RSPCA Victoria is thrilled to continue offering its low-cost pet vaccination days, with upcoming clinics in:

Cats:

• Mulgrave, Wednesday 15 July at Mackie Road Neighbourbood House
• Greenvale, Wednesday 29 July at Greenvale West Community Centre

Dogs:

• Truganina, Wednesday 01 July at Arndell Park Community Centre
• Clyde, Tuesday 07 July at Clyde Public Hall
• Melton, Wednesday 08 July at 3^rd Melton Scout Group
• Warrandyte, Tuesday 14 July at Warrandyte Scout Hall
• Bentleigh, Tuesday 21 July, Bayside Companion Dog Training School
• Heidelberg, Wednesday 22 July, Heidelberg Scout Group
• Reservoir, Tuesday 29 July at 1^st Reservoir Scout Group
• Craigieburn, Friday 31 July at Aitken Hill Community Centre

The clinics, run by an RSPCA Victoria vet, are aimed at making veterinary care more accessible for people and their pets.

Speaking about the clinic, Dr Lauren Roberts, Senior Manager Community Outreach and Education for RSPCA Victoria, said they were looking forward to visiting local areas across Melbourne in July.

“We’re hoping to see up to 25 local pets and their owners during each visit over the coming weeks,” Dr Roberts said.

“We know people love their pets, and these clinics are a great way to help keep them happy and healthy.

“We want to help people care for their pets by increasing their access to veterinary and preventative care, which supports lifelong bonds among families with their cats and dogs.”

One previous attendee at the Low-Cost Vaccination Clinics described the clinics as a “life-saver.”

“This vaccination program is a life saver for lots of dogs/cats as it is more affordable especially for people with more than 1 fur baby.”

Appointments at the Low-Cost Vaccination clinics must be booked online in advance with limited places available. Those with more than one pet must book a separate appointment for each animal.

For $69.00, a dog or cat will receive their preventative vaccines and be checked by an RSPCA veterinarian to ensure they are fit for their vaccinations. Pet owners can also receive professional advice on how to keep them healthy now and into the future.

To book your four-legged friend a low-cost vaccination visit rspcavic.org/vaccinationclinics/

Victorians are being urged to prepare for the upcoming surge in seasonal respiratory illnesses.

Public health experts warn that lower case numbers earlier in the season means Victoria will see a late winter spike.

It’s not too late to get a flu or COVID-19 vaccination to protect yourself and your loved ones, and to reduce the severity of symptoms.

Victorians are being encouraged to save EDs and Triple Zero for the sickest patients.

Urgent Care Clinics

Open late seven days a week, Victoria’s 38 Urgent Care Clinics also offer care for free, without a Medicare card.

Staffed by GPs and nurses, they treat a range of cases such as sprains, broken bones, cuts, and mild infections.

Chemist Care Now

As well as vaccinations, Victorians can also access care at one of 900 pharmacies participating in the Chemist Care Now program.

It helps people avoid a trip to the GP for conditions like uncomplicated UTIs or musculoskeletal pain, as well as a prescription for the oral contraceptive pill.

Since launching, highly trained pharmacists across the state have delivered almost 100,000 services, the majority to women.

Virtual Emergency Department

The state government’s Virtual Emergency Department connects Victorians with emergency doctors and nurses via video call, 24/7.

This free service provides fast and convenient access to advice from clinicians without any need to leave home.

Since launching in 2020, the Virtual ED has delivered more than 900,000 consultations.

In the past year, around 83 per cent of patients who used the service avoided an unnecessary trip to hospital.

Nurse-on-call

Nurse-on-call also offers 24/7 care, with registered nurses providing immediate, expert advice.

Victorians should call Triple Zero in emergencies, but non-urgent cases may be directed to alternative care options.

Information on Victoria’s urgent care services and immunisations can be found at betterhealth.vic.gov.au.

The state government has announced the opening of the next round for Pride Events and Festivals Fund (PEFF).

PEFF supports community groups and organisations to deliver events that showcase LGBTIQA+ pride and connection.

Event organisers are invited to apply for a share of $400,000, with grants of up to $10,000 available for smaller gatherings and up to $25,000 available for larger-scale events.

The program supports events and festivals that bring LGBTIQA+ communities and all Victorians together to connect, celebrate diversity, build resilience and promote inclusion.

Since the program began in 2018, PEFF has supported more than 250 events and festivals across Victoria.

Last year’s funding supported LINE Wangaratta’s Pride Fair Day 2026, a free, family-friendly festival featuring live music, local stalls and activities that celebrated LGBTIQA+ communities in the northeast.

Drummond Street Services hosted three events in partnership with Q+Hub for young LGBTIQA+ people in Ballarat and Geelong, including a Q+Hub camp, the Ballarat Pride Ball and an intergenerational roller-skating event.

Applications close on Friday, August 7  at 5pm. To find out more or to apply, visit vic.gov.au/pride-events-and-festivals-fund.

Minister for Equality Vicki Ward said the Pride Events and Festivals Fund was about more than fun events “it’s about bringing all communities together where LGBTIQA+ Victorians feel safe, proud and celebrated”.

“These events showcase the diversity, creativity and resilience of LGBTIQA+ communities right across Victoria – from multicultural celebrations in Melbourne to family-friendly pride events in regional communities

The state government is helping more people live closer to where they work, with new accommodation on the way in the Bellarine.

Minister Settle joined Member for Bellarine Alison Marchant in St Leonards where construction will start soon for up to 10 Sea Bounty workers, supported by the Regional Worker Accommodation Fund.

The new shared living facility will feature 10 bedrooms, two bathrooms, a shared kitchen and garden areas, providing affordable accommodation close to work in a traditionally competitive local rental market.

Construction is expected to kick off with preliminary works at the end of July, followed by the main construction in the coming months, subject to the appointment of a contractor.

The Bellarine Peninsula is a key location for mussel farming in Australia.

The Victorian mussel industry produced 1,700 tonnes of Australian Blue Mussels in 2023-24.

Sea Bounty farms and processes 1,000 tonnes of mussels each year that are supplied to supermarkets, seafood retailers and wholesalers across Australia and the Asia-Pacific.

Sea Bounty is also growing oysters and offering mussel farm boat tours from Portarlington, giving visitors a unique experience and bringing more tourists to the region.

The Regional Worker Accommodation Fund is unlocking around $370 million in new housing investment for thousands of regional workers.

As part of the Words in Winter festival in Daylesford, Australian poets with a passion for the natural world are invited to enter the 2026 Venie Holmgren Environmental Poetry Prize, offering a $1000 major prize for unpublished work.

The prize honours Venie Holmgren, who began writing poetry in her late 50s and went on to become a celebrated performance poet and environmental activist.
She was arrested twice while protesting logging trucks to save native forests on the NSW far south coast, and her first anthology, The Sun Collection for the Planet, became a poetry bestseller in 1989. She “caught the bus” in 2016 at the age of 93.
This year’s judges are Peter O’Mara and Dr Patrick Jones.
Peter is a Hepburn-based writer and artist whose work has appeared in leading literary journals including Meanjin, Overland, Cordite and Island.
Patrick brings a distinctive perspective to the role – his research explores “permapoesis,” a creative framework that weaves together poetry, ecology and place-based living.
Poems must be no longer than 80 lines and must carry an environmental theme. Only Australian citizens and permanent residents are eligible. Each entry requires a $10 fee, and multiple poems are welcome. The poet’s name must not appear anywhere on the manuscript or file, as all entries are judged anonymously.
Submissions close on Monday, August 3, 2026. The winner will be announced during the Words in Winter festival in Daylesford on Sunday, August 30.
For full terms, conditions and the online entry form, visit www.holmgren.com.au

Words: Contributed | Image: Kyle Barnes

The Little Gallery in Trentham continues to celebrate visual artists of the Central Victorian region with a fresh rotation of new talent from emerging to established creators.

Rose Wilson, the founding member of the Little Gallery, said: “Over the past 15 years, we have proudly exhibited more than 250 artists. This not only highlights the gallery’s strong profile but also reinforces our dedication to nurturing our fellow artists in the community.”
The Little Gallery welcomes two artists-in-residence. This position gives visitors to the gallery an opportunity to engage directly with the artists, as they share their passion and craft.
Steve Lees, pictured above, is a ceramic artist based in Trentham. His practice explores material transformation through processes of erosion, exposure, and weathering, drawing on the subtle ways objects and landscapes are shaped by time. Using wheel-thrown and hand-built techniques, he investigates the relationship between material, process, and place.
Damien McNamara is known for his unique approach to woodwork and carves his forms with a lathe using native timbers that have mostly fallen in storms. Employing techniques like burning, fuming in ammonia, and delicate copper stitching, his pieces are both distinctive and deeply connected to nature. His current work explores classical forms with influence from Greek vessels, creating sculptural forms with balance and simplicity.
In addition to welcoming new in-house resident artists, the Little Gallery also features work by Daylesford ceramicist Kay Goldfinch and Macedon Ranges painter Justine Hutchison.
The annual Winter Show has been cancelled for 2026 due to unforeseen circumstances however the Little Gallery remains committed to maintaining the highest standards.
Plans for a standout 2027 Winter Show are underway, ensuring that regional artists will have the opportunity to exhibit in a renowned regional gallery and be a part of what is regarded as an exceptional mid-year exhibition celebrating local artists.

Words & image: Contributed

Wow, the world has gone and got itself into a tangle again, things seemed to swing so far to the left just a couple of years ago and now they are pulling to the extreme right.
With racism comes sexism and all the other “isms” follow. Once you divide a community on the matter of race why don’t we then divide them on big noses and ugly body parts. God knows there are still those skinny little wafer-thin bastards in the corner snickering about us normal-sized folks.
However, with the rise of One Nation and now a few other celebrities joining the great unwashed, we are in for some turbulent times. I was always curious how America suddenly became the way it is under the yellow man, a country in the thick of poverty with racism at the forefront and a joke for a capital which once garnered the pride of the people.
Regardless of your political views, please come up for air and peek over the fence because all is not what it seems. By and large we do live in a safe little bubble here in the Central Highlands although there are the few twerps on Facebook who hide behind their keyboards but would struggle to string a sentence together in the real world. But in our real world I don’t often trip over those types and our community is very understanding and tolerant of each other. But we can’t let this political creep take hold just because it doesn’t really affect us.
There is danger on the horizon with people like Karl Stefanovic, once a bloke of the people, now wading into the far-right movement. And Kyle Sandilands, someone who happens to have a good head for radio, and then there is old tomato head Barnaby Joyce, a fella who should have stayed down when he was in the gutter.
And for those who pay attention you can see how it happens – life starts delivering the hard-working migrants lemons. But they weren’t born here, so what right do they have to own a business and do well? Your lot in life seems to not amount to much, house prices keep going up, as does food and you’re feeling alone.
But suddenly you’re not alone, you have your white supremacist brothers and sisters around you who all share the same hard luck stories. You all sit around at your meetings talking about the good old days, buoying each other up with rhetoric of change.
And you are playing right into the hands of these guys. I am an immigrant. I came here 32 years ago with my arse hanging out of my pants. But it seems I’m okay because I am white, share the same language and are more easily assimilated into the community.
Pauline Hanson couldn’t run a fish and chip shop and guys like Stefanovic, Sandilands and Joyce are getting onboard the SS Yahoo. A ship full of drunken sailors who couldn’t organise a good time with a fistful of fifties in a brothel.
Let it be said, I have never been a fan of Albo. Too much like Mr Smithers. And as far as his economic reforms go, they will probably send the country into a recession. And then the Liberal party looks to me like the front bar of the Star Wars movie set, with no policies to call their own.
So I can see the confusion and the want for great leadership, and if you have read my column this far down to glean an answer you are mistaken, as I have none. I just know that we will probably follow America, England, Ireland and Germany and I am not looking forward to the ride.
Going bush rant over…

As a journalist, I love it when the Community Satisfaction Survey is released. It’s the gift that keeps on giving, and as long as I have been editing The Local – Hepburn Shire Council has done pretty poorly.

So, you know, it makes for a good story, I can always use the ‘can’t get no satisfaction’ headline and this time I even added in a few lyrics from the Rolling Stones’ song.
But as a ratepayer, it is really annoying, because my rates are just not being used as well as they could. According to the survey anyway.
This year seems to be about the worst. And Hepburn Shire Council acknowledges they are not providing satisfaction, because, as CEO Bradley Thomas says, the community has let them know in no uncertain terms.
Mr Thomas says the council is doing its best and just needs more time. But the survey says the overall performance score is the worst in 10 years. Just how much time do we give them.
Now, I am not suggesting anyone is not doing their best. I know people who work for council and I believe they are, individually, doing their best. But as a team effort, it is clearly not working. And the CEO, as the head of the organisation, takes the brunt of the complaints. Probably followed by the councillors. Who we voted in. So no-one is blameless.
I guess, going forward, we have to collectively think about the future. Is our council viable as it stands? Can it continue to rate so poorly – and now pretty much run out of funding.
For a long time, Cr Brian Hood has pointed out the shortfalls of the budgets, past, present and future. And some people have listened and some have not. But perhaps in the future, or lack of, our pools will have people finally taking notice.
Yes, our pools are an important part of our community. Great for kids and families, people who want to swim a few laps, or just catch up with friends poolside. But they are end of life now. Pretty much already on life support and with no funding to fix let alone replace them.
The council, at its meeting last week, agreed that an amount of $150,000 per pool was available for urgent repairs. But we all know that $150,000 does not go far, and on top of that, it has not even been budgeted for. Council Infrastructure and Delivery director Bruce Lucas told the meeting that if needed, the money would have to be “found”.
Mr Lucas said: “It’s not an allocation provided for within the draft budget. It is a referenced trigger threshold, if you like, to guide officers on any works needed after the commencement of the pool season, where we might find we have some major failing of the infrastructure and the $150,000 threshold would need to be found if it were needed. A threshold or a guide for officers to know to what level to invest in to undertake the necessary repairs should we find some major failings.”
(Hmmm. Long-winded way to say ‘let us know if there is a problem – but we have no money to fix it. This sounds very much like my own financial planning – which is to win TattsLotto one day. Kyle says this is not a sound plan. And even I struggle with the idea of finding up to $450,000 all up “if needed”.)
The council also voted to create a shire-wide community panel to talk about the future of the pools saying it was not their place to decide on what happened in the years to come.
But surely it is their place? Is that not why we voted them in – to make decisions, hard and easy, on our behalf. After all, a huge amount of money has already been spent on consultants and reports about the future of aquatics in the shire.
But no, let’s throw that out and ask people with no particular knowledge of running public pools or financial management, what they think about the future of pools – and let’s throw in natural waterways as well. Grrr.
I don’t know the answer, and I did stand for council once although I am very glad I did not get in, but surely it is time we started asking the hard questions about the viability of our shire and our council.
Amalgamation could be one answer, maybe the state government could send in administrators for a few years to straighten it all out. I know that seems harsh but there is only so long that life support lasts – and I think it might not just be the pools that are end of life. Call time perhaps? Just sayin’…

(Image just for cuteness…)

Hi there, I am Missy, the shelter’s sweetheart!

I just love engaging in playful activities, showcasing my curiosity and intelligence. I have already mastered basic commands and enjoy walks and games of fetch.
I am also gentle and love a cuddle, so I am an ideal companion. I really hope for a home where I can share my affection and playful spirit.
Oh, I would also prefer a home where I am the only fur-baby. I am a three-year-old staffy mix. So loyal to boot!
Microchip number: 56000018911758
Come and meet me at MAAWS.
Call 5472 5277 | shelter@maaw.org.au

trip

a wheelie suitcase
carried by its handle
one wheel wiggles

they come for cezanne
and art’s heavy hitters
still life in aix

balance
at the calder exhibit
a one-legged woman

bip bip
BIP BIP BIP BIP
too close to art

distant squarks
lasso the summer sky
thirsty seagulls

all quiet
in montparnasse cemetery
a truck starts up

buffeted to sleep
in the rear of the plane
memories jostle

– Bill Wootton

Bill is back from France which was both mighty and mighty hot, and where parking was easy. He is appreciative of returned Hepburn cool.

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

Wow, the world has gone and got itself into a tangle again, things seemed to swing so far to the left just a couple of years ago and now they are pulling to the extreme right.
With racism comes sexism and all the other “isms” follow. Once you divide a community on the matter of race why don’t we then divide them on big noses and ugly body parts. God knows there are still those skinny little wafer-thin bastards in the corner snickering about us normal-sized folks.
However, with the rise of One Nation and now a few other celebrities joining the great unwashed, we are in for some turbulent times. I was always curious how America suddenly became the way it is under the yellow man, a country in the thick of poverty with racism at the forefront and a joke for a capital which once garnered the pride of the people.
Regardless of your political views, please come up for air and peek over the fence because all is not what it seems. By and large we do live in a safe little bubble here in the Central Highlands although there are the few twerps on Facebook who hide behind their keyboards but would struggle to string a sentence together in the real world. But in our real world I don’t often trip over those types and our community is very understanding and tolerant of each other. But we can’t let this political creep take hold just because it doesn’t really affect us.
There is danger on the horizon with people like Karl Stefanovic, once a bloke of the people, now wading into the far-right movement. And Kyle Sandilands, someone who happens to have a good head for radio, and then there is old tomato head Barnaby Joyce, a fella who should have stayed down when he was in the gutter.
And for those who pay attention you can see how it happens – life starts delivering the hard-working migrants lemons. But they weren’t born here, so what right do they have to own a business and do well? Your lot in life seems to not amount to much, house prices keep going up, as does food and you’re feeling alone.
But suddenly you’re not alone, you have your white supremacist brothers and sisters around you who all share the same hard luck stories. You all sit around at your meetings talking about the good old days, buoying each other up with rhetoric of change.
And you are playing right into the hands of these guys. I am an immigrant. I came here 32 years ago with my arse hanging out of my pants. But it seems I’m okay because I am white, share the same language and are more easily assimilated into the community.
Pauline Hanson couldn’t run a fish and chip shop and guys like Stefanovic, Sandilands and Joyce are getting onboard the SS Yahoo. A ship full of drunken sailors who couldn’t organise a good time with a fistful of fifties in a brothel.
Let it be said, I have never been a fan of Albo. Too much like Mr Smithers. And as far as his economic reforms go, they will probably send the country into a recession. And then the Liberal party looks to me like the front bar of the Star Wars movie set, with no policies to call their own.
So I can see the confusion and the want for great leadership, and if you have read my column this far down to glean an answer you are mistaken, as I have none. I just know that we will probably follow America, England, Ireland and Germany and I am not looking forward to the ride.
Going bush rant over…

Many times, driving past the Daylesford Cemetery, I would sight a large marble tombstone on a grave.

It was hard to miss due to its size and presence on the landscape, and I always wondered – who does it belong to and what did they do for the town of Daylesford?
Those questions were answered when I was working on my family history last year, and a photo of the headstone was a hint on my Ancestry account. The mystery was finally solved and now I needed to find out who was Charles Smith and how did one afford the marble pillar back in 1909.
Charles Smith was born in 1839 in Boston, Lincolnshire, England to George Smith and Maria Dolling. The family sailed from London on the ship Victory, arriving in the Geelong area in September 1856.

Then on February 16, 1860, Charles married my second great-grand aunt Mary Ann Colston in Daylesford and they lived in East Street. They raised nine children: Roland (1861), Charles (1862), John (1864), Louisa (1867), Alfred (1869), Ernest (1874), Herbert (1878), Francis (1881) and Sydney (1883).
So how did Charles support a large family? A Victorian Gazette dated June 20, 1862 unlocks the mystery. Charles had shares in the Specimen Hill Quartz Mining Company located on Specimen Hill Reef near Daylesford.
The Hepburn Mining Division 1999 paper on Historic Gold Mining sites gives an insight into the success of the venture: “The Specimen Hill Quartz Mining Company was a successful gold mining operation near Daylesford, active from the mid-1860s until 1880, when it ceased operations and abandoned the ground. During the years 1867 to 1880 inclusive, the company crushed 88,339 tons of quartz for 24,985 ounces of gold. The company’s shaft reached a depth of nearly 600ft.”
Another Victorian Gazette dated December 31, 1863 shows Charles also had shares in the Concordia Gold Mining Company located in Stanbridge Paddock, Daylesford. The Hepburn Mining Division paper 1999 gives an insight into mining in the 1860s. In the early mining history of the state, small areas only were permitted occupancy, and one of the first companies to operate in the district was the Concordia Gold Mining Company.
Attention was directed by this small co-operative party to the Concordia, a tributary lead three-quarters of a mile north of the existing Daylesford Railway Station. It was leased and a royalty had to be paid. The total yield to September 2, 1865, was 5280 oz. 9 dwt. (pennyweight) of gold to a value of £20,315 and the royalty of £4081. It ceased operations in 1867 and although the company had a comparatively short existence, it was nevertheless profitable.
The profits made from mining were used to buy property in Daylesford where the family continued although Charles and Mary Ann moved to Rosedale Villa, Clunes near the end of Charles’s life. He died on July 13, 1909 at 70 with his will showing the accumulation of property in the Daylesford Borough.
In Vincent Street, Charles owned two weatherboard and brick shops which were rented out. On the corner of East and Raglan streets, he owned 11 acres of land and had the following properties – an orchard with two weatherboard cottages containing four rooms each, three weatherboard cottages containing six rooms each and the crowning glory, the Farmers Arms Hotel which contained 12 rooms. His total estate was worth £5962.
The tombstone was erected at a cost of £156 and has left a lasting impression of how a young man made good in the Daylesford area through mining and the purchase of property. I am proud to be related to this family.

Maryborough’s Central Goldfields Art Gallery’s latest exhibition RAGGED & TAGGED & FLAGGED Caroline Chisholm, Domesticity and the Victorian Goldfields by Dr Flossie Peitsch is now open.

Maryborough resident Dr Peitsch reclaims discarded handwork and transforms these textile foundlings into fine art.

As part of the installation, visitors are invited to inscribe the names and roles of unheralded women – both past and present – from the Victorian goldfields. The exhibition will be on display until October 11, 2026.
The Art of Gold, golden jewellery on loan from the National Gallery of Australia, is on display until August 30, 2026. The 12 gold jewellery items are on display with support from the Australian Government as part of Sharing the National Collection. Nine date from the mid-19th century goldrush in Central Victoria. Also on display is a necklace and two rings by Rowena Gough who was born in Maryborough and is one of the most accomplished contemporary jewellers in Australia.

Capturing the Wild – A series of photographs and paintings by Milton Moss is on display until August 16, 2016. Maryborough’s Milton says he has always been a keen wild weather landscape photographer. “I combined my two loves, painting these landscapes in oils, using my experience of being out in the weather and my photographs as the inspiration.” A free artist talk will be held on Wednesday, July 29 from 10.30am.

Link: www.centralgoldfieldsartgallery.com.au

Gigs

Daylesford Hotel, Daylesford

Okey Dokey Karaoke – Thursday, July 2, 6pm
Live piano – Friday, July 3, 6.30pm–9.30pm
Chloe’s Drag Bingo – Christmas in July – Thursday, July 16, 7pm
Christmas in July – Friday, July 17, 18 & 24, 5.30pm – Ticketed event
Live piano – Friday, July 31, 6.30pm-9.30pm
Link: www.daylesfordhotel.com.au

Well, good news, the slab is down and the walls are up. Nah, only joking, still nothing happening on our block.

However there has been a positive update. The permit has finally been signed off by Hepburn Shire Council, which is great, and also by the builders – Sherridon Homes.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum, I mean permit sign-off.
Kyle only told me a few days later that he had opened an email, late at night, from Sherridon telling us they could sign off on the building but they needed another $7800. Kyle thought it was for a few different things but it ended up being just for a rubble pit. (They didn’t send it late at night, it was just when it was opened.)
And Kyle decided the best thing to do was just sign it and send it back – we really are hoping to get some action on the block soon.
I found out about it the following day and was a little surprised that to supply and install a 2.0m x 1.0m x 0.8m rubble pit in case our tank overflows one day, would cost $7800.
Now I have no doubt it is needed for the engineers to sign off on – even though most homes around us seem to have pipes that just direct their overflow rainwater out to the street – where the council has spent some time digging channels for that very purpose.
But perhaps it has not worked as well as they hoped so we need a rubble pit for the water to churn around for a while, maybe drain off more gently, and then disappear down the gutter.
It seems like a lot of money to dig a hole, put down some PVC lining and then fill with some rocks. Or rubble.
I popped a query on Facebook and most people seemed to think between $1000 to $3000 would be the right price. Thank you to the builders and plumbers who gave us that advice.
Anyway, we decided to ask Sherridon if we could employ our own plumber – to save money – but they came back with a “no”. It had to be done by their people at their price.
So we wrote back again with a Not Happy Jan email and this time to the general manager. And then we got a call from a very nice bloke called Craig, who is one of the Sherridon management team, who said the amount was, in fact, wrong.
It was excessive and he was sorry that had happened. Apparently it was taken from a quote for another similar property, or something like that. So, just a mistake. And it turned out our rubble pit would be just $2500 – but they would still prefer to have their people do it.
So we said “yes” and we are back on each other’s Christmas card lists. But it does stand as a word of warning that if you are building, it is worth querying figures if they seem a bit high.
It reminded me of when we first got permission to subdivide and the council said we had to include a rain garden (which pretty much does the same job as a rubble pit) for the overflow of our tank on the existing property. Garden pictured above. Actually, we had a choice, a rain garden or we could donate $5000 to the council.
We didn’t have $5000 to donate, and if we did I would rather give it to a real charity, so we asked a gardener to make us a rain garden – and it came in at just over $500. Winning.
Now, with the cost of the rubble pit sorted, we can get on with the slab, some walls, the kind of stuff you can actually see – so far we have just paid out money for things like permits – not really exciting.
So, at the end of June, our mortgage on the new property is still being paid each month and there is still nothing on the block.
I hope that July is more productive. Watch this space.
Words: Donna Kelly