Sage Roadknight 19, is a singer from the Macedon Ranges creating in her  own words, ‘futuristic folk music’.

She comes from a musical family, has been  involved with music for pretty much her whole life and first started with the  piano at age six.  

The last time we featured Sage in 2021 she had just won the Macedon Ranges Shire Council’s Battle of the Bandwidth competition and since that time she has continued writing and producing music with vulnerability and insight delivering messages focusing on political, environmental and existential issues.  

Now it’s three years later, a very long time in the shifting world of pop music. But Sage is ticking along, producing albums and singles while attaching an increasingly  sophisticated production quality to her growing repertoire.  

“The last couple of years I’ve been juggling school and music,” she says, “but  I’ve managed to get a couple of notable things done. I was short listed in the environmental music prize in 2022 and after that I had this song called Trust the  Dead that I produced for a music industry class, selected for the VCE Season of  Excellence and exhibited at the Melbourne Museum.”  

Sage has also completed her first full studio album Living Thing released in June 2023. Coming in at around 42 minutes, it consists of 13 tracks delivering a highly  emotive and transporting experience asking you to confront the question: what is it to be a living thing?  

“The response to it has been absolutely incredible and It’s lovely to have things  I’ve written out there accessible to the public.”  

However Sage is not one to sit back now this major project, four years in the  making, has been completed. She has recently released Wake Up. It has a different feel to what she was doing with Living Thing.

That work was essentially an epic concept  project featuring fairies, robots and an apocalyptic flood. But Wake Up is a 80s electronic pop work inspired track with a serious message regarding contemporary class struggle.  

“I hope listeners see the seriousness. With a lot of songs, people choose to not  listen to the lyrics and that’s their loss. But with that song it is pretty prominent, I’m not really hiding anything or being metaphorical. It’s all out in the open.”  

Having amassed such a strong back catalogue, Sage is now at a point in her music career where she wants to merge the character of her studio productions with that of her performances. Presently her live shows are a simple affair, that of a single guitar accompanied by her ethereal voice.  

“I’m looking to start a band. We’ve been talking it over in the household saying: ‘I  really need to make my stage act a little bit more pa-pow!’ It is currently very acoustic  and I would like to have a bigger sound.  

“What I’m aiming for right now is to be able to grab my mic and dance around  on stage instead of being stuck in the same spot with my guitar.

“It would be nice to  get a bit of movement around because I am really starting to feel myself on stage and  the vibe and energy of the audience.”  

As 2024 concludes, Sage is busy collaborating with producers Ricky Ray and Shane Ray on her next studio album which is slated for release next June.

If you want  to see Sage play, her next live appearance will be at the Newstead Folk Festival in January. After that? Well, who knows.  

“As for remaining around regional Victoria or Melbourne, I guess we’ll see. If  something happens and there is an opportunity for me then I’ll go where the wind  blows me.”  

Words: Tony Sawrey | Image: Jaqueline Rae  

Set for tomorrow, this year’s Daylesford Show will have its first ever Gypsy Cob class competitions in the Horse Section. 

Organisers say this is very exciting as, while Gypsy Cobs are in the show circuit, there are not a lot competing yet because they are still relatively new to Australia. 

Gypsy Cobs arrived as a breed in Australia in the early 2000s so introducing people to this remarkable breed is wonderful. 

Gypsys are a type of draught horse with lots of mane, tail and feather (leg hairs), that were originally bred as a family horse that pulled the vardo or gypsy caravan of Irish and English travellers. 

After a day of travelling the Gypsy Cob was unhitched and then the kids had their fun with their furry friend.

Due to their sensible and calm temperaments, and beauty, they were much cherished by their owners who had a saying “Gypsy gold does not clink and glitter, it gleams in the sun and neighs in the dark”. 

There are many names for the Gypsy Cobs including Gypsy Vanner, Gypsy Tinker and Gypsy Cob. There are even miniature Gypsy Cobs being bred now.

The average size for a Gypsy Cob is 13-15hh and they are fast becoming much loved family friends. As a breed they are extremely versatile and are happy trying different activities. 

Gypsy Cob crosses are very popular as they combine the intelligence, tractability, muscular strength and strong bone of the Gypsy. 

Teresa Cook from Daylesford’s Boomerang Ranch remembers seeing the Gypsy Cobs when holidaying in Ireland and there will be a talk with both Teresa and Gypsy Cob owner Rebecca McLennan about Gypsy Cobs at 150th Daylesford Show on November 23.

From California, Jeff Glorfeld pops his head up above the parapet and  surveys the wreckage.

Blame-storming

Anyone who has worked in a corporate setting has experienced the phenomenon known as blame-storming, the action that always occurs after an organisation has experienced a colossal screw-up.

Under the guise of figuring out what went wrong and why, the most important task is to decide who’s to blame.

The US presidential election is over and the Democratic Party has had its collective ass – or arse, if you prefer – handed to it. Thus far we have seen pundits  blame Kamala Harris for a multitude of mistakes, including not distancing herself sufficiently from Joe Biden.

The Guardian published a story citing a “masculinity researcher” (is that even a real job?) who said Harris lost because she failed to impress young men. Several commentators blamed the outcome on the racism and misogyny inherent in US society.

Senator Bernie Sanders, the independent darling of the liberal Left, blames the entire Democratic Party, which he says has abandoned the values and needs of working-class people.

These are all fair criticisms. But looking beyond the all-important assigning of blame, the choice of Donald Trump to be the next US president reveals some fundamental facts: most voters in this country have turned their backs on principles such as the rule of law, the separation of church and state (Christian nationalism is now firmly entrenched), the equality of all people (white men to the front) and no longer believe honour and integrity matter.   

The US system is often called an experiment: a democracy. It is weighted down by checks and balances, making it slow to produce action but hopefully allowing it opportunities to be fair and deliberative.   

To all these attributes, US voters have said, yeah, nah, no thanks, not any more.   

Sane-washing   

This campaign cycle saw a couple of new terms emerge in political commentary. One is “sanewashing”. We started seeing it more often in the closing months of the presidential campaign, as the deterioration of Donald Trump’s mental abilities became increasingly obvious.   

Writer Jeff Tiedrich explained it in his Substack column as “the cleaning-up of Donny’s incomprehensible blitherings, to hide his obvious cognitive disintegration and make him sound coherent”.   

Because of this sanewashing, most voters never saw the 78-year-old Hitler fanboy at his demented worst.   

Wishcasting   

Now that the sanewashing of Trump has had the desired effect, the newest media practice to emerge is called “wishcasting”, sort of magical forecasting.   

How that works is, commentators ignore the Nazi stuff, the criminal convictions, the cognitive decline, the overt sexism and racism, the dictator-on-day-one remarks, the “suckers and losers” sneers, the promise of mass deportations and concentration camps, and the punishing of his rivals and critics.

Instead, they predict – wishcast – that, as opposed to hateful, vengeful candidate Trump, a new Trump will appear and be reasonable, dignified and rational – none of which he has ever been at any time in his life.   

Upfront   

I’m not hiding anything here; my family contributed a couple hundred dollars to the Democratic cause and in return received a Harris-Walz sign, which we put up in our front yard, clearly visible from the street.

Over the next few weeks I joked (?) to friends that, happily, there were still no bullet holes in the sign.

Also, in honour of my dad, who was a proud veteran and rusted-on Democrat, we hung his US flag off the front of the house, which we never do.   

Americans display the flag like a fetish – it’s abso-bloody-lutely everywhere and I think it most often denotes false patriotism and cheap virtue signaling. But I  wanted to send the message, combined with the Harris-Walz sign, that we vote Democrat and respect the country’s core values.

Time to take the tinsel down   

After the election disaster, the next morning I went out and removed the  Harris-Walz sign. Why? Because we lost, the election was over. But, after I  thought about it a bit more, I realised that I felt fear that leaving the sign there might make my home a target for MAGA people, who, emboldened by their victory and, Trump-like, would be seeking to punish those who opposed them.   

I’ve also left my dad’s flag up, as a sign that we’re good Americans too.   

Daring liars   

The distinguished American journalist H.L Mencken, whose career stretched from 1900 into the 1940s, is quoted as saying, “No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people”, which is a paraphrase of the actual quote: “No one in this world, so far as I know – and I have researched the records for years, and employed agents to help me – has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.”   

He also said: “The men the American people admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth.”   

How has Trump managed to prevail? He has demonstrated time and again that he lacks compassion and empathy, that he is wholly motivated by personal gain and greed, and cares nothing for concepts such as the common good.   

He will do and say anything, as long as it benefits him. Powerful forces came together to put him into power. We can only guess at what happens next.   

After a long period of closure, retired sportsperson Chris Anstey re-opened the refurbished Trentham Hotel last January. 

While it is still early days, the return of this beloved pub to the main street has had an extremely positive effect on both locals and visitors alike.

In that time Chris has hosted numerous guest appearances and events, even getting Trentham included as a stop on the official 2024 Melbourne Cup Tour last month. 

Operating a business such as this is a great commitment and no doubt a challenge. But challenge and commitment are the two pillars that make up the former basketball champion philosophy both in his sporting career and now as a businessman. 

His playing career spanned from 1994 to 2010. In that time he played for the Melbourne Tigers, South East Melbourne Magic and Victoria Titans in the National Basketball League and spent several seasons with the American National Basketball Association.

He was also away for three years playing in Russia and Europe, and played with the Australian Boomers in the 2000 and 2008 Olympics in Sydney and Beijing.

After retiring he continued coaching. Playing at the top level in any sporting discipline is a specialist world, one that most of us will never experience.

It is for this reason among many that people look up to athletes for some wisdom gleaned from the sporting ring that will help with the challenges of daily life. 

One of those questions we may ask is what does it take to operate under the expectations and pressure of fans, coaches, management and other players.

Surely there is something as ‘non-combatants’ we can learn from an athlete to manage our personal endeavours. However the reality of being in this world, at least according to Chris Anstey, is enlightening as it is surprising. 

“Pressure is not real, pressure is only other people’s expectations,” says Chris. “That’s one thing you learn as an athlete. If you are prepared and if you have done the work, then whatever the results are the results. That’s what a lot of people who haven’t been around sport don’t quite understand.

“They just see the scoreboard at the end. But for us, it’s more about process and finding small wins on the way, making or contributing to others around us, getting better and trying to achieve something collectively.” 

After his retirement, Chris moved easily into the business sphere and like so many sports people who have made this step, he sees parallels, significant contrasts, but also a realisation that the desire to improve, found so readily in sporting teams, does not always make it over into the working world. 

“A general observation is that in the workplace people don’t come in seeking to improve themselves, they just want to turn up, get paid and go home. Whereas being around sport for a long time, you know that everyone turning up to work isn’t just doing so because they get paid to do it. They are (there) to improve themselves and improve the group.

“A lot of athletes invest in themselves in their own time and that’s a big one for me. (In daily life) it’s a little bit rare for people to invest in themselves in their own time. They want to do it on company time or team time.” 

Now that the Trentham Hotel is up and running, Chris has the business where he can apply his personal philosophy to growing as a person along with the people and staff around him.

Perhaps his approach is unique or the way of the courageous. But Chris prefers to see his attitude as being a little bit naive in the way he approaches things and not worry about setbacks.

He sees this as one of the most important things he learnt as a player, having your eyes wide open and accepting that if you fail you come back the next day and start again. It’s not fatal. 

“Over my career I learnt as much at the end of my career from the rookies as I did from those that had been coaching for 30 or 40 years. Having a very open mind and being open to different personalities, different ideas and different challenges.

“I think one of the most dangerous phrases in the English language is: ‘We have always done it this way so it is the right way to do it,’ whereas I was always looking to something a little bit different. I like to ask ‘why not?’ instead of ‘why?’”

An important thing to note is even though Chris has written books on his experiences and been placed in the role of motivator to aspiring sportspeople and business leaders, he does not consider himself to be a mentor in any sense of the word. He just has a story to tell like all of us. 

“I don’t consider myself a teacher,” he says. “I’m simply a big believer in whatever question you ask, the answer is going to be the people around you.

“Furthermore I just like to share stories and if it resonates with people that’s great. But everything is only a suggestion, and as much as anything, I like listening to other peoples stories just as much as I like telling my own.” 

Words: Tony Sawrey | Image: Contributed 

Victoria Police is urging the community to lock home and vehicle doors this summer, as new police intelligence reveals aggravated burglaries and car thefts have increased as the weather starts to heat up.

The intelligence released by Operation Trinity shows a spike in offending over the past month, with unlocked properties and vehicles continuing to be targeted by opportunistic thieves.

Between 17 August and 18 October this year, there was an average of 22 aggravated burglaries per week where a car was stolen.

While each burglary and car theft is one too many, this represented an almost 30% reduction in offending rates compared to the three months before Operation Trinity was first established.

Unfortunately, there has been a sharp increase in offending between 19 October and 9 November as the weather has begun to improve, with the weekly number of aggravated burglaries where a car was stolen rising to 32.

A significant number of these crimes have involved offenders accessing unlocked homes and vehicles.

For example, there were 15 aggravated burglaries where cars were stolen over the weekend of 8 – 11 November, with at least ten of these due to deficiencies in security. Among the homes burgled were:

• Nine with unlocked doors, mainly at the rear of the property or via a garage pedestrian door.

• One accessed as house keys were left in an unlocked vehicle parked at the property.

• One was a failed attempt after the offenders were scared off by a dog inside the home.

• Three where the method of entry was unable to be determined.

• One where the front door was smashed in.

While offending has increased recently, police have continued to make significant arrests, including 44 on nightshift alone over the first half of November.

Among those arrested by Operation Trinity during this time were:

• A Nissan X-Trail was stolen from a property in Clyde North between 3am and 5am on 8 November. The offenders initially found the vehicle unlocked at the front of the house, with the garage remote inside. Using this to enter the property, the offenders took the car keys and other valuables including computers, cash and credit cards which were later used in multiple transactions. The following morning at around 3.30am, Operation Trinity units observed the Nissan X-Trail and a Ford Mondeo driving suspiciously in convoy in Officer. Police commenced an extended follow, with Air Wing monitoring from the skies. Upon becoming aware of the Air Wing above, the offending vehicles split, and police continued to follow the Nissan X-Trail. The vehicle was tracked to Cochrane Street in Cranbourne where two 14-year-old boys and a 15-year-old boy were arrested.

• Offenders entered a Doncaster property via an unlocked rear sliding door between 1.00am and 3.30am on 29 October. Once inside the offenders stole keys for two vehicles, as well as a MacBook Pro. A Porsche stolen from the property was later tracked by police and the Air Wing driving at speeds of up to 240km/h along the Monash Freeway on 4 November. Six teens were arrested in Caulfield East after stop sticks were deployed. The driver – a 16-year-old boy – was charged with a range of offences, including dangerous driving while pursued by police, reckless conduct endangering life, burglary, and theft of motor vehicle. A 15-year-old boy was charged with theft of motor vehicle, while four 14-year-old girls were released with a caution.

• On 3 November, offenders entered a St Leonards house via an unlocked rear door. The keys to a Mercedes Benz sedan were stolen from a hook inside the front door. On 7 November, police located the stolen Mercedes travelling along Waverley Road, Malvern East. Police and the Air Wing followed the vehicle to Stud Road, where stop sticks were deployed. The vehicle eventually came to a stop in Lonsdale Street, Dandenong where six children were taken into custody – a 17-year-old boy, three 15-year-old boys, one 15-year-old girl, and one 14-year-old girl.

Operation Trinity has been specifically targeting burglars and car thieves each night since March 2023.

The operation, which runs from dusk until dawn across Melbourne, is easily Victoria Police’s most well-resourced operation.

On top of standard patrols, there are another 70 police including members of the Dog Squad, Public Order Response Team, and Air Wing, specifically tasked with preventing and responding to burglaries and car thefts each night.

As a result of this intense focus, police arrested 673 burglars and car thieves almost 1,550 times over the 12 months to September 2024.

A further 7,350 people have been processed for other offences detected by police working nightshift across the Trinity area of operations.

All data referenced throughout this release relates solely to the Operation Trinity area of operations, which includes the following policing divisions – Boroondara/Manningham/Monash/Whitehorse, Dandenong/Casey/Cardinia, Kingston/Glen Eira/Bayside, Banyule/Darebin/Nillumbik/Whittlesea, Frankston/Mornington Peninsula, Stonnington/Port Phillip, Knox/Maroondah/Yarra Ranges.

Acting Superintendent Andrew McKee, Deputy Police Commander – Operation Trinity: “We know that summer is traditionally peak season for home burglaries, however if you lock your property, the odds of falling victim dramatically reduce.

“Victoria Police has uniform officers, the Dog Squad, Air Wing, Highway Patrol, and the Public Order Response Team patrolling Melbourne from dusk to dawn ever night to prevent offending and catch criminals.

“This approach is resulting in a significant number of arrests – Operation Trinity arrests four burglars and car thieves every single day.

“However, we also need the community’s help, as the reality is police cannot address the issue alone.

“We know that people are more likely to be spending time outdoors over the coming months, while windows and doors on homes will be open at different times of the day.

“Before you go to bed, double check all doors and windows are locked on your home and car as often this is all it takes to deter opportunistic burglars and thieves.

“Other simple tips are letting a family member, friend, or neighbour know if you’re heading on holiday, so they can keep an eye on your house, collect your mail and take the bins in.

“Other key deterrents include sensor lights and pets, with offenders often scared off when either of these are present.”

The scars are still there. Not only mentally from the cruel abuse Richard “Tommy” Campion and his sister suffered in a home after being abandoned when young but also on his back from beatings. 

Their parents didn’t want them, he says. Their mother “caught a train to somewhere”. A couple of days later their father left them in a children’s home never to be seen again. 

Somehow, Tommy emerged after 14 years to eventually carve out a career as an award-winning news photographer. Now he and his partner Marilyn have left the traffic, crime and high-rises of the Gold Coast for the tranquillity of Hepburn Springs. 

But at 76 he continues a 20-year campaign to bring to justice those responsible for the whippings, bashings, floggings and starvation by staff at the Church of England North Coast Children’s Home in Lismore, NSW. 

A brief reprieve did come when his sister Suzanne, who is two years older than him, was adopted by a family when aged eight, mainly he believes, to look after their seven children. 

“I fretted and so I was sent to join her. That family reckoned I had been raised by animals, so a few weeks later I was sent back to the home and didn’t see my sister for eight years. 

“When we did meet there was no heavy connection. We thought about each other, but the love was not there. She was far more emotional than me, yet later we came to love each other dearly.” 

To him, what happened at the home was sexual, psychological and physical abuse. Anglican Ministers used leather belts on children who were cheeky, had not made their beds properly, or for stealing food to supplement the gruel. 

Frightened, skinny, asthmatic and pigeon-chested, he was found a job in a hardware store at age 16. With the help of a matron, the home had “come good” the year before he left. 

Now he was mixing paint, “a tough gig”, while paying board at the home. He laughs at the contradiction. 

Next, he spotted a newspaper ad for a cadet photographer who “must be keen and outgoing”. He had probably only taken a couple of snaps in his life, so he borrowed some and, to his amazement, got the job.

Even then, he thought he was letting down those in the home because they had found him the hardware job.

Joining the Northern Star in Lismore aged 17 was exciting, even though it meant mixing chemicals, proofing and filing. 

“I learnt more in a month than I had from age two to 16. I learnt how to talk to people, look them in the eye, react, be responsible. 

“Somehow, I got ambition, yet I was nearly sacked so many times for not dressing properly. I couldn’t wear a tie because we were choked in the home. When I told the pictorial editor this after he retired, he cried.” 

The new-found ambition had him trying for about seven months to join Queensland’s major paper, the Courier Mail. 

“I was told I would never get a job there until someone died. And then someone did.” 

He spreads his hands to show the width of the pages of this big broadsheet, excitedly telling of the arrows down the page showing where a car went off a cliff. 

“I learnt a helluva lot. And I also had a job lined up at The Australian.”

In the then traditional way, he was interviewed in a pub by three photographers. Not only did he get this job but he worked for six other Murdoch papers while based in Brisbane.

“It was the bees’ knees…ever heard about knocking a bastard down and he gets up again?” 

These were amazing, thrilling newspaper days, which for him included getting grabbed by security when he got too close to the future King Charles at a media scrum.

“I was so pleased to go to work. I hated taking holidays. Crimes, pop stars, The Beatles, Joe Cocker, Johnny Cash, movie stars such as Sammy Davis Jr and Frank Sinatra, important news events I shot them all, as well as an action shot of a dog chasing a cat.” 

He turned down the offers of jobs in Sydney because he was married and had a daughter to care for. There are now two grandsons who shine at sport and music. 

When he was able to leave Brisbane a freakish encounter stopped him. When he paused at traffic lights he was spotted by a sports editor who asked what he was up to.

This editor was scathing of Sydney and talked Tommy into working two days a week for the Gold Coast Bulletin, which led to five years in News Ltd’s bureau there covering murders, kidnappings, fashion, sport, social and huge court cases. 

His national award for spot news came when, thanks to an alert reporter who spotted the dog squad, he zoomed in on one of three child kidnappers who firstly wanted a $1million ransom, halved that and reduced it to $250,000, but was then caught.

But a court story led to disaster. His photo of alleged prostitutes, some masked, supporting a charged nightclub owner outside a court, was not used. Tommy’s instructions to ignore a picture of three college girls going into the court, which was on the same roll of film he sent in, was disregarded. The newspaper mistakenly identified the girls as prostitutes.

Within two days he was gone. No one would talk to him. He was in despair. No newspaper would use him for a few years.

Much later, he was exonerated when found that the pictorial editor, who sacked him and ruined his career, had written the erring caption.

Tommy was reduced to living on handouts in a two-roomed house. The pain of abuse still hurt, so he wrote a five-page letter to the Royal Commission on Institutional Child Abuse, telling of the nightmares he suffered and wondering about the other children and how they were coping.

The response was an apology from a leading Minister who said that Tommy had “lived in an Anglican home which should have been safe, but clearly was not.”

Tommy adds: “I was believed and asked to fill out a form and would get $78,000 compensation.” He refused the offer because others had to know that they had the right to compensation if they had been abused.

Tommy put advertisements in 20 papers asking for anyone who lived in the home to get in touch. His phone rang off the hook.

“The church then began fighting back and the fight went on and on, causing abuse again.”

So powerful is the church, he said, that only the Royal Commission was able to order proper compensation.

He began to cry as he told of giving evidence for most of a day of the three-week hearing.

“The church lied, even at the Royal Commission.” He does not hold back. “They are a sneaky, nasty, hypocritical pack of bastards.”

In an effort to have the Bishop who was in charge defrocked he has written hundreds of letters, becoming an advocate for about 70 people.

“I got a Bishop and a Minister kicked out of the church, but they were still able to call themselves Bishop and Reverend.

They were not involved in the abuse but in the cover-up and failed to act within church rules.

“If the church had been like a church and said sorry and acted it would have been different. They wouldn’t have ended up in the Royal Commission.”

And there may not have been the deaths, jail terms and the like for those from the home.

Although embarrassed, he stood for two days outside the Anglican church in Brisbane with a protest sign, denouncing the abuse and failure of duty of care, while copping abuse from some passers-by.

After waiting six years he got in to see the leader of the Anglican Church of Australia six times. His letter writing campaign continues, and so does his photography, now with gentler pictures, such as kangaroos nearby, interesting people and serene scenes.

He and Marilyn share their house with their two cats, Garry Barry and Alice.

“As soon as I walked into the house here, I knew this was home.”

Words: Kevin Childs | Image: Contributed

Daylesford turned on the sunshine for the Barefoot Bowls “Fun”draiser at the Daylesford Bowling Club on Sunday, November 10.

The event definitely lived up to its name with off-duty fun police in attendance and lots of laughs from all the teams.

The competition was so tight that it ended in a three-way bowl off to determine the winners.

Organisers conveyed their thanks to the sponsors, donors and players whose collective efforts resulted in at least $4752 being raised for Daylesford Health’s operating theatre.

The dollars will assist to purchase an emergency response trolley and new defibrillator. The new equipment is needed to provide life-saving care in the event of an emergency in the new operating theatre. 

The silent auction remains open for anyone in the community to bid on paintings by local artist Adele Perry and donations are being welcomed to fund the equipment needed. 

Those keen to contribute can bid here: https://forms.gle/3PE9KppeqLWjMjMt7 

Organisers were keen to convey special thanks to the Daylesford Bowling Club’s Neil Jordan and volunteers Chip and Joan who assisted the teams throughout the day and selected the best dressed winners. Each team was named after a sponsor or a current/past supporter of Daylesford Hospital. 

Congratulations went to the winners: 1st place: The Donald McLeod team, 2nd place: Mr James Daly team, 3rd place: Adaptive Housing team, Best dressed team: Cr Lesley Hewitt team and Best dressed individual: Melissa Murphy. 

More than 50 babies born on Dja Dja Wurrung Country have been welcomed to Country at a special ceremony hosted by DJAARA in partnership with Bendigo Health.

The Welcome Baby to Country ceremony took place on Tuesday, November 12 in the Garden for the Future at White Hills, Bendigo.

DJAARA general manager Cassandra Lewis said the ceremony honoured and acknowledged an infant’s connection to the lands on which they are born.

“DJAARA is proud to share this Dja Dja Wurrung cultural ceremony formally welcoming new babies to Country,” Ms Lewis said.

“The smoking ceremony and traditional Welcome connects babies to Country and offers them wellbeing and protection.

“We hope that, by nurturing babies’ connection to Dja Dja Wurrung Country, we are not only enriching their own lives but also fostering greater understanding and connection to Dja Dja Wurrung People.

“Practising our traditional cultural ceremonies helps Dja Dja Wurrung People to heal from the impacts we still experience as a result of colonisation, keeping us connected to our culture.”

Through their ongoing partnership, DJAARA and Bendigo Health have welcomed over 500 babies to Dja Dja Wurrung Country since 2019.

The gathering continues to share Dja Dja Wurrung’s cultural practices with the broader community of Bendigo.

Words & Image: Supplied

Drivers are being warned to take careful heed of the new reduced speed limits that have been implemented on several major Ballarat area roads.

The warnings come after three new speed limits became effective on busy roads across the region in recent days.

Among them, a new 60kmh speed limit has been introduced on the Sunraysia Highway through Waubra to decrease the speed of traffic including some 360 trucks that daily pass the Waubra Primary School and the Waubra Recreation Reserve.

An almost 11km stretch of Ballarat’s Remembrance Drive – from Finchs Road to the Western Highway – has been lowered from 100kmh to 80kmh.

And the speed limit on Ballarat’s busy Gillies Street between Leopold Street and Winter Street, along the western side of the city’s Victoria Park, has also been lowered to 60kmh.

A spokesman from the state’s Department of Transport said the department had worked closely with the City of Ballarat, Victoria Police, the Ballarat Avenue of Honour Committee and also the wider community to plan and implement the new speed restrictions.

In the past three months alone there have been several serious accidents along the regional city’s Remembrance Drive, including a fatal accident on November 12.

Detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding a suspicious building fire that occured in Castlemaine on Saturday, November 16.

Emergency services were called to reports of a building fire on Etty Street about 10.45pm.

No one was inside the building at the time of the fire.

A crime scene has been established and a fire investigator was attending the scene on Sunday.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone who witnessed the incident, or with information or dashcam is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au

Creswick Theatre Company is determined to pave the way to improving accessibility to the town’s historic Courthouse Theatre – one paver at a time.

The active little theatre company is inviting everyone to pitch in by purchasing a personalised paver, thus paving their own way to becoming part of Creswick’s Courthouse Theatre history.

CTC secretary and fundraising coordinator Heather Ingram says the main aim is to build an accessibility ramp leading up to the front entrance to the Courthouse Theatre which is the theatre company’s home. 

They’re also keen to see the venue used by more groups, and to ensure that it is readily accessible for all. 

Last month CTC started selling personalised brick pavers that will be used to build a paved path linking to the planned all-abilities access ramp. 

So far the fundraiser has been gaining good momentum but the chance to be part of history ends on November 28. 

“Construction will take place next year and we’re now in the planning permit stage. We are hoping to secure a grant as well,” Heather says.

“The ramp is going to look gorgeous and the path will be part of the landscaping. Inside the theatre we’re also going to get the foyer raised so as to be at the same level as the theatre.” 

The pavers cost $50 for an individual or $75 for businesses and they can be obtained online at events.humanitix.com/bricks. 

“They’ll be there for posterity and they will be engraved, so you can get them engraved in your own name or as a memorial to a loved one.” 

At the moment the main front entrance to the historic theatre – that once served as the Creswick’s courthouse – is accessed by some fairly large steps making it extremely difficult for some to get in. 

“It doesn’t even have to be someone in a wheelchair,” Heather says. “It’s difficult for anyone on a walker or even just someone with a bad knee.” 

The ramp and flooring upgrades are estimated to cost around $50,000 all up, and if sufficient funds can be raised fast enough, CTC members hope work can get started by the first half of 2025 and in time for CresFest.

Words: Eve Lamb 

The Hepburn Shire Council last week started its bituminous road reseal season by stabilising patching on selected roads.

As part of its $450k contract awarded in September, the council’s contractor started work in Creswick.

Stabilised patching helps enhance road pavements using cement or other additives, and the council issued a social media post confirming that it will also be resealing selected roads over the summer.

The patching program will focus on preparing roads for resealing before tackling other areas in the shire that need some improvement work.

The council’s works teams are also busy repairing pavements, especially around West Berry Road in Allandale, the council confirmed in a social media post.

It is appealing to road users to help keep the workers safe by following all traffic signs.

The Hepburn Shire Council’s partnership with Daylesford College, Central Highlands Rural Health and the team at Youth Live4Life has reached its six-month milestone on a youth mental health and suicide prevention program.  

Hepburn Shire Council CEO Bradley Thomas said he was proud to be partnering with Daylesford College and CHRH on the Youth Live4Life program which is tailored to regional communities.  

“The program is already having a positive impact on our young people, and we are seeing an increase in referrals,” Mr Thomas said.

“It is comforting to know that our young people are having more conversations about mental health and peer support.”

During a recent consultation with young people, 59 per cent indicated that mental health is an important issue in our community.

The council made a commitment in the ACE Youth Strategy to focus on mental health and as part of this commitment it partnered with Daylesford College on the Live4Life program. 

“Council will continue to run two free youth mental health sessions per year for community members who are working with or supporting young people in Hepburn Shire,” Mr Thomas said. 

“It is greatly empowering for our young people to have a program like Live4Life which enables them to step up into local leadership positions.

“We are also looking forward to launching nominations for the Young Mayors Youth Council in 2025.

“We encourage anyone who is passionate about these types of issues impacting young people to chat with our youth team.”

The council plans to continue the partnership program into the future and hopes to see some positive outcomes for the young people in our community. 

This story based on a Hepburn Shire Council media release. Image: Supplied.

Places Revisited…Again is the name of the latest exhibition of work by established Castlemaine artist, Bill Beasley.

Capturing scenes that recount the journey of the artist through beautiful far-flung locatons, the exhibition is currently on show at the Newstead Railway Arts Hub through to this Sunday, November 24.

Places revisited was the title of Bill’s first exhibition in 1971. Places Revisited…Again, reflects his journey since then.

It’s a celebration of style and the evolution of an art practise across the decades.

Castlemaine-based Beasley gained his reputation as a black and white artist in the late 1960s and 1970s when he illustrated seven of Rigby’s Sketchbook series, including the Castlemaine Sketchbook.

He studied oil painting under Sir William Dargie and has worked as a successful book illustrator, portraitist, cartoonist and teacher.

Beasley has also been artist in residence at many schools, including an International School in Chiang Mai in Thailand.

He has conducted workshops throughout country Victoria and southern New South Wales and his work is represented in private collections throughout Australia and overseas, regional galleries, Sacred Heart Cathedral Bendigo and Melbourne University’s archival collection. 

Beasley is also a trombonist and vocalist in The Louisiana Shakers, one of Melbourne’s leading New Orleans jazzbands.

The Newstead Railway Arts Hub gallery is open Saturdays and Sundays, 10am-4pm and entry is free.

Set to fill the Creswick’s Courthouse Theatre with music, next month’s Fabulous Christmas Karaoke Fundraising Party offers an opportunity to get up on stage and let rip with your best vocal effort.

Open to over 18’s, attendees can sing and dance as a group or give a solo performance of their favourite songs and organisers, the Ceswick Theatre Company, hope the audience will join in for a good ol’ sing-along to help everyone get in the Christmas spirit.

The Creswick Theatre Company is raising funds to make the Court House Theatre venue accessible to enable more people the opportunity to enjoy the space with money raised from the event going to support the goal.

The over 18’s fabulous Christmas Karaoke Fundraising Party gets started from pm and will follow the earlier Children’s Christmas Open Mic Fundraising Party happening on the same day – Saturday December 14.

The children’s open mic afternoon will provide a platform for under 18s to practice and improve their skills, whether it’s singing, playing an instrument, stand-up comedy, or spoken word.

More information about both events is available through the the Creswick Theater Company via email Creswicktheatrecompany@gmail.com .