ISSUE 54 | AUTUMN 2019 www.bendigomagazine.com.au
WINGING IT LOCAL TEEN TAKES FLIGHT
FAMILY DRAMA HISTORIANS UNCOVER ALL
pop culture MEET THE BUBBLE BLOWER
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brighter days AN ARTIST’S LIFE EVOLVES
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dear reader, The greatest joy of creating an issue of Bendigo Magazine is always meeting the people it connects us with. The conversations had and experiences shared certainly enrich our lives, and we hope in reading their stories and seeing their faces, you too will feel the love. How could you not be proud to share a city with the likes of 15-year-old Solomon Cameron, whose quest is to become the youngest person to circumnavigate Australia alone by air. “My goal is to raise $40,000 for Angel Flight Australia,” the adventurer told our writer Raelee Tuckerman. And how not to be inspired by John Holton’s story on Karl Jacobs, who despite losing his eyesight as a teenager, went on to become a breakdance champion and dance teacher. We knock on many varied doors each issue and this time it included artist Katharina Rapp’s studio, the Harrington family’s farmhouse and the Bendigo Library’s archives. Photographer Leon Schoots’ beautiful images from each location will make you feel you’re right there with us. Excuse the indulgence, but I used my own family as a case study for the Bendigo Family History Group to explore. With the world-wide meteoric rise of DNA testing and ancestry. com subscriptions, local research and archives services are busier than ever. Thanks to dedicated local volunteers, I discovered I’m actually not who I thought I was. Our stories are forever evolving and endlessly surprising and we are committed to continue dipping into people’s lives, publishing their tales on glossy pages and connecting us all through the power of a story shared.
LAUREN MITCHELL 4
EDITOR Lauren Mitchell PHOTOGRAPHER Leon Schoots CREATIVE DIRECTOR Dustin Schilling WRITERS Sarah Harris, Geoff Hocking, John Holton, Kate O’Connor, Raelee Tuckerman and Marina Williams CONTRIBUTORS Beau Cook, Lisa Chesters, Justin McPhail, and Melinda Rosser EVENTS PHOTOGRAPHER Ashley Taylor PRINT MANAGER Nigel Quirk ADVERTISING advertising@bendigomagazine.com.au PO Box 5003 Bendigo, VIC 3550 Phone: 0438 393 198
Bendigo Magazine takes all care but accepts no responsibility for unsolicited materials. Bendigo Magazine holds copyright to all content unless otherwise stated. ISSN 1833-1289. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication, the publisher accepts no responsibility or liability for any errors, omissions or resultant consequences including any loss or damage arising from reliance on information in this publication. The views expressed are not necessarily endorsed by the editor or the publisher.
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PEOPLE & LIFE 31
The silver lining - Huy Quoc Tran
36 Solo-man
- Solomon Cameron
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Cold case cracked - Who we think we are
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58
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Clown about town - Tim Tim Power to the people - Lisa Chesters A fine line between love and hate - Geoff Hocking
contents
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Fit for a queen - Tudors to Windors
85
Ready to roar - Dai Gum Loong
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Taking it to the streets - Reece Hendy
110 Family gears up
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
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54
58
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It’s a rapp! - Katharina Rapp
Sutton Grange Winery Wedding - Chris & Peter Bendigo Art Gallery Wedding - Laura & Patrick Lessons in community - Weeroona College Bendigo The social farm life - Three Farmers Door to childhood - Liz Low - The Fletcher family
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The break dance champ - Karl Jacobs A fresh take - Marcia Priestley Art’s all class for college - Catherine McAuley College
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events
March 13 - 19 Eaglehawk Dahlia & Arts Festival www.eaglehawkfestival.org.au March 16 - July 14 The Royal Pop Up Tram Bendigo Tramways www.bendigotramways.com March 22 - 31 Castlemaine State Festival www.castlemainefestival.com.au March 23 Creators Market Campbells Creek Community Centre www.thecreatorsmarket.com.au March 30 Golden Mile Raceday Bendigo Jockey Club country.racing.com/bendigo April 6 Strategem Winemakers Festival www.bendigowine.org.au April 13 Blues Tram with Jimmy Davis and Jon & Bel www.bendigobluesandroots.com.au April 19 - 22 Bendigo TAFE Bendigo Easter Festival www.bendigoeasterfestival.org.au April 25 - 28 Bendigo Autumn Music Festival The Capital and Ulumbarra Theatre www.thecapital.com.au April 27 Creators Market Bendigo Stadium www.thecreatorsmarket.com.au May 2 - 12 Sanguine Estate Music Festival Bendigo www.semf.net.au
FOOD & WINE 97
Go ballistic - Justin McPhail
100 Perfect pears
- Beau Cook
103 A stable drop
- Byronsvale
105 Wines of intent
- Regional wines
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May 4 Groovin The Moo Bendigo Showgrounds www.gtm.net.au/bendigo May 9 RAW Arts Awards Opening The Capital and Dudley House www.thecapital.com.au May 17 - 18 ILLUMIN8: Festival of Light and Peace The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion www.stupa.org.au/illumin8
ON THE COVER Marcia Priestley has found international success as an artist, taking inspiration from nature, her family and the perspective that came from having undergone cancer treatment. This creative local welcomes us into her home to share the story of how she embraced her artist’s heart. 6
Allan Doney (1900-1987) Untitled (Long Live Our Queen, Alexandra Fountain, Bendigo) 1954 Gelatin silver print Courtesy National Trust of Australia (Victoria), Bendigo branch
fall for culture
Get ready for golden days as local autumn festivals dish out the treats, from everyone’s favourite Easter traditions to dance, art, music and craft events.
A ROYAL SHOW Royal fever returns to Bendigo with the exhibition Rule Britannia, the Golden City. Through a series of stunning photographs visitors to the Post Office Gallery can get a glimpse of what life was like in the Golden City when members of the British Royal Family visited in the 1950s and 1980s. Black and white images show ecstatic crowds welcoming a young Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh to the city during their Australian tour in 1954. Almost 30 years later the imagery switches to colour, with Prince Charles and Princess Diana standing on the balcony of the Shamrock Hotel waving to the thousands of people gathered below, and Sun Loong marking their visit with a lively performance. However, Bendigo’s brush with royalty first occurred in the previous century, when Queen Victoria’s fourth child, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, visited in December 1867. While the visit was celebrated, it was also marred with tragedy. In what is known as the Galatea Float Tragedy, three young boys died in a fire that took hold of a processional float laden with fireworks. A ballroom specially erected outside the Town Hall to host His Royal Highness was also destroyed in a fire the night before the event was to take place. The exhibition is open from April 12 to September 1, entry is free.
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Victorian Railways photographer Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth leaving Bendigo railway station, 1954 Courtesy State Library Victoria
FESTIVE CHEER ON SHOW Get ready to celebrate – Bendigo’s biggest community event is almost here. The 2019 Bendigo TAFE Bendigo Easter Festival offers four incredible days of activities, celebrations and entertainment across the Easter long weekend from April 19 to 22. For many families a visit to the festival is an annual tradition. Held throughout the Bendigo CBD, most activities are free. Central to the action is Rosalind Park and surrounding streets, which are set to be transformed into a vibrant and colourful space filled with activities, rides, music, food and performances.
RACE DAY ACTION Get set for a day of world class racing at Bendigo’s Golden Mile Race Day on March 30. Now in its fifth year, the premier event on Victoria’s racing calendar has more than $1 million prize money on offer. Hosted at the picturesque Bendigo Racecourse in the heartland of thoroughbred country, the action-packed day is full of activities for the whole family with a free kids’ zone, roaming entertainment and live music. Embrace country casual, pack a picnic and throw out a rug on the beautifully manicured lawns for sweeping views of the course; book a dining and beverage
package at Silks Dining Room or trackside to entertain friends, colleagues and business clients, or tempt your taste buds with a stroll through the enticing food and wine village. The Bendigo Jockey Club has plenty of options to suit your social needs. Punters can back a winner at the numerous TAB and bookmaker facilities on course or simply enjoy all the racing action right from the mounting yard to the winning post. There’s also grandstand seating for racegoers who prefer a great undercover spot. Parking is free. General admission is $20, Jayco Club members and children under 16 are free.
No festival is complete without the Bendigo Chinese Association’s traditional awakening of the dragon. The festival’s rich Chinese history dates back to 1879 and this year 100,000 firecrackers are set to raise Sun Loong, the world’s longest imperial Chinese dragon, from his slumber for his last appearance in the annual parade. Joining him on his final dance through the city’s streets will be new dragon Dai Gum Loong. The Bendigo Easter Festival is the longest running community cultural festival in Australia. Make it a tradition for your family. Find out more at www.bendigoeasterfestival.org.au
IN HARMONY FOR AUTUMN FESTIVAL Harmonising twins Alanna and Alicia Egan return to town for the inaugural Bendigo Autumn Music on April 27 and 28. The local favourites will perform alongside some big names such as Tex Perkins, Katie Noonan and Deborah Conway at the Ulumbarra Theatre. The sisters will present a harmony workshop as well as a concert. Both girls run community choirs in Melbourne and have done workshops at festivals so are looking forward to getting the locals singing. Last year Alanna and Alicia released their fourth album, Songs I’m Singing with Me, which is a tribute to Australian troubadour John Beavis. John lived in Bendigo for many years and wrote and performed beautiful songs but his career was cut short due to his ongoing battle with mental illness. The album was released at the National Folk Festival in Canberra where it was named in their top albums of 2017. Since then the songsters have been busy touring and playing the festivals. They look forward to joining the other locals on the Bendigo Autumn Music Festival bill, including William Alexander, Archer and Grim Fawkner. 10
www.alannaandaliciaegan.com
TRIPLE BILL CELEBRATION The Sydney Dance Company celebrates its 50th anniversary with three extraordinary works at Ulumbarra Theatre on May 22. In a limited Australian tour, the choreographic talents of Rafael Bonachela, Gabrielle Nankivell and Melanie Lane will feature on the one stage for the first time in Season One: Bonachela / Nankivell / Lane. With their own unique style, each choreographer is known for pushing the
possibilities of movement, enhancing the company’s reputation as a leading force in contemporary dance. Artistic director Rafael Bonachela has led the creative powerhouse for the past 11 years. In the premiere of his new work Cinco, five virtuosic dancers meld effortlessly with a dramatic string quartet. In the premiere of her work, Neon Aether, choreographer and dancer Gabrielle Nankivell takes performer and audience to a new world beyond the clouds, while Melanie Lane’s 2017 New Breed smash-
hit WOOF is described as a post-human world of primal seduction and belonging. Mashing classical, romantic and pop, it’s driven by a dramatic musical score from acclaimed British electronic artist Clark. “WOOF generates variations of collective actions performed by a group. In an imagined future, stealing from renaissance imagery, pop culture and science fiction, a re-invention of community takes place,” says Melanie Lane. Book tickets at gotix.com.au
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WINE FESTIVAL GOES ALFRESCO Bendigo’s winemakers will celebrate the end of harvest with the Strategem Bendigo Winemakers Festival on Saturday, April 6. Rosalind Park will once again be transformed into the city’s biggest alfresco wine garden. Bendigo Winegrowers Association president Wes Vine invites everyone to join in the celebration. “The festival will have something for everyone – Bendigo region wine, regional food stalls and live music from The Deans and The Funk Junkies,” Wes says. “It’s a great opportunity for people to come to one place and try more than 60 different wines from 18 local wineries. “We’ve got rosé, sweet sparkling wines, white wines and fullbodied reds for people to try.”
GOLF DAY TO SUPPORT FAMILY Family and friends of Drew Drummond are seeking community support at their fundraiser Drew’s Big Fight Golf Day. The event, to be held at Axedale Golf Club on Sunday, March 24, will raise money for Drew and his family while he undergoes treatment for stage IV Glioblastoma, an aggressive form of incurable brain cancer. Drew, a father of two, was diagnosed late last year. In December he underwent surgery at St Vincent’s Hospital in an attempt to remove all pieces of the brain tumour, but its tentacle-like projections had spread into surrounding brain tissue. The former business owner can no longer work or drive. The golf day is the latest fundraiser organised by friends, family and the business community to alleviate financial pressure on Drew and his wife, Amy. About $29,000 has been pledged in a GoFundMe campaign.
There’s also a wine and food masterclass with local restaurant owner Finn Vedelsby, lawn games and plenty of competitions for festival-goers. “We encourage people to bring their picnic rug and find a spot on the grass to enjoy the wines and the relaxing park setting of Rosalind Park,” Wes says. “There’s also the option to take a private marquee with a guaranteed perfect spot to soak up the festival atmosphere in style.” Tasting tickets are $45 when prebooked from www. bendigotourism.com and include entry, a souvenir wine glass and all wine tastings. The Strategem Bendigo Winemakers Festival commences is on from 11am until at 4pm on April 6.
The golf day will feature a raffle and auction, kicking off with a BBQ breakfast at 9am. A shotgun start will lead in a four-ball Ambrose game from 10am. For more information contact Andrew on 0407 833 255 or vsplash@bigpond.com.
LOCAL MAKERS ON SHOW The popular Creators Market returns to Bendigo on April 27. The quarterly event showcases handmade and homemade crafters, artists and food wizards, with homewares, clothing, toys and jewellery on offer. There will be a mix of new and returning stallholders, says organiser Megan Luscombe. “The local makers here are incredibly talented and the community is always keen to come out and support the event,” she says. “As a visitor you can meet the designer or maker, talk to them about their product and know that you’re supporting a small business. It’s also a great way to find gifts or items that you simply won’t find at a major retailer.” The market is at Bendigo Stadium from 9am to 2pm. Entry is free and new stallholders are welcome. For more information visit www.thecreatorsmarket.com.au or contact Gwen Luscombe at The Ideas Library at info@theideaslibrary.com.au.
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LIVING BIG IN BENDIGO Pinnacle Place in Junortoun is bucking the trend in offering acreage lots for family living not far from the city centre. Schools, supermarkets, a medical centre and leisure facilities are close by, making the Integra-designed development an ideal location for people wanting space while still having amenities close by. All homesites on the smartly designed estate are more than 2000sqm, giving the buyer room to build their dream home and enjoy a rural lifestyle. There’s space to build a tennis court, large shed, entertaining alfresco and pool area or spend time cultivating a vegetable garden. The lots, in a range of sizes and aspects, are fully serviced and minutes from the city, making Pinnacle Place the perfect blend of living space with the natural environment. Available infrastructure includes NBN connection, underground power, town water, gas and sewerage.
minding your business Local enterprises continue to reward all, with top accommodation, health and fitness, study options and home truths exposed right here.
The nearby 49km long O’Keefe Trail is a welcome bonus, enhancing rural living in offering access to spectacular natural bushland, waterways and recreation reserves. The nature trail also gives residents a safe track away from busy roads to bike ride or walk into the Bendigo CBD, and is a welcome recreational area to walk dogs. For more information visit www.pinnacleplace.com.au or contact Tom Issacs on 0417 532 871.
STAY IN THE CITY With lots to see and do in Bendigo staying in the restored Hargreaves House is one way to experience the historic yet lively city. The fully furnished three-bedroom, twobathroom cottage is centrally located and offers short or long stay accommodation for couples, families and friends. All bedrooms are airy and spacious with a luxury queen-size bed in two and a single sofa bed in the third. Another sofa bed ensures the house can comfortably sleep six guests. There’s off-street parking for two cars, a full kitchen and separate dining room. A refreshment package of tea, coffee, milk, chocolate and wine is provided on arrival.
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Hargreaves House is child friendly and has a wide selection of children’s movies and games, plus there is a high chair and porta cot, if needed. Furry members of the family are also welcome, with the cottage featuring a good sized, secure yard, and small, well-trained dogs are allowed inside.
restaurants, cafes, shops, galleries, Chinese Gardens and sports grounds.
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Arts and culture are on your doorstep, with Bendigo’s Heritage Rail Workshop just metres away; and it’s an easy walk to explore the heart of the city and visit
Corporate visitors will appreciate the study area and free wifi with unlimited download. Long stay accommodation comes with weekly servicing.
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STAY ON THE RIVER Set on the banks of the mighty Murray River, Mildura is a popular destination to catch up on business, seek rest and relaxation or an action-packed visit. Whatever your reason for visiting, the centrally located Commodore Motel is just a few steps from the river’s banks and the ideal place to stay while exploring the city’s myriad attractions. It features contemporary décor and modern facilities with a choice of spacious motel-style rooms or suites with balconies – some overlooking the river and the large, outdoor guest pool.
ADVANCING HEALTH CARE A modern, purpose-built clinical exercise studio is set to enhance the recovery of people seeking physiotherapy treatment for injury. The studio, part of the Fusion Physiotherapy group, offers patients an integrated approach to recovery to achieve sustainable, long term results, says owners Nathan and Janelle Willits. Situated at 123 Condon Street the studio has treatment rooms, remedial gym and separate pilates area, with new strength equipment. Fusion Physiotherapy has been providing health and wellbeing services since 2007, with its team of physiotherapists and exercise physiologists blending traditional therapy techniques with modern, holistic health concepts. The Willits describe their team as leaders and innovators in the physiotherapy and exercise recovery field. The equipment is relevant for all ages and requirements, from elite athlete to the elderly, says Nathan. ‘There is overwhelming evidence for the benefits of exercise in injury management and prevention, as well as managing chronic diseases, such as diabetes and arthritis,’ he says. ‘Strength equipment isn’t usually found in a physiotherapy practice; however, it allows people to complete their rehabilitation in one setting, gaining full strength back after surgery and returning them to independence and an active lifestyle. Our new venue will help facilitate the delivery of exercise as therapy.’ Private health rebates could be available for therapist-led and supervised classes, with exercise-based treatment programs for chronic diseases, such as osteoarthritis and diabetes, also delivered at Fusion Physiotherapy. For more information phone 5443 5411 or visit www.fusionphysiotherapy.com.au
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Within easy walking distance is the thriving food culture of restaurants, cafes and bars along Feast Street, bustling Langtree Mall offering plenty of shopping and entertainment, and a vibrant cultural and arts precinct at nearby Rio Vista Park. Other activities include cruising the river on a paddle steamer, visiting national parks and wineries or outback touring and sports. The motel has a conference room for business events, with Mildura’s airport just minutes away and major airlines offering daily flights from Adelaide, Sydney, Broken Hill and Melbourne. The city is also an easy drive from Central Victoria, with the Commodore Motel offering complimentary guest parking. For the leisure or business guest wanting to ease into their mornings, there’s an option of a cooked breakfast on weekdays or a continental offering daily. There’s a large guest laundry, and every room has complimentary wifi and MOR amenities. To make your stay in Mildura more comfortable visit the Commodore Motel at www.commodoremildura.com.au
MORE THAN JUST BENCHTOPS V Stone has been leaving its stylish mark on homes across Central Victoria for more than 13 years. Its talented team is known for crafting beautiful stone benchtops and is ready to bring you more great products with the same level of service. Two new businesses V Splash and V Clad reflect the V Stone slogan: ‘More than just benchtops’. V Splash offers the supply and installation of splashbacks, bathroom mirrors and fixed panel shower screens. Splashback materials include painted and printed glass, mirror and porcelain. V Clad specialises in porcelain cladding for internal and external applications. Large format porcelain sheets can transform your bathroom or ensuite into a masterpiece, with little or no grout lines making cleaning a breeze. The three businesses are located at the V Stone factory at 104 Beischer Street, where a new showroom extension is underway. For a quote on your next building project contact Kane, Jess, Andrew, Kelly and Steve on 4436 1020.
FABULOUS FASHION ON TREND Indulge A Little is a store big in choice, offering fashion and homewares beyond the ordinary. Owner Rhonda has carefully chosen items to appeal to her distinct clientele, with a beautiful range of clothes, shoes, homewares and bags that all appear to have their own personality. Exclusive brands include the much-sought after DKNY luggage, Nicole Lee bags, Orientique and Vendula London. The Orientique label specialises in garments made from natural cotton fibres, featuring gorgeous prints. Vendula London is a quirky accessories brand with its bags, purses, wallets and cases inspired by everyday beauty, from animals and birds to shop fronts, scrapbooks and vintage style. It’s even Vegan approved. A handbag in the shape of a shop, anyone? And, if you need that ideal gift, there are myriad possibilities – think scarves, Italian leather handbags, candles, homewares or diffusers. Visit Indulge A Little at Shop 2, Strath Village Shopping Centre.
STUDY FOR FREE A new program at Bendigo TAFE is offering students the chance to study for free. The Free TAFE for Priority Courses program aims at training young people for in-demand jobs. Eligible students can apply for one of 38 tuition-fee courses. They can access the initiative only once, which could be an option if they are considering a new career in an industry where demand for employment is high. There are 20 non-apprenticeship courses and 18 courses that provide pathways to apprenticeships. Priority courses are for jobs in commercial cookery, community services, plumbing, construction and nursing. Some are designed to lead to work in rolling out the National Disability Insurance Scheme and delivering state government infrastructure projects. Applicants under 20 years old, may be eligible if they are enrolling in a course at a higher level than one previously completed. Find out more at bendigotafe.edu.au or freetafe.vic.gov.au. 17
HUME & ISER TRANSFORMED FOR THE FUTURE The latest transformation of one of Bendigo’s longest standing family businesses is now complete and local home improvement customers are the real winners. An independently owned and operated business for 139 years, Hume & Iser recently “turned blue”, converting to the Mitre 10 banner as part of an overhaul to improve the shopping experience for locals. Managing director Stephen Iser says the redevelopment of the Charleston Rd site includes a new floor plan, new range and services. “The new-look design has been extensively planned, aiming to brighten and improve the layout and flow for customers and, of course, introduce new product that our shoppers want, including an extensive new Paint Colour Centre and Tool Centre,” Stephen says. “For the tradies, the timber yard now boasts a better undercover area, new racking and drive-through traffic plan. “We’ve listened closely to what our customers want – and deserve – and are backing it up with good-old fashioned service, advice and knowledge.”
Stephen says it’s an exciting new era for the family business that had proudly serviced the Bendigo community since 1880. “The move to Mitre 10 was a natural progression for the business. The brand
is a strong and highly regarded one that suits our strategy and allows us to continue to reinvest in our staff and the Bendigo community. It’s exciting to have the opportunity to align to a national brand while remaining proudly familyowned and operated.”
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Queen Victoria by Bertha Mßller, after Heinrich von Angeli, 1900, based on a work of 1899 Š National Portrait Gallery, London
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Queen Victoria by Alexander Bassano, 1887 (1882) © National Portrait Gallery, London
fit for a queen Bendigo Art Gallery dips into the dress up box of 500 years of the royal family to find the rare and remarkable for its latest blockbuster exhibition, Tudors to Windsors. By Lauren Mitchell Bendigo Art Gallery curator Tansy Curtin is one well-travelled local, but even she had never heard of Warminster; a tiny town in the UK and home to the world’s oldest glove manufacturer, Dent’s.
looked at touring some of their collection,” she says. “The works are part of their primary collection and until now they’ve never left the UK.”
“Warminster is not somewhere that people go,” Tansy says. The non-tourist town’s one attraction, the Dent Glove Museum, is only open to those with a very good reason to visit. Tansy’s excuse was her quest to secure Queen Elizabeth the First’s coronation glove, the museum’s pride and joy.
Tudors to Windors is the biggest show ever staged at the Bendigo Art Gallery and includes works by “some of the greatest artists ever known”, from Joshua Reynolds to Andy Warhol. For Tansy a highlight is the two-and-a-half metre high painting of Elizabeth I, known as the Ditchley Portrait. “It’s an incredible work and a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see it as it will probably never come to Australia again,” she says. “It shows the power of the British monarchy through its symbolism. Elizabeth is standing on a map of Britain and she is covered in jewels and emblems, including the Tudor rose.”
“It was quite an adventure to travel there to see this remarkable object,” Tansy says. “It’s an important object that tells an amazing story. It rarely sees the world and the world rarely sees it.” The single suede glove has since travelled to Bendigo, accompanied by a courier from the Bath Fashion Museum, to feature in the epic Tudors to Windsors exhibition at the gallery. Most of the 250 items on show are from England’s National Portrait Gallery, which approached the Bendigo institution to help them tour their permanent collection. Tansy describes the partnership and subsequent exhibition as ground breaking. “It’s the first time they’ve
Elizabeth 1 was known for her elaborate fashion, however Tansy says the aforementioned glove is the only piece of her clothing known to still exist. “Because of the sheer value of her clothing it was all recycled and reused and cut down for other purposes. To be able to include something she owned and she wore is just incredible.” 21
Queen Victoria with John Brown by George Washington Wilson, 1863 © National Portrait Gallery, London
Queen Victoria by Sir George Hayter,1863, based on a work of 1838 © National Portrait Gallery, London
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester. By an Unknown AngloNetherlandish artist, c.1575 © National Portrait Gallery, London
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King William III by an Unknown artist, c.1695 © National Portrait Gallery, London
The glove is one of 25 pieces Tansy sourced and secured to round out the exhibition. She travelled to places like Hampton Court Palace and FIDM in Los Angeles to find objects such as textiles and armour that help tell the stories of the royals. “To be able to physically represent someone who lived 500 years ago gives an added insight into that person and a connection to their humanity.” Tansy says the exhibition will have wide appeal, drawing in lovers of great art and royal watchers of all degrees. “Obviously the way we get information has changed but people have always been fascinated with the lives of the royals,” she says. “But the exhibition is also about the artists and makers and the way the royal family influenced art.” Take, for one, Queen Victoria’s photographs. “She defined the medium of photography in many ways,” Tansy says. “Queen Victoria reigned during the age of photography and at the time she was one of the world’s most photographed people. She used the medium to disseminate her image.” The effect of this saturation of the blackclad queen who mourned her husband for 40 years means our view of Victorian photography is likewise dark and sombre. Alongside the world’s great art the exhibition features contemporary pieces like Mattel’s Barbie version of Elizabeth I, and a dress Diana wore during her 1983 Australian tour, which included Bendigo. “It’s a lovely little Catherine Walker dress, from the Historic Royal Palace collection,” Tansy says. “It will be the last time it’s seen this generation as after the exhibition it will be rested in storage.”
Queen Anne by Sir Godfrey Kneller, c.1690 © National Portrait Gallery, London
King Charles II by John Michael Wright, c. 1660-1665 © National Portrait Gallery, London
Explore five royal dynasties: the Tudors, the Stuarts, the Georgians, the Victorians and the Windsors, in this exhibition which sheds light on key figures and important historical moments. It offers insight into the development of British art and presents works by the most important artists to have worked in Britain, from Sir Peter Lely and Sir Godfrey Kneller to Cecil Beaton and Annie Leibovitz. “It’s the story of the sitters and the painters and royal patronage throughout 500 years of British history,” Tansy says. Tudors to Windsors is on at the Bendigo Art Gallery from March 16 to July 14. King George VI By Meredith Frampton, 1929 © National Portrait Gallery, London / private collection. Lent by Trustees of Barnardo’s, 1997
23
HAWKS FLY HIGH
Annette Curtis, Andrea Smith, Janet Crocos, Joan Self and Karen Kirby
Harvey Murrant, Harrison Williams, Matthew Gambetta and Lachlan Start
Katherine Iannello, Tamara Mancuso and Grace Bath
Neil Shaw, Greg Hilson, Jeff Jordan and Christopher Kadri
Tony Langdon, Dave Chisholm and Brayden Hall
Vaughan Van Berkel, Reeve Evans and Dylan Rowbottom
Athletes aged from 14 to 60-plus set a cracking pace at the 2019 Victorian Country Track & Field Championships in Bendigo. Competition was held across the Australia Day long weekend, with local heroes Eaglehawk reigning supreme for a second consecutive year.
Rule Britannia, the Golden City: royal visits to Bendigo 12 April – 1 September 2019 The eventful visits of the British Royal family to Bendigo.
(Image credit) Allan Doney, Untitled (Long Live Our Queen, Alexandra Fountain, Bendigo) 1954, gelatin silver print. Courtesy National Trust of Australia (Victoria), Bendigo branch
POST OFFICE GALLERY OPEN 9AM – 5PM DAILY (EXCEPT CHRISTMAS DAY) 51-67 PALL MALL, BENDIGO 03 5434 6088 POSTOFFICEGALLERY@BENDIGO.VIC.GOV.AU
Proudly owner and operated by the City of Greater Bendigo with additional support from Creative Victoria.
Alysha Boyd, Lacey Wilkie, Zephyr, Harper Spark and Ryda Spark
Dianne Mason and Jo Boyd
GIVING HOPE Greg Harris and Kirsty Waller
A 24-hour golf challenge has raised vital funds to support young Zephyr Spark in his fight against the fatal genetic condition, Batten’s Disease.
Jodie Fraser and Kalista Thomas
James Boyd and Zephyr and Robert Spark
In December’s Playing for Time fundraiser, Zephyr’s dad Robert and James Boyd played the course at Bendigo Golf Club to complete an impressive 107 holes and walked the course six times – that’s 36km – in 24 hours.
Neil and Mary Waller
What’s Your Dream?
OPEN EVENING
Wednesday 20 March 4-7pm | Coolock Campus, Junortoun
Make It Happen In 2020! DISCOVER ALL THE EXCITING OPPORTUNITIES ON OFFER TO HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR DREAMS. Tour our brand-new Sister Aloysius Martyn Arts Centre and discover contemporary technology and creative spaces for integrated learning.
College Tours 9am Tuesday 5 March, 2 April & 7 May Transition Day Tuesday 14 May ENROLMENT ENQUIRIES
Enrolments Open Wednesday 20 March
Audra Petri College Registrar
5449 3466
Enrolments Close Friday 14 June
info@cmc.vic.edu.au
www.cmc.vic.edu.au
Catherine McAuley College | A Ministry of Mercy Education Ltd | ABN 69 154 531 870
ready to roar Bendigo’s newest dragon, Dai Gum Loong, is ready to be seen and heard for the first time this Easter during a magnificent display of Chinese culture. The countdown is on until Bendigo’s newest Chinese dragon, Dai Gum Loong, makes his debut in the 2019 Bendigo Easter Festival Gala Parade. Dai Gum Loong will headline a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle featuring a range of parading dragons to welcome him to his new home, including crowd favourite Sun Loong and Bendigo’s first-ever dragon, Loong.
“It’s been 49 years since Bendigo received a new dragon,” Anita says. “We always knew Sun Loong was not going to last forever and realised he would need to be conserved and replaced, but neither conserving a dragon nor buying a new one is a cheap thing to do.
It’s also a chance to bid farewell to Bendigo’s much-loved Sun Loong, who will retire from parading after this year and return to delight crowds only on special occasions.
“We set an ambitious goal of asking the Bendigo community, fans of the Bendigo Easter Festival and the wider Chinese community to help us raise the $750,000 we needed to restore Sun Loong and purchase Dai Gum Loong.
Golden Dragon Museum general manager Anita Jack says this year’s parade would be a special moment in Bendigo’s history and continue a proud tradition of parading dragons at Easter.
“The Golden Dragon Museum was blown away by the generosity of people and local, state and federal governments for their support of the project, and we cannot thank everyone enough.
26
Dai Gum Loong is 125m long and features more than 7000 scales. When he parades, he will be accompanied by two gold and silver lions, which are designed to protect him and were also made by Master Hui. While Dai Gum Loong was under construction, more than 1500 of Sun Loong’s scales were being cleaned and restored on Hong Kong’s Peng Chau Island by Master Ringo Leung. Sun Loong’s head, neck and tail were restored locally in Bendigo and the restored scales were sewn back on with the help of the Embroiders’ Guild of Bendigo. Given Dai Gum Loong is a 21st century dragon, he will be also be a champion for gender equality.
“We now have an amazing, 21st century dragon that is ready to wow crowds for many decades to come and Sun Loong has also been expertly preserved. “We cannot imagine Easter without a dragon and I know our community cannot wait to meet Dai Gum Loong. A celebration such as this is rare, so residents and visitors can look forward to one of the best street parties Bendigo has ever seen when they watch this year’s gala parade.” In May last year the City of Greater Bendigo and the Golden Dragon Museum awarded the contract to build Dai Gum Loong to celebrated Hong Kong dragon maker, Master Hui. Anita discovered Master Hui via social media.
Bendigo Chinese Association president Doug Lougoon says traditionally in Bendigo men carry male dragons and women have previously only carried small parading dragons designated for females, but Dai Gum Loong presented an opportunity to create a new tradition. “Like Loong and Sun Loong before him, Dai Gum Loong will be male but the importance of supporting equality is not lost on the Bendigo Chinese Association and our members are pleased to welcome women to carry him,” Doug says. “It important to us that Dai Gum Loong is used to support modern values and expectations.” To properly introduce Dai Gum Loong, a special parade route has been planned, with Loong expected to lead Sun Loong and Night Dragon Yar Loong from the Queen Elizabeth Oval and meet Dai Gum Loong at the Alexandra Fountain.
“Overseas and local lion teams were following him on social media and the photos were quite spectacular, highlighting his exceptional workmanship,” she says.
Sun Loong will then lead Dai Gum Loong back up and down View Street to show him off to parade spectators, before re-joining the other two dragons. Loong will then lead all three dragons along Pall Mall and back to their home at the Golden Dragon Museum.
'When I realised he could make dragons too, having recently completed a dragon for Chinese territory Macau, he became a clear choice to make Dai Gum Loong.
The Alexandra Fountain is where Loong met Sun Loong in 1970 for the first time, so the decision to introduce Sun Loong to Dai Gum Loong in the same location continues an important tradition.
“Master Hui is part of three generations of dragon makers and works with his father and nephew. It is nice to see the traditional craft of dragon and lion making being handed down and an incredible eye for detail being shared.”
Six other dragons and various Chinese lion teams from Bendigo and across Australia will also perform along the parade route in an extended Chinese cultural display. For updates on the event visit www.bendigoeasterfestival.org.au
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Amber Lyons, Sophie White, Cassie White and Alexandra Forrest
Amy Sim, Tabitha Morgan, Emily Hellstedt and Zahli Hansen
Tegan Ward and Aimie Brown
Eliza Welch, Narelle Kennedy, Kayla Hart and Anita Blandford
Liam Drummond, Jack Galloway, Patrick Hartney and Jack Dower
Stephanie Parsons, Amber Clohesy, Dylan Clohesy and Michael ‘Brooksie’ Brooks
RACE DAY PARTY Trackside was the place to be to celebrate the festive season. The Bendigo Jockey Club’s Christmas Party Race Day impressed with an array of colourful action on and off the track. The highlight, of course, was a visit from the big man in red.
Rob Jury, Jo Jury, Courtney Jury, Kellie and Kevin Kelly
Lucy Perdon, Ella O’Gorman, Jemma Patullo and Sabellah Potts
Zoe Manns, Maddy Lynch and Bryce Purkiss
Glen, Oliver, Glen, Ashton, Violet and Celeste Elliot
CHEERFUL NIGHT Carols, candles and plenty of cheer filled Rosalind Park for a family celebration of Christmas.
Jakub Fitzsimmons, Sara Hall, April Stewart and Maggie Waugh
Lisa Scully, Courtney Gee and Sinead Gee
The Rotary Club of Bendigo’s Carols by Candlelight is a favourite annual event. Talented local performers entertained the large crowd, with thousands eager to join in the singing.
THE NEW
APLHA MODEL COMING WINTER 2019
16 Mitchell St, Bendigo | P: 5443 5755 | MrWolfe.com.au |
DID YOU KNOW? Bendigo Health employs more than 1750 nurses and midwives. If you are looking for a change a rewarding career awaits you at Bendigo Health in a supportive and caring team environment. ROLES INCLUDE: • Registered Nurses • Enrolled Nurses • Specialty Nursing such as interventional, maternity, critical care, special care nursery, mental health, rehabilitation, palliative care and renal services • Outpatient Nursing such as oncology, specialist clinics and women’s health • Community Nursing such as hospital in the home and community nursing services • Residential Care Nursing inclusive of residential in reach and transition care program
www.bendigohealth.org.au/careers
the silver lining
A victim of school bullying while growing up in Vietnam, La Trobe education student Huy Quoc Tran turned his experiences into a positive, though not-so-obvious career goal. By Kate O’Connor - Photography by AJ Taylor Images
Huy Quoc Tran admits the career he has chosen is a little unexpected. “I’m a shy introvert, I’m an overseas student, English is not my first language... so the fact that I want to stand up in front of a class of students is pretty surprising for some people,” he says. Huy, 23, chose teaching as a career after some negative experiences growing up in Vietnam. “It’s kind of funny to think of now, but I was bullied by both my peers and the teachers – both physically and psychologically. I remember being called names and them hitting me. Teachers doing that was pretty common in Vietnam, but I also had that from the other students.” Despite his young age, Huy knew these teachers “weren’t good people”. “At the time, of course I was devastated – but I knew they weren’t good people. Because I was doing nothing wrong, and I knew that. I was just being myself. They were the ones in the wrong.” After the bullying escalated, Huy made a firm decision to find somewhere he belonged, and school life improved from there. “I applied to change classes, which opened a whole new chapter for me. The bullying was still going on, but only outside my class; in the class I was protected.” After finishing school and moving to Australia, Huy was determined to turn his experience into something positive. “I wanted to stop bullying, because it’s had a huge impact on me, so I thought ‘I want to be a teacher’. I want to be a role model for how to be respectful and
embrace differences, and be someone that my students would come to.” That passion saw Huy enrol in La Trobe’s Bachelor of Early Childhood Education, majoring in special education. During a placement at Kalianna in Bendigo, Huy immediately developed a bond with his students. “They are so beautiful. When I was there, I met two students with severe autism. They are non-verbal, so find it difficult to articulate themselves. “Somehow I just bonded with them. We had a really strong and positive relationship. When I thought about it, I thought, this is magic. I was just in the classroom for three weeks, and they came to me, and I could see the trust and the learning happening.” During his studies, Huy took up a role tutoring Karen refugees in Bendigo. What started as a course requirement soon developed into a weekly volunteer position. “These children are so young, and the situations they’ve come from are really traumatic. Even as an adult I sometimes struggle to fit in, so if I can help them I will.” It was Huy’s contribution to the Bendigo community – including his time helping La Trobe’s international students enrol and settle in – that earned him a place in the finals of the Victorian Government’s International Education Awards in 2018. Huy says he hopes his achievement will be an inspiration to other international students. “Some international students live in their
own small bubble – they have their friendship group at uni, and outside of uni, but they don’t really get out of their comfort zone. “They feel daunted and intimidated, they don’t want to get out there and learn about the Australian culture. Finding out about Australians’ thinking and reasoning – that’s learning, and that will benefit you in some way or another in the future.” Huy says being involved in the community and taking up opportunities is important. “It’s daunting, it’s intimidating, I know. But when you cross the line, when you get out of your comfort zone you feel proud of yourself. If I can do it, you can do absolutely do it, and probably better than I did.” He says Bendigo is a great place to be an international student. “The thing about Bendigo is we know each other, as international students. We know the different support groups and services, and we work together to support each other. We’re like family. And the community is so warm and welcoming.” Huy is now completing his studies, and looks forward to applying all he has learnt in a classroom full of students with additional needs. He consciously tries to ignore people who question his choice of career. “Through most of my childhood, people would say ‘you can’t do it’. For those who ask whether a shy introvert can be a teacher, I say ‘Let me show you!’ I’m not going to give up, so let me show you.” 31
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taking it to the streets
One BSSC alumnus with a passion for design is rallying artists, both locally and around the country, to take their creativity to the streets. By John Holton - Photography by David Field Street artist, graphic designer and founder of Nacho Station, Reece Hendy, has always been someone who focuses on the ‘doing’. Though it’s been more than 12 years since the carefree days of playing hacky sack and frisbee in Rosalind Park as a Bendigo Senior Secondary College student, he remembers well the words of his Year 11 maths teacher, Rod Fyffe. “I told him my subject choices for Year 12… photography, visual communication… woodwork... but no maths,” Reece says with a laugh. “He was really supportive and told me I didn’t need Year 12 maths. It was the best advice I could have had at the time.” Reece followed his passion for photography and design, encouraged by his Year 12 photography teacher Elise Lidgett, who he describes as an awesome teacher. “That year I won an Acquisition Award for a series of time lapse photographs featuring a wake boarder, a BMX rider and a skateboarder,” he says. “Elise encouraged us to follow our passions… I think I’m still doing that 12 years down the track.” Reece followed his passion for design to La Trobe University, Bendigo; an experience he remembers as a great introduction to the ‘real’ world of design. “But I knew when I graduated that I didn’t want to get a standard, pixel-pushing graphic design job,” he says. “I enrolled in a Certificate IV Small Business Management, which taught me about planning and objectives. It gave design a greater sense of purpose and added market analysis skills to what I already knew about graphic design.” Reece started his own
design firm in 2012, but after a year of nextto-no-income, took his skills to local studio Arteria. It was an opportunity to mix design with strategy. “It was more big-picture, deeper-level thinking about engaging with clients and the wider community,” Reece says. “It was about creative positioning… making a plan of attack.” After a year he moved to the RAAK Agency in a sales role, but learnt very quickly that sales wasn’t for him.“In a way, that was the catalyst for Nacho Station,” Reece says. “I knew I wanted to create, but more than that, to engage others in creativity through street art.” Reece now works part-time at Apiam Animal Health as part of a small marketing team, but spends every spare minute running Nacho Station, a project management collective that brings together street artists and other creatives to complete public art projects. What began six years ago as a couple of creative friends bartering for free coffee, has taken on a life of its own. “My friend Pat Thompson and I were regulars at Naked Espresso and the owner, Jesse Gollan, was looking for someone to do some chalk art,” Reece says. “It was an open brief… ‘you guys do what you think is cool’… free coffee for public art.” People soon took notice of the quirky artwork on display at Naked Espresso and it led to larger scale artworks around the city. “I could see something happening and knew we needed a way for people to find us,” Reece says. “That was really the birth of Nacho Station.” Six years later, Nacho Station now partners with a range of community groups
on an array of projects. The underpass murals along Bendigo’s Back Creek Trail are a vibrant example. Funded by the Regional Centre for Culture, they feature local street artists such as Mr Dimples and Chantel Lyons. “The trail was once a bit of a practice ground for us, but the project made it official.” One of Reece’s favourite projects is a mural on the road in Havlin Street East; a partnership with Bike Bendigo with funding from Vic Roads. It involved more than 50 locals and became a pop-up park for the day with food trucks and what Reece describes as a “real celebratory atmosphere”. “I didn’t even lift a paintbrush that day… it was a true community project.” Most recently, the Pennyweight Walk project saw the City of Greater Bendigo contract Nacho Station to commission all the artwork for a street exhibition that will run between Hargreaves St and Bath Lane for 12 months. “It gave us the opportunity to curate a public space and include a mix of high-profile artists alongside younger creatives just starting out,” Reece says. Using that template, Nacho Station is now in a position to chase big public art grants locally and interstate. When asked what advice he would offer BSSC students heading out into the world, Reece doesn’t hesitate. “Remember, nothing is forever,” he says. “Sometimes you have to move sideways before you move forwards again… and that’s okay. My corporate job is a bit of a safety net. I’d like to think the next step is making Nacho Station full-time. It just needs that momentum.” 33
AUSSIES CELEBRATE
Arthur Curnick and Jeff Willey
Nevaeh, Taitum and Anika
Felicity Shadbolt, Jesse Dunlop, Chris Griggs and Anna McDermott
Will and Tom Giles
Jason and Chantel Rexter
Liam Jacobsen, Conrad Livingstone, Lloyd Butcher, Shehan Jayasekera and William McKinstry
Nothing is more Aussie than kicking back at a BBQ with loved ones, especially on Australia Day. An added bonus is celebrating at Lake Weeroona. Other community events were held across the region, with 30 new Australian citizens welcomed in a ceremony at the Bendigo Town Hall.
Ashley Gilmore and Terran Felsbourg
Lyn Scarff, Anne Moore, Samara Scarff and Meaghan Ginnivan
Elisha Bahen, Amy Rogers and Kath Meade
Peter and Jan Russell-Clarke
HELLO 2019 The beautiful sounds of the La Fiaba String Quartet accompanied diners at Malayan Orchid Restaurant as they celebrated the Chinese New Year.
Lyn Comer, Tony McCarthy, Bernie Gamboni and Tracey Gamboni
Joy Herman, Sherold Kelleher and Pat Graham
Offering high quality, affordable counselling for individuals and couples in a range of areas including: • Trauma, including treatment of post traumatic stress disorder • Depression
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• Relationship issues
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• Self esteem
• Disability support
Medicare and private health fund rebates available. TAC and Workcover registered provider.
(03) 54001270 | admin@avantipsychology.com.au
www.avantipsychology.com.au
With an abundance of good food and good company, it was a friendly welcome to The Year of the Pig.
solo-man
Not yet old enough to drive a car, this Kangaroo Flat teen has turned his eyes to the skies and is set to take off on an epic adventure for a very worthy cause‌ By Raelee Tuckerman - Photography by Leon Schoots
36
For as long as he can remember, Solomon Cameron has had his head in the clouds dreaming of flying aeroplanes. Now, at 15, he has passed his recreational pilot’s certificate and is planning a solo flight around Australia that could land him in the record books. If he completes the 15,000km journey stopping at about 70 airstrips along the way, he will become the youngest person to circumnavigate the continent alone by air. This is no flight of fancy – Solomon has dedicated his trip to promoting aviation to youth and raising funds for a charity that provides non-emergency air transport for country Australians needing specialist medical care. “My goal is to raise $40,000 for Angel Flight Australia,” the quietly spoken adventurer says as he sits in the Bendigo Flying Club rooms overlooking the airport. “I’ve met a lot of pilots who fly for Angel Flight on a voluntary basis and the support they give the Australian community is essential.” Solomon aims to depart Bendigo in early May, taking to the sky in a single-engine, two-seater Jabiru J230, owned by his dad
and sponsored by the family’s N8 Health business. “I started planning this around April last year. There is a lot of safety planning involved – risk assessments, mapping out fuel stops and where I will be staying. I hope to be billeted overnight by families from schools I visit along the route, where I’ll hold fundraisers for Angel Flight and talk to students my age about becoming a pilot. “My biggest challenge will be minimising the risk of fatigue. Flying over the ocean and some parts of Australia where landing options are less adequate also carries risk, so I’m trying to avoid the more dangerous places to fly over.” Unpredictable weather patterns and potential mechanical issues may also put him to the test. Solomon’s lofty ambitions and love of aircraft can be traced back to his toddler years. “When I was about three, Dad had his pilot’s licence and he took me up a couple of times and that’s where my passion for flying started. He had a flight simulator that I used a lot growing up and whenever a plane flew
overhead, I’d rush outside to have a look. “Then, around 11, I started riding my bike out to the airport to sit on a bench and watch planes take off and land for hours on end. My first flight was a trial flight at 12 years old and I absolutely loved it. It’s peaceful up there, separated from the rest of the world. Once it was finished, I knew I had to be a pilot.” The enthusiastic youngster saved enough money from washing planes, mowing lawns and cleaning offices to pay for flying lessons and says he was also privileged to be taken up by several local pilots in many different aircraft to help build up his hours and experience. Pilots need at least 20 hours in the air, and five hours solo, before they can become certified but cannot fly on their own until the age of 15. “I did my first solo flight at 6.30am on my 15th birthday,” says Solomon with a grin. “Just one take-off and landing that lasted only 10 minutes. But then I took some time off school and did a lot of flying so I was able to gain my certificate last September at 15 years and six days.”
37
He now has more than 80 hours under his belt and has flown to airports including Mildura, Tyabb, Merimbula and Shepparton. He has taken parents Andrew and Jane, brothers Jimmy and Louis and several family friends for joyrides. Solomon’s mum tells of how her son once nagged her and Andrew to listen to an episode of US aviation podcast Airplane Geeks, eventually turning it on and leaving the room. “We heard this American accent saying, ‘Today we are having a chat with young Australian pilot Solomon…’,” Jane recalls. “He’d contacted them himself and they interviewed him. I am in awe of his ability to drive this whole plan. I haven’t had to put much effort in because he’s done it all himself. He wants to do this at such a young age and he’s making that dream a real possibility.” Solomon is grateful for the support of his family and the Bendigo Airport community. “A lot of people here are right behind me. George Martin is one who has taken me under his wing and given me advice and taught me much about aviation.” Bendigo Flying Club flight instructor Linda Beilharz – the acclaimed polar explorer – admires Solomon’s adventurous spirit, meticulous planning and commitment to his quest. “He is quite an amazing young man with a lot of maturity and, while this is an audacious plan, he is quite capable of succeeding,” she says of her dedicated student. “It isn’t going to be easy and he will encounter unexpected things that he will have to work out along the way… but he has all the qualities required. He’s considered and cautious, he has set up a plan and been building up his flying experience. And, he is a very natural pilot.” The Bendigo South East College year 10 student has spent much of the past year developing the framework for his journey, spending countless hours poring over navigational maps, refining his route and seeking sponsorship. Companies including Flightstore and AvPlan have come on board and a Go Fund Me page has been established to assist with costs. After departing Bendigo, Solomon intends to stop first at King Island, work his way around Tasmania then embark on an anticlockwise mainland loop expected to take about 30 days, before landing back on his home runway. The record for solo circumnavigation of Australia stands at 16 years and eight months. Solomon will be 15 and 9 months if he takes off and lands on schedule. “My journey so far has taught me it is not impossible to achieve big things at a young age. But becoming the youngest is not the main aim of this project – the real goal is raising money for Angel Flight and promoting aviation.”
38
To support Solomon and follow his progress, visit his Facebook page SoloMan Around Australia or www.gofundme.com/soloman-15
2019
Golden Mile bet365
Raceday
SATURDAY 30 MARCH 2019
ACTIVITIES ON THE DAY
Live Music • Roaming Entertainment • Over $1 million in prizemoney on offer • Free Kids Zone Free admission for Jayco Club Members
FREE KIDS ZONE
Laser Tag • Inflatable Meltdown • Slot Cars • S.A.F.E Archery • The Big Baller • Water Zorb Balls Rock Climbing • Bungee Tramps • Inflatable Cars Slide
PACKAGES AVAILABLE Trackside Umbrella packages $150 • Silks Dining packages $75pp Mini Marquees $250 • Terrace Deck packages from $600 Off the Bench Marquee all inclusive finger food and beverage package, punters club and Country Racing Victoria giveaways $120pp General Admission $20 • Kids Under 16 Free
Phone 03 5448 4209
country.racing.com/bendigo
STARTING ANEW
Carolyn and Jade Sternberg
Eliza Sabaliauskas and Alex Liacos
Erica van der Heijden, Luc van der Schoot, Sabine Vissers and Jana van der Schoot
Haiden Gibson and Megan Cleary
Jacob Brown, Molly Reville, Stephanie Pearson and Bailey Ilsley
Lisa Reeves, Jess Wilson and Leah Lamprell
Bendigo’s New Year’s Eve skyline popped with flashes of colour and streaks of light as a fireworks show marked the start of 2019. While the spectacle could be seen across the city thousands of people gathered to watch the annual big bang in the CBD.
BSSC Alumni
shining on the world stage Charlie Munday - Class of 2015: Musical theatre performer in New York City
At Bendigo Senior Secondary College we’re incredibly proud to see our Alumni succeeding in their chosen fields all around the world.
Professor Ruth Williams - Class of 1972: Chair in Mathematics at UC San Diego
We also love that so many of our former students bring their skills and knowledge back to BSSC to help build the aspirations of our current students. If you’re a former student of Bendigo High or BSSC, there are so many ways you can still be involved in the life of the college; whether it’s taking part in college events, sharing your career and life experiences with students, or supporting them by sponsoring awards or scholarships.
Lucas Herbert - Class of 2014: Professional Golfer, currently ranked 75th in the world
You may simply want to stay up-to-date with what’s happening at the college, or network with other Alumni through our Facebook page and Alumni News feed on the college website.
Travis Hester - Class of 1989: President of General Motors Canada
Nicole Lake - Class of 2006: Works with the Department of Genetics atCON Yale University TAC T US
Bendigo Senior Secondary College Rosalind Park, Bendigo PO Box 545, Bendigo VIC 3552
Like to find out more? Drop us a line... alumni@bssc.edu.au
Phone 61 3 5443 1222 Fax 61 3 5441 4548 Email admin@bssc.edu.au Web www.bssc.edu.au
facebook.com/bendigoseniorsc twitter.com/bendigoseniorsc gplus.to/bendigoseniorsc youtube.com/user/bendigoseniorsc
Bendigo Senior Secondary College
Empowering learners for individual, community and global leadership
www.bssc.edu.au
Anouk Puccio and Hannah Jeffcoat
Christine Mocking, Peter Douglass and Gill Albers
FRESH AND LOCAL Damian Cassidy, Piper, Jack, Delaney, Brook and Zoe Douglass
Elly, Raziel and Nikki Gutierrez
David, Giselle, Jem and Neve Lawler
Tania and Jason Quick, Peter Rotteveel and Janine Young
The focus is always on local food and local producers at the Castlemaine Farmers Market. Each month the community gathering celebrates the region’s finest food and wine with assorted stalls brimming with fresh fruit and vegetables, cheeses, tasty meats and other culinary delights. Visitors bought goods directly from the source in support of small business.
Providing individualised NDIS support across Central Victoria • • • • • • • •
100 Queen Street, Bendigo 3550 8.30am – 4.30pm Monday to Friday (03) 5441 2666 www.amicus.org.au
Bendigo Castlemaine Daylesford Ballarat Maryborough Loddon Shire Campaspe Shire Macedon Ranges
OFFERING CUISINE WITH A BLEND OF PERFECT ASIAN TECHNIQUES & CULINARY ADVENTURES….
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cold case cracked Local researchers at the Bendigo Library were tasked with finding the finer details of my family’s goldfields past, to discover we’re not, in fact, who we think we are. By Lauren Mitchell - Photography by Leon Schoots David Cotton’s beautiful English accent instantly gives him away. Unlike the endless line up of people he searches the local archives for, he has no family here, besides his wife. He does it purely for the chase. “I enjoy it,” he says. “It’s fun, and at the end of the day if I don’t find them, I don’t find them.” David is a member of the Bendigo Family History Group, one of three entities based at the Bendigo Library helping locals and visitors travel back in time. There’s also the Bendigo Regional Genealogy Society, Bendigo Regional Archives Centre and the library’s own research staff. David and his fellow volunteers ducked down the archival rabbit hole in search of my Cornish forebears. As a fifth generation on the goldfields the stories bandied around about my family were legendary. There’s the one about the cabbie who sued Dame Nellie Melba’s brother for fare evasion. The rumour one bloke was buried with his in-law instead of his wife. The tales of babies gone too soon. But were they true? In a Who Do You Think You Are-style challenge, David and co set to uncover the proof, and the results were surprising. “It turns out to be quite interesting,” he says of
this one case study. “Your family is a good example of the pitfalls of researching.” Bendigo Library staff member Vivien Newton says thanks to the aforementioned TV show, websites like ancestry.com and the growing number of DNA testing companies, long cold relatives are hot property and local researchers are feeling the heat. “Almost everyone in the world has an ancestor who came to Bendigo from the 1850s to the 1890s,” Vivien says. “We get emails and visits from people all over the world. People call in to research their family as part of their grand trek from Queensland or New Zealand. You never quite know what questions you’re going to get asked but that’s the fun of it all. You have to like jigsaws. Sometimes we don’t find answers to the questions being asked but we do find a whole lot of previously unknown information.” I can vouch for that. David says they spent a fortnight “playing” with the free resources available at the library to find my family members, namely those on my grandmother’s paternal side, the Hockings. They started with a memory my grandmother had of sitting in the back of her 43
grandfather’s horse-drawn cab, which was based at a rank outside the Shamrock Hotel. But her memory failed her. Turns out she was born in 1930, while her grandfather Joseph Hocking died in ’29. At least the man she believed was her grandfather died then. The group discovered her actual grandfather died in 1900, aged 44. His name, Thomas Faull, had been effectively wiped from my family’s living memory. Cornishman Thomas Faull married my great, great grandmother in Bendigo in 1882. He had been a miner, until an underground explosion at the Hustler’s Premier Mine took his arm and his eyesight. The limb was amputated at the Bendigo Hospital, likely by hacksaw. Thomas’ shocking luck continued into married life. He and wife Mary Jane had nine children together, however only three survived. Six babies were buried within their first year of life. Six babies, long, long forgotten. When the last child, my great grandfather George, was four, Thomas also passed away, and George was raised a Hocking, after the man Mary Jane married that same year. “That was very common,” David says of the quick nuptials. “If I died back then and my wife was left with kids, how else would she manage?” “It’s not just about individual families, it’s about the changing face of Bendigo,” he says of the births, deaths and marriages he finds. “That social history makes it more interesting than a document with names and dates on it.” On a side note, David delights at an article in The Age he discovered about another of my relatives, Rupert Fisher, who at 13 years of age, “saved a playmate when the latter was buried by a fall of sand near the Carlisle battery”. Rupert was a ward of the Bendigo Legacy Club. At the time he was one of 44 school-aged children of deceased soldiers the local chapter cared for. “The Legacy Club is another topic for your magazine to look at,” David suggests. I won’t walk you through the details of how the group discovered my lost family member, just know they have ways and means, and access to records from churches, hospitals, schools, courts,
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petitions, burials, mines, rates, voters’ rolls, and the list rolls on. All of it painstakingly indexed by local volunteers. Researcher Pam Keown says the information is freely available for those who seek it, yet also closely guarded. “We don’t let it go on sites like ancestry.com, we keep it here because it belongs in Bendigo,” Pam says. They also like people to know it takes time to find those puzzle pieces. “It doesn’t take half an hour – this research has taken a number of days,” David says, adding a year’s research goes into an hour-long episode of Who Do You Think You Are? Bendigo’s researchers, by the way, have contributed to a couple. They accessed information about Delta Goodrem’s family, and John Wood’s – people who had also been on the goldfields. David says spending hours online searching your family tree is a start, however at some point you must go to the places where they walked. “You need to go to Cornwall for the rest of the story,” he tells me. “Get a research grant from the Bendigo Magazine!” But seriously, David says the fact that the majority of families came from somewhere else should be a lesson for all of us. “Today we hear all the terrible news about immigrants. If only the younger generation could understand they all come from whole generations of people who moved seeking a better life. I personally think if people had a broader idea of where they came from and why they’re here, I think it would ease the tension.” Local history groups will take part in the Australian Heritage Festival from April 29 to May 7. Go to www.ncgrl.vic.gov.au/heritage for the program of events at the Bendigo Library. Thanks to the uncovering of my lost family members, my mother and uncle visited the Bendigo Cemetery to seek the gravesites of Thomas and Mary’s six babies who died between 1887 and 1898. They couldn’t be certain of the exact location of the unmarked grave but took comfort in learning they were buried together. 45
IT’S ALL IN THE GENES Finding great, great grandparents on the goldfields is often easier than finding living, breathing relatives, says Bendigo librarian Vivien Newton. Despite the fact our lives are largely played out online, accessing official records about people born post-1920 is near impossible. Vivien says local researchers are getting more and more requests to track down living relatives, thanks to the rise in people taking DNA tests. “Technology is opening up cans of worms all over the place,” she says. “Now that people are doing DNA tests it’s throwing another story onto the past. For many, many people it’s indicating they’re not who they thought they were – we try to stay out of that!” One brother and sister from Sydney recently visited the library, having taken a test and discovered they had different fathers. They had traced their mystery man to Bendigo, where they believed he once worked with their mother in a hotel. “They were trying to find living relatives,” Vivien says, adding they had no luck due to privacy laws. Bendigo Family History Group researcher Pam Keown has spent 20 years researching her family tree. Having exhausted all historic avenues, the next natural step was to take a DNA test. The results connected her to a distant cousin in America, and in turn, to confirm she came from convict stock. She was able to find the record of her forebear William Goodman’s trial at The Old Bailey. A positive result all round for this keen history hound.
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JENKIN JOY
Tadi Masiboy, Eliza Griffiths and Lucas O’Brien
Ben Rohanm, Billy Black and Ted Maher
Chloe Cook, Sam Wardrop and Bodhi Every
Drhuv Gupta and Xavier Maruff
Eliza Oxley, Ashlee McKern and Danielle Williams
Flynn Black, Salisa Lambert, Claire Trenery and Alex Campbell
As summer ticked over it was time for school swimming sports carnivals. In February, more than 800 students at Girton Grammar School took to the pool for the annual Senior School Swimming Carnival. Jenkin House won this year’s honours in the overall cup and the Spirit Cup.
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Carolyn Staszkiewicz and Harry Townsend
Chris Hain and Sandy Luxton
Debra Pell and Tina Price
Fiona Bell and Amy Clark
BLUES IN TUNE A day of music at The Rifle Brigade Hotel gave a taste of what’s to come at this year’s Bendigo Blues & Roots Music Festival.
Miguel Rios and Bob Cole
Josie Di Bella, Greg Coad and Carlo Di Bella
February’s Summer Showcase fundraiser featured 16 artists, who regularly volunteer their time and talents to bring tunes to the region.
- AdvertIseMent -- AdvertIseMent AdvertIseMent --
Lisa Chesters MP - a strong VoiCe for Bendigo Lisa Chesters Lisa Chesters MP MP -- a a strong strong VoiCe VoiCe for for Bendigo Bendigo federal Member for Bendigo Ifederal am honoured to have been elected as the Federal Member for Bendigo. Member for Bendigo federal Member for Bendigo As your Federal to Member of Parliament, my office and I can provide a II am honoured have elected Federal Member for am honoured to have been been elected as as the the Member for Bendigo. Bendigo. As your Federal Member of Parliament, myFederal office and I can provide a wide range of services. As your Federal Member of Parliament, my office and II can provide a wide range of services and support. As your Federal Member of Parliament, my office and can provide a Please don’tof hesitate to get in touch with me anytime, either at my office wide range services. wide range services. on (03) 5443of9055 or by lisa.chesters.mp@aph.gov.au Please don’t hesitate to email get inat touch with me anytime, either at my Please don’t hesitate to touch with me Please don’t hesitate to get getorin inby touch with me anytime, anytime, either either at at my my office office office on (03) 5443 9055 email at lisa.chesters.mp@aph.gov.au on (03) 5443 9055 or by email at lisa.chesters.mp@aph.gov.au on (03) 5443 9055 or by email at lisa.chesters.mp@aph.gov.au
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clown about town The life of a street performer is not all froth and bubble. As, in all things, you need good balance. By Sarah Harris – Photography by Richard Baxter Bubbles. The very word froths with fun. Imagine then ginormous bubbles, bubbles so big that two people can stand inside them suspended in an enchanting, light-refracting cocoon, then … ping!
University.
Much as he hates to burst your bubble, wellknown street performer and clown Tim Tim is not about to give trade secrets away. “I do have a secret formula,” he laughs. “I can tell you the cheapest detergent works well when you mix it with warm water, but you also have to add something to the water to increase the surface tension.”
“I just find with kids particularly I am really good at communicating with them. I just talk directly to them. Even babies I find intelligent. I don’t discredit anyone who can respond. I just try to do playful things and show them things that are curious and interesting. I’m just into people having fun, although I don’t feel like I do it much myself. I never see myself as that much of a fun person.”
As one of the earlier performance artists to use soapy water as a medium, Tim Hurley has earned his place at the big end of the bubble game. He’s in demand as an entertainer for everything from kids’ birthday parties to corporate gigs with nary a community event in Bendigo complete without his appearance. Tim’s career as a performer is one the myriad spinoffs of the Castlemaine State Festival over many decades. “It was back in the ‘80s when I was about 16,” Tim, now 52, recalls of a key Festival encounter. “I wasn’t doing so well at high school and wanted to do my own creative things. I was told to go along to this workshop by one of the job search agencies or drop-in centres. They had this American artist in residence who taught me stilt-walking. He really encouraged me to make my own sense of the world.” From being on the verge of dropping out for good, Tim returned to complete Year 12 at a tech school where he did photography, painting and ceramics. He then went on to study print-making and painting at Monash
“I sort of like all the arts, but I really like those very individual moments and connections you can create with people as a performer. It is a kind of magic.
Depression troubled Tim when he was younger, but he learned to manage it in more recent years. “The beauty you see in life and how sensitive you are can make you have extreme highs and lows. I haven’t been a person to fit the mould. I would say life has always been a bit of a struggle, but I think sometimes it is the turmoil that makes you more creative in a way; something inside you is trying to come out. “It is easy to be in that trap, to only be creative when you are really down or really sad and it is your avenue out. But it is important to try and be stable and fit and healthy and create in a practical way – to just do it and feel it inside you spiritually.” Tim’s repertoire includes several character acts offering a range of entertainments including juggling, clowning, joke-telling, balloon sculpting and of course the everpopular bubble-making. He is also a fireeater and flame-thrower which saw him on the billing of a lot of rave parties in the ‘90s.
These skills have taken Tim across Australia and helped supplement his travels around the world, appearing at places like the New Orleans Jazz Festival where he debuted his much-copied baby stilts with little baby shoes that fitted in his backpack. Always striving to improve his shows, Tim is currently working on creating a caterpillar with helium and smoke-filled bubbles that when popped makes it seem to crawl up in the air. His arch enemy is climate change as bubbles work best at cooler temperatures or in environments of high humidity. “The heat is really killing my job which is why I am doing more corporate and indoor shows with bubbles,” he explains. Interestingly, despite the flame-throwing, public liability is not a problem. Tim is one of seven actual clowns on the board of Duck for Cover – a performers insurance collective covering over 4000 performers throughout Australia. “You can get insured for everything from bed of nails and sword-swallowing to tarot reading,” Tim explains. “Incredibly we don’t actually have a lot of outgoings for entertainers, considering what we do. “I have only hurt myself a few times. The worst was when I blew up a balloon and it burst and hit me in the eyeball and I had a black spot in my vision for like two weeks. “It is pretty remarkable when you think of all those years on stilts with kids running around below me while I am doing bubbles in places with potholes and other impediments. “I guess like life, it comes back to good balance.” 51
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Creative Couture
AG ART WEAR DISPLAY FEBRUARY 14 – APRIL 28, 2019 An inspiring display of imaginative garments made entirely from materials used in agriculture, selected from the recent Elmore Agricultural Field Days Ag Art Wear competition.
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power to the people
The question people often ask me is; can you have clean renewable energy and cheaper power bills at the same time? The answer is yes. By Lisa Chesters - Photograph by Ashley J Taylor
It’s no secret that Victorians are concerned about rising energy bills. Electricity prices have increased by nearly 19 per cent over the past three years, three times faster than wages growth. The best way to lower power prices is to support new cheap, reliable and clean electricity generation investment. It is beyond doubt that humanity is facing a climate emergency. The challenge is how effectively we respond as a community, and the good news is there are a number of Central Victorians paving the way when it comes to a renewable future. The Bendigo Sustainability Group is a perfect example. They’ve been appointed as the host organisation for the Bendigo Community Power Hubs project, aimed at assisting the community to develop renewable energy projects.
community-owned solar farms, where local households and businesses will be able to purchase power. The rooftop solar projects would look at packaging together solar PV installations as roof hosts, going onto a number sites with larger roofs and energy demands and creating an investment framework. Up to 20 local community members will be able to provide the capital funds and own the systems for a period of approximately 10 years. Those investors are expected to get their money back over the contract period, as well as a return on their investment, while the roof hosts will get cheaper electricity and be gifted the solar system at the end of the contract. The Bendigo Tramways has already benefited from this project, receiving a 50kW solar system thanks to investment from Community Foundation of Central Victoria.
So far, the project has installed two 30kW systems, both donation projects which I’m proud to say I was part of.
The Community Foundation is now receiving return on that investment, and the tramways is saving money on its electricity.
One was 30kW on eight social housing homes in Golden Square, helping residents save about $10 a week on their rent, which includes electricity.
The Bendigo Library has also received a 20kW solar system thanks to a crowd funding campaign back in 2015, of which I was a proud contributor.
The other project was 30kW on the Eaglehawk Badminton and Table Tennis Stadium.
The project was ground breaking, the Bendigo Sustainability Group was one of the first community organisations in Australia to use crowd funding to enable a not-for-profit
The group’s aim is to establish communityowned rooftop solar projects, and ultimately,
organisation to own and sell solar generated electricity. Similarly, The Community Power Hubs project is also focusing on establishing a community investment model to install significant amounts of solar on local government schools. The great thing is Bendigo Sustainability Group is not the only one pushing for renewable energy projects in Central Victoria. Newstead 2021, a local community group, was recently awarded a $200,000 grant to transition their town to 100 per cent renewable energy. They want to develop a model to supply the town’s homes and businesses with renewable energy from a community-scale grid. These projects are great for the community. They’ll help reduce bills, develop new industry, improve the environment, and provide social benefits for those involved. By enacting positive policies on climate change and energy, governments can inspire community groups and businesses to be proactive. it is obvious that by taking action on climate change, reducing pollution, and investing in renewables we will bring stability to the energy market, lower power prices and lift people out of poverty. We must lead by example and promote global action. 53
it's a rapp! There is no mistaking the distinctive style of one Castlemaine artist countering the dark with lightness. By Sarah Harris – Photography by Leon Schoots
Katharina Rapp doesn’t much like to start her story at the beginning. Her early past is a place populated by hollow-eyed children and thin, careworn widows of post-war southern Germany.
“We did stalls for trade fairs and I would have to do calligraphy, posters, make paper sculptures and hammer structures together to create a particular visual effect out of nothing.”
“I have so closed a door on it,” the artist says. “It is all sort of sad and dark and that is the very thing I am trying to leave behind. However, what we experience as young people is what forms us and I have had my share of misery. All I wanted as a child was a laugh and it has been the same ever since.”
She then went to Paris and worked as an au pair to put herself through a course in French language and civilisation at the Sorbonne before heading to London to perfect her English. There her ambitions met a heart-shaped cul-de-sac in the form of a man.
Katharina’s guiding example of the power of light and humour was her Aunt Frieda: a large woman who would intermittently appear on the doorstep in gumboots and a cloud of hair pins to cheer the scene. “She had lost her husband, lost her son in the war and she still managed to laugh and make other people laugh. That takes strength.” There is a gleeful glimmer of Frieda in all of Katharina’s work. The walls of her studio/gallery in Castlemaine’s heart is lined with huge, colourful caricatures of women embodying puns and absurdist word plays. Encountering the Three Disgraces, Mary, Queen of Scoots and Nelly Kelly (after the style of the famed Sidney Nolan series) it’s impossible to suppress a smile if not an outright snort laugh. Her style has been described as German expressionism, but this often also implies some angst – the antithesis of what Katharina seeks to convey. “The first expressionism was in the 15th century and was a triptych painted by Mattias Grunewald which included Jesus on the cross and someone pointing a finger at him which is twice as long as a normal finger so even the uneducated could tell that this was an accusation,” she explains. “Really it is about the stylisation, exaggeration of the human form to express something. I have expressionism in my blood because it was what I saw all around me, on every poster, as I grew up. But, in my case it is like breaking into a flower out of a cannon.” Even as a very young child Katharina found outlet in art. “I didn’t look at dolls, all I wanted was a scrap of paper and a pencil,” she recalls. “My father was a painter, he died six weeks before I was born so I never saw him work, but it is in the blood. “He did what at the time was the fashionable thing: landscapes of the Alps with a chapel nestled against a mountain. The last painting, sold before he died, kept my mother going for a year … very modestly mind you. And, in this post-war era, in poverty and misery, I was given a gift that has shaped my life, so I was lucky.” Unable to afford to go to university to study, her eye was first trained by doing an apprenticeship in decorative arts with practical application. 54
It wasn’t until some 30 years later after raising her family, art reasserted itself in Katharina’s life. Then living in Melbourne with a weekender in Castlemaine, she decided to enrol in a fine art degree through La Trobe’s Bendigo campus as a mature student.
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“I did my degree and then we got divorced because I realised I was somebody in my own right. I wasn’t just Mrs X. I was married to a melancholy, serious man. He had very many fine qualities but, laugh a minute he was not. “When we got divorced all that repression just came out of me. I went from sepia or black and white to the full spectrum. A therapist once described my work as being like therapy and there is some truth in that.” She recalls lamenting to one of her lecturers that she should have embarked on study earlier. “I said, damn I should have done this sooner. All those years I have wasted and missed out so much. He said; ‘No, look at all those young ones. They all do the dark stuff because they haven’t experienced anything and are confused, where you know who you are and what you want’.” From that moment Katharina charged ahead stylistically. Then, just after she finished her course, an old friend called on her to provide enough paintings to fill an exhibition after another more established artist let her down. Visual arts identity Maria Prendergast organised an art show a month for the luxury Sofitel Melbourne On Collins and suddenly the newly minted graduate had the slot. “It was a bit like the opera where the major star has a cold and someone else gets asked to stand in and that is the beginning of their career,” Katharina laughs. “Geoffrey Blainey did the opening speech and there were hundreds of people there and it was quite amazing, but I sold only one small painting and my heart just sank because I had very high hopes. “After a month the show was taken down again and everything came back to Castlemaine at vast expense because they were big canvases. I was so disheartened. It was not long after I had bought my first mobile and I was somewhere out in the bush and then my phone rings. It was a man from Sydney who said, ‘I should have bought those two paintings when I saw them at the Sofitel. Have you still got X and Y. I would like to buy them’. “From that moment I was $20,000 richer and so it went for a year or two. I would get calls from people who would say ‘we were staying at the Sofitel and we just loved that painting. We have been talking about it ever since and should just have bought it back then’. One of the paintings was called the Three Wise Brides and I got a call from Brisbane saying, ‘we do bridal gowns and we just love it, can we buy it’. Quite apart from the money, which by then I badly needed, it gave me so much confidence and that is how it started.” Having recently moved her home and studio to a beautifully refurbished Hargraves Street shopfront, Katharina’s work will be very much part of the showcase of local talent during the Castlemaine State Festival (March 22-31). “I want to give something back, which is a cliche, but I am no spring chicken anymore and have a bit more understanding about the human condition. I want this to be a fun place. The world is in such dire straits I think the human spirit needs lightness and hope otherwise we are going to wither. So, I try and cheer people up whether it has anything to do with my art or not and that is my thing.” To view more of Katharina’s work visit studiorapp.com
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the break dance champ When vision loss devastated Karl Jacobs as a teen, he turned to dance and martial arts to take back control and change his life’s course for good. By John Holton - Photography by Leon Schoots Ask Karl Jacobs what he remembers about his days at secondary school and his first response is “girls”. Probably not surprising given that he was one of only two males in his Year 12 dance class. “It was a really interesting time,” he says. “My only experience of dance before that was breakdance, so there was a sense of having to embrace a more feminine style of movement because we covered such a broad range of styles including ballet and contemporary dance. “I approached it with the mindset of an athlete and wanted to see how far I could push my body and mind through dance.” But Karl’s time at Bendigo Senior Secondary College was memorable 58
for a whole lot of reasons… some of them less than good. As a 16-year-old he was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa and his eyesight deteriorated rapidly. Karl’s particular form of RP affects just one in 600,000 and very little is known about the causes. There are no treatments for the condition. During the same week as Karl’s RP diagnosis, his father was diagnosed with cancer. He died two years later. Karl’s life was turned upside down, but as he says, “breakdancers spend a lot of time on their head” Yes, his sense of humour is definitely intact. Karl was a talented tennis player rising through the junior ranks before RP robbed him of his sight and his sport. Breakdancing and martial
says. “It made me a bit of a celebrity.” Rather than shun it, Karl saw the added attention as a positive; using breakdance as a way to help others. “I’ve done a lot of work with young people in all kinds of situations,” he says. “Kids with disabilities, Indigenous kids in Aboriginal communities, young men in the juvenile justice system. I figured breakdance worked for me when I was going through all that stuff as a teenager, so I knew it could help other people too. “It can be a life-changing experience. The first time I spun on my head, it blew my mind. Breakdance is a way to move your body in new and exciting ways that’s just not like any traditional sport. It’s the furthest thing from cricket and footy you could imagine.” It’s been a testing journey for Karl, who also lost his mother to cancer just 10 years after the death of his dad. He was his mum’s primary carer during the final years of her life. But feeling sorry for himself has never been part of Karl’s make-up. Despite battling depression and dealing with what he describes as “the torturous way” of losing his eyesight, Karl continued to push himself physically, attaining a high level of achievement in judo and taekwondo. He continues to give, recently launching his own business, SickSteps, teaching breakdance to young people in Bendigo. “One of the things I love about breakdance is that you keep fit and build your body in the process of learning the moves,” Karl says. “The classes I run are really chilled and a lot of fun. There are no expectations. The whole idea is to lessen people’s anxiety and worries and focus on the next move. “That’s what dance is all about… it’s a great release.”
arts helped to fill that void and provided the physical discipline that had always been important to him. “Like most people, I grew up believing that you had to be independent… that was my mindset. But now I’m forced to depend on others to help me,” Karl says. “I’m a fairly deep thinker and I tend to be obsessive and pick things apart in my head. “I went all-in on the dependence thing. Rather than using aids, like a walking cane, I rely on people. The upside is that I’m always interacting. I like that I’m never walking around in silence.” In the years after school, Karl threw himself wholeheartedly into breakdance. He’s a three-time winner of the 2eXtreme Breakdance Battle, came third in the Australian Championships, finished top-eight in multiple overseas events – in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore – and has been a guest judge at ten different major events. He laughs as he recalls the interest from the media when he competed overseas. “The marketing people loved that a blind guy could spin on his head,” he 59
SEE DAI GUM LOONG AT THE GOLDEN DRAGON MUSEUM *
*PERMANENTLY ON DISPLAY FROM APRIL 22nd.
Welcome to the Chinese Cultural Centre of Australia. Experience a living history of the Chinese people in Bendigo from the goldrush of the 1850s to the present day at the Golden Dragon Museum. Victoria’s first accredited museum. The museum beautifully presents processional regalia, carved furniture and costumes embroidered with gold bullion thread. Artifacts date as far back as the Shang Dynasty 1600 -1046BC. Located at the entrance to the museum and part of the Chinese precinct of Bendigo, are the Yi Yuan gardens, the Kuan Yin temple and the new Dai Gum San forecourt. Visit the website for guided group tour information; school workshops and activities; and cultural festival and event dates. WELCOME TO THE CHINESE CULTURAL CENTRE OF GOLDEN DRAGON MUSEUM AUSTRALIA
The museum beautifully presents processional regalia, carved furniture and costumes embroidered with gold bullion Open everyday thread. Artifacts date as far back as the YI Experience YUAN GARDENS & KUAN TEMPLEShang Dynasty9:30am - 5.00pm (except Christmas day) 1600 -1046BC. a living history of the YIN Chinese people in Bendigo from the goldrush of the Located at theYou entrance the museum and cantofind Dai Gum San 1850s to the present day at the Golden part of the Chinese precinct of Bendigo, are Sun Loong 1-11 Bridge Street Bendigo 3550 the Yi Yuan gardens, the Kuanon Dragon Museum. Victoria’s firstVIC accredited Yin temple POmuseum. Box 877 Bendigo VIC 3552 and the new Dai Gum San forecourt.
T +61 3 5441 5044 F +61 3 5443 3127 54415044 Dragon Museum E Golden info@goldendragonmuseum.org Follow us on E Yi conferences@goldendragonmuseum.org Yuan Gardens & Kuan Yin Temple www.goldendragonmuseum.org E Dai research@goldendragonmuseum.org Gum San Precinct Open Everyday 9:30am – 5:30pm W 1-11 www.goldendragonmuseum.org (Except Christmas Day) Bridge Street, Bendigo Bgo_Mag_half_art_March_2014.indd 1
4/12/13 11:45 AM
a fine line between love and hate
I have noted over the past few months a growing pile of discarded furniture, among countless other household items, gathering every morning around the recycled bins at my nearby Salvos opportunity shop. Words and illustrations by Geoff Hocking Is that Japanese de-cluttering lass to blame, or is it just that we begin to hate the things we have accumulated, so much, that we just want to start all over again. Every couch, every lounge-chair, occasional table, bed head and bedside table left outside the door of the Salvos was once purchased with eager pride. Ten years after that first blush they are simply loathed. Obviously, over time, the lounge did not live up to expectations. It did not give the luxuriant comfort offered when it was sat upon, for the first time, in the furniture store. The bed head now looks old-fashioned, the little tables need to go and the lounge chair either went out into the shed, then onto the veranda or, as I have observed in some cases they are wheeled out onto the footpath and hung with a sign that reads ‘FREE’, ‘Take Me’ — and no one does. No one else will ever love a recently divorced lounge chair. Driving about, especially on the outskirts of town, some properties are like scrapmetal yards with numbers of discarded automobiles left rusting under a canopy of gumtrees.
At one time, every vehicle was the pride of joy of its owner. The day it was driven out of the showroom, fully replete with its new car smell, its duco gleaming and every little thing working, as it should, it was a wonder to behold. Every member of the family rushed to get in, to open and shut everything, to flick lights on and off, and the radio was tuned to the new owner’s favourite pre-set stations. A virgin motor journey was taken around the neighbourhood before it was driven into its garage for the first time, and rubbed down with a soft cloth — for the first, and probably the last time. Years fly by. As soon as the warranty runs out, things start to go wrong, but we persist, after all this car is our friend. It may have a pet name. It has seen us through all sorts of scrapes, been a part of our great moments, and witnessed our worst. We just can’t abandon ‘her’ because she is starting to show a few strains. We put up with this for quite some time until we begin to lose our pure love for our old friend. As troubles persist it soon ceases to be a friend and quickly becomes an enemy
as it lets us down once too often. We decide to call it quits and look for another. The love affair is over. Once we sit behind the wheel of the next vehicle, we soon forget about the last. Unless we had purchased a premium model in the first place. One that comes from one of those prestige marquees that are meant to last the test of time. There is always someone out there who will take our old bomb if it has the right badge on the right bonnet. One day we may see our old love on the road, gleaming again, restored and polished and pretty as a picture and it will bring a stab of regret to our heart: ‘Why did I get rid of her’ we may think to ourselves. ‘I should have kept that one, she would be worth a mint now’. But it is too late once we have fallen out of love — the thrill has truly gone. When I was a lad, the chap who lived opposite us in Chum Street, cleared people’s yards for pin money. He would take his old Ford pick-up truck and literally ‘pick-up’ all the broken bits-and-pieces and old furniture and unused stuff; stuff left behind by men who had no further use for 61
it and wives who just were sick of it hanging about — and take it to the tip. Well, that is what he was meant to do, but he seemed to bring quite a bit of junk back home. His yard began to resemble the forecourt of my local Salvos at times. His shed looked like my local Vinnies, his garage like the Brotherhood — and I guess he was, years ahead of his time, he was a one-man repair café, a recycler; he turned hard rubbish into an art form and brought it all back home. At times we would go to the old Golden Square tip, and I am having trouble
remembering where it was. Was it on the Hargreaves Street side of the railway line or the other side ‘round about where the pony club is today? I do remember that it was always wise to wear sturdy footwear and not step across dusty smokeless ashes, as they usually were just a powdery cover over still glowing coals. I once watched as a chap wearing thongs burnt his toes while wandering about in the garbage tip. That was back in the days when the tip was free. If we weren’t burying our tin cans in a hole in the backyard, or smouldering our household rubbish and garden waste in a
cinder block incinerator, sending smoke signals across the neighbourhood, we took the serious stuff to the tip. Back then recycling was a big hole in the ground. There was no hard-rubbish, no Internet chat-site to ‘buy, swap or sell’. Vinnies hadn’t been invented. I don’t remember that we discarded many of our clothes anyway. We usually wore them out, patched them, and then wore the patches out. Anything still wearable was handed down, until it was threadbare. Back then things didn’t go out of fashion, they just fell apart.
COME & EXPERIENCE OUR Visit our new precinct DIVERSE HIVE OF ACTIVITY
Bendigo’s original market in garden still operates • Indulge yourself our farm kitchen today, 150 years •later, Farm’s social enterprise. Pickwithin & payPepperGreen from our market garden E x p•ePurchase r i e n c e o from u r d iour v e rplant s e h inursery ve of activity • Meet the artists at our studios • Indulge yourself in our farm kitchen • Take a tour through our unique history on site • Pick & pay from our market garden • Enjoy a Devonshire tea on our tram • Purchase from our plant nursery • Hold your next function at the farm • Meet the artists at our studios • Take a tour through our unique history on site Open Monday - Saturday | (03) 5445 9888 • Enjoy a Devonshire tea on our tram 44 Thunder Street, North Bendigo • Meet the makers at our community market
www.peppergreenfarm.com.au
2018 Opening Hours
A Social Enterprise of Access Australia Group
44 Thunder Street, North Bendigo
Mihin Perera, Neil Marriott and Andrew Dye
Charli Young and Georgia Probst
Chris Hosking and John Harvey
Peter Heritage and Lealey Rowbottom
JOY OF SCOTS Tartan and bagpipes ruled the city in early March for the annual Scots Day Out.
Freddie Cameron and Everett Joy
Heather Bell, McKenzie Evered, Tayla Currey, Cailey Finlayson and Megan Majczyna
DETERMINED
CREATIVE
A large crowd lined View Street to watch a parade of pipe bands, dancers and clans before heading into Rosalind Park for a lively jig and treats – haggis anyone?
KIND
SMART
WE • TEACH •TRAITS Students who can empathise • Students who are inclusive and kind • Students who see things in a unique way and can apply creativity to problems • Students being fearless • Students having fun Students speaking out and being proud • Being smart is not just about being clever in class • It is about being authentic and owning it • And that takes strength • Embracing challenges • Persisting in the face of setbacks and seeing effort as the pathway to mastery • At Girton we develop these traits through an exceptional education • Come and see how at our Open Day • Friday May 17
www.girton.vic.edu.au
Chris & Peter
A chance cancellation at Sutton Grange Winery set the date for one couple to become husband and husband in the wake of the marriage equality bill. Photography by Justin & Jim When Chris proposed to Peter the couple were on their first big overseas trip together in Europe. It was 2016 and marriage equality was still being debated in Australia but Chris thought it was just a matter of time before it was legal. Suffice to say, they had more than two years to plan their wedding before celebrating with family and friends could be made official late last year. The pair met online and spent a few months chatting via text and on the phone before they had the opportunity to meet up for lunch. “It took some coordination between our busy jobs and lives,” Chris says. He was living in Melbourne and Peter was in Castlemaine. “We went for 64
a lovely Vietnamese fusion lunch at Rice, Paper, Scissors just off Bourke Street in Melbourne. And we had a cheeky glass of wine or two. Needless to say, the lunch went for two hours and the rest is history. We both thought the person we were meeting in real life was even better than the online and digital personas!” When they could finally, legally, tie the knot, they did it in style, surrounded by 60 of their “nearest and dearest” with a ceremony and reception at Sutton Grange Winery. “We only managed to secure it as Peter had a work function there in July and found out there had been a cancellation for 17 November 2018,” Chris says.
Both wore suits from Sand – Copenhagen, shoes from Lloyd and shirts from Hugo Boss, plus their matching Calibre 5 engagement watches from Tag Heuer. Their wedding rings were from Fairfax and Roberts in Sydney. Local suppliers were also valued. “Our amazing wedding cake was from Bake Me I’m Yours in Bendigo, Castlemaine Floristry did the gorgeous flowers and our fabulous and amazing celebrant, Trudi O’Donnell, of Bendigo, officiated our special day,” Chris says, adding the photographs from locals Justin and Jim were an amazing record of the action. “We also found these cool wrought iron love
heart props at the Castlemaine Farmers Market,” Peter says. “However, they also had some barbed wire on them which Chris walked into after the ceremony, promptly ripping his suit pants! Thankfully, the amazing venue manager Laura intervened with doublesided tape and did a quick fix in situ.” Chris and Peter’s advice to others planning a wedding is to not worry too much about the hiccups, or anything that doesn’t get done or doesn’t go quite to plan. “No one else will know except for you,” they say. “Make it your own day by adding personal touches. It doesn’t have to be about following the norm. That being said, planning is key - lock in your major suppliers early and have some trusted people who can help coordinate the day to ensure it’s stress free. Most importantly, enjoy the day and live in the moment; it goes by with great haste.” Despite the wedding being just one day of their lives, the couple say the memories will last forever. “The lasting memories are walking down the aisle together to Feeling Good by Nina Simone, saying our vows, saying ‘YES!’, being surrounded by our loving family and friends, all the dancing, the wine and fabulous food, and finally being able to officially call each other ‘husband and husband’.” 65
Laura & Patrick A local couple custom-designed their ideal wedding, picking and choosing from tradition to plan one perfect day, with Bendigo being a star element. Photography by Justin & Jim The couple’s vows were exchanged at the Bendigo Art Gallery, with reception following at the Gallery Café and fun photos in View Street and Rosalind Park - which happened to be playing host to the Bendigo Blues and Roots Festival. The location added to the gorgeous photographs by Justin and Jim, not to mention the couple’s classy bridal party and Laura’s colourful wedding dress. “My dress was from Alannah Hill,” Laura says. “I was shopping with my mum and aunty one day and had looked at the dress on the internet. I tried it on, they jazzed it up with shoes and a belt and I absolutely loved it. I knew that I didn’t want a traditional wedding dress, I wanted something I could wear again. 66
“We avoided many traditions like no first dance, we got ready together, we wrote our vows and chose not to read them publicly. Many people wanted to pass judgement on some of our choices but at the end of the day it was about us and we did what would make us feel comfortable and able to enjoy our day.”
We continued talking from that night on. Eventually a few years later we were both in Bendigo studying and then working.”
Laura and Patrick met at Star Bar in Bendigo when they were 19. “I was in my second year at Melbourne Uni and Patrick was in Bendigo studying graphic design. I would come to Bendigo to visit my sister and we would go out. On this night I said to my sister that I liked the look of Patrick and she pushed me into him and spilt my drink all over him.
The ensuing wedding had many highlights, thanks to the couple’s unique approach to the day. “We designed our wedding by removing the things we didn’t like about weddings we had been to; one example being the big gaps between ceremony and reception for photos (we did ours beforehand). We were keen to get the formalities over and done with as
Pat proposed to Laura after a day in Daylesford wining, dining and relaxing to celebrate his birthday. “He got down on one knee at Trentham Falls and I was in complete shock,” Laura says.
quickly as possible, so we got our celebrant and close friend Hamish Riley to cull out anything that didn’t need to be included from his end; you know, remove all the ‘fluff’. He was great and catered to our needs perfectly. “Another key difference was including my best friend in the bridal party as my ‘bridesman’. The idea is to have your closest or most important friends/family in your bridal party, why would you leave one out simply because they are a different sex?” Patrick and Laura shared the whole weekend at MacKenzie Quarters with their family and bridal party. “Getting ready all together was so much fun and ensured we remained calm all day,” Laura says. “We were so relaxed about the whole event that we got to enjoy the best party ever with our family and friends. Sharing a toast from our three-litre bottle of Belvedere was also good fun and was a nice sentiment to my Polish heritage.”
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Strategem Bendigo Winemakers Festival
6 April 2019 SAT
TH
On 6th April Bendigo’s winemakers will transform Rosalind Park into the city’s biggest alfresco wine garden with the Strategem Bendigo Winemakers Festival.
11am to 4pm
Entry price includes wine glass and complimentary tastings 60 different Bendigo wines to taste The Deans and The Funk Junkies playing live all day Wine education pop-ups Lawn games Food stalls Bring a picnic rug or even book a private marquee
Tickets on sale now! Find out more at www.bendigowine.org.au
@Bendigowine
PMS 1807 RED PMS 432 GREY PMS 142 GOLD
9am - 2pm free entry & parking supporting australian small business creators
c a s t le ma in e
campbells creek community centre 45 elizabeth st, campbells creek
b e n d ig o
bendigo stadium 91 inglis st, west bendigo
23 march 22 june 21 september 27 april 13 july 12 october
fashion - jewellery - homewares - art - food - body thecreatorsmarket.com.au @thecreatorsmarket
a fresh take
Interior designer and artist Marcia Priestley paints away past pains to find international success from the calm confines of her bright home studio. By Lauren Mitchell - Photography by Leon Schoots We’ve arrived by the bush in Strathfieldsaye to find a little bit of the Bahamas. A touch of the Italian seaside. The tropical tones of Noosa palms on the walls of artist and designer Marcia Priestley’s family home.
The bright abstract paintings are the latest evolution of a creative journey that started when Marcia was a child, got put on the backburner as adult life took hold, then returned with a vengeance ten years ago.
It’s a welcome sight in the middle of a scorching Bendigo January and firm evidence Marcia has carried the sea air home from recent holidays; the trips being ideal inspiration for her latest body of work.
Marcia describes her childhood self as a creative kid, constantly drawing and imagining and wondering if art would always be part of her life.
“My sisters and I have good memories of our childhood. We had the space to roam and be creative. We grew up in Macedon, my father had a timber sawmill and we had a fully decked-out train carriage in our backyard. It was our rumpus room. It’s where we would spend all our time. One summer Mum allowed us to paint the windows in abstract art. She was a wonderful, patient mother.”
“I have always sketched or painted something ever since I had a sketch pad and coloured pencils to draw with,” she says. “I get my creative mind from my father who is always found tinkering in his shed making something from wood.
In early adulthood Marcia qualified as an interior designer as a way to make a living yet stay creative. Then, at the age of 33, she was given a cancer diagnosis which inadvertently brought her back to her creative roots.
“I love to capture moments,” she says. “That’s what my art is generally about. It’s about finding that part of yourself you connect with at that time. I just want to capture moments in time.”
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Marcia says she tackled her treatment with fierce positivity, and most importantly, by getting creative. “That was the reason I started illustrating again,” she says. “Our two daughters loved what I was doing and it really changed the vibe in our house. They couldn’t wait to come home from school just to see what new character or story I had created that day. And I began to realise it wasn’t just the treatment that made me well again, it was the whole creative process I was experiencing through my art.” When Marcia began sharing her work outside her family she quickly found that other people loved it too. She began illustrating for greeting cards and prints, which appealed to art and design lovers around the country, nationally from stockists such as David Jones and locally from outlets like Yoga Hara. Over the years Marcia’s illustrations have evolved to a more free-flowing style of loose line drawings. She found an international market for the art, featured in the likes of 70
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the Brazilian blog Casa Vogue and Origin Magazine in America. She’s fulfilled many overseas commissions, the latest being a portrait for a family in Italy. Local celebrities have embraced the work too, sharing their own portraits by Marcia on social media. Marcia has found a platform and marketplace for her work on Instagram and with the online design site, Greenhouse Interiors. She says the latter has been wonderful for connecting her to other Australian artists. When we meet Marcia is about to launch her latest collection through Greenhouse Interiors, called Coast. It’s her first public showing of the abstract paintings on canvas. “I think every artist wonders if people will like their work, but I’ve lost that feeling of worrying about what people think,” she says. “If nobody likes what I do I’m more than happy to keep the work for my own walls. They show my style, and zest for life and if people are inspired by that, great, and if not, that’s okay too. “I’ve heard so many stories about people getting sick and then finding their passion. I always had the creative passion but getting cancer made me see life in a different way. I no longer want to waste time. Every moment I have is precious and I want to spend that with the people I love, doing the things I love.” A decade after her diagnosis Marcia is cancer-free. The experience has left her with a fierce passion for art, as well as life. She now juggles making art with a full-time career as an interior designer, but she’s finding more and more hours to spend in her studio; a bright and beautiful space carved out of the family garage. “Other than drinking pina coladas on the beach there is no other place I’d rather be,” she says. “Painting or sketching gives me energy and makes me feel alive. I love the challenge of creating something from nothing but an idea. I love originality. Finding ways to be different is the biggest challenge these days because there is so much good stuff out there but once you develop your style, originality just happens. “I’m fussy with what I’m producing, I put a lot of thought into it. You just know when you’ve got it, that feeling of finishing a piece is really exciting and it makes me want to pick up a blank canvas and start all over again.” Marcia’s line works and Coast collection can be found at www.bibianaandco.com and her greeting cards are available through www.thecolourroom.com 72
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WIN FOR SCHOOLS
Riley Frost, Jill Pemberton and Bella Frost
Leon and Vikki Townsend, Karl and Kim Harrison
Sally Giri, Lyda Gladman and Melissa Zysvelt
Jade Thomsen, Trista Hawthorne, Cameron Engelsman and Georgia Webb
Jamie Murfett, Olivia and Freya McKenzie and Jade Murfett
Kim and Jason Carbone, Chris and Win Butler
A big crowd enjoyed the Marong Cup at Bendigo Jockey Club. Each year the race day raises funds for Bendigo’s eight Catholic primary schools. Activities included the hotly contested parents, teachers and students’ race. This year, bragging rights went to Holy Rosary Primary School.
EAL Program Excellence
For over 10 years the English as an Additional Language Program at Weeroona College Bendigo has excelled in providing an inclusive educational experience, which prepares students for a future of brilliance. We care about our students and help them to thrive.
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03 5443 2133 weeroona.vic.edu.au
Claudia Powell, Zoe Lindsay and Maisie Collins
Darby Whatley, Gus Hay and Kobi MacDonald
Ginger Hay, Monique Hay and Michelle Taylor
Jacko and friends
JACKO’S DAY Teammates of Jackson ‘Jacko’ Davie are helping him hit his spinal injury for six.
Janelle Willits, Sally Austin, Narelle Sherwood and Jolene Travaglia
Kylie and Mick Balazs, Dave and Anne Wilson
Players from the United Cricket Club held Jacko’s Day at Ewing Park in late February. The talented player shattered several vertebrae in a swimming accident and all money raised will aid his recovery.
SUPPORTING YOU FROM INJURY, THROUGH REHABILITATION, INTO WELLNESS
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art's all class for college Catherine McAuley College unveils its long-awaited new arts centre for a creative start to the school year and beyond. Photography by Leon Schoots
Students at Catherine McAuley College have started the new school year with the excitement of walking through the doors of the brand-new Sister Aloysius Martyn Arts Centre for the first time. A huge attendance at the Pastoral Planning Day saw students and their families exploring the two-storey building, which overlooks ovals and bushland and incorporates 28 flexible learning spaces and a centre for performing and creative arts. Classes commenced in the new building from the first day back and students officially love it. “It’s really fresh and makes it easy to enjoy school life,” says Noah in Year Seven. It was a race against time to complete the building with the local builders Walsh & O’Meara putting in a massive amount of work in hot conditions to finish in time. Landscapers worked up to the minute students arrived.
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While there is still some work to be completed to the north of the building, students have been using all the rooms and enjoying the benefits of the space, noise control, modern furnishings and technology. “In the new classrooms there is more space, so you have plenty of room to work, says Kaden, Year Seven. A range of spaces within the building have been designed to support Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics, or STEAM. Already, Year Sevens have been adopting the opportunities to design solutions to some of the school’s needs. “We made a prototype of a helicopter to scare away kangaroos and water the grass,” reports students Nathaniel and Zac. The centre features a performance area, larger classrooms for drama and music, wet areas for science and music practice rooms. Teacher and production director Kerry Turpie is thrilled with the possibilities for stagecraft
and performance in the new black box space “It’s the unseen features that create opportunities for the students; the stateof-the-art technology for learning sound engineering and mixing and the fullysprung floor which is ideal for dance and movement,” Kerry says. “Principal Brian Turner is also excited by the potential of these state-of-the-art learning spaces. “This innovative building creates new learning opportunities, designed to enhance the students’ skills and educational pathways well into the future,” he says. “The future of work will be increasingly collaborative and global, so it is more important than ever for students to be able to interact and plan collaboratively.” The Sister Aloysius Martyn Arts Centre reflect this environment and invite students to share their thinking with their peers and teachers. Learning is also enhanced through technology such as drones and 3D
printers, preparing students for the changing technology of the workforce. The college has a proud tradition dating back to 1876 and the new building connects with the history of the school. It is named in honour of Sister Aloysius Martyn, who led the pioneering Sisters of Mercy from Ireland to Bendigo, and features a statue of Catherine McAuley, foundress of the Sisters of Mercy. A formal blessing ceremony of the building and statue will take place late in first term. With enrolments increasing and the trend predicted to continue, the Sister Aloysius Martyn Centre provides space for the school to grow. A formal blessing ceremony of the building and statue will take place late in first term, while past students and all members of the community are invited to visit and tour the new centre at the college’s open evening on Wednesday, March 20 from 4 to 7pm.
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QUICK CLICKS
Adam and Jaclyn McNutt
Wendy Kelly and Derek Thompson
Gary Mannix, Ann Mannix, Ebony Place and Ben Place
Todd White and Dusty O’Shannessy
Katherine Simon, Kate Andrews and Laura Bridge
Mark White, Daniel White, Percy White, Brodie Noor and Nick White
In a hotly contested battle shearers Adam Brausch and Chris Anderson were tops at this year’s Axedale Quick Shear. Holly Courtney took out the learner’s category with local farmers Daniel White and Damon Faithful the most improved. The event raises funds for projects within the local community.
Trevor and Judith Lacy
Taye and Cruz Watts
LANTERNS ALIGHT Kris and Piper Walden-Dickie
Angela Zheng and Val Hogan
Marlene and Daisy Wing-Quay
Olive, Leon, Laura and Oscar Cole
With incense wafting through the air and lanterns hanging against the red walls of the Joss House Temple, The Year of the Pig arrived. Festivities to mark the Lantern Festival and celebrate the Chinese New Year included tea tastings and traditional performances from Lion teams and Plum Blossom dancers. Children from the Dr Harry Little Preschool decorated the lanterns.
WINE. FOOD. FUNCTIONS, WEDDINGS & CONFERENCES Visit our Cellar Door and Gallery. You can relax and enjoy wine tasting in air conditioned comfort or relax outdoors in the gardens.
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lessons in community Community and connectedness are big at Weeroona College Bendigo, which has helped its Karen students feel right at home. By Marina Williams - Photography by Leon Schoots Before new students from non-English speaking backgrounds step into a classroom at Weeroona College Bendigo there are signs to show they will be included. Literally. Signage in the school grounds features several languages, an acknowledgement that English is not native to all members of its community. It’s a small feature Bendigo’s growing Karen community appreciates. For 10 years, two years after the first family of Karen refugees arrived in the city, the college has been educating its children. The most recent census in 2016 found Karen was the second most commonly spoken language in Bendigo, and the college has chosen to keep pace with the changing demographic. Today 48 students are enrolled
across its four learning levels.
culture here,” Sue says.
In 2009 newly arrived students were taught in a tiny classroom with one teacher, Judy Kidman.
Four years ago, staff developed the awardwinning Weeroona Additional Learning Support Homework Club. The after-school program further helps refugee students in their education, employment opportunities and any other needs with which they may need support.
Judy was the school’s English-as-anAdditional Language (EAL) teacher, who also helped the extended families of the Karen students navigate the many facets of Australian life and culture. Today, that tiny EAL classroom no longer exists, with students integrated into classrooms. And, all staff support newcomers, says Sue Pollard, who became EAL Leader five years ago following Judy’s retirement. “It’s everybody’s responsibility to make newcomers feel welcome, it’s part of the
“We even have staff wanting to volunteer time to help in the program and other activities Karen students may be involved with,” Sue says. “As the new arrivals to Bendigo have grown exponentially, we have worked hard to incorporate this growing population into all aspects of our Australian culture and the education system. EAL is not just about teaching language – it covers everything 81
from debutante balls to learning how to access phone numbers. There will always be challenges but we value inclusiveness and it helps all students understand that there are differences in the world and that we all need to be accepting of others.” For alumni Eh Soo She those signs signalling acceptance speak volumes. “It shows how much the school values its community and how connected and close it is to the people who come here wanting to learn,” he says. Eh Soo studied Year 10 in 2013 and has been the school’s Multicultural Education Aide for four years. His role ensures connectedness between school and families. “I enjoyed my time here as student and always wanted to come back here and work. I became an aide to help the Karen feel that they belonged and to want to get an education and really make Bendigo their home,” Eh Soo says, adding he will soon study education at La Trobe University, Bendigo, then return as a teacher. “I love it here, it’s my community and I love that they are investing in the students and ensuring they are integrated into the classroom so they are not only provided with opportunities to learn but also to be accepted for who they are.” And WCB would welcome him as a teacher, says Sue: “Eh Soo is a strong advocate for the Karen community and he brings that back into the school…we cannot wait for him to be here teaching.” Still connected to the school’s community, Judy sees the rewards of her teaching. “Some have become student leaders, earned academic achievements, gained apprenticeships, started working in childcare and aged care facilities,” she says. “Parents welcome and appreciate the opportunities that their children receive. At the end of the first year, they asked if they could bring lunch for the 80 staff to thank us for helping their children. Ten years on this tradition still provides a strong link between the parents and the school.”
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Explore Sri lanka in stunning style. Enjoy the Tastes of Sri Lanka on an all inclusive boutique tour of this exotic island nation alongside your passionate hosts Jeremy & Natalie.
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M: 0421 242 423 E: info@tastesofsrilanka.com.au
www.tastesofsrilanka.com.au
the social farm life The Three Farmers are sharing a family legacy that reaches back to the 1850s in river-side Fosterville. By Lauren Mitchell - Photography by Leon Schoots As is customary in the country, the way to enter the Harrington family farm house is via the backdoor, straight into an eat-in kitchen that’s been heart and hearth for five generations. The room is one of the original parts of a house that’s been added to and adapted over many decades. “The Fosterville Harringtons have a family tree about the length of this table,” laughs Liz Harrington. “This house has a lot of history and particularly this kitchen. The wood stove, for example. Tim’s grandmother had 18 children, so she did a lot of cooking on that oven.” Liz, Tim and their daughter Emme are also known as the Three Farmers of Fosterville. They’ve welcomed Bendigo Magazine onto their property to share a little of the farming lifestyle that’s part and parcel of living on the outskirts of the city. “The agricultural sector provides Bendigo with an enormous amount of money. It’s amazing the amount of stock that goes through the Bendigo Livestock Exchange annually. And the filter down effect of that goes into so many different industries and local businesses, but that’s not often recognised,” Tim says. “If you don’t know a farmer, you don’t realise.” Many locals will know the family from social media. Liz initially started
the Three Farmers Fosterville Facebook page and then an Instagram account to promote the barbed wire and horse shoe sculptures she makes, but it quickly evolved to share the story of who they are and what they do. “As farmers I think we have a responsibility to help people understand where their food comes from and how it’s produced,” Liz says. “There’s a disconnection that I absolutely think is getting worse and there will come a point in time when that’s lost. Parts of Greater Melbourne used to be covered in vegetable gardens and now those areas are covered in McMansions. Where is that food being grown now? And back in the day everyone had an aunty or a third cousin on a farm and you’d stay there in the school holidays. That doesn’t happen anymore.” The Three Farmers are doing their bit to show the blood, sweat and tears that go into our food production – and the romance. Think gorgeous photographs of kitchen garden produce, pin-up worthy chooks, curious cattle and the changing nature of a glorious sky. “Social media is a surprising ‘place’ to be,” Liz says. “It’s hard to know what people will react to. We’ve had a couple of posts go viral, with millions of hits, and that’s put our world into a bit of a spin.” One was 85
a simple shot of a sheep that had sprouted oats, as happens if you sprinkle seeds and water onto cotton wool. The sheep in question was notorious for being first at the feed, and therefore showered in seed. The picture was accompanied with the whimsical words familiar to carers of little ones, “Where is the green sheep?” And it resonated. As did the photograph of a simple family dinner where Emme suggested taking a picnic table and chairs down to the paddock where Tim was baling. The picture showed the baler in the background of an idyllic setting. “At certain times of the year we don’t have a lot of time to go out for meals or picnics,” Liz says. “It’s moments like that that make you appreciate what’s around you.” What’s around them is about a thousand acres of farmland abutting the Campaspe River. It’s an almost 24-7 job to manage and Liz says free time is rare, due to having a mixed farming business of cattle, sheep and crops. The latter provides grain and hay for the stock, which are bred on the property, making them almost self-sufficient. They do however ring true to that other country cliché, of providing warm hospitality and extended community. That’s been part of the tradition here. Within cooee of the Harrington’s is Home Flat House,
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the Airbnb Liz opened last year to guests. The flat-roofed house was one of two shifted here in the late 1970s by the Sandhurst Diocese, as part of a settlement program for Vietnamese refugees. “That was back in the day when we were more welcoming to people fleeing atrocities,” notes Liz. One of the families who settled stayed for decades, raised their children and established a beautiful market garden in the paddock. Today, anyone can stay and experience the peace and quiet of the river flats, in a home furnished with Liz’s vintage finds. For the Three Farmers, it’s a connection to the land and environment, the history and family legacy here that makes the hard work all worth it. (The Harringtons arrived in Melbourne from Ireland in the mid-1850s, got off the boat and walked north until they stopped here.) “I love the space,” Liz says. “The satisfaction that we’re in control of what happens here, apart from the weather. Assisting with the birth of stock, watching them grow. Being able to choose what you do when you do it, there’s freedom in that. And the natural environment, the river, the river flats, the night skies, the nearby bush. We’re very lucky to live where we live.” Liz says even the nearby Fosterville Gold Mine makes this place unique. Occasionally, the plates in this much-loved and lived-in kitchen rattle with underground blasts from the mine – kind of fitting for a family who came in the era of the goldrush.
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door to childhood Author Liz Low revisits the home where memories were made, and ultimately, committed to print in the book Eaglehawk Girl. By Lauren Mitchell - Photography by Leon Schoots When Lynne and Colin Bush moved into one of Eaglehawk’s historic homes three years ago, they were naturally curious about its past. They’d been looking for a period house, with all the trimmings, and this beauty in Church Street fitted the brief. They knew it’d been the home and surgery of Dr Trembath and had searched the title history to discover the Trembath family had owned the house for 60 years. They learnt it was built by timber and iron merchant Robert William Jeffrey in 1901, and that Dingles the baker also called it home. Names and dates on a page provided the facts, but the rest of the story was pure fiction, until the past came knocking. Liz Low, formerly Elizabeth Trembath, had some trepidation about that knock on the door of her childhood home. It was the day before she was to launch her book, Eaglehawk Girl, and she’d driven out to forewarn the owners. 91
“I was nervous,” Liz says. “I thought as a courtesy I ought to let these people know their house was about to be exposed to readers. I was going to leave a note in the letterbox but then I thought, ‘That’s chicken Liz,’ so I knocked on the door.” “I was excited,” Lynne says of the unexpected visitor. “It was otherwise just an ordinary day for us. Liz had her book in her hand and I was so excited, I just wanted her to come in and walk around. I was full of questions.” Liz says she “felt like Alice in Wonderland” stepping back inside. “The house had got taller and narrower. And seeing the floorboards and hearing footsteps instead of walking on carpet, it was astonishing. When we had sold it, the house was tired, and it was lovely to see it sitting up solid again. It had been firmed up and made good. I felt like someone had respected what it was.” The house had been Liz’s home from the age of two, and a place she returned to until her mum, Cynthia, sold up and moved into a retirement home in 2007. It was also a central ‘character’ in her book. 92
“I didn’t want that to show in the book, I just wanted to tell the stories,” Liz says. “Although I would never have written a memoir of just myself, that would only have been interesting to me, or slightly interesting to my family. I wanted to write something for other people to read.” Liz began writing later in life, although she had been a secondary college English teacher all her career. After retirement from the classroom she gained a Fine Arts degree at RMIT and established a successful second life as a ceramic artist. Liz made functional and sculptural porcelain pieces from a home studio and later at Gasworks in Albert Park until 2014, until the work started feeling like a business more than an artform. “I thought, ‘Hang on Liz, this is turning into hard work and you’ve already retired,’.” Still craving a creative outlet, Liz began writing, and has found success as a freelancer, with work published in The Age. The natural progression for her stories was to collate them in a book. The people, places and moments in history featured in Eaglehawk Girl would be familiar and nostalgic for many locals. Liz writes of swimming in the Eaglehawk Baths, playing around the poppet heads and mullock heaps, and even waving to the royals as they made a cameo at the freshly-minted Queen Elizabeth Oval; “I was sure that Prince Phillip had smiled at me personally,” she writes. There’s great humour in Liz’s book; adventure, bravery and confusion as she grapples with her need to belong, to be cared for and parented despite a fiercely independent spirit. “There were bits that were painful, bits about dad that were very difficult to write,” Liz says, “but the rest was just joyful. I just loved my borderline naughtiness and adventurous side and writing about it brought back that feeling of freedom. It was an amazing freedom.”
Eaglehawk Girl is Liz’s memoir of growing up in the Borough in the 1950s, although it serves a bigger purpose than a record of personal memories. It’s a beautifully rendered social history of this goldfields town, post-mining and post-war, from the perspective of one brave and feisty girl. And it’s a comment on the concept of the ‘free-range childhood’, an experience of the world that’s fast disappearing, as the term ‘helicopter parent’ arises and the minutiae of kids’ lives are documented on social media. In the book’s foreword, Bendigo-based academic Dr Julie Rudner, of La Trobe University, writes that Liz’s memoir reminds us of how the ordinary is extraordinary when you’re young. “Through the incidental observations of a child, it offers insights into the challenges and rewards of growing up in a small community and facing changing circumstances. It shows us how important it is for kids to feel and be part of their communities in their own right.” When Liz began writing her story, her husband Nick was one of Julie’s supervisors as she completed her PhD on children’s independent mobility. When Nick read Liz’s work, he recognised that she was writing about this very thing. 93
Lynne attended the local launch of Eaglehawk Girl, and she read the memoir quickly, absorbing the events that played out within and around her new home. Stories of a big and busy household, a place where the Eaglehawk community came to for medical care. “I felt like I knew that little girl,” Lynne says of Liz’s childhood self. “It makes me feel even more proud and lucky that this is our home. It makes me feel emotional. Liz’s family had it for so long and I’ve got it in my mind that it’s going to be in our family for generations.” Meeting Liz was also an opportunity for Lynne and Colin to return something special, a bronze plaque they found buried in the back garden. It was a memorial to Liz’s younger sister, Jane, who passed away in 2005. Liz believes it would have been buried under a rose bush as a way for Cynthia to keep her daughter close. “There’s such warmth around the memories of dad and how well he was regarded,” Liz says. “He helped save the verandas in Eaglehawk. He had a sense of the history and physical culture of the place. But I don’t want mum to be forgotten in all of this. She was here for almost 60 years. She was the one quietly paddling very hard under the water, who made the house and the garden beautiful.” Liz, now of Port Melbourne, won’t be the only Trembath to return to Eaglehawk. Cynthia passed away in 2017. Liz and her brother and sister will soon bring her home, to intern her ashes at the far end of Church Street, in the Eaglehawk Cemetery. Liz writes she has her parents to thank for her remarkable childhood. “I was allowed to roam freely and develop a love of and connection with my small town and its people,” she writes. “I think that for most of the time, the parents of an authentically free-range child do not impose an intense adult gaze on their child. Their challenge is to walk the tightrope between control and neglect whilst balancing the complex relationship of parent and child.” The outcomes of this, in Liz’s hands, makes for wonderful reading. Eaglehawk Girl is available at Two Birds Blue in High Street, Eaglehawk, bookstores and Booktopia. 94
Steph Gillies, Lisa Greenwood and Charlee Hill
Cassie McCollum, Kelly and Saylah Quinlan, Andrew McCollum, June Andrew and Kayde Quinlan
Shaun Stevens and Lu Singleton
Donna Schneider and Amy Drummond
DOIN’ IT FOR DREW Friends, family and local businesses are banding together to support Drew Drummond as he fights brain cancer.
Nikki Wingrave and Allyn Gillies
Ruben Morales, Gemma Sare and David Burgess
The fundraising event Drew’s Big Fight was held at Vereker Stone in February and featured a family day with food, drinks, live music, an auction and raffle prizes.
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go ballistic
Crack open the fresh and fruity and try four unique brews hand-picked by our expert on the hops. By Justin McPhail - Photography by Leon Schoots
BETOOTA UNITED BREWERY – BITTER
BAD SHEPHERD – VICTORIA PALE ALE
BEERFARM – INDIA PALE LAGER
BALLISTIC BEER CO. – EL DORADO SINGLE HOP IPA
Who makes it? The finest folks out of far Western Queensland, who are also a passionate bunch of online journalists.
Who makes it? Bad Shepherd Brewery, based in Cheltenham, Melbourne.
Who makes it? Owner/ operators from Metricup, W.A. The brewery was established out of an old dairy farm, and with an intent to look after the land.
Who makes it? A Brisbanebased duo of David (the owner) and Lachy (the brewer, originally from London), set up in Salisbury, the home of munitions factories for Australia during WWII (hence the name).
What is it? A super refreshing bitter beer made with artesian bore water, Warrego barley, diamantine hops and wild yeast. Try with: A light-hearted read of the Betoota Advocate.
What is it? It’s a Furphy! But made by a local, passionate team of brewers, who are making small batches of quality beer, without the corporate demands. Try with: Victorian produce – barbecued McIvor Farm Pork cutlets and Peppergreen Farm greens.
What is it? The freshest beer in Flight Bar’s fridge – as soon as you crack this can you are overwhelmed with a pine and citrus aroma. One of the best, hop-forward beers we’ve had in a long time! Try with: Hot chicken.
What is it? An IPA made exclusively with the El Dorado hop variety, which exhibits intense tropical aromas of pineapple and mango, making this IPA a perfect fruit salad! Try with: Grilled skewers of chicken, pineapple and bell pepper. 97
SHAMROCK WINS
Ava Barker and Bella Johnson
Darcy Roberts and Paige Gray
Taylah Murphy, Sophie Boxshall, Hannah Buchan, Sara Creevey and Sunday Guest
Gabby Bovaird, Lily Johns-Hayden, Eliza Wilkinson, Jorja Hufer and Isabelle Dole
Ollie Nind, Seth Sharp and Cameron Brain
Lily Martin and Bryanna Colliver
It was ‘game on’ for Bendigo South East College students at their annual swimming carnival. The Faith Leech Aquatic Centre was a sea of red, green, blue and yellow as House teams competed for points in and out of the pool. Shamrock won the trophy this year.
COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL photo: Rob Spaulding
RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL photo: Open2View
photo: Rob Spaulding
photo: Open2View
PROUDLY DESIGNED BY E+ ARCHITECTURE AND PROUD SPONSORS OF THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE EPIC eplus@eplusarchitecture.com.au
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EDUCATION EDUCATION
photo: Glenn Hester Photography photo: Glenn Hester Photography
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WITH LOVE, FRIDA names
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For two months Frida Kahlo, her photos gave visitors to Bendigo Art Gallery a rare glimpse into the private life of the renowned Mexican artist. The exhibition included images from her personal collection, some adorned with her written words and lipstick kisses. Many photos had not previously been on public show.
Cellar Door Open Daily 11am-5pm (except Good Friday & Christmas Day) Taste and Purchase Current and OlderVintages | Boutique Accommodation Now Available 156 Forest Drive Marong,Victoria Australia | Phone: (03) 5435 2534 | Fax: (03) 5435 2548 | wine@sandhurstridge.com.au
perfect pears
Nothing says autumn like fresh crisp pears straight from the tree. Pimp them up with some simple poaching for a warm after-dinner delight. By Beau Cook - Photography by Leon Schoots
POACHED PEARS
Method:
Serves 4
1. Place the water, sugar, spices, vanilla and lemon into a medium sized saucepan over a high heat, simmer until sugar has dissolved.
Ingredients: • 4 Beurre Bosc pears, peeled • 1 litre water • 1 cup of caster sugar • 1 cinnamon stick • 2 star anise • 4 cardamom pods, crushed • 1 tbl. vanilla bean paste • Juice of 1 lemon To serve: • Vanilla ice-cream • ½ cup of roasted hazelnuts, crushed or roughly chopped
2. Now add pears, cover with a piece of non-stick baking paper and top with a small plate or lid to weigh the pears down. Reduce to a low/medium heat and simmer for 40 minutes or until the pears are soft. 3. Remove the pears from the syrup and set aside. 4. Increase the heat to high and cook syrup for 30 minutes, or until thickened slightly, set aside and let cool for 10min. 5. When ready to serve cut each pear in half, then using a teaspoon or melon baller scoop out the seeds and discard. 6. Serve the pears with vanilla ice cream, a drizzle of syrup and some crushed hazelnuts.
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Come for the chicken. Stay for the beer. Come for the chicken. Stay for the beer.
a stable drop
There’s a brand new label to sample at this year’s Strategem Bendigo Winemakers Festival, and it comes from one of the region’s oldest vineyards. By Melinda Rosser Byronsvale is one of Bendigo’s hidden historic gems. It’s a family owned-andoperated boutique vineyard that includes accommodation in the restored sandstone stables, circa 1870. We recently called in to chat with owner Denise Langford to find out a little more about the place she calls home. Why was your family interested in purchasing Byronsvale? One of the reasons we love the property is that it’s positioned in a peaceful and tranquil valley in Maiden Gully, yet still only 7 km from central Bendigo. This makes it very convenient for us and our guests to enjoy the city and the goldfield tourist attractions. Tell us more about the vineyard Byronsvale was the first of the reestablished vineyards in the Bendigo region with the planting of shiraz and cabernet sauvignon vines in 1968 along the fertile flats of Myers Creek. We have now introduced a restoration program and we are passionate about using sustainable
and organic practices including soil improvement and hand mulching. Who makes your wines? Experienced local winemaker Lindsay Ross has been picking grapes from our block and making handcrafted award-winning wines under his label for over 35 years. Our family, with the guidance of Lindsay, has now introduced the first Byronsvale wine label in the 150-year history of the property. Can you tell us more about the historic stables? The Stables at Byronsvale offer three restored and renovated self-contained apartments. The largest, Sterry’s, has been named after one of Bendigo’s earliest mayors, David Chaplin Sterry, who commissioned the stables and homestead to be built as his country home in the 1860s. His townhouse was the Goldmines Hotel in Ironbark. Is it correct that the Bendigo Art Gallery once owned the property? Yes, we understand that before the stables
were converted into apartments one of the previous owners ran it as an art gallery and then bequeathed both the property and his art collection to the Bendigo Art Gallery. The curator lived in the homestead and continued to run the art gallery from the stables before they were converted to the apartments we enjoy today. Where can we taste your Byronsvale wine? Our guests enjoy exclusive wine tastings but we also have a mailing list and our wine club will soon be up and running. Many locals phone or email their order and we deliver personally to their door. We are also planning a day to invite visitors and locals to enjoy wine tasting in our cellar and on the grounds of our property. Stay tuned for the date to be announced. For those who can’t wait, sample the Byronsvale wines alongside the region’s best at the 2019 Strategem Bendigo Winemakers Festival in Rosalind Park on April 6. For more information on Byronsvale Accommodation and Vineyard visit www.byronsvale.com.au 103
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wines of intent
Celebrate change and be tempted to shake up your taste buds this autumn with one – or more – of these regional wines. Photography by Leon Schoots A change in seasons is a time for change – in what we wear, what we do, eat and drink. Cue autumn. On bidding farewell to an unrelenting harsh summer, say hello to cooler days, tamed with warm breezes and dappled sunshine. We may need to wear more as we explore the outdoors, but the search for heartwarming food and wine with more intent makes the journey more welcoming.
Autumn is the festive season of wine, food and exploration and this trio of local wines may well help kick start your celebrations. Stop by the cellar door for a tasting and learn more about the wines; or pack a picnic, grab your posse and visit the winemakers at the Stratagem Bendigo Winemakers Festival in Rosalind Park on April 6. A lazy Saturday afternoon of fun under autumnal leaves, we’ll drink to that.
SANDHURST RIDGE 2015 ITALIANO
ELLIS WINES VIOGNIER 2018
Who makes it? Paul and George Greblo continue their family tradition of winemaking just outside Marong, Victoria, where they grow richlyflavoured fruit with very fine tannins.
Who makes it? Ellis Wines, a family owned winery with Shiraz, Merlot, Viognier, Moscato and Cabernet vines grown in the rich red Cambrian soil of Colbinabbin.
What is it? A blend of 20 per cent estategrown Cabernet Sauvignon and 40 per cent each of estate-grown Nebbiolo and Mandurang South Sangiovese. Fermentation was completed in French oak barriques and matured for a further 17 months. Try with: Cellar it for another three years for a richer blend or enjoy while grazing a cheese platter one afternoon.
What is it? A classic style that respects the century-old tradition of the Northern Rhone variety. Aromatic and balanced, with delicate notes of apricots and. peach blossom, with the 25 per cent barrel ferment giving a hint of savoury. Try with: Its crisp finish suits spicy flavours – try Asian or seafood.
MANDURANG VALLEY GRENACHE SHIRAZ & MONASTRELL 2015 Who makes it? Wes and Pamela Vine. The couple first planted vines on their property in 1976, with Mandurang Valley Wines producing its first commercial vintage in 1993. Vintage has increased every year since. What is it? A vibrant wine of ruby red colour, showing spicy fruit on the nose and palate. Twelve months in French and American has delivered added complexity with welcoming overtones of raspberries and black cherries. Try with: Hearty roasted meats and vegetables or even a curry. Ageing potential is five to eight years. 105
ONLINE SOCIAL CORPORATE BROADCAST
seek independence and ethics in the hearing aid industry By Dirk de Moore — Audiologist, Bendigo Hearing Clinic Last year saw an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission inquiry into the hearing aid industry, as well as considerable media coverage of the industry. As an audiologist with over 34 years’ experience in the field, I felt it appropriate to address some of these issues and provide advice for consumers. The ACCC highlighted extensive practices within the hearing aid industry which it considered unacceptable. These include: Examples of significant overpricing of hearing aids; • Clinicians being paid additional financial incentives to sell more expensive models; and • Many hearing aid outlets owned and operated by manufacturers or distribution chains where this is not made transparent to the consumer. The ACCC argued that these factors could influence the price, type and brand of hearing aid that a clinician recommends to you. Sadly, much of what has been reported has been correct. With the Federal Government’s scheme for pensioners and veterans, many clinics set sales targets for their clinicians to “top-up” eligible clients from free to more expensive hearing aids. Last November the Federal Court ordered hearing
aid retailers Oticon and Sonic to pay penalties totalling $2.5 million for misleading consumers through newspaper advertisements for hearing aids sold by AudioClinic and HearingLife clinics. Even the government’s own outlet, Australian Hearing, was fined by the ACCC in September after engaging in false or misleading conduct in connection with the supply of hearing services. Audiology Australia, the peak professional body for audiologists, responded to the original ACCC report by saying, “Audiology Australia’s Code of Conduct requires that members must make recommendations to clients based on clinical assessment and the client’s needs, not on the basis of financial gain on the part of the member. In addition, Audiology Australia members must not engage in any form of misinformation or misrepresentation in relation to the hearing services or devices they provide”. If considering a trial or purchase of a hearing aid, here is some advice I would offer: • Ask if the clinic is independent of both hearing aid manufacturers and distribution chains. (Most large chains in Australia are not!) • Ask if the clinician will receive any form of financial commission (under professional codes of conduct they must disclose this if asked).
• Ask to see evidence that the clinician you are seeing is an accredited audiologist with Audiology Australia bound by a professional code of ethics. • Don’t feel pressured to make a decision, take your time and consider what options you have been given. • Compare prices. Like other consumer products there are hearing aids which cover a range of technical features and pricing levels. But remember, while pricing is important, at the end of the day it is a successful outcome you are looking for. • And make sure you are offered a trial period with return option to make sure the product you select is suitable. For more information contact the Bendigo Hearing Clinic on 5442 5800 or visit bendigohearingclinic.com.au or alternatively visit the public and resources sections of the Audiology Australia website audiology.asn.au
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Alisha and Sylvie Pickering
Ashton, Shannon, Rohan and Quinton Tyler
Eden Dyett, Tracey Bligh and Macy Dyett
Grace, Jan, Lincoln, Ricky and Vinnie Nelson
NIGHT OF FILM A summer’s night drew families to watch a movie under the stars at the Outdoor Cinema in Marong.
Leigh, Lainey, Marley, Jess and Jimmy Johnson
Valentina, Janine, Isabella and Luca Maggio-Davies
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On the big screen was the animated film ‘Sing’. Marong Community Action Group hosted the event as part of Bendigo Summer in the Parks.
family gears up A focus on females, families and twowheeled trail fun has proven a revolutionary move for a Central Victorian sporting club, with everyone invited along for the ride. By Raelee Tuckerman - Photography by Leon Schoots When the Fletcher family gears up for a cycling session with the Bendigo Mountain Bike Club, getting out their own front gate can be an exercise in itself. Mum Sarah and children Isaac, Owen, Hannah, Liam and Alana are all club members and regular riders, meaning they must hook up a trailer to transport six bikes from their Taradale home to whichever trailhead is hosting the day’s training, competition or recreational event. It’s a routine they perform up to three times a week – but the enjoyment they experience from hitting the dirt tracks together makes it all worthwhile. “It’s something the whole family can do together,” says Sarah, whose husband Colin also joins in when commitments allow. “You don’t need expensive bikes and there are so many different trails and different levels that the sport caters for everyone. “Mountain biking is also something you can keep doing throughout your life – there are people in our club approaching 80 who are still racing. You get to meet new people, visit new places and everyone is very supportive and helpful, even if they are racing against each other.” The Fletchers reflect the new direction taken by Bendigo MTB Club, which was traditionally male-dominated and highly focused on racing competitively. “That’s not to say it was good or bad, it’s just the way it was,” explains president Stu MacGregor, who is also head coach of the club’s 2-Wheel Academy for young riders. “Our committee decided to have a stronger focus on providing greater inclusiveness – specifically gender, age and capability and getting greater family participation. “We now have over 250 financial members ranging in age from three to 73 and our biggest cohort are juniors, who make up 40 per cent. That has grown significantly from two years ago, when only about 20 per cent of members were kids. 110
“A third of members are now female – from Australian champions like Jo Wall to recreational mums like Sarah Fletcher – and we have five women on our committee.” The club offers regular racing and recreational rides through winter and summer series; junior development from novice to elite via the 2-Wheel Academy; women-specific skills sessions and social rides with female coaches; and Dirt Squirts events allowing children as young as three to “compete” within the club environment. Sarah says her family jumped on board almost three years ago and they haven’t looked back. “The kids always rode bikes around home, and Owen first showed an interest in joining a club and doing some mountain biking, so I Googled and found Bendigo. The other kids would come along with me and, instead of just sitting around, they ended up getting on and having a go themselves. The club even loaned us a couple of bikes in the early days.” It turns out the Fletcher kids have quite some skill on cross-country MTB courses.
ARCHITECTURE MEETS ACTION The trail development made good use of local expertise. E+ architecture designed the trail shelter and stage, which demonstrates how a simple, highly considered structure can impact on how public spaces are used. Architect Rimon Martin says the objective was to provide increased visibility for Bendigo
Mountain Bike Club and its activities, storage for race hosting equipment and a staging area that could cater for over 750 riders. “It was important that the shelter respected its bush setting and created a backdrop for activities rather than be the centrepiece,” Rimon says. “It’s great to see groups and families making use of the structure and the space as well as the club, as intended.”
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Owen, 14, won his age group at the South Australian state titles last year and was fourth across the line at the Victorian championships; Isaac, 15, finished second in SA and fourth in Victoria; Alana, 10, rode up an age group to win the SA crown and also took out her Dirt Squirts race at the Victorian event; and Liam, 11, won his novice section of the 2017 schools MTB series. Hannah, 13, is an equestrian champion and prefers riding her Welsh ponies to mountain bikes, but swaps saddles whenever she feels like going for a pedal. “That’s part of the attraction club for us,” says Sarah, “because you can do as much or as little as you like.” The Fletchers recently attended a three-day training camp for Bendigo 2-Wheel Academy members and their families in Bright, near where the older boys will race the national titles in April. The event attracted almost 60 people, half of them keen young local mountain bikers. It was one of many bush areas the family has visited since taking up the sport, with each person having their own favourite. Owen loves the technical tracks of the You Yangs; Isaac enjoys the tough climbs and flowing trails at Bright; Alana nominates
Fox Creek in SA for its downhill fun; and Liam can’t go past the challenge of combining uphill and downhill at Falls Creek. Liam admits having the biggest crash of the clan, though none have suffered any serious injuries. “I was at Harcourt on the number two trail and we were sessioning jumps,” he says. “I landed the first one and went too big with the second and ended up in the drain.” He has always been quite the daredevil, according to Sarah. “They actually started off on motorbikes in the back paddock, but Liam was just a bit too wild and we had to get him off before he hurt himself,” she laughs. “Mountain bikes have been a good compromise.” There is also a serious side to their cycling: raising awareness of motor neurone disease by wearing specially designed jerseys to support their Pa, Geoff Fletcher, who was diagnosed about 18 months ago. “When I get to the point on a ride where I want to blow up, I think of the motto ‘Never Give Up’,” says Isaac. “I say it to myself over and over and I think of Pa. It keeps me going.” Today, Bendigo still boasts many champion MTB riders, with locals filling five of the six podium places for elite men and women in the Victorian XC Championship series this year. But, as Stu MacGregor highlights, it has broader community appeal. “People can come and feel safe, knowing they are not going to be judged and they can proceed at their own pace in a club setting that provides them with confidence.” For more details, email info@mtbbendigo.com or visit www.facebook.com/MTBBendigo
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Bendigo 127 Mollison Street Ph: 03 5442 4298 fortywinks.com.au
16 March – 14 July 2019 British Royal Portraits. Exhibition organised by the National Portrait Gallery, London. Tickets www.bendigoartgallery.com.au
Prince William, (later Duke of Cambridge), Prince Harry (later Duke of Sussex) By Nicola Jane (‘Nicky’) Philipps, 2009. © National Portrait Gallery, London.
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