From December, planning permits will not be required to build a small second home on a property.

As part of the state government’s recent Housing Statement, small second homes under 60 square metres, also known as granny flats, will no longer require a planning permit on properties 300 square metres or larger where there are no flooding or environmental overlays.

There will be no restrictions on how a small second home can be used – whether it’s keeping family members closer, providing temporary housing or being rented out for additional income.

Small second homes will still require a building permit, will need to meet ResCode (residential design code) setback and siting requirements and cannot be subdivided or separately sold off from the main home.

Locals living in the Hepburn Shire are now being invited to help spread a bit of seasonal goodwill by donating to Hepburn Regional Community Cheer.

Hepburn Regional Community Cheer was established in 2012 to raise money to support families at Christmas time. The ability to give lies within the tireless contribution of volunteers, the community and community partners, volunteers say.

Toys and gift vouchers are distributed on the Day of Giving, December 19 at the Daylesford Town Hall.

Anyone with a Health Care card and living in the postcodes 3460 or 3461 can register with CHRH on 5321 6550 or visit them in Hospital Street until December 8.

Donations can be made via Bendigo Bank (BSB 633 000, account 162 925 689) or email: info@hepburnregionalcommunitycheer.com.au

It’s time to see if your swimmers still slip on as public pools throughout the Hepburn Shire area prepare to open for the new summer season.

Pool entry is free to all and the aquatics season for public outdoor pools throughout the Hepburn Shire is scheduled to kick off from Saturday December 2.

The local council says it will update its website daily with updates on hours of operation at www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/pools.

It’s als reminding residents that under its weather policy the poosl will be closed on cooler days.

Mini minder – the spotted pardalote

Having been previously rudely dumped from their nesting place in under the corrugated iron roof of our house by larger, rowdy striated pardalotes, our beloved ‘spotties’ have returned for the breeding season.

This time it’s to a more traditional pardalote nursery – at the end of the newly dug, metre-long tunnel between the rocks of our garden wall.

So, we will soon be delighted by the sight and sounds of two beautiful avian families feeding on the insect pests of our eucalypts and other native plants.

Facelift for a centuries-old favourite

Since medieval times lavender plants have been grown for their aroma and supposed medical benefits. Lavender certainly featured in their perfumes. Dried flower heads are still being sewn into muslin sachets and placed in drawers to protect clothing from moths etc.

Nothing had changed much until recent years when clever botanists began to hybridise lavenders of every form to produce bigger, better flowers and add a rainbow of colours to the drab grey/violet palette of the three main garden varieties. So now each variety comes in a colour range from white to deep purple. These are:

English lavender (lavandula angustifolia) Actually native to the Mediterranean, its small flowers attract bees and butterflies. It’s commercially grown for its high-quality lavender oil and grows to 90cm with narrow grey-green foliage and flowers available in blue, purple, white and pink. It flowers from early to mid-summer.

French lavender (lavandula dentata) Also called fringed lavender, it is actually native to Spain. It is not as fragrant as other lavenders but its leaves do have a rich lavender-rosemary scent. Flowering from early summer through to autumn. In the garden, plant it as low, formal hedging in the same way you use box or as sculptural mounds on a bank. It’s great in coastal areas.

Spanish lavender (lavandula stoechas) This grows up to 60cm tall with deep purple, deep pink or white flowers, topped with upright tassels. It flowers from mid-spring to late summer.

As natives of the Mediterranean, lavenders are well suited to our growing conditions, and like their summers hot and dry, and winters cool. Only English lavender dislikes humidity, but other lavenders will happily grow in areas of mild humidity. They thrive best in well-drained, organically rich soil. So before planting, enrich the soil with compost, manure or organic fertiliser.

Lavenders are drought-hardy plants, so once established they only need the occasional deep soak during dry spells, to help them through the warmer months. Just don’t overwater – they don’t like wet feet.

Lavenders will thrive in a container as long as these conditions are met. The pot must have a good drainage hole and the soil needs to be well draining. The plant needs to receive as much sunlight as possible. You should water the plant thoroughly once or twice a week – depending on the weather.
Feed them regularly through the flowering season with a liquid fertiliser. After flowering, feed them with a general purpose, slow-release fertiliser.

Remove spent flowers and trim lightly after flowering. Once plants are established and the flowers spent, trim them back by up to one-third. This will rejuvenate the plants to encourage new growth.
Lavenders will make perfect low, compact hedges to border paths, lawns etc, their compact foliage and growth being enhanced at times of flowering, and the perfume enhancing the outdoors for much of the year.

Because of the variance in growth habit and height between the various forms it would be best to keep to a single variety in each stretch of the hedge. Got a gardening query? Email glenzgarden@gmail.com

The trouble with getting to the upper end of middle-age is tolerance and the words “that’d be right” seem to come out with every other sentence.

I also feel a little battle-weary and hardened in terms of emotion. I don’t intend to labour on the point of the accident outside the Royal Hotel the other week, as every man, woman and their dogs wandering around with a microphone and a TV camera have all had their say about that.

My small experience with one of the news crews was early on the Monday morning when we went to pay our respects and a small-statured young woman fast approached us.

I knew she wasn’t local because it was a quasi-public holiday and most locals can be seen in the usual spring attire that looks a bit like the winter get-up with less layers. A sort of a tracky dak onesie slip-on arrangement that gets slipped off at night onto the floor-drobe and returns as a cover-all in the morning.

But she wasn’t sporting that look. This young thing was clipping down the road in our direction, fully made-up in a hot-pink suit. I must say I didn’t mind the sight, except for me it was a little inappropriate for the tone of the day, and she quickly moved on after discovering we were journalists and the news well was dry.

But back to my lack of tolerance. The last time I used a public phone was when I was in my late teens and we used to do a thing called tapping the phone to get free calls. For instance, if the number was 534, and in our little Northland, New Zealand district, we only had three numbers, you would tap the numbers 576 (take the initial number from 10) onto the phone hook and that would inevitably get you through.

I do remember the phones smelling like urine, smokes and beer though – and these days I am not sure if anyone would use a public phone or if they would be vandalised to the point of not functioning.
And to put on my snob’s hat, you would have to be desperate or down on your luck to go to one of these things and announce your business into the street. Because they don’t even have a booth arrangement, they are by and large open-air with a hood over the top. I imagine Superman trying to go about his business in one of these.

But our good friends at Telstra are so cheap they have decided to send all the kids off to one of these streetside hangouts, to line up with God only knows who, to make a quick call to Santa on #46 46 46.
They will then be discussing out loud on the street subjects including what they want for Christmas and what their addresses are so as the bloke can drop the pressies down the chimney.

Can anyone else see the irony in this, or is it just me? What was going on in the boardroom of Telstra when the geniuses dreamt up this idea?

Probably a long, red wine-fuelled lunch, which conjured up the idea to march our young ones out to the payphones, the very places that creeps, muggers, punks, swindlers and heisters hang out. That’d be right, rant over…

G’day. I’m Flash. I’m a seven-month-old, black and white Australian cattle dog/staffy mix and I’m keen to secure my perfect new forever home and person – or people.

I’m a happy boy and I really love to play and spend time with people. I’m doing well with learning how to walk on a lead and other basic commands but I will require ongoing training.

I get along great with other dogs too but I’m not suited to a home with horses due to my herding behaviour. Microchip no. 956000015850364.

You can make a time to meet me by contacting the Mount Alexander Animal Welfare shelter in Castlemaine on 5472 5277. Link: www.maaw.org.au

with Eve Lamb

The considerable artistry of Kyneton sculptor Anne Anderson has seen her work recognised with multiple high profile arts awards including the most recent Toorak Village Sculpture Prize. For this busy professional creative the schedule ahead includes exhibiting at McClelland Sculpture Park in Narre Warren in January and at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show in March. Anne chatted with Eve Lamb.

Eve: Hi Anne. Where do you do most of your art work?

Anne: I have a studio space that is just a short bike ride from my home in Kyneton. I share this work space with my husband Chris, who is a proficient blacksmith and welder. His talent facilitates much of my work in the form of armature, structural design and individual bases.

Eve: How did you come to art?

Anne: Though I come from a family of academics and sportsmen, I always felt called to the performing and visual arts. I never sought to be an artist, yet somehow art and artistic ventures always found their way to me. I feel that overseas travel has allowed me to have a broadened artistic education.

Eve: How should we best describe your artistic style? Does it fit a genre?

Anne: I think that my artistic style would be best described as unpredictable. I have an obsession of sculpting human faces. My pieces are mostly figurative, be they realistic, surreal or contemporary. My initial inspiration often sees many incarnations. Once I learnt that there really are no rules in art, I found a greater freedom to explore where I want to go with my work.

Eve: How did you nurture your innate arts talent?

Anne: In my personal experience, I have found that when it comes to art, the greatest way to learn is through doing. I have sought to learn a range of techniques that have allowed me to build a foundational skillset, but it is actually when we play and allow ourselves to create from the heart that the real magic happens.

Eve: Which artists have influenced your work?

Anne: I think for most artists, we are not only influenced by the work of widely recognised artists, but also the work of those we have had the opportunity to work alongside. My work has been influenced by artists you may know, like the Swiss sculptor, Alberto Giacometti, Australia’s Norman Lindsay and Americans, Frederick Hart and Richard MacDonald, and then some artists you may come to know, like Helena (Midge) Johansen and Klaus and Ingrid Dusselberg.

Eve: What is your media of choice?

Anne: It is difficult to compare other media to bronze if you are looking at preserving a sculpture for any amount of time, and let’s face it, after many tens, if not hundreds of hours of work, a sculptor often wants to see their piece preserved and appreciated for as long as possible. That said, my heart will always rejoice in getting my hands dirty in clay. I revel in the earthy feel, malleability and (mostly) predictable response I receive from clay.

Eve: Have you ever worked in any other areas besides working as an artist?

Anne: For nearly 20 years, my husband and I ran a theatrical agency. I also performed as a professional singer. Both of these professions saw me surrounded by creative individuals who always reminded me that there are many ways of looking at different situations in life.

Eve: When you work in the studio do you like to play music?

Anne: I always play music whilst I work. I find it allows me to truly relax into the moment and get lost in the creating. Quite often my soundtrack will be classical, but I also enjoy contemporary classics, jazz and music theatre.

Eve: To date, what have been your career highlights as an artist?

Anne: I have been lucky to have won first prize in the Margaret Gunnersen William Hoggan Thomas Award for the Annual Association of Sculptors of Victoria on two occasions. Also, winning the last Toorak Village Sculpture Prize was very exciting. Having my work displayed permanently in the City of Greater Geelong is also thrilling.

Eve: Do you have any exhibitions or special events coming up that you’d like to let others know about?

Anne: As a member of the Association of Sculptors of Victoria, I’m pleased to say that I will be exhibiting with this group at McClelland Sculpture Park in Narre Warren in January, 2024, as well as at Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show in March, 2024. My work can also be viewed and purchased via my website and can often be found at exhibitions throughout Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. I regularly have work for sale at Art On Piper in Kyneton, which is a popular artist collective representing work by local artists.

Eve: What would you rate as the biggest challenges in being a professional working artist today?

Anne: There are many costs associated with acquiring and utilizing quality materials, as well as a large number of man hours that go into hand crafting high quality, unique pieces. I think the greatest challenge for any professional artist is not only finding the confidence to charge prices that are reflective of these factors and fairly

compensate our time and efforts, but then to also put in the legwork to get your work in front of eyes that appreciate art enough to invest in it.

Eve: And, for you personally, the greatest rewards?

Anne: There is no greater reward for an artist than the honour of someone feeling a connection to something that you have created. Art is meant to move people. When you are lucky enough to witness that magical moment for someone it is one of the most humbling and fulfilling experiences.

By Donna Kelly

The past couple of weeks have been horrendous for many people. First and foremost for the friends and family of those people who died in the Daylesford accident.

But also for the many first responders – which includes members of the public who just happened to be there and those working at the two hotels, The Royal and The Daylesford.

Like many we had been out, for lunch on a lovely spring day, and been home a few hours when the phone started to share texts. The TV went on and we watched in horror and disbelief as the events unfolded. We listened as the Glenlyon CFA headed into town.

The next morning, early, we went to the site. I don’t really know why. I guess we are media, so that is our role, but I think we were just operating on auto-pilot.

We didn’t stay long, talking briefly to a Melbourne journalist who was in a lovely pink suit, obviously not well thought out, but how do you prepare for something like this, and also to a shopkeeper who didn’t know whether to open or not. I think they did in the end just so people could have somewhere to go and talk.

Someone else asked how we were coping and said they wished Daylesford could just go back to being a sleepy rural town where nothing happened. Another person added “how much more can we take?”

Then the flowers and teddy bears started to be placed at the statue and counsellors could be seen at the site and up and down the street all day, mixed with metro journalists and camera operators. Everyone I know had texts and calls asking if they were OK.

And I guess that was one of the hardest things to comprehend, that it could have been anyone, just sitting there, in the sun, on a long weekend, taking in the scenery and just relaxing in a quiet country town.

And as the news continued in its 24/7 cycle we just kept out of it. Perhaps that seems strange. I know a lot of people were looking at our website to find information, and maybe it was the wrong call, but I made the decision to wait.

We can’t compete with that sort of timing and we don’t want to. It’s too close and too raw. As you would have read on page 3 one of our journalists Narelle was there at the Daylesford Hotel, just enjoying a drink with friends. Too close.

Narelle helped at the scene in a major way, as she would. She went straight to comfort a young child, as she would. I have always thought of her as the kindest person I have ever met.

Anyway, this week I decided we would have to run something, but how do you make something positive, which is mostly our way, out of something so awful? I followed Narelle’s lead, who has written about connections and love.

And the four people I spoke with, all still clearly emotional, have pretty much done the same in their own ways. Love for their community, their teams, their people, their emergency responders. It was a hard week but I hope people realise we have reported with compassion and care.

And if you do need help, please reach out. I know from experience that counselling does work and keeping it all bottled in, doesn’t. Well, it has worked for me in the past. And there is no timeline. Just sayin’…

Ballarat’s QHub service for LGBTIQA+ young people is now operational and accepting referrals.

An experienced team of professionals including a youth and family specialist, community engagement practitioner and peer support workers are available to support young LGBTIQA+ people, their families and carers.

The City of Ballarat Inclusion Plan indicates that 11,000 people in Ballarat identify as LGBTIQA+. This figure is approximately 10 per cent of the Ballarat population and almost double the Victorian average of 5.7 per cent highlighting the importance and need for specialised welcoming and inclusive support close to home.

Cafs (Child & Family Services, Ballarat) CEO Wendy Sturgess said: “Cafs is a strong ally with the LGBTIQA+ community across the Central Highlands region and we welcome this opportunity to continue to provide services in a safe space dedicated to young LGBTIQA+ people.”

QHub manager Jack Khouri, pictured above, said: “The Ballarat QHub team has been working diligently alongside community to ensure that the programs available are fulfilling the needs of prospective clients.

“We’re also looking at a range of special events and activities during school holidays that will offer young people opportunities to connect socially in a safe, supported environment.”

Anyone looking to access support through the Ballarat QHub is encouraged to email qhub@ds.org.au or phone intake on (03) 9663 6733.

with Clive Hartley

Glenhope Vineyard is both an old and new vineyard. It was planted in 1995 by Tom Lazar from Virgin Hills, so it is coming up to 30 years old and in its prime.

It is the largest vineyard in the region, with 94 acres under vine, but probably you haven’t heard of it – it has had owners from outside the region for most of its life.

But in recent times it has finally fallen into the hands of people who care about the land and vines. Firstly, the vigneron Scott Harrington who has been caring for the vines since 2018. Secondly, the land has new custodians, Melbourne entrepreneurs James and Marlin Gevergizian bought the property in 2021.

The vineyard is on a number of different soils including decomposed granite and sandy, iron-rich loams. It is located in the Baynton area on the Burke and Wills Track, heading towards the Heathcote region in the slightly warmer northern part of the Macedon Ranges. These factors allow the vineyard to grow a range of grape varieties including reds such as cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, malbec and shiraz as well as the traditional chardonnay, riesling and pinot noir you would expect.

With such a large vineyard most of their grape production is sold to other local winemakers including the likes of Matt Harrop, Owen Latta and Michael Dhillon. But for the first time they have released a collection of wines made by Scott, and they have had instant success in being awarded the trophy for the Best Red Variety (other than pinot) and the Best Winery at the recent Macedon Ranges Wine Exhibition.

The winner was the Glenhope Vineyard Granitic Shiraz 2022. It’s a cool climate example displaying raspberry, nutmeg and a host of cake spice aromas. Some cool climate white pepper also develops with hints of graphite. On the palate there is a bag of sweet, black, brambly stewed fruits, with hints of spice to accompany the dry, powdery, tannic finish. Scott only uses old oak, he wants the fruit to do the talking.

Other recommended wines out of their range include a smooth, plummy merlot, a floral cabernet franc (which received a gold medal at the show), a cabernet sauvignon, merlot, shiraz blend, and a wine for summer, the 2022 rosé. This old vineyard is one to watch with wines available soon through their website.

Clive Hartley is an award-winning wine writer, educator and consultant. Want to learn more about wine? Try his Australian Wine Guide (7th ed) now available for purchase from Paradise Books, Daylesford, Stoneman’s Bookroom, Castlemaine or via his website – www.australianwineguide.com.au

Words: Donna Kelly

Former Glenlyon resident Jill de Vos has written a cat book. But this is not about any ordinary cat, nor an ordinary life.

Deva the Bengal Boat Cat is about sailing around Europe, being caught in ports through Covid lockdowns, with Deva, originally from Spain, finally ending up an Australian moggy.

Jill left Hepburn Shire in 2017 with her partner Shelley Beer and headed off to France to pick up their twin-engine catamaran the following year.

Jill said Deva was adopted after two years on the ocean, the longest she had ever gone without an animal. “I wanted a cat and usually in Spain or Greece or Turkey there are a million running around the streets. But of course, with Covid and lockdowns, there were none to be found.

“So, the only one I could find was a Bengal from Spain. There was a Burmese in Hungary, but we couldn’t cross the border. But Bengals are, I found after much research, good boat cats and very pretty, so we got Deva.”

Jill, Shelley and Deva, had to leave Spain when that country’s lockdown ended, their time in Schengen having run out and not wanting to pay a huge tax to remain they decided to sail 2200 nautical miles to Turkey, one of the few countries where you can get a resident visa without going back to your home country. Two years later they were still there.

“There were numerous lockdowns and we got all our vaccinations there. In fact, the person who worked on the Pfizer vaccine is from Turkey. We were living in Finike, an agricultural town on the south coast, that is renowned for its citrus – and it is exported all over Europe. Finike’s symbol is the orange of which they are rightly proud. We had a wonderful community at the marina and we have made lifelong friends from around the world.”

Eventually it was time to return to Australia which involved selling the boat to an American couple “for pretty much what we paid for it” and then the complicated and expensive quarantine procedures for Deva, and another puss, Albert the Turkish stray.

Jill said she would head back in a heartbeat despite in the early days at times being “absolutely paralysed with fear” before leaving the marina.

“It is all about planning. The weather is what you watch constantly, occasionally you will be caught out and hopefully you will always have a plan b or c. Friends have offered to have me onboard on passages heading back to Australia and I may even consider joining one. It is difficult settling back into life at home but there could always be another adventure around the corner.”

Deva the Bengal Boat Cat, with illustrations by Mel Corrigan, is being launched at the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria at Williamstown on Saturday, December 2 from 11am to 1pm. Tickets are free but reservations are needed via Eventbrite.

A launch will also be held at the Glenlyon General Store on Wednesday, December 6 at 2pm in the courtyard.

Vanessa I. R. Craven is a poet, author, artist and singer-songwriter who lives in Daylesford having made a treechange from Melbourne where she worked as a health sciences librarian. She has built an eco-friendly house and enjoys living in this beautiful area.

Vanessa hales from Mussoorie, a hill-station in Northern India in the Himalaya Mountains, where she was born and lived for 25 years.

Music, art/painting, photography and writing are her loves. Her father was Welsh and her mother North Indian, and both were teachers. She owes much to them for fostering a love of literature, art, music, photography and writing.

As a writer a recent highlight is her first self-published book, Birds in My Tree: The Magic of Birds and the Joy of Singing. As a poet, Under the Mop Top Tree is her second self-published book. Some of the poetry has been turned into songs and some remain as poems.

The title of this book comes from the Mop Top Tree in the front garden. Its shady boughs in summer and the bare branches in winter provide ideal conditions for the inspiration of poetry and song-writing.
The poems in this book are divided into the sections of facts, fantasy and foibles.

Poet Ross Gillett says in his foreword: “There is a whole life being lived in the pages of this book. Relationships – between family member and friends, and between lovers – are at its core, as too is the natural world of sky and trees and birds and the realms of experience which memory and loss open up for all of us.

“Grief at the passing of parents, as well as profound attachment to a loved pet, are registered alongside a joyous and often humorous sense of day-to-day living.

“A deeply felt concern for the victims of war and injustice is another thread woven through the poetry in Under the Mop Top Tree, the entirety of which is characterised by an open-hearted embrace of what it means to be alive in this complex and multi-horizoned age. Vanessa Craven has produced a collection of poems that will relate to the lives of a wide range of readers.”

Under the Mop Top Tree is available from Paradise Books and the Daylesford Trading Co in Daylesford or from Vanessa at www.acousticsessions.com.au/book-shop/

Words and Image: Eve Lamb

One fun feature of the monthly Clunes Farmers & Makers Market is the number of folk and their four-legged buddies who can reliably be seen roving about, soaking up the vibe.

It’s a colourfully assorted and sociable spectacle that means young local entrepreneur, 12-year-old Daniel Whitehead is one busy lad on market days.

A while ago Daniel started up his own natural baked dog treat businesses, accordingly named Daniels Doggy Delights. With a little help from his mum Del Whitehead, the enterprising young local has quickly built up a legion of loyal followers who eagerly sniff out the Daniels Doggy Delights stall every market day.

Daniel says the product range is thoroughly taste-tested by his family’s dogs including his dog Spot.

“I think Spot will probably eat everything except the tuna treats and the banana, blueberry and peanut butter bones,” Daniel says.

“I just wanted to make my own business and my Mum thought it was a good idea. The first market I did I sold absolutely everything so I thought I might just continue it.”

Daniel says that besides the handy boost to his personal finances, he especially enjoys the social aspect of the Clunes Farmers & Makers Market that happens on the second Sunday of the month.

“Mostly I enjoy meeting the new people and chatting with other stallholders,” says Daniel, not one to pass up a useful opportunity for a little market research.

“I’d just like to ask my repeat customers if they have any ideas for any new products.”

Market media spokeswoman Daniela Palumbo has lived in Clunes for 12 years and is also a regular stallholder along with her mother Yolanda. Together, mother and daughter operate their stall selling tempting traditional Italian treats that they bake.

“The market’s growing. We used to average 18 to 20 stalls and we’re now averaging 30 plus,” Daniela says.

“I think the word has gotten out that we’ve got a pretty good market and in the last 10 months or so we’ve been really getting the word out on social media.

“In the earlier days mostly we were getting local people but now we’re reaching out to Melbourne, Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong and the market’s been growing a little bit bigger every Spring to Summer.”

Live music is part and parcel of the market that transforms the little town’s main shopping strip with the evocative historic facades that have long made it a favourite among filmmakers.

“Four or five months ago Daniel told us he was interested in having a stall and we said ‘Yes. Absolutely’,” says Daniela whose dog Bobbin numbers among the Daniels Doggy Delights fans.

“I have to hide them from Bobbin,” Daniela says. “There’s been a couple of months where he’s been totally sold out.”

Market chairman, Clunes local Graeme Grigson says Daniel’s stall is one of several new additions to join the market over recent months.

A professional beekeeper who also has a honey and bee product stall at the market, Graeme is encouraging more local residents to get along and enjoy the monthly attraction, including next month’s pre-Christmas market that’s all set for Sunday December 10.

Walking their dog Louie, Clunes’ Sue and Doug Jeffreys are among the market regulars who routinely stroll along to just about every monthly market to snap up some quality produce.

“We love the fresh veggies,” says Sue. “The garlic is fabulous.”

The range of regular stalls is diverse and products include all manner of desirables like herb and vegetable seedlings, live poultry and eggs, boutique chocolates, wines and gins, and hot food and coffee stalls. Another interesting new addition is the stall of Bowenvale resident John Wright who’s been doing some pretty amazing things with old timber pallets.

John upcycles the otherwise discarded pallets, turning them into unique items of folksy furniture, each creatively adorned with assorted recycled metal objects.

“I’m not into it to make money. It’s about reusing and recycling – and the creative aspect,” John says.

Graeme says the market has now been running since April 2015 and those who make it happen each month are feeling pretty pleased with the direction it’s heading as they look ahead to it entering its 10th year of operation.

ChillOut Festival, Australia’s premier regional LGBTIQ+ arts and cultural festival, is back in 2024.

From Thursday, March 7 to Monday, March 11, 2024, Daylesford and Hepburn Springs will once again turn into a rainbow wonderland for the “Boots & Bling” themed weekend.

Courtney Act will headline the festival with multiple performances and appearances across the weekend.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to finally set foot in Daylesford for ChillOut 2024. After hearing countless fabulous stories about this gem of a town and its vibrant community, I’m ready to sprinkle a little Courtney Act sparkle on the festivities.”

Festival favourites such as the fabulously camp Bush Dance (Saturday night)
and Street Parade (Sunday) will return, along with new events such as 100% Dance,
which will get the party started at Daylesford Town Hall on the Friday night. Poof
Doof is returning once again to host the official ChillOut after party (Sunday night).

Featuring over 50 events, ChillOut Festival is Australia’s premier and longestrunning regional queer festival, attracting nearly 30,000 visitors who fill the accommodations and restaurants in the region.

Macedon MP Mary-Anne Thomas said 2024’s ChillOut would be a fantastic event that benefits locals and visitors alike.

“Daylesford is well known as the queer capital of regional Australia, and every
year the local community embraces the transformation into a vibrant celebration of
diversity for four unforgettable days.

“ChillOut Festival is where country pride meets great music, performances, and
non-stop fun.“

Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos said: “The Victorian Government is a proud supporter of ChillOut Festival – a fantastic regional event that celebrates the diversity of every individual in attendance. ChillOut Festival brings people together from all over the country, which fosters a sense of inclusion while also providing a boost to local businesses and jobs.”

Festival Programming committee member, Jacqui Walter said now was the time to secure tickets to the events, which sell out quickly. Link: www.chilloutfestival.com.au

By Journalist Kevin Childs: Image: Kyle Barnes

If Tony Kelly didn’t exist, someone possibly would invent him.

From being a park ranger in the Northern Territory, he has worked with young people at risk (including at the notorious Malmsbury centre), retrained as a lawyer, and is a CEO, writer and author.

All this sounds remarkable, but considering his background it may have been almost expected. He is the grandson of opera singer Count Ercole Tonti Filippini. Born in Argentina in 1885 to Italian parents, Filippini was signed to the renowned La Scala opera house in Milan but when theatres shut in Europe during WWI he joined an opera company to tour India, China and the Philippines, and then for 14 months in Australia and New Zealand.

Filippini stayed in Australia, opening a school of opera in Sydney in 1918. One of his students was a young music graduate, Anne McParland (later known as Nancy). They married. He performed on stage while she produced and directed, becoming Australia’s first female conductor of symphony orchestras. Ercole Filippini died at the age of 48 in 1934, while Nancy went on singing, broadcasting, and leading choirs and orchestras, until her death in 1987 at 91.

Little wonder, then, as Tony says, there has been a lot of talk regarding a film about his grandparents. The musical tradition is being carried on by his brother, Australian rock singer/songwriter and guitarist Paul Kelly.

Tony was in his mid-40s when he decided to study law. His father, who died when Tony was young, was a lawyer, so when Tony saw that he could do a two-year degree at Melbourne University he and his wife Rebecca Lister moved to the city with their two daughters.

“I had been involved with the Greens and came to realise the importance of law in all aspects of society and how change can be effected through law.” Once in Melbourne they stayed for 15 years, returning to Daylesford when Covid hit.

Now his focus is on native title as head of the First Nations Legal and Research Services. To an outsider, native title seems complex, and Tony does say that identifying the right people for country is difficult, but once that has been established, it is easy to bring on a claim.

Lawyers methodically work through the claims. “The preference is to do it all by mediation, leading to a good result, eliminating conflicts and building strength,” he says. Some matters, however, can be drawn out. The claim by the Eastern Maar people of Warrnambool, for instance, took 10 years to settle and includes the coastline of the Great Ocean Road up to Ararat.

Sometimes many groups are involved in arguments over boundaries. In the Eastern Maar case most were resolved by agreement, with only one going to trial, with a judge to make a call next year.

Out all of this, millions of dollars flow to the successful claimants to set up a corporation. For example, the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation employs 200 people and, Tony says, is one of the biggest forces in the Bendigo economy. The money received is mainly spent on land management, economic development and language and cultural recovery.

After 13 years involved in native title work, he has just signed on for another three years. Curiously enough, it was swimming that brought him to writing. He began with articles on swimming for The Big Issue magazine, focusing on how it keeps you healthy.

His writing took on another focus when he and Rebecca moved to Mt Isa for two years to care for Rebecca’s witty, crossword-loving 92-year-old mother. Out of this came Growing Pineapples in the Outback, Tony and Rebecca’s book reflecting, from two perspectives, on the town’s isolation and heat, and the richness of caring for someone at life’s end.

Next he (perhaps again with Rebecca) plans to write an anthology on swimming, researching it by plunging in at different places across the country and chatting to locals about why they swim. One chapter will be on the “ice mile”, which international rules say must be done in 5 degrees Celsius or less, wearing a standard costume, googles and one cap (“You have to be alive half an hour later to qualify,” quips 62-year-old Tony).