You know things are warming up and Christmas is almost here when the public pool season starts. In the Hepburn Shire it started on Saturday (December 7) with council-managed outdoor pools opening for free throughout the shire. To celebrate the start to the pool season the Clunes, Daylesford and Trentham outdoor pools all opened over the […]

The vibrant work of Jennifer England will be part of the upcoming Daylesford Arts pop-up at 94 Vincent Street, Daylesford from December 13 – 15.   Jennifer started painting at the age of four and had her first solo exhibition at 17.   She earned a Diploma of Fine Arts in Sydney in 1992 and […]

The axing of service kills for smaller numbers of stock at a central Victorian abattoir has  left many local farmers struggling to find alternative abattoirs. Kyneton’s Hardwicks Meatworks late last month told producers of its revised kill arrangements in 2025, announcing a new minimum number of 15 for beef service kills and 50 for lamb […]

The Hepburn Shire Council has announced a series of workshops to help local community groups successfully apply for grants. Set for Trentham, Creswick, Daylesford and Clunes, the sessions are designed to make the grant application process more accessible, practical, and successful for organisations across the shire.  The training will be led by the council’s grants specialist, who brings experience in […]

Victorian fire agencies are urging residents to be aware of the risks associated with lithium-ion battery products this festive season following a lithium-ion battery explosion on an e-bike. As a result, a Langwarrin family lost their entire garage last month (November 14), with the near miss alerted to by their 21-year-old daughter just minutes before the […]

The Giant Christmas Bauble is back in Ballarat this Christmas season. The Christmas Bauble has begun shining brightly every night this festive season, with The City of Ballarat encouraging visitors, locals and shoppers to venture over to the city’s town hall to grab a fun family Christmas photo with the large festive decoration. As part […]

Local musicians and artists will be presenting a program of live entertainment in Castlemaine’s Mechanics Lane this summer. The line-up ahead will include live music, performances and DJs, a dance class and even a sound healing session. Coming up next on the program is Club Unity set for Saturday 14 December from 5pm to late. […]

The trip’s finale   We flew into LA a few weeks ago and my first thought was tipping the staff. This is a costly consideration considering the exchange rate and the 20 per cent of the  bill expected. This is some weird business idea that just wouldn’t work in Australia because firstly our minimum wage […]

By Donna Kelly I enjoy travel as much as imparting a cautionary tale. So you can’t imagine my joy at our latest travel adventure. Hmmm.   After four years of Covid we were off on a cruise to Central America, a bucket list for Kyle if you will, as a confirmed boatie and someone who […]

AN increasing demand for strong IT skills being placed on the region’s healthcare professionals is refelected in a new pilot project set to run through to the middle of next year. Part of the state government’ s$4.4 million skills solutions partnerships program, Grampians Health is participating in the pilot that aims to enhance the digital […]

with Eve Lamb Clunes Original Homestead Creekside Walk.  Loop. Distance 4.5 km. This is one of my fav Clunes walks. It’s a slight adaptation of a loop walk that appears in a newly released brochure detailing several choice walks and saunters in and around the Clunes township. More on that later. For this 4.5km loop my trekking […]

Over the past decade there has been an average of 8000 Miner’s Right licences sold in Victoria each year.   This licence, obtained from Resources Victoria costs $28 and allows you to remove and keep minerals discovered on Crown Land or private (with permission).   Many of those licence holders are going out looking  for […]