Daylesford Rotary is proud to announce the launch of the 2023 Daylesford Art Show to be held between November 2 and 7 in the Daylesford Town Hall.
Coordinator Jenny Hopkins said since the show’s inception 40 years ago, it had been a feature on the Daylesford calendar and “this year we shall be celebrating with an unprecedented eclectic collection of art”.
“This not-to-be-missed art show would not be possible without the contributions of the area’s many talented artists, and the generous sponsorship from local businesses and individuals, and volunteers.
“The beautiful Daylesford Town Hall will, as always be filled with the paintings that are already rolling in from various parts of Victoria…with more to come.”
In the adjacent room will be nationally awarded quilting, plus bonsai, significant sculptures, all for décor and sale.
Ms Hopkins said the committee was delighted that the Community Bank Daylesford District was again sponsoring the show’s opening night.
“In the hall, the Bendigo Bank Bar will be there under the aptly named Cheers for Forty Years.”
Ms Hopkins said the art show had added a new category to the initial seven – The Local and Daylesford Records initiative with entrants invited to creatively reproduce/reinterpret album covers the size of a record album cover, using hard cardboard, preferably framed. (See right below.)
“Space for the top 10 covers will be available for display along with our original categories. These categories, Animalia, Nude, Landscape, Sea, Urban, Landscape (25km beyond Daylesford), Still Life and Portrait, have proven popular over the years, and we expect our newest one to be equally well received.”
Ms Hopkins said the show was only possible through its sponsors including the following category sponsors: Blooms Pharmacy, That Bargain Place, The Daylesford Meat Co, The Daylesford Equestrian Centre, Springs Medical, The Local and Daylesford Records.

Check out our big budget movie, the journey has been long and short…

Daylesford Records, in collaboration with The Local, is announcing a new art competition to be held under the auspices of the Daylesford Art Show.
The competition will be seeking to find the best lookalike photo of an album cover. The prize is a $500 voucher from Daylesford Records and your photo will be displayed in the shop and appear on the front cover of The Local.
Submissions will have to have local faces, and will have to be delivered to Daylesford Records in Howe Street, during their business hours, with a $25 entry fee for the Daylesford Rotary Club.
The photo must be mounted on 32 x 32 cm thick stiff cardboard with the accompanying album cover copy that inspired their photo (also on a 32 x 32 cm cardboard backing). And the best 10 photos and accompanying covers will also be displayed at the Daylesford Art Show.
The Local general manager Kyle Barnes, who is one of the judges alongside Daylesford Records owner Luke Cameron, pictured above, said the idea came with the revival of vinyl.
“It seems like everyone is back into records and that ‘real’ sound of music – and playing an album right through, the way the artist intended,” Kyle said.
“And I love those fantastic covers – people really put their thoughts and imagination into them. Like the one above with Luke recreating the Let It Bleed cover by the Rolling Stones and I did one a while back with Mill Market owner Mark Ward from the cover of Bat Out Of Hell by Meatloaf.

Luke said record covers can be pieces of art. “We would love to see creative reproductions of the most iconic record covers that can be displayed as a thing of beauty, and also bring back memories and nostalgia.”
So get into your groove, break out the costumes and wigs and have some fun. Entries close October 2.

A Daylesford resident has asked dog owners and drivers to be more aware of wildlife, after a kangaroo and its joey were found mauled to death on a local property.
Wendy Avery said on Saturday, July 29, about 3pm, she saw a dog jump in her dam chasing her ducks and sheep.
“It then ran around the dam in circles and attempted to chase my sheep. At this stage I could see what was going on and came out to investigate. My property is completely fenced off from Cobblers Gully and the wet spaniel made a hasty retreat through the fence toward Cobblers Lane/Raglan Street. He/she was wearing a collar with a disc medallion.
“I like dogs but living in Daylesford you have to carefully pick your breed, train and look after them. Especially if they are to live alongside the native wildlife in our area.
“(Some spaniels) are water dogs, prone to roaming. They are actually a gun dog used for hunting, not really a pet if you are just going to leave them in the backyard without exercise or attention.”
Wendy said a week later on Sunday, August 6 as she headed out for a walk along Cobblers Gully about 4.30pm, still on her neighbour’s property, she saw a dead kangaroo.
“On closer inspection it was a small female with a joey in its pouch. Both were still warm, but sadly deceased. You could see that they had been attacked by a dog and the council ranger has confirmed from pictures it was a dog attack. The dog involved would have come home with a bloody muzzle.”
Hepburn Shire Council Infrastructure and Delivery director Bruce Lucas said over the past four years there had been reports involving kangaroo, wombats, possums and lizards.
“These are from not only dogs unconstrained or roaming but let’s talk about cats as well, in relation to smaller wildlife. The council has just introduced a dusk to dawn cat curfew.
“The case recently was a roaming dog and we don’t know who the owner is and have not been able to identify the dog. If we had responsible pet ownership and people keeping animals well contained that attack is likely to be avoided.”
Mr Lucas said the council worked closely with Wildlife Victoria, who had responded in this case, and that they did an amazing job as a volunteer organisation.
“We work closely with them, they support us and we have a great working relationship.”
Mr Lucas said the primary goal was keeping animals contained on properties and when walking them to be mindful of the surroundings. “If you are in the bush then make sure your dogs are on lead or under effective controls because there will be wildlife. It all comes back to responsible pet ownership.”
*Wendy did provide photos of the dead kangaroo and its joey but The Local has chosen not to show them as they are very distressing.

Aggressive behaviour towards Hepburn Shire Council staff is on the increase and reaching unprecedented levels.
CEO Bradley Thomas said that several recent incidents had highlighted the lack of respect shown towards council staff.
“While the vast majority of our community are respectful and behave appropriately, we are seeing a significant increase in the number of incidents of occupational violence occurring towards our 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. If we get things wrong, let us know in a respectful way through the many mechanisms available and we’ll do what we can to put things right.”
Mayor Cr Brian 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 has well-established complaint handling procedures, so if community members have a complaint, they must raise it through the appropriate channels.
“Council will do everything within its powers to protect its staff and councillors. We will not tolerate aggressive, abusive or threatening behaviour.”

Locals are being offered the opportunity to become Rainbow Community Angels to enable them to take part in peaceful actions to support community safety at LGBTIQA+ inclusive events with a special training event happening in Kyneton this Saturday.
In partnership with Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health, the Rainbow Community Angels, a Victorian community-led safety initiative, are delivering training in Kyneton to the LGBTIQA+ community and allies.

Participants will learn how to shield and protect the LGBTIQA+ community, including young people, local council, business owners and venue staff should protesters attend LGBTIQA+ activities and events.
Talking about why it was important to provide this training, Country LGBTIQA+ Inclusion Program worker Belinda said: “The Rainbow Community Angel training builds hope and resilience in our community, empowering us to stand together in solidarity as a community and allies in support of LGBTIQA+ events.”
Rainbow Community Angels work with event organisers and venue staff to increase event safety through a peaceful, supportive and highly visible presence.
They have experience working with local councils, libraries and youth organisations to support the safe passage of attendees to and from the scheduled activities. The Rainbow Angels have formed in response to an increased presence of anti-trans and anti-drag activity in the community which has led to a series of event cancellations.
“By training to be Rainbow Angels, we can turn some of that anger and hate into love, kindness and community,” Belinda said. “It’s about working together and finding a structure to support each other and ensure inclusive events continue to go ahead.”
The upcoming Rainbow Community Angels training will be held in Kyneton this Saturday, September 2 from 10am to 1pm. The training is free, but registration is essential at www.sunburycobaw.org.au/rainbow-community-angels. Those living in Central Victoria and Sunbury will be prioritised for this training opportunity.
For more information about this event or Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health’s LGBTIQA+ programs, contact WayOut or CLIP on 5421 1666/ healthpromotion@scchc.org.au.
*If this article has raised any concerns, Qlife offers support for LGBTIQA+ people from 3pm to midnight – call or webchat 1800 184 527.

Words: Eve Lamb | Image: Contributed

Hepburn’s Amanda Care is heading off to Scotland to compete in the International Deaf Bowls Championships.
It’s a major achievement for the local businesswoman who was diagnosed with severe to profound hearing loss as a very small child.
Amanda only took up bowls five years ago, but took to it instantly, after getting tired of merely watching from the sidelines as her husband Kevin enjoyed his bowling on the greens.

Amanda has flown out bound for Edinburgh and, once there, will travel about 20 minutes each day of the international champs, held over September 1-14, to compete on the Colinton Bowling Club greens.
There will be 85 bowlers in total competing, including bowlers from Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, England and Australia, Amanda says.
It’s the first time the local bowler has ever competed in the world championships. It’s also the first time she has ever been to Scotland, despite recently discovering that she is genetically 45 per cent Scottish, and even boasts a family clan, the McLeods.
Amanda is one of 14 Australians – 12 of them competitors – who are making their way over to Scotland for the championships and once there she will find out which events she will compete in. These may include singles, doubles, triples or fours with men’s and women’s divisions.
Amanda says that despite being rated severe to profoundly deaf she is able to get by just fine with the help of technology including hearing aids, specialised apps and Bluetooth which enables her to use telephones for conversation.
Both she and Kevin are keen members of the Deer Park Bowling Club, although Amanda has also enjoyed playing pennants and socialising at the Daylesford Bowling Club as well.
“These world championships are held every four years but with Covid they got delayed. The last championships were held in New Zealand,” Amanda says.
Amanda also says Scottish greens are notorious for being “heavy” while Australian greens, conversely, generally tend to be “fast”.
So to prepare for the championships she has been playing bowls every day on the heaviest greens onto which she can readily find her way.
“I’ve been practising at Invermay because they’re heavier greens,” she says. She’s also been working hard on boosting general strength and fitness.
“I’ve been working out with Beth at Integrated Fitness in Daylesford, and bowling five days a week,” she says.
“Bowling is such a skilful game too. It requires a lot of headspace. You have your good days and your bad days. It’s quite a humbling game. Some days you just can’t get it together while other days you’re on fire.”
Amanda is in her early 50s, runs her own professional organising and decluttering business, which she loves, and also enjoys taking on the older bowlers who, just quietly, are known to be ferociously competitive at times.
“I love competing against the older bowlers, showing them what I can do. A lot of them have been bowling for 20 to 30 years,” Amanda says.
She loves the social aspect of the sport and is also looking to compete in the annual Australian Deaf Games set for Newcastle at the end of January.
“I have competed in them once before and got a bronze medal, but at the time I was a fill-in for a Sydney team because one of their girls broke a leg,” she says.
“I used to play golf. I’m much better as a bowler.”
Amanda has promised to let The Local know how she goes in Scotland.

Cats Come To Creswick Art Show, will be held at the Creswick Town Hall from Friday, September 29 to Sunday, October 1, and raise funds for a new bus for John Curtin Aged Care.
The cat theme cmes about because famed Creswick artist Norman Lindsay loved cats and painted quite a few, while internationally there is a long history of the cat in art and some wonderful examples of cat art out there to be appreciated.
Artists whose cat-themed work will be exhibited include Ro Bancroft, Craig Barrett, Clare Blake, Doug Bosher, Jan Bosher, Jennie Boyd, Georgia Brain, Steve Bruechert, Loris Button, Janet Cameron, Susan Clarke, Lyn Cooke, Peter Cooper, Peter Cougle, Maggie Dannatt, Dave Dawson, Louise Donovan, Jakki Eden, Ellie Edwards, Kate Edwards, Karen Garratt, Frances Guerin, Debbie Hill, Earl Ingleby (dec), Ken Kronberger, Di Lehne, Marilyn Lennox, Barbara Madden, Kirsty Madigan, Marie Mason, Julie Patey, Alison Parkinson, Jennifer Powell, Elizabeth Reyne, Jane Reyne, Valerie Richards, Kaysha Seamons, Elize Shutt, Selena Smith, Jo Street, Joanna Thomas, Lisa Timson, Gladys Toering, Jodie Toering, Selina Trevorah, Amanda Western, Xersa and residents. Tickets to get into the show will be $5 for adults with children free.

Words Kyle Barnes | Images: Kyle Barnes & Donna Kelly

The inaugural Pacific Airshow Gold Coast was a sensory overload. The show sported aerobatic aircraft from the mid-sized two airplanes in one, a super loud Yak 110 and the huge C-130 Hercules through to my favourite, the air ripping F/A-18 Super Hornet’s handling display.
As with a lot of Central Highlanders we started our annual heat-seeking mission north to break the winter mundanity and landed on the Gold Coast. We had never heard about the airshow and only found out about it when we were told to check out of our accommodation on August 18 as all accommodation was full.

But as it turned out there was a cancellation close to our departure date, so we continued our stay and booked into one of the last available sea-facing balconies on the Gold Coast. Donna did her thing and quickly ordered some press passes which, when you have a newspaper for an email signature, is actually quite easy.
I shot photos from the balcony and down at Surfers Paradise used my phone as my real gear was back at the office. Although you didn’t really need a zoom lens as the action was happening at eye level 200 metres from our balcony.
The action lasted over four and a half hours every day for three days.
I must admit some of the loop-the-loop planes became a bit tedious, but that was made up for by the thundering Globemaster and the F/A-18 which went past the front window doing what I can only explain as a wheelie, with its pointy end skyward walking along on its jets and dropping anti-missile flares. The noise felt like the flesh was shuddering from your bones in a sort of an air tearing sound that made you cover your ears and look around for the broken windowpanes.
Some days prior we had attended the airshow opening at Coolangatta Airport where the charming and very proud Tom Tate, the Gold Coast Mayor, took to the podium to open the show. He seemed pretty chuffed that they had locked in yet another large event for the GC and then donned an air suit complete with sickbag to hop into a jet.
It was later said that the only bomb that was dropped over the weekend was the F-bomb from Cr Tate, as the pilot twisted, stretched and G-forced him in a spectacular jet flight experience.

Click on the QR Code for video from the airshow…

A veteran of the music industry in Australia, Phil Manning has been at the forefront of blues and roots style music for over five decades, first coming to public attention as a member of the now legendary Chain, a rock/blues band of the sixties and seventies, which still performs to this day.

Local music lovers now have the opportunity to catch him performing live this Saturday in Castlemaine.

Throughout his career Phil has displayed great talent on both the electric and acoustic guitar, absorbing influences from folk, blues, country and world genres and crafting them into his unique style.

His energetic playing and relaxed delivery have made him an engaging artist who presents both traditional songs and a wealth of original music, much of it based on his personal interpretation of the many recurring themes in blues and folk history. Phil will play at The Taproom, Castlemaine on Saturday, September 2.

Hepburn Swiss Italian Festa returns in 2023, with a three-day celebration of community, heritage, culture and lifestyle starting Friday, October 27.
Festa committee president Stephen Carr promises a feast of people, music, food, wine, local produce, art, performance and sport to bring community together.

Festa began more than 30 years ago to celebrate the unique contribution and continuing influence of Swiss and Italian settlers to life in Hepburn, Hepburn Springs, Daylesford and the wider region.
With the theme of Viva La Festa 23! organisers are asking local businesspeople and community members to support Festa by becoming sponsors, creating their own events and promotions, or joining up with the proposed program.
“Our Festa receives some local and state government support, but to ensure this year’s performance and schools program is a success, we’re relying on the generous financial, in-kind and other support of local business owners and community members.”
Mr Carr said some past sponsors had already re-committed to Viva La Festa 23, and an energetic new management committee was determined to build on the best of Festa tradition after a three-year Covid hiatus.
Returning in 2023 are the renowned Landscape Art Prize, Saturday street parade, weekend family Festa, lantern parade, music, comedy and entertainment.
There are also creative productions by local schools, feature restaurants, behind-the-scenes at places rich in Swiss Italian stories, sports and historic vehicles.
Sponsorship packages range from $5000 Gold Sponsor packages to the long-standing $100 Amici friends of Festa donation. Details: www.swissitalianfesta.com or ciao@festa.com.au

The ‘Hydrogen vehicle refuelling infrastructure’ report released by CSIRO and GHD Advisory sets out the opportunities and challenges for refuelling hydrogen-powered road vehicles in Australia.

A new report released last week by CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, and GHD Advisory calls for Australia to focus on hydrogen-powered transport – alongside electric vehicles – or risk being left behind our international counterparts.

While battery electric vehicles will drive decarbonisation of road transport in Australia, there are opportunities for hydrogen-powered vehicles to play a significant role with long-haul travel and freight transport.

This is because hydrogen-powered vehicles are quicker to refuel, have a greater range between refuelling stops and can maximise their payload because they don’t need to carry large, heavy batteries required by electric vehicles.

The ‘Hydrogen vehicle refuelling infrastructure’ report sets out the opportunities and challenges for deploying refuelling stations for hydrogen-powered road vehicles in Australia.

CSIRO’s chief scientist, Prof Bronwyn Fox, said Australia needs to urgently decarbonise its transport sector, which currently accounts for 18.6 per cent of our greenhouse gas emissions, if the country is to meet its net zero commitments. Heavy vehicles are a key contributor to these emissions.

“While we know hydrogen will play a critical role, we also know that much of the key infrastructure for storing, moving and distributing hydrogen for use as a transport fuel – including pipelines, storage tanks and refuelling stations – is yet to be built,” Prof Fox said.

“That’s why this report is so important. It identifies priorities for action, including areas that would benefit from targeted research and innovation.”

The report compared the different hydrogen storage and dispensing options available, and evaluated refuelling infrastructure options based on fuel demand and distance from the hydrogen source.

It found that while all Australian hydrogen refuelling stations currently have onsite hydrogen production, we will need to move to centralised offsite production and distribution of hydrogen in order to refuel vehicles at scale.

Shawn Wolfe, Executive Advisor at GHD Advisory and lead author of the report, said Australia currently has only five hydrogen refuelling stations in operation, with 20 planned or under construction.

“The pace of the transition to hydrogen-powered transport is moving a lot faster internationally than in Australia,” Mr Wolfe said.

“Companies like Daimler and Ampol are not hedging their bets – it’s a hydrogen and electric transport future.

“We need to get into lockstep or risk being left behind.”

Dr Patrick Hartley, Leader of CSIRO’s Hydrogen Industry Mission, said research is happening at every point of the hydrogen supply chain, from hydrogen production through to storage, distribution and ultimately utilisation technologies like fuel cells.

“Australia is unique in terms of our size and sparse distribution of population, so finding ways to make hydrogen available across the continent will be a key enabler,” Dr Hartley said.

“This report will help regulators and industry stakeholders understand where they can best focus their activities and progress their plans to develop infrastructure for hydrogen-powered transport.”

Several CFA crews attended a hazmat incident in Maddingley near Bacchus Marsh last week.

The CFA was called to the incident involving a ruptured gas main on Cosgrove Drive at 2.42pm last Monday.

A medium pressure gas pipe which was around 60mm in size was hit by an excavator.

Firefighters isolated the area to avoid any fire ignition until the gas company arrived on scene.

CFA issued an Advice message to local residents advising them a door knock was underway to evacuate the immediate area. Around 10 houses in Cosgrove Drive were recommended to be evacuated.

Local residents were also advised to keep all windows closed and motorists were advised to avoid the area.

The gas was travelling in a south west direction from Cosgrove Drive.

The pipe was clamped by the gas company around 4pm and the incident was brought under control at 4.01pm.

The incident was deemed safe at 4.15pm and the scene was handed to Victoria Police. CFA had six vehicles on scene supported by FRV crews.

North West Metro Regional Crime Squad detectives have charged a woman following a string of jewellery burglaries across Melbourne’s Northwest.

It is alleged the 32-year-old woman broke into six properties across the suburbs of Burnside Heights, St Albans, Essendon and Point Cook over July and earlier this month.

It is alleged approximately $100,000 worth of items across the burglaries were stolen.

A large amount of jewellery including wedding rings and sentimental items, was allegedly stolen in Cairnlea on 12 August.

Officers intercepted an allegedly stolen vehicle along Fitzgerald Road in Laverton and discovered the stolen jewellery inside on 14 August.

A 32-year-old West Footscray woman has been charged with four counts of theft, five counts of burglary, attempted aggravated burglary, attempted burglary, obtain property by deception, two counts of handle stolen goods, possess a drug of dependence, drive while disqualified and two counts of theft of motor-vehicle.

She had been remanded to appear at the Sunshine Magistrates’ Court last Tuesday.

The CSIRO is offering SMEs the opportunity to participate in a free 10-week virtual program to help advance their R&D idea across growing cyber and digital technology sectors.

Those interested in participating need to have applied by September 17.

The newest round of the Innovate to Grow program, coordinated by Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, will equip small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the cyber security and digital technology sectors with critical research and development (R&D) know-how to grow their businesses.

CSIRO’s Innovate to Grow program links businesses to expert knowledge, resources, and mentors to help businesses validate, and develop their R&D ideas that could lead to commercial outcomes.

On completing the program, eligible participants can apply to work with CSIRO’s expert researchers and access dollar-matched R&D funding through the Kickstart program.

Dr Marthie Grobler, Principal Research Scientist in human-centred cyber security at CSIRO’s Data61 strongly urged eligible businesses to consider applying to stay at the forefront of research impact in these critical sectors.

“SMEs are the lifeblood of Australia, and many have innovative business ideas and solutions that could help mitigate cyber security threats and deliver a positive impact to other Australian businesses and the economy,” Dr Grobler said.

“These businesses tend to face a myriad of challenges in bringing their ideas to life, namely investment of money, time and resources.

“This is where a program like Innovate to Grow, which is free to access, is so valuable for Australian businesses.”

The Innovate to Grow program has seen growing interest and success with each cohort that has opened across the past two years, and CSIRO’s SME Connect Program Advisor Liz Crompton said this next iteration is no exception.

“The expansion of the cybersecurity program to include digital technology, means that more SMEs across the sector will have the opportunity to take advantage of this free program,” Ms Crompton said.

“The program is giving SMEs the opportunity to develop their ideas into a real-world R&D project, leading to potential commercial outputs, revenue and/or employment growth.”

Australian companies working on innovative ideas incorporating cyber security or digital technology should consider applying.

CSIRO’s Innovate to Grow: Cyber Security and Digital Technology program commences 12 October and is available for a limited number of SMEs.

This program is funded by the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources through the Cyber Security Skills Partnership Innovation Fund.