Want to be a part of one of the longest running heritage festivals in Daylesford? Then you need to keep a couple of dates free.

The Daylesford Highland Gathering, founded in 1952, is keen to hear from people from all walks of life who would like to become members – and hopefully committee members.

The current committee, made up of John McColl (president), David Smith (vice president), Anne Heriot (secretary), Bob Orr (treasurer and life member), Keith and Rosalind Pyers (life members), Rhonda Smith and Barbara McColl, have given 20 years of service – Keith and Rosalind have actually clocked up 40 years each – and would like to see some new blood, and perhaps younger people, take over.

John said most of the committee were at the “retiring stage” and while they had enjoyed seeing the December festival thrive, it was time to step down.

“We are holding a public meeting for new members to sign up in February and then we hope that some of them will take up committee positions at the AGM in March.”

Anne said her involvement was all about the Scottish heritage of the event – and a long-held love of Scottish dancing.

“I started as a Highland dancer here when I was just four years old and I danced every year for 14 years. I love the history of the event and we want that to continue for another 72 years at least.

“I still dance with the Ballarat Scottish Country Dancing Association in Daylesford’s Masonic Hall every fortnight – and we all danced at the event last year. It’s always lots of fun.”

Keith said a new committee would be offered as much assistance as needed and with 20 years of hard work already done, all the processes were well in place.

“We have a very strong financial position, thanks to our strong and perhaps partly Scottish committee, and we built a great shed at Victoria Park which has the latest equipment in it.

“The Hepburn Shire Council has been very supportive each year and we also get excellent support from local businesses.

“It’s also great from a volunteer point of view that you hold the gathering in December and then it’s pretty much time out until October apart from a few things to tie up.

“We’ve also just recruited the Daylesford Football Netball Club to help with some of the heavy lifting in the leadup and on the day.

“It’s a very viable operation and this wonderful group of people are only stepping away because they are getting a little older. Being able to continue this heritage is something to be very proud of.”

A public meeting to recruit new members will be held at the Mitchell Hall in Daylesford (next to the Uniting Church in Central Springs Road) on Wednesday, February 21 at 7.30pm. The AGM will then be held at the same venue on Wednesday, March 6 at 7.30pm.

The history of the Daylesford Highland Gathering Founded in 1952 the Scottish festival has become an integral part of Daylesford’s diverse culture. It is the second-oldest event in the local calendar, runner-up only to the Daylesford & District Agricultural Show, which started in 1865.

Held in early December it is the first event of the new season of Highland Gatherings in Victoria each year with its location of Victoria Park offering a beautiful summer setting.

Hepburn Shire Council has helped the committee for 40 years with shire workers erecting the dancing platforms and ensuring Victoria Park is in its best condition.

Since the foundation years in the 1950s many distinguished citizens have acted as Official Openers and taken on the honourable role of Chieftain.

The list is impressive and includes state governors, current and ex state premiers, police commissioners, federal and state ministers, future prime ministers, local MPs (both state and federal)
and even a bishop.

A red-letter day was when Sir Edward “Weary” Dunlop graced the event as a dignitary.

The Daylesford Highland Gathering is now an important part of local experience and brings colour and music to the community as well as drawing attention to the strong Scottish ancestry of Victoria’s Western District.

Words: Donna Kelly. Committee image: Kyle Barnes. File image: Contributed

Showcasing the athleticism of one of the toughest jobs in modern agriculture,  Clunes Quick Shear has become a favourite competitive fixture on the calender of pro shearers both local and from across the ditch.

It may not  be included as a competitive Olympic sport just yet, but the Clunes & District Young Farmers are once again staging the niche competitive event at the town’s showgrounds with the date set for Saturday February 24.

“This is our our eighth annual Quick Shear, after a couple of prior test runs,’ Clunes & District Young Farmers’ treasurer Jenny Redpath says.

The main showcase spectacle of the day is the Quick Shear competition  featuring three different categories – novice, intermediate and open.

The competition has a reputation for being pretty robust, attracting gun shearers and plenty of top athletic talent from among the Aussie shearing and Kiwi shearing pro circuits.

There are some good cash prizes up for grabs and with various Quick Shear comps out there besides Clunes’, Jenny says top shearers have a tendency to follow the Quick Shear competitive circuit, supplementing their income when they make off with the spoils.

A main highlight of the day at Clunes is the Aussie versus Kiwi relay event, a crowd-pleaser, with the Aussies  likely to be out to settle the score this year and to avoid coming away feeling sheepish this time round.

There’s also a lively dash for cash competition, creating a second chance for those who missed out in the earlier main event to take another tilt at securing some prize-winnings.

It’s a family-friendly day and apart from anything else, offers an entertaining spectacle. Jenny says a barbecue will be among the on-site food options with drinks at bar prices and camping available at the showgrounds.

“The shearers are just amazing to watch, the way they move and position the sheep to make sure they’re safe and comfortable,” Jenny says.

“It is a skill we need to continue. We want to encourage the younger generations to get into shearing and build their skills.” 

Every year that it’s been held, Clunes Quick Shear has raised money to support a worthy cause or charity, carefully selected by the Young Farmers, and this year’s cause is the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Jenny says the event has built up a strong following attracting 54 shearers last year including a notable contingent of New Zealanders and even a couple of  visiting English shearers as well.

“Yes, we definitely get a lot. Last year we were ten shearers up on the year before and we even had a couple from England – a boyfriend and girlfriend who were both shearers. There is usually a good amount of women who enter as well.

“We also have an auction and raffles with lots of good prizes.”

There’ll also be a commentated blade shearing demo, children’s activities and live music featuring pub rock outfit, Cut Lunch.

Entry is by gold coin donation with the day set to get started at the showgrounds from 2pm.

Words & Image: Eve Lamb

Long-time Daylesford resident Megan Jones whoops for joy as she tells of at last becoming a poster girl. At 70.

She’s on the poster for a new play by Hepburn’s Adam Fawcett. Called Every Lovely Terrible Thing, he says it is two acts of family mayhem , funny, chaotic, surprising, with ghosts and magic realism.

A prodigal daughter returns to the family home after 10 years with a secret that threatens to blow everyone up. It even has Megan bursting out of a coffin to sing Don’t Rain on My Parade.

Four years in the writing, the play is co-commissioned by Lab Kelpie, the biggest and first for the 12-year-old company since being based here.

“This shows the strength of independent artists and companies working in regional Victoria who can take a high-quality work like this and stand next to our metropolitan contemporaries.,” Adam says.

Megan’s last stage appearance was 15 years ago in a play called The Prostitute. Amazingly, she got the role after a woman asked her, while she was sitting in the foyer of the North Melbourne Arts Hub, whether she was an actor.

Her record could scarcely be more impressive: besides acting, she is a theatre and circus director, working for 40 years with a wide range of independent artists, companies and organisations, creating more than 80 original theatre shows and 20 main stage circus shows.

Trained with master teachers in London and Moscow, she founded Machination Theatre Ensemble which over the six years of its existence was picked from 60 companies to be on the VCE Drama playlist, being awarded for its contribution.

Adam, 41, says he started writing the play before meeting Megan. “When I got stuck, I went to her, and she was a mentor and gave me encouragement.”

In spite of the seeming toughness of the plot, he stresses that it is “not trauma porn”.

A third play by Adam, Men on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, is a finalist in the 2024 Midsumma Queer Playwriting Award, while a work of prose fiction, Black Rainbow, is a finalist in a new writing award, the Pearl Prize for 750-word pieces to be announced next month.

For her part, Megan says, “He is original in his approach, well balanced and his work is unique because I’ve never seen this topic dealt with in this way. Some people might have a cry here and there, but there’s a lot of comedy.”

Another local involved is costume designer Martelle Hunt, whose credits extend from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to Shakespeare and musicals. The birth of this play may lead to fresh projects, such as theatre classes.

Every Lovely Terrible Thing is on at Theatre Works, St Kilda, from February 29 to March 16. Tickets available from theatreworks.com.au

Story & image: Kevin Childs

The field full of sunflowers on the outskirts of Clunes has been attracting its fair share of attention.

Growing these golden glories is a bit different here but all going well with the crop, that’s been planted by Miners Rest’s Andrew Fraser in a shares arrangement with Clunes’ Malcolm Hull, they may just become a more common sight into the future.

Long time Clunes local Malcolm Hull, who owns the paddock, says they’re growing the 12 hectare crop after Andrew approached him back in September with the slightly different farming proposal.

“We own the land and he’s got the skills and machines,” says Malcolm.

Andrew Fraser runs Frakel Farming Produce, a stock-feed business selling hay and a wide range of livestock-feed grains that he also grows.

The anticipated sunflower seeds are destined for use as quality animal feed ranging from birdseed to a component in horse feed mixes, Andrew says.

It’s the first time he has diversified into growing sunflowers and it’s all a bit experimental, but so far – fingers crossed – the weather has actually been on side.

“It’s been quite a damp summer which has been a bit of a Godsend for this crop,” Malcolm says.

It’s not believed to be the very first sunflower crop ever planted in Clunes as a commercial venture but, that said, it’s been a very long time since the immediate area saw its last field full of sunflowers grown on such a scale.

“I’d say it’s the first crop grown here for a very long time. I’d say we’d probably have to go back to the early ‘90s when one was grown in the Mount Beckworth area,” says Malcolm whose family goes way back at Clunes.

“My father always used to call this paddock (that the sunflowers are growing in) Kelly’s paddock after the family that once owned it.”

There are currently just a handful of other commercial sunflower crops in across the wider district including one at Ascot further down the road toward Ballarat.

Andrew Fraser is also growing that crop in a partnership arrangement with another local there.

“It’s a summer crop and it’s my first crop of sunflowers, says Andrew. “I put the Clunes crop in about a week before the one at Ascot.

“The reason I decided to grow it is just because it’s so hard to find sunflower seed. Normally it’s  grown in the top part of New South Wales or in Queensland, and around Shepparton too, a lot further north.

“I‘ve seen a crop in Smeaton a few years ago.”

They’re also known to be grown at Dunnstown near Ballarat.

Andrew and Malcolm say the 12 hectare crop at Clunes was sown back in October and it’s been pretty straightforward since then, with a late application of fertiliser administered a little while back, and harvest now anticipated toward the end of March.

It may possibly be necessary to rig up some gas scare guns to operate during daylight hours just to keep the potential interest from cockies and corellas at bay as the seeds ripen, Andrew anticipates.

“It’s something a bit different here but in Europe there’s tens of thousands of acres grown for oil production,” Malcolm says.

“We were in France back in 2019 and there was just paddock upon paddock of them.

“They’re certainly eye-catching and there’s been plenty of inquiries  and people interested in it,”

“We’ll just see how it goes this year and if it’s a good-yielding crop maybe we could look at growing them for oil.”

Words: Eve Lamb

Police have been investigating a fatal crash that occurred in Whittlesea on Sunday.

Officers have been told a ute was travelling along Wallan Road when it left the road and crashed into a tree, about 4:30pm, Sunday January 28.

An 89-year-old Wallan man, the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle, died at the scene.

The exact circumstances surrounding the crash are yet to be determined and investigations remain ongoing.

Anyone who witnessed the collision, with dashcam footage or information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via the Crime Stoppers website.

The Lyonville Woodchop will be held at the Lyonville Hall on Saturday, February 3 from 10.30am.

Once again, this iconic event will provide a showcase for the prowess of axe-wielders and hammer–hefting ladies at the nail drive competition.

This year’s event promises a new experience as pine wood will be used due to the difficulty of securing suitable local eucalypt wood.

All the usual attractions will be available – a bar, barbeque, barista coffee, cakes and light lunch stall, plus a raffle and spinning wheel – with lots of great prizes to be won.

Proceeds go towards the maintenance and improvement of the Lyonville Hall, the local community hub. Entry is $5, children admitted free.

EV drivers have been delighted to see Creswick’s 50kW fast charge station is finally back online.

CCTV surveillance equipment to protect the public Chargefox charge station was installed last month after the new and much anticipated charge point was taken offline after it was vandalised last August.

In recent days the station was reactivated and was quickly pressed into use by EV drivers keen to get a top-up charge. Its repair and re-activation was swiftly publicised on the online PlugShare platform from January 17.

With an ever-increasing number of motorists planning to make their next vehicle purchase an EV, first-hand experience of owning and using an electric vehicle is now set to be the focus of discussion by a knowledgeable panel of speakers at the free community ‘Green Drinks’ event happening Thursday, February 15 at Ballarat’s Bunch of Grapes Hotel.

Set to start from 6.30pm and the first talk for Green Drinks in 2024, the panel discussion will be led by BREAZE (Ballarat Renewable Energy and Zero Emissions) president Campbell Mercer with four local EV owners sharing their experiences.

The panel will include: Gavin Cerini – BYD Atto 3; Paul Duggan -Tesla 3; Merle Hathaway – Mini EV; and Pat Hockey – Nissan Leaf.

The free community discussion is timed to lead into Buninyong’s Smart Living Expo on Sunday, February 25 from 10am to 3.30pm at Royal Park, Buninyong.

In 2023 Campbell Mercer coordinated the Good Car Company’s Show & Shine event in Ballarat, offering locals a chance to check out and test drive a range of second-hand EVs.

The number of new EV sales doubled in Australia over the past year, which means there will be more second-hand EVs coming on-stream, making the transition more affordable, organisers of the upcoming Green Drinks event say.

They say those who are keen to learn more about EVs are welcome to attend with questions ready to put to the panel on Thursday, February 15. Tickets: TryBooking

Words & Image: Eve Lamb

Police arrested a woman in Weir Views last weekend as part of a Financial Crime Squad investigation into a fraudulent conveyancer.

The 48-year-old woman was arrested with assistance from the Fugitive Squad at a property on Opalia Plaza just after 3pm on Saturday, 27 January.

She was interviewed by police and subsequently charged with obtain financial advantage by deception.

The woman was remanded to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 13 May.

Her arrest forms part of an investigation into a series of incidents between October 2022 and August 2023 where it’s alleged over $5 million of client funds were retained from property transactions.

Police will also allege that the conveyancer, who was operating from an Avondale Heights office, falsified a range of documents including cheques and loan documentation.

At least 23 victims have been identified at this time, the majority of which are from the Vietnamese community.

Detectives have also worked closely with the ATO as part of this investigation and AUSTRAC, Australia’s Financial Intelligence Unit also provided instrumental information for this matter.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a report online via the Crime Stoppers website.

The Local Publishing Group has been awarded Best Regional Home & Country Lifestyle Media Publishing Group 2024 in APAC Insider’s eighth annual Australian Enterprise Awards.

APAC spokesperson Kaven Oscar Cooper said to determine the results, “our judging panel and research
team take into consideration the commitment, expertise, and innovation demonstrated by nominees through nomination information, voting information, and any supporting evidence you have supplied – plus results from their own extensive research”.

APAC’s website says over the years it has been committed to shining a light on the very best of
Australian business.

“Australia is known for its diverse and resilient economy, with the country experiencing an
uninterrupted period of growth over the three decades prior to the Covid-19 outbreak of 2020.

“In the years following the pandemic, Australian industry has experienced various challenges but has been recovering at a quicker rate than many of the world’s other top economies.

In fact, Australia currently ranks as the 12th largest GDP worldwide, which it has achieved
despite its much smaller population in comparison to the countries placing higher in the list.

“Through the Australian Enterprise Awards 2024, APAC Insider recognises the key players driving
innovation across the variety of sectors that make up Australia’s dynamic business market. We use a strict merit-based approach to assess all nominees.”

Editor Donna Kelly said The Local Publishing Group was thrilled to receive news of the award.

“We found out a little while back we were nominated, not sure who by, and then they let us know
we had won.

“It was all a bit surprising but also such a great thrill. You always hope you are doing a good job – and we do get lots of very nice feedback – but when something like this comes into your inbox it’s lovely. Made my day.”

General manager Kyle Barnes said the industry had been challenged during the pandemic but now it was back on track and stronger than ever.

“We had a few moments there when we thought we might have to just produce a digital publication but really, if you are not in print, then you’re not really a newspaper.

“And our readers still love print. Even when they have already read us online at tlnews.com.au, they still
pick up their printed copy from around the shire.

“We know that every edition gets snapped up – and some people have collections back to the first edition in 2013.

“We also want to thank our clients and readers. We do it for them really. This is their award.”

Speeding drivers made up almost half of offences detected by police during a four-day statewide road policing operation over the Australia day long weekend.

Operation Amity saw police highly visible and enforcing across Victorian roads and highways in an effort to reduce road trauma.

Police detected 2,261 speeding offences, with three quarters of those detections for speeding between 10km/h and 25km/h over the speed limit.

A total of 5,206 traffic offences were detected during Operation Amity, including:

• 2,261 speeding offences – 1,742 of these for speeding between 10km/h and 25km/h over the limit

• 301 disqualified, suspended and unlicensed drivers

• 154 drink driving offences from 77,058 preliminary breath tests

• 121 drug driving offences from 2,142 roadside drug tests

• 221 disobey signs/signals

• 211 mobile phone offences

• 79 seatbelt offences

• 77 vehicle impoundments

• 447 unregistered vehicles

There were two lives lost on Victorian roads over the long weekend, including a 59-year-old Wodonga who died following a motorcycle crash in Guys Forest on Saturday 27 January, and an 89-year-old Wallan man who died when his car collided with a tree in Whittlesea on Sunday 28 January.

The weekend’s fatalities bring Victoria’s lives lost to 22, compared to 28 at the same time last year.

With the return of school this week, police are urging motorists to adhere to the 40km/h speed limit in school zones and are warning that reduced speeds will be actively enforced.

Operation Amity ran from 12:01am Thursday 25 January to 11:59pm Sunday 28 January.

Road Policing Assistant Commissioner, Glenn Weir: “Despite our warnings, we continue to detect a concerningly high number of motorists for speeding during these long weekend operations.

“Most speed detections are for low to mid-range speeding, which suggests to us that many motorists think it’s acceptable to travel just a little bit over the speed limit.

“What many motorists don’t seem to grasp is that speeding continues to be the leading cause of serious injury and fatal collisions – a quarter of last year’s fatal collisions were as a result of speed.

“Any form of excessive or inappropriate speed, whether it be 5km/h to 25km/h over the limit, significantly increases the likelihood of being involved in a collision.

“We need people to stop being reckless and speeding unnecessarily to get to your destination faster – you’d rather arrive 5 or 10 minutes late, than not at all.

“We’ll continue to prioritise speeding enforcement and with school returning this week, we’ll be focusing on enforcing speed limits around school zones”.

Creswick’s Neville Cartledge OAM and Pat Tacey have shared the top honour and jointly been named Hepburn Shire Citizen of the Year.

Alice Newitt was named Young Person of the Year, with a special commendation to the youth band, Elysium, while ChillOut Festival took out Event of the Year.

Mr Cartledge has long been a contributor to the Creswick community. He began raising funds for the Creswick Hospital in 1953, and joined the Creswick Hospital Board in 1970. In 1983 he became a foundation board member of the John Curtin Memorial Hostel Committee.

He has made an enormous contribution to scouting in the district over his 70 years of service, during which time he trained 33 Queen Scouts, an extraordinary number from one scout group, and is also a Scout Life Member for Victoria.

He has also been a member of the CFA since he was 17, last year marking 68 years of service.

Mr Tacey has also made an incredible contribution to the Creswick community. His experience as an educator and leader has come to the fore in his work leading community resilience and disaster recovery efforts in Creswick, as well as fundraising for Creswick residents in need, distributing essential resources and supporting mental health programs in Hepburn Shire.

Mr Tacey works collaboratively with groups and organisations and is described as always having the community at heart.

Ms Newitt is an active volunteer with the Clunes Football Netball Club, Clunes Booktown Festival, Hepburn Shire Youth Forum and as a dance leader for young people through Clunes Neighbourhood House.

ChillOut Festival took out the Event of the Year award, an event that brought more than 30,000 people to the shire last year. ChillOut is an incredibly successful, fun and colourful event which has grown to become Australia’s largest queer country pride festival since its inception in 1997.

Others nominated for Citizen of the Year were Michelle Clifford, Wendy McKillop, Trish McMahon, Jenni Sewell and Margaret Orr.

Other Event of the Year nominees were Calembeen Parkrun Launch, CresFest 2023, Spud Hut Tours during Spudfest and Creswick NAIDOC Week Celebrations.

The council will create a new category for the 2025 awards. This will be the Hepburn Together Award, which will recognise and celebrate the contribution of community groups and organisations. Nominations for the 2025 Community Awards will open later this year.

Words & image: Contributed

Police have arrested a man over a spate of alleged burglaries at schools in the Cardinia area over the past month.

Pakenham Police were patrolling the Officer area on Friday 19 January, when they arrested a man during an alleged burglary at a primary school on Bridge Road, about 4am.

Further inquiries have allegedly linked the man to several other burglaries, including at a primary school on Tivendale Road, Officer on the same day.

Investigators executed a search warrant at a home on Ash Crescent, Pakenham, yesterday afternoon, where they seized tools believed to have been stolen during burglaries at an additional three schools in Berwick and Officer on 18 and 19 January.

Police also seized items including a stand-up paddle board allegedly linking the man to a burglary at a camping store in Pakenham on 3 January, as well as a camper trailer valued at $30,000, believed to have been stolen from Innovation Way, Pakenham on 12 January.

The 40-year-old was remanded in custody to appear in Dandenong Magistrate’s Court last Tuesday, January 23.

The Australian Van Morrison Show is set to captivate audiences at The Palais in Hepburn Springs on Saturday, February 10th, 2024, following their sold-out success in Tasmania, Perth, and Melbourne.

Fronted by soul singer Steve Boyd and his 8-piece band, the evening promises a nostalgic journey to the golden age of pop music from the 60s, 70s, and 80s, exploring the extraordinary songbook of the iconic Van Morrison.

Steve Boyd, a respected singer-songwriter, pays a rare musical tribute to Van Morrison, with performances limited to select venues across Australia each year.

Expressing his deep admiration, Boyd states: “A tribute should honor the artist, and I love Van. I never want to tire of singing his songs. The show emphasizes celebrating Van’s timeless classics rather than imitation.

Boyd asserts, “We are not trying to copy Van; we are just playing his great songs.”

Known for his talents as a front-man, Boyd has released five solo albums with his band The Preachers and has a rich history of performances at major roots music festivals in Australia, including Byron Bay Blues and Port Fairy Folk Festival.

Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, is this month celebrating a decade of reducing the population’s waistline through its scientifically backed program, the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet online.

New analysis from CSIRO, which tracked the weight loss of members over the 10 years since the launch of the online program, found that 97 per cent of members who completed the program lost weight in just 12 weeks.

In total, members of the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet online have lost a combined 558,000 kilograms – the equivalent weight of about 46 double decker buses.

Over 1.2 million Australians have been impacted by the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet throughout its evolution from the original book to the sophisticated digital platform it is today.

Dr Gilly Hendrie, CSIRO Research Scientist, said this milestone demonstrates the critical role Australian science has played in addressing the current trend in weight gain.

“The need for evidence-based, sustainable weight loss solutions has never been more important,” Dr Hendrie said.

“On average Australian adults seem to gain about five kilograms over a 20-year period, while two thirds of the population are considered overweight or obese.

“With the right support, 12 weeks is all it takes to get the ball rolling and lose a significant amount of weight, improving wellbeing and reducing the risk of developing chronic diseases related to being overweight.”

Since its digital launch 10 years ago, the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet has continuously evolved to meet the changing needs and preferences of Australians.

This has seen the release of over 10 new tools and features, including its AI weight loss coach, Hope.

According to the analysis:

• 21 per cent of members were moved out of the obese category.
• The average weight loss has increased from 5.2kg to 6.3kg.
• The proportion of those achieving clinically significant weight loss (5 per cent of starting body weight) has increased by 22 per cent.
• Around one in seven members lose 10 per cent or more of their body weight.

Ten years of tracking members’ diet and exercise habits also revealed some interesting insights into Australians’ preferences.

Bananas are the most eaten food by Australians looking to lose weight, with over 900,000 consumed by members tracking their food intake with the program.

Walking outdoors is the most common exercise recorded, with members pounding the pavement for over twenty-two million minutes over the past 10 years.

Overnight oats, stir fries and healthy chocolate brownies marked the favourite recipes from the program, suggesting members’ preference for ease and convenience as they balance busy lifestyles with achieving their health goals.

Professor Brett Sutton, Director of Health and Biosecurity at CSIRO, says the longevity and impact of the program reinforces CSIRO’s commitment to solving real-life health challenges through innovative science and technology.

“The impact of the current high rates of obesity in Australia are more weight-related chronic diseases, greater vulnerability to infectious diseases, and significant costs to health care, economic development, and community wellbeing,” Professor Sutton said.

“The Total Wellbeing Diet is one of CSIRO’s major success stories and demonstrates our commitment to working to reverse the high rates of obesity within the next ten years, as called for in the National Obesity Strategy.”

The CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet is Australia’s only weight loss program to provide extra motivation by offering a financial reward for members who complete the 12-week program. Since its inception, the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet has refunded more than $2.7 million back to Australians.

Police have been investigating if two collisions involving cyclists in Cheltenham and Beaumaris last Tuesday morning are linked.

Officers were called to Beach Road about 5.20 and were told a 51-year-old man was riding along Beach Road, near Charman Road in Cheltenham, when he was involved in a collision with an unidentified vehicle.

The car failed to stop and the rider was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

A short time later a second cyclist, a 72-year-old man, was also involved in a collision on Beach Road in Beaumaris near Tramway Parade.

He too was taken to hospital with serious injuries and again the vehicle involved failed to stop.

Around 8.50am police were called to Central Avenue, Black Rock after an allegedly stolen Holden Astra was located.

Police are yet to establish if this vehicle was involved in either collision. The investigation into the incidents is ongoing.

Anyone with information or footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit the Crime Stoppers website online.