The Hepburn Shire Council is hosting a forum for local farmers in collaboration with Agriculture Victoria to provide updates on a range of issues impacting farming operations.

These include:

• Biosecurity – emergency animal disease preparedness
• Planning advisory services
• Updates on Rural Hepburn Strategy
• Seasonal climate patterns.

There will also be opportunities to engage with council teams on emergency management, sustainability, economic development and business support. 

The Agriculture Forum will be held on Friday 22 September from 9.30am to 1pm at Doug Lindsay Recreation Reserve, Creswick and farmers are now being invited to Register to attend.

The Hepburn Shire Council says it’s once again supporting the Victorian Seniors Festival program, with lots of fun and free events planned in October for people aged 55+ years.
 
In partnership with Mount Alexander Shire Council, there’s a Johnny Cash and June Carter tribute show on Thursday 5 October in Castlemaine – book now.
 
Country/ folk band Canyon Dust supported by the Melbourne University Opera Singers on Tuesday 17 October at Clunes – book now.
 
Canyon Dust supported by the Daylesford Secondary College and the Pleasant Pluckers with a free lunch, supported by Cresfest on Tuesday 24 October at Glenlyon – book now.
 
Author Talk – Symbols of Australia, a talk by co-editor Richard White on Monday 30 October at Clunes – book now.

Event organisers of Daylesford’s Borealis On The Lake are now inviting local residents to head along and enjoy the immersive light and sound show with a special discounted rate.

Local residents can now receive a 20 percent discount to catch the show on Friday and Sunday evenings. 

To access the discount Hepburn Shire locals and others who live in the immediate region can use the code LOCAL20 when they purchase tickets via their website. 

Along with residents in Hepburn Shire, this includes surrounding towns of Gisborne, Macedon, Mount Macedon, Woodend, Kyneton and Malmsbury.

Tickets are subject to availability until allocation is exhausted. Photographic ID is required upon arrival to prove eligibility, otherwise standard ticket prices will apply.

The Hepburn Shire Council is offering shire residents subsidised compost bins to help them reduce waste to landfill by turning food scraps and garden waste into compost.

The subsidised composters have become available from the shire’s local transfer stations from Friday 1 September.

But locals keen to secure one had better be quick as the council has advised that there are limited numbers available. Those intending to get one need to bring proof of residency.

Transfer station vouchers for 2023/24 are also available for collection from the Hepburn Shire Council’s Transfer Stations and Customer Service Centres. Residents are eligible for vouchers if they have a fortnightly landfill (general waste) collection or do not have a kerbside collection. 

Proof of address is required with vouchers for the 2022/23 year able to be collected and used until 30 September 2023.

with Clive Hartley

Bordeaux blends
On the world stage cabernet sauvignon easily outguns shiraz/syrah. It dominates the ‘left bank’ in Bordeaux, France and is famous in the Napa Valley in California. In Australia we have the Yarra Valley, Coonawarra and Margaret River as specialist regions for cabernet. Yet it runs a poor second to shiraz in Australia.
Cabernet sauvignon can make full-bodied wines with plenty of acid and tannins, as well as elegant black fruit flavours wrapped in a cloak of oak. However, when not fully ripe they can appear to be a tad austere and have an herbaceous leafy, green edge. Some people like that style, but others don’t.
Making a Bordeaux blend can overcome some of these shortcomings. A traditional blend found in France is comprised of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc, with the occasional splattering of petit verdot. This blend of grapes produces a harmonious match.
Cabernet sauvignon provides the structure for the blend and contributes body, tannin and acidity. Merlot adds a plum fruit softness on the middle palate that cabernet can lack as well and a tad more alcohol. Cabernet franc provides fresh red berry, floral and violet aromas. Petit verdot can be difficult to ripen in some climates but does OK in Australia. It adds fruit, tannin and a deep colour to the blend.
Do blends make better wines? In my opinion they do. In Australia we pick and choose what makes up the blend. It can be as simple as a cabernet merlot which is more commonly found in Margaret River. Try Woodlands or Cape Mentelle.
Yarra Valley have some fabulous Bordeaux blends. Yeringberg is one of the best in the Yarra and is a classic Bordeaux blend with the touch of malbec as the fifth grape. Yarra Yering and Mount Mary also produce some of Australia’s elite Bordeaux blends.
We also have a wealth of shiraz cabernet blends where the shiraz takes over the role of merlot to provide more fruit flavours. One of my favourites is Sally’s Paddock from Redbank Winery in the Pyrenees. The wine has cabernet franc, malbec and merlot added to the cabernet and shiraz. The vineyard and family just celebrated 50 years in production and deserves more attention.

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 in Daylesford or via his website – www.australianwineguide.com.au

G’day. I’m Ollie and I am a 14-and-a-half-year-old tabby and white domestic medium hair puss. The people here at the Mount Alexander Animal Welfare shelter in Castlemaine say I am “a beautiful big boy”. I am very tall and long! I am also very loving and I really enjoy having attention and being with people. I would love to find a great new home where I can live out my senior years just easing back in the sun, receiving lots of pats and cuddles whenever possible. Microchip no 982009105847828

By Donna Kelly

Had some interesting chats with Hepburn Shire Council CEO Bradley Thomas and Mayor Brian Hood last week.
The council put out a media release which says aggressive behaviour towards Hepburn Shire Council staff is on the increase and reaching unprecedented levels.
Mr Thomas said in the release that recent incidents had highlighted the lack of respect shown by some people towards council staff.
“Staff are regularly feeling intimidated after being approached in the street or in other public places, like the supermarket, and verbally abused, sometimes shouted or sworn at. We acknowledge that we don’t always get things right and sometimes mistakes are made, but that does not excuse poor behaviour towards staff.”
Later Mr Thomas said over the phone that it was a phenomenon that was happening in many council areas – mostly country. He thinks that with the end (sort of) of Covid, and the sky-rocketing cost of living, that people have had enough and feel they have the right to have their say.
Cr Hood said council staff, and councillors, were entitled to have a safe workplace. “Verbal abuse and threatening behaviour is simply not acceptable, and that includes cowardly online abuse. Council will do everything within its powers to protect its staff and councillors. We will not tolerate aggressive, abusive or threatening behaviour.”
Cr Hood said he was not a psychologist but, in his latest mayoral report to council, also called out the irresponsible behaviour of some media which “emboldens some elements of the community and fans the flames of dissent”.
Now, when I read that I was a bit annoyed. But after talking to Cr Hood I think it is more about mainstream media and not local media.
Also, The Local is very much a professional outfit, accredited as a newspaper through the Victorian Country Press Association and the federal Country Press Association. We employ qualified, professional journalists to write our stories and they are done with the utmost consideration. Yes, now and again, we might have a bit of a rant about council, but I think it is pretty much merited. The Rex, handing over aged care, the drooping Bleakley Street units, terrible satisfaction survey results.
But, that is no reason for anyone to harass or intimidate council staff or councillors, who are only doing their job, and probably for a pretty limited salary. Complain sure, but always remain respectful. And do it in the right way.
Sadly, keyboard warriors abound, saying things online they would never say to anyone’s face, and many people don’t realise just how small our rate base is. We are lucky to get roads, rates and rubbish done. And I know we still pay rates while the roads remain rubbish but most of them belong to the state government and not the council.

When we started The Local, Kyle asked if we should open an office in Daylesford. No, I said, no way. When I worked at The Advocate, in the Coles carpark office, people would line up to pop in and rage away for 30 minutes. One woman spent her time telling me I was a piece of shit – and then left saying “I feel better now”. I did feel like shit after that. I have been emailed: “Do you want to die?”. True story.
So next time you need to vent your spleen about a council issue, make a reasoned call, send an email or maybe decide if it’s just you having a bad day.
People might think I am mellowing in my old age but I just think we all should be treated respectfully. Who knows what’s going on in the background? Just sayin’…

Every year for the past 39 years, since I was 17, I have done a first aid course. The first one was for my skipper’s ticket which involved a little bit more than your average, what is now day course, plus home study.
The certificate was a small ships doctor’s course, which involved practicing sutures by stitching up hunks of pork and stuffing our counterparts into body bags for storage in the ice holds. The course went for a full three days of rolling around the floor perfecting bandages down to the millimetre, washing out eyes, knowing what objects to remove and what to leave in. It was intense.
I am a great believer in regular first aid, in particular the CPR course, as the knowledge and technology has increased and changed and is something that most of us should be across.
A couple of examples of changes are the acronym ABC – Airway, Breathing and Circulation. This stuff was around when I was at my first course at the tender age of 17. Now the acronym has changed to DRSABCD which is Danger, Response, Send, Airway, Breathing, CPR and Defibrillation.
The courses now are not so precise and are more of a field first aid arrangement where you are taught to use what you have available and not to leave the defibrillator and EpiPen to the ambos, you get in and do it yourself.
So I commenced my once in three year training last week. (Not locally I will add. You will see why.) After about an hour of self-learning I attended the face-to-face class. It was good, comprehensive enough – and the only thing I didn’t like was the instructor. It was a Sunday, and he strolled in, no introduction, leaned back in his seat, feet on the desk and started explaining how he knew so much he had no need for the provided slides etc.
He had been an ambo, he said, but never signed up for what Covid brought along. Almost died in a car accident because he had to wear a mask and was breathing in carbon dioxide. Said no-one should have to wear a mask for hours on end. Hello surgeons, hello nurses, hello theatre attendants – as in surgical theatres…
He then launched into a few PTR – points to remember – and then asked us all to produce our licences and come up and sign our names “in the box”. A woman, who had English as a second language but had lived in Australia for 10 years, went forward and asked “which box?” to which he replied, in a loud voice, “the one next to your name”. She tentatively asked again, and by now he was shouting at her. Not once pointing to the paper – just shouting “the one next to your name!”.
Now, someone, me, should have stepped up. And to my eternal regret and shame I didn’t. I don’t know why. But it was clearly bullying and maybe racist. The most I managed was giving her a smile and an eye roll in his direction when she sat down. (When I signed my name it was actually confusing.)
Anyway, the class continued. We heard more of his stories. Like it is important to find out everything about an injured person even if you have to empty their handbag onto the street. Turned out he had found a Jane Doe one time who had been raped – “gang raped” – and her parents had not found out until the next morning. For some reason he had to go into all the gory detail on that one. Odd.
Then, because he had skipped the slides, he was ahead of time and decided to slow down by asking us about pets. He had a snake, of course. One person said they had owned a cat but it had died. “Did you turn it into a rug?” he asked. “No, we buried it in the garden,” was the sad reply. I swear he grinned. Until this day I can honestly say I have never met an ambo, or former ambo, I didn’t like, but I did not like this guy. Oh, the Heimlich manoeuvre is also over, just like this rant…

Ten firearms buried 20 years ago have been unearthed on a vacant residential property in Huntly, just out of Bendigo in recent days.

Officers from the Central Victorian Firearms Office received an anonymous tip-off as part of the National Firearms Amnesty that the items were under a concrete slab on the recently sold Hehir Road property.

Local police, with assistance from Search and Rescue officers used a mini excavator to jack hammer the firearms out on Friday 22, about 11.15am.

The firearms, all in excellent condition, were in poly pipe and wrapped in garbage bags full of motor oil.

They included:

A revolver

A semi auto .22 rifle cut down to a handgun

Three Ruger 10/22 semi auto rifles

A Fieldman semi auto .22 rifle

Four Ruger Mini-14 .223 semi-automatic centrefire rifles (assault rifles).

Bendigo Central Victorian Firearms Office Leading Senior Constable Mark Wilkinson reminded anyone out there that they can hand any firearm to police with complete anonymity and will not be prosecuted under the National Firearms Amnesty.

“The firearms seized on Friday (September 22) are of a category that the average firearm licence holder cannot legally possess and they will all be destroyed at the Forensic Science Laboratory in the coming weeks.”

with Eve Lamb

Rose Wilson’s prodigious artistic talent for creating captivating portraiture has seen her make the finals of some of the nation’s  most  prestigious arts awards including the Archibald Prize. This acclaimed Trentham artist is also renown for her impressionistic paintings paying homage to the natural environment and to the living creatures that inhabit it.

Eve: Hi Rose. When and how did you become aware that you have this wonderful capacity for creating art to which others respond strongly?

Rose: As a child I drew a lot, no different from most kids my age.  But when I started  getting  paid with icy poles and vanilla slices for drawing other kids’  school projects I knew I was onto something.  My fascination with the face and eyes started early as well. I was an average student so I’d doodle faces and eyes all the time especially during school. Unfortunately my passion for drawing was inhibited during high school and the thought of being an artist was a distant fantasy. I did what everyone else did back then, finish school and get a job.

Eve: What has your personal arts journey involved in terms of nurturing that innate talent?

Rose: My passion for art lay dormant for many years until I traveled to Italy to see the World Cup in 1991.  Being a tourist I found myself visiting the Sistine Chapel.  Once inside I found myself surrounded by magnificent frescos covering the chapel’s ceilings and massive religious paintings towering above me. I was in awe.  Something was unleashed within me that day and that experience was the catalyst that paved the way for my artistic journey.  When I returned to Sydney I enrolled in Darlinghurst Arts School and the rest is history. I travelled around Australia. I lived in Arnhem land. I studied at Darwin Uni and Newcastle, and then we moved here.

Eve: How do you happen to live at Trentham and how long have you had your home and studio here now?

Rose: My partner of 35 years is a pilot so we moved around the country a lot. We had a pact;  we either live in the city or the  country,  but nothing in-between. After a two-year stint in an inner suburb of Melbourne, we decided to go country.  We always thought we’d move again, but we fell in love with Trentham and its community. It’s been 20 years now and we are besotted with our little slice of paradise. Twelve years ago a group of like-minded local artists founded the Little Gallery, an artist-run space in Trentham that has been a wonderful addition to the town and is supported by all the locals. 

Eve: Which artists have influenced your work?

Rose: My biggest influence was while living in east Arnhem Land. I would often sit with one of the elders from the Murrungun clan while he painted.  He’d often tell the story of what he was painting, and I felt privileged to have had that opportunity. Frida Khalo was another, for her visual narrative and strong symbolism as well.  Both artists had a major influence in my storytelling through art.

Eve: What is your media of choice?

Rose: Oil. When painting landscape I tend to under-paint with thick textured paint, and scrape back harshly so I need the paint to move slightly. With acrylic it is too hard. With portraiture I use my hands a lot to apply the paint. I’m sure it’s not good for me, but I’m still here and haven’t gone mad from pigments yet!

Eve: What are your subject matter of choice? Why so?

Rose: I flip between landscape and portraiture. I only started landscape when I moved here. The bush has a way of beckoning you, demanding you give it attention.  Although my landscapes are more visceral and impressionistic in their execution, my portraits are more realistic as I try to capture the inner character of the sitter.   They often demand more attention than the bush.

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

Rose: I found my artistic vocation late. I was 28 when I visited Rome. Before then I worked in finance and sales, in the textile industry and consultancy of all things.  I also wanted to become the next Prue Acton as I loved to design clothing. But pattern making did my head in so I dropped out of Tafe and went to Italy instead to see the soccer.  Luckily I did as it changed my life! But perhaps it would have found a way to come back to me no matter what?

Eve: What are you working on at the moment?

Rose: I’m pushing my landscapes as far as I can, experimenting with different content and technique, as with my portraiture.  My landscapes have been popular but I believe you need to challenge yourself. Painting the same thing over and over because there is a market for it may be great for the bank balance yet it’s appalling for the soul and I want to keep my soul intact.

Eve: What work, goals or projects do you have in mind for the future?

Rose: Portraiture is my first love and I will always continue to work on it and push it further. For years I worked monochromatically but now I’m enjoying  new challenges  especially using a coloured palette. I’d like to think painting in colour came naturally but there’s a technical side to it and I’m continually experimenting, and will continue to do so until I feel confident in that.  

Eve: When you work in the studio do you like to play music and if so what is your music of choice?

Rose: I’m so, so eclectic. You could never tell my personality through my music.  I play just about any genre yet sway towards the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, my era. The only thing I don’t listen to is Screamo.   

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

Rose: Being a finalist in the Archibald is right up there. That was a real hoot. I’ve been lucky enough to have been a finalist in many major portrait prizes, hopefully one day I’ll be the bride and not just the bridesmaid. Ha! It’s a tough gig, art competition, these days, with entries exceeding well over 1000 and I’m a realist. So if I never get into the Archibald again at least I can take solace that I did that once – in one of the  biggest portraiture prizes in Australia.

The other highlight was painting the Disappearing Farmers Series highlighting the struggles of local farmers and how they are slowly diminishing. It first went to the MAMA gallery in Albury. It was nerve-racking to be exhibiting in my home town, but a proud moment for my family. The exhibition then came home to Trentham and was hosted at the Cosmo, the only place large enough to exhibit the 17 large paintings of farmers and their working dogs.  It was attended by a ridiculous amount of people and the farmers felt like rock stars, rekindling the recognition they once had and deserved.

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

Rose: The gallery that I’m affiliated with, Little Gallery,  just had a very successful art fundraising exhibition called the Winter Show and we hope to do another exhibition for our Summer Show and invite artists to exhibit.  So watch this space. I also will compete in various art prizes. It’s become a slight addiction, once you’ve been chosen as a finalist, but time restricts entering all the ones I want to.

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

Rose: The stigma around being an artist, and a female artist at that. It is often classified as just a hobby. It’s my life and my work. Finally, after painting for over 30 years, I’m gaining the rewards for my dedication.  People often ask me ‘how long did that painting take?’ which pisses me off.  But I answer, ‘mmmmm about a couple of days. But add 30 or so years on top of that’.  

Another challenge is keeping the gallery afloat, especially through tough times. But fortunately it’s an artist-run space and it’s held together because of that.  I’ve always said every town, no matter how small should have a gallery, not just to showcase local art, but to give a platform for country artists whom otherwise would find it difficult in the larger cities.

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

Rose: Personally for me, my art gives me great purpose and I can’t see my life without it. Even though I struggle with time and working in the studio is a luxury, once there I find it hard to leave. I get caught up with the moment, and I get totally lost in time. #  

 The greatest reward anyone can give me is when a viewer stands before a piece of art and they totally resinate with it  and become emotionally moved by what they see, regardless if it’s mine or not.  We paint  and create to share our vision, our story and our love for the arts.

Nick Carpenter’s new art exhibition, Sight Of Sound, goes on show at the historic Guildford Hotel Music Hall this month.
The exhibition includes 15 new hanging works based on the theme of music. They are mostly 3D works made from timber, acrylic paints, wood stains and oils. Elements from the world of music have been captured in these visual artworks, making the 1860s-built music hall the perfect venue to display them.
The opening night is Saturday, September 9 from 6pm with all welcome.
The exhibition will then be open on Saturdays, during hotel hours with entry free – except for during the Banjo Jamboree on Saturday, September 16. Jamboree ticket holders will be able to view the exhibition.
The Music Hall is just behind the Guildford Hotel on Fryers Street in Guildford.

Words and images: Eve Lamb

It’s a job many would envy and Creswick Woollen Mill’s Farmer Maddy says it’s one she’s not about to swap for a desk any day soon.
Maddy Viola – also known as Farmer Maddy when she’s at work – is one of two farmers at the Creswick Woollen Mills on site demo farm, the other being local resident, Lyn Wozny who is also a shearer.
Besides tending to all the basic needs and creature comforts of their four-hooved charges, Maddy’s and Lyn’s job is to talk all day long about one of their all time favourite topics – the critters in their care.
“It’s fun. I get to hang out with the animals all day and provide information about them – their names, their ages, their breeds,” Maddy says.
“It makes a lot of people happy, especially the little kids.”
The Creswick Woollen Mill, famed for its beautiful fibre products including fine alpaca and merino fleece luxury items, has been operating at Creswick for more than 75 years now, becoming an important tourism drawcard.
But the global COVID pandemic had an impact, with a significant drop particularly in the number of Chinese and other Asian visitors, who up to then had been visiting the Creswick attraction in droves. They’d often come in coach-loads after visiting Ballarat’s Sovereign Hill with the Creswick Woollen Mill a must-do on their Aussie itinerary.
“Before COVID we used to have hundreds of internationals every day, and yes they’re slowly starting to come back now,” Creswick Woollen Mill store manager Cassandra Ellis says.
She says that now the pandemic is over they’ve also been able to start bringing the animals back to the site, something that’s only happened over the last few months, although not quite to the same levels as pre-COVID.
“Pre-COVID we had forty-plus alpacas here and crias (baby alpacas) being born here,” Cassandra said.
Alpaca shearing demonstrations took place twice a year on the especially built demonstration stage, prior to the pandemic, and now, Cassandra says, management thoughts are once again turning to bringing these back as well.
“There’s a lot for love for the animals,” she says. “They’re all super-stars. People come up from Melbourne to learn about them.”

The animals at the Mill farm now include adorable seven month old chocolate male alpacas – Choc and Chip – whose very apt names are the result of a recently concluded naming competition.
There’s also full-gown alpacas – Solomon who is a Suri alpaca and who sports a particularly cool fleece that would look right at home on the head of a surfer, and his best buddy, Juicy Bear, who is a Huacaya breed alpaca.
Then there’s Babar the sheep and his mate Shawn the sheep who has just celebrated a birthday in style. In fact, Farmer Maddy and Cassandra say all of the animals get to have their birthdays properly celebrated with cakes especially prepared to their personal taste – think something along the lines of a tasty mixture of specialty pellets and lucern chaff.
Maddy says getting to know the unique personalities and character traits of the animals in her care is part of what she most enjoys about her work.
“Shawn is like a teenager. Every now and then he has temper tantrums and tries to head-butt me. Juicy bear and Solomon have brotherly fights over food. But they all love each other,” she says.
There’s also the super pretty little multicoloured Persian Cross Dorper lambs, Bill and Ted and, as of very recent weeks, two special new additions – rare Valais Blacknose lambs Milo and Timmy who have beautiful white fleece with charming black point markings.
Sometimes known as “the cutest sheep in the world,” the Valais Blacknose breed originates from the Swiss Valais region and there are still very few of them in Australia.
“Milo and Timmy are rare Valais lambs from the Alpine region and the breed is new to Australia,” Cassandra says.

Maddy, who also works on a local horse property, says chatting to children and educating people about the animals is a really rewarding aspect of her work at the woollen mill farm.
“I could never sit down for a whole day at a desk,” she says.
The farm at Creswick Woollen Mill is open to the public to visit, see the animals and chat to Farmer Maddy or Farmer Lyn, five days a week, Thursday-Monday from 11am-3pm.

Words and Images: Eve Lamb

Eammon Hamilton was determined when he set about securing kitchen maestro Joel Reilly to be head chef at the Pig&Whistle.

“We’d been getting along here without a head chef for six months, just doing reliable pub fare, and I was looking for just the right person,” says Eammon, owner-manager at the Trentham East landmark.

The historic hotel dates all the way back to 1866, and after a colourful past, reopened 18 months ago under its current management.

Since then The Pig, as it’s lovingly known by many locals, began building an impressive legion of dining devotees.

But since Joel accepted the role of head chef back in May, the Pig & Whistle Hotel Restaurant’s reputation as a must-do dining experience has ratcheted up a whole new level, with the formerly-Melbourne-based chef bringing his 27 years of cooking experience to lead the kitchen team.

“I had the pleasure of working with Joel in Melbourne in another hospitality venture for nearly 15 years, so I’d been slowly twisting Joel’s arm and enticing him with an opportunity in the country and eventually he kind of gave in,” Eammon recounts.

“We worked together for quite some time doing events at a place called Red Scooter Unique Events in Balaclava,” Joel says.

“And before that I was at Hotel Comme for a couple of years doing events. When I first arrived in Melbourne I worked at Marchetti’s Tuscan Grill. I worked at Matteo’s for a couple of years, and I worked at Cecconi’s at Crown Casino.

“So I had quite an Italian influence but I had also dabbled in other cultures and cuisines, a lot of work catering for large events and functions.”

Designing the Pig &Whistle new spring menu with a practiced eye to both seasonality and variety, Joel says taking note of what customers want is the main factor guiding his menu planning.

“You’ve got to cater for your clientele, working out what they like and what they want and catering towards that,” Joel says.

“My specials are my sounding board to find out what people like.

“The main focus here is still to provide good quality, wholesome pub food, but then I like to mix it up with weekly specials that will be from different cultures and different parts of the world, mostly to keep the locals entertained and interested.”

In a society full of special dietary needs it’s important to note that the Pig & Whistle caters for things like gluten intolerance, vegan and vegetarianism.

“We have a couple of vegan dishes on the menu and I’m hoping to run at least one vegan special every week,” Joel says.

“With our fryers we keep one completely gluten free and we maintain a lot of our products as gluten free so we’re utilising things like potato starch and rice flour.”

The wine list showcases many of the local wineries that the region boasts. But among all that is trendy and top shelf, the old favs still go down a treat and the management at this venue is noticing.

“A Carlton Draught and a parmi is still our number one selling product so it doesn’t matter how fancy you get,” Eammon says.

“We analyse the data a lot so we’re really looking at what’s selling.”

Working alongside Head Chef Joel, the kitchen crew currently includes three other full-time chefs, three part-time cooking staff and three additional staff, and the focus is on attracting and retaining top staff.

With this in mind, they’re building a brand new kitchen space adjoining the existing kitchen to improve both amenity for staff and work flow.

“We have used Tony Schindler Consulting. (Tony) is a chef but now specialises in commercial kitchen construction,” Eammon says.

The new kitchen is scheduled for completion in the next couple of months and complements the venue’s expanding capacity to cater for larger functions.

The rear beer garden is already an alfresco treat on warmer days and evenings, perfect for parties and functions, or simply kicking back to share quality times with friends.

All this is soon to be expanded upon further with the acquisition of an adjoining 0.7 acre parcel of land to accommodate more car parking, and to develop an onsite kitchen garden. Good times ahead look likely.

Words: Eve Lamb. Image: Fiona Watson

It’s not a sound you’d generally expect to hear emanating from a little community hall in regional Victoria after dark.

Many voices raised together as they belt out some rhythmic pulsing songs of South Africa, followed by a traditional number or two from the Pacific Islands and chased down with a heart-wrenching Croatian piece – all sung in the languages of origin.

But this is exactly what happens pretty much every Wednesday night – other than term breaks – at the Creswick Neighbourhood Centre Hall.

There, well known Ballarat-based musician, singer and choir leader Stella Savy puts the Creswick Chorus through its paces.

Group members say they themselves sometimes find it hard to believe that they’ve just got their tongues around a song in Zulu or French Creole, for example.

But Stella seems to have a gift for making music happen – in many languages – and for bringing people together.

“Within ten minutes of introducing a song to us Stella has us singing three-part harmony in a language that we’ve never seen before, and we even think to ourselves ‘Gee we sound good!’ and yet ten minutes earlier we couldn’t have imaged it,” says Creswick Chorus regular Julie Moten.

Chorus member, Creswick’s Jenni Sewell says singing in the group tends to be a wonderful confidence and wellbeing booster as well.

“I always like how I feel when we’ve just finished our session. I’m as high as a kite and sing all the way home in the car,” Jenni says.

With an emphasis on world music, they also do quite a few fun songs in English as well including some funky stuff and a bit of Gospel to boot.

There’s also a Creswick Kids Chorus group that Stella leads as well, and right now both the adult and kids Creswick Chorus groups are looking forward to being part of a special fundraising concert coming up in Ballarat on Sunday, September 10.

The Stand By Me concert is being presented by the Ballarat Dementia Alliance and the Bigger Hearts Choir with money raised going towards using music to support people diagnosed with dementia and aphasia, a cause to which the Bigger Hearts Choir is devoted.

The concert will feature singing groups from the Creswick and Ballarat areas with the Creswick Chorus joining forces with Ballarat’s Thursday Night Choir to perform together on the day, something Stella says is a real benefit for choir members.

“Other choirs do things slightly differently and so it’s great when you see choirs coming together and singing together,” she says.

“For all reasons singing is good. It’s good for your health it’s good for your mind, for your sense of connectedness,” Stella says, also mentioning that new members are always welcome to rock up and join the Creswick Chorus.

Ballarat’s Bigger Hearts Choir itself will be among the groups performing at the upcoming Stand By Me concert with tickets (that include afternoon tea) available through Humanitix or at the door.

The Stand By Me concert happens at 1.30pm-3.30pm at Ballarat’s York Street Church of Christ York Street Ballarat, Sunday September 10.

The Hepburn Shire Council has confirmed that it is working on possible security measures after the new electric vehicle charge station at Creswick was vandalised recently, rendering it currently offline.

Damage is understood to have been done to at least one of the charge guns and Hepburn CEO Bradley Thomas has described it as “very disappointing”.

“The Creswick EV Charger was vandalised a couple of weeks ago and is currently offline while we wait for a quote on repairs and undertake the works,” Mr Thomas said.

“The damage is very disappointing. Council is working on possible security measures given increasing incidences of damage at our facilities and to the EV charger. “

The damage comes as the rate of electric vehicle uptake continues to grow at a significant rate. The number of EVs on Australian roads almost doubled last year, growing from 44,000 at the beginning of 2022 to more than 83,000. Global electric vehicle (EV) sales increased more than 50 per cent from 2021 to 2022.