased to hear that there is also a dwarf version entitled Pee Wee, which also grows to a mere metre in height with all of the characteristics of the standard sized variety.

Ballarat Botanical Gardens Nursery

Just like at our own Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens, a dedicated band of volunteer Garden Friends cherish and maintain the Ballarat Botanical Gardens, raising funds by propagating and selling the progeny of the many, often rarely-seen plants, growing around them.

The nursery is open 1-4pm on Tuesdays and every second Sunday.

I was delighted to find on a previous trip an unknown (at least, to me) white flowering variety of the orange flowering plant, leonotis leonurus, or Lion’s Tail.

I have always had a rather sentimental attachment to this plant. As a child of about seven, helping my grandfather with the cuttings, I learned and memorised my first ever botanical plant name.

I’ve never forgotten that name because it was the key to my life-long interest, not only of plant life but the derivation of the words we use to identify them.

I’ve had a leonurus in every garden since - and now there are two.

Got a gardening query? Email glenzgarden@gmail.com

To market, to market

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

Daylesford Sunday Market – every Sunday

Wesley Hill Market - every Saturday

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 (Closed for winter)

Daylesford Farmers Market – fourth Sunday

Trentham Station Sunday Market - fourth Sunday

Buninyong Village Market - fourth Sunday

For whatever business you are looking for!

MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR

Council Budget 2023/24 – The budget was adopted at our Special Meeting on 27 June. Developed in very constrained financial circumstances, the $59 million budget focuses on finishing capital projects that are already underway while continuing to provide the full range of services to the community. Rate income is projected to increase by 3.5% in line with the State Government’s rate cap. Hepburn Shire continues to rely heavily on Federal and State grant funding. A key priority will be to complete disaster recovery works, especially on our road network. Desperately needed remedial works on Daylesford Town Hall will commence in 2023/24. We thank community members for their submissions to the budget. The final adopted budget document is available at www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/budget

Outdoor dining and trading policy - Arrangements introduced during and after COVID-19 were particularly successful in generating safe economic activity for our traders, locals and visitors. Changes arising from the recent revision of the policy will see outdoor dining on footpaths continue, under permit, but the use of on-street parking bays (parklets) for outdoor dining will no longer be possible. Permits must be in place by 31 July.

NAIDOC Week – NAIDOC Week runs from 2 to 9 July and the theme this year is ‘For Our Elders’. Watch out for Council activities on 3 July and 9 July, along with events at our libraries.

Creswick Town Hall – The restoration works are complete. Led by Catherine King MP and Martha Haylett MP, Council proudly reopened the hall on 23 June. A joint venture between Federal, State and Local Governments, the Creswick Town Hall is a well-loved facility and this project renews and preserves the iconic heritage building for future generations. Now the scaffolding has been removed it is wonderful to see all the intricate work on the façade revealed and the detail in which the building has been restored. Future Hepburn - Thanks to everyone who provided input into the township structure plan surveys as part of our major strategic planning project, Future Hepburn. Watch out for more opportunities to have your say on Future Hepburn via our Participate Hepburn page at https://participate.hepburn.vic.gov.au/future-hepburn

Free youth mental health training - Parents, carers, or those who work with young people in Hepburn Shire, are invited to enrol in free training to help you better support young people who may be experiencing mental health challenges. Council and Youth Gurus are running accredited Youth Mental Health First Aid training for community members in July. The training is a blended workshop with four hours of online training (done in your own time) and one full day of face-to-face training. Find out more and register at www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/Young-people

Surveys – Remember to provide your feedback on the draft affordable housing strategy and the Glenlyon Recreation Reserve Masterplan at https://participate.hepburn.vic.gov.au

Cr Brian Hood Mayor

COUNCIL PLAN FOCUS AREAS

BUDGET ADOPTED

Council has adopted a $59 million budget for 2023/2024, with investment focused on completing major capital works and delivering more than 100 services to the community in line with the Council Plan and Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan. The budget has been carefully developed in one of the toughest financial environments in recent history.

Council will deliver $19.4 million of capital works, allowing us to finalise some of the committed projects across the Shire and carry out regular renewal works. This is in addition to our day-to-day operations which include delivering important community services such as libraries, community grants, parks and gardens, road maintenance, tourism, reconciliation and events, just to name a few.

To view the budget visit www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/budget

HAVE YOUR SAY

We invite you to review and provide feedback on Council’s draft Affordable Housing Strategy and Action Plan, which aims to help address some of the challenges of meeting housing needs in the Shire. Council is also developing a 10-year Masterplan for the Glenlyon Recreation Reserve to inform the future planning, provision and enhancement of the reserve. Come along and speak to representatives from the Sport and Active Recreation team on Saturday 22 July between 10am and 11.30am at the Glenlyon Recreation Reserve to discuss the draft masterplan.

To have your say on these topics and more, head to https://participate.hepburn.vic.gov.au/

POSTIVE AGEING EXPO

Are you 55+? Come along to our Positive Ageing Expo, which has the theme ‘Getting to know each other’. Learn about local support services, gain tips on ageing well and see a demonstration on Tai Chi. Bring your friends and make new ones at this inaugural event.

Thursday 27 July from 12pm to 3pm

Trentham Sportsground Reserve

Lunch is provided. The first 50 people to register will go into the draw for some great prizes. To register or to find out more, call Council on (03) 5348 2306 or visit www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/ageing-expo

CAT CURFEW

Council’s dusk until dawn domestic cat curfew started on Saturday 1 July. This is a key action of our Domestic Animal Management Plan. A cat curfew is a specified time where cats are not permitted outside of your property boundary. Find more information on the curfew at www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/cats or call Council on (03) 5348 2306.

SCHOOL HOLIDAY PROGRAM

Council has an exciting program of free events over the school holidays across the Shire. There’s nature drawing, art and craft, NAIDOC Week activities and podcasting workshops. Places are limited and bookings are essential. Find out more and book via www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/School-holidays

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

EAT | DRINK | ENJOY

Out & About in the Central Highlands

Wine notes with Clive

Pepper in Shiraz

Hartley

A cool climate is not the growing conditions you imagine suiting a grape like shiraz. It is more at home in hot regions like the Barossa or Hunter Valley. Classic Australian wines are full bodied, rich, alcoholic with ripe jammy, dark black fruit aromas. However, when it is grown in chilly regions it develops more of a savoury medium bodied palate with distinctive pepper aromas. Ask winemaker Llew Knight from Granite Hills about pepper – he’s an expert.

Llew has clocked up over 50 vintages and there are not many cooler places to grow shiraz in Australia than the Macedon Ranges. He has been studying the influence of rotundone, the compound responsible for the pepper aroma in shiraz. You might think that the smell of pepper comes from underripe grapes, but research has shown that rotundone increases as the grape ripens. Underripe grapes just smell of green stalks or green capsicum and winemakers try to avoid them at all costs.

Rotundone is a strong compound and extremely low concentrations (such as 16 ng/l) can be detected by the olfactory region of the brain, but only by some people. Research has found that roughly 20 per cent of the population are anosmic to the smell. It is also found in other varieties including gamay and grüner veltliner.

Wine companies are pretty liberal in using pepper in the descriptions of their wines. Probably this is because they want to associate their wine with the French ones from the northern Rhone Valley where you find the aroma occurring more often. They will often choose to call their wine syrah and not shiraz if they think it is more of a French style. The Grampians region is another area that extols the virtues of pepper in its reds and Mount Langi Ghiran has been at the centre of research with the Australian Wine Research Institute.

Coming back to Granite Hills. The vineyard is on granite-strewn pasture at 550 metres. The first vintage of shiraz was in 1978 and the current vintage for sale is the 2018. The wine is a classic with plenty of white pepper. You can also purchase a magnum of 2001 vintage to see how the wine ages.

Clive Hartley is an award-winning wine writer, educator and consultant. Want to learn more about wine? Try his Australian Wine Guide (7th ed) now available for purchase from Paradise Books in Daylesford or via his website – www.australianwineguide.com.au

daylesford bowling club & Bistro Your Community Club

LUNCH

Thurs to Sun

DINNER Wed to Sat

OPEN 7 DAYS from 10am

MEMBERS, GUESTS & VISITORS ALL WELCOME!

Bookings strongly advised

daylesford bowling club

8 Camp St - Daylesford | 03 5348 2130

www.daylesfordbowlingclub.com.au

one of a kind

Remember we offer free delivery, T&Cs apply. Delivery times are Monday to Saturday between 10am and 4pm.

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

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

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

Be sure to book ahead for dinner, music, events & accommodation. Check for more details here: daylesfordhotel.com.au 2 Burke

Warm welcome at the Daylesford Steakhouse

ON A recent chill winter’s evening, just after dark, the mellow light that issues from our dining destination – the Daylesford Steakhouse - is warm and inviting.

My dining companion, Paddy H, and I climb the small flight of polished wooden stairs to enter this central Vincent Street eatery - and thaw out.

At the top of the stair we’re warmly welcomed by the venue’s manager, Mike, and by the equally warming woodsmoke aroma that can only mean a real log fire is present. In fact, Mike tells us, there are two fires on site to warm diners, and we can seat ourselves beside either, he suggests.

Whether you’re a carnivore or not, the Steakhouse gets full marks, straight up, for ambience. The lights are soft. The background music likewise, and the log fire that I strategically place myself beside, makes this a top spot to while away an extremely pleasant few hours. Particularly at this time of year.

Mike informs us that the new winter menu is just out - and we take our time perusing it over a generous glass of Geelong region pinot.

Now, let’s be clear, this is a steak house. It takes its steaks seriously. All of the Steakhouse’s steaks are local 100 per cent pasture-fed Black Angus beef, hormone and antibiotic free. The menu contains an illustrated guide to ordering your steak, char grilled to your specific taste, with options ranging from “blue rare” to “well done” all technically detailed. The char grilled steaks are, as you’d expect, a feature of the menu. The “standard house cuts” include petite mignon (200g), eye fillet (300g), sirloin (400g), scotch (400g), highland rump (400g), T-bone (800g) and cote de boeuf (900g), and every steak comes with the diner’s choice of side and sauce.

Options for sides include: grilled asparagus, stuffed mushroom, rosemary and pumpkin dauphinoise and more. Options for sauces include truffle, peppercorn, béarnaise, garlic butter and more, while additional steak toppers include king prawns, grilled Victorian lobster tail, grilled Balmain bugs - and more. And if the standard house cuts don’t meet diner’s requirements, the menu suggests that they “see board for larger steaks cut to order”.

But don’t worry if you’re not a big meat-eater, or even a meat-eater at all. Besides all the multiple vegetable side possibilities, there’s also plenty of seafood options to choose from. These include: apple cider mussels, stuffed lobster (half or whole), Atlantic salmon steak, grilled seafood platter and lobster and seafood pasta – to name some.

For starters I go with the panko funky brie ($19). It’s crisply fried on the exterior and deliciously melted within, accompanied by a tomato and mango chutney.

Paddy, recounting that his mother used to be a dab hand at making the traditional Scotch egg, nominates the Steakhouse posh Scotch egg with truffle aioli and tomato relish ($25) for starters and, on sampling, declares it to reward with “nostalgic” flavour.

For mains Paddy opts for the petite mignon ($59) with garlic butter and a side of broccoli and bacon. The steak arrives swiftly, criss-crossed with char grill sear lines and the aroma of hot coals. Paddy declares it “Spot on. Beautifully tender”.

I go for the apple cider mussels with tomato, butter, mustard, parsley and dipping fries ($39) as a main. While the menu informs that they come with dipping fries, my gluten intolerance is obligingly accommodated and, instead, mine is arranged to come with a locally grown, baked and deep-fried spud, which proves particularly satisfying. As to the mussels – the serve is generous and pops an instant and transportive taste of the sea.

When it comes to desserts ($16), Mike highlights the ‘Disco’ crepes suzette as a flambéed house speciality. Other possibilities include the salted caramel fried icecream bombe, the classic affogato, or the cheese plate – blue and brie with relish. But Paddy is a self-confessed cheesecake nut who once confided that, if on death row, he’d select cheesecake as his last mortal crumb. So no surprises that it’s the New York option here for him.

I’m very tempted by the ultimate choc fudge sundae – containing “nuts and awesomeness”. How could you not be? But my gluten sensitivity compels me to instead select the vanilla crème brulee, a dessert choice that I always find hard to ignore. This one has a really home-made, delicate quality beneath its crunchy toffeed top. Both desserts are accompanied by the Steakhouse signature “glorious whipped ‘schlag’ vanilla bean ice cream”.

It should be mentioned here that one of the house attractions is the100-plus different cocktails – “and if there’s a cocktail that you really like and we haven’t got it, we’ll have a go at making it,” Mike mentions.

It’s true to say that we’re sorry to have to leave the warm embrace of our respective club chairs beside the log fire, but this place is clearly popular and, with a degree of difficulty, we bid its mellow ambience farewell. Until next time.

Words & images: Eve Lamb

ITALIAN born Daniele Tarasco brings a personal passion for fresh, flavoursome food and his background as a high-end chef to running Meraki certified organic farm at Newlyn North.

Originally from Matera in Southern Italy, he and his wife Liv Reppas, have had the 2.4-hectare property on its rich volcanic soil at Newlyn North since 2015 when they began the three-year process of certifying the farm as organic.

Their ethos is captured in the name of their little patch of paradise - Meraki. It’s a word modern Greeks use to describe doing something with creative flair or passion - putting “something of yourself” into what you do.

“I’ve always worked with my hands from a young age,” says Daniele, who left Italy in his late teens and worked for top-notch eateries in London, Melbourne and Hepburn before getting into organic farming full-time at Meraki.

“ I’ve always been connected to food. When I was growing up food was a crucial cultural part of life and then I developed this passion for growing food. On school breaks in Italy I started to get into hospitality, into cooking.”

Since taking to culinary creation at the tender age of 10, he built a fine dining career with stints at Gordon Ramsay’s Maze and earning the title of Head Chef at No. 8 by John Lawson where he was nominated as The Age Good Food Guide’s Young Chef of the Year.

Liv (Olivia) has a professional background as an organic auditor working for property certifiers and, in the lead-up to their establishing Meraki, had been looking into organic gardening as something they too could pursue.

“We found this place and we wanted to turn it into a small farm. While we were setting up the farm I was working at Peppers. I did two and a half years as head chef at Peppers before shifting full-time into farming,” Daniele says.

Right now they’re growing all manner of delicious fully certified organic vegetables and also producing and selling certified organic eggs courtesy of their Lohmann Brown layer hens. The layers are dutifully guarded by the couple’s two large handsome Italian Maremma dogs –Trajan and Luna.

A whole range of seasonal vegetables is currently flourishing on site and, when The Local visits for a tour on a recent drizzly winter's day, Daniele lists what’s growing. It’s an impressive assemblage.

“At the moment there’s carrots, beetroot, Tuscan kale, black cabbage, onions, garlic, turnips. swedes, potatoes, leeks, radicchio, pumpkin, Brussels sprouts, celery, broccoli and we’ve also got some herbs - coriander and parsley,” he says. He regularly does the local markets including the Daylesford Farmers Market on Sundays and also monthly markets at Creswick and Ballan, selling Meraki’s fresh organic produce direct to the public.

“I generally grow things I like to eat, and I grow mainly for flavour,” Daniele says. “We’re also supplying Spade to Blade but my main focus is direct to the public either through the markets or home deliveries. Whatever is in abundance goes to a couple of local shops like Tonna’s in Daylesford, Hepburn Wholefoods, and a couple of local restaurants.”

On the property there’s also a small, young apple orchard and a small, young olive grove. At this time of year the olives are just starting to colour up ahead of harvest time and Daniele says he has plans to pickle. Edible flowers that play a useful role in the process of organic farming are also part of the bigger picture. “I plant marigold and calendula to help with companion planting and to establish a niche for beneficial insects,’ Daniele says

Liv runs the couple’s other on-site venture – Little Luxe B&B accommodation –which particularly seems to go down a treat with city folk hankering for big skies, peace and tranquillity.

However, now, after about eight good years at Meraki, family circumstances have compelled Liv and Daniele to place their little certified organic patch of paradise on the market as they look to relocate to the Riverland area in South Australia.

The organic certification comes with the property, so the listing is a chance for someone else who is keen to move into this space to make their own dream of farming organically become a reality.

It can be hard work, particularly in cold blustery weather, but it’s something that they love at Meraki, as is improving the soil for future generations, a personal goal for Daniele.

“Over three or four years we have managed to raise the soil pH by 0.5,” he says. Such a soil-sweetening movement, a reduction in acidity, may sound slight but it can make a big difference.

“When we moved up this way I also did a two year diploma in organic farming and it helped set up the farm,” Daniele says. “Even if the work is not easy, you need to start thinking months in advance, and there are long hours, it is rewarding. I raise all my own seedlings from seed and at the end of it you’ve got this beautiful produce and you can actually taste the difference.”

The positive feedback they receive from fans of the Meraki produce is particularly satisfying.

“You get feedback from people saying things like ‘these are the best eggs you can get in town’ or ‘these are the best onions I’ve ever eaten!’”

While Meraki is now on the market, Daniele says they will continue to grow and sell their nutrient-packed fresh organic produce for the foreseeable future - including at the usual regular local markets, throughout this winter.

Words and images: Eve Lamb

Produce with passion

CORNED BEEF $19.99/kg

THIS WEEKS SPECIALS

Our beautiful beyond free-range Green Hills Natural beef is expertly brined. Also known as silverside - we make our corned beef using topside so it is leaner but requires long slow cooking.

LEG OF LAMB $14.99/kg

Bone-in leg of lamb is an all-time family favourite. You can make hundreds of dishes with this classic cut.

WHOLE PORTERHOUSE 3kg $99

Our premium Green Hills Natural Porterhouse is undoubtedly some of the best beef you can get your hands on. Comes as a whole piece or cut into individual steaks and vacuum sealed, this represents incredible value for money.

Nana’s Sunday Roast

BY SARAH LANG

My nana was a great cook. Growing up without a lot of money, she knew how to stretch out meals, make great dishes from cheaper cuts and fill up the bellies of hungry men and fussy kids. But it was on special occasions when she would really impress and nobody could come close to making a roast like hers.

Nana would get up before the dairy farmers so that lunch would still be served by noon but I have tweaked her recipe so that the whole process takes about 2 hours with some prep the night before – and it might not be quite as good as Nan’s, but it’s pretty close.

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

daylesfordmeatco.com.au

Blueberry brie grilled cheese from

Knife Drop by Nick DiGiovanni

Regular grilled cheese is delicious, but if you’re craving something with a better balance of sweet and savoury, try this.

Yield - 4 sandwiches

Prep time - 5 minutes

Cook time - 20 minutes

Ingredients

8 thick slices of sourdough bread

4 tbsp mayonnaise

4 tbsp blueberry jam or preserves

6oz (170g) sliced brie

1 cup (140g) fresh blueberries

2 cups (226g) grated sharp white cheddar

4 tbsp unsalted butter, divided

Mark Wardle feature artist

Recently opened in Maldon, the MANet artists’ gallery is a collective of eight local artists who are all excited about the opportunity to exhibit, and sell their work, locally.

The Local has a copy of Knife Drop by Nick DiGiovanni to give away. For your chance to win email news@tlnews.com.au with your town and contact number by Friday, July 14.

1. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat one side of each slice of bread with mayonnaise, about 1/2 tablespoon per slice. 2. Place 4 slices of bread on a work surface, mayonnaise side down. On each of the 4 slices, spread a thin layer of blueberry jam, about 1 tablespoon per slice. Evenly distribute the brie, blueberries, and cheddar over the jam. Close each sandwich with a slice of bread, mayonnaise side up. 3. In a large non-stick pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add 2 sandwiches and cook on one side for about 5 minutes. Use a weight, such as a small pan lid, to press down the sandwiches. Flip and cook for 5 minutes on the other side, until the exteriors of the sandwiches are browned and crisp and the cheese has melted. 4. Transfer the sandwiches to a serving platter. Repeat the cooking process for the remaining sandwiches. Serve immediately.

TIP: It is important to go low and slow, not rushing with high heat, to prevent the bread browning faster than the cheese is able to melt.

The group consists of six visual artists, a jeweller and a woodturner. Each month one of the artists in the collective will exhibit their work as feature artist of the month. Mark Wardle is the inaugural feature artist with his work on display until July 21.

Mark uses woodturning as the basis of most of his work, with pieces often embellished with texture or carving. He has always enjoyed working with wood, trying to bring out the natural beauty of the material whilst also working with the inherent imperfections that wood contains. Many of his pieces start with preliminary sketches that are inspired by organic forms or different styles of graphic art. He has always enjoyed the challenge of adapting these elements into turned work. In this retrospective exhibition, people will see many ways in which he has approached this challenge.

“It is my hope that the visitor will enjoy the many ways in which I have come up with ways to express these adaptions on turned work and also enjoy the contrast between the very delicate pieces, and others that reflect the ruggedness and brutality of trees that grow in Australia’s often harsh environments,” Mark said.

Along with the exhibition of woodturnings will be some of Mark's graphic art and kinetic sculpture (also made from wood) called The Marble Steps, pictured.

The MANet Arts Focus gallery is at 27 Main Street, Maldon. It is open from 11am to 4pm on Wednesday & Friday, 10am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday and open most public holidays.

Link: www.maldonartistnetwork.org.au

Winter Show 2023

The Little Gallery in Trentham is no stranger to fundraising as over the past 11 years of its existence it has donated proceeds from its many exhibitions to local charities and interstate communities in need.

Rose Wilson, one of the founding artists says: "Fundraising is the core of the Little Gallery’s philosophy and partly its success as a small regional gallery by way of giving back to an ever-supportive community."

The proceeds from this year's annual Winter Show will be donated to Trentham’s Neighbourhood Centre, the central hub of Trentham’s community. The centre is vital for a small rural community as a place for connection and offers a variety of programs and facilities for all age groups.

Along with the fundraising element, the Winter Show offers 16 invited artists a platform to exhibit locally. It is a much anticipated event that gallery patrons, locals and art collectors look forward to every year and attracts many visitors to the gallery and the town during the colder months. The exhibition comprises emerging and high profile prominent regional artists and offers a diversity of works.

Alongside Little Gallery resident artists Rose Wilson, Helen Cottle, Ri Van Veen, Kim Haughie and Larissa Gray, this year’s show will feature artworks from Mike Portley, Freya Maclaren, Gayle Cykner, Louise Otten, Julie Coyle, Lawrence Finn, Garth Henderson, Jimmy Rix, Emma Jimson, Maria Coyle, Trefor Prest, Jordan Koster, Ahmet Kandemir, Janae Paquin-Bowden, Helen McRae and Deanne Gilson.

The Winter Show will also offer an art raffle with full proceeds going to the charity. The Winter Show raffle has become a popular chance to win artwork donated by the Little Gallery collective and other prizes donated by the community.

The generous donation of an historical Joseph Banks framed print, donated by Curtis and the late Jim Sinatra will also be on offer. Jim Sinatra was a widely respected designer, author and educator and a great supporter of the Little Gallery who sadly passed in May. The Winter Show 2023 will be held in honour of Jim’s generosity and contribution in support of the arts. Multi-award-winning, locally-based director of theatre, musicals and opera, Simon Phillips will officially open the show.

The opening night is Friday, July 14 from 5.30pm to 7.30pm, with the show running until July 31. Link: www.trenthamlittlegallery.com

GUILDFORD FAMILY HOTEL

Gig Guide with Darren Lowe

The Palais-Hepburn, Hepburn Springs

July 7 - Kaliopi & The Blues Messengers and Matt Dwyer & The Magnatones

July 8 - Get Rhythm - The Johnny Cash & June Carter Show

July 14 - Aquarius Dreams - Five per cent of ticket sales to Wombat Forestcare

July 15 - Shuffle Club - with jazz, swing, blues and boogie-infused party tunes

THE REGION’S BEST KEPT SECRET

Got a gig happening?

Post it on Gigs at www.tlnews.com.au

Youth Theatre returns

The Mount Players' Youth Theatre will be back in Terms 3 and 4.

Teachers Kerry Turpie and Mark Constable will run each of the classes together for students aged from 10-19 on a weekly basis from July 10.

Friday Night Raffle

Raffles drawn at 7.30pm

OPENING HOURS

Wed/Thurs/Fri - 3pm till late - Dinner from 5.30pm

Sat - 12pm till late - Lunch from 12pm - Dinner from 5.30pm

Sun - Lunch only from 12pm

35 Fryers Street, Guildford Victoria

Bookings Essential - 03 5473 4021

On the weekend of July 8 and 9 the annual One Act Play Festival returns and offers a weekend of short plays with awards presented at the completion of the Sunday afternoon session. Tickets at the door.

On the weekend of July 22 and 23, the theatre welcomes visiting Melbourne company, The Good Girl Song Project, who will bring its performance of Voyage, a new Australian musical to the stage for just two performances.

The play follows the immigration story of two women who board a ship to NSW in April 1833. During the voyage, the two women form a strong friendship, one that must withstand the capricious whims of the Sydney colonists. A simple set with stunning character transformations, it asks audiences to reflect on their attitudes to women, migration, identity, colonisation and racism, and questions whether the attitudes of the 19th century are still mirrored in contemporary Australia.

Details: www.themountplayers.com or 5426 1892.

Words: Karen Hunt

VICTORIA'S BEST COUNTRY PUB.

The hotel is truly a local pub but a destination for

@pigandwhistlehotel

pigandwhistlehotel.com.au

705 James Lane, Trentham East, Victoria

Since 1887, the Pig & Whistle Hotel has nestled on a quiet corner in Trentham East, a living remain of the town’s early history.

Truly a hidden gem, you’ll be transported back in time, with our newly-opened beer garden boasting uninterrupted views of Mount Macedon.

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

all.

Kyle’s Rant

HUMANS, en masse, are filthy creatures. By and large their time is taken up by the need to constantly tend to their orifices.

The aliens looking down at us or rubbing shoulders with us (depending on your level of heightened conspiracy and paranoia) must shake their multiple green heads in disbelief, at the time we humans waste tending to our apertures, cracks, holes and vents.

They must be weighing up the necessity to enslave us to gorge on, or just move to another planet. Call it what it is - a mistake to invade after decades of observation as they watch us coughing into the crooks of our arms, expelling wind from down below or stuffing our heads with food. And when we give the food a rest, being on high alert to rehydrate, carrying with us our bottles of water and coffee cups as if we are residents of the Sahara.

I am curious as to what the correct audible level is to blow your nose? It seems the elders amongst us have given up trying to be discreet. I sat at a club the other day in Queensland during our winter break as an elder from the table next door let rip a giant blow into a handkerchief, but the sound wasn’t the worst of it. After the rattling acoustic wave passed, it was time to look at the contents of the handkerchief and give their rubbery old nose a couple of extra swipes before gently folding up the tattered piece of material with a sort of sense of pride.

Speaking of noses, since forever I have felt a wave of sickness just before a sneeze especially in the morning and I have never been able to get to the bottom of the nausea. As soon as I sneeze the feeling stops, but I have never worked out where you are meant to sneeze. Obviously not over the people you love, but I simply can’t control it. I have tried to sneeze into the crook of my arm, but the muscle spasm flings my arm open, clouting anyone in the vicinity.

And it is even worse when I am on the freeway heading to Melbourne. My eyes start to squint and eventually shut for a second while the shockwave jolts the wheel. The lane departure signals cut in as I give the wheel a discreet wipe over and look at the worried faces of the drivers in the lanes either side.

Another worrying orifice I have is my right ear. I can’t seem to fit and keep an earbud in there. I see people on bikes, walking, jogging or simply sitting and talking on their phones with apparently no problems. But the moment I move, swallow, or try to talk the thing shoots out of my ear at a rate of knots.

And it’s not just the earbud. On a flight last Christmas I had to ask for a set of headphones as the earpiece that was provided kept flinging itself out my ear. Eventually a set of headphones materialised from what I imagine was the business class section of the plane. But it was the tiresome explanation I had to trot out to the air hostess - “it’s not you, it’s me” - referring to the earbuds and my lack of an ear canal.

Speaking of hearing, I heard recently from a good source that The Local team has moved from the Central Highlands of Victoria to warmer climes and I guess being a fairly integral part of the TL team that would include me. However, I am here to tell you, apart from a couple of short flits during the rattiest part of the year like most of the members of our shivering community to try to thaw out, for better or for worse, we haven’t relocated.

Orifice rant over…

Local Lines

Ernie i

Ernie Hug was a back pocket for The Pies in ‘65 but up front were his hands

With 28 centimetre spans those hands enclosed the ball when he clocked his marks

Ernie also handled prize bulls drove a Rolls Royce to training and represented Victoria

ii

I had him for years rubber-banded with other Scanlens mates

Avuncular Ernie clutching a Ross Faulkner, gooby grin like Andy Griffith

And somehow, like legends EJ, Polly and Blue Barassi Ernie got to be die cut, his image poppable by pressing on the flat card with my tiny thumbs

iii

Post-footy, a tree pressed on poor Ernie’s tractor and he was dead at 34

- Bill Wootton

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

Bill barracks for Collingwood and collected Scanlens footy cards from 19641969. He sold them to a collector for a small fortune ten years ago but still misses flicking through them occasionally.

Pick me, pick me!

Hey! We’re Augustus (MC: 956000016568467) and Fergus (MC: 956000016559949) and we’re pretty cute.

We’re German ShepherdMaremma cross brothers and we’re both just over 12 weeks old. All up there are eight brothers and sisters looking for good, caring homes. When we grow up we’ll be big, hairy, and intelligent and need training, warm accommodation and good secure yarding. Call MAAWS on 5472 5277 to come and meet us.

Link: www.maaw.org.au (Pick me, pick me is run in memory of Rosie & Curly - we picked them.)

And proudly supported by Daylesford's

Just sayin’...

By Donna Kelly

IWAS going to write about The Voice. It seemed appropriate given this week is NAIDOC Week. I know, National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee Week. I guess one day was not enough.

But then I started researching, even more than usual, and I don't know enough about The Voice to write about it. And I think that could be the problem. A lot of Australians don't know enough about it - even though millions will be spent on the referendum later this year.

And that is where, and I never, ever, thought I would say this, I agree with Peter Dutton. The referendum should be delayed. Of course, we all know that Yes is the correct answer to: "A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?". But a lot of us, myself included, would like a little more detail.

I think, as it stands, with the detail left until after the referendum, that the vote will be No. Australians are a suspicous lot and let's be honest, there is still racism and ignorance to overcome. I have very good friends, who would do anything for us, salt of the earth, but were always going to vote No. Mind you, they also watch Sky News.

Anyway, I thought instead I could write about the pandemic - and all those lockdowns. I have even got a TL tee-shirt that says "We're Victorians - We know lockdowns". Who knew it would ever be a bit of fun.

So during the lockdowns some people rearranged their pantries, or painted their walls or learnt how to make sourdough - hands up if you have now thrown away your starters? You know what I am talking about. Feeding them was only fun for a while. But other people, like former ABC legend Jon Faine wrote a book, and personal trainer Beth Whiting got herself ready to become a kettlebell world champion. Millie Gouldthorpe, as she went blind, literally threw herself into painting and Clunes' Karen Heap continued her amazing work as Ballarat and District Aboriginal Cooperative CEO and has just been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia. These are some of the stories we have in this edition and I am, as ever, always amazed by the talent of the community. I know, Jon Faine does not live here, but he is a regular visitor and loves his time in the Central Highlands. So he gets a pass.

I have probably said before that when we first started The Local, Kyle asked what would happen if we ran out of stories. I told him that was never going to be a problem. And it hasn't. This is Issue 283 and I reckon we do about six feature stories in each edition. So that's roughly 1696 stories featuring people, places, history, festivals and events. And a total of 596 Just Sayin'...s and Kyle's Rants. (Those plural ss are annoying to look at - yet we must resist the temptation to make them possessive.) And we've even run 283 of Glen's garden columns - might have to double his wage when we get to 300.

We are quickly heading towards our 10th anniversary in September this year. Never thought about that when we started but there you go. There will be a little bit of a celebration - invites are going out in a few weeks. (Let me know if you want an invite...) But I guess the main celebration for most of our readers has been 10 years of free reads each fortnight - and weekly for the first year of the pandemic. We just felt we needed to keep our community informed. Will we be around for another 10 years? Why not? Powerball hasn't come up yet. And even if we won, we would still be here for the community. Wouldn't we? Just sayin'...

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

Ageing DisGracefully is an initiative of Hepburn House.

Here is the crossword solution for Edition 282. How did you go?

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

Chook Run

Delivery July 22 to Ballan.

Ballarat Chooks

0400 559 559

Classified advertising

TRENTHAM PUBLIC PURPOSES RESERVES

Notice is given of a PUBLIC MEETING

to be held at Trentham Neighbourhood Centre on 27 July 2023 commencing at 7pm.

The purpose of this meeting is to nominate no less than three (3) or more than nine (9) persons as the Committee of Management for the Trentham Public Purposes Reserves for a term of three years. The current committee's term will expire on September 1, 2023. All positions will be declared open and nominations will be accepted prior to or on the night. Nominations from women, Aboriginal people, people with disabilities, young people and people from culturally diverse backgrounds are encouraged.

Further information, nomination forms and nominee declaration forms may be obtained by contacting your local Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action office or at the meeting.

For further enquiries please contact the secretary Andy Robertson on 0419 896 389.

WATER AND WASTEWATER PRICES FROM 1 JULY 2023

Central Highlands Region Water Corporation has resolved to set the following water and wastewater tariffs, fees and charges for the period commencing 1 July 2023 and continuing until notice is given of a new tariff. The tariffs, fees and charges are normally due for payment no later than 28 days after the date of issue for the notice. Payment of the accounts can be made at any of the Corporation's offices or by any means described on the account. Late payment of any amount due may bear interest at the prescribed rate as set in accordance with the Water Act (1989) as from the date due until the amount is paid.

Basis of Calculation: Access Fee: The appropriate Access Fee indicated below is divided by 366 days then multiplied by the number of days in the billing period.

Water Volume Charge: A two tiered tariff pricing structure applies to all residential customers to encourage sustainable water usage. The two tiered tariff charges a higher rate per kilolitre as water consumption increases from tier one to tier two. To calculate the water volume charge: The water usage

component of the bill is determined by the number of kilolitres used. A two tiered tariff pricing structure will be applied, based on water consumption. The threshold between the two tiers is calculated on a daily basis and is charged on a tricycle basis. Tier 1: 0 - 0.478 kilolitres (0 - 478 litres). Tier 2: 0.479 kilolitres plus (479 litres plus). Unmetered supplies will be charged an assumed consumption of 150 kilolitres per annum. Wastewater Volume Charge: Non residential disposal charges will be calculated on the volume of water recorded by the meter installed on the water service pipe which is then multiplied by the appropriate discharge factor. The calculated wastewater volume exceeding the allowance (180 kilolitres per annum) during the financial year is multiplied by the appropriate tariff per kilolitre.

The State Government provides concessions for holders of concession cards and not-for-profit organisations. Assistance may also be available through the Utility Relief Grants Scheme and Central Highlands Water’s Customer Assistance Programs.

Waterways Charge $64.88 per annum.

This charge is collected on behalf of Melbourne Water, who use the funds to look after rivers and creeks and manage drainage and floodplains in your area.

Please contact Central Highlands Water on 1800 061 514 for any enquiries regarding your account, current prices or available concessions. GST does not apply to water and wastewater prices. A full schedule of current charges including miscellaneous fees and charges is available on the Central Highlands Water website at www.chw.net.au.

Artists of the Central Highlands

Formerly Sister Maleita, serving as a nun with a French Order in New Zealand, Daylesford’s Millie Gouldthorpe came to painting later in life than many, but once she did...the canvas really exploded. Millie’s style which emerged in a torrent of creativity during the time of Covid lockdowns is vibrant, abstract expressionist, and the way she revels in the sheer joy of colour is all the more fabulous for the fact that she is classified as blind due to the development of a degenerative eye condition. When she makes art, sometimes literally in the dark, this arts talent almost seems to be channelling some higher force.

Eve: How long have you lived in Daylesford now Millie?

Millie: Seventeen years. Came with my husband; he died in the front cottage. Then moved out to the back cottage with Jude who’d been a Loreto nun. And I also was a nun with Sisters of Our Lady of The Missions, a French Order, in New Zealand for 20 years. We entered the nunhood same day, same month, same year. Two different countries. Two different orders. We were both 20 years in the convent. She’s now my carer. I was Sister Maleita (that’s my real name). Born in Wales. Named after a cow. Entered the convent. They said ‘Can’t use that name’. I said ‘Oh. It’s a Holy Cow’.

Eve: Great story. When did you take up art?

Millie: I took up painting during the Covid period ... and I suddenly had this burst of energy. I knew I had to paint. So I went out there (to the undercover space which has since become a studio). Pouring rain. Two o’clock in the morning, and got three canvasses at once. Got a yard broom, threw paint on the three canvasses, dragged the yard broom over the three at once.

Could feel and see texture of blue and gold, and then I threw chalk paint and shoved a stick into the chalk paint. Later I was putting it outside and a friend, Miriam, came and said ‘Oh. You’ve drawn my homeland. The Wimmera’. I said ‘Oh, yes I have’. Anyway, she bought it. A triptych. But I was so driven with paint. And it sort of gave me a sense of independence. Of control and delight. Sheer delight with the colour. And because I wasn’t using a brush there’s no ego involved.

Eve: How do you paint? Do you just flick paint with the palette knife?

Millie: Yes. A stick, or anything.

Eve: People really love your work. It’s amazing that you only took up painting during Covid. What have been some of the highlights for you since then?

Millie: Well an artist, a real artist, and friend of mine, said ‘why don’t you enter the Castlemaine Art Exhibition?’. And so I put three in. I had an enormous one that went through so many metamorphisms.

And the joy for me is that I’m not despairing. I know there’s something emerging and I can’t control it. I have to let it happen. It draws me. It paints me...so suddenly I’m seeing the browns and the blacks - and I began to just put handprints. Some white. Some brown. And I called it Reconciliation. And it sold and I got such a shock.

Then I donated a dancing dragonfly to the Zelman Memorial Symphony Orchestra here last year. U3A were sponsoring it. I asked if they would you like a raffle prize. So I did this big dancing dragonfly.

At the end of the thing I got a tap on my shoulder and the conductor asked if I was Millie. He said ‘I haven’t won the raffle but did you paint that?’ I said ‘Yes I did. Who are you?’ (I was upstairs and I couldn’t see). And he said ‘I was the conductor and I want to commission you’. I said ‘You don’t’. He said ‘I have to’. So I’ve had three commissions from him.

with Eve Lamb

Eve: What is the visual condition that you have?

Millie: It’s dry macular degeneration. The back of my eyes are covered over with whatever it is, so I can’t really see. I have to look up to catch you. So I’m relying on peripherals all the time.

Eve: How does the condition influence the way you go about creating work?

Millie: Well the other night the power went off. So I thought ‘Oh well I’m in the dark anyway most of the time’. So I reached across to where I knew there was a fresh canvas and I pulled it over and then I put my phone on, and got the light on the phone and just hovered over five colours with the light. Gold, verde, black, those sorts of colours.

And I filled five little frisky tins with the paint. I got four, five sticks and I just sat there in the dark, and I just threw the paint blindly. In the morning Jude came in and said ‘Where did that come from?’ I said ‘Oh I was just playing around’. She said ‘But the power went out. We had a brownout’. I said ‘I know, but I’m blind anyway’.

And then a neighbour came and saw it and said ‘Oh I have to have it Millie. I have to have it. I’ve got the place on my wall’. I really don’t know how to respond to you, other than that I have a passion, a feel, and I think that the fact that I can’t see gives me freedom from ego and thinking. And, well, I’m connected to The Source. My influence is God. My faith. And I know that I’m imbued with the source of creation. I didn’t come to art. Art came to me.

Eve: Can people visit you and your work at your Daylesford studio by appointment?

Millie: Yes. Probably by appointment.

Images: Eve Lamb