Local families will be able to spend the School Saving Bonus on more items when the state government’s once-off $400 bonus becomes available later this year to all students at government schools and eligible non-government school students.

State MP for Macedon, Mary-Anne Thomas last week announced that the School Saving Bonus – that can cover the costs of uniforms, camps, excursions, and other extracurricular activities through the year – can also be spent on textbooks.

Member for Macedon, Mary-Anne Thomas: “Our $400 School Saving Bonus will help ease the pressure on household budgets – and help local students get the most from their education.”

From last week, schools and families will also get more information about how the $400 School Saving Bonus can be accessed later this year, so families have time to plan and budget for the 2025 school year.

The once-off bonus will be available in November 2024. It will be applied for each child, so a family with three school children will receive $1,200 in support to spend on school costs.

The state government has worked to make the process of getting and spending the $400 School Saving Bonus as easy and as flexible as possible for busy families and schools.

No family of a child in a government school will need to apply for their bonus: it is free,automatic and universal.

In Term 4, families will receive a code granting them access to the bonus. They will get to choose how much of the funds they want allocated to a uniform and textbook voucher, and how much they want to use on school activities – like camps, sports, excursions, graduations, and other eligible programs.

The School Saving Bonus was announced as part of a $287 million package in the Victorian Budget 2024/25, and it will help up to 700,000 students – including around 44,000 non-government students.

Premier Jacinta Allan: “We know how tough it is for a lot of families right now. We’re giving busy families one less thing to worry about with $400 for school costs like
uniforms, excursions and textbooks.”

As hundreds of thousands of Victorians begin preparing their property for fire season, emergency services are encouraging landowners to register any planned burn-offs online, through the Fire Permits Victoria website. 

The CFA says landowners will be looking to take advantage of the spring conditions and authorities expect a surge in burn-off registrations over the coming weeks.

The quickest and easiest way to register your burn-off is by using the Fire Permits Victoria website at www.firepermits.vic.gov.au/notify.  

Triple Zero Victoria Chief Operating Officer Nicole Ashworth said registering a burn-off online was quick and easy.

“Using the Fire Permits Victoria website to register your burn-off helps keep our non-emergency phone lines free for higher priority calls,” Nicole said.  

“Every year at this time we see a spike in demand on the phone lines as landholders look to take advantage of suitable weather in the lead up to the fire danger period. This can sometimes lead to long wait times to register your burn-off.”

CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan said the Fire Permits Victoria website is the preferred platform for community members to register their burns.  

“By registering your burn-off, it allows emergency services to verify the fire is not an emergency and avoid unnecessary call outs for local brigades,” Jason said.

“It also allows us to display burn-offs on the CFA website, preventing needless calls to Triple Zero (000).”  

The website allows you to notify emergency services of your burn-off, and also check and apply for a permit, if necessary.  

However, if your burn is taking place within the next two hours, you must register your burn via the phone line on 1800 668 511.  

For more information about burning off safely, visit www.cfa.vic.gov.au/burnoff.

This year, the Mount Alexander Shire Seniors Festival has expanded to take in the entire month of October offering a wide range of events and activities in the Castlemaine area.

The theme this year is – ‘Explore. Engage. Evolve.’ – encouraging older Victorians to stay curious and connected by exploring new activities, meeting new people, and changing how we think of ageing.

Hosted by the Castlemaine Community House, the Seniors Festival 2024 has been informed by community consultation and highlights services, free programmes, entertainment and information sessions of interest to older members of the community.

Backed by a partnership with Mount Alexander Shire Council and funding opportunities from the Victorian Government, this year’s Seniors Festival seeks to make it inclusive to diverse members of the community.

“Our intention is for the festival to reflect the diversity of the older residents of Mount Alexander Shire,” says Kirrily Flanagan, Seniors Festival Lead at Castlemaine Community House

“This has been assisted by partnerships with organisations such as Uncle Rick Nelson’s Waaman Tours, Castlemaine Pride and Silver Rainbow Social Club.

“We also have an event for Veterans Come for lunch and entertainment at the Bendigo RSL, we will foot the bill and arrange transport”.

After a sold-out season in Bendigo and Kyneton, The Vessell is coming to the Phee Broadway Theatreon Tuesday 22nd October as part of the Seniors Festival Afternoon at the Phee event.

The Vessel is the story of an older woman, in the latter stages of dementia, living in aged care. The play is a deeply personal account of the small acts of kindness in her final days and hours, as she shares memories from her earlier life with the audience.

The Seniors Festival will include a flagship mini-expo at the Castlemaine Community House community lunch on Tuesday 15th October.

“Come and enjoy a delicious meal, chat to services and programmes at their stalls, and socialise in a friendly welcoming setting. All seniors eat for free,” says Kirrily.

For listing of all events head to: https://cch.org.au/community/mount-alexander-seniors-festival/

In the coming weeks community safety officers will be conducting animal registration door knocks in the Hepburn Shire.

In a recent social media post the council advised residents that: “The purpose of this is to ensure all dogs and cats over the age of three months old are registered.

“This assists our officers with reuniting you with your pet.”

The council has also advised in recent days that free cat desexing will available for concession card holders in Hepburn Shire.

Attendance registrations are required for the free sessions that will be taking place on Thursday October 3 at Victoria Park in Daylesford and at the Doug Lindsay Recreation Reserve in Creswick on Friday October 4.

Bookings required at www.thevetproject.com.au

Hedges & edges

Somewhere in every garden, no matter how large or small, there arises the need for a fence or screen.

It may be a two-metre wide trellis to hide the rubbish bins or a 20-metre boundary around your swimming pool – both equally important for the comfort and safety of your family’s outdoor life.

The forms they may take are many. Hollow brick walls, wooden trellis, wire fencing – they all have one need in common: to be clothed in attractive foliage and flowers, and in some cases, to hide the innate ugliness.

If you intend to cover a free-standing wire fence, lattice fence or wall, just for their beauty, climbing roses would be in their element as would wisteria or bougainvillea.

Or why not make the trellis really pay for itself and consider growing grapevines or berries. For a frost-free, sunny hot-spot, maybe a passionfruit or two could fit the bill.

Growing a climbing version of any shrub has a great number of advantages over its bushy cousins. For a start, its mindset is “up and out, the sky’s the limit” not “slow and steady”.

By carefully selecting and fanning out on the trellis a handful of the strongest limbs and removing any stray shoots coming from the bottom in the first year, you will soon have the beginnings of your hedge.

Remember, with any grafted, bought rose to make sure you only cut from above the place where the actual rose growth joins the root stock or you will only find yourself with a wild and woolly briar rose bearing lots of big thorns and a mass of tiny, insipid blooms.

Despite the negatives thrown up at the very word hedge, that they take up too much room, need continual clipping and pruning and rob the rest of the garden of its nourishment and water, they are still very popular with most gardeners.

If you still aren’t enthused about the concept of spending too many hours tending the greenery, why not plant a group or a close row of your favourite shrubs or some of these low-growing, low-maintenance ones.

You can leave them to grow and just give them an occasional trim if they start to look shabby.

Lavender, either English or French, make fragrant neat low hedges and are attractive year-round with their furry grey foliage. They are hardy and can withstand hot, dry weather.

A rose hedge is also a beautiful option for any garden, thanks to the compact close foliage, and almost year-round heads of double brightly coloured flowers.

We have several hedges in our sprawling hillside garden. Only one is close clipped, the Japanese box, pictured above, with the rest free form and lightly trimmed every couple of months by my in-house curator.

Peta has scored quite an arsenal of personal weaponry including a matching set of an electric lawnmower, leaf blower and hedge clippers, none of which I’m allowed to even touch.

Got a gardening query? Email glenzgardengmail.com

By Donna Kelly

So the Local Government Inspectorate will not release any report into its five-year investigation of Hepburn Shire Council and The Rex Theatre development.

That’s pretty amazing. Imagine working on something for five years, using taxpayer money, and then deciding “nothing to see here”.

Or imagine working on something for five years, in a private company, and then telling shareholders “nothing to see here”. Wouldn’t pass the pub test. Or the shareholder test.

The Inspectorate issued a media release last Monday, September 2, which said there was insufficient evidence for any disciplinary breaches or criminal offences. It also said the Chief Municipal Officer was satisfied that the council had taken remedial action to avoid future complaints of a similar nature.

So, nothing to see here, but let’s not let it happen again. What the actual?

The release went on to say the Local Government Inspectorate is “the dedicated integrity agency for local government in Victoria”.

Good to know. Hepburn Shire Mayor Cr Brian Hood says it’s disappointing and the failure to issue a report into The Rex project denies transparency and accountability, and lets down the community, councillors and council officers.

The community is not that rapt either. To put it lightly. Social media went into overdrive with ratepayers left wondering where their rates had gone and who was accountable.

“So where is the explanation for the missing money?”

“Outrageous!”

“It’s astounding that after all this, millions wasted, project unfinished, massive debt accrued putting council at danger of existence, residents saddled with debt through increased rates…a whole host of negative and destructive outcomes to the shire and to the public…yet no finding of wrong doing, none worth publishing a report, none worth taking action, no criminal or unlawful activity found, not even incompetence, ‘misguided’ action with detrimental effects, incorrectly followed processes…nothing.

“Just a mysterious massive blunder that cannot be explained or has no accountability, no responsible decision makers who may have cause or contributed to the problem.”

“Unacceptable.”

“One wonders how much it’s cost for the LGI and the CMI to come to this conclusion! What a total f”!k up!”

“It’s like we need a Hepburn Shire ratepayers’ private investigation into where the $$$ went, we personally worked out we are all owed $500 each at the time of the blunder.”

“Unbelievable.”

“Speechless. All these years and we’re left with this. It’s as if we live in a totalitarian state. No one accountable. Shocking.”

“What a strange and flawed process where no one is ever held accountable! What a debacle and utter disgrace.”

And yet on we go. Millions lost, no-one accountable, no explanation and anyone who rocks the boat and releases the report – well, you wouldn’t want to be them.

The integrity agency has made that clear. Ask your local councillor about the report and you will probably hear: “What report?” No longer exists. Nothing to see here. Just sayin’…

I am definitely a dog guy. I have had cats in my life but just can’t warm to the claws sticking into me, and they think they are being funny by swiping at your ankles as you walk past.

Compounding my dislike for the puss, recently Donna and I pet sat for some friends in Hepburn and my anti-cat stance was once more reinforced.

The dog was cute and presented no problems – it ate, walked, played and slept – but the cat was used to sleeping in its owners’ bed and sitting on top of them when watching TV.

So, I ate my dinner standing up as it seemed impossible to keep the cat at bay and away from my plate. I then closed the door to the bedroom for the night and in the early hours of the morning, at Donna’s insistence, I let the thing into the yard, watched while it relieved itself in the cat litter and then I opened the door to the bedroom.

The fearless feline promptly sat on Donna’s head with the same part of its body that had just been, well, you know. And so I could get some respite from the continuous meowing, I sat in the car and listened to the radio from five in the morning.

Making news recently is a push to combat the serious impact of both feral and pet cats on Australian wildlife.

New government proposals could introduce limits on the number of cats owned per household. It’s called a “cat threat abatement plan” because cats are known to wreak havoc on Australia’s native species.

And I do think that all pet owners should take responsibility, you wouldn’t let your pup roam the streets at night and the same should be said for cats.

My prejudice against the pussycat came from when I was a child. A memory indelibly lodged in my brain.

Mum thought it would be a great idea to give me a cat for my third birthday, and when you are poor and there are plenty of homeless kittens around, it makes sense.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t bond with the gaunt, lanky, clawed animal that I now remember as 10 times its actual size. And Mum didn’t help by locking me in the kitchen, with aforementioned cat, for what felt like a day.

As I tried to dodge the tabby climbing up on the table (this is a true memory) mum finally gave into my screams of terror and let me out.

In terms of an animal superheroes segue, to add strength to my argument in the cur camp, we have Clifford the Big Red Dog, Power Pooch, Dynomutt, Dog Wonder, and the top dog is of course, Hong Kong Phooey.

Whereas in the cat camp you struggle along with Cat Aoman, Black Pantha (a distant cat relation and I do give him respect) and finally the lessor known Hellcat, all of whom Clifford would squash while Hong Kong Phooey wipes the floor with them.

And because this is my rant not yours I will omit the AFL conversation in terms of the Cats V Dogs.

Back in 2019 we ended up in St Petersburg, Russia, on a cruise ship, when the world was a simpler place before the pandemic and the Ukraine invasion. And it is there where I saw some very impressive true working cats at the Hermitage Museum.

They are a group of cats residing in the museum. They even have a press secretary and three dedicated caretakers. The cats live in the basement and they also can be seen on the embankment and in the nearby square during the summer.

These pusses roam the entire museum at night which, because of its position on the banks of the river, suffer from rat and mouse infestations.

Now that’s a good cat but their names are a little beyond the pale. Now I know that us pooch lovers have crazy long names for our dogs. Our dearly departed Rosie as Burr-Dog, or Rosie Queen of all the Dogs and then there was Curly. Who got the whole Curly Whirly One Shot Dog, He’s No Hog treatment.

But come on, Fluffy McFlufferson (aka Fluffybutt), Sir Pounce-a-Lot and Whiskerlicious is surely over the top, and a little embarrassing for a professional mouse catcher.

Cat V Dog rant over…

Cool Country Men’s Shed at Trentham has launched its website at www.coolcountrymensshed.org.au.

The Shed’s aim is to further communicate with the community and for new Trentham residents to easily access information about who they are, what they do.

An aim also with the new website is to reach out to men, encouraging them to take the next step and become a Shed member.

The Shed is a friendly environment and allows men to visit and enjoy the company of other men and engage in a variety of personal projects or community activities that make a positive contribution to the wider community.

The email address: info@coolcountrymensshed.org.au is another means of getting more information.

In a generous show of support for local traditions and remembrance, private resident Marilyn Kilinsky has donated a stunning piece of metal ANZAC artwork to Daylesford College.

Marilyn, who won the artwork at an auction held by the American Motorcycle Club to raise funds for the Daylesford RSL, chose to gift it to the College in recognition of the significant role played by their students at the 2024 ANZAC Day services.

This gesture of generosity was inspired by the outstanding participation of Daylesford College captains and vice captains at the recent ANZAC Day services.

The students took on key roles throughout the event, including delivering the ANZAC Day Address, leading the Prayer for Peace, reciting the moving poem “Lest We Forget,” and singing the national anthem.

Their commitment extended beyond the ceremony itself, as they also assisted with the setup and pack-up, demonstrating their dedication to honouring the ANZAC spirit.

The college’s active engagement in the ANZAC Day services is a testament to its ongoing efforts to instil a deep sense of respect and historical awareness in its students.

“Having our students so actively involved in ANZAC Day is essential for ensuring that the memories and sacrifices of the ANZACs continue to be honoured and remembered,” said College Principal, Steve MacPhail.

The artwork now takes pride of place at the entrance to Daylesford College serving as a daily reminder of the sacrifices made by the ANZACs.

The College extended its thanks to Marilyn Kailinsky and also thanks the Daylesford RSL for being so keen to involve the College’s students – “to Ian Tanetti and Mike Tait in particular, who are great supporters of the College”.

The inaugural Youth Acoustic Music Revolution event will be held at Trentham Mechanics from October 25 to 27.

YAMR is a community-based group who are passionate about encouraging young people to learn a musical instrument.

The aim for the event is to expose local youth to  a variety of acoustic instruments, to come and try, engage in a workshop and maybe  even perform an item on stage.

Program director Allison Walsh said many young people were engaging with  music on digital platforms, socials, etc but not so many were taking the next step to write their own music, play an instrument, or sing a song out loud.

“The neurological benefits of singing and learning to play an instrument are well known, we hope to encourage our youth to engage in a tangible way. All levels are welcome, and instruments can be provided for those without.”

There will be a free soft launch event on September 15 which will feature performances from local youth, including successful band The Mods and Victoria’s Ceoltioiri Naarm, who will hold a come-and-try instrument session with many acoustic instruments available to try.

Afternoon tea will also be served, and a door prize will include the chance to win a free family pass to the October event.

The event weekend will comprise of performances, workshops, ceili dancing, trad disco, traditional music sessions, blackboard concerts and artists in conversation.

Those who attend will have the opportunity to meet and mingle with many like minded others, including meeting world-class performers.

The tutors are mostly teenagers and young adults who have been playing for some time and are keen to share their knowledge and skills with those brave enough to step out of their comfort zone and take on something new.

Seeing young people  performing can be a great opportunity for others, it opens their minds to the  possibility of doing it themselves.

YAMR soft launch (free event) will take place at Trentham Mechanics, High  Street, Trentham on Sunday, September 15 from 1pm to 4pm.

Details: yamrmusic@gmail.com or Allison Walsh on 0407 280 272.

Daylesford college’s talented young musos are counting down to this Wednesday evening’s music showcase event.

Set for this Wednesday, September 18, all are invited to get along for a night of musical entertainment as the Daylesford College music students put on their annual showcase.

It’s happening 5pm-7:30pm with tickets $10 for adults, kids free and all money going towards supporting the college’s performing arts program.

There will be some food and drinks available and it’s outdoors so organisers are advising those who get along to bring a rug and jacket.

Two of American country music’s most exciting young artists are coming to Australia for the first time.    

Fresh on the circuit after the release of his latest LP All Bad, Nick Shoulders’ inimitable form of country music is in the spotlight: a balance of traditional country and punk, Cajun rhythms and surf rock blues played with deft skill by a yodelling fiddler.    

Joining Nick on this cruise is the magnificent Margo Cilker, who leaves the    Columbia River near Washington for Australian shores for the very first time.    

Hailing from the Ozarks, Nick is a whip-smart young country singer with a voice    from another era (fans of C.W. Stoneking and Sierra Ferrell take note), a DIY punk    approach that sees him in complete control of everything he does (he runs his own    label, Gar Hole Records) and a great musical and poetic sensibility.    

He writes incredible songs that are funny, sad and challenging, has a distinct    warbling yodel and masterful whistle crafted from a lifetime chasing lizards through    the Ozark Hills, and he looks like he could be up on stage with Amyl and the    Sniffers.    

Margo’s magical songs about moonlight, forests and cowboys captivate the    dreamer and follow on from her new album Valley of Heart’s Delight.    

They are performing at Out on the Weekend in Ballarat on October 11.    

Leavers Hotel, Creswick    

Rennie Pearson – Friday, September 13    

Ukulele Queen of the Bellarine Sarah Carroll and Stefanie Duzel – Saturday,    September 14    

Skyscraper Stan – Saturday, September 28    

Trudy Fatnowna Edgeley Album Launch – Saturday, October 5

David Bridie – Saturday, October 12    

Got a gig to share? Email news@tlnews.com.au      

with Eve Lamb

Mount Beckworth summit via the old Feldspar Mine, Clunes, 5km loop    

We’ve walked to the famed lollipop tree on the summit of Mount Beckworth near Clunes many a time, but never before from the western flank of the little mount, via its old Feldspar Mine.     

So today’s the day. Our starting point is the Cork Oaks camping ground which means we’ll be setting out through the remarkable old plantation that’s part of Mt Beckworth Scenic Reserve and which we visited in a previous edition of this series.

This historic and rare plantation is always a treat, especially when it’s sunny and today, after the howling gales of late, it’s (poor pun alert) a corker.     

The Feldspar Track to the summit is signposted from the Cork Oaks camping ground, and it’s pretty easy to follow on and up toward the Beckworth zenith with its 1918-planted lollipop tree, a Monterey pine.     

As most longer-term locals around here will tell you, back in the 1940s during  WWII, the lollipop tree was used as a beacon for trainees from the RAAF No. 1 Wireless Air Gunners School based at Ballarat Airport.

These days the lollipop tree serves as a welcome home landmark for residents of these parts, its unique silhouette discernible from many miles across the rolling plains.

Today I notice with striking clarity that the upper ridges of Beckworth’s rocky, granitic skyline are really quite tremendous.

And it’s not long either, about 200 metres, before a striking little reminder of this area’s dramatic volcanic past appears  to our right as we follow the track, climbing gently upward.

“Baby Seal Rock,” muses my walking companion, Paddy H, spontaneously christening the feature as we pause to admire this large boulder sitting rather dramatically in the midst of a sea of sturdy bracken fern.     

“Ye–es. I guess it could be,” I marvel at my walking companion’s creative genius. And the rock in question does get the imagination ticking over the millennia that have given rise to these geological features.  

We climb on and it’s such a pleasure to be out here with a fantastic view opening up behind us to the west. After the rugged weather of late, today is very,  very still and when we stop and look back it’s a surprise to see that a fine little fog has settled across the landscape below us, despite the fair skies above.     

The elevation ahead becomes increasingly steep, demanding a bit more walking effort that’s quickly rewarded after a few hundred metres with the discovery of the old feldspar mine site.

There’s a small but distinct mullock heap, with rock strewn like scree, while other aspects of this mine site are obscured by herbaceous growth.     

“So what the hell is feldspar?” I hear you ask…

A Resources Victoria government website states: “Feldspars are aluminosilicate minerals containing varying amounts of potassium, sodium and calcium. They are the most abundant mineral group, constituting about 60 per cent of the Earth’s crust.

“The most common economic deposits of feldspars are in pegmatites (coarsely crystalline granites or other igneous rocks with crystals several centimetres in length).

“Feldspar is an important source of alumina in the glassmaking and the ceramics industries. It is used in glazes and enamels and is an important mineral filler in paints, plastics, sealants, and adhesives.”

Beyond the site of the old feldspar mine, which I later find referred to also as “the Mount Beckworth Mineral Occurrence”, we enter a sweet little patch of native forest with some superb old yellow box trees and interesting large rock formations, that loom up particularly to our left.     

After about an hour of leisurely walking, and occasional stopping, we emerge at the summit that sits at 634 metres elevation and are greeted not only by the grand old heritage-listed lollipop tree itself, but also by wedge-tailed eagles – three of them – surfing gentle thermals in a benign sky to the east.     

We plonk down to make short work of the picnic lunch in our backpacks and there’s a repeated trilling bird-call that I recognise to be that of a bird of prey – though I’m not sure which type.     

Kookaburras also contribute energetically to the soundscape as does Paddy H with a few personal ponderings on the nature of this walk.     

Anyway, after we’ve lazed about soaking up the sunshine on the summit, we re-trace our steps, noting that the walk, done well, takes about three hours, allowing time to stop at points of interest and to ease back on the summit and appreciate the vista.

Back around the base of Beckworth, wattles are in bloom and small grey fantails flit and gossip and as we bid a fond farewell, those enviable eagles are still up there having a ball.    

Words & Images: Eve Lamb    

Hit & Giggle Pickle Ball has become a popular sport in Daylesford on a Sunday.

Recently there were participants from the age of 11 right through to 70+, with lots of smiles and great attitudes.

A dynamic, hybrid sport, Pickleball combines features from both badminton and tennis.

Using a plastic ball and paddles, it’s played on a smaller court with a lowered net and is designed for two or four players.

Using a paddle and plastic “wiffle” ball, played on a hard surface indoors or outdoors, the game is a combination of tactical shots, patience, and easy to learn strokes, which encourages an inclusive play environment with no need for modifications or adaptations to cater for gender, ability, or age differences.

Daylesford Neighbourhood Centre is supporting the sport at the Daylesford College ARC with participants invited to meet at 11am.

Images: Linda Carroll DNC

Pixel the Belle Property office pooch   

Personality-packed Pixel is the second Hungarian Vizsla to become resident office pooch at Belle Property – Daylesford and Trentham.   

Before Pixel there was Ziggy who was the first Hungarian Vizsla that Belle Property director and real estate agent Will Walton had ever owned.   

Will was so taken with the gentle and statuesque breed that young Pixel followed,  acquired as a puppy, to keep Ziggy company until the older dog died.   

“Ziggy even survived a house fire that happened here in Daylesford about 11 years ago. He was rescued by our CFA,” Will said.

“We got Pixel as a friend for Ziggy   and they had about 18 months together.”   

Will says Pixel has quite a few endearing and specific personality traits. These   include a personal sensitivity to walking on the floorboards in the Belle Property   Daylesford office.   

“He slipped on the boards as a pup and he has remained very sensitive about   walking on them ever since,” Will says.   

When Pixel is feeling a little bit wary about something, he communicates it by   walking backwards in a pooch-perfect impression of Michael Jackson’s Moonwalk.   

Pixel is also fairly notorious for his food focus. Staff member at Belle, real estate   agent Natalie Fagan says the svelte russet-gold dog has a less than subtle means of   dropping hints to anyone who is lunching in the office.   

“You’ll be eating lunch and he’ll sit beside you and you’ll suddenly feel a paw just   gently brushing you,” she says.   

Will says the workplace has always been pet-friendly, with other staff members welcome to bring their fur babies in if they wish.   

When Natalie brings along her year-old whippet, Benny The Jet, the two dogs   have been known to transform the office environment into an occasional canine   raceway.   “When I bring Benny in they do total zoomies,” Natalie says.

“And when (real   estate agent) Ange brought her German shorthaired pointer, Baxter, in for the day it  was like doggy day care. Really good fun.”   

Will says the presence of pets in the workplace is a known mood booster.   

“The RSPCA released a report on the well-being benefits of having animals in the  workplace and it’s something that we’ve always encouraged,” he says.   

“The breed, Hungarian Vizslas are also just called Vs, and they’re known for their loyalty and intelligence, and to be wonderful pets for families.”   

The breed is also generally well known for its enjoyment of water and was bred as a hunting dog.   But in keeping with Pixel’s quirky character, this individual has his own ideas  about that.   

“Yes they’re supposed to like water and they’ve even got slightly webbed feet, but   Pixel doesn’t like water. In fact he’s afraid of ducks,” Will says.   

“He is very food focused and very, very good at retrieving balls and the way that   he catches them in the air is extraordinary,” Will says.

“If we didn’t have to work on weekends we’d be taking him to agility trials.   

“The breed is extremely sensitive and highly intelligent. They get called velcro dogs because they literally stick to their owner.   

“We’ve always had a dog in the work environment and Pixel splits his time  between our Daylesford office and our Trentham office. There are people who come   to our office seeking him out just to say hello.”   

Pixel’s workload as resident pooch personality is likely to lighten a little into the  future, with some exciting news on the near horizon.

“He’s about to get a brother,” Will says.   

Words: Eve Lamb