October 25th, 2025Just sayin’…

By the time you read this, depending on whether that is online on Sunday, or in print on Tuesday, The Block’s final room reveals may be over.
It’s been an interesting ride for the region and for The Local – with lots of bumps along the way. Here is my memory of the whole shebang.
It started with the planning permit being knocked back and Phillip Island being taken up as a better spot for 2024.
But those pesky people at Channel 9 do not give up easily and the permit went all the way to the top, the minister, and got rubber stamped for approval. Here comes The Block Daylesford 2025.
The land chosen was nicely presented on television as an idyllic piece of country paradise. But every local I spoke to, except for the real estate agents involved in the game – and fair enough, said that if they were spending $3 million on a house, they would choose some lovely quiet acreage with rolling hills, rather than somewhere on the Malmsbury Road, near a now very busy roundabout and a concrete works.
I agree. If anyone reading this wants a very private piece of land, in a lovely hamlet, just out of Daylesford, please get in touch. I was actually thinking of attending the auction and handing out brochures with: “Can’t afford Daylesford? What about Glenlyon?” Only joking. Sort of.
And then the building started and we found out each house had the same footprint – each with its own swimming pool. Now, for some reason, swimming pools just aren’t that popular in Daylesford, so to have five in a row is quite interesting.
When I worked on a Mornington Peninsula newspaper I remember taking a helicopter flight, and we wandered over Sorrento and Portsea. Every house had a tennis court but all that meant, the pilot told me, was that you could never get enough players. They were all in their own courts. Money.
So the houses went up and a few of the locals were up as well, in arms against the only McDonald’s in town. But it only served coffees so plenty of tradies were wandering the streets of Daylesford looking for breakfast, lunch and dinner deals. And so the locals were happy again. Most of them. Some are never happy.
And then the people from The Block decided to help out with some community organisations. And some of the people were unhappy again. Why should The Block help the community cinema when it is housed in a private building? Why should The Block help the Bathhouse, a private business housed in a council building?
No-one seemed to mind them helping out the Daylesford Men’s Shed, or the schools or being judged by the Daylesford CWA. Our friend Peta Heyne was one of the CWA judges and she had the position of telling Scotty Cam that his Chocolate Ripple cake was too late to enter – also it wasn’t cooked. Some people on The Block social media said they thought the judges were bossy. I think Peta, who is the nicest person you could meet, would have enjoyed that.
Kyle and I had a few visits to The Block over the year. It was muddy and cold, but fun and interesting. We attended a final lunch with everyone and met all the contestants. They all seemed really lovely – I guess the editing has to be done in a certain way to make for good television.
And now they are up for sale. Will they reach their reserves or beyond? As I write this I saw that Lambo Man had returned, despite saying he would bow out, so who knows. And Scotty Cam’s shed and land is up for sale – the sixth spot on The Block.
It’s been a fun ride, but I am kind of glad it’s over. And all the best to Mt Eliza in 2026. Just sayin’…