December 2019 Volume 23 // Issue 11
Club of Woodend
FIRST PUBLISHED 1997
DISTRIBUTING 4,000 FREE COPIES ACROSS WOODEND’S POSTAL DISTRICT
Holgate Brewery expansion opens its doors Woodend’s internationally renowned, family-owned Holgate beer brand will welcome 60,000 additional visitors to the region every year and employ up to 15 new workers. Member for Macedon Mary-Anne Thomas joined Paul and Natasha Holgate at the official opening of the new Holgate Brewhouse Visitor Discovery Centre and Taproom to the public – made possible by a $1.5 million grant through the Regional Tourism Infrastructure Fund. “We’re so proud to back this local business to expand and create new jobs in Woodend, while supporting the local tourism industry and attracting new visitors to our beautiful region,” said Mary-Anne Thomas. The new Visitor Discovery Centre is set to stimulate the local economy by $1.87 million in visitor spending each year, with a new tasting tap room, views of the brewery, reception for the adjoining hotel and an interactive visitor experience showcasing the history of Holgate Brewhouse. The new centre comes after upgrades to the brewery including a world-class German-made brewing system and equipment - a first in the Australian craft beer brewing sector, increasing the brewery’s capacity and improving consistency across its products. The project is the second stage of a three-part vision for the brewhouse’s growth, which also includes a Macedon Ranges Wine Hub and upcoming Calder Corridor Craft Beer Trail tourism experience. The Holgate Brewhouse is the brainchild of Paul and Natasha Holgate, who had the idea for their business while
Photo: L-R Cr Janet Pearce; Paul Holgate; Natasha Holdgate; Mary-Anne Thomas, MP.
on holiday in the USA when they came across the small craft brewing industry and were inspired to start their own. Two years later, they began operating from their backyard in Woodend and selling craft beer, before venturing into hospitality and tourism in 2002, when they took over the town’s historic Commercial Hotel. Constructed in 1896, the building has been Holgate Brewhouse’s home ever since. Since 2013, the Holgate beer brand has been exported to the Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand and Singapore. SUBMITTED BY BELLA MANSON, OFFICE OF MARY-ANNE THOMAS
Council to introduce glass kerbside collection in 2020 Macedon Ranges Shire Council will introduce a separate, glass-only bin collection service next year. The 140 litre bins, which will be collected every four weeks and have purple lids, will be delivered to approximately 20,000 households in February 2020. This decision comes after Macedon Ranges Shire Council was one of 33 Victorian councils affected by the closure of recycling processor SKM Recycling earlier this year. In the meantime, residents have been asked to remove glass from household recycling bins. A new recycling processor has been identified but only if glass is removed from the recycling bins with the yellow lid. Shards and small pieces of glass can become embedded in paper and cardboard in recycling bins and contaminate the other recyclables. Glass-only bins have been installed in public places
across the shire to assist residents in removing glass from their recycling bins. When the new service commences, the glass collected in the public place bins and the glass-only kerbside bins will be processed and reused in construction materials. Until the new service begins next year, residents are asked to continue to keep glass out of their recycling bins and to use the public place glass-only bins. For a list of locations, see mrsc.vic.gov.au/glass Council advises that as a last resort, glass can be placed in the red-lidded, general rubbish bins. The Shire Council will also explore options to reuse glass locally as part of a feasibility study that will be considered in April 2020. SUBMITTED BY LEANNE YOUNES, MRSC