By Donna Kelly

The past couple of weeks have been horrendous for many people. First and foremost for the friends and family of those people who died in the Daylesford accident.

But also for the many first responders – which includes members of the public who just happened to be there and those working at the two hotels, The Royal and The Daylesford.

Like many we had been out, for lunch on a lovely spring day, and been home a few hours when the phone started to share texts. The TV went on and we watched in horror and disbelief as the events unfolded. We listened as the Glenlyon CFA headed into town.

The next morning, early, we went to the site. I don’t really know why. I guess we are media, so that is our role, but I think we were just operating on auto-pilot.

We didn’t stay long, talking briefly to a Melbourne journalist who was in a lovely pink suit, obviously not well thought out, but how do you prepare for something like this, and also to a shopkeeper who didn’t know whether to open or not. I think they did in the end just so people could have somewhere to go and talk.

Someone else asked how we were coping and said they wished Daylesford could just go back to being a sleepy rural town where nothing happened. Another person added “how much more can we take?”

Then the flowers and teddy bears started to be placed at the statue and counsellors could be seen at the site and up and down the street all day, mixed with metro journalists and camera operators. Everyone I know had texts and calls asking if they were OK.

And I guess that was one of the hardest things to comprehend, that it could have been anyone, just sitting there, in the sun, on a long weekend, taking in the scenery and just relaxing in a quiet country town.

And as the news continued in its 24/7 cycle we just kept out of it. Perhaps that seems strange. I know a lot of people were looking at our website to find information, and maybe it was the wrong call, but I made the decision to wait.

We can’t compete with that sort of timing and we don’t want to. It’s too close and too raw. As you would have read on page 3 one of our journalists Narelle was there at the Daylesford Hotel, just enjoying a drink with friends. Too close.

Narelle helped at the scene in a major way, as she would. She went straight to comfort a young child, as she would. I have always thought of her as the kindest person I have ever met.

Anyway, this week I decided we would have to run something, but how do you make something positive, which is mostly our way, out of something so awful? I followed Narelle’s lead, who has written about connections and love.

And the four people I spoke with, all still clearly emotional, have pretty much done the same in their own ways. Love for their community, their teams, their people, their emergency responders. It was a hard week but I hope people realise we have reported with compassion and care.

And if you do need help, please reach out. I know from experience that counselling does work and keeping it all bottled in, doesn’t. Well, it has worked for me in the past. And there is no timeline. Just sayin’…

Words: Donna Kelly

Former Glenlyon resident Jill de Vos has written a cat book. But this is not about any ordinary cat, nor an ordinary life.

Deva the Bengal Boat Cat is about sailing around Europe, being caught in ports through Covid lockdowns, with Deva, originally from Spain, finally ending up an Australian moggy.

Jill left Hepburn Shire in 2017 with her partner Shelley Beer and headed off to France to pick up their twin-engine catamaran the following year.

Jill said Deva was adopted after two years on the ocean, the longest she had ever gone without an animal. “I wanted a cat and usually in Spain or Greece or Turkey there are a million running around the streets. But of course, with Covid and lockdowns, there were none to be found.

“So, the only one I could find was a Bengal from Spain. There was a Burmese in Hungary, but we couldn’t cross the border. But Bengals are, I found after much research, good boat cats and very pretty, so we got Deva.”

Jill, Shelley and Deva, had to leave Spain when that country’s lockdown ended, their time in Schengen having run out and not wanting to pay a huge tax to remain they decided to sail 2200 nautical miles to Turkey, one of the few countries where you can get a resident visa without going back to your home country. Two years later they were still there.

“There were numerous lockdowns and we got all our vaccinations there. In fact, the person who worked on the Pfizer vaccine is from Turkey. We were living in Finike, an agricultural town on the south coast, that is renowned for its citrus – and it is exported all over Europe. Finike’s symbol is the orange of which they are rightly proud. We had a wonderful community at the marina and we have made lifelong friends from around the world.”

Eventually it was time to return to Australia which involved selling the boat to an American couple “for pretty much what we paid for it” and then the complicated and expensive quarantine procedures for Deva, and another puss, Albert the Turkish stray.

Jill said she would head back in a heartbeat despite in the early days at times being “absolutely paralysed with fear” before leaving the marina.

“It is all about planning. The weather is what you watch constantly, occasionally you will be caught out and hopefully you will always have a plan b or c. Friends have offered to have me onboard on passages heading back to Australia and I may even consider joining one. It is difficult settling back into life at home but there could always be another adventure around the corner.”

Deva the Bengal Boat Cat, with illustrations by Mel Corrigan, is being launched at the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria at Williamstown on Saturday, December 2 from 11am to 1pm. Tickets are free but reservations are needed via Eventbrite.

A launch will also be held at the Glenlyon General Store on Wednesday, December 6 at 2pm in the courtyard.

Daylesford and Hepburn Shire are definitely open for business and open for visitors, Hepburn Shire Mayor Cr Brian Hood says. Cr Hood said in the aftermath of the (November 5, Daylesford) accident many traders were left wondering if they should close, remain closed or be open for visitors and the vital tourism trade.

“They were looking for guidance, because they didn’t want to be disrespectful, but straight away senior police and other experts said ‘no, you plough on and start to build a sense of normality’ and that gave traders the peace of mind to do that. We are hardly ever confronted with anything like this and there is no script to follow. But the message is we are open.” Cr Hood said the community was moving on but “slowly as you would expect”.

“The council’s primary concern at the time of the incident, and given our role, was one of the welfare of the community, our staff, volunteers and other organisations. Along with Central Highlands Rural Health we got counselling in place very quickly and the take-up rate was very strong.

“We are now continuing with the counselling but also doing operational things in the background and being very mindful of moving at the right sort of pace and taking on board the right sort of advice. We want to avoid any immediate kneejerk reactions.”

Cr Hood said with the reopening of the Royal Hotel, the outdoor tables had been moved slightly, and council was now looking at other outdoor dining areas across the shire. “We are breaking it down into immediate actions we can and should take, and what the longer-term actions are. So, we are not only looking at this particular site, but we are taking into account outdoor dining areas across the shire.

“No-one would have expected this sort of thing to happen at this site and outdoor dining is very popular throughout the shire,” Cr Hood said. “We, like many councils, and in line with state government guidelines, encouraged outdoor dining during and after Covid as part of economic recovery and also to give people some normality.

“Yes, it is council-owned land, but a valid permit was in place, and those tables had been there long before Covid and they stayed during and after Covid. They are the facts.” Cr Hood said while the police and Coroner’s Office investigations would take some time, the council would not wait to take any actions it believed were needed to improve safety throughout the shire.

“Obviously we will very much take on board whatever comes out of those two investigations, but in the meantime, we are talking about what we can do now.” Cr Hood said while some media reports had said locals had long been calling for safety improvements on Albert Street, calling it a “dangerous stretch of road”, in his three years with council he had never been made aware of any issues.

“You wouldn’t consider Albert Street a dangerous street. Unless they are mixing it up with Howe Street? But sometimes freak accidents do happen.” Cr Hood said the idea of a memorial for the site had been raised but would need careful consultation with the community. Cultural issues also had to be taken into account.

“The last thing we want to do is something wrong or inappropriate or that annoys a section of the community. The Dja Dja Wurrung have also said they could hold a smoking/cleansing ceremony but we haven’t made any decisions yet. We just need to move at a careful pace.”

Cr Hood also praised the first responders including Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria, the CFA and the SES, along with community members who “sprang into action”.

“To have four helicopters taking people to Melbourne and others on the road to Ballarat in 45 minutes, that was just brilliant. And we are mindful that the CFA and SES are staffed by locals and volunteers, and with the members of the community, they just all did as much as they possibly could with no hesitation. “Fortunately, we are a tight-knit, small community and when something like this happens, people get strength from each other.”

Words: Donna Kelly

Three days after the accident, the churches of Daylesford came together to hold a Community Memorial Service. “All Faith – No Faith – Everyone is Welcome.” About 220 people attended Christ
Church for the combined service of the Anglican Parish of Daylesford, St Peter’s Catholic Church Daylesford, the Daylesford Uniting Church and the Daylesford-Hepburn Springs Baptist Church.

Anglican minister Father Neil Fitzgerald said the service started with an Acknowledgement of Country and then each minister played a role. “We all came together for the last part, a hymm and then sang Over the Rainbow and it really felt like a big hug. It was lovely and the reaction from the congregation
was terrific.”

Fr Neil said he had been thinking on the Monday how a faith community could let people know they were there for them. “I rang Father Justin at the Catholic Church with the idea of the service and he said ‘yep’, and Lorelle at the Uniting Church was in. And then when I was doing a shift for the community chaplains, I met the Baptist pastor Ross’s wife and they were in.

“Alicia from Verey’s (Funeral) rang and said she was going to bring up a sound system because the church was going to be full and she was right. It was standing room only.” Fr Neil said there was just one hymn “because we didn’t want to over-church people, it was more about faith and the community and that is what people appreciated. We weren’t passing a collection plate around or asking for donations or saying come to church next Sunday. Afterwards people gathered out the front and said it was what they needed at the right time.”

Fr Neil said since the service many people had visited the church to chat about the accident, or what was happening in their lives or how they were trying to cope with numerous traumatic events. Others just wanted to sit in the silence of the church and meditate. And just this year Fr Neil had trained to be part of the Victorian Council of Churches’ emergency ministry team, so found himself doing four 4-hour shifts in the main street as a community chaplain.

“So my first call out was on the doorstep and I had two hats on, a community chaplain and the local vicar because people recognised me. We spoke to lots of businesses, just to make sure they were OK, and many said they appreciated the tourists being around and not staying away. And the tourists we spoke to said they were not sure if they should be here but we told them they were appreciated.

“A lot of people stopped us to say thanks for being here, or ask if they could talk to us, or just gave us a hug and burst into tears. “I was a bit fortunate because I was on the special assistance team for Qantas for 20 years so that came in handy knowing how to approach things. Still, it was pretty confronting here on your own doorstep.” Fr Neil said many in the community also said they felt they had a duty of care for those involved in the accident.

“They had come here to spend their money, enjoy a long weekend and people felt, not that they had let them down, but that they had a connection with them. They were a part of our family for that afternoon. A lot of people are still pretty raw about that.”

Fr Neil said he felt many people were slowly moving forward but the first responders were going to need a lot of counselling support – which is available for as long as it is needed. “I think my way of coping was organising the service. I had something to do. And the enthusiasm for it was just amazing.

“And a woman I met at the accident site was part of the Melbourne Sikh community and I asked her if it would appropriate for us to read a Sikh prayer in a church and she said absolutely and sent me one.

“It was great to be able to share something different and I have had a lot of people ask for a copy of that prayer.” Fr Neil said more combined services were being planned for Christmas including a Blue Service on Christmas Eve for those who had lost someone or had gone through trauma.

Words: Donna Kelly

Words: Donna Kelly | Images: Beck Walker

It was established in 1866 as the Blanket Flat Cemetery and in recent years, according to trust chairperson Loris Duclos, Eganstown General Cemetery has “really kicked some goals”.
The first project was building a crematorium wall so the cemetery can now take ashes. The project was funded by the Department of Health and trust savings, and built by local contractor Shane Moiler.
“Shane did a fantastic job for us and we have got our first ashes in the wall which is very exciting for our beautiful old cemetery,” Loris says. “In the past we had only had one or two burials a year, but we have had five or six in the past years, our business is getting busier.”
Loris said, like many old cemeteries, there had been a big pine plantation in the front but that had been harvested about a decade ago and was now a carparking area, much safer for those visiting the Cemetery Road site.
And while there are fortunately no grave robbers, there have unbelievably been water tank robbers, twice, but a local Smokeytown business stepped up after a Facebook post, and have donated and fitted, with locks, a new water tank.
“We feel like we have really had good input from the community and that is something worth celebrating for our really old cemetery.”
Loris said most recently new people had joined the committee and “helped us reinvigorate the trust and build a new fence from recycled plastics”.
“It is bloody beautiful and will never need to be painted – and our old fence was coming up to 60 years of age. That is our most recent project and it’s wonderful.”
Loris said the future was looking interesting with a ground-penetrating radar to be used to find unmarked graves.
“We know that during the goldrush, for example, if a baby died they would just be buried without a record, and we also have a section at the back for paupers and those graves remain unmarked.
“We are very excited by this new project and an initial review by Dave the Graveman has found about 100 unnamed gravesites. It is really wonderful and enables us to plan for our cemetery better.”
Loris said she had joined the Trust after her grand-daughter was buried at the cemetery. “The cemetery on the main road is St Francis Xavier, and one of the only Catholic cemeteries in Australia, ours is Eganstown General Cemetery and we took all religions and paupers.
“It lies a few kilometres up Cemetery Road and is a beautiful peaceful bush cemetery. It was a place where I could honour my grand-daughter and I love the bush. It just gives that feel of a quiet bush place where you can contemplate away from the traffic.”
“And I love being a part of the lineage of locals and a part of the history and those people who have done a lot of research to put names to people who might be there, based on newspapers and research at the (Daylesford) museum.
“Since being on the Trust I have learned a lot about how we bury people and care for their remains and how we keep track of records, it is all very interesting stuff particularly if you have a penchant for history and genealogy.”
Eganstown history snippet
Mr John Egan, the founder of the township which bears his name, and who throughout his life had proved himself a good Catholic, a patriotic Irishman, as well as an excellent colonist.
Mr Egan was a native of Borrisoleigh, in the County Tipperary, and arrived in the colony in 1841. Seven years later he founded the present Eganstown, which lies four miles beyond Daylesford, on the Creswick side.
Here he took up a large selection, as well as an extensive grazing area, and by his indomitable pluck and energy earned a name for himself that will live in the annals of our early pioneers.
He died in 1890, at the age of 85 years, he was the first to discover gold in the Daylesford district, in 1851.

Words: Donna Kelly | Image: Contributed

Popular Daylesford taxi driver Serge Kislinsky often told his daughter Natasha Waters he couldn’t visit the grandchildren in Melbourne because “the village needs me”.
And Serge’s sudden death early last week has left the Daylesford and wider community shocked with many taking to social media to talk about their love of the 73-year-old.
His family posted:
Forever loved by your ex-wife and angel, Sue.
Loved and adored by your Princess Natasha, Prince Edward, Billy and Floss.
Life will not be as colourful without you.
I am certain taxis will never be the same in Daylesford.
Natasha said while she knew her father was loved by many she had been amazed by the comments on Facebook. “It has been just beautiful for Mum and me to read that daily. It makes us laugh and remember lots of things about him, it is just incredible.
“We worked out that Dad had lived in Daylesford for 25 years and he went there because he had a hard life in Melbourne and was ready to move and make a new life for himself, and he did.
“He just loved his job and put that first before everything, it was the most important thing to him. He would often call and say ‘I can’t come and visit the grandkids, I have to look after the village, they need me’.
“And he took such pride in his job and his uniform. When we went up last Wednesday he had all his shirts and pants ironed and his shoes polished. Not many people would be proud of driving a taxi but he made that his profession and he loved being good at it and he loved that he brought such joy.
“I used to love hearing stories about him driving people, getting out and opening the doors for older women, carrying their shopping, taking one woman to different halls for dances. I just loved hearing his stories.”
Natasha said Serge lived a very simple life – with his family, job and the locals the most important things. He also had a passion for a good red wine, which he couldn’t really afford.
“Dad loved me, loved my mum and his grandkids and, with his job, they were the most important things in his life. Mum and Dad separated when I was 15 but Dad absolutely adored Mum, and Mum adored Dad. They just fell out of love but Mum said they married for friendship, not love.
“Dad would save up his pennies so he could take her to the finest restaurants, Lake House, Bistro Terrior…and I love that he would get dressed up – the most overdressed person in Daylesford – to take mum out and spoil her. He probably worked for two months just to be able to do that.”
Natasha said Serge was born in Russia and came to Australia by boat with his family when he was 15. He had a hard childhood with parents who were always battling to make ends meet.
“But when my friends met him they always thought he came across as the wealthiest man in the world and he was, but it wasn’t with money, he was wealthy with the pride and love he had for his family and his work. He gave everything he had, every day.”
Natasha said over the past few months, Serge had changed a little and perhaps knew deep down that he was not well.
“But he didn’t change and he wasn’t going to change his life. And I take comfort that he was not ill for a long time because my Dad would never have done that well. He has died a proud man and done it his way.

“And I also take comfort in how much people loved him. I always knew people did love and respect him but not to the extent we are hearing. It is a real blessing for our family. He never really talked about that – but I am sure he knew how much people cared about him.”
Natasha said there would be a private cremation, with Serge’s ashes to be scattered on Lake Daylesford, and a service which was still being arranged while family members travelled from interstate.
“Dad always said he could never walk around the lake ‘so just throw me in the middle’, which means he will be laid to rest there, which is beautiful.”
Serge is survived by his ex-wife Sue, daughter Natasha, son-in-law Edward and grandchildren Billy, 10, and Flossy, seven.

By Donna Kelly
I think most people heard about the tragedy in Daylesford last week. An alleged robbery and someone dying as a consequence. I don’t want to go into it more than that.
But I watched in horror at the social media onslaught – photos of the scene, jokes about the death, talk of karma and assumptions of drug use which may or may not be right.

Now of course you can’t defame a deceased person. And they can’t be charged. So it’s open slather time for some. But honestly, there are many things to consider, perhaps the first being humanity.
We are all pretty much just a few steps from helplessness and even homelessness.
Losing a job, an illness, not having a supportive network, a few bill payments missed.
Then there’s the slippery slope of drugs and alcohol. Most people I know have tried
a few drugs at times, some continue with them daily with no real side effects. And
everyone I know has a drink now and again, also many daily. But for some it becomes
a problem and it’s an easy break from the stress of life. Maybe bad choices follow,
maybe they don’t. But we are all still human.

Then there’s the family. I don’t know where they are but I do know the internet
reaches everywhere. And they will probably read comments they don’t need to see.
Everyone is someone’s son or daughter, and often a brother or sister, or a husband or
wife, or mum or dad. Few are immune to the slippery slope.
Finally, there are the people who were involved. This incident is now part of their
life. And they are locals who certainly don’t need to see this over and over again in
their Facebook pages.
We live in the wonderful region of the Central Highlands and most of us have
great lives. We work, play, have friends, gather for festivals and spend our money
at some pretty nice cafes and restaurants. But behind the facade are people doing it
tough. Just talk to Michelle at the Community Op Shop about the people they help
daily. Or the wonderful 5000 Club and Good Grub Club volunteers feeding the
masses and providing a chance at companionship for a few hours a week.
Maybe chat to the churches who offer clothing during winter to people perhaps
sleeping in their cars or couch surfing. And yes, people sleep in their cars in our
region. There’s also a nice spot behind the Daylesford visitor centre that gets a bit of
use, which I find ironic as the cashed-up visitors head to the front doors to find out
how to spend their money.
Look, I am not preaching. I am a journalist and have done some stories in my
time that I am not particularly proud of. All quite legal and above board but some
that kept me awake at night as I wondered how the family would feel reading the
news about a wayward relative in the morning. It was sometimes awful and I would
never dream of doing that now – and that’s why we concentrate on good news.
But these days social media can take things to a whole new level. Everyone has
a camera on them, everyone is ready to comment, everyone wants to know what
happened as quickly as possible, even if it is still under investigation. I get that people
are curious but maybe just take a breath, think about your own family, and how you
would like them to be treated. I am guessing with respect.

Oh, The Rex report. I talking to my brother about it. He is in Queensland and
works for a council. “They should take it to a council watchdog,” he said. “We have
those in Queensland.” “Yes,” I said. “We have them in Victoria too. It’s with them.”
Just sayin’…

Words: Donna Kelly | Image: Narelle Groenhout

Daylesford artist Brian Nash has produced a coffee table book, The Golden Shire – Locations and
Surroundings of the Hepburn Shire.
Brian, whose large landscapes are regular winners in
art shows, said when he first moved to the region from
Melbourne 23 years ago, he was impressed with “the
various and diverse landscapes, the myriad towns and their histories”.
“You don’t often see as many small towns close
together, part of the gold rush, so that was fascinating for
me. And I wanted to leave a legacy. Some of the things I
have painted for the book have already gone. If you don’t
record these things, they can disappear.”
Brian said he had always dreamed of creating a book
and started painting and collecting his work about 12
years ago. “I have this theory that every artist should
paint where they are, the area they are in. I like painters who do that.”
The book, at 224 pages, is big, and has more than
200 paintings of more than 26 towns from the larger
ones like Daylesford and Creswick, to the tiny and often
now almost forgotten hamlets of Smokeytown and
Lawrence. Brian has also included snippets of history
which have tickled his fancy.
In the 1800s, it was decided to move the smallest
pub in Australia from Smokeytown to Allendale. But to
keep the licence, it had to remain open during the move.
Using Australian ingenuity, the pub was hoisted onto a
tray and pulled by oxen for the short move, with punters
still inside drinking their beers.
Then there is the bridge at Lawrence, built in 1900
by Sir John Monash, an engineer before he became
Australia’s most famous army general. It is the oldest
concrete bridge in Victoria, with plans afoot for restoration.
“There are a lot of incredible stories and so many
quirky places, like Radio Springs at Lyonville – the
Centre of the Universe. And people can read the book
and then go and see the places for themselves. And some
have already changed.”
Brian also thanked his book designer Emma Paine
and former Daylesford Rotary president Terri Oprean
“for doing all the technical things I can’t.”
The book is for sale at Shire information centres,
Paradise Books in Daylesford, Daylesford Trading and
directly from www.briannash.com.au It will also be for
sale at the Daylesford Art Show. Cost is $69.95.

By Donna Kelly
I received some mail late last week. Snail mail. A padded envelope. Small. I opened it and inside was a blank piece of A4 paper. Nothing written on it, just a USB stick taped on. Hmmm, I thought. That’s going to be interesting.
And it would have been. But when I opened the document it was marked “confidential” so, of course, I quickly shut it down.
It was a leaked report by the Local Government Inspectorate. Yep, the one on Hepburn Shire Council and dealings with The Rex. And a few other things. The one that the Inspectorate refuses to release but never says why. As in the email I received last week after asking again why the report had not been released.
“Good morning Donna, Again, thank you for your enquiry. Unfortunately, as I mentioned in my previous email two weeks ago, we are unable to share any information at this time.” They are nothing if not polite.
I also talked to Hepburn Shire Council to see if they had asked again for the report to be released – just to clear up a few things. That would be nice, after all this time. CEO Bradley Thomas said the council had been in regular contact with the Local Government Inspectorate regarding the release of the report and “we have been calling for the release for some time – we can’t speculate on the reasons for the delay, but encourage you to contact the LGI directly”.
Now, I don’t know if I can share this document. I feel like it is in the public interest for ratepayers to know what happened with the purchase of The Rex. After all, councils don’t have money, it is our money. And there is the truth defence.
But The Local is not a big newspaper with lots of lawyers and money to back it up. Actually things got a little tight over the past few years. So if I publish it, or excerpts because it is pretty long, and I/The Local get sued, it would probably be the end of your free read. Even if I/The Local eventually won, because the court costs would kill us off. Which is really unfair because the report is probably the best story I have ever had the chance to publish. I reckon it would be a real page-turner. But I will ask people who are smarter than me about that, so watch this space.
But in the meantime, I don’t get why the Local Government Inspectorate is being so cagey. Surely they carried out a report for a reason and if they found something right, or wrong, they would publish that and enforce more regulation if necessary to stop it happening again. I think we all pretty much agree, in hindsight, and maybe in foresight, buying The Rex was not the best idea.
The Local Government Inspectorate has as its motto or charter that it is “Encouraging higher standards of integrity, accountability and transparency in local government”. But where are all of those in the Inspectorate? No one has been held accountable, there is a lack of transparency and until the report is published we don’t know how the integrity went down.
I think the current Hepburn Shire Council and its ratepayers, or shall we call them shareholders, deserve more than this. If the council was a company and it ran a business like this, the shareholders would be up in arms and there would be all sorts of people involved in the integrity, accountability and transparency of those making the business decisions.
The whole Rex debacle was a huge waste of money and has caused financial ripples across the shire and is not over yet. Bleakley Street units anyone? But if the report is never released isn’t that just another huge waste of money? Again, our money. (Oh, full disclosure, I may have taken a little peek.) Just sayin’…

Words & file image: Donna Kelly

Hepburn’s Swiss Italian Festa is back after a three-year hiatus. From Friday, October 27 to Sunday, October 29, the region will come alive with a vibrant celebration of heritage, culture and lifestyle – with the theme Viva La Festa 23!
Coordinator Emma Ireland said she had been involved with the community festival in 2019 but with Covid, it had ground to a halt.
“I was all ready to go and then Covid happened. I was really looking forward to bringing it back to its heyday, it used to have a crowd of 20,000, and then all these years later I had time to help with community events, and that was Words in Winter and then the Swiss Italian Festa.
“I pulled in all the people I spoke to way back then and said ‘do you want this festival?’ and they all did, it is such an important cultural event. And I have two kids, one who doesn’t know anything about the festa and the other who has done the parade and was part of the performace at the amphitheatre and remembers the fireworks.
“And I thought about all the newcomers to the town and the kids who have grown up with such a significant festival. It used to be the biggest we had. I saw it in its shadow form and thought it might disappear and I wanted to get involved and have those stories told again.”
Emma said she had a lot of support from schools, teachers and the community with significant funding from Hepburn Shire Council and plenty of help from the Daylesford Community Opportunity Shop, Carol White at Lavandula, Liam Thornycroft at Beppe Restaurant and Daylesford Rotary, to mention a few.
“For those who haven’t experienced the festa, please come down and be part of the parade on Saturday and the family day at the amphitheatre, and then Sunday which is our lantern parade and fireworks. It is nice to gather again, it’s been a long time.”
Daylesford Primary School vice-principal Trudi Blick said she had been involved in the festa for at least 20 years, as the Italian teacher at the school. “It’s a really important festival and provides a valuable forum for students to showcase their Italian
learning, offer a real purpose for that learning, and to be involved in the community.
“All the community and schools get together for the parade in particular, and they
can perform and showcase their learning. It is a really valuable festival for our town and for us to celebrate our Swiss Italian history.” Link: www.swissitalianfesta.com

By Donna Kelly

Konnichi wa. Finally heading back to Japan after quite a few years away. Well, not until April but time does fly.
I reckon it’s been a good five years – with Covid mixed up in there – since I last arrived in the land of the Rising Sun and I really miss it.
I lived in Japan for about three years in my early 20s and just fell in love with the place. I would call it my spiritual home but I am not sure if you are allowed to say that now. You can’t say you have a spiritual animal – only indigenous people can claim that, or so I believe.
I don’t know if this will still happen but the first hint of being “home” is the smell of cigarette smoke in the airport. Yes, inside the airport. Japan must be, or was, the last bastion of smoking inside. Now I don’t like cigarette smoke but it just triggers something. As I said, that home feeling.
Then there are the people. Love them. They know how to have a good time, are friendly and always ready to offer directions, a random umbrella or something from their home you have mentioned you like. I found that one out the hard way.

Oh, next is food. I know a lot of people who think Japanese food is all about raw fish but it is so much more than that. Soft, white bread sandwiches with no nutritional value at all, iced coffees so cold you get an ice-cream headache and so many things on sticks. Stick foods are so underrated. And if you really want to try a few different things, head to the basement of your local supermarket. Lots of free snacks to tempt you.
Then there’s the booze. Asahi Super Dry is my beer of choice but I don’t mind a nice cold Sapporo either. Tried a lot of them when I visited the Sapporo factory in Hokkaido many years ago. And the sake. One-Cup Sake is a wonderful invention – the perfect size and it just heats itself up somehow. (Even though drinking hot sake is a little gauche these days…) Once, again, head to your local department store but go up to the roof for an affordable beer hall. Like a year-round Oktoberfest.
Accommodation could be a bit hit and miss in the old days but now it’s all pretty modern unless you choose a ryokan or inn for the experience. Do that and you will probably find yourself sleeping on a futon mattress on a tatami floor and exercising your thigh muscles over a squat toilet. But all good fun. Well, the squat toilet on the shinkansen (bullet train) was interesting. Trains do move side to side quite a bit.

This time, to shake things up a bit, Kyle and I are taking our 13-year-old grand-nephew from New Zealand. Hmmm. Here’s the short version. The nephew came out to visit last autumn, on his own, and we hit it off. All three and then one night Kyle went to bed a bit early and the nephew and I stayed up a bit later, chatting. I may have had a glass of wine, or two. And I asked innocently where he would most
like to travel and he said “Japan”. And I said “we can take you” and he said “great”.
And while I forgot about the conversation the next thing we had the call from New Zealand about how excited he was to be going to Japan with his aunt and uncle.
Oh well. Just a few extra fares. And I do think it is going to be a lot of fun introducing a teenager to a whole new culture. And he’s still a really nice teenager – no angst happening yet. So all will be well. We are going to start some Facetiming early next year to get him and Kyle up to speed with a few Japanese phrases. Konnichi wa (hello), oyaho (good morning) and arigato (thank you). Kyle already has beeru ippon kudasai (one beer please) followed after a few by o’terai wa dochira desu ka (where is the toilet?) down pat.
Honto ni, tanoshimi ni shiteimasu. Just sayin’…

By Donna Kelly
Wow, 10 years. It is a cliché but it really does feel like yesterday that we put together a little Word document and wandered the streets asking if people would like to advertise in it. For some reason many did. And thanks to them the first edition came out on September 2, 2013.
The front cover was Verna Baker’s grandchild watering daffodils, inside we featured artist Keele Breen and a nude, almost, Ian Tinetti. There was even a story on the Bridport Street bus shelter getting a makeover from a group of travellers.

The Local was meant to be a monthly publication but from the get-go we realised there was a real need for local news and a bit of fun. So that was the only monthly edition and after that we went fortnightly.
(You may remember during that first year of Covid we went weekly because we thought everyone needed a good read and real information. We also started Legends of Lockdown to give recognition to those helping others during that scary time. But it nearly killed us, being weekly, and we went back to our regular programming after a year.)
Still mostly it has been a lot of fun and we get great feedback on what we do. Sometimes we hold the council and the pollies to account, but that’s just part of the gig, mostly we focus on bringing you good news – to counter all that terrible stuff we see on TV each morning.
When we started Kyle asked what would happen if we ran out of stories. I told him not to worry – and we have never run out. People are always doing amazing things here and I really believe everyone has a story to tell. Well, almost everyone.
We have also had wonderful support with advertising from our clients, all of whom we know which is a really nice feeling. One of our policies is a “no arsehole rule” and we stick with that. We have told the team never to continue to deal with them and we have even lost a couple of advertising deals because they were not our sort of people. I know not many businesses can do that, but it is a great feeling. Also, we are too old to put up with crap. 🙂
But all the clients we have are lovely people and I hope you support their businesses because they are the reason you have a local community paper to read, for free. And while the world is slowly going digital I know many people still like their printed copy of The Local. So a promise that it will continue in print and online – unlike many other local papers run by much bigger companies than The Local Publishing Group.
With the anniversary I have also been thinking about my “best of” list over the years. Best front cover is easy – the council coming on a missile to get the geese – although the actual day they were taken was awful. Most interesting stories of mine have to be on The Rex. It was just the issue that kept on giving. From choosing a site, buying the building, Bromley paintings done before building works, building works, stopping building works, to council deciding to sell and the sale.
But then it gets hard. We have such a talented team, there are too many stories, great graphics and photos to choose from. So, a big shout out to our team and all those who have worked with us over the years. Many have stayed the course, including Nick and Lindsay, our wonderful sub-editors, who have been with us from the first edition. Now also working with Chester the Cat.
I hope that you have enjoyed reading The Local over the past 10 years and will keep reading for another 10 perhaps. After that it might be time for a new generation to come along. In the meantime, you’re stuck with us. Just sayin’…

A woman living in a unit owned by the Daylesford Ladies Benevolent Society, says she has been knocked back after asking for a permanently open louvre bathroom window to be replaced with something she can close.
Cate Graceson, pictured above left, moved into the West Street, Daylesford apartments in March and asked immediately for the window, below, to be replaced or repaired so it could be opened and closed.

Ms Graceson said the open window made the small flat freezing in winter and other residents in the complex were being forced to use towels or other materials to block the windows. She was told originally the society was prepared to negotiate with her but after three weeks received a solicitor’s letter telling her the window was legal under the definition of Consumer Affairs Victoria and the Residential Tenancy Act.
“I am a tenant and I have now had three solicitor’s letters telling me to back off. The housing here is for people over 65 so to me that means they have a higher duty of care than the Residential Tenancy Act.”
Ms Graceson said the Daylesford Ladies Benevolent Society was formed in 1860 and was an incorporated group of 10 women, two from each of the Christian churches in Daylesford. She said she had also raised the issue of no air-conditioning in the units, with the 1960-style units having floor to ceiling windows facing the north and east.
“I have been told the heat is stifling in summer. And for the past two years the Victorian Government has had numerous schemes for half-price reverse cycle units.
The society had $578,243 in its bank account at June 30, 2022 – figures available from the Australian Charities and Not-For-Profit commission website.”
Ms Graceson said her other concerns were the society not publicising their annual meetings, not having rules of incorporation and originally not supplying rental receipts. She also said she paid $6000 “key money” when she moved in “and I want my money back”. She was told the money was used for maintenance because the rents were so low.
But Ms Graceson also said she loved living at the units, was busy doing her garden, knew all the other tenants “and everyone gets on well”.
Another resident, Fae Wilson, pictured above (at right) with her small dog, moved into the units five years ago and while she had no issues herself, she was supportive of Cate’s plea for the window to be fixed.
Fae’s bathroom window, below, was retrofitted with a small glass with timber surrounds opening door before she arrived, meaning she can open or close the window.
Fae said her children had been pushing for her to ask for reverse cycle airconditioning. “It is like a sauna in summer and apparently this year is going to be really hot, so we really should have it.

“Most people in the new units opposite have it so it is just the three of us still waiting. Some people have put it in themselves but it is really expensive. I offered to pay half but I was told the committee decided that if they did that for me, they would have to do it for everyone. I thought ‘yeah…’ but they just said no. We would really have to do it soon or it will become too busy for the installation.”
A third resident, Les Pitt, said he also had a fixed louvre window but had stuffed it with towels and covered it with corflute which was “unsightly” but worked in keeping the cold out. He had been told the window would be replaced two years ago but “they haven’t got around to it”. Mr Pitt said he would also appreciate reverse cycle airconditioning but had never asked for any improvements and was very happy with his unit.
Society secretary Lyn Kinghorn told The Local the units were like a retirement village and residents could stay for life. They paid just $110 a week and the $6000 upfront key money was to help with maintenance.
Ms Kinghorn said the units were not “five-star” but were “really lovely, comfy housing” and Ms Graceson had been moved in quickly with an “urgent situation”, jumping a long waiting list. She said shortly after moving in Ms Graceson had taken the society to VCAT but her case had been dismissed when she was asked if she had inspected the unit before moving in.
“Then she immediately sent me another email saying you have to fix the window anyway, but that means doing all the windows, if we do one, we do all, and we just wouldn’t put in airconditioning, that is not our role.”
Ms Kinghorn said Ms Graceson had come in and demanded changes to what had been a very happy place for many years and it was very disappointing for the society’s volunteers to try to help people and “just get it shoved in your face”.
She said the society had checked on the housing code for windows and if they could be opened and shut, they must be able to be locked but a louvre window which could not be opened or shut, complied with the code.
“She (Ms Graceson) has come along and is trying to change the rules of the happy community in there and at times been really aggressive. We have had sometimes daily emails and complaints and she has been a handful to manage, when we are just volunteers. I am sure if you asked the other tenants they would say they are very happy to be living in such a great place.”
Ms Kinghorn said she was unsure if the society was incorporated and while they did hold AGMs they did not advertise them. The volunteer committee members were just appointed to their roles, she said. “We just follow on with what we have continually been doing.”

Words: Donna Kelly | Images: Eve Lamb

By Donna Kelly

Had some interesting chats with Hepburn Shire Council CEO Bradley Thomas and Mayor Brian Hood last week.
The council put out a media release which says aggressive behaviour towards Hepburn Shire Council staff is on the increase and reaching unprecedented levels.
Mr Thomas said in the release that recent incidents had highlighted the lack of respect shown by some people towards council staff.
“Staff are regularly feeling intimidated after being approached in the street or in other public places, like the supermarket, and verbally abused, sometimes shouted or sworn at. We acknowledge that we don’t always get things right and sometimes mistakes are made, but that does not excuse poor behaviour towards staff.”
Later Mr Thomas said over the phone that it was a phenomenon that was happening in many council areas – mostly country. He thinks that with the end (sort of) of Covid, and the sky-rocketing cost of living, that people have had enough and feel they have the right to have their say.
Cr Hood said council staff, and councillors, were entitled to have a safe workplace. “Verbal abuse and threatening behaviour is simply not acceptable, and that includes cowardly online abuse. Council will do everything within its powers to protect its staff and councillors. We will not tolerate aggressive, abusive or threatening behaviour.”
Cr Hood said he was not a psychologist but, in his latest mayoral report to council, also called out the irresponsible behaviour of some media which “emboldens some elements of the community and fans the flames of dissent”.
Now, when I read that I was a bit annoyed. But after talking to Cr Hood I think it is more about mainstream media and not local media.
Also, The Local is very much a professional outfit, accredited as a newspaper through the Victorian Country Press Association and the federal Country Press Association. We employ qualified, professional journalists to write our stories and they are done with the utmost consideration. Yes, now and again, we might have a bit of a rant about council, but I think it is pretty much merited. The Rex, handing over aged care, the drooping Bleakley Street units, terrible satisfaction survey results.
But, that is no reason for anyone to harass or intimidate council staff or councillors, who are only doing their job, and probably for a pretty limited salary. Complain sure, but always remain respectful. And do it in the right way.
Sadly, keyboard warriors abound, saying things online they would never say to anyone’s face, and many people don’t realise just how small our rate base is. We are lucky to get roads, rates and rubbish done. And I know we still pay rates while the roads remain rubbish but most of them belong to the state government and not the council.

When we started The Local, Kyle asked if we should open an office in Daylesford. No, I said, no way. When I worked at The Advocate, in the Coles carpark office, people would line up to pop in and rage away for 30 minutes. One woman spent her time telling me I was a piece of shit – and then left saying “I feel better now”. I did feel like shit after that. I have been emailed: “Do you want to die?”. True story.
So next time you need to vent your spleen about a council issue, make a reasoned call, send an email or maybe decide if it’s just you having a bad day.
People might think I am mellowing in my old age but I just think we all should be treated respectfully. Who knows what’s going on in the background? Just sayin’…

WORDS in Winter is coming up soon – end of August – so I thought I would take a trip down memory lane and my own love of words.
I learnt to read and write when I was pretty young. Not my doing as much as my parents. As a little kid, Dad used to read to me before I went to sleep but he generally fell asleep before he got more than about a page done, and I realised if I ever wanted to get to the end of the book, I had to learn to read myself. So I did.
Mum had been a teacher after leaving school and, while she had to give up work once she married, taught me how to write, and even how to write my name in cursive. I tried doing that at school in prep but was told that would have to wait another couple of years. Mum was ahead of her/my time.
At primary school I had some great teachers but the librarian was the best. She encouraged me to read so many books and to write to the authors. I got quite a few letters back which was really encouraging to a young girl.
In high school I joined the editorial team of the annual school magazine, subbing work sent in by other students. I continued writing to authors, snail mail, and getting return correspondence. I also took on work experience at the then Frankston Standard when I was in form 3 (year 9 now) and realised I wanted to be a journalist. I tried to get into RMIT’s journalism course but failed, instead heading to Monash Uni for a Bachelor of Arts. Actually, it was the Chisholm Institute of Technology with campuses at Frankston and Caulfield. I had not done either maths or a language in my final year of secondary schooling so could not gain entry into a “real” university.
I was pretty happy when Monash took over the institute many years later and I could claim my new degree status. Other students who went to the “real” Monash were not so pleased. But I digress.
After uni I went for cadetships at the Herald Sun and The Age. Not a chance. Both their written tests asked which relative you had working at the paper. Nepotism at its finest. Part of the journalism world.
But never fear. The work experience, which I had continued ad hoc, was going to pay off with a cadetship coming up at the Frankston Standard. Hmmm. Nope. The daughter of a woman working there got the position. But I did find myself at the Southern Peninsula Gazette. Finally.
The rest is history. Gigs at papers including The Cairns Post, The News in Karratha, The Centralian Advocate in Alice Springs, The Courier Mail in Brisbane, Quest Newspapers in Logan, and even TNT magazine in London, before moving to Glenlyon. Then it was The Advertiser in Bendigo, The Courier in Ballarat, The Advocate in Daylesford and finally, The Local.
And I still love words. Hearing them from people I am interviewing, crafting them into a story, dreaming up a headline or an intro, seeing them printed on the page. It’s a lot of fun and also a privilege – sharing lives and stories and events. Sometimes helping people. Sometimes just knowing it’s a great read.
Hopefully you can get along to an event at Words in Winter. Like-minded people sharing words with each other and their audiences. I know there is a trend to use acronyms and abbreviations, short texts to communicate with friends, but there is nothing like hitting the last full stop on a really great story. Or even an average column. Just sayin’…