Telstra is upgrading its mobile base station at Victoria Park, Ballan-Daylesford Road, Daylesford with mobile services in the area temporarily affected.
The site will need to be switched off during Monday, September 15, 7am to Thursday, September 18, 7pm. There will be no Telstra mobile coverage from this site. On Friday, September 19 there will be interruptions to the Telstra mobile service during the day. Landline services, NBN, satellite internet services and mobile coverage from other providers will not be impacted.

New funding has been given to the Australian Local Government Women’s Association Victoria to deliver programs that will help women councillors grow the professional skills and networks they need to thrive in the local government sector.
As well, the establishment of the Mary Rogers Achievement Award will celebrate women councillors working to advance gender equality in the local government sector. The award is named after Victoria’s first woman councillor, Mary Rogers, who was elected to Richmond Council in 1920.
Got something to share? Email news@tlnews.com.au

Every Sunday – Daylesford Sunday Market

First Saturday – Trentham Neighbourhood Centre Makers Market, Woodend Farmers Market, Woodend Lions Market

Second Saturday – Trentham Community Group Market, Kyneton Farmers Market, Kyneton Rotary Community Market

Second Sunday – Maldon Market, Clunes Farmers Market

Third Saturday – Trentham Farmers Market and Makers Market, Glenlyon Farmers Market, Leonards Hill Market, Creswick Market

Third Sunday – Talbot Farmers Market,

Fourth Sunday – Daylesford Farmers Market, Trentham Station Sunday Market

Well here I am penning another article for you, the reader to enjoy…
This time we’ll be looking at smaller Australian native trees for the spring garden and beyond.
So let’s start with the acacias of which there are over one thousand species distributed throughout Australia, Africa and southern America, with the majority right here in Oz.
The common name of wattle is an Anglo-Saxon word meaning woven, referring to the saplings (acacias and others) that were woven or interleaved to form the framework in “wattle and daub” buildings during early colonial days. Right now around the Hepburn Shire you’ll be enjoying a great display of yellow flowers from the silver wattle (acacia dealbata); this species flowers before a similar species, the black wattle (acacia mearnsii).
Here’s a list of wattles you might like to track down and plant in your garden: acacia leprosa ‘scarlet blaze’ (the only wattle with orange-red flowers), a. glaucoptera (clay or flat wattle), a. elata (cedar wattle), a. pendula (weeping myall) and a. baileyana ‘purpurea’ (purple-leaved cootamundra wattle).

And now to the eucalypts. Some kind of challenge I’m setting myself, but here is a list of smaller species that would suit the home garden as opposed to large parks, reserves, botanic gardens and arboreta.
Eucalyptus forrestiana (fuchsia gum), e. scoparia (wallangarra white gum – I planted several at a Dry Diggings property and they’re doing well), e. crenulata (Victorian silver gum), e. macrocarpa (mottlecah – I came across a fine specimen growing in Bendigo) and corymbia ficifolia dwarf crimson (dwarf red flowering gum).
Perhaps not everyone’s cup of tea but to follow is a peek at some interesting conifers that give an almost exotic flavour to the garden landscape: callitris oblonga ‘glauca’ (blue-foliaged pygmy pine), prumnopitys ladei (brown pine) and Wollemia nobilis (Wollemi pine). The standout blue foliage of the pygmy pine and compact habit gives good structure to the landscape.
As a quick aside, we should all note that Aussie native plants can be planted amongst non-native species with great effect – think for example eucalyptus macrocarpa in the Grey Garden at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, the stunning white bark of e. scoparia and to offset any green-foliaged plant, the purple-leaved cootamundra wattle is a good choice.
And to finish off (in alphabetic order) a selection by genera (with one species each): banksia coccinea (scarlet banksia); brachychiton rupestris (Queensland bottle tree); callistemon citrinus ‘white Anzac’ (white-flowering bottlebrush); elaeocarpus reticulatus (blueberry ash); geijera parviflora (wilga); hakea francisiana (emu tree); leptospermum brachyandrum (silver weeping tea tree); melaleuca incana (grey honey myrtle); and telopea speciosissima ‘wirrimbirra white’ (white-flowering waratah)
Please note that the callistemon and melaleuca above can be shrubs when young but over time can be shaped to be more “tree-like”. I just had to include them for the striking white bottlebrush flowers and weeping soft grey foliage respectively.
I do hope you find this eclectic selection of smaller trees has piqued your interest and so, happy plant hunting.

Cheers JB (Trees in Australia)

Next time: Trees with outstanding
ornamental Bark.

Scan the QR code for JB’s Insta post.

A recent arrival at the Hepburn Wildlife Shelter has highlighted a critical problem that is endangering the survival of raptor populations and, indeed, all carnivorous bird (and mammal) species.
This includes our beloved kookaburras and owls.
A whistling kite was found sitting on a football oval and didn’t fly off when approached. This is unusual behaviour for any wild animal but particularly for a bird a bird of prey that is extremely wary of anything humanoid.
Fortunately, the woman that came across the grounded bird recognised that the kite was looking very unwell, with a fluffed-up appearance and lack of desire to flee. She gently wrapped the bird in her jumper and took it to the vet.
The vet took x-rays and ruled out any physical injuries such as broken bones or attack wounds. It was considered that perhaps the bird was blown from a tree in strong winds, but a healthy adult bird does not fall to the ground like a non-winged mammal unless it is already unwell or injured.

The Hepburn Wildlife Shelter was contacted about the bird and they understood straight away that the most likely cause of the whistling kite’s symptoms was rat bait poisoning.
Rodenticide (rat bait) poisoning is now a serious threat to birds of prey, not just in Australia but all across the world. In some regions, rodenticides have been found in 92 per cent of nocturnal avian hunters and up to 60 per cent for other raptors. The rodents eat the poison and the birds eat the unwell and easily caught rodents. The poison from the rodents is ingested by the bird and it accumulates in their system.
This is a slow and painful death for the bird as toxins reach damaging and lethal levels. Adult birds also feed poisoned rodents to their young, unknowingly killing them as they are trying to keep them healthy and well fed. Some birds, such as the much-loved tawny frogmouth, who do not normally prey on rodents, pick up unwell mice and rats easily.
This is a very distressing problem for our wildlife carers. For a bird to be able to recover from poisoning, it will require the careful administration of vitamin K, hand feeds and a warm, safe environment, and specialised facilities to recover their survival fitness.
Unfortunately, when the bird finally regains its health and is released back into the wild, there is a very high chance that it will be poisoned again. Over 70 per cent of birds do not survive rodenticide poisoning.
Deakin University is currently conducting research into the impact of rodenticide poisons on birds of prey across Victoria. They have found that magnificent animals such as the powerful owls and wedgetailed eagles are dying from these poisons or being weakened to such an extent that they are vulnerable to other threats. The university is asking for people to collect any dead bird of prey they find and to pop it in the freezer until it can be transported to the university for testing.
Anyone who finds a dead bird of prey can drop it off at the Hepburn Wildlife Shelter, or a vet, and it will be sent on to the university researchers.
For more information on this go to the Hepburn Wildlife Shelter Facebook page and please consider your options when looking to eradicate rodents.

Dr Marita McGuirk is a field ecologist and environmental scientist, and a volunteer at the Hepburn Wildlife Shelter. Marita writes monthly columns about the shelter and the animals it cares for. If you would like to donate or volunteer, or just to find out more information, head to www.hepburnwildlifeshelter.org
Gayle Chappell is co-founder of the Hepburn Wildlife Shelter, along with Jon Rowdon.

Founder of Circa Heritage and Lifestyle Property, Sue Gratton, is now spending a quietly carved-out portion of her time, not only transacting property sales for her vendors and purchasers, but finding an avenue to, in some small way, assist women in crisis.

Sue feels she is now in a place in her life where she can follow a long-held dream to help others, realising now that you don’t need to be a billionaire, which she is not, to begin to make a difference, and for her, like many, this issue has its personal connection.
“I am not sure any of us haven’t been touched by this in some way, shape or form, I have been in the past when I was significantly younger, and therefore, it has always been something I knew that one day I would want to try to do what I could in this space.
“I always thought that once I was in a position to help, that I would, but I never felt I was in that position, until now.”
This all changed when she was asked to attend an event held by TEN, an organisation led by 10 senior influential women in the property and construction industry with a mandate to connect and empower women to create meaningful impact. In 2019 TEN’s first fund-raising Charity Gala Lunch raised $250,000 for Housing All Australians to fund pop-up shelters to house women over 55 escaping domestic violence.
Its second Charity Gala Lunch raised over $630,000 for the Lighthouse Foundation to expand and improve a home for girls and young women escaping forced marriage and domestic slavery in Melbourne.
“I think my assistance alone, raised over $10,000 for the May 2025 luncheon, purely by my contacting people I had previously sold properties to, or for, who had fabulous accommodation attached to their property, and asking them if they might be open to donating a night or two to support this worthy cause.
“Properties were as far flung as Wedge House on King Island and Planetrees Estate in Stanley. I approached one of the golf courses on King Island, who were fabulous enough to donate rounds of golf, and even the newly renovated gastro pub in Stanley to provide a lovely meal for the lucky guests of Planetrees. The valuable lesson here was that it didn’t need me to have endless disposable dollars in the bank, but that with the right mindset, contacts and long-standing relationships built, effectively I didn’t have to be a multi-millionaire to fulfil one of my long-held dreams of helping women in crisis.”
Serendipity was at play it seems and Sue was asked next to sponsor the luncheon for Conversations That Matter: Voices for Change in June, which looked at: the financial barriers women face when navigating family violence; caregiving; legal systems; rebuilding independence; how policy, systems, and support services can better reflect the complexity of women’s lives; and the role of financial capability, advocacy, and community leadership in creating long-term safety and equity.
Money was also raised for Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre – 24/7 support for Victorians, through a silent auction with all proceeds going directly to support their work with women and children impacted by family violence.
Sue said she was committed to continuing to work for women’s causes and felt privileged to be in a position to do so, not because of a necessarily deep pocket of money, but with time, enthusiasm, connections, and energy.
“I lived overseas for many years and often felt I would never be able to give back but now fate has delivered me the opportunity to do just that, and to continue to take part in many other initiatives, that all have the goal of aiming to find ways for women to find places to live and thrive and succeed safely.
“Hopefully other like-minded people, if they are in the position to and where they can, will also make a difference to this but also to any cause across our society that stirs a sense of connection to and desire for support and change.”

Words: Donna Kelly | Image: Contributed

I went to the dentist last week. No big deal for most people but I have a huge fear of the dental chair.
It comes down to really crappy dentists as a child. I think they instilled fear that almost 60 years on is yet to settle.
Of course, there were good times. Like when I had to have a filling, but was so scared, the dentist gave me a full anaesthetic. Right out to the world. Just him and me. I think I was 10. No anaesthetist, no nurse and no parents on hand, which I think would be pretty much illegal these days.
Other fun visits included dentists starting to drill before the local anaesthetic had kicked in, one telling me I wouldn’t need any anaesthetic and just about having to peel me off the ceiling, and another who swore at the nurse when she dropped his tools on the floor.
He was a big bloke and it was a hot day but I still reckon he should have worn a tee shirt under that very small white coat. I said nothing. Not that I could anyway.
Why do dentists always wait until the cotton buds are in your mouth before trying to start a conversation?
Anyway, with a niggly, now and again pain, I decided to bite the bullet, or the x-ray pad and make a visit.
She was great. So nice, so kind and very prepared to listen and talk. She said lots of people my age have the same phobia and she also said some of the stories she heard were out of horror movies. Even her parents avoid the dentist and I imagine they get a family discount.
She showed me all the imaging and we decided on a plan. She pointed out a dark spot that was the niggly bit and then showed me where the nerve was. Quite close to each other.
I said: “I guess we don’t want them to meet.” And she said: “That would be what we call a root canal.” So we made another appointment for next week to fix that up sooner rather than later.
Another rough bit turned out to be a little bit chipped off a crown, which I have no memory of having done. Anyway, she is going to plane that down a bit. And do a clean. All next week.
Then I talked to her about getting veneers. I was quite the asthmatic kid and was given tetracycline quite a bit, a medication which was later found to discolour teeth in young kids.
When I turned 21 I was given $2000 by my parents and $1000 by my nan. To celebrate I got my top six front teeth crowned and my bottom four teeth veneered. The crowns were $600 each and the veneers were $100 each. Perfect.
Anyway, after 40 years (aghhh) they are looking a little shabby so I asked about getting them redone. Oddly the dentist said the top teeth were veneers and the bottom teeth had never been done. WTH?
I thanked her for telling me I had been ripped off by my dentist. I guess he just super cleaned the bottom ones? I really don’t know but I remember talking to the bloke who made the top veneers who said he preferred not to work with my dentist because he “preferred a simple life”. Hmmm.
Anyway, I got the quote for six top and six bottom veneers. Just a smidge over $20,000. You can always dream. Just sayin’…

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In my last column I wrote how proud I am to be Gen X and not a car-jacking hoodie-wearing, urban-dwelling Gen Z thug.
But I must admit as I tuned in the TV on the evening of August 31 after the nation’s marches, I have to pull my head in. As the cameras panned around there seemed to be a lot of my generation screaming Aussie Aussie Aussie, wrapped in the best synthetic flag material imported from China that money can buy.
The most eloquently spoken was the New Zealand-born Gen Y Thomas Sewell the neo-Nazi leader, who ironically spoke about turning away immigrants. The rest of the crowd weren’t exactly contributing to the dental industry, and by the looks of the turnout numbers, certainly didn’t represent the majority of Australians.
One bloke had his moment on TV but when asked by the ABC reporter what he was there for started smearing Vegemite on his face in a war-paint style. Looking down the barrel of the camera he said: “I’ve got one word to say to you Albo,” and went on for a full two minutes winding up with “you’re fired, Albo.” WTH?

Another peanut in Brisbane was spotted picking up a kebab at the multicultural food fair across the road from the white Australian march to keep his white supremacist energy levels up. It can get hot in those marches and there’s nothing like a $9.99 kebab pack special including a bottle of water and chicken-salted chips to keep the vitriol flowing. I wonder if Katter had one at the Townsville rally?
It feels like I have been stashed under a rock. I had no idea there was so much hatred out in the community, where did these people come from – and all over Australia? I suppose the whole thing’s been put together on “The Facebook”.
It seems like a few rebels without a cause have landed on some sort of common ground, to stop immigration. But this cause is full of contrary and conflicting messaging. The great unwashed were at the marches right across the country with mix-matched diatribe. Apart from Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, (you know the rest) their gripes included mainstream media being fake, the housing market, too many people from different cultures coming in and basically grumbling and moaning about their lot in life. And when the smartest one in the room (and that wasn’t hard), old mate Thomas Sewell was asked how long we should stop immigration for, he hadn’t thought the question through, offering up five to 10 years – with a shoulder shrug.
I am an immigrant to Australia. They let me in in 1994 and I became a citizen in the early part of this century, celebrating by getting rather inebriated at a Chinese restaurant in Frankston. But that seems to be okay, because I’m from New Zealand, a knockabout white man who fits in and shares a love of a Bunnings’ breakfast. But if I had come in from a different part of the world my immigration story would be so much different because I apparently wouldn’t fit in.
But come on guys, get your act together, let’s not pull out the racist card and give oxygen to the Romper Stomper Mo-Fo brigade.
Our forefathers fought long and hard to stomp them out. If we have issues sure, march about them, shout from the rooftops, but do it in a civilised way and maybe get a brand manager on board and drill down to just one memorandum to espouse.
Don’t want any part of it, rant over…

(Ed’s note: With the Chinese restaurant, I had arranged for about 12 of our friends to gather as a surprise. When we entered the restaurant, Kyle looked over, and said, with wonder: “Wow, all our friends are here on the same night. What a coincidence.” He had joked with my Nan saying he would need to lose half his brain to become an Australian, and she shot back “but that will leave you with nothing”. Go Nan.)

Iconic fashion designer and artist Prue Acton, also known as Australia’s ‘golden girl of fashion’ during the 1960s, will open Daylesford Arts upcoming exhibition, Connected Horizons, on Thursday, September 25.
The arts collective was formed three years ago to enable local artists, established and emerging, to join a group of like-minded people offering support and an opportunity to exhibit on a regular basis.
The collective is now incorporated and since its inception, has grown and established itself in the community. Part of its remit as Daylesford Regional Arts Co-operative is to help support the community and raise money for worthy causes as well as promoting art.
Last year Daylesford Arts had its inaugural major exhibition and raised more than $2000 for charity and sold over $10,000 worth of art.

This year there will be an auction of art works, donated goods and experiences from its artists and sponsors with all monies raised going to the Hepburn Wildlife Shelter.
The title, Connected Horizons, was chosen to symbolise ‘bringing people together through art’.
The Gala opening night party will be held at Stanbridge Hall, Daylesford on Thursday, September 25 from 5.30pm to 7.30pm.
Ticket price of $25 includes a complimentary drink and finger food. Further drinks are at bar prices. Art will also be available for purchase.
The exhibition is open on the Grand Final long weekend from Thursday, September 25 to Sunday, September 28 from 10am to 4pm.

Pictured, Daylesford Arts secretary Leonie Leivenzon and president Pam Gleeson with artworks outside Stanbridge Hall, and kangaroos at Hepburn Wildlife Shelter

Link: www.daylesfordarts.com.au

An item from the news: eagle-eyed members of the “news” media recently noticed something unusual about the physical condition of the US president, Donald J Trump, known to many here as Mad King Donny, or as Dear Leader, in homage to his close friend Kim Jong Un, supreme leader of North Korea.
Two things from the news, actually. In a photograph of the president, who is rarely seen in public without a heavy coating of orange-coloured Spackle, it was observed that the back of one of his hands had been plastered with an almost skin-toned substance in an obvious attempt to hide some kind of wound or abrasion.
In a move that surprised no one, Dear Leader’s media team quickly issued a lie, claiming that the Selleys gap-filler had been applied to the president’s hand to cover up bruising caused by it having received too many manly handshakes from his many manly admirers.
This bit of nonsense led the intrepid “news” media to examine more photographs of Dear Leader, whereby it was decided that either the president was wearing six pairs of heavy woollen socks, or his ankles were showing signs of extreme swelling.
This next bit is what in the “news” media is called doing a “backgrounder”. US president Donald J Trump is 79 years old. He is visibly overweight and has made known his preferred diet of chain-store food and diet Coke.
He does not exercise and his only outdoor activity is golfing; he never walks a course, he drives a cart. And where previous presidents since that nice Richard Nixon in the 1960s underwent medical exams and chose to release the results to the public, Dear Leader’s medics instead issue reports declaring him to be “in very good health”.
Eventually Dear Leader’s media corp were forced to come up with a plausible sounding condition to explain the plastered-over hand scar and the ankles swelling over the tops of his shoes: it’s “chronic venous insufficiency”, and happily it can be written off as “not a serious medical condition,” “treatable”, and “very common in older adults”, according to Dear Leader’s mouthpiece, Karoline Leavitt, who might be the most accomplished teller of tales to hold the position of White House press secretary.
Until CNN’s Jake Tapper, author of the recent non-seller book Original Sin, which blew the lid off the cover-up that former president Joe Biden was old, decides the time is right to publish a new book about Dear Leader’s dirty secret – that he’s old too, and fat – we might never know the truth about his “chronic venous insufficiency”, or CVI. But in the unlikely event that Dear Leader’s media handlers are telling the truth, and all he does have is CVI, one part of its treatment is with blood-thinning medication, and the most common trademarked blood-thinning medication is Eliquis.

Here is where I, the reporter, breaks the fourth wall, turning to you, the audience, and reveals that I too have been diagnosed with a medical condition for which a blood thinner has been prescribed.
I went to a cardiologist here in my northern California hometown, he said I had a condition and needed to take a blood thinner, Eliquis. Now, my father was also on Eliquis so I knew it was expensive. How expensive, you ask? Costs vary but generally it’s more than $US800 for 60 tablets, without insurance. Users can sometimes find discounts that bring the price down to about $480.
I told the cardiologist that I simply could not afford Eliquis. Anticipating my response, he told me not to worry, that he would write my prescription for a pharmacy in Canada, where the medication is available in generic form, apixaban, not controlled under patent by a US-based pharmaceutical company. That way, the cost to me would be about $US160 for 180 tablets.
That relationship has been going along fine for the past two years, until our Dear Leader decided to start a trade war with Canada, with me caught in the crossfire.
My most recent shipment of this seemingly vital medication failed to arrive, and then one day I received a notification from the US Food and Drug Administration telling me that my medication had been “detained” and subject to “administrative destruction”.
I sent back a reply, which attracted this response: “Due to the HHS [Health and Human Services] restructuring, effective April 1, 2025, our response time may vary. Thank you for your patience.”
A series of emails followed, culminating in this:”We understand there may be a cost difference of drugs purchased in another country. However, please be advised that cost is not a factor considered for personal use.”
So, a doctor prescribes a medication that presumably is important for the patient’s wellbeing, and also facilitates a cheaper source of the medication. But according to the US government, the cost of the medication. which is largely determined by government policy, is of no interest. That’s good to know.

OK, here’s that second news item. In early July it was reported that Dear Leader (let’s go with Mad King Donny here) was upset about Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Apparently those same Big Pharma folks who keep my Eliquis incredibly expensive don’t like Australians having access to cheaper medications and want the Mad King to apply his tariffs blowtorch – 200 per cent on pharmaceuticals and 50 per cent on copper, along with his previous hits on steel and aluminium.
The Albanese government has reportedly been negotiating with the US but, really, is there any way to make sense of the Mad King?

A packet of Eliquis, and one tablet of Eliquis, left, and one of generic apixaban

Former Wheatsheaf resident Jeff Glorfeld, and his wife Carol, went back some years ago to California, the land of his birth, where they have survived bushfires, snowstorms and drought. And Trump. And Covid. And Trump again. Jeff is also the voice behind The Down Under Hour broadcast every Wednesday at 1pm, in California, on radio KKRN 88.5FM. The show can be live-streamed at KKRN.org In Victoria that’s 7am Thursday.

The 2025 Words in Winter festival has wrapped up, leaving the region buzzing with energy and cementing its status as a monumental success.
The festival opened in spectacular fashion with a Welcome to Country by Djaara Elder Aunty Sandra Barber, moving readings from Daylesford Secondary College students, and beautiful performances by The Honey Tones choir.
The evening also saw the emotional induction of ceramicist Petrus Spronk and community pillar David Hall, pictured bottom middle, into the festival’s Hall of Fame, honouring their immense contributions to our local arts landscape.
This year’s expanded program, spanning two weekends, saw record attendance as locals and visitors flocked to experience the theme of Light in the Dark.

The festival was marked by several sold-out events that created an incredible buzz, including the powerful play reading of Big Beautiful Female Theory at the Daylesford Hotel. Audiences also packed venues for the deeply impactful Understanding Palestine with Yousef Alreemawi and Toby Sime’s fiery analysis of T.S. Eliot’s The Wasteland.

Beyond the brilliant words and performances, the festival’s success was felt deeply by our local community. Nightly events dazzled attendees, from the swishy, fun-filled Gala complete with literary karaoke to the profoundly moving Better Off Said salon with Emilie Zoey Baker and Marieke Hardy, which moved effortlessly between tears and laughter.
As the final chapter closes on this year’s event, the overwhelming feeling is one of pride for what our community has created together and eager anticipation for what will come next.

Words: Festival producer Devon Taylor | Images: Words in Winter Festival

Odessa at Leaver’s, Creswick

Hugo Race & Michelangelo Russo – Friday, September 12
Juan and The Guilt Zone (trio) – Friday, September 19
Lachie Gill – Saturday, September 20
Skyscraper Stan – Sunday, September 21
Rebecca Barnard sings Joni Mitchell – Saturday, September 27

Theatre Royal, Castlemaine

Vince Jones Quintet
– Sunday, September 14
After a sold-out performance for the Castlemaine Jazz Festival ’24, the Theatre Royal is excited to welcome back a true icon of Australian jazz Vince Jones.
Nicknamed Australia’s national treasure, multi ARIA-awarded Vince Jones (vocalist, trumpeter and songwriter) is one of the most beloved iconic voices in Australian music.
For more than five decades he’s carved out a singular space in the musical landscape, blending cool jazz, soul and sophisticated song writing with a lyrical honesty that speaks straight to the heart.
From his breakthrough in the early 80s to creating the highest-selling Oz jazz album to date Come in Spinner (a much loved ABC TV series soundtrack) to performing at leading European and US festivals, Vince is recognised as one of the country’s most influential artists for his trumpeting as much as his deeply expressive vocals.
This special 50th anniversary show promises a nostalgic celebration of classics such as Trustworthy Little Sweethearts, Nature of Power and Rainbow Cake.
Tickets: Oztix & Theatre Royal | Image: Creswick Collective

Nikki Lane – October 10

Nashville’s outlaw country queen, Nikki returns to Australia for the first time in 11 years, bringing her signature blend of vintage country and rock ‘n’ roll swagger to stages in Castlemaine at Theatre Royal, October 10 and at the now legendary Americana festival, Out on the Weekend, the following day.
Born as a Baptist in South Carolina, Nikki discovered music as an outlet for creative expression from an early age, dropping out of school at 17 to move to LA, then to New York and finally settling in Nashville where she launched her songwriting career and a vintage clothing store. With three albums out, Nikki released the highly praised Denim & Diamonds in 2022 which was produced by Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme and has since collaborated with the likes of Lana Del Rey and Sierra Ferrell. In June, Lane released a surprise single, Woodruff City Limit, setting the scene for an exciting year ahead of new music and style from the star.

Cosmopolitan Hotel, Trentham

Cat Canteri – Saturday, September 6
Kier Stevens – Saturday, September 13
Nathan Seeckts – Saturday, September 20

Watch a movie
Central Victoria Climate Action is co-hosting a screening of Turning the Ship at Radius Art in Hepburn on Sunday, September 14.
Turning the Ship tells the story of the passion and drive of Rising Tide and the extraordinary 2024 People’s Blockade of the World’s Largest Coal Port – the highs, the lows and the triumphs. The screening will kick-off at 4pm and will be followed by a Q&A session with local community members who attended the people’s blockade in 2024. The screening is free but RSVPs are essential at www.risingtide.org.au/film/hpbrnsprngs

See a play
The Vessel, by Trentham’s Dawn Bamforth, is a gutsy, topical exploration of all that is right and wrong with aged care.
Inspired in part by the demise of her own mother from the ravages of dementia, and ably assisted by a team of actors and creatives from regional Victoria, The Vessel, is a gentle retelling of the life of an older woman, Mary, in the latter stages of the disease, now living in aged care. The Vessel is part of this year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival with shows at Theatreworks, 14 Acland Street, St Kilda from October 14 to 18 from 6pm. Tickets: www.melbournefringe.com.au or 9660 9666.