Driving after a dementia diagnosis will be the hot topic of discussion at Central Highlands Rural Health’s annual general meeting on Thursday, February 16 at the Kyneton Ambulatory Care Centre from 7.30pm.

According to a 2022 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report, 517 people were living with dementia in the Macedon Ranges Shire, of which 204 were males, and 314 were female.
In Hepburn Shire, there are 389 people living with dementia, with 240 females and 149 males diagnosed.
Guest speaker at the public event is Professor E. (Joe) Ibrahim, pictured, a medical specialist and academic in aged care who has been a practising senior consultant specialist in geriatric medicine with over 30 years of clinical experience.
Several years ago, Professor Ibrahim produced an animated video addressing the complex issues involved in assessing whether a person with dementia is fit to drive. He believes screening this video at the annual general meeting will help generate discussion, and possibly debate, among the public and health professionals during a Q&A session.
“It’s not so much a discussion about how and when to decide to stop driving when a person receives a dementia diagnosis, more about how a person transitions to becoming a passenger,” Professor Ibrahim said.
“And the conversations and decisions with family and friends that follow.”
Over his long and distinguished career, Professor Ibrahim has been Head of the Health Law and Ageing Research Unit at Monash University and, more recently, Adjunct Professor at the Australian Centre for Evidence Based Aged Care at La Trobe University.
Professor Ibrahim’s ongoing research is investigating approaches to reducing harm to older persons and improving their quality of life. To register interest in attending the 2023 Central Highlands Rural Health AGM, email communications@chrh.org.au

Who are the Comellis and the Bromleys?
Eddy and Malinka Comelli are long-term locals. Eddy received a life membership
of the Central Highlands Football League in 2021 after many years as president and
describes himself as a farmer, businessman and property developer.
In an interview with The Local in 2016, Eddy said he had a desire to see
Daylesford become a better place to live, with more maintenance, landscape and
beautification.

Eddie’s forebears came from Udine, in north-east Italy, spreading across the
world in search of work in the 1960s. Eddie grew up in Preston, and his family began
farming in Daylesford in 1969, moving to meat wholesaling, pig raising and on to
buying the local abattoir in 1980. The Comellis own a number of rental properties
and businesses throughout Daylesford and the wider region.
Artists and entrepreneurs Yuge and David Bromley have lived in Daylesford for
the past 12 years but Yuge, also a lawyer, says her husband has had a connection to
Daylesford for about 18 years.
On their website, the artist couple says they “usually take on projects based on
our passion/obsession for art, design, interiors, fashion and generally liking to get our
hands dirty with whatever creative scenario we can immerse ourselves in”.
A biography for Harvey Galleries says David was born in Sheffield, England
and emmigrated with his family in 1964. “Bromley emerged as a painter in the
mid-1980s. In the early stages of his career, he held solo exhibitions in Sydney and
Adelaide and represented works in state and regional galleries, to include finalist in
the Archibald Prize, AGNSW, in 1999, 2001 and 2004.” David’s work is now known
around the globe.
Will the Daylesford Community Cinema go ahead?
Neither the Comellis nor the Bromleys are ready to say either way if the cinema
will be part of their plans. The volunteer-run cinema was already in The Rex when
it was sold to the council in 2016. After some concerns it would not return after
renovations, the council promised it would be a part of the Hepburn Hub. As
pictured, opposite below right, a shell was constructed upstairs to house the cinema
with room for seating, a ticket booth, the screen, a projector room and public toilets.
What about the long awaited public toilets?
Former Hepburn Shire Council CEO Aaron van Egmond first approached the
owners of The Rex when they closed the public toilets in the building. The council
eventually bought the property for $6 million in 2016 with public toilets, including
accessible toilets, part of the deal for its reopening as the Hepburn Hub.
When asked by The Local if public toilets were on the agenda, Yuge said they
“definitely plan to include toilets in line with our design”. “We want it to be a place
that people enjoy coming to and that includes providing even things like rubbish
bins.”
However Eddy said specific details including those relating to provision of public
toilet facilities still needed to be worked out. “There’ll definitely be toilets, but
whether they’re public …we haven’t had time yet to sit down and work that out yet.”
Hepburn Shire Mayor Cr Brian Hood said CEO Bradley Thomas would prepare
a scope to undertake a planning project reviewing possible solutions for staffing
accommodation and community facilities that were to be included in the Hepburn
Hub. “This will include consideration of accessible public toilets and will be carried
out during 2023 now that The Rex has been sold.”
Where is the Aboriginal artwork Fish Traps going to end up?
Cr Hood said with the sale of The Rex, the council had been working with artist
Aunty Marilyn on an alternative site. “A council briefing report was completed
prior to the end of year closure explaining that a range of council facilities had been
explored, and we are currently working on final details of the preferred location. We
are committed to the finalisation and installation of this artwork and will be able to
provide the location in the near future.”
Finally, will the Chips Rafferty signature remain?
When acting legend Chips Rafferty visited Daylesford in 1954 he left behind
his signature on one of the walls of The Rex when it was still operating as a theatre.
Historian Winsome Moffat remembers the day well.
“Chips was going around to all the theatres in Australia to try and drum up
money for a film he was planning (Walk into Paradise). He came and made a little
speech at The Rex and then just went into the street to talk to people.” A council
spokesperson said the preservation, or not, of the signature would now be up to the
new owners.
Words & image: Donna Kelly

Creswick’s Craig Barrett is one of the region’s accomplished artists whose love of landscape and the natural world and the way human endeavour has interacted with it, resonates through his creative output. He has works held in the National Gallery of Victoria, the State Library of Victoria and the Shrine of Remembrance in addition to private and corporate collections. He chatted with journalist Eve Lamb about his love of art and his personal arts practice.

Eve: Does your arts practice conform to any particular genre and if so which?
Craig: None at all. All over the place, it depends on what interests me at the time. Over the past 45 years I have ventured through impressionism, abstraction, symbolism – wherever seems to be my sweet spot at the time.
Eve: How do you prefer to describe your artistic style?
Craig: For the past 20 years, since living in the south of France with my then wife Kendry, I have been heavily influenced by Romanesque art of the 10th-12th centuries. I like its pared back simplicity. Things are implied rather than spelt out. A stripping back of detail. Detail is a distraction from the essential, the important.
Eve: How did you come to art?
Craig: Art came to me – by magic. Nobody in my family had any interest in art. As a child, there were no original artworks on the walls, only those classic flying ducks – and ceramics. A friend of my mother’s gave me a small box of oil pastels. The glory of that rainbow of colours and the smell of those pastels remain with me. My eldest brother gave me a small set of oil paints when I was about 13 or 14. New smells of paint and turps. Hooked from thereon.
Eve: Which artists, current or historic, have influenced your own work?
Craig: Wow! As teenagers, I think we all fell in love with the French Impressionists. As I grew older, learnt more and travelled the world, I became more influenced by artists that looked inward rather than outward. Someone like Pierre Bonnard, the way he could paint a bowl of fruit as a spiritual journey, as with a Chardin still life study. Perhaps the master of all, Giorgio Morandi who found endless possibilities in a few bottles, vases and tins. When in Spain, I discovered Arshile Gorky. I was moved to tears by his intensely personal abstract paintings and drawings. Gorky himself used to say he was “with” Cezanne, or Picasso or whoever was his influence at the time. I feel like that also. Since my time in France, my main influence has been that of the great unknown and nameless artists of antiquity. Extraordinary sculptures, paintings, stained glass windows and architecture. Not the current “celebrity artists” of our time.

Eve: What is your medium/media of choice?
Craig: I pick up whatever seems to suit the idea. Painting, drawing, etching, sculpture. They all have a particular response.
Eve: What is/are your subject matter of choice? Why so?
Craig: Crikey. What takes my interest at the time. I do seem to come back again and again to some subjects. I have great empathy for people working the land. The hardships and the rewards of that. So, there are a lot of rural themes returning. Also, I am a sucker for heavy industry as well.
Eve: What are you working on at the moment in your current arts practice?
Craig: In September 2022 I had a small retrospective exhibition at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery in Melbourne to celebrate the 25 years that I have been showing with him. The Berry Consols works that were on loan to the Eureka Centre in Ballarat in 2021 will be touring to the Central Goldfields Gallery (Maryborough) in 2023. Currently, I am about to start a new series – still secret.
Eve: When you work do you like to play music?
Craig: Always have music when I am working. Always Baroque. Cello, viola. Sublime. Music never got any better in my book.
Eve: To date, what have been your career highlights as an artist?
Craig: Buggered if I know. It is always one foot in front of the other and don’t look back. I have works in the collections of the National Gallery of Victoria, the State Library of Victoria, the Shrine of Remembrance in addition to private and corporate collections. I did get a thrill though when I saw a drawing of mine at the NGV hanging between two heroes – Max Ernst and Paul Signac.
Eve: Do you have any unrealised artistic goals towards which you are striving?
Craig: In 2001 I had three exhibitions in Melbourne – at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, at the Shrine of Remembrance, and at McClelland Gallery. At the time, I thought this was the launch of a great career. By the time my wife Kendry and I returned from France, all I could think about were the truly great anonymous archaic and medieval art works that I had encountered. There was no ego in those works. They were simply great. Now, I am just happy to make what I make. If someone else enjoys that, that is enough for me. However, it would be nice to see in print the children’s book Bonne Chasse! that Kendry wrote and I illustrated while we lived in France. There’s a dream still to come.
Eve: What do you think are the main challenges for practicing artists today?
Craig: The absolute terror of online ‘art’ markets. Picture framing, I see so much digital crap that is just wallpaper. Why would any person of sound mind buy something they have never seen in the flesh? Also, the generations that used to actually collect real art are now disappearing. They are downsizing their homes and their collections. The young ones have no art literacy and are buying digital garbage – very sad.
Eve: And the main rewards?
Craig: For the true believers, art-making is its own reward. What else would we do?

CHRISTMAS ’22 came a few days early for two of Daylesford’s best known families who discovered they’d just become the proud new owners of The Rex.

Following a unanimous councillor decision at Hepburn Shire Council’s December 20 meeting, Eddy and Malinka Comelli and David and Yuge Bromley were delighted to discover their $3.75 million bid to purchase The Rex had been successful – from among the six EOIs formally submitted.
David Bromley said a clinching factor in their decision to submit their joint EOI together with the Comellis was a mutual love of the town and a wish to see The Rex become a vibrant contributor to showcasing its main street.
“Our mutual love of the town, our belief that the main street is one of the figureheads that you get to see when you come to town.
“We’re really keen to see it come alive and stop the blockage in the street and, ideally, to become the complete opposite – a resounding symbol for how stunning the street is. We all have a similar feeling about it. Between us we think we’ve got what it takes.”
Both the Comelli and Bromley families live in Daylesford, have strong connections in the community and say they’re now keen to make the most of The Rex’s considerable potential. They would not be drawn on whether the cinema will stay – or not – at this stage.
“We want to make it a really culturally rich hub, whether it’s retail, hospitality, art, entertainment. It’s going to be a real combination,” Yuge Bromley said.
“I think being part of the community, we are the consumers of those things ourselves so we feel like we do have a heartbeat connected with it.
“With both of our families local to the Daylesford community, the honour of purchasing and developing this iconic building into a thriving destination spot for both locals and visitors alike was our key driver,” Yuge said.
“We will take time to regroup and plan but our intention is to tap into our combined passions, connections and resources to transform the building into an evolving dining, retail and entertainment destination with a diversity of culture, food, art, music and entertainment.
“We have some initial plans regarding the arcade and atrium, making it a place where visitors local and from afar can frequent time and time again.”
Malinka Comelli said “honouring” the heritage-protected building was part of their plans for the future.
“Let’s see what we can do with it. It’s like a blank canvas but we’re going to honour the building for what it is,” she said.
And the new owners are also not closed to creative ideas and input from the community either, Eddy Comelli says.
“I’m excited to work with someone as creative as the Bromleys. I think we can turn this into something,” Eddy said. “We’ll give it our best shot.”
The price paid for the building – that’s sited next door to the Bromley&Co Daylesford gallery – was just above the reserve price of $3.7 million set in accordance with an independent property valuation and the Local Government Act 2020.
Hepburn Shire mayor Cr Brian Hood said the sale proceeds would be used to repay the loan linked to the council’s 2016 purchase of the site with remaining funds allocated to a financial reserve for future expenditure on staff accommodation and community facilities.
We bought The Rex – Bromley/Comelli coup
“We have begun our planning, and we will progress our investigation into options for staff accommodation and community facilities throughout 2023. This will include community consultation,” Cr Hood said.
He also acknowledged the challenging history of the building since the council bought it in 2016.
The council’s original purchase of The Rex building and other matters relating to the Hepburn at The Hub project remain under investigation by the Local Government Inspectorate.
Cr Hood was keen to point out that the council had cooperated fully with the investigation and called for the release of the inspectorate report.
“We’ve repeatedly asked for it to be released and we would welcome the release of the report as soon as possible,” he said.
He also emphasised that the decision to endorse the Comelli-Bromley bid was unanimous among councillors and followed careful consideration of each of the EOIs against multiple criteria, of which price was just one factor.
Cr Hood said the sale of the landmark building enabled the council and community to “move on to the next chapter of what’s been a long and problematic saga”.
“The saga has brought damage to council’s reputation and one thing I want to stress is that there is a huge difference between the 2016 councillors and management team and the current council and management team.
“It should never have been bought by council. This was a legacy issue, an inherited problem that we’ve had to fix.This is a decent outcome out of a very tricky and problematic situation.”
As to what the future now holds in store for The Rex, Cr Hood admits he personally would like to see the cinema within the building retained but says that decision rests with the new owners.
“It would be lovely to see that retained. I suspect most, if not all, of the councillors would be keen to see the cinema survive and thrive. It would be a shame to lose it but that’s now up to the new owners.”
Mr Bromley says the path ahead for The Rex will not be rushed.
“I think we’ll give ourselves a good three to four months if not longer to really make sure that we get it right,” he said.
“We’re going to be getting a lot of advice and really making sure that this time it is a big success. We’re open to the challenges.
“We’ll be making a lot of commercial decisions about its wellbeing. We’ll have to weigh up everything with a common-sense approach.”

Words & image: Eve Lamb

Words & Image: Eve Lamb

THE new year has got off to a cracking start at Creswick with the town joining the
nation’s list of locales to host a regular Saturday morning parkrun.
Parkruns are free, weekly, 5km community events that take place all around the world, with more than 450
different parkruns registered Australiawide.
Others in Central Victoria alone include parkruns at Maryborough, Castlemaine and Ballarat, and while they’re called parkruns, walkers are also very welcome to participate.
Calembeen parkrun director, Creswick’s Adam Crutchfield, is one of the main driving forces behind the
establishment of this new parkrun and says there are a couple of reasons he was so keen to see it become reality for the town.
“Two reasons,” he says. “To engage with the community and also for tourism.
To invite more tourism, because parkrun is well known in Australia.
“We’re keen on attracting visitation and encouraging other parkrun people
from other towns.”
And so it was that, following a couple of initial practice runs last month, the new
Calembeen parkrun had its very first official date on Saturday – January 14 – to the
delight of the throng of keen local and visiting runners, walkers and volunteers.
As the name suggests, the location for this new addition to the global parkrun
listings is Creswick’s own uniquely scenic Calembeen Park with its twin central water
features and leafy bushland ambience.
“It reaches out to people on a weekly basis and I think it’s important that it’s a
consistent event, but a great thing about it is that there is no commitment,” Adam
says.
This means you can participate as a runner, walker or volunteer when it works for
you.
Volunteers are a vital part of making parkrun the international success story that
it is, and Creswick’s Chrissy Austin is one such volunteer whose husband Chris is a
keen runner and parkrun enthusiast.
“It’s very exciting,” she says. “The course here at Calembeen is a couple of loops.
It meanders off into the bush for a bit and it’s got a couple of undulating hills.
“If you want to register a run it’s really easy.
“You just go to the parkrun website to register and they will email you your own
unique barcode which you can then use to register your time at any parkrun that you
participate in, anywhere.
“Even if you don’t want to run or walk you can volunteer. It’s only for an hour
and it’s got a really good vibe.”
Among the new parkrun’s eager participants, Creswick’s Kerry McKenzie says the
health benefits of parkrun are a top reason to be part of it.
“I think it’s really good for mental health,” she says. “The main thing is just to get
outside, and it brings people together.”

Dr Sally Buck never dreamed of becoming a scientist when she grew up. But that was only because she didn’t know it was an option.

Now she’s working on developing nutritious plant-based proteins as part of Our Future Protein Mission, a new article released by the CSIRO earlier this month reports as follows:

Originally from Donnybrook, in rural Western Australia, Sally grew up picking apples and adventuring in Jarrah forests. She didn’t get a taste of biology until she reached university.

“Biology wasn’t offered at my school, so I had to make do with chemistry and physics,” Sally said.

“Being from a small town, I didn’t really know anyone other than our teachers and the local doctor who had been to university. And I certainly didn’t know any scientists,” she said.

It wasn’t until Sally started her undergraduate degree at the University of Western Australia that she found her way to biology. She found her passion in molecular biology and botany.

Sally discovered there was so much more to know about plants and how they work. She completed her Honours degree on the waterlogging tolerance of Eucalyptus affected by mine dewatering in the Pilbara.

Her next step was a move to Canberra, where she began her PhD at Australian National University. Her doctoral project used synthetic biology techniques to improve carbon fixing reactions in photosynthesis.

Sally is now a postdoctoral fellow with us and a vital part of ‘Pro-X Ingredients’, a concept developed under the umbrella of our Future Protein Mission and Company Creation initiative.

This Mission is working towards creating $10 billion of nutritious and high-quality protein products by 2030. Plant-based proteins will form an integral part of the solution.

‘Pro-X Ingredients’ aims to produce a plant protein concentrate of 60 per cent protein for food manufacturers. We’re conducting research in collaboration with our Food Innovation Centre to develop and refine processing and sensory analysis methods leading to new product development.

“I wanted to get back to working with whole plants and on a project that has a practical application. I just really like plants,” Sally said.

Chickpeas are a popular protein source for many people and in many cuisines. Even so, a good quality chickpea is classified by the colour and size of the chickpea, not the nutritional value. This classification has limited research into the differences in the nutritional value of chickpeas.

Sally’s work involves characterising hundreds of varieties of chickpeas to identify the varieties with valuable nutritional properties. She looks at properties like high protein and reduced antinutritional compounds. And, even from the outside, chickpea varieties look diverse.

“When most people in Australia think of chickpeas, we probably think of the big beige ones that are sold in a tin. Those are Kabuli chickpeas,” Sally said.

“These aren’t even the most common chickpeas grown in Australia. We mostly grow smaller, brown, Desi varieties of chickpeas, which are used to make dahls and flours. (Desi chickpeas are known in India as Chana Dal, Split Yellow Gram or Split Desi-chickpea.) Desi chickpeas can vary in size and colour. In my diversity panel they can even be shades of red, or tiny and pitch black!”

When she isn’t working on chickpeas, you can find Sally adventuring in the bush. Her love of plants extends beyond the lab doors.

While she may not have grown up dreaming about being a scientist, she couldn’t imagine herself doing anything else.

“I want to continue doing meaningful research,” she said.

Moorabbin Crime Investigation Unit detectives have arrested two men following the theft of a car with a toddler inside at Chelsea on Sunday 8 January.

Detectives have arrested an 18-year-old Narre Warren man and a 20-year-old Clarinda man in a Frankston Shopping Centre last Tuesday, January 10.

Investigators have been told a grey Volkswagen SUV was parked outside a grocery store on Nepean Highway just before 4pm.

It’s believed a man parked his car and left it running with his two-year-old boy inside while ducking into the shops before an unknown male got into the car and drove off.

Officers were told offenders left the child on Bath Street and fled the scene.

The two men are currently assisting police with their enquiries and the investigation remains ongoing.

The stolen grey Volkswagen SUV is yet to be located.

Anyone who sights the car or with further information was being urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit Crime Stoppers online.

Homicide Squad detectives have charged an 18-year-old Albion man as part of an investigation into a fatal stabbing which occurred at St Kilda on December 4.

The 18-year-old was arrested by Gang Crime Squad members at a bus stop in Deer Park around 5pm on 5 January following a recent public appeal.

He has been charged with violent disorder and affray and will appear at a Children’s Court at a later date.

The investigation into the incident remains ongoing.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report via Crime Stoppers online.

Stonnington Crime Investigation Unit detectives are investigating an assault and robbery that occurred in South Yarra on 25 November.

Detectives have been told a male victim had been out at a licenced premises on Chapel Street in Prahran.

The man was befriended by an unknown female at the licenced venue, and both left together about 3.20am.

They were followed to nearby Bray Street in South Yarra by two males that arrived at the bar with the female.

The two males and the female then assaulted the victim, punching him, leaving him with bruising.

The offenders also stole a small quantity of cash from him before leaving on foot.

The first male is perceived to be Caucasian, described as approximately 30-years-old with a thin build, dark hair and facial stubble and was wearing a black baseball cap, black zip up jumper with white bands around the left arm, grey tracksuit pants and black Nike trainers.

The second male is described as approximately 30-years-old, perceived to be Caucasian with a medium build and was wearing black baseball cap with white LA logo on the front, black Kappa tracksuit with white stripe down the arm and leg and green trainers.

The female is perceived to be Caucasian, approximately 25-35-years-old with a thin build and long brown/blonde hair and was wearing a black zip up jacket with white text down the right sleeve, blue skinny jeans, or jeggings.

Investigators have released images of three people they believe may be able to assist with their enquiries.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information that could assist investigators is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report via Crime Stoppers online.

Microbial communities already treat the food waste in your compost bin. In the future, could they treat your plastic waste too? A new article released by the CSIRO suggests they may well.

It reads:

Microbes have been biorecycling for millions of years by feeding on plant and animal waste. They use enzymes to break down complex molecules into simpler molecules, including water and carbon dioxide. The recipes to make these enzymes are in their genes.

Might some microbes that survive on fallen leaves or the bones of dead animals be able to recycle plastics instead?

Dr Bronwyn Campbell is a postdoctoral fellow with ourEnvorpmp,ocs Future Science Platform (FSP). The FSP uses genetics to solve environmental problems like detecting species, determining the ages of fish and cleaning up waste.

“The amount of plastic waste that went to landfill in 2018 was more than the combined weight of everybody in Australia,” Bronwyn said.

“It would be great if we could use plastic-munching microbes to degrade that plastic waste. And it would be even better if they degraded it into intermediate organic materials that we could turn back into plastics.

“Instead of sending plastic to landfill or letting it end up in the ocean, we could bring our plastic waste into a circular economy model,” she said.

The first part of Bronwyn’s project is to go bioprospecting (exploring biological resources) for wild microbial communities.

Bronwyn will start field work this year to collect wild microbes for biorecycling. She will be focussing on bacteria and fungi that can munch on plastic.

“I want to hunt for communities of microbes that can degrade plastic in environments where there is already a large amount of plastic. This includes landfills, plastic-polluted areas such as urban streams, and soils around plastic manufacturing and recycling facilities,” Bronwyn said.

“I’ll also collect microbes from environments where there are hydrocarbons, such as oil spills and petroleum wastewater facilities. This is because hydrocarbons are the parent material of traditional plastics and so have similar components to plastics,” she said.

Back in the lab, Bronwyn will try to work out which of the microbial communities can degrade mixed plastics, and then optimise these processes.

Most of the microbes known to degrade plastics are bacteria, but several fungal species can do it too. These microbes can generally degrade a few different types of plastic each. They come from environments like those where Bronwyn will be looking for microbial communities.

“One of the biggest challenges with plastic waste is how complicated it is. Different plastics, dyes, food scraps and other waste are all mixed in together,” Bronwyn said.

“This is where a dream team of plastic-degrading microbes working together as a community has the potential to outshine individual microbial specialists. They can all work together to break down different bits of the waste,” she said.

Bronwyn will first work out which types of plastics can be biorecycled by the microbial communities that she collects. Then she will try to increase the range of mixed plastics that the microbial community can degrade by adding plastic-munching microbes from international culture collections.

“This will be tricky because microbes have a terrible habit of murdering and consuming each other,” she said.

“If they can get along, we’ll need to work out what they leave behind when they degrade the plastics.”

Whether Bronwyn succeeds in breaking down mixed plastics using microbes from nature or microbes from international culture collections, the next step will be to work out how to feed the end products back into plastic production.

“In the future, I hope we can transform plastic waste into a circular resource. But the most important thing right now is to reduce the amount of waste we produce wherever we can,” Bronwyn said.

Bronwyn’s research is funded by CSIRO and Bop[;atfpr,s Australia and takes place in Floreat, Perth, on Nyoongar country.

Ajak Kwai is preparing to bring her compulsive harmonies and rhythms to Hepburn Springs’ Palais for a performance that promises to delight music lovers early next month.

Launched her fifth studio album, Let Me Grow My Wings in 2021 is an eclectic collection of twelve self-penned songs reflecting Ajak’s observations, influences and connections since moving to Australia in the late nineties.

Performed in English, some Arabic and Ajak’s native language, Dinka, the record sees Ajak honouring the traditions of her homeland, yet defying stereotype in what is best described as “modern South Sudanese rock”

Backed by a pulsing rhythm section, piano and guitars feature throughout, with a perfect blend of rhythmic rock gems and emotive ballads, each with a poignant message, she performs at the Palais on Saturday, February 4.

In addition to being ambassador for Melbourne International Arts Festival, Ajak has performed at major festivals, including Dark Mofo, WOMADelaide, Panama Festival and the Tamar Valley, Port Fairy and Woodford Folk Festivals.

Eight youths have been remanded and a further 12 arrested across Melbourne’s south-east and eastern suburbs following a string of property and vehicle crimes.

As part of Operation Alliance, detectives from the Southern Metro Crime Team (SMRCT) and the Dandenong based Youth Gang Team joined forces between Friday 30 December and Tuesday 3 January.

Detectives will allege the 20 youths were involved in 61 incidents between 23 December – 3 January, including aggravated burglary, theft of motor vehicle, burglary and attempted aggravated burglary.

The incidents occurred across Melbourne’s southeast and eastern suburbs including Officer, Balwyn North, Balwyn, Surrey Hills, Glen Waverley, Wantirna South, Scoresby, Malvern, Malvern East, Mt Eliza, Mulgrave, Heathmont, Bayswater, Ashwood, Aspendale Gardens, Waterways, Heatherton, Brighton East, Glen Iris, and Cheltenham.

As a result of the arrests, 21 stolen cars have been recovered from 17 addresses.

Police report that in one such incident, six offenders gained access to a residential property on Peverill Street, Malvern East through an unlocked door at around 1.55am on 23 December.

Two victims were woken by heavy footsteps downstairs. The victims disturbed the offenders who quickly fled the scene stealing two sets of keys and a red Mazda.

The victims did not sustain any injuries and the vehicle was recovered later that morning in Mary Street, Springvale.

Of the 20 arrested, eight youths were remanded to appear before a children’s court at later dates including:

A 14-year-old boy charged with assault, affray, false imprisonment, attempted aggravated burglary, theft of motor vehicle, burglary, theft, robbery, criminal damage, obtain property by deception, unlicensed driving, handle stolen goods, and commit an indictable offence while on bail.

A 13-year-old boy charged with assault, affray, false imprisonment, aggravated burglary, attempted aggravated burglary, theft of motor vehicle, theft, burglary, robbery, criminal damage, and commit an indictable offence while on bail.

A 15-year-old boy charged with assault, theft of motor vehicle, theft, criminal damage, and commit an indictable offence while on bail.

A 15-year-old boy charged with false imprisonment, theft of motor vehicle, robbery, burglary, and commit indictable offence while on bail.

A 12-year-old boy charged with false imprisonment, theft of motor vehicle, burglary, robbery, theft, obtain property by deception, and commit an indictable offence while on bail.

A 15-year-old girl charged with theft of motor vehicle, theft, burglary, reckless conduct endangering serious injury, unlicensed driving, fail to stop on police direction, drive at speed dangerous, and commit an indictable offence while on bail.

A 15-year-old boy charged with theft of motor vehicle, theft, and commit an indictable offence while on bail.

A 15-year-old boy charged with theft of motor vehicle, theft, and commit an indictable offence while on bail.

A further seven youths were bailed to appear before a children’s court at a later date including:

A 14-year-old boy charged with assault, affray, aggravated burglary, theft of motor vehicle, theft, burglary, trespass, criminal damage and commit an indictable offence while on bail.

A 13-year-old boy charged with attempted aggravated burglary, theft of motor vehicle and handle stolen goods.

A 15-year-old boy charged with false imprisonment, burglary, robbery, and commit an indictable offence while on bail.

A 15-year-old boy charged with theft of motor vehicle, burglary, theft, unlicensed driving, and commit an indictable offence while on bail.

A 15-year-old boy charged with theft of motor vehicle and theft.

A 15-year-old boy charged with theft of motor vehicle and commit an indictable offence while on bail.

A 15-year-old boy charged with theft of motor vehicle.

Five youths were arrested and interviewed at the Dandenong Police Station before being released pending summons.

A St Kilda man and woman have been arrested and are now facing the prospect of time behind bars after being found in possession of a traffickable quantity of methylamphetamine.

Earlier this month, Prahran Divisional Response detectives executed search warrant at a residential address in Argyle Street, St Kilda.

Following a dynamic entry to the property, officers observed two offenders allegedly throw two firearms out of the window before being arrested by police.

After a search of the property, police seized:

– Approximately 28 grams of what is alleged to be methylamphetamine with an estimated street value of $8,400.

– Approximately three grams of what is alleged to be heroin with an estimated street value of $1,200.

– Approximately 30mL of what is alleged to be 1,4 butanediol.

– A sawn-off rifle

– A handgun

– Small amount of .22 calibre round ammunition

– Prohibited weapons including a taser and sword

– Small amount of prescription medication

– Approximately $2,800 cash

A 42-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman, both from St Kilda, have been charged with prohibited person possess firearm, traffick methylamphetamine, possess methylamphetamine, possess 1,4 butanediol, possess prescription drug, possess heroin and possess prohibited weapon.

The 42-year-old man has been remanded to appear before the Melbourne Magistrates Court on 20 January.

The 32-year-old woman has been remanded to appear before the Melbourne Magistrates Court on 16 January.

A 34-year-old Caulfield South woman was also arrested and later released pending summons.

Acting Inspector Luke Holmes: “Whether a street level dealer, or head of a drug syndicate, you are never above the law and sooner or later, you will be arrested.

“The drugs and firearms seized by Prahran police this week are now on their way to being destroyed without ever causing harm in the community.

“Our community can rest assured that our work will not stop here. We will continue to work around the clock and hold those who seek to harm our community to account.”

Hepburn Spring’s Palais is suggesting anyone partial to “boogying like it’s 1999” might want to get along to its upcoming ‘Dreams of Aquarius’ event, promising “a unique night of local electronic musicians and DJ’s“.

Astrologically speaking we are either in or heading into the Age of Aquarius – ie – “… a time when humanity will awaken to its true potential and understand our place in the universe” and the Palais is hosting this event to acknowlege that rumour.

Featuring Maarten Stenakur, Justine Walsh, Square Wave Bounce, Shimmer Net, Ezc, Fahad + DJ’s the Dreams of Aquarius event happens Friday, February 3 and will feature an eclectic mix of the region’s live electronic music scene.

They say you can “expect a musical smorgasbord of warped synth lines straight from outta space, cosmic percussion, soaring vocals, rap and plenty of dancing to the beat.”

They also suggest: “Celebrate these unique sonic offerings. Come with an open mind, leave with a full heart. Relax, unwind, and boogie like it’s 1999.”

A man has been charged following an incident in Blackburn North where it’s alleged a firearm was produced on 29 December.

Search warrants were executed at an address on Blackburn Road in Notting Hill on 30 December with the assistance of the Special Operations Group.

The 24-year-old man was arrested after attempting to leave the scene.

Police searched the property and seized an alleged traffickable amount of drugs and a large amount of cash.

Police also located four firearms including an M16, sawn-off shotgun and a bolt-action rifle.

The Notting Hill man was charged with firearms and drug offences and has been remanded in custody to appear in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court today, January 16.