A Mobile Women’s Health Clinic is being held in Daylesford from today, February 17 through to February 28.

Operated by BreastScreen Victoria, the visiting van will deliver a variety of women’s health services, including sexual and reproductive health advice, clinical services and referrals for medical abortion (MTOP), contraception, and referrals to other necessary specialists.

All services are delivered by an experienced nurse or nurse practitioner with Daylesford’s Victoria Park on the Daylesford-Ballan Road the location for the visiting clinic.

BreastScreen Victoria is a population screening program, with breast screening known to be most effective in reducing breast cancer deaths and the impact of treatment among women in the 50-74 age group.

BreastScreen Victoria (BSV) is a free service for women with no breast symptoms. We invite women aged 50 to 74 years old to have a breast screen regularly, usually every two years.

If you have a breast symptom or changes in the look and feel of your breast, you should see your doctor as soon as possible. Your doctor may then request a diagnostic mammogram for you, which looks at your specific problem.

A breast screening mammogram (or breast screen) checks for breast cancer. At your screening appointment, the radiographer will take two images of each breast, which are later examined by two or more radiologists.

In a small number of women, the screening mammogram will show possible signs of breast cancer. If this happens after your breast screen, you will be contacted to attend a second appointment which is called an assessment.

An assessment appointment involves further testing such as x-rays, ultrasound, biopsies and clinical examination in order to reach a diagnosis.

Funga Obscura, Photo journeys among fungi has been released by Daylesford’s Alison Pouliot. 

The bestselling author of Wild Mushrooming (CSIRO, 2021) and Underground Lovers (NewSouth, 2023) offers a stunning collection of fungus photography from across Australia and the globe. 

Alison writes:

“I scanned the forest floor around me. I couldn’t yet see fungi, but I could smell them. Lowering my nose to the ground, I inhaled a distinctive fungal funk. I rolled over some bark and there they were. 

“Gossamer threads of mycelia wended their way through the layers, weaving them together. Soon these furtive fungi would fashion their mycelia into mushrooms and heave their way through the earth.” 

This book is about fungi, and the photography of fungi. The title – Funga Obscura – unites the two.

Beginning in elemental landscapes of ice and rock, the book traces the evolutionary path of fungi as enablers of life on land, and creators of soils and forests. 

Crossing continents and ecosystems, we navigate lichen- covered landscapes, crawl in the fungal undergrowth, scale glacial extremes and duck between rainforest shadows. 

Alison, ecologist and environmental photographer, captures these remarkable lifeforms in this visual love letter to fungi. Alison’s journeys in search of fungi span northern and southern hemispheres, ensuring two autumns and a double dose of fungi each year. 

Words & image: Contributed

Alison Robb has such a passion for films that she would sometimes see three a day at the Melbourne International Film Festival, as well as belonging to four cinema clubs. 

Imagine, then, her dismay when she moved to Daylesford only to find it was minus a cinema. That is one of the reasons she has plunged in to help the campaign to bring back The Rex. Another is just what a cinema means to a community.

“I thought that, instead of complaining about it, I’d be part of the team,” she simply says. Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, she moved to Australia 20 years ago when posted by a big international company, working in human relations.

“I came for three weeks, and I stayed. I love it.” 

Her life was upended last year, however, when she had no fewer than 48 strokes. Through her illness she was found to have endometrial cancer which meant having a hysterectomy.

She describes herself as being “lucky” because the cancer was caught, although initially her illness left her unable to eat. 

“I had a cluster of strokes and had to learn to speak and walk. I had to give up my job.” 

Coming to Daylesford for her 40th birthday, she found it a place of solace.

“I did feel the energy when I drove in just four months ago.” 

A new avenue opened when, as a registered foster carer, she began helping mothers with their new-born babies. As for her love of films, she rejoiced in the 2003 American comedy-drama, The Station Agent, about a man, played by Peter Dinklage seeking solitude in an abandoned railway station.

A much-awarded actor, Dinklage, who has dwarfism, is 1.35m tall. He also starred in something else she enjoyed, Game of Thrones. 

Another favourite is Turtles Can Fly, a 2004 Kurdish war drama about three refugee children near the Iraqi-Turkish border waiting for the Americans to invade Iraq and overthrow Saddam Hussein. 

Her wide range of movie loves is shown by her keenness for Departure, a Japanese film about a failed cellist who returns home to find the only job he can get is as a ritual mortician.

“It’s powerful and moving,” she says. “I love to escape in the cinema…when I was recovering I would watch documentaries 30 minutes at a time. And there is a feeling of comfort in going on your own to a movie.” 

As a dedicated “foodie” Alison devoured the Netflix series Somebody Feed Phil, which spotlights the cuisine of featured cities and the charities and non-profit organisation in their region.

Small wonder that it appeals to her; she has been to almost 60 countries and is soon off to Japan. 

Through Alison’s great-great aunt, the amazing Lorna Moon, Alison is connected to Cecil B. DeMille, a founder of American cinema and the most commercially successful producer-director in film history.

His astonishing output covered 70 films, silent and sound, with many dominating the box office three or four at a time. His adopted son, Richard, was raised among the glamour and luxury of early Hollywood.

From the age of eight he wondered about his birth parents. His curiosity increased because of odd hints dropped by friends and family members, and by his remarkable resemblance to Cecil’s father. 

After 60 years of hunting for his secret mother, Richard found that she was Lorna Moon, a Scottish-born journalist turned screenwriter, and best-selling novelist, who became pregnant during a love affair.

The result was Richard, who was adopted by Cecil and his wife Constance. With such an exotic connection, it comes as no surprise to learn that in Daylesford Alison is keen to see a cinema that would help young people learn about other countries. 

“Children in a country town need to be exposed to the world as only the cinema can do, and it’s a wonderful way to bring the community together.” 

This is the second in a contributed series on the people behind the drive to bring back Daylesford’s cinema. 

Images: Kyle Barnes 

Answering a query from The Local, after a widely circulated report from Council Watch Victoria about alleged issues with the Local Government Inspectorate investigation into Hepburn Shire Council and The Rex, the Inspectorate says it does not intend to take any further action.

Instead, it resent a media release from last September saying the LGI received a complaint in 2019 relating to the Hepburn Shire Council’s involvement with the Rex Theatre redevelopment.

The release said it had since undertaken a rigorous investigation, found insufficient evidence to uphold the complaint and would not be taking any action or publishing any report.

The Council Watch Victoria report says the LGI lacked the legal authority to release any findings and reports from its investigations.

ChillOut president Matt Clarke was born and raised in regional Victoria in the small town of Wycheproof.

The youngest of six kids, life was all about “heavy” farming, agriculture and local sport. “And then you finish school and move away and come up with whatever you’re going to do for the rest of your life,” he said. 

“I was a bit lost when I left school, I didn’t really know what I was going to do. I could have been a lot of things. I wanted to be a vet, I wanted to be a paramedic. I wanted to be a heap of things. But I had a really underlying passion for horses and the equines.” 

Not into doing things by halves, Matt headed to a big harness racing stable in Great Western, Victoria and spent the next 15 years there, on and off, training horses and competing all over Australia and New Zealand. 

It was a hard life, but one he loved, with the only downside the region and industry not offering the chance to open up as “a proud gay person, or lesbian or trans”. 

“That just wasn’t something that would happen. I mean, I was never scared to come out and I had to my family, it was just the environment you were in. It was a challenging space. But, you know, if people believed or had an idea that I may have been gay, that’s fine, and if someone was to ever ask me, I would have talked about it.

“But in such a small community people just had their own views and mindsets, and that is just how it was.” 

After a while Matt, doing that full-on thing again, moved to Ballarat for “the love of my life – but that didn’t work out”. 

He puts the end of the relationship down to a few things including having his mum pass away from a quick and sad death from melanoma. 

“That was really challenging. I was extremely close to my mum. So I guess that played on a lot of the emotions and the challenges of a relationship.” 

Matt said he remained in Ballarat but was lonely and without a tribe. 

“I’d been to ChillOut a number of times, viewed the parade, been to Carnival Day and just immersed myself in that from a distance. And then there was a call-out for a meet and greet for potential committee members. 

“It was a workshop day where you were asked to talk about yourself, like is there something that is going to let us know a little bit about yourself. I got up and I explained to the group about two tattoos that I had put there after my mum had died.

“One thing she always said to me was that she didn’t want me to have a challenging and difficult life as a gay person and before she died she told me to be strong and she told me to be happy. 

“The first tattoo on my left arm is a symbol of strength. And then the second tattoo on my right arm is a symbol of happiness. I look at them every day and they remind me of those powerful words. I shared that story to a group of strangers and just burst into tears.” 

Matt learned more about ChillOut and its history and “a little bit of a fire was lit”. Next thing he was on the committee and then the president. 

“It’s been great. A really satisfying journey on a personal level of growth and development and connection.

“It’s also seeing the festival continue to evolve, also in terms of engagement from community stakeholders and sponsors.

“We’re up to our 28th consecutive festival and rolling into our 30th anniversary, which is really exciting.” 

Matt joined the committee in the first year of Covid. A challenging space, he says.

“We all had to learn about Skype and Teams and FaceTime calls and how do we communicate. And then the ever-evolving process of, are we allowed to be together? What do the spaces look like? 

“The festival did go ahead in a live space, down at the amphitheatre at Hepburn Springs with big circles drawn on the grass and people having to sit within their circle. They essentially had to be self-contained.

“And the flagship event of the weekend, the parade, took a whole new turn. It was done virtually and we asked our supporters to record a clip of themselves in full gear or costume and we blended them into a streamed parade. And we took that as a tick, it was a festival.” 

Matt said this year’s ChillOut would offer many of the loved activities like the Bush Dance, the Grand Parade, Carnival Day, the Youth Muster and the Friday night opening which will be held in the Big Top at Victoria Park instead of the currently under renovation Town Hall. 

The theme for the weekend is Circus, which gives people plenty of scope for fun outfits which relive the fun times of country carnivals and circuses. 

Matt said his many skills from the equine industry and also in sales and management had given him a great skillset for ChillOut and he was loving the role.  

“One of the things that we love is seeing all of the businesses get involved in the festival. I mean, there are many queer-owned businesses in Daylesford and those that aren’t are just as welcoming to a queer community in regional Victoria.

“When the committee members go down and line the streets with our bunting, many of the businesses ask if they can get more – because they love the festival.”

Midway through last year, the CFA West Region Community Safety Team was approached by the Friends of Cornish Hill in Daylesford, to look at the growth of gorse and other “woody weeds” in the reserve.

CFA Vegetation Management Officer Kay Richardson attended with Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic) and local CFA Captain Glenn Webster.

Since that first meeting, collaborative efforts between FFMVic, the CFA Community Safety Team, and the Friends of Cornish Hill (FOCH) resulted in “notable improvements in vegetation management and track maintenance,” the CFA has now reported.

It has also offered significant opportunities to include the surrounding community in fire risk awareness discussions and shared responsibility.

The FOCH ran a ‘Backing onto bush’ session in late November 2024 which was attended by 36 community members plus agency staff including Hepburn Shire, FFMVic, CFA and Landcare. 

The day aimed to engage the community and highlight the fire risks they faced and what they could do to manage those risks as individuals and as a community.

“By the end of the session, the group was galvanised to assist the agencies to manage the fuel load on Cornish Hill as one way of preparing for fire,” the CFA has since reported.

FFMVic has completed grooming and grading the tracks on Cornish Hill. This work has not only improved accessibility but has also enhanced safety for maintenance teams and the local community.

Cath Matthews, Regional Vegetation Management Coordinator, expressed her gratitude to Midlands FFMVic for their work.

“A big thanks to Midlands FFMVic for undertaking the mulching of the gorse-infested tracks through Cornish Hill. This will now greatly facilitate access for brigades, enabling quicker suppression if a fire starts in the reserve,” Cath said.

Efforts to address invasive gorse, blackberry, and broom are ongoing, with the following key activities underway:

• CFA reports that it is “preparing to treat a block of woody weeds near the north-east corner of the hill”.
• The FOCH has engaged the “Gorsinator” to remove old, hard-to-access gorse from the north-west corner.

The progress achieved has been well-received by the community and stakeholders. At the FOCH Annual General Meeting, members expressed their encouragement with the rapid pace of work. Cath Matthews also highlighted the broader impact of these efforts.

“This work has strengthened relationships between the many stakeholders involved, and hopefully we can build on this to ensure continued reduction of fire risk within this reserve and with the community.”

The FOCH is now preparing funding applications to sustain the work that has been achieved.

This story based on a CFA report

The ChillOut Grand Parade is becoming a bit of a circus but the Sunday, March 9 event in Vincent Street, Daylesford is shaping up to be a real crowd pleaser. 

The Amazing Mill Market director, and avid collector of weird and wacky stuff,rMark Ward is bringing in a new member of his family, and introducing her to the crowds on the day. 

Tipping the scales at 300 kilograms, but no fat shaming please, Elle is a fully motorised elephant. 

She was built in Disneyland for Myer Adelaide to attract more children to the store. But plans do sometimes go awry. 

Rather than attract more customers, Elle was so life-like she actually scared the kids away. And was quietly retired from her department store position. 

Luckily, Mark saw her merits, paid thousands for his new pet, and proudly drove her from Adelaide to Geelong in the back of his ute – gaining attention from numerous newspapers and even a police escort for part of the way. 

“Elle looks so alive, she blinks her eyes, moves her tail and flaps her ears. That was the best drive I have ever done.” 

Elle will be ridden down Vincent Street, decked out in circus gear, in keeping with ChillOut’s Big Top theme, and hopefully will not scare any children. 

Meanwhile, over at The Local, plans are underway for a clown car – complete with journalists and photographers. 

Editor Donna Kelly said TL HQ was generally “a bit of a three-ringed circus so it’s not too much of a stretch to put together the clown car float”. 

The Local is a media partner with ChillOut – a partnership which started in 2014. See you over the weekend! 

Words: Kyle Barnes

After a Dan Murphy’s liquor store was banned from Daylesford because it could pose a public risk and encourage harm, especially to minors, an attempt is being made to overturn this ruling. 

Murphy’s is emphasising campaigning against under-age drinking as it prepares for compulsory mediation in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) this month. 

This will be followed by a July hearing, for which almost three weeks has been allotted. In what the Hepburn Shire Council called a landmark decision, the retailer’s application was rejected by the Liquor Commission in August last year, with the acting chair John Larkins saying that harm from the misusue and abuse of alcohol included family violence.

Now Murphy’s is asking VCAT to “make the correct and preferable decision” on the facts. Murphy’s says the VCAT decision was made on the “mere possibility” of risk. 

Those with knowledge of the events tell The Local that VCAT is confined to a matter of law, although the case is shaping up for a full hearing. 

A key issue is the nearness of the proposed store site in Bridport Street to the swimming pool, Lake Daylesford and other public locations. 

Twelve shire residents are involved in the VCAT hearing. Murphy’s is owned by the Endeavour Group. 

Responding to an inquiry by The Local, Endeavour says that it believes the Commission erred in its decision and did not appropriately consider the positive community benefits of having a Dan Murphy’s in Daylesford, particularly in relation to the community’s concerns about underage drinking. 

“Like the community, we were concerned about the claimed levels of underage drinking and the alleged provision of alcohol to minors in Daylesford. If these claims are true, we believe that there are a number of opportunities for existing licensees and the community to work together to address this issue. 

“Dan Murphy’s does not sell alcohol to minors and has an industry-leading approach to the requirement for identification to prove that our customers are adults.” 

It says that 44 million customers nationwide were reached in the 2024 financial year with messages about responsible drinking – the equivalent of reaching every adult drinker three times throughout the year. 

“We also have a ‘refusal of service’ policy that prohibits sales based on the risk of underage drinking and secondary alcohol supply and we exclude patrons from our premises for problematic behaviour. 

“Dan Murphy’s would support local campaigns (for example, DrinkWise’s ‘It’s OK to say nay’ campaign) to educate parents about the importance of saying no to their children if they seek alcohol before the age of 18, which existing licensees could be actively supporting.” 

Endeavour says the entire liquor industry has a role in minimising alcohol-related harm and that “our experience and knowledge – when applied to Daylesford” – could help the community. 

Endeavour says up to 30 new jobs would be created here as well as offering “local products that can be enjoyed responsibly by the Daylesford community and tourists alike”. 

“Daylesford is a unique community with a rich history and a strong sense of identity. Our goal would be to respect and contribute positively to the local heritage and culture, ensuring that our presence aligns with the community’s values.” 

Endeavour is confident that supporting local producers and regional pride initiatives, as well as contributing to the local environment and economy would be a positive contribution to the community without undermining its unique identity. 

History  

The decision to overturn the liquor licence for a Daylesford Dan Murphy’s last  August was the first time the new definition of “harm” under the Liquor Control  Reform Act had been used to refuse a licence.  

The packaged liquor licence was for proposed premises located at 63 Central  Springs Road, Daylesford.

On July 26, 2022, Victoria Police advised that it did not object while on August  12 Hepburn Shire Council CEO Bradley Thomas advised that the council objected.  

Another 204 objections were lodged to the original application.  Former Birch Ward Cr Jen Bray said it was “always going to be a huge battle to go up against a corporate entity as big as Dan Murphy’s but we felt we had to stand up  and let the Liquor Commission know how this was going to impact our children, our  teenagers and the broader community”.  

Words: Kevin Childs | Image: Contributed

The Hepburn Shire Council will be hosting a series of community listening post events throughout the year with the first in the series scheduled for this month.

 The listening post events are aimed at strengthening communication and engagement with the  community.

They will be held in major townships as well as smaller  communities, with the opportunity for residents to share their ideas,  provide feedback on services, and discuss matters that are important to  them.  

As part of the initiative, senior council staff and councillors will be attending local community spaces throughout the year.  

The first three listening posts scheduled are:

• Saturday 15 February – Creswick IGA, 10am to 12pm  

• Thursday 27 March – Daylesford Coles, 4pm to 6pm  

• Saturday 3 May – Trentham Spudfest, 10am to 12pm  

Details of other Listening Post events, including dates and locations, will be  made available on the council’s website – www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/listening-posts  

Mostly I charge my Tesla at home with a normal 10-amp plug, which means I  wake up in the morning with a full tank. That way I am ready to traverse the plethora of potholes we refer to as roads around the Hepburn Shire.  

But I got caught short a little the other day and found myself at the Daylesford Town Hall’s charger. I guess I should have picked up on the clue, which was the spider webs around the handle of the charger, meaning no one had been there for  a while.

It clearly wasn’t working and on further investigation it had been dead the whole time, well before Christmas right through to mid-January.  

While parked in the non-operational charging bay I noticed that out from under the barrier around the Town Hall renovations white liquid with paint flakes was pouring all over the footpath and flowing into the drains.

It was clearly coming from the works behind the screen and my guess was they were water blasting the paint off.  

And although on mere battery fumes I thought it my civic duty to report it to the council. To  council’s credit the fix was almost immediate, in the form of a guy with a hose blasting away the  evidence into the drains. WTF…  

Now the only other charger in the immediate area is at the Hepburn Mineral Springs Reserve,  which has two charging stalls but only one fitting suitable for a Tesla. So I limped along, by this time on four per cent battery capacity.

Luckily, a fellow  who had just plugged in and was about to enjoy a two-hour treatment at the Bathhouse, gave me his spot. Thank you kind sir.  

I bought the Tesla before Elon turned into even a bigger wanker than he was by  joining Trump and making a Nazi salute at the president’s inauguration last Monday.  

But I do think there is noticeably a lot more electric and hybrid cars on the road. In fact, over 120,000 EVs or non-ICE (internal combustion engine) cars were purchased  by Australians last year.  

Surely it’s time to do a bit better around the Hepburn Shire, where even in terms of tourists trying to come for a holiday, range anxiety is a huge issue.  

We have the land and I am sure there are a lot of grants around; besides tourism is a huge economic driver and our local economy is flailing.

For those in the world of EVs, charging is everything, destination charges such as the 50 amp at the bathhouse or the one in the main street of Daylesford (which doesn’t even rate a mention on the  Plugshare app) are okay if you are having a bit of lunch and you plan to be at a place for two to three hours.  

But we need a bank of serious superchargers somewhere in the Hepburn Shire,  ones that deliver 250–500 watts for a full charge in 20 minutes.  

We need this infrastructure not only so we can embrace the change to electric  and give locals choice as to what cars they have. We also need this infrastructure to  literally drive tourists up here.

I feel like all the amazing work that has been done by local businesses and various tourist affiliations over the years to create our village destinations will go to waste if we don’t keep up. EV rant over…  

Who are the people behind the redevelopment of Phoenix Cinema at The Rex?  

For Jules McDonald this all began when she was a small child. She saw Bambi  with her parents in their hometown, Meeniyan, near Fish Creek in South Gippsland.  

“It was very exciting going to see a movie,” she remembers. “There was a huge  screen and the kids sat down the front. As I was quite little, I had to have a sleep in  the afternoon before going.”  

Then there was boarding school where films were the Saturday night  entertainment, everyone looked forward to. Classics such as The Importance of Being  Earnest, helped form her enthusiasm which was furthered by frequenting Carlton’s  storied ‘Bughouse’ cinema and the Australian Film Festival at the Longford cinema in  South Yarra.

Since moving to Daylesford 35 years ago, Jules looks forward to trips to  Melbourne which usually include a movie at Westgarth or Nova cinemas.  

More for young people  

While working as a social worker with Child and Family Services Daylesford  she became aware of the lack of social and cultural opportunities for young people  in town.

Then as a youth development officer with the Hepburn Shire Council  around 2003, Jules gathered some young people together and they spent a weekend  imagining what they would like Daylesford to be for young people.

 “The young people wanted to transform The Rex from being a bargain basement  shop back to being a cinema with associated activities.

They envisaged a bowling alley,  shops and a restaurant that would also offer hospitality training. There were also to be  spaces available to lease as shops.  

“The owner of the building was interested and wanted to make a sizeable  donation.” During school holidays 10 students went to see cinemas around Victoria  and New South Wales, returning inspired.  

New designs  

Student Michael Huggard drew up a plan for the cinema building, bowling alley, hospitality hub and shops. Richard Spence, a local businessman, helped the group  develop a business plan.  

Council support was needed for the plan as funding was to be sought for the education and training opportunities envisaged. But the council did not provide this  support, which was a devastating blow to the group and the plans could not go ahead.  

The skatepark that was envisaged and designed by young people went ahead together  with several successful “Small Day Out” youth festivals.  The cinema development plan came to life again in 2015 when Loretta Little, a  local community activist, decided to get a group together and raise money to kick it  off.

Linda Carroll became the first president of the community-run cinema and later Gina Lyons took over. Gina, described by Jules as a “powerhouse,” did a fantastic job of running the  cinema helped by a wonderful committee and great group of volunteers, from 2015  to 2018. While paying a commercial rent the cinema was able to make a respectable  profit.  

Down the drain  

All went well until the fateful council decision to buy the property for its offices  and a public lavatory (readers may know of Clochemerle, the satirical French novel about the furore when a mayor wants to put a public urinal in the middle of town, next to the church).

In Daylesford 1000 people signed a petition calling for the return  of the cinema.  The council realised its mistake and committed to building a new cinema upstairs  in The Rex.

The council demolished the old cinema and built the shell of a new  cinema upstairs. But this work stopped when costs blew out and the council then  decided to sell the building.  

As the cinema had no home in the foreseeable future, the committee sold  equipment that was likely to be outdated and kept what could be safely stored at  no cost.

The seats were sold because storage would have been expensive. Because  many seats had been bought by community members their name plaques have been  retained so that they can go on new seats when the cinema reopens. Money from sale  of property went to the cinema bank account.  

The future  

That was then. Now, heading the Daylesford Cinema Group, Jules is energetically  leading the campaign to bring back the much-loved cinema in The Rex.

A public  meeting led to community consultation and the formation of a new committee to  restore cinema to Daylesford. The committee explored potential sites for the cinema but concluded that  the only appropriate site and the natural home for the cinema is The Rex.

The Comelli and Bromley families, as new owners of the building, are open to a cinema  development using the cinema shell built upstairs by the council. The committee  encouraged several commercial cinema developers to submit expressions of interest,  but the size of the population meant that this was not commercially viable.  

Chris Jones, a Ballarat cinema enthusiast who has developed several commercial  cinemas, encouraged the committee to pursue the project on a community-run basis  and has provided generous help and support.

Following a successful negotiation with the new owners of the building, a  campaign began, seeking volunteers and funding. “There has been a great response  from a wide range of highly skilled people, with different teams now hard at it.”  

This is the first in a contributed series on people behind the campaign to bring back The Rex.  

Nine in Six Builders owner Aidan O’Shannessy, working on his 16th season with The Block, says the region is already benefiting economically from the show.  

“We’ve just left Phillip Island where we were very large frequenters of the local restaurants and cafes, largely hospitality-style venues.

“But we do also like to visit any and all businesses around town – we like to shop as local and be as local as we can.”  

Aidan said the builders onsite had rented about 14 properties, with most short  term B&B rentals.

“We are very conscious of trying not to take away from affordable  long-term rental properties around town, to leave those properties for people who  really need them.”  

Aidan also said all of his staff and Channel 9 staff received living away from home  allowances, along with their wages, so they had money to spend while in town.  

“If you are working a 10, 11 or 12-hour day you don’t want to worry about  having to have a full pantry and cook for yourself all the time, so people have the  extra means to be able to go and buy their lunch or dinner or breakfast.”  

Aidan said currently there were 20 to 40 builders working on the Raglan Street  site but once filming started that would swell up to about 200 people.  

“We’re also very conscious of not bringing everybody we need to do our project  in from outside and supporting local trade businesses from the area as much as we  can.  

“We have already engaged a local plumber from between Ballarat and here. And  we’re looking at a local roofing contractor and a local painting contractor.  

“There’s a lot of people that we need to bring with us with the nature of what we  do and how we do it but as much as we can we really try to support the local town  and local trades and businesses.”  

Aidan said the builders were getting a great reception from Daylesford.  

“We are just getting more and more as we as we get into it. We had one person  going to buy shoes coming back saying how lovely the person in there was.  

“We we had had great feedback so far and that’s pretty common. Often the  negative people have the loudest voices but are actually the fewest in number.”  

Aidan said people who watched The Block would have seen him from time to time  “normally being grumpy having to fix a problem – but that’s life”.  

“I’ve been doing this now, working with The Block for about 16 seasons, it’s a massive part of our business and a massive part of my family’s life for a very long time  now.”  

Cedar & Sage Daylesford co-owner Jilly Howard said the visitors The Block would  bring to Daylesford and the wider region could only be a positive thing.  

“An increased spend after a tough year or two has to be a good thing, not just for  retail but also for hospitality and accommodation,” she said.  

“If businesses are prospering, they are in a better position to have that flow-on  effect to sporting clubs, local community projects and organisations. More money  floating around has got to be a positive thing for our town.”  

Jilly also said, after talking with those involved in former Block programs, the real  impact would be when the program goes to air later in the year.  

“That is when the visitation will really start and it will also be highlighting our  town and region, showing the natural beauty we have, to the wider community of Australia. From a business owner’s point of view, this can only have a positive  impact.”  

Belle Real Estate principal director Will Walton agrees the block is great for the  region and especially Daylesford.

“The Block is giving us exposure that we have never  had before. And we’re not paying for it. It’s free publicity.  

“And once filming starts – it’s the highest rated television program in Australia  and is syndicated through 125 countries – so we are taking Daylesford to the world.  

“And there is a huge, invested fan base and the reality is those people get in a car  and come and explore the location of The Block. It is really about to ramp up.”  

Mr Walton said his sales team was “extremely optimistic regarding the future  economic outlook for our region”.  

“As our Belle Property team is the largest sales team in the Hepburn Shire,  meeting more buyers than any other agency, we expect to experience lots of positive impacts from potential buyers curiosity once The Block is aired on television in  addition to the exceptionally large Block fan base that will no doubt be keen to  explore everything Daylesford and the wider region has to offer.”  

Words & images: Donna Kelly  

with Eve Lamb

The Three Lost Children Walk. Daylesford-Musk Creek 15 km (Part A)

The first day of 2025 dawns sunny and mild, temperature in the mid-20s with a promise to reach no more than 28 degrees. Ideal bushwalking. Too good to pass up.

I check in with my trusty walking companion, Paddy H, and we decide it’s more than time to tackle the famed Three Lost Children Walk. This bushland walk covers 15 km starting in Daylesford, taking in part of Hepburn Regional Park and part of the Wombat State Forest. It ends at Wombat Creek Picnic Area near Musk.

It commemorates the tragic tale from Daylesford’s gold-rush era when three small boys (William Graham,6, his brother Thomas, 4, and Alfred Burman, 5) wandered away from their homes in Daylesford on June 30, 1867.

Sadly, despite a massive search after it became clear they were missing, they were not found alive. No trace was found until September 13, 1867 when a dog came home to Wheelers Hill, 10 km south-east of Daylesford, carrying a small boot that reportedly contained a small foot.

The following day the children’s little bodies were finally found. Two of them in a hollow tree and the other close by. The Three Lost Children Walk follows the approximate route the poor little fellas walked.

You can’t really write a bushwalking series centred in the Central Highlands and not include this walk, with its tragic tale tracing the doomed trek of these three intrepid  little tackers.

You can pick up a good guide description of the walk, complete with map, from the Daylesford Visitor Info centre. I’ve been holding onto my copy for all of 2024.  I’m also equipped with my good old copy of ‘Walks, Tracks & Trails of Victoria’ (by Derrick Stone) which includes this walk, while Paddy H has the relevant one of his many beloved topographical maps.

To get 2025 off and striding, we’re going to tackle roughly half the walk. We’ll come back again, another day, and complete the entire walk for this series. Today, first up we plant my car at our designated stop point of Hogans Lane, Musk Vale, and then drive Paddy H’s car  to the walk start point.

The start point is the cairn in the Lost Children Reserve at the junction of Central Springs Road and the Midland Highway. We set out from the top corner of the Reserve, heading south along Table Hill Road then straight ahead down Forest View Lane.

The track becomes a sharp descent and we notice the dedicated Lost Children Walk trail markers.  These feature a little stylized emblem representing the three small unfortunate adventurers.

We cross a footbridge over the Wombat Creek. A jogger, impatient in his bright tangerine running shoes, rushes past and tackles the rugged short flight of steps that we also must take, upwards, on the other side.

It’s pretty straightforward going now, just carefully following the walk guide description, maps, and dedicated trail markers. But just ahead, a point of potential confusion arises when, wending our way toward Sailors Creek, we reach a bush-land point where a medley of different  dirt tracks interconnect and ping off in multiple different directions.

The trick is simply to keep calm and continue,  basically following the path you’re already on as the gully naturally slopes down toward Sailors Creek. We reach the creek and turn sharp left as soon as we cross it, then remain on a very short little section of the trail for about 200 metres as it curves around to connect with Black Jack Track.

Here we turn left onto Black Jack Track which we will now follow for a couple of ks through Hepburn Regional Park.

The eucalypt bushland is tall and deliciously fragrant. I breathe in its spicy, inimitable  aroma and then notice that someone has painted the word ‘Bees’ and an arrow pointing up, in yellow paint on a tree trunk to our left.

“Is it because we’re s’pose to be concerned we’re going to get stung  … or to enjoy them?” wonders Paddy H who maintains a couple of backyard bee hives.

The bushland is beautiful but also fairly rugged going, and you’ve really got to admire – and wonder at – how those three small gold-rush era trekkers and their little legs ever managed to get such a distance.

Peering  down at my own boots moving along on the track I see that two-legged pedestrians are not the only ones who’ve been navigating this path. There are horse hoof prints here too, etched in the sandy surface.

A bit further on, the source becomes evident when Paddy H spots, not a horse and rider, but …

“Look it’s a horse and sulky,” he says.

“What?”

Within seconds we’re meeting Glenn Conroy, a noted local harness racehorse trainer who trains in partnership with his sister, Anne-Maree Conroy.

 “I use the bush lane every day,” Glenn says as the handsome bay horse in harness, takes a bushland breather.

“You must see some interesting things,” I venture.

 “Yes. I see lots of people doing all sorts of things, walking, jogging, prospecting…” Glenn says, maintaining a steady grip on the harness reins as the powerful bay shifts about a bit.

“What’s your horse’s name?”

“When he’s in the stable he’s known as Smith, but he’s also more officially known as I’maboganboy,” chuckles Glenn.

The attractive bay seems fairly civilized for a bogan,  I think. But we don’t want to delay them any further and in the whisk of a tail they’re off again heading further along the track.

Up ahead, the track climbs a gentle rise and here we encounter three bushwalkers, a middle-aged woman, older teenage boy and a teenage girl, whose serious-sized backpacks all lay heavily on the ground as their owners take a break.

Paddy H gets chatting and as a result we soon discover that they are: A. from Melbourne. B. plan to camp, and C. don’t know that the track we’re all on is part of the Three Lost Children Walk, or the story behind the name.

As Paddy H takes it upon himself to give them a brief tragic history lesson, I re-read the description for this section of the trail and see that up ahead we’ll soon, again, cross Sailors Creek.

By the time we’ve put a good bit more trail under our boot tread, crossed the creek and pushed hard up a gnarly little hill, admiring a gorgeous small pond on our left, to finally re-emerge from the bush in lifestyle-property-land at Hogans Lane, Musk Vale, we’re more than a tad happy to call it a day and sink into my awaiting car seats.

Is it the good life we’ve been living over the festive break catching up with us we wonder, as I simultaneously try not to get too upset thinking about those poor little lost chumpers. And I’m not even the clucky sort. Yet, later tonight when the lights go out, I will again find myself thinking of how terribly cold they would have been that frosty June long ago in the Central Highlands.

As we head for home we, by contrast, are sweating and looking forward to a summer salad dinner to round out our day on what has been a fairly ideal start to 2025.

Walk to be continued…

Construction works for The Block 2025’s sustainable pavilion-style homes are underway and local agents predict they are likely to fetch top sums on auction day, according to realestate.com.au.

The realestate.com.au website said new images of the 2400sqm Raglan Street, Daylesford site had given fans a sneak peek of the 21st season of The Block. 

“The hit renovation reality television show will see a new cast of Blockheads overhaul five homes, which will form a new neighbourhood within Hygge Property’s Middleton Field new housing estate, located at the regional town’s eastern entry point,” the website says. 

Last year, The Local reported on The Block coming to Daylesford, after plans for the 2024 edition of the show to be produced in the town were stalled. 

Executive producer Julian Cress, in a statement reported on by 9Entertainment, said Daylesford had been a destination for Australian and international tourists for a century and had “really cemented itself as one of the top weekend destinations in the country”. 

Mr Cress said Daylesford was originally intended to be the site for the 2024 season. “We put nine months of hard work into [Daylesford] before we had to pivot to Phillip Island,” he said. 

“But Phillip Island has taught us that taking the show to a place which is a holiday destination is great for The Block, and we hope it will be great for Daylesford as well. The fact that it was still an option seemed a no-brainer.” 

Mr Cress said he had been spending time with the Daylesford community.

“I think they are really excited for us to bring the show there. We think it will be a wonderful opportunity for Daylesford and for the community as a whole. 

“We also try to film much of our show focusing on the local community and whether that be renovating a community project, or just being able to showcase great local artisans and businesses, is something that is a real hallmark for The Block. 

“We want to make The Block not just about the properties in Raglan Street, but about the whole town. We work incredibly hard to make sure our houses are built with the best possible environmentally sound, modern practices available. 

“We are always looking at sustainability and environmental concerns, we are not just throwing up project houses, we are trying to build houses of the future.” It is believed filming will start in February. 

Words: Donna Kelly | Image: Kyle Barnes 

Lee Merzel and Max Primmer helped ring in the New Year in Daylesford. Lee wore a stunning peacock outfit created by one of the Daylesford NYE Parade organisers Tracey Petrie.

The costume will be on display at Radius Art, Hepburn Springs from Thursday, January 16.

Max was MC for the night.

Check out more parade pics below.