By Donna Kelly  

Let the games begin.  So, 12 candidates are vying for seven spots for the new Hepburn Shire Council.  The wards have been done away with and really, it seems a bit of a no-brainer as to  who will get in.

I won’t say that here but I will put the names I believe will get up in an envelope,  seal it and then open it after the votes have been counted. I reckon I will be pretty  spot on. I’ll let you know.  

The candidates include four former councillors for the shire, one former councillor for another shire, two business owners, a couple in the ALP and a couple  who didn’t worry about filling in a candidate form for the Victorian Electoral  Commission – which I do find a bit strange but each to their own.  

And the keyboard warriors are already busy at work with all sorts of rumours doing the rounds. Or maybe not rumours. There are some interesting Google  searches to be had if you have nothing else happening.  

It comes on top of the collapse of the final Hepburn Shire Council meeting for the year – with three councillors walking out on a confidential planning matter –  meaning there was no quorum and the final agenda item for the meeting ended with  no vote.  Strange way to end the year.

I have spoken to a few people and had some of the oddest conversations all about transparency and yet not actually being able to talk  about what happened.  

It is probably just as well it happened at the final meeting; some of the councillors  are not very happy with each other. Although I hear that might have been a bit of a  trend for 2024.

Those who stayed said they were doing their job while some of those who left said they were doing their best by walking away.  

Kind of reminds me of the Local Government Inspectorate report into the  council and The Rex. Like how the Inspectorate says it is “an independent agency  responsible for making sure Victorian councils follow the Local Government Act”  and then says, after a five-year investigation, there is nothing to see here. WTAF!  

Blind Freddie can see there is plenty to see. Well, maybe quite a few million  dollars not to be seen, but then there are the Bleakley Street apartments which are  looking very bleak indeed. I wonder if the council will lose yet more money there, say if someone decides they were led astray with their building permit on a pretty dodgy piece of land.  

Anyway, the games continue. Hepburn Shire Council has always been interesting.  I have covered the council for 11 years with The Local and another year or so with the  former Fairfax news company.  

I remember the Ned Kelly incident – nicely handled by Heather Mutimer – and  the coffin. Ahh, the fun we had.

Further back in my life I covered the Frankston City Council and that was also fun. Councillors calling other councillors fat, the moccasin jokes, a former CEO who said he was going to “get that bitch” – me. Good times.  

And then I also worked at Kingston City Council. Not so much fun being on the  inside. We used to have weekly meetings with journos and the mayor, and offer free cake and coffee. The journos loved that and forgot to ask the right questions.

Did you know Kingston had the last shit cart dunny? No, because no-one ever asked. What a  great story that could have been.  I guess the only thing all councils have in common is that now and again shit  happens. Just sayin’…  

Hi Glen. My daff bulbs have been in the ground around 10 years. The garden faces east and  they are protected from westerly sun and wind. I don’t dig them up, rather twist the leaves  into a knot until they rot so that there is room for phlox, lavender shower, etc, but should I dig and divide them as there have been few flowers this year despite producing healthy  leaves? Your advice would be appreciated, please.  

PS. A gardening friend was telling me how she has great success with her bulbs by  starting them in a sheltered place and once the plants begin to produce their flower buds,  move them out and plant them, baskets and all. Do you think I should try this?  Wendy, Trentham.

Hi Wendy  Your request is more than timely. I’ve been thinking of that as yet another angle to talk about for the end-of season treatment of spring-flowering bulbs. I must say  though the very image of you twisting and twining the poor things and leaving them  to rot put my teeth on edge!

Spring-flowering bulbs such as narcissi and daffodils need to retain their leaves as long as possible to build up strong bulbs for next year and give any young bulblets a chance of developing a root system capable of supporting the new plant should you  decide to separate and replant them in another bed.  

This may mean your bed could be littered with untidy-looking brown clumps,  but resist temptation to cut them back. If the leaves are interfering with other subjects  in the border they may be tied up in bundles and still perform their function.  

You could, of course, use them to fill any gaps in the existing beds, pot them up  as reserves, or better still, use them for bartering with friends to expand your range of  colours etc.  Your bulbs, especially the replanted ones, should not be allowed to dry out  prematurely.

When the dry weather begins, give them at least one good watering, in which you could include a weak dose of organic liquid food, before allowing them to become dormant.  

Whilst you are in the midst of all this replanting, you should deal with any of the bulblets clinging to the roots of the plants that you judge to be advanced enough to be released to fend for themselves, and can be potted up either singly in small pots, or planted out in the bed with the others to fill up any vacant spaces in the bed.  

When you mention in your letter ‘plant them baskets and all’ I assume that  these ‘baskets’ are fabricated, water-proof or indeed suitable mesh-sided trough-like containers, that provide drainage and will sustain the conditions for at least a couple  of seasons. Especially if these are going to be spending the whole season underground  in rather tough conditions.  

There must be loads of old wicker baskets, mesh-bottomed plastic sieves etc. going to waste in local op shops, just dying to be recycled.

The whole concept is that  the spaces in the garden beds can filled with ‘other season’ plantings so that your beds  are full of colour almost year round. At the same time, this gives your precious plants  a better start in life.  Cheers, Glen  

With Eve Lamb

Macedon Ranges Walking Track: Sanatorium Lake to Camels Hump and Return, 9.5km

While researching possible walks in the Macedon Ranges, it’s the name that catches my eye; the Sanatorium Lake Walking Trail.

Sanatorium? … More on that later.

It forms part of the Macedon Ranges Walking Track (MRWT) and at a very leisurely 2.6 km, joins nicely with a lengthier hike up to the Camels Hump, the highest point in the Macedon Range, making a more respectable 9.5km return walk all up.

So lunch, thermos, waterproof coats, camera and backpacks sorted we head off on an almost sunny Sunday.

Traveling to the Macedon Regional Park via Woodend we start to gain elevation and encounter a phalanx of motorcyclists out to grind their pegs on the sharper Mount Macedon bends.

Turning left off the main road that continues through to leafy Macedon, we instead take the Lions Head Road and continue on past Days Picnic Ground, navigating gravel and a serious pothole or two to arrive finally at the Sanatorium Lake car park.

Nearby a group of folk are on bent knees, all turned to Mecca, for afternoon prayer.  

But for us, first up is the lake. From the car park it’s a quick little saunter to the tiny lake’s edge, beside which, towering exotic conifers are impressive while the native forest too presses in around the water’s edge.

Signage provides a potted history of this little artificial water body in the bush. The lake was built around 1899 to supply water to a tuberculosis sanatorium that was located several kilometers to the south.

Perhaps it’s the predominance of shade and shadow, or perhaps some lingering ghosts of history, but I find this little aquatic feature just a tad eerie, pretty rippling forest reflections notwithstanding.

We complete a lap of the little lake and then follow the Sanatorium Eco-Tourism Trail, part of the Macedon Ranges Walking Track, on to the Days Picnic Ground that we drove past on the way here.

“Keep an eye out for horses… and stags,” advises my sturdy walking accomplice, Paddy H.

“What?”

 “We’re on a shared horse path on this section, and ‘stags’ is a name given to the big old dead trees that have become hollowed. Invaluable for wildlife, micro bats and the like,” my walking companion informs.

Turns out his assertion is spot on, confirmed by information signage a bit further along the trail.

We soon part ways with the horsey section and arrive at the Days Picnic Ground for our packed lunch and coffee with free entertainment courtesy of a large Aussie-Indian group locked in fierce cricketing combat.

Fortified, we again shoulder our packs and pick up the signposted MRWT just beyond the picnic ground’s composting loo block.

From here the trail quickly leaves the picnicking day trippers behind and wends through bushland including some imposing stags.

Carefully, we cross the main road that leads to Macedon, and we continue on the other side following the trail. From here the forest increasingly comes into its own.

Splendid tall eucalyptus tower while on our left glimpses of ancient rock formations impart a sense of drama in keeping with the fact that the Camels Hump is actually the weathered remains of a mamelon – a mass of sticky lava that oozed from the earth’s crust about six million years ago.

The walk now becomes a gradual gaining of elevation and by the time we emerge from the tall forest at the Camels Hump car park my walking companion and I have both worked up a respectable sweat.

From the carpark we tackle the last 1km push up to the summit. Short but sharp. The Camels Hump is 1011 meters above sea level and we’re rewarded with sweeping views across the northern plains.

We count our lucky stars that the rain which has vaguely threatened all afternoon has receded to be replaced by cool sunlight that now adds dazzle to the far-flung vista stretching before us.

But the wind is bloody cold and boisterous and we can only stay here so long to pay our due respects.

Just before hypothermia sets in we head on back down and retrace our steps all the way back to the start point at the Sanatorium Lake carpark to find the previously prayerful have departed, and ours is the only vehicle that remains, aside from a lone motorcycle.

“What stays with you the most about this walk?” I quiz my co-walker as we drive on to Macedon, reflecting on our expedition.

“The tall forest. The poignancy of the Sanatorium and the suffering of the people who had TB.  And the resonance of past Melbourne glories when this area was a summer retreat for the wealthy, when the beach wasn’t so hallowed,” he muses thoughtfully.

And I have to agree. I also think this walk provides just the right degree of exertion and variety for a decent day hike. A gnarly little slice of elevation without leaving you too smashed to enjoy a trip to the Macedon Hotel for afters.

Words & Image: Eve Lamb

Hepburn Shire Council will have to pull its finger out if it wants to keep visitors to the area. By the end of next year there will be 40 brands of electric vehicles sold in Australia and when they come to our little spot of paradise the EVs will all be vying  for the total of six charge ports we have across our shire.  

The benefits of an electric vehicle (EV) with all the whizzbangery such as the cyborg (Tesla) that calls TL HQ home are overwhelming. But the pecadilloes that the car features are hilarious and sometimes dangerous such as the “phantom braking”.  

Lately the Telsa has been a bit on the nose due to that idiot Musk aligning himself  with that equally idiotic buffoon with a guinea pig for a headpiece, Trump. And it’s all because these big boys like to throw their toys out of the cot when they get pissed  off.  

Musk used to vote exclusively for the Democrats until the Biden administration gave him the cold shoulder out of fear of angering the United Auto Workers union and Tesla is the only non-union automaker in the US.  

So, Musk ran off to the Trump camp with his bounty of Teslas, Starlinks, SpaceX rockets and a thousand other bright ideas. I personally would have kept him in the  Democratic camp, but that’s just me.  

But back to my Tesla. I have given it the benefit of the doubt when it comes to parking because at the dealership you are told that it needs to “learn”.

Well, the lesson  is over mate, after six months jerking around in and out of parking spaces using the old 15-point parking method it is time for you to shine.  

For God’s sake, it’s not as if you need to drive, you are supposed to be in control  of your own wheels and steering system. I point you in the right direction, a nice clear arc into the parking bay and press the park button.  

But no, you have to adjust the wheel and make me look like an idiot as you creep this way and that and finally arrive crooked and discombobulated into my park after two minutes and a dozen or so fast and violent adjustments between forward and  reverse.  

Mr Musk must have had one of his bright ideas when he invented the fart button,  yes that’s right. We get around in a vehicle that suffers from phantom braking and can’t park to save its life, but if you want to generate a juicy fart noise you only have  to push the button.  

And what is this “phantom breaking” I hear you say, this happens when you are  in full auto drive mode cruising along on a freeway at 110kph when there is a car behind you at what is considered a safe distance, and your Tesla sees a 60kph exit  sign, gets confused and bangs on the anchors.  

This quickly closes the distance between you and the car behind, because the two things Teslas are great at is acceleration and braking.  

Don’t get me wrong, the car is fun to drive, it is nothing short of fast and nippy and a handful to keep under the speed limit, and admittedly my issues are first world.  

But if the ground invasion of AI is led by the Tesla, here’s a quick hint. Corner yourself in a parking bay and you’ll have a lot of time to gather your thoughts and  conjure up a counterattack.  

ICE ICE baby rant over…(for those in the know…)  

Garden lovers will have a superb opportunity to explore multiple stunning private gardens during the Castlemaine and District Festival of Gardens this November.     

A curated selection of 23 gardens will open during Melbourne Cup week, from Saturday, November 2 to Sunday, November 10.     

A number of properties are located in Castlemaine itself, while others can be found a short drive away, in outer areas of Mount Alexander Shire.

The theme of the festival, The Art of  Gardening, celebrates the creativity of  gardeners who have turned their patches of soil into environmental masterpieces.     

Like artists, gardeners employ all the essential elements of art in their creations:  colour, line, shape, form, tone and texture while adding in a good number of the  principles as well: contrast, balance, emphasis, proportion, repetition and pattern.

Visitors will be inspired as they meander around a diverse selection of gardens,  with their creators on hand to share their knowledge.

Several properties offer plants and handcrafted items for sale, providing an opportunity to take home a memento.     

The festival showcases grand country gardens, historic gardens, verge gardens, sculpture gardens, town gardens of many varieties and a purpose-built accessible garden.

Regular visitors will be delighted to see a number of gardens which have been part of the festival for many years, together with 13 new gardens to discover.     

A souvenir festival program is available at www.festivalofgardens.org, as well as from retail outlets around the Mount Alexander Shire and Bendigo.

Garden devotees can follow the festival on Facebook CastlemaineDistrictFestivalOfGardens and Instagram festivalofgardens or by signing up for the occasional e-newsletter from the website.     

Entry to each garden is $5 per adult, children free. Payment is by cash, direct to the gardener at the gate.     

I never imagined Mum would move from our family home in Traralgon – her home for nearly 60 years.     

But after experiencing some health issues and coming to the realisation that living alone was no longer practical or safe, she made the decision to make Hepburn House her home during a respite stay.     

It was in her own time and on her terms. It wasn’t long before mum  embraced her new chapter at Hepburn House.     

The welcoming front office staff provide the first introduction to a truly warm experience. Whether you meet the physios, the cleaners, personal care staff, nurses, engaging activity organisers, the much-loved in-house tradie or the gorgeous staff who ensure cuppa time is never missed, everyone is focused on the wellbeing of residents and their families.     

Hepburn House gives you real comfort in the aged care sector with residents being shown so much respect and care.     

Over the past six months Mum’s transition has been a joyful experience for her and the whole family.

Of course it’s an emotionally difficult time leaving your home, friends and community. But the team at Hepburn House has helped Mum to easily settle into her new home.     

Being able to pop in just two minutes down the road to see Mum is a far cry from a five-hour drive and I love that she is now so close.

Importantly,  the decision to move was Mum’s, and I’m incredibly proud of her determination to adjust to her new home.

But for Mum it is all about how easy the team at Hepburn House have made it.     

“The care is wonderful. Nothing is too much trouble and whether it is day or night, the staff are always close by. The compassion and support shown by the staff across all areas make it a wonderful place to call my home.”    

 Words: Narelle Groenhout     

Dja Dja Wurrung art, music, fashion design and culture will be on show in Bendigo over the Melbourne Cup long weekend, as Dja Dja Wurrung  enterprise Dumawul hosts the Malamiya Mang Arts Festival.    

Dumawul Creative Arts producer Maurial Spearim said Malamiya Mang, now in its second year, blended contemporary art and culture with traditional practice.    

“Malamiya Mang is about then and now,” Ms Spearim said.

“The festival draws  on the continuing connection between Dja Dja Wurrung people and country from the past to the here and now. In Dja Dja Wurrung language, ‘malamiya’ means ‘long ago before this time’ and ‘mang’ means ‘now’.”    

The three-day festival will launch with an exhibition of Dja Dja Wurrung art inspired by the revival of traditional burning practice, Djandak Wi (Country fire in Dja Dja Wurrung language).

Works by more than 12 artists include paintings and weavings and the exhibition, at the Dumawul Hub in Bendigo’s Hargreaves Mall, opens at 6pm on Thursday, October 31.

The exhibition will also open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays until November 27, 1pm – 4pm.    

A pop-up shop at the hub will open alongside the exhibition on Saturday. It’s an opportunity to explore and purchase a beautiful selection of art, jewellery, health products and fashions created by talented Dja Dja Wurrung artists.    

Children’s activities, including weaving workshops, will also be available from 11am to 1pm.    

The pop-up shop and exhibition will be open on Saturday and during the Moonlight Market in the Mall.    

Dumawul’s first fashion runway show, Marana Muyupilang (which means made by hand in Dja Dja Wurrung language) follows the exhibition opening in the hub on Thursday.    

Celebrating the ‘now’ theme, the Our Country, Our People concert at the Capital Theatre on Friday, November 1 includes headline acts DRMNGNOW and Yambra along with guest artists.

It follows an official opening ceremony from 6pm with performers from the Dja Dja Wurrung dance group.    Link: www.dumawul.com.au/malamiya-mang/    

In every community around the country there are a multitude of stories to be told. So many of those tales are ones of diaspora, of individuals and families from all backgrounds fleeing poverty, war and social upheaval and creating a new life.     

Hepburn’s Morgan Williams, of Radius Gallery, is currently writing a book about his own mother Stephany’s long journey from war-ravaged Holland to Australia.     

“I started writing a novel based on the experiences of my family,” says Morgan, “vignettes of the times and Mum’s life. The book has always been on my mind and I’m halfway through doing it.”

The tale is taken up in a small town called Borne close to the border of Germany and one Dr Rudolf Panhuysen. Born in 1897 he was a general practitioner and was known as a skilled, knowledgeable and well-respected physician.     

As a health officer, he was mobilised in 1939 attending to battlefield casualties before resuming his practice at 1 Korte Wensinkweg. The three-storey house held his surgery on the ground floor and his family home upstairs.

Unbeknownst to authorities it also became a stopover on an extensive underground resistance network against the occupying Nazis.     

At great risk to himself and his family, the house became a refuge for resistance fighters, fugitive Jews, British and American airmen and other people in hiding.

The examination table in his consulting room sat on a carpet that, when needed, could be moved aside to reveal a trap door and stairs to a hidden room below.  

“It was really full on when I first went to the house in the 1990s with mum,” says Morgan.

“The person who lived there recognised her from 30 years previously and invited us in. While the place has now been renovated, at that time little had changed, there were even still kids’ toys and names engraved on the walls in the attic.     

“Mum was amazed and got very nostalgic seeing the house as it pretty much was  when they left. While we didn’t open it, the trap door was still there along with bullet holes from when the Nazis raided the place.”     

That event took place in February 1945. Betrayal led a squad of Landwachters to surround and storm the house.

The Landwacht were the feared and hated internal paramilitary organisation that did the occupiers’ dirty work and they arrested a total  of 13 people that day.     

Amazingly, all those arrested, including Dr Panhuysen and his wife Helena (who was also part of an espionage ring), did eventually survive the war.

A miracle considering the ruthless methods of the Nazis and the common fate of so many members of resistance groups all over occupied Europe.     

In 1954 the Panhuysen family including Stephany, who was just eight years old, left Holland to resettle in Perth, Western Australia.

Perth was and remains one of the most remote capital cities in the world and light years away from the wreckage of post- war Holland. It was the ideal place to start life over.     

“After going through two major European wars within 30 years, they saw no reason why it could not happen all over again,” says Morgan. “Perth was isolated and that’s exactly where they wanted to be.”     

After migrating to Australia Dr Panhuysen continued practising medicine as a ship doctor on Dutch ships before retiring. He died in August 1976.     

Back in Holland, the country would slowly rebuild and along the way become one of Europe’s success stories, a prosperous and progressive country that went to great lengths to recognise those mostly anonymous heroes who maintained resistance against incredible odds in the darkest days of World War II.     

In the mid 80s as gratitude for his wartime efforts, the city of Borne named a street after Dr Rudolf Panhuysen. And the house at 1 Korte Wensinkweg, that held his old surgery, remains standing to this day.     

Meanwhile Stephany would grow up in Western Australia before moving over to the east coast and raising a family.

Today she lives with Morgan and his partner Kim in Hepburn, generations and half a world away from the trials, deprivations and memories of another time and place.     

“All of my cousins and family have gone over there to see the house, see the street and take a photo, just like me and mum did. The latest visitor in early September was our son Josh. It is kind of a family pilgrimage in a way.”     

Words: Tony Sawrey | Images: Supplied     

The story of a lavish 1880s wedding dress and its painstaking restoration is about to be shared as the historic Trewhella gown goes on display later this month at Daylesford & District Museum.

The 1885 wedding gown of  Sarah Trewhella will go on display  from Saturday, October 26.  And in the lead-up to its public  exhibition, professional textile conservator, Hepburn’s Larry Edwards will be giving a  guest talk on the specialised processes used to bring this salvaged item of social history ‘back to life’.  

Larry’s guest talk, at 11am on Thursday, October 24, will be open to the general public (following a similar booked-out presentation for D&DHS members).  

The linen, cotton and silk tulle lace number was worn by Sarah Trewhella (nee Hosking) upon her marriage to Ben Trewhella on January 7, 1885 at her parents’  home at Simmons Reef, Blackwood.

For many decades after that special day it had languished in a box, its considerable beauty fading with each passing year.

But in recent times, assisted by some funding through the Rosalind Pyers Memorial conservation support fund, the museum has been able to draw on Larry’s  expertise to bring the glorious garment back to be publicly admired afresh.  

The museum’s Gary Lawrence says the treasured retro wedding dress will be on display through to the end of the year, while Larry’s talk promises to be a must  for anyone interested in textile and fabric conservation, vintage fashions – or social  history.

 Words: Eve Lamb  

The Little Gallery in Trentham has raised a whopping $10,450 at its annual Winter Show fundraising exhibition.

The money has been donated to this year’s nominated recipient, the East Trentham Fellowship.

Organisers say the Winter show received a high volume of visitors to the gallery over the three weeks of the exhibition and despite the current economic climate the gallery achieved record sales.

The famed annual fundraising art raffle was also generously supported.

Founded by the late Mario Satori in 2003, The East Trentham Fellowship supports local schools, CFA and sporting teams.

But the East Trentham Fellowship also quietly supports locals in the community in times of need.

The Fellowship would like to reach out to anyone in the community who may need their help or support in any way.

Top sheepdogs and their trainers are headed to Dean this Sunday, October  13, for the eleventh running of the Old Sniff Classic Sheepdog Trials.  

Among them, veteran sheepdog trainer Jim Dodge and his dog, Connor’s Cash,  will be back to defend Cash’s title after the four-year-old border collie took out the  open competition last year.

The duo from Snake Valley will be the ones to beat and the competition is likely to be intense with Jim also competing with Viewfield Sam, a three-year-old border collie that he bred as well as trained.  

Jim has never missed an Old Sniff Sheepdog Trial in all the years it’s been  running. He and his wife Kerry love to get along to the annual Dean Recreation  Reserve fixture that raises money for local causes.  

“Brian and the committee do a really good job,” says Jim, referring to the  president of the Dean Recreation Reserve Committee, Brian Maher.  

“We won the Old Sniff Classic open with Cash last year and Sam finished  fourth.”  

Jim and Kerry are well known on the sheep dog trial circuit and have recently  been made life members of the Victorian Working Sheepdog Association.  

The accolade recognises their major contributions with Kerry providing untold  hours behind the scenes toward the smooth running of events and admin, and Jim  breeding and training champion working sheepdogs for the last five decades.  

Jim and his dogs have won at state supreme championship level and notched up  an impressive number of Australian and Commonwealth championship level wins,  while Jim’s knowledge has also seen him judge Australian Supreme Sheepdog Trials as  well.  

“We’ll be trying anyway,” he says ahead of this Sunday’s competition.  

Kerry says that over the many years they’ve been attending sheepdog trials, she’s  noticed some interesting changes take place.  

“It’s very much changed over the years. It used to be just farmers competing but  now you get city folk who will train a dog to compete as well,” she says.

“There’s always a good crowd (at the Old Sniff Classic). We get a lot of people  come along and they’ll just sit there for hours and watch it.”  

Busy preparing for this Sunday’s running, Brian Maher is particularly hoping  the sun smiles down on the Old Sniff after foul weather cancelled the committee’s  other main fundraiser for the year, the Dean Kite Festival which was meant to have  happened last month.  

Brian says this Sunday’s trials will see about 40 well-trained and work-honed dogs  competing, offering spectators a pretty pleasant way to spend the day.  

“The stars of the show manoeuvre three sheep around a course on the command  of their handlers, while being judged on time and ability,” he says.  

“National, state and local champions are among the field and spectators can chat  to the handlers and learn the finer points of the sport.”  

Food sales, raffles and a vintage machinery display are part of it as well with entry to the grounds by gold coin donation.  

Words: Eve Lamb    

A huge success is how artists have summed up last month’s From Behind  Closed Doors fundraising art exhibition.  

Staged by Daylesford Regional Arts Co-operative in the town’s renovated  Stanbridge Hall, the event has raised $2200 for Backpack Bed for Homeless Australia.

“That’s 15 backpack beds and sleeping bags for the homeless of Hepburn Shire,”  says Pam Gleeson, a Glenlyon artist who is also treasurer with the co-operative.  

“Our target was $1000 so yes, we smashed it. We had over $10,000 of art sales.  Not bad for a very small group of 12 artists.

 “Stanbridge Hall proved to be the perfect space to hold an exhibition. We had  over 180 people at our Gala Opening Night and close to a further 300 people visited  the exhibition.  

“We’ll definitely have a major exhibition every year.”  

Pam had suggested that funds raised from the debut event go toward assisting  people contending with homelessness, after becoming aware of the extent of the  problem.  

“I think a lot of people may not even realise that homelessness is an issue even  here in the Hepburn Shire where it’s a problem that is not openly on display,” she  says.

“Many of the homeless find shelter in hidden corners of the towns and villages  or live in the Wombat State Forest.  

“Homelessness can affect anyone at any time. People suffer illnesses, loss of  employment, marital breakups or the need to escape domestic violence. All these  factors can mean loss of home and employment.  

“Backpack Bed for Homeless can’t keep pace with the demand. They supply a  backpack bed every two hours, but, in fact, need to supply one every 11 minutes.  

“Child & Family Services office in Daylesford is the access point or first point of  contact for people at risk of or suffering homelessness. In the past 12 months Cafs  has provided assistance to 111 individuals, families or couples in the Hepburn Shire,  providing tents, swags and backpack beds.”

_{Words: Eve Lamb | Image: Supplied}

Just the right amount of rainfall is the vital ingredient for which the region’s canola growers are hoping.    

Farmers Jodie and Tim Barry of Ullina said rain would make all the difference between prices for the eye-catching crop which has transformed a notable slice of the region’s landscape with bright swathes of gold.    

The farmers are among an increasing number of producers who have been turning to the crop in recent times.

They currently have 260 acres planted out to canola and their crop was in the process of podding up when they talked to The Local last week.

“We are in desperate need of rain and if we could manage an inch it would be good. The critical time is now,” Tim said.

“Without it a lot of crops could end up not finishing and might even have to be cut for hay.    

“We’d expect 3.2 tonnes to the hectare but without rain we might be looking at two tonnes to the hectare, and at $700 a tonne it’s a big difference.”    

Jodie and Tim are among growers who are feeling for the plight of those located further to the west and north where farmers have been contending with alarmingly dry conditions and also highly destructive frosts.    

“We’re in a really good spot here and I feel sorry for the people up north,” Jodie said.

“The (seed) pods are already forming now and we’ll be looking at harvesting in November or December. Depending on the quality it will end up either for human consumption, being used for things like cooking oils, or for animal feed.”    

The Barrys have been growing canola for the past four years and so far have done well enough to keep investing in it.

“There definitely does seem to be a lot more farmers around here getting into it. But with canola it’s hit and miss,” Jodie says.    

“I do love the colour, how beautiful it is and how it changes the landscape.”    

Tim and Jodie’s neighbour, Jock Leishman, has 400 acres planted out to canola and agrees that timely rain now will make all the difference.    

“We potentially have the best canola crop in now that we’ve had for 10 years,” Jock said.

“But we need to keep getting some reasonable rain and given that we now don’t have much sub-soil moisture we ideally need to be getting about 20 mm every fortnight for the next month.”

Words: Eve Lamb    

The first day of the 2024 Royal Melbourne Show was a great day for Musk’s Oberon Suffolk Stud.

Owned by Bruce Rolfe (pictured) and Douglas Scott, Oberon Stud took away multiple awards for Oberon 3039 aka Gloria.   

The young animal, who lives with her flock on Bruce and Doug’s farm in Musk, won Supreme Champion Suffolk, Champion Suffolk Ewe, Interbreed Champion Ewe and Interbreed Champion Shortwool Ewe.   

“Suffice to say we are ecstatic to have been awarded the Supreme Champion Suffolk award for one of our ewes,” says Bruce.   

“It is a lot of work, particularly in the cold climate that we live in, to get sheep to this standard.

“But our efforts over the past years seem to be being recognised. Love, good pastures enriched with organic fertilisers and bio-dynamic preparations plus the time invested in improving our robust genetics has been well rewarded this year with success across the show seasons.”  

Bruce and Doug have great affection and respect for their champion ewe and all their sheep and love how they respond to their constant work and attention.   

The next steps will be to continue developing their award-winning genetics into the future.

“We are currently considering where we go next for the sire to use with Gloria,” says Bruce.

“He has to be special.”   

Gloria first featured in the July 18 edition of The Local.   

Words: Tony Sawrey | Image: Supplied   

The final meeting of the Hepburn Shire Council for 2024 went awry as three councillors left before a vote could be held on the final agenda item, a confidential planning matter.

With the three councillors gone, and only three remaining – with the resignation of Juliet Simpson earlier this year – a quorum was no longer met.

Those who left were councillors Tessa Halliday, Tim Drylie and it is believed Jen Bray. Ms Bray said as the matter was confidential she could not comment on it.

Those who remained were councillors Brian Hood, Don Henderson and Lesley Hewitt. Council CEO Bradley Thomas said four councillors were needed to meet a quorum so the meeting finished with the matter not voted upon.

It had however already gone before council with a decision made earlier this year. That decision was then upheld by Mr Thomas. Mr Thomas said it was not completely unusual for councillors to walk out of meetings but they were usually meetings open to the public and done to make a stand on an issue.

“This one is a bit weird because it was in the confidential section of the meeting so it is difficult for people to know what that stand was. But it is not illegal, councillors have the right to be in the room for whatever items they want to vote for.

“In this case three councillors decided for their own personal reasons that they didn’t want to vote on the matter so they left the meeting.”

Mr Thomas said the planning item had a previous decision so it would not return to council.

“From our point of view the matter is now closed and we have moved on and done what we needed to do with the planning permits.

“There are different personal thoughts on whether councillors should leave a meeting but there is nothing to stop them or force them to be in a meeting, that is the process we have.”

Mr Thomas said the issue had come back to council because “extra information had come to hand” and he made the decision to put it back on the agenda for the council to vote again with that added detail.

“Ultimately they didn’t make a decision because there were not enough (councillors) in the room and I have gone with the original decision.”

Tim Drylie, one of those who left the meeting, said he understood there was some community concern about councillors walking out without making decisions, calling it “somewhat extraordinary”.

“I am happy to go on the record, but as it was a confidential matter there is not a lot I can actually say, and I can only speak for myself.

“I am certainly standing on the platform of transparency and accountability in local government. It just makes it difficult to discuss the reasons behind it but fundamentally for me, it was a complex decision which involved ethical and legal issues around what was appropriate in that instance.

“It was not just a matter of walking out, it was a more complex situation. In this instance it was about accountability and transparency around that particular matter and also noting the CEO has stated it has not affected the overall situation in the broader scheme of things.

“It is certainly not a decision I took lightly and certainly not something councillors consider as a normal part of doing business – we are very respectful and understand the gravity of our position and the importance of governance and behaviours.”

Mr Drylie said it was not something that had been planned but rather “thought through on the day”.

“It was based on the evidence that was before us and I made up my own independent mind on that.”

Tessa Halliday, who also left the meeting, said she did not believe the council should have been voting on the issue which already had a decision in play and unresolved outstanding legal issues.

“It would not have been fair to the applicant, they have done nothing wrong.”

Words: Donna Kelly