Victorian fire agencies are urging residents to be aware of the risks associated with lithium-ion battery products this festive season following a lithium-ion battery explosion on an e-bike.

As a result, a Langwarrin family lost their entire garage last month (November 14), with the near miss alerted to by their 21-year-old daughter just minutes before the whole structure went up in flames. 

Property owner Jamie Universita said he was unaware of the dangers lithium-ion battery products could cause if damaged and was thankful his e-bike was stored in the garage away from living and sleeping areas.  

“We are just so lucky our daughter and her friends were at home at that very moment to pack their car for a camping weekend, and were quick enough to take action,” Jamie said.

“She initially heard crackling sounds and saw electrical sparks, and after ringing me to let me know, she removed my car from the garage and called the fire brigade who told her not to hose it down.”

Jamie said once the bike exploded into a fireball, they lost everything in a matter of minutes.   

“It could have been so much worse, we’re just so grateful the firefighters were able to contain it before it stretched further to the house. Everything can be replaced,” Jamie said.

“I had no idea products like my e-bike were capable of doing something like this. I really urge everyone to buy from a reputable brand and to pay close attention to them.”

Chief Officer Jason Heffernan said incidents such as these are a strong reminder for residents to understand how you can prevent devices and batteries from catching fire.

“It’s important Victorians are checking their devices for damage regularly before charging, and that they’re only using a compatible charger that has been supplied with the device,” Jason said.

“Please only purchase and use equipment from reputable manufacturers and suppliers.

“We strongly recommend households install interconnected smoke alarms where devices such as these are charged, so residents and firefighters are alerted as soon as possible.”

Ahead of Christmas gifting and school holiday activities, Fire Rescue Victoria Deputy Commissioner Community Safety Joshua Fischer said Victorians should learn about safely purchasing and handling lithium-ion battery-powered devices of all types.

“It’s essential to only use devices from reliable manufacturers and to follow their instructions. Larger devices such as e-bikes or e-scooters should only ever be charged in areas such as garages or sheds that are away from living areas and exits, “ said DC Fischer.

“Phones, computers, toys and power tools should never be left unattended while charging, or on soft flammable surfaces such as beds or pillows. They should also not be left in direct sunlight or in parked vehicles where they can quickly heat up.”

“We want all Victorians to stay safe this season, so please be aware of the warning signs of lithium-ion battery fires such as strong odours, discolouration, bulging, and abnormal sounds. Fire safety is a shared responsibility, and we encourage you to familiarise yourself with the tips on our websites to better understand how to store and charge your device correctly.”

Lithium-ion battery safety tips:

• Only buy lithium-ion battery products from a reputable supplier and follow the manufacturer’s instructions
• Only use the charger supplied with the device, or one that is compatible with the battery and meets Australian Standards
• Check e-scooters and e-bikes for damage before charging
• Do not charge a battery that is damaged, or a device containing a damaged battery
• Install interconnected smoke alarms where devices are often charged
• For large devices such as e-bikes and e-scooters, only charge them in areas such as garages and sheds and away from exits and living areas
• Never charge your device on or near flammable surfaces, such as beds or pillows, as this can contribute to overheating and start a fire
• Do not overcharge your device
• Do not leave a charging device in direct sunlight
• Do not store lithium-ion batteries in areas where they are exposed to heat or moisture

Words & Image: CFA

Local musicians and artists will be presenting a program of live entertainment in Castlemaine’s Mechanics Lane this summer.

The line-up ahead will include live music, performances and DJs, a dance class and even a sound healing session.

Coming up next on the program is Club Unity set for Saturday 14 December from 5pm to late.

Club Unity is a street party where everyone is welcome with the Mount Aleander Shire Council seasonally activating the Mechanics Lane space.

Celebrating unity and togetherness, the Club Unity event features Luqman, Joel Pearson, Monica Santos (Argentina) and Giovanni Riveros (Peru), Coterra, and DJ Jen Moore.

There’ll also be food by Lucha Libre and a bar run by Castlemaine Fringe Festival.

to February 2025, local musicians and artists are taking over the public space with live music, performances and DJs, a dance class, sound healing, and more.

Mount Alexander Shire Council’s Manager of Economy and Culture, Merryn Tinkler, said the council was pleased to be able to support local artists through the free summer program of events scheduled for the Mechanics Lane space.

“We have an extensive artistic community in our shire, and it’s wonderful to be able to show our support by providing a free and professional space for them to share their skills,” said Ms Tinkler.

“This year’s summer program promises to deliver some exciting experiences – from sound healings with gongs and singing bowls, through to a dance class teaching participants how to do the salsa!”.

“It’s always a treat to walk to Mechanics Lane and be surprised by the music, performances and events taking place there.

“I encourage everyone to take a look at the program and see if there’s something there for them.”

To find out more visit the events section of the Mount Alexander Shire Council’s website.

The Giant Christmas Bauble is back in Ballarat this Christmas season.

The Christmas Bauble has begun shining brightly every night this festive season, with The City of Ballarat encouraging visitors, locals and shoppers to venture over to the city’s town hall to grab a fun family Christmas photo with the large festive decoration.

As part of the lead up to Christmas the city is inviting everyone to enjoy its free Christmas program featuring unique performance each day including dancing elves, Christmas dance party, Christmas carols, a magic show, and accordion player.

Starting earlier this week, December 9, and continuing every weekday until Christmas eve, there’ll be the chance to discover a unique take on each of the 12 Days of Christmas.

The series will end with a spectacular finale on Christmas eve featuring 12 drummers drumming performed by Stella Savvy and Cocosounds.

More details can be found via the City of Ballarat website.

The trip’s finale  

We flew into LA a few weeks ago and my first thought was tipping the staff. This is a costly consideration considering the exchange rate and the 20 per cent of the  bill expected.

This is some weird business idea that just wouldn’t work in Australia because firstly our minimum wage for casual employees is $28 per hour and we tip if we are treated right or have had a good time with friends.

But in the good old USA where the minimum wage is as low as $2.50 per hour and veteran barkeeps and cocktail shaker artists can expect the withering tops of $12 per hour, they need tips.  

Another thing I don’t like about America is it’s full of Americans, who from my first impressions seem to be a bit piggish and selfish in their behaviours. I mean who blows their nose on a linen napkin at a restaurant?

Well, it turns out a good portion do. They are also loud and they talk the talk in terms of Christian behaviour and ethics but it seems to me that they would rather walk over each other than walk the walk.  

Things I like about America are limited but extend to their attitudes to dogs which can stay at hotels and fly with you. I also like the airplane seatbelts that could strap in an elephant and, even for me, leave an 18-inch tail after I am buckled in.  

Hotel rooms that you could swing half a dozen cats are great, and finally when the airplane docks, it isn’t a surprise to the groundcrew. A skybridge instantly appears and everyone gets off quick sticks.

Our trip through Central America came to a sad end when we found ourselves transferring through Auckland Airport and accidentally cut the queue. We and a couple of others had followed signs to the transfer which led to us blending into the queue.

We were quickly told by an American to go to the back which by this time was about 200 deep. She proclaimed it wasn’t fair, my retort was “you are quite right,  you have had your say and it’s now time to keep quiet, it was an accident”.  

Most of these countries in CA are poor, dirt poor and that is evidenced by the dirt that makes up their floors, the lack of amenities and stuff like running water that we all take for granted.

You won’t get to see that from a resort or a tour but deviate slightly from the promenades and boardwalks put there as welcome mats for the tourists, and you will get the picture. It doesn’t seem to matter where you go: Antigua, Costa Rica, Columbia or Panama, the story is the same, most of the folks out here are impoverished, living day-to-day.

And it galvanises my opinion that Australia is certainly the land of milk and honey with social services that offer a safety net.  Finally, we have arrived home and it feels good. I am tired.

Now I have been tired before, so tired as an 18-year-old deckhand after a gruelling 60 hours straight on the fish, steaming for an hour to pick up a longline set.

It was summer in the far north of New Zealand, breeding time for the snappers and huge pay cheques for the fisherman, but you had to work long and hard. I was in wet-weather gear but it was wetter on the inside than the out due to the roughness of the sea.

I lay on the deck, the lower half awash with the ocean, the upper half in the wheelhouse soaking up the heat from the engine until those dreaded words shattered my sleep “standby, standby” as we arrived at the fishing grounds.  

But I can’t recall being so tired that while having a pee last night, leaning on a wall, I fell asleep midstream until one of my legs gave way and woke me up. Such is the tiredness I experienced after our whirlwind trip to Central America and back.  Travel rant over…   

By Donna Kelly

I enjoy travel as much as imparting a cautionary tale. So you can’t imagine my joy at our latest travel adventure. Hmmm.  

After four years of Covid we were off on a cruise to Central America, a bucket list for Kyle if you will, as a confirmed boatie and someone who has always wanted to see the Panama Canal in action.

So off we went. Not cheap, but Mum left me some money in her will when we  lost her in 2020, well she died, and I always thought it would be a good idea to spend it on travel.  

Mum loved travel and we took her on a number of bucket lists, Iceland and Russia, and we had booked a 2020 trip to Japan, Hong Kong and China, but we all  know how that worked out. Stupid Covid.

Anyway, I felt we had Mum’s blessing to spend the inheritance on a once-in-a lifetime trip to America and beyond.  And it was an amazing voyage. But not without a few hiccups. As seems to be the  case. I think as a journo I attract issues. Not sure.  

Our first little blip was arriving at the airport, all excited and being asked if we had our ESTA – an Electronic System for Travel Authorization. So you don’t need a visa for the US.  Now I had read all about it and knew that as Australians we didn’t need a visa but  I didn’t know I needed a waiver so I didn’t need a visa.

But the woman at Air New  Zealand knew because when she heard we didn’t have one she simply said: “Well, you can’t go.” And that was that. I kid you not.  

They can take up to three days or 72 hours if you count slowly and our plane was leaving in two. So we hotfooted it to a travel agent over the way who said it might  come through in less. She helped us fill out the form, took some money from us and  said she would be in touch. FFS.  

Meanwhile, distraught, we decided we would fly to at least NZ, our stopover, and maybe end up having a few weeks there. The OK for the US came after we had checked our luggage and while we were in the security queue. Safe. Off we went, all smiles again. Doesn’t take much to make us happy. 🙂

Next little hiccup was feeling a bit average about a week before the cruise ended.  So off I popped to the ship’s medical centre for an antibiotic. Too easy. At 59 I know my health. Not as much as them apparently.  

Over that day and the next I was given a Covid/influenza/RSV nasal swab and a urine test for legionnaire’s disease – both clear, then a chest x-ray which showed I probably had pneumonia, despite no cough, and needed morning and night rounds of nebulisers, two rounds of intravenous antibiotics, a oral course of antibiotics and steroids, cough mixture, paracetamol and antihistamines.  

I got better really fast – although I nearly had a heart attack when I got the bill for the first day – US $4000. Again, I kid you not. I have not yet opened the bill for the second day. That has the urine sample – who knows what that added. We do have  travel insurance so it should work out – but if not, the crew Christmas party might be a bit low key.  

And now I think about it, I really should have gone for extras. Maybe asked for a quick tummy tuck, or get them to take care of that ingrown toe nail, perhaps a routine colonoscopy. I mean, in for a penny, in for US$20,000, said no-one ever.  

Oh, almost last thing. Our vaccination doctor talked us out of yellow fever vaccinations but coming back through border patrol they were a little unhappy with our decision not to bother. “If you feel sick, tell your doctor,” were the final words.  Not sure I ever want to see a doctor again though, just sayin’…  

The really last thing. This (below) was a dessert one night. Is it just me? Or, well, you know. Are they having a lend and laughing their heads off out the back as the passengers bite into this. Not sure…

AN increasing demand for strong IT skills being placed on the region’s healthcare professionals is refelected in a new pilot project set to run through to the middle of next year.

Part of the state government’ s$4.4 million skills solutions partnerships program, Grampians Health is participating in the pilot that aims to enhance the digital skills of staff to ensure they can navigate changing healthcare technology.

RMIT’s Health Transformation Lab and College of Vocational Education are piloting the digital health skills project to rapidly upskill front-line staff, broader health workforce and IT professionals in the healthcare sector to meet the industry’s emerging needs.

It’s a partnership with Grampians Health and the Cisco Networking Academy (NetAcad), and is being funded through the Victorian Government’s Skills Solutions Partnerships (SSP) program.

It is designed to be scalable to meet the needs of other healthcare providers across the state and nationally.

“By equipping our staff with advanced digital skills, we are not only enhancing patient care but also ensuring that our workforce is prepared for the future of healthcare,” said Kate Nolan, chief information officer at Grampians Health.

“This pilot program is a testament to our dedication to continuous improvement and excellence in healthcare delivery.”

Staff will learn how to use technology such as generative AI and cybersecurity to improve decision-making, efficiency and strengthen data security.

The program will run until June 2025 and be conducted in three intakes in November, February and April.

It will include online modules, live tutorials and face-to-face workshops.

“Through the digital skills survey and workshops, we listened to our staff and identified the key areas for training through the pilot. This has assisted in informing the design,” Ms Nolan said.

“Healthcare staff need to be proficient with digital tools to provide the highest quality of care, protect patient data, and adapt to new technologies.”

Director of the RMIT-Cisco Health Transformation Lab, Nithya Solomon, said there is an opportunity for healthcare providers to leverage the benefits of digital technologies.

“The healthcare sector is experiencing a digital revolution at an unprecedented scale and pace and while many providers are beginning to explore the application of different technologies in practice, there remains a need to build capability in key skillsets and knowledge rapidly enough to truly tap into the available technology and see the benefits.”

This story based on an RMIT Univsersity media release.

with Eve Lamb

Clunes Original Homestead Creekside Walk.  Loop. Distance 4.5 km.

This is one of my fav Clunes walks. It’s a slight adaptation of a loop walk that appears in a newly released brochure detailing several choice walks and saunters in and around the Clunes township. More on that later.

For this 4.5km loop my trekking accomplice Paddy H and I start out in Collins Place (adjacent to The Clunes Warehouse). We turn left and head roughly north along the town’s main (Fraser) street, until we reach Templeton Street where we turn right (east) and walk straight toward the Creswick Creek.

Once we reach the creek we turn left and make our way toward the timber-decked footbridge, less than 100 metres on, that takes us over the creek.

After crossing the footbridge we turn left and follow the creekside walking path roughly due north for a short way before turning left into the bottom of Scenic Drive to cross over the creek ford.

Once across the ford we turn right and head roughly north alongside Blackmores Road, again following the creek to take in the Blackmores Road Park. With its magnificent old National Trust significant elm trees, established gums and old fashioned picnic tables this little creekside park is surely one of the most underrated around. It is the perfect place for a picnic or barbecue.

Paddy H and I opt for a coffee break and then walk on to the end of the Blackmores Road Park. Here, we make our way up onto Blackmores Road and continue heading north-ish along the road parallel to the creek that’s to our right.

After about half a kilometer, in a paddock to our right we see the weather-beaten sign that IDs the site of the town’s original homestead.

Scottish-born Donald Cameron, the original squatter, built his homestead in 1839. The Clunes Museum has a painting of the Cameron Homestead and the State Library of Victoria has a watercolour of the Station of Donald Cameron JP Esq done around 1844-1847 and available to view on Trove.

We continue on along Blackmores Road for another couple of hundred metres or so until just past the 40km advisory sign where Blackmores Road ends and sweeps up into Alfred Road. We instead turn right, taking a very short unmade track that leads down to a small steel footbridge to cross the creek.

I should mention here that we’ve seen quite a bit of wildlife at this point including a black kite, a black-shouldered kite, a family of grey fantails, and  I strongly suggest that when doing this walk in the warmer months you keep a watchful look out for snakes when moving alongside the creek.

Anyway, back to the bridge. It’s a great little lesser known reach of the creek here, meditative just to stand and take in the scene. Once across and on the other side of the creek, if you haven’t already tuned in properly, the landscape now commands attention with its undulations and sweeping wide sky vistas.

The track weaves through an impressive patch of native poa tussock grass, heading roughly due east before we turn right into Station Flat Road,  and begin heading along the creek back toward the township.

Clunes is a unique place (as you know) and one of the evocative things about it is the quirky Eternity sign to be spotted as you meander along Cattle Station Flat Road. There it is, painted in a kind of faded lemon yellow in a flowing yesteryear cursive script and afixed to a rusty gate that leads to … well eternity really.

I love this walk, too, for the landscape right here with its remnant mining mullock heaps plus palm tree. Makes you feel like you might be in Egypt or somewhere else fairly exotic… which of course, you are.

We continue along Station Flat Road, passing historic relics of the Port Phillip Gold Mine, until we again reconnect with the bottom of Scenic Drive. To neatly complete this walk you could either cross the ford again and  turn left to take in the far end of Fraser Street headed back to Collins Place. Or you could just keep ambling along creekside for a beautiful leafy end to the loop, back across the first footbridge.

This walk is very similar to the ‘Original Homestead Walk’ included in the new Clunes Town Walks brochure that was produced as a collaboration between Clunes Neighbourhood House, Creative Clunes and the Clunes Tourism and Development Association.

The new brochure details four good local ambles ranging from 1.5 km to 4.5km in length: the Clunes Creek Walk , Eighteen Miners Steps Walk, Gold Mines Walk and the Original Homestead Walk. It comes complete with historic insights, a handy map and QR codes giving extra info for each walk.

Clunes Neighbourhood House manager Lana de Kort says the Clunes Town Walks brochures can be picked up free of charge at various retail outlets throughout the town, and other outlets like the Neighbourhood House.

Words & Images: Eve Lamb

Over the past decade there has been an average of 8000 Miner’s Right licences sold in Victoria each year.  

This licence, obtained from Resources Victoria costs $28 and allows you to remove and keep minerals discovered on Crown Land or private (with permission).  

Many of those licence holders are going out looking  for gold armed with sophisticated metal detectors worth  up to $9000, picking over old diggings such as those  across the Hepburn Shire.  

It is a highly popular pastime no doubt but local  detectorist Glenn Conroy remembers the days when he  was one of only a handful of prospectors in the Wombat Forest combing over mining sites virtually untouched  since they were abandoned a century before.  

“I used to go digging around old houses and huts  looking for bottles,” says Glenn, “and when the metal detectors started to be advertised in some of the bottle  magazines I got interested and bought one.  

“I started detecting in the remains of stone huts  from the gold rush era between Musk Vale and Eganstown.”  

Glenn was keen on chasing gold and was already  familiar with dishing and using sluice boxes, common  methods of alluvial (surface) prospectors in the 1800s.  

He began talking to a few local blokes who were  starting to do gold detecting who said the best way to cut your teeth was to go into those areas that had  already been worked.  

“So I went again and within minutes the very first  bit of gold I found was 2 3/4 ounces (85g). That got me  going. I got my picture in papers and since then I had a variety of detectors over the years and I’d say since then  I’ve probably found about 220 ounces (6.2 kilos).”  

Glenn has worked his whole life as a harness racing  trainer and driver, starting with his parents Bob and Pat and continuing today in partnership with his sister Anne-Maree.  

In his early 20s detecting was a casual thing, something to do on a Saturday afternoon after work. But a few short years later he was married with two daughters and gradually his hobby became a means to support his growing family.

“We were not particularly well off and so my wife Tracy would often say to me, there is ‘x’ amount of bills on the fridge, go and see what you can do.  

“I used to like the fact that not only was I enjoying myself when I was detecting out in the bush but I was helping the family along. We were paying off our house as well as braces for my youngest daughter’s teeth when  she was a teenager. It was a great way to earn money and have fun at the same time.”  

In the late 1970s when Glenn began his gold fossicking career, the many mining sites around the  area

had hardly been touched since being abandoned a  century before. Besides gold, he has dug up all sorts of historical relics from English and Chinese coins, trade tokens (issued by local stores) to opium tins, digging tools, buttons and belt buckles.

While he gave some to friends and family, he still has quite a collection of objects that  stand as a testament to his time spent in the bush; a combination of perseverance, luck and knowledge.

“I’ve seen a lot of blokes start and chuck it in and  it would have been easy for me to do the same at the  start. I wasn’t an instant success by any means and when  I look back now I realise how little I knew about where the gold was and where it was likely to be found.  

“But through trial and error, research and a keen  interest in what other blokes were telling me you realise how it works. It’s like a magic trick.”  

About five years ago his daughter Lyndal started an Instagram page for him. She would take photos of things Glenn found and post them.

Then he teamed up with fellow detectorist Anthony Meryvale filming their prospecting adventures on a phone. This became  a popular YouTube channel and today Victorian Gold  Hunters has garnered more than a million views and 7000 subscribers.  

“I like to think that Saturday afternoon is still my time. If I’m not racing on a Saturday night I go detecting. I leave the mobile phone in the car, go out into the bush and I’m my own man.”  

Words & main image: Tony Sawrey. Inset: Supplied

The stage is set for a new and more inclusive era for patrons and performers  at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Ballarat.  

Member for Wendouree Juliana Addison represented Minister for Regional  Development Gayle Tierney at Resurgence, the City of Ballarat’s official reopening  event held at the theatre.  

This is just the beginning for the nearly 150-year-old theatre, with major  acts Marcia Hines, Daryl Braithwaite, and the illusionist Consentino among the  performances coming to the newly revamped theatre over the holiday period.  

Her Majesty’s Theatre, or ‘Her Maj’ as it is known to locals, has undergone major  upgrade works in recent years.  Her Maj, which is Australia’s oldest continually used performance space, has  been transformed into a building that beautifully marries the old and the new.

The  venue honours the rich goldfields-era history of the theatre while offering a modern,  accessible and fit-for-purpose space for artists and audiences.  

A jewel in Ballarat’s artistic crown, the theatre is a key pillar of live entertainment  in regional Victoria and one of the most significant 19th century theatres remaining  in Australia.  

The theatre receives $95,000 per annum via Creative Victoria’s Regional  Partnerships Program to support the venue’s programming. Ballarat City Council also  receives funding through the program to support Art Gallery of Ballarat.  

The reopened theatre will continue to support high quality arts and entertainment  events, while ensuring that more people of all abilities have a chance to showcase their  talents, tell their stories on the stage, and experience live entertainment.  

Recent works, which supported 21 jobs during construction, have installed new  lifts to support people of all abilities to access the stage and auditorium, improved fire  safety standards in the building, and installed a new box office to make it easier to purchase tickets and stay up to date with future performances and events.  

Earlier upgrades included the installation of steel structural support beams  and external brick works and were completed as part of the first two stages of the  redevelopment. These works were supported by more than $5 million from the City  of Ballarat and $2 million from Heritage Victoria.  

Words: Donna Kelly. Image: Supplied 

The CFA is warning farmers of the dangers of rain-affected haystacks after heavy rainfalls of 40 to 100mm were recently recorded across parts of the state.

The combination of rushed baling and rain-affected haystacks could significantly increase the likelihood of spontaneous combustion as moisture levels rise within stored hay.  

Between June 30, 2023, and July 1, 2024, CFA had responded to 121 haystack fires across regional Victoria, with 66 per cent of incidents occurring in the west and northwest of the state.  

CFA District 18 Assistant Chief Fire Officer Gavin Wright emphasised the risks tied to recent weather conditions and new haystacks across farming districts. 

“Moisture in hay bales can quickly lead to heating, especially if baling was rushed or done under less-than-ideal conditions,” Mr Wright said.  

“Farmers need to be extra careful with their timing and monitoring.” 

Gavin advised that checking haystacks regularly is critical to preventing fires. 

“If you notice anything unusual, like a strange smell or rising heat, investigate immediately.  

“Use a temperature probe to monitor conditions inside the stack and act early if you detect a problem,” he said. 

“Regular monitoring of your hay can make all the difference between a manageable issue and a devastating fire.  

“Farmers must stay alert, especially with current conditions.” 

For advice on haystack safety or to learn more about reducing fire risk on your property, visit CFA’s website or contact your local CFA brigade. 

Haystack Tips            

• Ensure hay is well cured before baling.  

• Know the history of the hay you purchase. 

• Keep haystacks to a limited size and separate your haystacks. 

• Monitor moisture and temperature of your hay regularly. 

• Watch for unusual odours such as pipe tobacco, caramel, burning or musty smells. 

• Store hay in separate stacks or sheds away from farm equipment and other buildings. 

• Keep your hay dry. Protect it from rain, leaking rooves or spouts, and runoff. Cover stacks with tarps or hay caps. 

• Don’t stack hay right to the top of a hay shed. Allow some air to circulate at the top – this helps to carry away moisture. 

Temperature Guide (degree Celsius) – what to do when your hay is overheating 
Use a thermometer in a probe or insert a crowbar into the middle of the stack for 2 hours. 

• Less than 50 Can handle the crowbar without discomfort 
  Check temperature daily. 

• 50 - 60 Can only handle crowbar for short time 
  Check temperature twice daily. 

• 60 - 70 Can touch bar only briefly 
  Check temperature every 2 – 4 hours. Move hay to improve air flow. 

• Over 70 Bar is too hot to hold 
  Potential for fire. Call 000 immediately. Avoid walking on top of haystack. At this stage pulling apart the hay may provide the oxygen it needs to ignite. 

The vibrant work of Jennifer England will be part of the upcoming Daylesford Arts pop-up at 94 Vincent Street, Daylesford from December 13 – 15.  

Jennifer started painting at the age of four and had her first solo exhibition at 17.  

She earned a Diploma of Fine Arts in Sydney in 1992 and lived and worked there as an artist for many years, exhibiting her work extensively across the city.  

Pausing her career for motherhood in 2009, she moved back to Coffs Harbour, her hometown, where she worked for headspace, a mental health foundation helping  young people through life crises.  

It was here she developed a passion for art as therapy and using that, was able to steer a course through her own life crisis.  

Relocating to Glenlyon in 2018, and later Daylesford, she resumed painting and her colourful artworks have become well known on the local art scene.  

Her oil-on-canvas piece titled Babooshka won the Still Life category in the 2024  Daylesford Rotary Art Show.

“I love still life and I love the Renaissance painters and I  just put my own whimsical twist on it,” she says.

Jennifer’s work will be part of the upcoming Daylesford Arts pop-up at 94  Vincent Street, Daylesford from December 13 – 15.  

Daylesford Arts is now having solo exhibitions for each of the artists at the  Visitor Information Centre – currently on exhibition are works by Pam Gleeson.  

“Travelling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a  storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta  

This is very true of our recent trip to America and Central  America. There were many moments where we were  speechless but we now have many tales to tell.  

Our trip started in Australia, read about almost not going thanks to a small mistake, on page 27, but then we were off.  First to New Zealand and then Los Angeles where we boarded  the good ship Norwegian Jewel for many amazing ports.  

First up was San Diego followed by Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Columbia and the Cayman Islands.  Every stop was an eye-opener and to be truthful what really stood out to me was the abject poverty of Central America and then the juxtaposition of us stepping back onto a cruise ship with hot and cold running everything.  

While the residents of Central America lead their lives with below poverty line wages, lack of fundamental basics, some living in cardboard shacks, others wheeling people with disabilities  hoping to be handed a few American bucks, we and other passengers had all we could want.  

So much food that a lot was just thrown out, bottles of drinking water, sparkling pools for a casual dip, a river of alcohol coming out of the myriad bars, music to dance the night away and staff, also mostly from the poorer countries of the world, ready to clean our rooms and wish us Good Morning, Good Day and Good Night.  

Don’t get me wrong, I love cruising, but I don’t like myself for loving it so much. Yes, you can tip people and hand over a few dollars here and there, but you won’t make a difference in anyone’s life. And that is just the truth.  

So is travel a good thing. I guess it allows you to look into the real world, if you take the time, and we had some great conversations with people around the region.  

We do try and take the time to find locals to chat with and support their enterprises, not just end up where the tourists are taken to be shaken down with what I imagine are some hefty  kickbacks.  

So, just a few of our conversations.  We chatted to one female bartender in Guatemala who told us honestly, despite our tour guide saying they had the most  temperate weather in Central America, with a steady 25 degrees  Celsius, that “summer is hell”.  

The bloke who picked us up to take us to our rental car in the Cayman Islands said global warming was destroying his country along with the overdevelopment of the region.

“We used to have lots of bush and forest and now we just have buildings. We will lose even more soon.”  

A waiter on the ship said as we went through the Panama  Canal it was great they had been able to retain plenty of trees and greenery despite flooding the area. It was also good to be able to  provide plenty of employment opportunities, he said.  

A woman employee on the ship, who greeted us most mornings at the restaurant, admired Kyle’s white summery shirt.  Kyle decided to make it a gift and asked if she had a husband. Yes, she said, but her sister was free if needed. Hmmm.

She then told Kyle she would not give it to her husband but instead wear it to bed and think of us. Again, hmmm.  

Another female staffer told us we were working too much, on  day two of trying to get The Local uploaded from a table in her restaurant, and that we needed to “close the office”. She then gave us beer and wine to keep us fortified.  

Finally, a bartender in Tampa, Florida, said if you got angry if you didn’t get a tip, then you were in the wrong game.  

“I could say anything to rub a customer the wrong way, and not even know it, or they could be having a bad day, or maybe  I said something to someone else they didn’t like. You just have to take the day as it comes. Tips are great but we can’t bank on them.”  

It’s an interesting world out there, and great to visit, but I also do like coming home – to what I believe is the best country in the world.  

Words: Donna Kelly. Images: Donna Kelly & Kyle Barnes.

A man who allegedly fled the state over a fatal in Great Western near the Grampians has been extradited, following a joint operation between Major Collision Investigation Unit detectives and Queensland Police.

The 25-year-old man was on bail in relation to one count of dangerous driving causing death.

The charge relates to a collision in 2022 on the Western Freeway which claimed the life of a 53-year-old Horsham woman.

A warrant was issued for the 25-year-old Horsham man when he failed to appear at court on Thursday, November 28.

Fugitive Taskforce investigators wasted no time in tracking the man down, identifying that he had possibly fled to Queensland.

Within hours, Tactical Crime Squad officers and Upper Mount Gravatt Criminal Investigation Branch detectives attended an address in Macgregor and arrested the man at the scene.

He faced court in Brisbane where an extradition order was granted.

The 25-year-old was brought back to Victoria during the week and will be required to face Melbourne County Court on December 4.

News of whether the Bali Nine drug smugglers would be brought home to Australia seized the headlines. Here in Daylesford, however, a harsh side to Bali was revealed to Daylesford Rotarians. 

Single pregnant women in Balinese society are shunned due to strict religious beliefs and may be thrown out of their village. Before CCTV removed anonymity, they would often leave their babies outside hospitals or police stations. Now they abandon them in rice paddies where they may die. 

This picture of life behind the happy-go-lucky world seen by Australian tourists was explained by Karen Sims, who for nine years has spent half her time in Bali helping these women when not running a communications company in Melbourne. 

A local, Yulia Sukanta, stepped in to help and started a Mother and Baby House. From then, says Karen, “it just grew”.

A small house became bigger. Soon the main house held 18 mothers including a 12-year-old, a 15-year-old and two aged 17. A 14-year-old had a second child. Last year a 17-year-old girl was not allowed to finish school because she was pregnant. Pleas to the school were futile. The father of her child is a repeat offender. 

“The mothers can’t work, and their kids can’t go to school because they don’t have a birth certificate,” says Karen. 

Karen says they keep in touch with the 58 mothers they have helped, including trekking into the mountains to see them. Some of the babies have been fostered or adopted, which is difficult.

Also, there is a stigma attached to babies of a different colour. “There is zero government help and, as for the rest, the (Balinese) rich are staying rich and the healthy are staying healthy. 

“Bali is no longer cheap. There are a few wealthy expats and self-funded retirees. “All this could be changed,” says Karen, ”if the men would just wear a bloody condom. The girls are sensible, although many didn’t know about condoms”. 

“Young men say, ‘My dad says I’m not a man if I wear a condom’. Others are too embarrassed to buy them.”

Add to this the diseases passed between men and sex workers, which the men pass on to their wives or girlfriends. As if all this were not bad enough there is a high level of domestic violence. “We go to villages to talk about the bashing of women.” 

Again, this can be difficult to reverse. Keeping the project going is always hard, Karen says. “We’re down to the wire financially…we’re always scraping by.” 

Backing her is Daylesford born-and-bred Glenda Rozen, who regularly takes infant formula powder to Bali and is involved in fund-raising with Australian expatriates in the Bali International Women’s Association.

Glenda, pictured above, returns to Bali after Christmas. Daylesford Rotarians have also come on board and raised $2500 for the project. Link: www.balimotherandbabyhouse.org 

A Fromage & Fundraise will be held at Gloria’s Wine Bar, Camberwell today, Sunday December 8 from 2.30pm. 

Words: Kevin Childs | Image: Supplied 

“Let’s wander where the wifi is weak.” – Unknown  

“Yeah, nah. That’s a great idea unless you have a business to  run and quite a lot of MBs to upload.” – Kyle Barnes  

It is day 13 of a 17-day cruise aboard the Norwegian  Jewel, a cruise liner on the Pacific side of Central America with around 2000 guests and 1000 crew, a cruise by most standards considered long.  

Ask most of the passengers what the highlight of the trip will be and the answer is overwhelmingly our transiting of the Panama Canal – and the day had finally arrived.  

Despite the partying of the previous 13 nights many were on deck around 5.30am to soak up as much of this incredible “bucket list” day as possible.  A line of ships as far as you could see dotted the horizon, all  waiting for their turn to cross the canal, and I was told that the same was true on the Atlantic side.  

A few fun facts  

The Panama Canal is an artificial 82-kilometre waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean, cutting across Panama, and is a conduit for maritime trade. It saves around 8000 nautical miles point to point, plus the rigours of the ocean around Cape Horn, which has laid rest to many a ship.  

The French began construction in 1881, but the project failed by 1890. The project was plagued by disease, floods, mudslides, and financial and engineering problems. The French lost an estimated 22,000 people and sold the unfinished project to the USA, which decided after a couple of years on the project to rethink things.  

The canal was meant to be a sea level project ocean to ocean, but the engineers decided to only dig out the ends and use what was already there – a system of great lakes in the Highlands.  

So, the problem became more about how to get the ships up into the lakes from the Pacific side and mark out and create navigable channels within the lakes. And then get the ships back down to sea level on the Atlantic side and back out to sea.  

Most impressively for mine is the simplicity of the locks,  pumps and machinery, which was a big consideration in this area where sabotage and tribal wars were a regular part of what went  on.  And the magical thing is no pumps are used here – the entire  operation of equalising the water levels between the locking chambers depends on the principles of gravity to move the water and on the fact that water seeks its own level.  

Back to the Jewel  

Our ship is tugged along the lock using locomotives. Tied into place, the lock door behind our vessel is sealed and the lake water spills in using underground tunnels beneath the ship and up we  go.  We exit the lock and sail for another hour or so, repeat the steps in the next lock and up we go again. A total lift of 26 metres hauling our 294 metre/93,558 gross tonnage, using nothing more than the theory of the natural state of water and a 25-horsepower engine to open the lock gates – brilliant.  

It was seriously a boater’s wet dream of close quarters ship manoeuvring, tug boats and also when our giant ship leant into the corners of the channel. I later found out they disengage the stabilisers to make her more manoeuvrable and by its very nature more tender.

We arrive at the last two locks to repeat the process  and down we go.  In summary, if you get your kicks from engineering, find yourself drawn to the “mighty machinery” channels on TV or  simply like to boat through one of nature’s true wonders of the world, while in a multi-restaurant five star hotel, a trip down  the Panama Canal is certainly one worth putting down on your  bucket list.  

But maybe, if you are a publisher, check the wifi…  

Words: Kyle Barnes. Images: Kyle Barnes & Donna Kelly