By Donna Kelly  

Like many, our first Radio Springs experience was during their first week.  Ken and Jackie had opened during Easter and it was a disaster.  

Service was crap, food was late, no one seemed to know what was happening…  But still, it felt like our kind of place.  

So we gave it another try. And then another try. And then finally it was our place.  

We were Radio Springers.  What caught our eye was the fun, the eclectic experience, the bar where anything could, and would, happen.  

Ken was the maestro, Jackie was the perfect host, people like Simon, Julian and then Graeme, were the perfect bar people. Great with bar banter and great with whatever drop you preferred.  

The kitchen was always pumping. Chips from local spuds, my favourite of all time, the scallop salad reigned supreme, and Kyle found his best scotch fillet with multiple gravy and jus combinations. And plenty more.  

The late, great, David Wellings called it the Centre of the Universe, and it was.  We filmed a fun little piece, I don’t know why now, with some Daylesford locals  chanting: “Time travel, when do we want it? It doesn’t matter.” I kid you not.  

Strange things happen at that pub. Magic perhaps.  

Thanks to Radio Springs you are still reading The Local. It was early days and the cost of our print bill was killing us.  

We sat at the bar and wondered how we would continue. Then I looked down the  bar and slowly said: “You’re not Tony, are you?” And the guy said: “Donna?”  And we realised we had worked together on the Frankston Standard, before Leader days, in the 1980s.

And we told Tony about our printer issues and he told us about an affordable printer and we were away again. The magic of Radio Springs.  

Another time we were sitting there and Kyle said to some bloke: “You’re not Grubby (from radio) are you? and he said:”That’s my brother.” And it turned out to  be my late uncle’s best friend whose daughter had just bought in Glenlyon. Talk about the six degrees of seperation.  And so much more.  

Kyle spent many days over many months working with the late Don Breen,  another great bloke. They worked on the generator and Don shared plenty of  knowledge with Kyle. Slowly changing him from his usual “rip, shit, bust” to a more  methodical way of working.  

He also taught Kyle to worry less. Kyle called Don his “Daylesford Dad”. Sweet.  

With The Local we have covered so many events from car club gatherings to the longest lashes, from the opening of the Henri Langlois Screening Room to Toga parties. Always wild and wacky.  

Of course, not everyone got Radio. You could sit at the bar and watch people come in and they were either in the “I love this” camp or the “how odd” camp.

The lovers lingered and came back again and again, the odd ones drank up their wine or  beer as quickly as possible and drove off in search of a pub with televisions, perhaps  pokies, and maybe not someone behind the bar, looking a little like Tim Finn,  wearing a suit with a vest and tie.  

But despite all the big memories I think most of all I will miss just heading over on a Thursday or a Sunday arvo, pulling up a chair or a barstool and just shooting the breeze with whoever is behind the bar, whichever local has turned up, or one of  the “lovers” who has pulled in on a whim and randomly found the Centre of the Universe. And get it.  

Radio Springs is just one of those magical pubs where things happen. And you never know if you will end up friends with the republicans but it has happened. And that is just lovely. Ken and Jackie are now our friends, and we feel very lucky to have them in our lives. Even though they went and closed our favourite pub! Just sayin’..  

Last drinks called for Radio Springs Hotel  Radio Springs Hotel has served its last drinks after 17 years providing  refreshments, and plenty of bar banter, with locals and visitors alike.  

The final day, Sunday, January 26, saw many people make their way to  the Lyonville pub to say farewells and reminisce about great times over the  years.  

The decision to close the doors came after owners Jackie Airey and Ken Parfrey started to think about the next phase of their lives.  

“We’ve been doing it for nearly 17 years now and we felt we might like  to move on,” Jackie said.

“However, on the weekend, two weeks ago, we had a sudden change in our staffing and we thought about it and whether or not  we had the energy to recreate what we’ve got.  

“We’re pretty picky about our staff so it would take us a while to find the  right people and train them up. And we thought, well, would it be right to do that for only a few months, take on new people and all that kind of thing?  So we thought maybe we’ll just call it now.”  

Jackie said what the next phase was remained unclear.  

“We haven’t really had a chance to decide all of that. We’d started  thinking about all those alternatives but we hadn’t really come to any conclusions yet. And so with this sudden decision to close we’ll just wait for  the dust to settle and then we’ll have a good think.  

“We don’t want to make a rushed decision, we want to make the right  decision.”  Jackie said deciding to close came with a sense of freedom but also sadness.

“If you could imagine all the possible feelings that anybody could  have at this stage, I think Ken and I are feeling all of them. It’s very hard to  describe, just think of anything and add it in.”  

Jackie said she and Ken never set out to create something as magical as Radio Springs and being at the “coal face”, didn’t realise how much it meant  to their patrons.  

“For us, we just created a place that we would like to go to. We just  trusted our sense of this is what we would like a pub to be. But we didn’t  realise that we’re so weird.  

“When we first started putting this all together and gathering stuff over  our long renovation, we had a chat about what kind of pub are we going to  be? And we thought nothing that we do is going to please everybody. And we  have to live here.  

“We’re going to be here 24 seven. And it’s going to be our lifestyle as well as anything else. So we had to feel comfortable and happy in it. We knew there would be some people who like it and some people who don’t. And  that’s how it’s worked out.”  

Jackie said their reincarnation of the Lyonville pub came after they bought the property to live in.  

“And then while we were here, people would drop in all the time and ask  us when we were going to open the pub and that they needed a pub, there wasn’t anything. Back then, that was in 1997, there wasn’t anything decent between Woodend and Daylesford.  

“That coincided with Ken and I feeling that we didn’t necessarily want to  stay in the careers that we had for much longer. And so we thought, maybe we’ll open it just as a B&B.

“And then the continued numbers of people  who were calling in made us think maybe we’ll expand that and open it as a pub. And then people said we need food. So it just really grew like Topsy, it became a bit of a juggernaut in and of itself.”  

Jackie said while there had been times which had provided challenges – like Covid – overall it had been a great part of their life.  

“I met so many people and got to the point where I would get such a  kick out of watching people enjoy themselves and listening to laughter and  watching people eat and really enjoy their food.  

“And there are a lot of people who have, through the hotel, become very  good friends of ours who we wouldn’t have met otherwise and we wouldn’t  have been able to welcome into our lives.”  

And the final word?  

“I want to thank all the patrons and customers and all the regulars and all the locals who have supported us over the years. Because really, without all of  those people, the pub’s just a pub.  

“I mean, it’s like a theatre or cinema. Unless you’ve got an audience, it’s  just celluloid. It’s just words in an empty space.

“You can be as quirky with your decor, as fancy with your food and as comprehensive with your wine list  as you like. But if you don’t have customers, it’s an empty space.”  

Words: Donna Kelly | Image: Kyle Barnes  

Central Highland pubs make up three of the best 10 regional pubs to plan a road trip around, food writer Richard Cornish says in an article in The Age’s Good Food, published on January 2. 

The Guildford Family Hotel, above left Radio Springs Hotel in Lyonville, above right, and the Daylesford Hotel, below, all made the grade. 

The Guildford Family Hotel is run by hospitality stalwart Megan Evans and her partner, music industry long-timer Tom Allen. The perfect pair for a hospitality and music venue. 

The couple took over the pub in 2021 and it’s now a great place for locals and visitors who enjoy the bar baner, beer garden and dining room. 

Megan, who is well known to Daylesford locals after working at a number of hospitality venues in the town, loved the idea of running her own pub and “getting the old girl back to life”. 

“I have loved hotels and pubs my whole life, in fact I have spent pretty much 26 years in hospitality working in country pubs, and I just love the locals. I have a very genuine smile when anyone walks in and that is what country pubs are all about.” 

Jackie Airey and Ken Parfrey bought the Radio Springs Hotel in Lyonville in 1997.

The 90-year-old pub, once owned by TV and radio personality Ernie Sigley, had been closed for years but the pair slowly renovated and 11 years later, The Centre of the Universe opened. 

Ken said he knew they had something special. And the people who wander in, realise that too. There’s no television, no wi-fi, no pokies, but there is plenty of great chat, excellent meals and always something new to discover in the wonderful decor.

Throw in plenty of live music, the Back Beach Bar and the Henri Langlois Screening Room – and it’s a winner. 

The Daylesford Hotel, with some of the best deck views in town, has recently been taken over by those who did such a great job at Cliffy’s Emporium and Beppe.

They have also engaged chef Rob Kabboord, formerly of three-hatted Quay in Sydney. The food, including drive-through pizza, is fantastic, and the old pub is quickly becoming “the local” with its Friday night charity raffles and down-to-earth vibe.

Words: Donna Kelly | Images of the Guildford Hotel and Radio Springs Hotel: Photoshopped by Kyle Barnes 

Australia’s music and comedy superstars have dazzled and enthralled huge audiences around the world…but now they are headed to a retro performance space in Lyonville’s Radio Springs Hotel to play a unique live show.      

Less than 40 people at a time will get into this remarkable venue and the shows will run for about 90 minutes.

The MC will be Australia’s most experienced comedy compere Simon Rogers who will interview each star about their careers, their best gigs and their worst gigs and take questions from the audience.

He says he loves the vibe of this small theatre experience with its classic movie seating, tiny stage, choc tops for sale, lush red velvet curtains and intimate atmosphere.

The shows are deliberately in the moment and won’t be podcast or recorded.      

“It’s a one-off experience. It’s the cream of Australia’s performing arts chatting to me and you and a few friends and if you ain’t there you miss out.

“It’s not a TED talk – you can’t watch it again and again on YouTube, the bloopers won’t be turned into memes… It’s more like Midnight in Paris where you’ve accidentally stumbled into a dinner party of comedy and music icons and they invite you to sit around the table and have a chat.”      

Before or after the events, guests enjoy fine food and wine in front of a crackling wood fire and can even stay overnight in one of the beautiful, olde-style bedrooms.      

The “An Afternoon With …” series will host regular shows on a Sunday afternoon throughout 2024 with more headliners to be announced soon for 2025.      

So far songbird royalty Marina Prior and her husband renowned actor Grant Piro perform on October 6, comedy legend Tony Martin on October 13, star of The Merger and Double Act comedian Damian Callinan on November 10, stand-up comedian and broadcaster Richard Stubbs on November 17, and the musical genius of David Bridie, frontman of My Friend the Chocolate Cake and Not Drowning Waving will be shared on December 1.

Bookings: Radio Springs Hotel on 5348 5562 or trybooking.com          

Get along to the Radio Springs Hotel (AKA the centre of the universe) for the longest lash feature event.

Words: Tony Sawrey | Main image: Contributed | Inset: Kyle Barnes

A DECADE ago, cinema complexes across Australia were going digital, dumping
their old analog equipment and almost overnight, projectionists found themselves out of a job.
Gone were the old large film reels as movie releases moved to what were known as Digital Cinema Packages.

One of those projectionists was Ken Parfrey, pictured inset, of the Radio Springs Hotel in Lyonville. He began his career at the Carlton Movie House and subsequently worked at numerous theatres around Melbourne and the Melbourne Film Festival before taking over the hotel in 1997.
Cinema Nova
Later Ken heard that Cinema Nova, where he worked for many years, was getting rid of their projectors. “The owners told me to come and get them,” Ken recalls, “or they are going to the
tip.”
“We brought them here and decided to do a backyard blitz as it were and do up the garage as a form of cinema/ performance space using the salvaged machines.”
Today, Ken maintains his old role of movie projectionist in one of only a handful of theatres in Victoria that still present celluloid as a relic of a bygone age.

Splice Here
But now, more than a decade after the demise of film in most commercial venues, it is the subject of Splice Here: A Projected Odyssey, a documentary by filmmaker and former projectionist Rob ‘Bert’ Murphy, pictured main image.
Debuting at the 2022 Melbourne International Film Festival and also having been shown at the Wide Screen Weekend in England and DOC NYC in America, the documentary explores the history of the projectionists’ craft over the decades and the enthusiasts who today hoard old film stock, equipment and maintain film-only theatres around the world.
This network of mostly retired projectionists offers a fascinating glimpse into a lost world and Bert points out that; “There are a few key people in the projectionists’ underground and Ken is one of them. He was chief projectionist at Carlton’s Cinema Nova and an important character in Melbourne film culture. That’s why he features prominently in Splice Here.”
The digital age
The digital age as we know it has been around since the early 2000s. In 2023
everything from music to books, news and film via the internet, streaming and
formats such as MP4 are produced and distributed in digital format.
During that time an entire generation of people have grown up knowing nothing
else but digital. However, while there remain people who remember the days when
movies were recorded and exhibited on celluloid ribbon treated with light sensitive
chemicals instead of ones and zeros, there will remain an endless digital vs film debate
sitting at the very heart of the work.
The documentary begins by delving into Cinerama, a format which emerged in
the 1950s presented on enormous, curved screens utilising three separate projectors.
The search
From here Bert explores the world of projected film and goes searching for old
equipment and mouldering prints in museums, sheds and abandoned rural theatres.
He talks to archivists, filmmakers and producers and documents the return of film-
only events including the debut of Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight on 70mm at
the Sun Theatre in Yarraville in 2016.

One of the things about shooting and projecting digital is it’s a great medium
and has allowed a lot of amazing new things to be done,” says Bert. “It’s just that it
has also introduced a certain form of laziness to the production process and I have
always felt that digital is a poor substitute for the look of film which has both a
softness and richness that’s hard to surpass.”
Re-emergence
Despite a downturn during Covid, there has been a gradual re-emergence of film-
only theatres. The most well-known is arguably Tarantino’s New Beverly Cinema in
Los Angeles. Melbourne has two, the Sun and the Astor and they are just a few of
hundreds that have appeared around the world.
While making celluloid prints for commercial release is a luxury that only big
name directors like Quentin Tarantino or J.J. Abrams can swing, there has been a
significant return to celluloid film as Richard Tuohy of Nanolab, Daylesford can
attest.
“Certainly there has been an analog renaissance,” he says. “We have been running
our business for 16 years and the number of people who shoot on film these days
has definitely increased significantly over the last five or six years. The immediate
fascination with digital has passed and an appreciation of what film was or is in
contrast has definitely remerged.”
Film romance
Like with all forms of superseded technology, there is a latent romance connected
to projected film. Its shadow is long and Splice Here, which has a few more theatre
runs before going to DVD and then possibly being streamed, is a love letter to its
memory.
While digital is ubiquitous and here to stay, history has shown that most
communication disruptions from the printing press to social media eventually see old
tech settle back into the cultural fabric in often unexpected ways – due in no small
part to the efforts of people like Bert Murphy and Ken Parfrey making the effort to
rescue old formats from oblivion.
Ken, who hopes to show the documentary at the Radio Springs Hotel, ironically
when he gets a digital projector, says film and old projectors are like “big boys’ toys”.
And there are certainly a network of enthusiasts like himself around the world
who are, as he says, “keeping the dream alive”.