The state government is helping Victorian pet rescue and rehoming groups find homes for vulnerable pets through the latest round of the Individual Pet Rehoming Grants. 

Minister for Agriculture Ros Spence last week announced that a further $1.27 million has been awarded to organisations that provides vital rehoming services for cats and dogs.

Sixty organisations are involved in the program, they will be reimbursed $500 per dog and $200 per cat to help cover the costs of rehoming, including desexing, microchipping, vaccinations, the purchase of crates, bedding and leads, and training or rehabilitation.

As part of this round of funding, Forever Friends Animal Rescue in Gladysdale has received grants totaling $75,000, while Victorian Animal Aid in Coldstream has been awarded grants also totaling $75,000.

Second Chance Animal Rescue Inc. – an organisation in Craigieburn that has previously been supported by the grants program – has received grants totaling $56,700.

The program helps to reduce the costs for animal shelters and community foster care networks, so that they can continue caring for our state’s furry friends.

To date the program has invested $5 million across 90 organisations, supporting the rehoming more than 6,000 dogs and 12,000 cats.

Delivered as part of the Animal Welfare Fund (AWF) Grants Program, these grants recognise and support the important role animal shelters and rehoming organisations play in caring for and rehabilitating our cats and dogs, offering vulnerable animals a second chance at finding a home.

Since 2014, the AWF Grants Program has awarded more than $13 million in funding to not-for-profit animal shelters, foster care organisations and community vet clinics to directly improve companion animal welfare in Victoria.

For more information about the AWF Grants Program, visit animalwelfare.vic.gov.au.

The state’s Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny last week visited Youth Justice staff to mark the start of a two-year electronic monitoring trial for select young people on bail. 

From last Tuesday, Children’s Courts and the Supreme Court will have the power to impose electronic monitoring and intensive supervised bail for young people in the metropolitan area as part of their bail conditions. 

The trial builds on the state government’s tough new bail laws, which puts community safety at the centre of all bail decisions and makes remand for young people no longer an option of last resort.

Under the reforms, any young person who poses an unacceptable risk to community safety is expected to be remanded – they should not be out in the community on bail, with or without electronic monitoring.

Up to 50 young people charged with serious offences and who require additional support and supervision to comply with their bail conditions will be eligible for the trial. 

The courts will be able to order electronic monitoring for young people on bail aged between 14 and 18 years or if they were aged under 18 years at the time of their alleged offending.

The courts will be required to consider a range of factors, including a report about the young person’s suitability prepared by Youth Justice and whether the young person poses an unacceptable risk to community safety.

If they are outside their address after curfew or enter an exclusion zone, the device will generate an alert and Youth Justice will respond – including by referring breaches to Victoria Police for bail cancellation. 

Further supports will also be available to these young people – like drug and alcohol services, disability supports and help to resolve complex home situations. 

The measures aim to ensure young people understand the consequences of their actions by having someone doing proactive targeted work with them – reducing their likelihood of re-offending, and setting them on the right path. 

Most young offenders are already enrolled in a school when they commit an offence but are often disengaged with learning.

Electronic monitoring will allow a young person to stay in school, continue in employment and remain connected to their family and community – ultimately keeping everyone safe.  

Young people on the trial can be placed in one of 57 alternative education settings in metropolitan Melbourne, with the Department of Education to make the final call on the most appropriate place for young people to go. 

The Department will work with school leadership of these alternative education settings to maintain the safety of other students and staff.

Schools will be able to report any concerns about behaviour, so that these arrangements can be reconsidered if needed.

The trial and tough new bail laws build on the Government’s investment in crime prevention, including funding to Victoria Police to hire nearly 50 youth specialist officers to work in communities with young people and $40 million for the Youth Crime Prevention Program. 

Words & Images: Supplied: CFA

As more Victorians trade city life for the peace and quiet of regional and rural areas, the CFA is encouraging tree changers to take the time to learn about their local fire risks.

According to the Regional Movers Index, over 32 per cent more people are relocating from capital cities to regional areas than vice versa.

CFA District 17 Assistant Chief Fire Officer Chris Eagle said it’s critical for new regional and rural residents to have a fire plan and the VicEmergency App.

“Moving to the country can bring a fresh start, but it also comes with a need to understand local risks, especially the threat of bushfire and what to do when one occurs,” Chris said.

“Having a plan can make all the difference when time is tight, and conditions change quickly.”

Dimboola resident Chan Uoy (pictured above) experienced this firsthand during the Little Desert Bushfire on 27 January, when he received an emergency warning.

Chan moved to the small town for a change after two decades running restaurants in Melbourne’s inner west.

“The smell of the smoke and our first emergency warning text made it feel very real. I’d never experienced anything like it,” Chan said.

“We thought, if a city like Los Angeles can burn, so can a small town like Dimboola.

“When we got the alert, we had to make a call — what’s important? For us, it was the passport, laptop, and clothes for two days.”

Chan added that it’s not only vital to plan for your own household, but also important to remember those who might rely on you for help.

“Our neighbours are elderly. My partner’s older brother and sister-in-law moved here too, and they don’t drive. So, our first thought was, ‘who can we help?’ It was a wake-up call.” he said.

“The building we’d spent years renovating could’ve gone up in smoke. But when it came down to it, we learned what really matters… and it’s not the building.”

Although Chan and his partner didn’t have a formal fire plan at the time, they have since made changes to be better prepared, including getting familiar with local warnings and having an emergency kit ready to go.

“The most important thing is information and mental preparation. You’ve got to take it seriously. It’s real. It can happen, and it did happen,” Chan said.

The CFA is encouraging residents new to regional or rural areas to:

• Learn if they live in a high fire-risk area.
• Download the VicEmergency app and set up watch zones.
• Create a Bushfire Survival Plan on CFA’s website, even if they plan to leave early.
• Talk to neighbours and understand who may need assistance in an emergency.

Daniel Champagne lives and breathes live music. Playing upwards of 250 shows a year he’s passionate about spreading it around the the world and coming up this May he’s bringing it to Creswick.

Growing up in the Bega Valley, on the Far South Coast of New South Wales the story goes that the young singer-songwriter and one of a kind guitar virtuoso first picked up his instrument of choice as a 5-year-old following in the footsteps of a musical father.

He began writing songs at 12, training classically throughout his teens and performing wherever he could, honing his craft and developing the dynamite live show that he is renowned for today.

At 18 he finished school, turned professional and hit the road without looking back.

The following 15-plus years have seen him independently release 7 studio albums, tour relentlessly around the globe, play some of the biggest festivals under the sun and share stages with the likes of Tommy Emmanuel, John Butler, Lucinda Williams, Ani DiFranco, Judy Collins and Rodrigo y Gabriela.

He has been described as “the finest guitar player of this generation”, “a leading light in acoustic music” and “a performer that must be seen to be believed”.

Daniel plays Odessa @ Leavers in Creswick on Friday May 23 from 7pm with more details available through the venue’s own website and tickets through Humanitix.

Victoria’s Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos last week joined local winemakers ahead of the upcoming Grampians Grape Escape to announce more than 20 events will be supported in the latest Regional Events Funding round.

The latest round of funding supports events across the state, from the Mildura Fringe Festival to the Great Trentham Spudfest, the East Gippsland Winter Festival and Ballarat International Foto Biennale.

Happening May 2-4, the Grampians Grape Escape attracts thousands of visitors to the Grampians region. It is one of 37 events supported through earlier rounds of the Regional Events Fund, over the past 12 months.

The popular festival brings together dozens of local wineries, breweries, growers and chefs – with tastings, cooking demonstrations and family activities in the stunning Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park.

The Regional Events Fund supports festivals, sporting events, and exhibitions that create local jobs, boost tourism, and showcase Victoria’s regional communities—offering up to $500,000 for major events of national or international significance, and up to $50,000 for events that draw visitors from across the state and country.

In the past year, regional events across the state have attracted more than a million attendees and led to more than 300,000 hotel nights being booked.

Forward hotel occupancy data from STR for regional Victoria was very high at 79 per cent for Good Friday and Easter Saturday.

The Major Events Fund is also supporting marquee events held regionally, including the Rip Curl Pro, the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race and the Frida Kahlo: In her own image exhibition in Bendigo.

The Regional Events Fund was boosted as part of the Victorian Budget 2024/25, with regional events forming a key part of the state’s $40 billion visitor economy.

Applications for the next round of Regional Events Fund – Stream 2 open on Thursday, May 1.

More information can be found at https://corporate.visitvictoria.com/events/regional-events-fund.

Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos: “The Regional Events Fund brings thousands of visitors to local communities, providing a huge boost for businesses and showcasing some of Victoria’s most incredible destinations.”

“Whether it’s the Grampians Grape Escape, the Western Bulldogs’ games in Ballarat or the East Gippsland Winter Festival, we’re ensuring communities across the state benefit from our huge pipeline of events.”

Member for Western Victoria Jacinta Ermacora: “We know the Grampians have been hard hit by bushfires over the past couple of years, so it’s fantastic to see the community band together to put on another fantastic edition of the Grampians Grape Escape and I’d encourage everyone who can to buy a ticket and support the region.”

Visit Victoria CEO Brendan McClements: “Victoria boasts so many unique events for visitors to enjoy – from the Grampians to Gippsland and Mildura to the Great Ocean Road – showing off what makes our state ‘Every bit different.’”

Grampians Grape Escape Festival Director Kate Kirkpatrick: “This event brings a real buzz to the region, both as a celebration of local talent and as a driver of economic activity for our community.”

“Support from the Regional Events Fund means we can continue to grow the festival, attract new visitors to the region and shine a spotlight on the incredible produce we have right here in the Grampians.”

Footballers and netballers at Victoria Park in Daylesford can now take their game to the next level after the venue’s new oval and court lighting was switched on in recent days.

Member for Macedon, Mary-Anne Thomas joined Hepburn Shire Council representatives and the Daylesford Bulldogs Football Netball Club to officially switch on the new lighting made possible by a $250,000 investment from the state’s Country Football and Netball Program.

Mary Anne Thomas MP also acknowledged the Hepburn Shire Council for its more than $90,000 contribution to the project, and the club for its contribution of $20,000.

Up until recently, members of the Daylesford Bulldogs teams were limited in their ability to train and compete due to poor lighting.

Works at the sports ground have installed four new towers with 100 lux LED lighting around the oval and 200 lux LED lights around the netball court giving the Bulldogs players more time to perfect their game.

The new lights will also help the club host night games as well as expand on the Bulldogs teams and development programs.

Developed in partnership with AFL Victoria and Netball Victoria, the Country Football and Netball Program has invested more than $41.5 million in over 580 projects since 2005.

The Victorian Budget 2024/25 is also providing more than $23 million to continue delivery of community sport and active recreation infrastructure, and programs to increase participation opportunities and improve accessibility.

This includes continuing the Country Football and Netball Program, so more Victorians can participate.

Member for Macedon Mary Anne Thomas: “Clubs like the Bulldogs are the heart and soul of the community. The new lights provide even more reason for locals to come down and join in the fun at Victoria Park.”

Michael Waugh is a revered songwriter, a compelling live performer and an extraordinary storyteller and he has an upcoming gig date with Glenlyon.

Michael has been the recipient of many awards including Folk and Roots album of the Year (Music Victoria Awards), Songs of Peace and Tolerance award (Port Fairy Folk Festival) and Heritage Song of the Year (Golden Guitar Awards).

Michael’s new album Beauty & Truth paints vivid, joyous, funny and loving pictures of growing up queer in rural Australia.

In 2024 it won the prestigious Folk Alliance Contemporary Folk Album of the Year award and received five nominations in the 2025 Golden Guitar Awards.

Michael Waugh will perform at the Glenlyon Hall on Saturday, May 10. Doors open at 6pm and the music starts at 7pm. Ticket are $35 with profits going to enhancing the hall experience.

The Castlemaine Art Museum is hosting an exhibition celebrating the work of renowned local iconoclast, artist “Sir” Leslie Thornton.

The exhibition spans the 50-year career of “Sir” Leslie Thornton, acknowledging decades of sustained practice and a life-long commitment to creating.

It features over 130 works and celebrates Thornton’s whimsical, playful and Aussie-centric approach.

His reverently irreverent homage to the local sits comfortably alongside the cultural and relevant – developed in the parallel practice streams of painting, sculpture and fictitious documents.

The exhibition is a prime opportunity to appreciate the wit and wile of Sir Les – a true-blue iconoclast whose art imitates life as he lives and sees it.

The exhibition is accompanied by a public program, including intimate tours of the exhibition with the artist.

Sir Leslie Thornton: Castlemaine Art Museum’s First Blockbuster is on show in CAM’s Stoneman and Benefactor’s Galleries through to June 30.

Entry to Castlemaine Art Museum (CAM) is free.

Seven local sports clubs across Macedon are receiving a grant from the state government to help increase opportunities for women and girls in the community.

Member for Macedon Mary-Anne Thomas last week congratulated the following clubs:

Lancefield Football Netball Club, Daylesford Hepburn United Soccer Club, Daylesford Martial Arts Tang Soo Tao, Macedon Ranges Tennis Association, Trentham Golf Club, Woodend Golf Club and the Woodend Tennis Club for securing funding in the 2023-24 Change Our Game Community Activation Grants Program. 

The program offers grants of up to $10,000 to eligible organisations to provide more opportunities for women and girls to take part in community sport. 

Macedon Mary-Anne Thomas MP: “The Macedon community loves sport, and it’s great to see our local clubs taking up this opportunity get more women and girls involved.” 

“Our local clubs are an integral part of the community and a great place make changes for the better.” 

By Donna Kelly  

We had a call a couple of weekends ago from friends in Brisbane. Wondering if we were OK.  

I asked why we wouldn’t be and they said ‘the bushfire – everyone is being evacuated’.  We said we were fine and it was not under control, but getting there, and  hopefully all would be well. And we are at Glenlyon, so a fair bit of distance between us and Sailors Falls.

I remember getting a call when I lived in Japan during the Tiananmen Square Massacre. A friend was wondering if I was OK. I kid you not. I think the media was saying Asia was firing up – or else my friend was dumber than I would like to think.  

The media can be a funny thing. Yes, we are part of it, but I don’t like a lot of it.  As you would see on our back page we do let facts get in the way of a good story, but  some media does not mind the odd beat-up.  

Back to the fire, which was a controlled burn, until it was not.

A meeting was  held with residents to talk about what was happening and the media just happened to be there.  One long-term resident, who knows the bush, wrote to me afterwards.

“I attended a public meeting of the residents of the Ridge Road area who were impacted by the planned burn off. I was interviewed by Channel 9 but didn’t make  the cut. I believe Channel 9 deliberately slanted the news to suggest that the residents  were angry. That was untrue.  

“I spoke up in defence of the CFA and Forest Fire Management and got a round  of applause. I was then asked to speak on behalf of the long-term residents. I was  interviewed at length by the journalist and afterwards he shook my hand and said  ‘well spoken’.  

“I just want to make it clear that those of us who knew we had to have a planned burn and were hoping for it weren’t represented at all by Channel 9 news and the only thing I’m angry about is the slant they put on it to suggest that we were angry.  

“We all have faith in Forest Fire Management and would rather have a planned  burn in autumn than a bushfire in summer.”  

Then of course it all hit Facebook and those just trying to provide real-time information were slammed so hard they pulled down their helpful comments and left the discourse. I don’t blame them.

And Channel 9 just returned to their Melbourne  studio never to be seen again.  And probably the journo who did the interview presented this person’s words and maybe it was too long or just didn’t fit the optics of angry residents. Who knows?  

But I think that’s why local media is so much more accountable. If we write rubbish, we can be held to account in the supermarket, or walking down the street, or in the pub. So we make sure we write as succinctly as we can – because I would rather  have a pleasant visit to Coles than one with an angry reader. Same with the pub.  

I always said to my mum to never talk to the media, well except for me, and I would suggest that to most people. It feels like the right thing at the time but comments can be slanted and I have actually seen them rewritten. Or, as above, just ignored.  

My favourite media story is when our house caught fire in Frankston. An ABC  journo appeared in the front yard just after the dogs were saved by us and the firies.  I told him to go away. He said he had driven all the way from Southgate.

I said  that was rubbish because the Triple 0 call had only been made 30 minutes prior. He  said our house had a For Sale sign so….I told him ‘No, I get the quirk but no’. He  said ‘you would want to thank the firies…’ I said ‘No, we will do that ourselves’.

He  said ‘oh well, not to worry, I already got a house fire around the corner’ and off he went. Never trust the media. Not even the ABC.      

As I glide into the last third of my life, my thoughts and priorities change,  and I seem to be getting less tolerant with no stomach for fools.  

Don’t get me wrong, I love to be foolish, used to be quite a hellraiser in my younger days, and am liberal with the dad jokes. (Husband says to wife,’is this cup half full or half empty? Wife says ‘please just take my bra off’. Boom boom.)  

But when it comes to the ludicrous behaviour of others, with a particular focus on the youth, I have no patience.  

My theory is that this has been going on for an age, as every generation reaches a time of stability and looks back on the ones coming through and complains bitterly.  

However, this time things seem to be different – youth crime is up and the elderly are not respected, just targets. The only way an older woman gets helped across the road is during a carjacking when she is tossed into the gutter sans handbag.  

Accountability for one’s actions doesn’t seem to be much of a priority anymore for many young people, but I have decided to hit back.

There was a road-rage incident I was tangled up in the other day which involved a truck so close behind me that the collision alarm sounded on the 80kph stretch of road out to Glenlyon.  

These tailgating events and general dangerous situations are so common in the country, particularly involving P-platers or large trucks. I don’t know what a truck driver would do if an animal did hop out onto the road or I felt like I wanted to tap the brakes for a bunch of birds who were gnawing on some roadkill.  

So, I waited until I got to the roundabout in Daylesford and I kept going around the roundabout until I was following the truck.

The driver pulled up erratically outside the Daylesford Railway Station and quickly hopped out – perhaps to have a go. But he didn’t realise I was simply after some details from his door which, once obtained, was followed by a quick phone call to his company and my job was done.  

My point is that although there seems to be no accountability, there are still pressure points you can push. We shouldn’t let bad and dangerous behaviour go unpunished.

We are so used to ignoring unruly behaviour on the streets because of the threat of violence and self-preservation. But we need to fight back and pot these dickheads any way we can.

Threaten their livelihoods by potting them into their workplaces or the police.  It is hard enough just driving and trying to stay alive on the roads with the potholes, animals, fog, ice and distracted drivers let alone idiots who are in a hurry.  

Speaking of potholes, there is a stretch of perfectly good, sealed road just beyond Blampied on the way to Newlyn. Recently this approximately 1000 metres of road was redone, which took a few weeks and a fair bit of traffic delay.  

Just metres from the end of this smooth new seal that didn’t need fixing and almost outside Maze House, is a real doozy of a bunch of bumps it seems the roadworkers missed (WTF).  

I know it is not a local council-maintained road and it is probably maintained by VicRoads but how do people whose duty in life is simply to find the bumps and fix them miss such a dangerous set of holes literally metres from the end of the works.  

It’s not as if they finish a full day in surgery and are a bit tired as they climb aboard the steamrollers and they make a little boo-boo missing the actual stuff that should be fixed.  

Road rant over…  (Ed’s note: To all the young people out there doing the right thing, and the roadworkers just doing their jobs, The Local apologises. It’s been a long week for  Kyle…)  

Coles Daylesford is being renovated and will add a fifth bakery to the town.

A spokesperson said the move would see a bigger and better offering for the community – with no job losses or redundancies as part of the redevelopment.

“As part of the renovation, customers can get excited about an expanded fresh offering – including an in-store bakery and a refreshed deli.”

The store will remain open throughout the renovation.

As always, for all manner of reasons, the shadow of the United States of America looms over the culture of the world. That’s a big statement I know and we can argue about it over dinner sometime.

Despite all predictions of its imminent demise, from our shitty social media feeds to the movies we critique, the online series we binge on, and the politics we follow, the idea  of America is omnipresent.

In a post-globalised world, within the 24-hour news cycle and the sodden floating morass of opinion and perspective that passes for actual information,  you will find multiple aspects of the perplexing, infuriating, compelling, impenetrable, amorphous concept of America.  

No other country on earth filters through via so many lenses and I suppose that is why everyone, whether they have been there or not, have so many strident opinions on the place and I have probably been the worst offender.

So that’s why I decided, worn out slaving for The Local, that my next journey would be to that country. I did not expect to traipse the halls of power, feel its hot breath, nor oscillate around the world of the elite and famous.  

I simply wanted to see the USA at ground level through my own personal lens and form an opinion of this land via actual experience. I hope that what I have put down is worth  reading. – Tony Sawrey  

United States president Donald Trump intends to sanction the country’s law firms who he considers to be filing ‘frivolous’ lawsuits. The memo issued March 30 is yet another step by his administration to punish those he considers to be trying to impede his government’s agenda.  

As one of the numerous directives, memos and announcements coming out of  his White House office, it is difficult to determine what specific effects this will have in the coming months. But one thing is certain, after barely three months, Trump’s  second term is generating a climate of anxiety and unease everywhere.

 In the state of Arizona in the southwest of the country, this unease is particularly  acute. Southern Arizona, much of it harsh desert, shares a 600km border with Mexico and is literally the front line where the movements of illegal immigrants, asylum  seekers and undocumented workers rub up against a United States retreating into  isolationism and xenophobia.  

Thus a government threatening to go after lawyers and their ‘frivolous’  applications (such as advocating the rights of deportees or impeding the separation  of immigrant families) may have real consequences there, as Maurice Goldman, a  Tucson-based immigration lawyer explains:  “The question becomes, how are they going to define frivolous?

Is everything in  the eyes of this administration fraud or frivolous? These are words that can just get  thrown around with no real true basis to it and it’s a way to chisel away at our system  of justice and the rule of law.”

 And of course it is not just legal organisations affected by this climate of  uncertainty. It also has implications for non-government activist groups such as  Humane Borders.

Those who chose the risky crossing of desert regions into the  United States are vulnerable to its extreme heat and since the turn of the 21st century  over 4000 people have died making the journey.

 Humane Borders’ mission is to ‘save desperate people from death by dehydration  and exposure while working to create a more just and humane border’.

They do one  simple thing, that is to maintain a series of permitted water stations in the desert  along trails used by migrants. The stations consist of blue plastic barrels filled with  fresh water placed in a shaded area with a flag attached that can be seen from a  distance.  

The work of Humane Borders and other NGO’s like them has attracted the ire  of authorities in the past. Volunteers have been threatened with prison and fines due  to their efforts to place life-saving food and water and they have been accused of  encouraging people smuggling and organised crime.  

There is no doubt that ultimately it is these types of groups and their supporters  that the current administration wants to impede.

By going after the lawyers that assist  them, they can easily isolate, criminalise and restrict their activism. But here in Arizona it’s not just the authorities Humane Borders has to be wary  of. Guillermo Jones is a volunteer with the group and goes out on regular runs into  the desert to check and refill water stations.  

“We sometimes find barrels where the spigot had been removed by border patrol  officers, draining the water. Often the barrels get shot at too. On a recent trip we  encountered someone impersonating a migrant in distress and asking for a ride. He  was trying to entrap us, as transporting people without documents is a crime.”  

The wall straddling the line between Mexico and the United States is the  President’s vision of an isolated and locked-down country-made manifest. The eight-metre high structure, festooned with razor wire, towers over the desert town of  Nogales.    

Border patrol pick-ups drive along the base and helicopters and drones with  infrared scanners cruise the skies. But within the local population, predominantly Hispanic and indigenous, there is a sympathy, or at least some understanding, of why  those who brave the desert do what they have to do.  

“People are scared right now,” says Guillermo, “Even those who have the right to  enter the United States are afraid to cross over the border in case they get picked up  in a sweep,” referring to recent arrests and deportations by Immigration Customs and Enforcement officials.

“But ultimately undocumented immigrant traffic will continue, and we will help them survive no matter how hard they try to stamp out our efforts in Washington DC.”  

Words & images of Maurice Goldman, top left, and the wall: Tony Sawrey  

Images: Guillermo Jones, top right, and cross: Supplied by Guillermo Jones  

with Marita McGuirk

When you are driving along a country road and you see birds by the roadside, it is always advisable to slow down. If the birds take flight, there is a good chance that they will fly into your car.  

This is what happened to the two gang-gang cockatoos currently recovering at the Hepburn Wildlife Shelter.

These birds flew into a passing car and have concussion and bruising. Luckily, the car was going slowly, or the outcome would have been much worse for the birds.  

Gang-gang cockatoos are now listed as an endangered species. A large portion of their habitat was destroyed in the Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20 and habitat is being lost daily as land clearing and native-forest logging continues.  

These birds nest in the hollows that form in trees and most eucalypts (gum, box and stringybark), will be over 80 years old before decent nest-bearing hollows have formed, which makes nesting places few and far between.

This is why it is so  important to retain and protect any large old trees, even if they are dead, as they  will still be home to many animals.  

Gang-gang cockatoos will often be seen in pairs because they are monogamous and mate for life. They mostly eat seeds from eucalyptus and wattles and will also eat flower buds and insects.

In late spring they may be seen in the Hepburn State Forest enjoying the seeds from the local wattle trees. They are not as raucous as other cockatoos, and you may not know they are above you until you hear dislodged seeds falling to the  ground.  

In recent times they have developed a taste for exotic species, namely hawthorn berries. These berries are a favourite food for the gang-gangs recovering at the shelter.  

Marita McGuirk is a field ecologist and environmental scientist, and a volunteer  at the Hepburn Wildlife Shelter. Marita will write 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  

Coming up four years since the shocking 2021 storm ripped through the Wombat State Forest area, devastated landholders are still clearing up the damage.

Many were traumatised to see beautiful and much loved mature trees torn down, and many elderly locals struggled to know how to cope with the physical aftermath.

But thanks to some help from some noteworthy quarters many impacted locals have been able to clean up and get on.

The Daylesford Foundation and the Lions Club of Trentham both have lent a significant helping hand in the shape of a Superaxe wood splitter, chainsaws and a large tandem trailer plus accompanying safety equipment.

These items, together worth about $61,000, were funded through state government Disaster Recovery Program dollars secured by the Hepburn Shire Council with the Daylesford Foundation and Trentham Lions club also contributing some of the dollars.

The arrangement initially saw the Daylesford Foundation take possession of the equipment and oversee its application where needed in the community by those struggling to cope with the storm aftermath.

The Daylesford Foundation’s Jim Foster recalls how their board eventually realised it was time to hand the equipment over to another community organisation better placed to see its ongoing, long-term application in the community as intended.

That organisation was the Trentham Lions Club which accepted the generously donated equipment and now continues to oversee its lending out to community members in need.

“They’ve down a fabulous job,” says Daylesford Foundation secretary Jim Foster, one year on since the equipment hand-over took place.

“It had become clear to us that the Lions Club would do a far better job then us.”

The Lions Club’s John McLaren is at pains to make it clear this is no commercial arrangement.

Instead, he says it’s very much a volunteer “working-bee type” arrangement and The Lions Club volunteers help with transportation and setting up of the equipment where it’s needed out in the community.

John says that even now the equipment is still being used by property owners still striving to fully recover, clean up,  and move on following the devastating storm.

He says that the Lions Club will continue to make sure the equipment is there for use by the community when and if needed.

“It’s about a year since the Daylesford Foundation passed the balance of ownership of the Superaxe wood splitting machine to the Trentham Lions Club,” said John McLaren of Trentham Lions Club

“The machine and trailer were purchased to facilitate the clean up of fallen timber on private land following the Great Storm.

“The Tandem trailer was purpose built in Victoria and is fully galvanised and capable of carrying five cubic metres.

“When in operation, the Superaxe is quite an impressive piece of equipment.”

“In essence the machine addressed the problem of clean up after the great storm.

“We’ve done 100 hrs of work on the machine on about 17 different properties in the area.

“It’s generally been around the Trentham and district area but it’s not confined to that and it’s available for use shire wide.

“But its not a commercial operation. We don’t hire the machine. It’s available on loan. In essence it’s a working-bee based program. At least one of us in the Lions Club would supervise the transport and setting up of the machine and we like to sort of stick around a bit.

“We’ve tried to address the fact that so many property owners in the district are in their senior years and being able to call on volunteers to help them seemed to be a really practical way of addressing the trauma of the storm.

“It is a means of practical help for people faced with the overwhelming difficulties of massive timber fall on their properties.

“It’s ongoing as long as the machine is viable. It will be available as long as there will be volunteers to staff it.”

John says the equipment continues to be available for use by arrangement with the Trentham Lions Club.

Words: Eve Lamb.