The Local - News from Daylesford, Castlemaine, Kyneton, Malmsbury, Creswick, Clunes, Hepburn Springs and surrounds.

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Hepburn Wildlife News

October 8, 2026

A recent article on the Hepburn Wildlife Shelter’s Facebook page describes the fate of several wombats hand-reared by an unknown person who released them into another wombat’s territory. These wombats have been attacked and severely injured by the wombat whose territory they were released into and are now in the care of the Hepburn Wildlife […]

Council News

October 8, 2026

Council’s path forward Council received reports about its financial position, unpaid rates and charges, and an independent expert review of its long-term financial plan. A second phase of the Review in November will examine opportunities for revising the long-term financial plan. Council’s cash flow has been significantly affected by unpaid and overdue rates, as well […]

Lyonville Bake Off

October 8, 2026

The cakes will be decorated, the scones freshly baked and the competition fierce when the Lyonville Bake Off returns on Sunday, October 25 from 10.30am to 2.30pm – with entry just a gold coin donation. This year, visitors will not only be able to admire Lyonville’s finest baking. For the first time, they will also […]

Our past stories

October 8, 2026

As Remembrance Day draws closer next month, Natalie Poole brings us a story on just one of our many brave service people from over the years. Trentham’s George Maidment Dight was born on May 5, 1872 in Fitzroy to Charles Pollard Dight and Margaret Ethel Dodd. He was one of 11 children. He married Elizabeth […]

Rolling since 1899

October 8, 2026

Gold was discovered in the area now covered by Lake Daylesford in 1851, and within a year the town had been surveyed and settled. By 1859, around 3400 diggers were working the local fields. The alluvial gold ran out, the railway arrived in 1880, and Daylesford reinvented itself as a fashionable spa resort. By 1899 […]

Taking a peek behind the hedge at Mooltan

October 8, 2026

Have you ever wondered what’s behind Hepburn’s neatly manicured Mooltan hedge? I set out to answer that very question and within the picturesque grounds of the grand old guest house found a refreshingly grounded woman with a formidable political portfolio and a bit of friendly advice. Jenny Beacham wants you to step out from behind […]

Beetham’s Botanicals

October 8, 2026

Well here I am again penning another article for you, the reader, to enjoy…   This time I’ll be showcasing five plant species that shine in the latter part of September into October here in the Central Highlands of Victoria. 1. Malus x floribunda (Japanese flowering crabapple) is one of many iconic blossom trees (of […]

To build or not…that was the question

October 7, 2026

Here’s the thing nobody tells you about building a house. The walls and the slab are the quick bit. It’s everything before them that gets you: the snail’s-paced planning and the slow haemorrhaging of money that makes death by a thousand cuts sound like a lazy afternoon on the beach. So here we are. Walls […]

Spring Lamb.

October 7, 2026

B Y R I C H A R D C O R N I S H Lamb.   It’s part of spring in Australia. As the days become longer and the yellow blossoms erupt on the wattles, the supply of spring lamb begins. This is the time of the year when lamb is as it […]

Wellness festival

October 7, 2026

Golden Wellness Festival is an immersive celebration of holistic health, taking place in Castlemaine at the Sunken Oval on Saturday, October 31.   The one-day festival will offer workshops, movement classes, ceremonies, creative sessions and insightful panel conversations, bringing together a plethora of wellness practitioners and alchemic explorers. Explore and restore with yoga, tai chi, […]

Artists of the Central Highlands

October 7, 2026

Kristeena Saville was an only child to a single mum, giving her time to draw. Her mother worked long hours as a waitress, spare-parts driver, cleaner and delivered telegrams; some of these jobs were simultaneous. Her struggle was noble. Her dad had been a gaolbird. She didn’t really see him, but was close to his […]

Kyle’s Rant

October 6, 2026

Donna thinks I’m becoming a nutjob. We had our 30th wedding anniversary the other week and we ended up (as couples do) in a bit of an argument. The thing is, I told her about human brain cells being grown over a computer chip and she said I was a nutjob conspiracy theorist. But surely […]