A Christmas Eve Mass will be held at St Peter’s Church, Daylesford this evening, Saturday, December 24 from 8.30pm.
It was incorrectly advertised in the last edition as being in the morning.

And Christ Church Anglican, Daylesford will hold Blue Christmas this evening, Christmas Eve from 6pm – a service of reflection and hope for those who find Christmas a difficult time of year. This will be followed by a Midnight Service from 11pm and a Christmas Day Service from 10am.

Council has welcomed the announcement that the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) and Transgrid are investigating alternative options for the transmission line route and terminal station siting planned for the Victoria to New South Wales Interconnector West (VNI West) project.

Council is incredibly supportive of reliable renewable energy, but these projects will be part of communities for decades to come and they need to be well planned and thought out. Council has worked closely with our community to oppose this project and this review is perhaps a positive sign that we may be listened to. While no decision has been made to change the proposed location of the terminal station or route, Council is optimistic that the review opens the opportunity for a rethink of the project and will continue to work with AusNet and AEMO. These projects and their impact reinforce the importance of meaningful engagement with affected communities.Council has awarded a contract to construct the Creswick Trails Network to Australian company Dirt Art. Dirt Art has constructed mountain bike trails overseas and around Australia, including at Harcourt, the Grampians, Gold Coast, Thredbo and Tasmania. The trails will contain a variety of ride experiences and difficulty levels. Works are expected to begin on the trail network in early 2023. Construction will take around 18 months.On behalf of Council I congratulate Mary-Anne Thomas MP on her re-election and Martha Haylett MP on winning the seat of Ripon. We look forward to working with both MPs for the betterment of our community.Our aquatics season is underway and entry is again free to our public pools and aquatic facilities across the Shire. If you are interested in working at our pools or would like to know more please visit www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/jobs. We will have daily operating hour updates on our Facebook page every afternoon. In the meantime, enjoy some relaxing times at the pools!Councillors have been attending primary school presentation functions across the Shire and awarding citizenship certificates and other awards. Congratulations to students graduating from primary school and best wishes for the big step to secondary education. (And well done and thanks to our hard-working teachers).I extend my best wishes to you and your family and loved ones for the festive season. Enjoy some quality time with friends and family, stay safe and best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year. Council’s next meeting will be held on Tuesday 21 February 2023. – Cr Brian Hood

Words: Eve Lamb | Image: Charl Parris

MEMORIES of the June winter storm that cut a swathe through much of Hepburn Shire last year remain strongly etched in the mind’s eye of Trentham’s Charl Parris.
“It was incredible. We were pretty isolated – for up to seven to 10 days,” Charl recounts. “We had no power, no running water and there were trees down on the Kyneton, Blackwood and Daylesford exits.”
Fortunately Charl, a keen phone photographer, also recalls the subsequent process of recovery from the upsetting incident. In fact a photo she snapped using her phone as part of that process won her the grand overall prize in Hepburn Shire’s Amateur Storm Recovery photography competition.
Charl’s winning image captured her two boys enjoying a winter solstice bonfire not long after the big June storm of 2021 wreaked its devastation.
Funded through Bushfire Recovery Victoria, the competition was part of the wider Hepburn Shire’s Storm Recovery process that has now also led to the publication of a book entitled The Big Storm.
Hepburn’s Storm Recovery communications officer Kathy Mexted says the BRV funding enabled 200 copies of the book to be produced and these have been sent to all of the book’s contributors including many community groups that were involved.
“It was a way of people being able to process the storm impacts,” says Kathy, who wrote multiple stories herself about the ways in which the storm event affected the community, and also edited The Big Storm book which was published last month by Hepburn Shire Council.
Kathy says the book captures experiences from many perspectives, ranging from emergency service first responders to those involved later with regenerative and restorative projects. “Charl’s photo is included as are each of the photography category winners,” Kathy says.
Those who entered photographs were also encouraged to write something about the experience associated with capturing their submitted image.
In recounting the winning winter solstice photo moment, Charl wrote:
“There’s something magical, freeing and mysterious about a bonfire. After the big storm, we didn’t know if it was safe to venture close enough and be one with nature.
“The trees dimly lit by the fire of the night, it was bitterly cold but the warmth of the fire brought us closer, huddled together as we reflected. The young, the old, all of us older but were we any wiser?
“In this space I felt connected, free spirited, like I was part of a dream. I reflected and knew tomorrow the days would get longer. I laughed and was thankful for my boys, my friends and being here together, near the warmth of the fire, under the stars on the edge of the forest in the depth of the night.”
Other winners were: Junior winner – Ada Walsh, runner up and special commendation – Bug Melville, Open winner – Tony Sawrey, runner up – Robbie Connell.
Trentham & Districts Community Bank is taking book orders at $35 per copy. If there are 100 orders, the money will be collected and another print run will be done in March. Copies are available to view at the shire’s libraries, Trentham cafes and the Cosmopolitan Hotel.

Don’t Undermine Daylesford is a group working towards stopping the potential mining of gold in Daylesford. The group formed after Red Rock Australasia was granted an exploratory licence for the area around Ajax Road, near the former tip. Gary Lawrence is a spokesperson for DUD and is also a volunteer with the Daylesford & District Historical Society. Here he puts forward his views on the possibility of a gold mine.

GOLD mining caused great harm to the mineral spring water supply in Hepburn Shire from late 1910. And now a growing number of residents in Daylesford and Hepburn Springs are anxious at the risk any new deep gold mining creates for this unique underground mineral water aquifer.
Home to the greatest concentration of mineral springs in Australia, often referred to as Spa Country, this region has attracted visitors for more than 160 years to holiday and enjoy the natural mineral spring waters.
Local businesses have developed and flourished around the attraction and lure of the mineral springs, the charm of the local environment and its natural attractions. Put Daylesford and mineral water into your search engine and you will see the obvious connections.
Two goldmines were being developed south of the Hepburn Mineral Springs Reserve much to the angst of locals around 110 years ago. They feared the mining would damage the mineral water supply as had happened some years prior a little closer to the reserve. Sure enough it was not long before the flow started to slow and the gas content diminished. The bathhouse and pavilion were closed. Protests and petitions were abundant, geologists and specialists came determined to find the cause. One of these mines tried to push on further east despite the calamity they had caused.
In 1917, Mr William Menz, a WWI soldier at the Front, wrote to his parents and family expressing concern at the loss of the mineral water. He knew how it was affecting the community back home. His was not the only letter home that mentions the failed springs.
The mineral water flow had been cut in three places. The state government finally closed these mines. They eventually compensated the mine’s shareholders and the lessees of the mineral water bottling company. The town and community were never compensated.
In December 1916, the local paper, The Advocate, reports the return of the mineral flow at the reserve while others wrote the “Old, original Hepburn Spring has returned but not at full force and only partially gassed.”
We now have a better understanding of how the mineral water forms underground from the top of the Great Dividing Range; both south and north great fault lines run and assist to form the mineralised water deep under other groundwater flows. The north of the range catchment area is defined by Goulburn Murray Water; it runs from Cairn Curran in the west to Heathcote in the east, south to Trentham and north to Eppalock. This unique natural phenomenon must not be jeopardised by intrusive deep mining.
The risk to the mineral water seems clear, any change to the underground dynamic risks mixing the layers of ground water, releasing the stabilised heavy metals such as mercury and arsenic which are in particularly high concentration in the Daylesford bedrock. Any disturbance of old historic mining operations risks the release of legacy mercury and arsenic into our environment.
Why ask our region to risk all this for a gold mining company to make a profit? The concept is plainly flawed. The responsibility for all exploration and mining licencing is with the state government. The response from Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning, Parks Victoria and Goulburn Murray Water is that Earth Resources is the responsible authority for any concerns about the risks to mineral water. Earth Resources contacted me to say they were not responsible.
So it seems nobody will step up and protect our precious mineral water.
I remind all state authorities that operate in Djaara country that they commit and acknowledge Djaara’s special connection to country and the Dhelkunya Dja – Djaara Country plan. Two key aims of that plan are: “Rivers and waterways (includes ground waters), are healthy and meet the needs of our people and land, and Upside-down Country, is healthy again.”
Red Rock Australasia continue to say they only have an exploratory licence but even proposed drilling in the region will also be a risk.
I call on the state government to halt all deep mining within the mineral water catchment areas, to keep all groundwater safe and to not further disturb the legacy broken contaminated land caused by historic mining operations.

Images: Supplied

Words and Image: Eve Lamb

THEIR parents may have been okay with becoming senior citizens, but as they move beyond a certain age, today’s baby boomers and the first of Gen X behind them – not so much.

It’s an observation evidenced in the fact that the building that two years back used to house Clunes’ Senior Citizens is now HQ for Attitude: Ageing Well.

Attitude by name – as solidly stated on their wooden signage – and Attitude by nature. It’s clear there’s no shortage of the stuff going down here.

Attitude is “a grass roots model of ageing well in community”, explains a flier. It’s a home-grown model that sits under the Clunes Neighbourhood House umbrella, and is starting to grab attention from further afield.

As I pull up a seat inside Attitude HQ, I’m here to hear first-hand from the regulars whether they believe there’s a need for more retirement living options in Hepburn Shire.

There is general agreement there is but it doesn’t take long to discover the Attitude focus is far more wide-ranging.

Gareth Sharp, a retired engineer who used to project manage for government, and Lois Nichols, a former city-based magazine sales professional, are quick to point out that social connectivity underscores much of what Attitude is all about.

“We run along the same lines as the Mens’ Shed movement,” Lois says.

Those who get along are invited to introduce any particular interest area and then oversee it becoming part of the program. Since Attitude started in November 2020 it’s conducted more than 600 activities involving more than 2500 participants.

Regular free film nights, weekly pétanque sessions, bi-weekly boot camp, easy indoor exercise class, ukulele, philosophy, art, and outdoors walking are all just a bit of what’s on their seasonally renewed program – as are social outings.

“When you look at the population of Clunes there are so many people who are retirees or wanting to retire here, but we’re very inclusive and we welcome anyone coming along including those who would not previously have been considered senior citizens.

“It (adequate retirement living) will be an issue. There will be people from our baby boomer cohort with health issues.”

Access to transport, particularly for those who may not have a licence or a private vehicle is also an issue that comes up. Ready access to a community bus would help Attitude run its ongoing outings to locations that include wineries. Funding is also needed to enable programs to be subsidised.

The issue of ensuring provisions are in place to age well surrounded by friends is a perennial one, and it’s quite a pressing one for Hepburn Shire, the director of Belle Property Regional Victoria, Will Walton, observes.

Being in real estate gives Will a unique vantage point from which to regard the wider issue. “I think the council needs to take a proactive approach to planning for growth that includes attracting operators of retirement villages,” he says.

“We’re one of the older local government areas in Victoria as far as population goes and hopefully both the state and local governments will look at options to enable people to stay in their community and remain connected.

“In the Daylesford area there’s a big problem, absolutely. The two issues are the availability of land to house an independent retirement village. The problem we have here is the land is very expensive.”

The other problem that Will mentions is the dearth of smaller private accommodation options – units and the like, built to house just one or two people and enable older locals to downsize yet remain happily living in their own community.

The lack of independent retirement living opportunities only entrenches the shortage of rental accommodation for younger, larger households with older singles or couples forced to remain in abodes that have become too big for them to maintain, Will says. “I think it’s a problem the entire width of the shire.”

“But I also think that independent living retirement options that come with all the bells and whistles, like cinemas and indoor pools, usually have a minimum requirement of 50 units – so I’m not sure if the smaller towns could sustain that.”

Hepburn Shire Mayor Cr Brian Hood also rates the availability of retirement living options for the Hepburn Shire as an issue demanding attention.

“My immediate reaction is that it does need attention. We do have an ageing population. We know that the median age for people living in Hepburn is 52 and that’s older than the state average, and it’s a significant proportion of our community.

“And we’re painfully aware that housing availability is a general issue for our community including appropriate housing for older residents.”

Cr Hood was among those who, a few months ago, attended the launch in Creswick of Hepburn Shire’s No Barrier Positive Ageing Strategy 2022-30.

He says provision of housing to meet the specific needs of more mature locals into the future is one of the main focus areas prioritised within that strategy. Others include transport, health and social connectivity and participation.

Words: Eve Lamb | Image: Kyle Barnes

PREPARING to cycle 650 kilometres through the heat of a Cambodian January may not be everyone’s cup of tea.
But three intrepid Trentham residents are relishing the chance to do just that to help raise funds for a particularly good cause.
Right now, Mia Gartley, Steven Peirce and Paul Williamson are preparing – and training up – to join 22 others from around the world to cover the distance over eight days in January.
They’ll be raising money for REACH Siem Reap, a not-for-profit which helps Cambodian families struggling to survive in serious poverty.
The last such similar fundraising cycle event – run by another charity organisation – happened pre-Covid, back in 2019 and both Paul and Steven were part of it, but for Mia it’s going to be a whole new experience.
And Mia does not even describe herself as a cyclist.
“No. This is my first go at long distance cycling,” the office administrator said.
“I decided to do it because of the cause. It’s just such a good cause and I know exactly where the money is going – directly to the people who need it. It goes to cover things like education and food.”
Mia says getting some respectable training kilometres under her tyre tread has seen her out tackling a lot of trails and unmade roads around East Trentham over the past month.
She says the challenge motivated her to dust off her old bicycle – “that I’d kept since my 20s”.
“The biggest challenge has been the cold days – down to two degrees here in Trentham East, and when it’s been really cold I’ve done my cycling on an indoors bike instead.
“When we’re in Cambodia we’ll be tackling everything from unmade roads to busy main roads and keeping a look out for everything from tuk tuks to bullocks and buses.”
Ahead of the ride, Trentham’s Williamson family is hosting a special private fundraising afternoon, but anyone else who wants to help the three participating Trentham riders reach their fundraising goals can do so online.
“I’ve done about seven of these rides and I’m not even a bike rider,” says Paul Williamson, whose daughter Emily Williamson founded REACH Siem Reap and opened a school in the northwestern Cambodian location.
“I put myself through the pain for the end result,” Paul says.
“We will start at the southern end of Cambodia and go right up through Phnom Penh, to end at Siem Reap and be clapped in by the students at the school.
“I’m expecting it will be bloody hot and we will be riding through a lot of jungle and crossing the Mekong (River) two or three times.”
For those who would like to help them reach their fundraising aims, Mia said that each of the Trentham Riders had their own REACH fundraising page – “and we have to raise $5000 each,” she says.
“I’m pretty close. I’ve got about $4000 already.”
REACH Siem Reap communications officer Tadiwa Sibanda said the participation of the Trentham Riders in the upcoming Ride to REACH fundraising cycle was extremely valuable.
“We actually will be running two charity cycling events in January 2023 – our international event, Ride to REACH, where our international supporters join in Cambodia and cycle the length of the country, 650kms in eight days,” she said.
“And our second event is Side by Side – our local, youth-led event. To empower our students, and give them a life-changing experience, they will cycle 200kms in two days.
“Our two January bike rides are raising funds to support more than 200 Cambodian kids and their families in their fight against poverty.
“Our programs are dedicated to helping local families and youths combat the cycle of generational poverty and are focused around the basic needs of education, nutrition and health.
“As a non-government organisation all of our funding is reliant on generous individuals who donate to our cause. Our bike rides are our biggest campaigns, and to a large extent the most exciting.”

Words: Eve Lamb | Image: Kyle Barnes

DAYLESFORD teenager Sebastian Streat has come a long way since the day a paediatrician once identified him as unlikely to ever attend school, or to read or write.
In fact the 18-year-old who lives life with mild autism has not just successfully completed year 12 through Daylesford College, he’s also just taken out the state’s title of Trainee of the Year (landscape gardening) attaining both the glory and CV enhancement, along with a beautiful trophy.
Announced at a special dinner in Melbourne recently, Sebastian’s award is a state-wide accolade, sponsored by the Kangan Institute, and administered through the Apprenticeship Employment Network.
Sebastian won the award after two years of school-based training to achieve his Certificate II in Landscaping, firstly completing a year of study through Ballarat’s Federation University and then, this year, completing a second year with Ballarat Group Training.
“He was nominated for the award through Ballarat Group Training and there were quite a number nominated from around the state,” Sebastian’s proud mum Krystal Phypers says.
“Being named as Trainee of the Year in landscape gardening is a real achievement for Sebastian. When he was first diagnosed with autism, a paediatrician said he would probably never go to school or read or write.
“I remember that day. I was 21 when I had Sebastian and I came out of that paediatrician’s office crying my eyes out. I walked out saying, ‘No. We’re going to prove this paediatrician wrong’.
“Now he’s just finished year 12. He has got such a passion for gardening. He is quite particular and he is a very hard worker. He has really enjoyed his training and met some wonderful friends. I think he loves gardening because it’s his outlet.”
Now Sebastian says he is keen to secure an apprenticeship in the field that he loves. “He would really like to get an apprenticeship now with the Hepburn Shire. That’s his dream,” Krystal says.

Words and Images: Jeff Glorfeld

KEEN-eyed readers of this paragon of print media that you hold in your hands at this moment might have noticed that its United States correspondent hasn’t been contributing much news over the past several months, and many, perhaps, have even asked themselves, “why?” Which could have led to the follow-up query: “who cares?”
As to the first question, the answer may be that, as a freelance reporter, I am so well paid for my stories by the owners of this fine publication that I only need to file four or five times a year in order to maintain my lavish American lifestyle. I can assure you (the owners have instructed me to say) that this is not the case.
Another scenario could be that my time here in California is in such demand that I simply cannot provide the quantity of stories that The Local readers have come to expect. It is true that I am kept busy raising two young dogs, and all summer I have been tasked with keeping a swimming pool clean, and further, this being autumn in the northern hemisphere, and my house being surrounded by deciduous trees, I can frequently be found somewhere in the yard raking leaves. I’ve found that the secret to successful skiving is to always appear busy.
One more explanation is that (the owners have also instructed me to say) I am a lazy sod who wastes time the way Scott Morrison wastes underpants.
The truth of the matter is that the political, cultural, economic and social situations in this country have been so outlandishly, revoltingly, mind-bogglingly strange this past year that every time I sit down and try to describe it, my brain turns to soggy Weet-Bix and I end up watching CNN for hours on end and shouting profanities at the TV.
Speaking of dogs – specifically the part in this story about “two young dogs” – a month ago we added to our pack: there’s me, my wife Carol, the three-year-old pooch Joey, and now a puppy.
One of the many things that annoy me because I’m old, easily annoyed and a language nerd, is trendy words and phrases that replace perfectly good old words and phrases. For example, I hate it when a media person says they “reached out” to someone when in fact all they did was “ask”.
So anyway, there is a new dog in our family. Did we “rescue” her? Did we pull her out from where she was trapped inside a burning building? No. Did we jump into a raging river and haul her to safety? No. We drove an hour in our perfectly comfortable Toyota to a town south of where we live, looked her over, instantly fell in love with her, and drove her back to our house where she will live with us forever.
The complete truth of the matter is that our new puppy had been on death row in a California county that euthanises unwanted dogs and cats. We found her through an organisation that fetches animals from these places and tries to find homes for them. Technically, then, the organisation did rescue her; all we’ve done is give her a home – and a name.
After much debate, we settled on calling her Daisy. However, my father, who often mangles names, insisted on calling her Doris. But as with many such malapropisms, this one made sense. Think of the husky-voiced big-band-era singer who became an actress, making all those rom-coms with Rock Hudson; link Doris and Daisy and you get our puppy’s name, Doris Daisy.
We have just about reached the end of another year, and from my household to yours, I sincerely hope you’ve come out of your brutal months of winter and are experiencing a few glorious days, or at least hours, of summer.
Here at the end of 2022, it occurred to me that if you’ve ever been on, say, a four or five-day bender, I mean really looking at life through beer-coloured lenses, and let’s say you go a bit deep into the Tennessee turps on a Sunday, and you wake up on Monday afternoon feeling like 10 miles (16.09km) of bad Hepburn Shire road, and you see your reflection in the bathroom mirror and think “oh my great aunt, I look like five pounds (2.27kg (editor – can I say this?) in a 10-pound (4.5kg) sack”, it might occur to you that maybe it’d be a good idea to try drinking water again.
Now here’s the thing: Monday is a write-off but after washing down a dozen Panadol tablets with a gallon of coffee, you wake up on Tuesday feeling pretty OK. By Wednesday you’re able to remember to put your pants on before your shoes and by Thursday your vision has cleared (OK, you found your glasses) and life looks fine.

But then Friday comes along and you start thinking about that song recorded by Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five, which was a hit in 1942, “What’s the Use of Getting Sober (When You Gonna Get Drunk Again)”.
I mean, if you didn’t have that wretched Monday to compare it to, would you still feel so splendid on Thursday? Like, is there anything intrinsically good about Thursday? As I sometimes say, all things in moderation, even sobriety.
In all seriousness, though, from here in Crazy Town USA, where sanity is a fond and distant memory, Carol, Joey, Doris Daisy and I wish everyone back in the Real World a safe and successful holiday season and new year. – Jeff Glorfeld

After many happy years living in Victoria and working at The Age, former Wheatsheaf resident Jeff Glorfeld, and his wife Carol, went back to California, the land of his birth, where in the past four years he has survived bushfires, snowstorms and drought. And Trump. And Covid. The cicadas and locusts didn’t arrive. Well, not yet…

Hepburn Shire Council has named local entrepreneurs and businesspeople Eddy and Malinka Comelli and David and Yuge Bromley as the successful bidders in the purchase of The Rex building in Vincent Street, Daylesford, following a public expression of interest process.

The building sold for $3.75 million. This was above the reserve price of $3.7 million, which was set in accordance with an independent property valuation and the requirements of the Local Government Act 2020.

There was substantial interest in the purchase, and Council received six formal submissions during the Expression of Interest (EOI) process.

Mayor, Cr Brian Hood, said the sale of the building marks the beginning of a new chapter for this unique heritage property. 

“The Comelli and Bromley submission was very strong. Their unconditional offer was clearly the preferred bid, and their submission outlined a strong desire to redevelop this property in a way that will benefit our community,” he said.

Both the Comelli and Bromley families live in Daylesford and have strong connections in the local community. They said they are looking forward to working to making the most of The Rex’s potential.

“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,” said Yuge Bromley on behalf of the group.

“We are truly honoured to have the privilege of purchasing this building.  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,” said Ms Bromley.

“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.

“Our driving goal is to create a space that our children and grandchildren can look to with pride for what the combined energies of the Comelli and Bromley families can bring to fruition.”

Cr Hood noted that any works that fall outside the existing planning permit would require planning approvals including heritage, which is separate to the sale process.

“The sale proceeds will be used to repay the loan linked to the purchase of the site and remaining funds will be allocated into a financial reserve for future expenditure on staff accommodation and community facilities,” said Cr Hood.

“We have already begun our planning, and we will progress our investigation into options for staff accommodation and community facilities throughout 2023. This will include community consultation,” he said.

Council’s principal objectives of the sale process were to identify a proponent with the financial capacity to purchase the land and develop the property; identify a proposal which provides an economic and social benefit for the local community; respond to the Council Plan; and achieve an optimal financial return to Council.

“This was a complex decision-making process and these four criteria were always priorities for Council,” said Cr Hood.

Councillors accepted the officers’ recommendation and voted unanimously in favour of selling The Rex to the Comelli and Bromley families.

The EOI and sale process was overseen by an independent probity advisor to ensure the transparency and integrity of the sale process. The marketing and sale campaign was managed by Fitzroys Real Estate Agent.

Cr Hood acknowledged the challenging history of the building since Council purchased it in 2016.

“The decision to sell The Rex was a complex one and we appreciate there has been considerable interest in the building, its legacy and the sale process. We are optimistic that the Comelli and Bromley families will breathe new life into this historic building in the heart of Daylesford,” he said.

Council’s original purchase of The Rex building in 2016 and other matters relating to the Hepburn at The Hub project remain under investigation by the Local Government Inspectorate. Council has cooperated fully with the investigation, repeatedly called for the release of the report and will welcome the release of the inspectorate report.

TRENTHAM Neighbourhood Centre is building a new community garden.
Volunteer project manager Michelle Leeder said the garden would be used by both the Trentham community and TNC staff and members and would provide a green, inviting space for various activities including, learning, socialising, and reflection.
Michelle said a number of people had been involved in the design work – with the help of local landscape designer Anthony Morrey.
“The garden will be built on two levels. There will be garden access from the TNC building with ramp access between the two levels, as well as gate access from High Street.
“The lower level will be paved with recycled pavers, donated by The Pig and Whistle Pub in East Trentham. The elevated level will consist of a paved area and a decking area, with a large pergola and various planter boxes and seating. Two existing trees will be retained and have been incorporated into the garden design.”
Michelle said a new heritage wire front fence would add to the streetscape and allow the garden to be visible from High Street.
New back and side fences will enclose the site and wicking planter boxes will be installed, ensuring water conservation and potential for veggies or other plants to be grown.
Completion of paving, decking and the pergola is expected by mid-2023, allowing for planting to be done over spring.
“We have secured various financial grants to assist with construction of the new garden, however there is also now a fundraising effort in place to assist with financing the project,” Michelle said.
“To date we have raised just over $4000 and would like to thank those who have supported us.
“They are the Cosmopolitan Hotel for their Friday night raffles, the Mount Players for tickets to their performance of Madagascar, community members who have donated cash, the Lions Club of Trentham and the Trentham Spudfest organisers.”
Michelle said a garden fundraising group had been established to organise events and people were welcome to volunteer assistance for any of the events running during 2023 and onwards.

“We of course would welcome any cash donations, which are tax deductible, if individuals or businesses would like to contribute financially.
“Pop into the centre if you would like to see the garden plans in more detail, and keep an eye out for the transformation of the TNC garden in the heart of Trentham during 2023.”

Words and image: Contributed

Words: Tony Sawrey | Main image: Kyle Barnes | Inset: Supplied

EVERYBODY has hit a pothole over the past few months as they continue to pop up, or down, all over the Central Highlands.
And Jamie Adams of Daylesford Tyre and Windscreen Service, pictured, has seen the worst of the damage. He reckons even one the width and breadth of the old classic wooden ruler, 300mm by 300mm, and just 80mm deep, can cause massive damage.
“If you hit something like that at 100km/h in a machine weighing more than 1500kg you are probably impacting at a force equal to 15 tonnes,” he said.
“We still get an average of six cars a week with pothole damage and this has been going on for the past four months. That’s a combination of ruined tyres and cracked, bent and broken rims that have to be repaired or replaced.
“You have always got to be looking because a hole that wasn’t there yesterday could appear tomorrow.”
And in his experience, the vehicles suffering the most damage are luxury cars such as BMWs and Mercedes.
“Anything that runs a low-profile tyre. Whereas say, a 4WD tyre with a big high wall will soak up the impact a lot more. But on some cars there is no wall to speak of and in those cases they will bugger both the tyre and the rim. In the past three months we have had three cars that needed to be towed back to Melbourne because we couldn’t help them out.”
So, if you do have damage caused by potholes are you entitled to compensation? That’s not straightforward according to Hepburn Shire Council’s Infrastructure and Delivery director Bruce Lucas, inset.
“If a driver damages their car while driving on a road, the issue of liability depends on a range of the circumstances as each incident will be different,” Bruce said. “If a driver believes council or a road manager has been negligent, they can submit a claim to council/road authority and this will be assessed by insurers.”
Bruce said the road network falls under various classifications with the state government responsible for freeways, highways and arterial roads, and local government responsible for most other public roads except for those in a state forest.
Every council has a road management plan prepared in accordance with the Road Management Act. Its purpose is to establish service level targets for regional road networks in normal operating conditions. But due to the extent of flood damaged infrastructure, Hepburn Shire Council has enacted the ‘Force Majeure’ (unforeseen circumstances) clause meaning that due to the exceptional circumstances of recent heavy rain, the council is unable to meet the requirements set out in the Act.
Bruce said 74 per cent of Hepburn Shire’s road network has had some form of damage by recent storm/flooding events and given the widespread nature of the damage, they don’t have the ability to place signs at every location to alert drivers.
“We have contractors across the entire shire working as quickly as possible to undertake repairs related to the storm/flood events and this will continue, weather dependent, until mid-late 2023. In the meantime, all road users need to take extreme care when driving on the road, slow down, drive to the conditions and keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front so you can see the condition of the road.”

Words: Eve Lamb | Images: Kyle Barnes

WORK has begun to create a significant new attraction that’s projected to bring tens of thousands more visitors to Daylesford each year.
The man behind development of the new museum specialising in Australian history and Australiana is Mark Ward, already known to many through his multiple Amazing Mill Markets ventures including at Daylesford.
The entrepreneurial Mark, is in no doubt that the new Amazing Mill Markets Museum, now being developed on the same site as Daylesford’s Amazing Mill Market, will be the “biggest and best of its kind in Australia”, and that the flow-on economic benefits to the locality will be considerable.
“It’ll be without a doubt the best museum of its kind in Australia with beautiful cars, massive steam engines, and all aspects of Australian history including automotive, rural, industrial and commercial Australiana,” Mark says.
His personal passion for carnival, circus and sideshow memorabilia will ensure these aspects of the nation’s history and culture are also well represented in the new museum.
“The undercover area is just under a quarter acre in size and it will have a glass atrium down the centre,” Mark says.
“Building has already started. The total cost of the build and fit-out will be just over $2 million.
“The museum will have themed areas with high-tech lighting and 12 interactive screens to tell people about the items. The collection is valued in excess of $10 million and includes 23 magnificently restored cars.”
Work is scheduled for completion at the end of May 2023 with the interior fit-out then anticipated to take three months before the new attraction opens to the public later in the year.
“We anticipate opening in September-October,” Mark says.
“We’re creating a worthwhile destination for people to come to from all over Australia and overseas to spend several hours.
“Rest assured it will be the best of its type in Australia. This museum will bring millions of dollars to Daylesford every year. We are going to attract another 10,000 to 15,000 people into Daylesford per month.”
It’s not the only one of his projects that Mark is currently keenly watching take shape, with another exciting development set for Bendigo’s historic Flour Mill precinct, following the sale of the Amazing Mill Market at Ballarat.
“We have sold the Mill Market at Ballarat but we will be opening another one at the Flour Mill site in Bendigo,” Mark says.
“It will also include specialty shops and five-storey accommodation at the Bendigo Flour Mill precinct. The Bendigo Flour Mill is an historic building and we will be retaining as much of the infrastructure as possible.”
The $24 million Bendigo Flour Mill precinct development will be staged over five years and will also include a small museum, bar and bistro on site, Mark says.

Words & images: Eve Lamb

When driving through Creswick on the main drag headed to Ballarat, it’s hard not to notice the abode of Dot and Laurie Porter.
You know it. It’s the one on the left with all the Christmassy extravagance.
Over the past decade Laurie and Dot, their children, and now their grandchildren have continued to add to the front yard spectacle celebrating the season.
It’s hard to image now that it all started with some comparatively modest Christmas lights, because as Dot and Laurie explain, after Laurie’s Christmas-loving brother, Mickey, passed away their residential yuletide decorations became somewhat more elaborate.
“Mickey loved Christmas,” Dot says.
When Mickey left some money behind, they decided to use it to honour his memory with something they knew he would have loved. And so, what has today become locally known as “Christmas House” began to take on a life of its own.
Christmas trees, reindeer, sleighs, bud lights, candy canes, elves, baubles, Santa sacks and angels abound.
“We haven’t added much this year – only that train there, and the reindeer over there, and the nativity scene over there, and the new snow machine,” says Laurie who has fine-tuned his bubble recipe to create ‘snow’ for the snow machine.
“It was so cold last night when we turned the machine on that the ‘snow’ was still on the ground this morning. The kids just love the snow machine.”
Besides their now grown-up 17 grandchildren, Dot and Laurie also have 23 great-grandchildren to enjoy the Christmas spectacle in honour of their Great-Uncle Mickey.
“It’s for the kids. To see the smiles on their faces,” Dot says.
“Some of our grandchildren dress up as elves on Christmas Eve and everything lights up. We’ve got solar-powered lights and also standard electric lights. The nativity scene is powered by solar. At night when it lights up, it’s really nice.”
Suffice to say the overall effect attracts plenty of fans in the countdown to Christmas, particularly after dark on Christmas Eve…and it’s even rumoured that Santa sometimes makes a guest appearance.
But he wouldn’t be the only one. Over the past couple of years the Creswick Brass Band has also rolled up to pay a special pre-Christmas visit to the Porter residence at 166 Ballarat Road, and dispensed some musical yuletide cheer there as well.
In fact, Creswick Brass Band members say they are now getting set to play carols at the Creswick IGA from 6.30pm to 7.30pm this Friday, December 23, and after that will also be playing carols at the Porters’ place for an hour or more from 8.30pm this Friday and then again on Saturday, Christmas Eve from 8.30pm.
No doubt Uncle Mickey will be smiling down from somewhere – and loving it.

Peeking out from behind the glare of a bright foreground star, astronomers have uncovered the most extraordinary example yet of a nearby galaxy with characteristics that are more like galaxies in the distant, early universe.

Only 1,200 light-years across, the tiny galaxy HIPASS J1131–31 has been nicknamed “Peekaboo” because of its emergence in the past 50-100 years from behind the fast-moving star that was obscuring astronomers’ ability to detect it.

The discovery is a combined effort of telescopes on the ground and in space, including confirmation by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Together the research shows tantalising evidence that the Peekaboo Galaxy is the nearest example of the galaxy formation processes that commonly took place not long after the big bang, 13.8 billion years ago. 

“Uncovering the Peekaboo Galaxy is like discovering a direct window into the past, allowing us to study its extreme environment and stars at a level of detail that is inaccessible in the distant, early universe,” said astronomer Gagandeep Anand of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, co-author of the new study on Peekaboo’s intriguing properties.

Astronomers describe galaxies like Peekaboo as “extremely metal-poor” (XMP). In astronomy, “metals” refers to all elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. The very early universe was almost entirely made up of primordial hydrogen and helium, elements forged in the big bang. Heavier elements were forged by stars over the course of cosmic history, building up to the generally metal-rich universe humans find ourselves in today. Life as we know it is made from heavier element “building blocks” like carbon, oxygen, iron, and calcium.

While the universe’s earliest galaxies were XMP by default, similarly metal-poor galaxies have also been found in the local universe. Peekaboo caught astronomers’ attention because, not only is it an XMP galaxy without a substantial older stellar population, but at only 20 million light-years from Earth it is located at least half the distance of the previously known young XMP galaxies. 

Peekaboo was first detected as a region of cold hydrogen more than 20 years ago with the Australian Parkes radio telescope, Murriyang, in the HI Parkes All Sky Survey by professor Bärbel Koribalski, who is an astronomer at Australia’s national science agency CSIRO and a co-author of the latest research study on Peekaboo’s metallicity. Far-ultraviolet observations by NASA’s space-based Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) mission showed it to be a compact blue dwarf galaxy.

A report published by CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, has detailed the successful trial of a new sensor-based platform with the potential to better support older Australians to live in their own home longer.

The report, titled DACS: Smarter Safer Homes to Support Older People Living in Their Own Homes Through Enhanced Care Models, is based on findings of research to trial the Smarter Safer Homes (SSH) sensor-based platform.

Developed by CSIRO, SSH was the first consumer driven smart home technology in the world to help people live independently in their homes.

CEO of CSIRO’s Australian e-Health Research Centre, David Hansen, said trials found statistically significant evidence that older people living with SSH showed their social care related quality of life decrease was 10 times less than the control group who experienced usual care. 

“The outcomes of the trial reveal that the SSH technology is beneficial in ensuring older people can live independently in their home for longer,” Dr Hansen said.

Service providers, family members and other caregivers can check a data dashboard that reveals patterns in an older person’s behaviour. Any changes in the patterns may indicate a need for action. For example, if mobility patterns change, this may suggest a fall or injury, prompting a check in. 

Co-author of the report, CSIRO’s Liesel Higgins, said this technology in the hands of Australia’s aged care workforce will benefit older people who are living at home and receiving community care services.  

“The platform is perfect for connecting families living apart, as people often are these days. Say there’s a family member in Brisbane, another in Adelaide and an ageing parent living in a rural town. SSH would help the family to support their parent from a distance. In addition to community aged care supports, the technology could allow the parent to stay in their home for longer, if they wish,” Ms Higgins said. 

“This technology takes the guesswork away from the question of your family’s wellbeing when you’re not around,” she said.