The Local Issue 114 January 1, 2018

January 1, 2018 Issue 114 2017 - Through the rear view mirror!

Objects may appear larger in mirror

The Local - The Heart of the Highlands

2 About Us

www.tlnews.com.au

Front cover: So, we are already at 2018 - what better time to take a look back at just some of our favourite stories and photos.

January 1, 2018 Issue 114 2017 - Through the rear view mirror!

Happy New Year from The Local!

Image: Kyle Barnes & Dianne Caithness Objects may appear larger in mirror

The Local - The Heart of the Highlands

The Local is a fortnightly community publication covering the Central Highlands. The next edition is out on Monday, January 15, 2018.

Or online on Sunday, January 14 at www.tlnews.com.au (Oh, unlike some publications, we keep publishing throughout the silly season. Contrary to popular belief, the world does not end!)

The Local is a registered trademark of The Local Publishing Group Pty Ltd The content expressed within this publication does not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of The Local Publishing Group Pty Ltd.

T

HE Local is a free publication distributed throughout the Central Highlands of Victoria. The first "monthly" edition was published in September 2013 and immediately became fortnightly thanks to the demand of our readers and advertisers.

The Local is brought to you by a team of local journalists, photographers, columnists, sub-editors, graphic designers, book-keepers and, of course, great delivery people. So when we talk about being local, we really do put our money where our mouth is.

The Local's motto is to "connect the community" by bringing people closer with great features on amazing local people and ensuring you know what is happening around your community whether that's a festival, a fete or maybe just a great special from one of our fantastic advertisers. Content is key.

We love writing about local people doing inspiring things and even local people doing ordinary things. And as some people, mostly politicians, have found out, if you are not local you will not appear in the pages of The Local.

You will find The Local, and all the back copies, online at www.tlnews.com.au and we deliver bulk drops throughout the region along with smaller "cafe" packs to every cafe, hotel, bar and restaurant we can find. We've even heard of The Local turning up in places like a cafe in St Kilda and a bar in Bali! All up we have a print and online readership of about 14,000.

The Local's advertising rates have always been kept affordable so even small advertisers can advertise big. Colour is free, the sizes are an eighth, quarter, half and full page and we can help with making up branding and graphics. The world is confusing enough, so we like to keep things simple.

Finally, from the start, we have offered two free adverts in every edition for notfor-profit organisations along with a rescue pet looking for a new home. It's just our way of giving back. We really hope you enjoy this edition of The Local.

Cheers, Donna (Ed)

The Pool Room!

The Local - winner of: *Daylesford Rotary's 2017 Employee of the Year *Rural Press Club of Victoria 2015 Best Feature Series *Daylesford Rotary’s 2015 Business of the Year *Kyneton Daffodil Festival Parade 2015 Best Commercial Entry

Advertising deadlines for the next edition of The Local: Space bookings: Wednesday, January 10 Copy provided by: Thursday, January 11 Editorial deadline: Thursday, January 11 Managing editor | Donna Kelly General manager | Kyle Barnes Sub-editors: Nick Bunning and Lindsay Smith Writers: Kevin Childs, Kate Taylor, Jeff Glorfeld, Anthony Sawrey, Donna Kelly Photographers: Kyle Barnes, David White Graphic designer: Dianne Caithness Columnists: Glen Heyne (gardening), Matthew Richardson (money), Samantha Redlich (wellness) and Tonia Todman (recipes) Delivery: Damon and Noni O'Donoghue Great editorial and affordable sales - 5348 7883 | 0416 104 283 news@tlnews.com.au | ads@tlnews.com.au donna@tlnews.com.au | kyle@tlnews.com.au See all our e-editions at www.tlnews.com.au See a photo you like? Photos are just $22 each, or $55 for commercial use, and will be emailed at high resolution. You can print as many as you like...

“The Local is the future of regional publishing!”

- former senator John Madigan in the Australian Parliament Just sayin’... :)

www.tlnews.com.au

The year that was! 3

Looking back at the year that was 2017

I

CAN'T believe another year is over. I still remember wandering around the shops trying to find something for New Year's Eve 1999.

And if the world came to an end, as predicted by many, our plan was to head to my nan's who always had plenty of everything in her well-stocked kitchen cupboards. Friends were also ready with cases of champagne and rolls of toilet paper - not sure of the connection there, but we all survived anyway. And now here's 2018 staring us in the face.

We've had a good year at The Local. In June we celebrated our 100th edition which we thought was quite an achievement at the time but, of course, edition 101 soon rolled past, and on it went.

But we have covered some wonderful stories and been privileged enough to meet even more amazing people. And it's hard to call it work when your job is to head out to meet someone and listen to their story.

In this edition, January 1, we have decided to look back at just some of our favourite stories and photos, and take stock of where we have been and who we have chatted with.

It's never easy to choose a favourite. The photographers' picks on pages 10 and 11 were culled down by about half, leaving so many more fantastic photos not making it onto the pages. We have put them on our Facebook page if you want to have a look.

And then it's down to also choosing stories. I did that and have 21 leftover that just didn't fit in. But I hope I have given you a cross section of some of our favourites for their colour and their sense of fun and/or achievement.

We have even more planned for 2018 with some new sections and even more features. We are also hoping to get the schools involved - let's make sure the younger generations love to read as much as we older people!

This is also a great time to say thanks to the crew of The Local, without whom we would never be able to produce such great quality time and time again.

Firstly thanks to our sub-editors Nick Bunning and Lindsay Smith. And congratulations to them on their engagement on "Yes" day.

Then there's our writers Kevin Childs, Jeff Glorfeld, Anthony Sawrey and Kate Taylor. They fearlessly go where, well, many have gone before but they do it so well. And Kate was also the winner of the Daylesford Rotary's 2017 Employee of the Year award. For very good reason.

David White and Kyle Barnes are our trusty photographers who make sure each story has fabulous photos, always with that edge that we like. And it if doesn't quite make the grade, Kyle is only too happy to employ his photoshopping skills to make any photo really pop.

Dianne Caithness is our wonderful graphic designer who has been able to grow her own business, Message Bird Designs, while making sure our clients have the best advertising around. Our columnists are Glen Heyne, Tonia Todman, Sam Redlich and Matt Richardson who keep us up to date with, respectively, the worlds of gardening, recipes, wellness and money.

And talking of money, Julie Hanson keeps us on track with our accounts and follows up any queries from clients we have overcharged. We have to make our money somehow...(Joke). And talking of Glen, he will always be The Local's Godfather. Just over four years ago he really helped get the ball rolling in many ways.

Finally, you would have seen Damon and Noni O'Donoghue pounding the beat making sure all our deliveries are out on time. Probably the most important job of all!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this edition and wish everyone all the best for a happy, safe and prosperous New Year.

Keep reading!

Cheers, Donna

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4 Our artists

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For Lily, the ring forms a complete circle

F

EW worlds could be more distant than seemingly knockabout rural Basalt and the chic runway of Sydney Fashion Week and glossy pages of Vogue magazine.

Lily Langham bestrides both, and much more, including refining her surname.

She sits in her studio, a restored ancient former dairy of stone and mud, three collies nearby, two chooks about to check in and a scrubwren’s nest above.

Earrings, brooches and pendants show her passion and skill, yet she refuses to call herself a jeweller, instead preferring to be known as a metalsmith doing jewellery. It was this jewellery that drew the eyes of the fashionistas and led to her making a range of brass crystal jewellery and a sterling silver tribal necklace for the season’s launch and Vogue’s selection.

The youngest of seven children, Lily grew up in Glenlyon in one of the first buildings, dating from 1870, that was either a pub or wine saloon, to which her family moved to escape the petrol fumes of South Yarra. Her schooling seems idyllic, studying by distance education in a garden which was the life’s work of her “amazing” horticulturist mother, Jenny Corr. “She taught me the love of plants and the appreciation for growing and living things,” says Lily.

“While I was doing distance ed I used to go every Friday with my lovely friend from next door, Susan Johnston, to sculpt glass with another great friend and amazing sculptor, Ron Cattanach from Glenlyon. Just for me, like a tutor. In the Wombat Forest. He taught me about sculptural forms and using my hands.”

She finished years 11 and 12 at Swinburne, studied metal engineering at Box Hill TAFE and undertook a Bachelor of Visual Arts degree at Ballarat. Lily remembers making sculptures when seven or eight. About a year later she entered the Swiss & Italian Festa competition. Her entry was an Aboriginal bark canoe on the Loddon River. “I got the idea you could create things and display them and people would come and see them.”

This idea was coupled with inspiration from meeting the distinguished Yandoit sculptor Russell Petherbridge. “He put a seed in my head,” says the 35-year-old.

She remembers when 12 seeing Petherbridge’s winning sculpture in this competition, which as she recalls, shows a wombat bearing the Wombat Forest on its shoulder. “I wonder where it is now?”

Her chief early influences, however, came through exposure to art when young through friends and relatives who were artists and sculptors and especially her father, the artist and fabric designer Peter Stripes, best known as Stripey. He printed his work at the old McCain’s spud factory in East St, Daylesford, and, says Lily, was “always doing something creative”. Inspiration also came from her uncle, Glenlyon sculptor Paul Mason, and Yandoit blacksmith Andrew Kimpton.

Nearby are the remains of a stone schoolmaster’s house destroyed by fire long ago.

Just three chimneys remain of this building, which stands on property long held by the family of her husband Rodney Baker, who’s an expert at both felling dangerous trees and earthmoving. He was the beneficiary of enormous community support in his successful fight against the cancer Hodgkin lymphoma.

Beyond is a thriving fruit and veggie garden. Lily is designing and implementing two acres in grassland prairie, planting thousands of ornamental grasses. “I bring these elements together in my work,” she says. “To me, making jewellery is a vessel in which I collect and capture moments and feelings.”

Three little sterling silver boxes contain gold leaf and kingfisher feathers. She found the dead bird on the road and put it on an ants’ nest to clean it. A tiny bone she found on a beach when aged 18 became an art object with gold and silver chains. Earrings have a woman clinging to a tree. Lily’s logo is a little girl on a galloping dog, which seems to fit her life with Rodney and their sons Oscar, 6, and Max, 9.

Her ancestry is marked by the terrifying events of Jewish people fleeing Nazis. Her father’s mother made it out of Austria to England, where she met her future husband.

Her name was Luchmann, which Lily adapted to Langham. All other Luchmanns were killed. One of her grandmother’s last acts before getting across a soon-to-beclosed border was to throw a family heirloom, a sapphire and diamond ring, into the (muddy, not blue) Danube so the Nazis would never get it. Her other grandmother also narrowly escaped Austria only to be murdered by Germans, as was her husband in France.

As the 72nd anniversary of the end of World War II approaches this September, such events may seem ancient history. Yet, like a ring thrown into a river, they remain sharp and form a symmetry through the creations of yet more rings, objects of beauty and memory.

Words: Kevin Childs | Images: Kyle Barnes (First published in Issue 95 - www.tlnews.com.au)

www.tlnews.com.au

Us two 5

Us Two - Vicky and Wakka

V

ICKY McCurdy always had a love for the Central Highlands and Wakka As I was coming into the world I was twisted inside my mother but after the vet bought a tree-change property in Trentham East in 2010. It’s now a and my adopted mum tried in vain to save my birth mum she unfortunately died.

B&B. Meanwhile, Wakka, her alpaca, arrived on March 1, 2014, with From the age of two days old Vicky bottle-fed me and took me inside and I her mum sadly losing her life while giving birth. Vicky came to the rescue as became one of the rescued animal clan with two dogs and one cat. a surrogate mother. They told their stories to Donna Kelly.

It wasn’t love at first sight for me. She didn't look and smell like me. Her neck wasn’t long enough and she wasn't soft and cuddly But Vicky took me inside and heated up bottles for me. She even took me in the My heart was always with Victoria and I had a love for the Central Highlands area car with her to work until I got too big. And even now she gives me hugs and kisses and lived here on and off throughout my life. I was drawn to the Central Highlands and I feel special. when a girlfriend moved up and married a local spud and beef farmer. After visiting Now I am too big she takes me more for walks and to visit the neighbours. We numerous times I fell in love with the area and decided this is where I would like to even go to the Pig & Whistle pub for a chat with the locals. That's us pictured above. live one day.

The only things I don’t like about Vicky is that she sometimes shows the other I had been operating my own landscape design business in Brisbane and decided it was time to get out of the sun. I bought my tree-change property in January 2010, girls way too much attention and I think she should only have cuddles and pony meals for me. She also doesn't take me in the car anymore, which I loved, and gets moved with my son Michael and proceeded to turn my renovator’s delight into a grumpy when I eat the roses.

B&B. The old house has given me a few challenges mentally and financially but the I have been in the limelight from a young age with guest appearances at The good that has come has been well worth it. As I have said, an amazingly beautiful Great Trentham Spudfest and Sunday afternoons at the Pig. Also, Gold Street Studio home with a doubly amazing community. is next door and I have been a model for many a student photographer.

I love animals and needed something to maintain my three-acre property and fell I see my future staying in the Central Highlands with my alpaca family and my in love with alpacas. Wakka was born on my property. It was a little traumatic when great servant Vicky. Hopefully as I get older I will be able to come inside every winter she entered the world of East Trentham but put the biggest smile on my face. It was in front of the fire. Especially when I have been shorn. It gets a little nippy up here. love at first sight, a cria is so soft and beautiful and incredibly cute. And I love the But being born and bred in Trentham East I feel lucky. The weather conditions way she comes running when I call her and still nuzzles up to me. are perfect for an alpaca. Not too hot and there’s usually lots of green grass. I have I don’t like it when she gets grumpy and jealous and is ready to have a tantrum learnt to live with fame and can’t imagine being anywhere else. and spit in my face. That's not very polite. Wakka also has a tendency to push the I hope I spend the rest of my life here with lots of friends and fodder and, of others out the way. But I know my place and Wakka is the celebrity around here. I course, the odd Guinness for medicinal purposes only. am just fortunate to serve her and realise I am not the master or mistress in my case.

And our journey will continue with improving my labour of love, Plum Tuckered (First published in Issue 104 - www.tlnews.com.au) Inn. I intend to enjoy the rest of my life and probably spend it in the Central Highlands surrounded by my animals and the beautiful Wombat Forest.

Vicky

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6 Our people

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The ultimate rescue dog - Dingo of Daylesford

M

OST Australians live huddled on the coast. If not right over the beach, then somewhere within the comparatively narrow strip of green that make up the fringes of the continent.

But these areas are quite small compared to the vast desert regions that form most of the interior. For this reason, the desert areas hold a profound place in the Australian imagination and when travellers finally make a journey to the centre, they seek to make something of it their own; a memento that they can bring back to ‘civilisation’.

This may be a gnarled piece of gidgee branch, a small rusted relic, rocks, crystals or perhaps a vial of red sand.

For Daylesford artist Greg Mallyon, his souvenir of a visit to the Yuendumu community of the Northern Territory in 2000 was a camp dog. He’s called Dingo and is 16, living out his golden years at Greg’s studio doing nothing much at all. But all things considered, he is one very lucky hound.

“He turned up and started hanging around me at the community arts centre,” remembers Greg. “He would follow me home, which was a kilometre from the centre, and he was this tiny little puppy who was starving so I started feeding him.

“And after that he would literally be waiting for me in the morning after having slept out in the dirt all night.

"Of course, it just broke my heart, so when I was due to fly out of the community on the mail plane a couple of days later I asked if I could take him.

“The pilot said; ‘Look, we can tape him up in a milk crate and put him down in the cargo hold.’ So, he came with me.”

At the time, after living for many years in Melbourne teaching art, Greg took a job in Darwin at the Northern Territory University now known as Charles Darwin University.

Part of his work was going to remote communities to conduct print-making workshops and one of the communities was Yuendumu. There they have the Warlukurlangu Artists, which is one of the longest running and most successful Aboriginal-owned art centres in Central Australia.

Yuendumu, like all desert communities has a large feral dog population, and Greg was one of the first visitors to adopt a pup from its ranks.

The community, which puts much of the money earned from art sales into health programs, saw this as a good way of managing the large canine population and decided to set up their own dog adoption program called Aussie Desert Dogs.

“Money from the sale of paintings went into not only instigating the program,” says Greg “but to pay vets from Alice to come out to euthanise suffering, diseased dogs, de-sex the rest and give certain puppies the injections required to make them healthy enough to be adopted out all over Australia.

“It started a year or two after I left and I believe it was successful. There weren’t a huge number of dogs adopted each year but they were actually able to limit the population to several dozen dogs that were looked after and cared for. In terms of a public health initiative that was quite a success.”

Dingo is a typical example of the type of beast that hangs around desert towns, part native dog and a mix of everything else. In past years, the feral dog population in Yuendumu had been well over 200 with dozens of unwanted and uncared-for puppies struggling to survive.

When Greg got Dingo his condition was pretty poor and though he looked fat, he was actually quite sick, full of worms and was infested with ticks. In Alice Springs he got the treatment he needed, had all the necessary injections and improved quickly.

Today Dingo is still hanging around artists just as he was when he was a puppy.

He is doing pretty well for his age except for some arthritis and getting a bit fat.

After the desert he was taken to Darwin, then Sydney and finally Daylesford when Greg moved five years ago to set up his painting studio.

“Having Dingo has been an interesting experience. In many ways he is like a cat, very curious and inquisitive as well as being extremely protective of me. He is also very dedicated. If I go away he will stay and wait on the front porch. Once he stayed there for three weeks and would not move until he saw me again.”

Words & images: Anthony Sawrey (First published in Issue 91 - www.tlnews.com.au)

www.tlnews.com.au

Our artists 7

Talking all things chalking with Natalie

C

Kyle: Do you also do it just for fun?

HALKBOARD artist Natalie Davis and her family moved to Tylden Natalie: Last year I decided to make a collection of chalk drawings in old four years ago from Perth, after finding their dream 1860’s restoration reclaimed frames. I had a stall at the Blackwood Music Festival, and a couple of other project home on small acreage. She spoke to Kyle Barnes.

Kyle: When did you get into art?

Natalie: I have always loved to draw, particularly plants and animals. I did two arts degrees at university and after working for some time in more of the venue and event side of culture and the arts, I feel like I’ve finally rediscovered a way to include art practice in my working life.

Kyle: Why chalkboards?

Natalie: In 2009 I opened a bar with a number of chalkboards that changed daily.

As the only person in the team who could draw, it was firmly my job to keep up the chalk work, and it didn’t take long at all for me to get creative. When I left the little bar to have our first son, I was approached by some friends to do the chalkboards for their bar, and very quickly built a busy word-of-mouth business that I could do as a new mother. I love the lowbrow position of the chalkboard. I find its impermanence very liberating. I have had to work harder to promote myself and build a name in a new state, but I knew I wanted to chalk in Victoria, and now the work comes thick and fast.

Kyle: Where do you find most of your business is?

Natalie: Thankfully, very local! I have only ever headed into Melbourne to do commissions for people I know. Outside of those exceptions, all my work is in our magical countryside. I have worked with some of the most incredible hotels, cafes, galleries and shops and have made some real friends.

interesting market events. I really loved making those works - some flora and fauna, some typography, and have some exhibited at The Milko Cafe in Woodend.

Kyle: Have you had any strange requests?

Natalie: My most common strange requests are things I am asked very regularly.

Clients want a chalkboard, but they want it to be permanent. I have painted some signs for clients who make use of my past painting skills, and whilst someday I dream of studying more sign painting and pinstriping techniques, we are fairly spoilt to have some very clever hand sign painters in our community. When it comes to chalk however - no request is too strange for me.

Kyle: Where can we see your work?

Natalie: Some of my favourites are at Taranaki Farm - who are doing farm tours at the moment, at The Milko in Woodend, The Daylesford Hotel, Bokeh Gallery and Wombat Hill House.

Kyle: What’s your Central Highlands story?

Natalie: We love our charming old rabbit warren of a Goldfields house. I am madly in love with my garden, and like all country small business people, have no idea what to prioritise each day. It’s such a cruel problem to have. We are super proud of the schools we’re in touch with through our children, Tylden Primary and Macedon Ranges Montessori Preschool…I’m slowly ticking off mural jobs at both. I have made incredible friends for life here, and can’t imagine ever living anywhere else.

(First published in Issue 110 - www.tlnews.com.au)

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8 Opinion

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Just sayin’...

By Donna Kelly

Pick me, pick me...

I

T WOULDN'T be a New Year without a New Year resolution.

Now, I could be cynical and say my resolution is to not make any more resolutions.

Or that most resolutions last about a week. But I am going to give it my best shot.

Nothing amazing. I gave up smoking about 20 years ago, and coffee two years ago, so that's those two out of the way. This year is just a resolution to live a healthier, happier life.

Hmm, is that technically two resolutions?

The happy bit is not too hard. I am pretty happy most of the time. Well, except when Kyle puts a new toilet roll on top of the empty one. What is so hard about taking off the empty one and then putting on a new roll? Except that the odd time he does that he invariably puts the start of the paper on the inside. It sounds trivial but it is so wrong...and I have read this can be a relationship breaker. Anyway, apart from that I am pretty happy.

I started on a bit of health kick mid-2016 and was doing really well until I broke my ankle at the end of the year and was laid up for about six weeks. It sounds a simple enough injury. Break the ankle, have surgery, rest for two weeks, wear a moonboot for four weeks and you're done. But throw in deep vein thrombosis, loads of visits to the doctors', blood thinning medication that meant a high five led to a bruised hand, and I found my confidence, and interest in exercise, was waning. Some would call it depression.

So it took a while to get back on the horse, so to speak, or back to the gym actually. But this year there are no excuses. My broken toe has healed (don't ask) and I have just about got all the celebrating out of the way.

Part of the healthy thing, along with exercise, is giving up the booze for a bit. Yes, those who know me well will be raising their eyebrows here. But FebFast is only a month away and the perfect time to take a break. Not that I am an alcoholic (and lucky I am not because I could never give up for good) but I think it's time to recalibrate and have a little time out.

Anyway, that's just my thing. Whatever your resolution is, even not to make any, I wish you all the best and if you don't succeed I am not going to judge you. I think just trying is a good start. It took me about six attempts to give up the smokes, and we're talking about a pack a day, but I eventually went cold turkey and just chain-chewed nicotine gum for about a week. The coffee was easier, I realised I never actually liked the taste.

Wishing everyone all the best for 2018 - may it be prosperous, happy and healthy. In whatever order works for you.

Oh, blatant plug for The Local. In our January 15 edition we are running a New Year resolutions advertising feature. So if you think you can help people stick with their resolutions get in touch! Just sayin'...

Hi there, I’m Bella and I’m two and a half years old. I'm a gorgeous pale

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MC# 956000006271145 Mount Alexander Animal Welfare is at 24 Langslow Street, Castlemaine.

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(Pick me, pick me is run in memory of Rosie and Curly. We picked them.)

The Local - Connecting the Community

The Local believes in giving back to the community. Each edition The Local has two free advert spaces for not-for-profit organisations. Because it's right. So if your group needs a helping hand just email donna@tlnews.com.au The Local, your True Advocate for the Central Highlands.

Ts & Cs apply.

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Our musos 9

The family that plays together, stays together

I

T’S a family affair - Dave Patterson, Wendy Phyphers and their son Charley make up The Cartwheels. Dave told their story to Donna Kelly.

“The core of The Cartwheels are myself on double bass and harmony vocals, Wendy on lead vocals and guitar and our son Charley playing drums or guitar. We also have a Sydney guitarist Jeff Mercer (pictured left with the family) and a Mornington Peninsula guitarist who we use for festivals.

Both Wendy and myself have been musicians since our teens and ended up playing in the same band together. When Charley was six he was playing drums quite well for his age so we decided to record an album with local musician and mate Pete Rowland.

It just developed from there really.

We all realised from an early age that we were going to be musicians. I remember in primary school instead of doing my work I would draw pictures on myself on stage in front of a crowd of people - in stick-figure fashion. I wanted to be like the keyboard player Garth Porter from Sherbert.

Wendy and I met in Melbourne in 1991 while I was passing through with a band called the Happening Thang. Her band, the Sparnetts, did the support. Not long after that I moved to Daylesford to live with Wendy. Charley was born in 93.

Wendy was born and bred in Daylesford. When we got together I also fell in love with the place and we particularly loved Glenlyon so built there in 1996. We’re still here, it’s a great little community.

We play country music, more on the rootsy side of country, more Patsy Cline than Shania Twain. Just like pop the country genre is a broad church with much of it now sounding like eighties stadium rock. We lean towards the more traditional and do heaps of originals. The new album is really stripped back with minimal drums and heaps of acoustic instruments. It’s just me, Wen and Charley on it and we recorded in our studio.

We were talking about what our music means to us recently. When we are playing you are too busy concentrating to worry about anything else but the music. It’s the ultimate exercise in mindfulness. I think the older we get the more we treasure what we do. It’s also just heaps of fun. And sometimes we get free beer!

The Sparnetts won a Golden Guitar at the 2000 Country Music Awards and winning was amazing, we didn't think we had a snowflake's chance in hell. There is a photo of all the winners on stage and there I am onstage with my former primary school idol Garth Porter who had won a Golden Guitar for producer of the year."

(First published in Issue 96 - www.tlnews.com.au)

Photographers' picks for 2017!

12 Opinion

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Kyle’s Rant

S

O, THE year is behind us, already growing tinier and tinier in the rear view mirror, hence the inspiration for the front and back covers.

The ham is still hanging around, barely able to turn out another sandwich. Gone from its bulky start weighing down the Christmas table, to a mutilated bit of pink meat with a flap of skin over it, tied up in a bag in the fridge.

Then there was the Christmas break email debacle. It started with a print company sending me a statement and resulted in my email sending back an automated reply, of “Hi, we are not in the office at the moment… blah, blah, blah".

And then the print company’s email sent back the same flavoured auto reply, which resulted in my auto reply pinging back again, and then theirs, and then hundreds of email auto replies later, I turned off the bloody auto reply. Technology!

But I digress. On reflection 2017 has been a fairly quiet year here at TL HQ. I mean the mag has come out every two weeks, sometimes with a bit of behind the scenes argy-bargy. But don’t get me wrong, I reckon we have the best crew in the world with a wealth of knowledge and all willing to lay down their lives for you (actually scratch that last bit) but it's fabulous to be working with a good bunch of people who have all become great mates.

The whole year seems as if it went past like a freight train, but on reflection kind of slow all in the same thought bubble. (Yes, it is confusing being me.)

So what will 2018 bring us? Annihilation at the hands of Trump and the North Koreans? I don’t think so.

I am hoping for another relatively quiet year. In fact, my horoscope says that I will focus more on my own self rather than catering to the needs of those around and I should be focused on my ideals in life. My interpretation is that I should be a selfish old bastard. (Big check there.) (Ed’s note – what’s new?)

Anyway, whatever you wish or aspire to do this year: May the road rise up to meet you; may the wind always be at your back; may the sun shine warm upon your face; and rains fall soft upon your fields.

Holistic Funeral Directors

Sustainable & authentic funerals Call 5427 3112 visit NaturalGrace.com.au

PALMER STEVENS & RENNICK Barristers & Solicitors Property and Conveyancing Criminal Law Family Law Wills and Estates Commercial Law Employment Law Appearing in Castlemaine Court PLEASE CONTACT US

(03) 5422 6500 SINCE 1852

8 Jennings Street, Kyneton Email - psr@psr.net.au | Website - psr.net.au

Standing up for the Hepburn Community

P: (03) 5338 8123 F: (03) 5333 7710

Over 150 years of service to the shires of Daylesford, Hepburn, Creswick, Clunes ,Trentham, Kyneton and surrounds.

————————

Andrew Nuske and Alicia Kay 24 Bridport Street Daylesford 3460 53482762 info@vereyfuneraldirectors.com www.vereyfuneraldirectors.com.au ————————

Pre-paid and Pre-planned funeral plans available

Geelong Businessman, Mark Ward has ownership of the Mill Markets group and brings years of expertise to this amazing concept. The Mill Markets operate three massive venues located in Ballarat, Daylesford and Geelong. With a total of over 12,000 square metres of undercover floor space, (3 acres), treasure hunters have the opportunity to spend many hours browsing and meandering through the eclectic mix of products. There is a fantastic variety of home decor, furniture, records, vintage and new clothing, books, fine china, glassware, industrial items, jewellery, antiques as well as Australian pottery, homewares, memorabilia, retro fashions and collectables. We also have many stalls selling new products and have gift vouchers for those people who have everything!

All goods are from the 1850’s right through to present day. Mill Markets lease space to hundreds of dealers, which allows small business operators and collectors who otherwise could not afford the overheads of their own shops, to showcase their goods. This equates to a wide and diverse range of products, available and open to the public, seven days a week. Enjoy a wonderful trip down memory lane through hundreds and thousands of items available for purchase at all three locations. With over 500 stall holders over three venues, there is always something for everyone. Travel The Amazing Mill Markets ‘Golden Triangle’ and enjoy quality food and coffee at each. All venues open 7 days 10.00am-6.00pm (excluding Christmas Day).

14 Happy & Healthy

www.tlnews.com.au

Do you keep people Happy & Healthy?

Spread the word here and help people finally achieve their New Year resolutions!

*The Local is running a Resolutions Advertising Feature in the January 15 edition. Call 5348 7883 or email kyle@tlnews.com.au

Dr. Susanne M. Heringslake Chiropractor Moments To Ponder a little gift from me to you

A new year.

A new beginning.

Time to move,create, flow,dream, flourish, refresh, renew your life.

Start today.

Happy New Year!

Dr Sue

For all enquiries and to book appointments, please contact: Dr Susanne M Heringslake Chiropractor Mobile: 0407 301 352

The promise of the New Year

A

S WE approach the end of 2017 and the beginning of a new year it is traditionally a time to reflect on days past and to think about the year ahead.

At Windarring we are looking forward to 2018 with great expectation and anticipation. The disability sector is undergoing great change. Many of our peers in the sector are considering how to deal with the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Windarring is well advanced in transitioning to the changing demands of this new environment.

Our clients are at the centre of everything we do.

By maintaining a person-centred and community-based approach we believe we can provide the best outcomes for our clients.

Windarring partners with individuals and their networks to develop support plans which include a choice of activities, community participation, connection and inclusion.

With Windarring you can learn life skills, gain independence, get involved in your community, train for a job and improve your and health and wellbeing.

Our services include: • • • • • • • • •

Individual one-on-one support; Group programs; Recreation, living skills, information technology, art and performing arts; Respite services; Accommodation support; Employment support, vocational training and pathways; Supported employment in our National Disability Enterprises; Supported holidays; and Complex communication skills.

For more information about Windarring services please contact Ms Di Nancarrow – Deputy Director on (03) 5422 7001, or by email - intake@windarring.org.au or visit our website.

Life presents many obstacles and hurdles. We hope of our staff, clients and partners begin the year with a positive outlook as we send our best wishes for a happy, healthy, prosperous and fulfilling New Year in 2018.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR LIFE

(Advertorial)

Next Time BOOK ONLINE We offer online bookings with most doctors at our Daylesford and Trentham practices making it easier for you to find and book your next appointment with us.

Make your booking anytime – 24/7.

WHY BOOK ONLINE?

View available appointments on the day and up to one month in advance.

Receive instant booking confirmation and email notifications reminding you of your next appointment.

Book on the go with your smartphone or tablet.

Please note: You will need a mobile phone number and email address to use our online booking system.

Please call us if you have a specific appointment requirement that is not offered online.

To book online, visit our website www.springsmedical.com.au In an emergency always call 000

Daylesford

10 Hospital Street tel: (03) 5348 2227

Visitors, activities and outings keep Gloria busy at Hepburn House

B

ETWEEN the company of her visitors, and the activities and outings, life is good at Hepburn House for resident Gloria Marshall.

Hepburn House boasts a team of dedicated personal carers, as well as visits by a range of allied health professionals, and a kitchen that provides home-style meals that specifically cater for any of the residents’ dietary requirements.

But it’s the people that make Hepburn House a great place to be.

“I enjoy having the company of the staff and of my co-residents, as well as the entertainment provided,” Gloria explains.

Having moved to Hepburn House about 18 months ago, Gloria has been taking part in some of the large range of activities on offer – and has her favourites.

“I especially enjoy playing bingo and hoy, as well as going out on the bus trips for lunch or afternoon tea.”

While her husband Rex, who also resided at Hepburn House, passed away last year, the couple’s children are frequent visitors.

“I have family in Melbourne and in Ballan, and my family come to visit often – I enjoy spending time going out with my family.”

Hepburn House is a government-funded aged care facility which offers all levels of care, from respite to permanent. Hepburn House is located at 1 Hepburn Road, Daylesford. For more information, call 5348 8100 or visit www.hepburnhouse.com.au (Advertorial)

Trentham

22 Victoria Street tel: (03) 5424 1602

16 Our producers

www.tlnews.com.au

Words: Jeff Glorfeld | Image: David White (First published in Issue 96)

Harvest Feature - Daylesford Meat Co

F

OLKS walking along Daylesford’s Vincent Street have got into the habit of checking the chalkboard in front of Daylesford Meat Co for a daily chuckle - OK, yes, it just as easily could be a daily groan.

Take, for example: “I’d make a meat joke, but I’d probably butcher it”.

Or this: “Sweet dreams are made of cheese - who am I to diss a brie?”

The messages are part of the ongoing evolution of this local institution, which last year was given a complete interior makeover, plus a markedly different product range.

And the changes aren’t stopping there, says Matt Layfield of his family’s business.

They are “taking it into a fresh direction”, he says. “Daylesford, being the town that it is, and the people who visit the town, you need to offer more of a unique retail experience. We know our product is of the highest standard but sometimes people just need an image to go with it.”

All over Australia butcher shops are under pressure from one-stop-shop supermarkets. Matt says this is what drives the renovations and the developing product range in the shop, led by butcher Angus Beaumont, the new front-of-shop manager, who has worked with Annie Smithers and the Lake House and who is helping to develop smallgood and deli-style products.

“If we didn’t have a point of difference - we knew we were doing a good job but were a basic butcher at the time - the difficulty people can have crossing the (supermarket) carpark to come to you to buy their meat - you have to give them a reason to cross that road, or they won’t do it,” Matt says.

Of course, the butcher shop is just one part of the Layfield family business.

They have been supplying meat to Australian tables for decades. Matt’s father, Ron Layfield, was manager of the Daylesford Meat Works until 1990, when he went out on his own. Matt says his father started work at the abattoir when he was 16 and was manager at 17.

“So he’s always been involved, and at every level of the game, and he’s still doing just what he used to do,” Matt says.

“We’ve always had property, we’ve always grown cattle, we’ve always been into the whole process, from breeding, to selling to butchers and to supermarkets - we’ve got a really good view of the whole supply chain.”

Highland Meats is their core business, a wholesale company through which the Layfields sell meat into Melbourne, Sydney and country Victoria. Going through the Hardwicks abattoir in Kyneton, they process about 1000 lambs and about 100 cattle a week.

They raise about 200 calves a year, they fatten another 2000 cattle and 10,000 lambs, all sourced locally, working with local farmers who produce animals up to the standard they require. “We like working with local farmers who we know do a good job - established people who have been doing it for a very long time,” Matt says.

“I suppose, first and foremost, one thing my father always says is, if you look after your animals, your animals will look after you,” he says. “So I’d say animal husbandry is paramount, above all else. That’s the ethos we’ve used throughout our whole trade.

We select only the best stock for our retail store, and it starts with caring for them, doing the right thing for the animals.”

Although organic farming has become a big part of local agriculture, Matt says he hasn’t got to that stage yet. “It’s something we’re looking at developing,” he says.

“The market is there and it is growing, but the picture we’re getting is of (only) select pockets of Melbourne that will pay the price to have that product.”

Price is the biggest hurdle the business faces in going organic on a wide scale.

“The struggle we’ve had is - the balance we have with our Melbourne customers is - we’re supplying average retail butchers and supermarkets - they don’t particularly care about that yet, which is a shame,” Matt says. “The stock we produce and grow ourselves is as close to organic as it can be without going down the certification path, but we haven’t got to that stage yet. But at some point in time I’d like to take it in that direction.”

To give the business more flexibility, the Layfields started their Green Hills Natural brand. “It’s the name of our farm product,” Matt says. “We produce a lot of our own beef and lamb on farm - we’re proud of the job we do on farm and saw it as the perfect opportunity to market our farm well.”

(First published in Issue 96 - www.tlnews.com.au)

Happy New Year !

HOUSE.LAND.HOME.

Your local real estate guide to the Central Highlands

House.Land.Home.

Drone photography

See your world from a different angle!

Prices starting at $220 Fully CASA licenced and insured Not just another drone pilot - a photographer who can fly drones! Call Kyle on 0416 104 283.

House.Land.Home.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Have a safe, healthy and fun filled 2018.

From the teams at:

House.Land.Home.

WATER BORING Water Divining

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House.Land.Home.

Kitchen benchtops

How it fared - Corian wasn't damaged by our impact test and stains were easily cleaned away using a cleaner, but the abrasion test left obvious scratch marks and when applying heat it left a faint matt mark in the surface.

Corian is repairable – you'll need to contact the manufacturer. Depending on the damage, the affected piece can be cut out, and filled in with a new piece, with the same seamless finish.

By Rebecca Ciaramidaro | www.choice.com.au

W

HETHER it's an industrial, rustic, modern, or contemporary look that you're going for, there'll be a benchtop to suit. While we often consider what's going to look good, there are other important factors such as budget and ease-of-cleaning that shouldn't be overlooked.

So far we have looked at Bamboo and butcher block, Polished concrete, Sealed granite, Laminate, Marble and Porcelain. Here’s a few more tested for their ability to resist heat damage, staining, impact, cutting and abrasion.

Quartz If you're after practicality, quartz is your answer. It's probably one of the most popular choices at the moment – it comes in an array of colours and designs and isn't as expensive as natural stone. It's also non-porous so you won't need to seal it.

How it fared - We tested two popular brands on the market, Caesarstone and Quantum Quartz, and they both performed the same. There were some scratch marks following our abrasion test but they weren't very visible and barely any marks were left following our cutting resistance test. It resists heat damage and staining but is prone to chipping – in our impact test the edge chipped off. You may be able to repair chips and cracks but you'll need to contact the manufacturer.

Stainless steel If you like a restaurant vibe in your kitchen, consider a stainless steel benchtop.

It's a hygienic option and is fairly durable, and definitely one for the cooking enthusiast.

How it fared - You can place a hot saucepan on the surface without damaging it, and it's fairly stain resistant. The surface, corner and edge were dented following our drop test, which is quite noticeable due to the reflective nature of the surface. It's not resistant to scratching – our abrasion test left noticeable scratch marks on the surface.

Fingerprints will likely become a major annoyance of yours if you go for a stainless steel benchtop. You'll likely need to invest in specific stainless steel cleaners to clean the surface.

Solid surfacing If you're looking for versatility and durability, a solid surfacing (Corian) benchtop is worth considering. Solid surfacing is an acrylic resin with a filler of alumina. These materials give strength and fire retardants properties. Solid surfacing gives you the possibility to mould your kitchen sink in the same seamless piece as your benchtop, and it's ideal if you have a large benchtop or island.

With no cracks or crevices to trap food and dirt, it's also a hygienic option.

Corian is waterproof and UV resistant so it's also an option if you have an outdoor entertaining area. It's also translucent, so you can backlight Corian to create a stunning feature. It's starting price is around $400 per lineal metre.

Awaken your spirit of discovery.

Lot 2 Railway Cres, Daylesford, Victoria . 03 5348 1920

22 Dining

www.tlnews.com.au

BEER GARDEN

TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY Express Lunch

$20 Mains

2 Courses $32 / 3 Courses $40

THURSDAY

Locals Menu – all day

2 Courses $27 / 3 Courses $32

Tapas

Tuesday & Wednesday 11.30am – 3pm Thursday to Saturday 12 noon – 10pm Sunday 12 noon – 4pm 31 High Street, Trentham (03) 5424 1144

theplough.com.au

Christmas 2017

Open every day from Tuesday 26 December 2017 to Sunday 7 January 2018 Please call 5424 1144 for opening hours

Thursday to Sunday noon till late afternoon (5pm)

We invite you to experience the culinary delights which have made Mercato a popular destination in itself within the Daylesford/Macedon Ranges region. Exquisite food & wine in an ambient setting now including regionally inspired Tapas.

The quality you know and love in small bites to share!

LOCALS' NIGHT

Monday night is Locals' night, enjoy one course meal and a glass of wine for $30. (not available on Public Holidays)

MERCATO@daylesford

32 Raglan Street, Daylesford dine@mercatorestaurant.com.au (03) 5348 4488

The Historic FIVE FLAGS HOTEL

...where the locals eat ( s i n c e 1 8 5 4)

Local Produce - Local Wines Large Groups Welcome Ample Off Street Parking Catering for Gluten Free & Dietary Requirements Sunday Roast TAB - DRIVE THRU

Lunch Wed to Sun. Dinner 7 Days.

Main Road, Campbells Creek 5472 1010

www.tlnews.com.au

Dine review 23

Words: Donna Kelly | Images: Kyle Barnes

Hot Summer menu at the Farmers Arms

T

HE Farmers Arms Hotel in Daylesford has a new Summer menu and it's sizzling. Executive chef Gavan Anders and head chef Chris Timmins have put together something really special here but be ready for FOMO - fearing of missing out - because you'll want to try it all.

We got some advice from friendly, informed and long-term bar staff Megan and Sam, who recommended three starters and two mains - all just on the menu. They also served up a glass of the '14 Fat Bastard Chardonnay ($10.50) for me and a pot of Carlton Draught ($5) for Kyle. Being a pub the wine list is lengthy and varied, with plenty of wines by the glass. There are also stacks of beers on tap - the best way to drink beer according to Kyle.

Starters The first starter was Betel Leaves with caramelised scallops with galangal paste, toasted peanuts and kaffir lime ($24). Heaven. There are four delectable scallops, each on their own little bed of flavour, ready to wrap up and pop in your mouth. The galangal paste is a little "warm" as you would expect but it's a hit of heat and then it's gone.

Next was the Thai-style twice cooked lamb ribs with chilli, cumin and coriander ($22). Again, the perfect fusion of Asian flavour with a hint of heat but those ribs, and there must have been about seven, will have you wanting more. Gavan is a regular traveller to Asia and it really shows. He knows how to combine flavours!

The third was more of a nod to Greece with Grilled goat's cheese with roasted peppers, pesto and garlic toast ($19). This is one of my favourites. I used to love the saganaki but who knew you could grill a round of goat's cheese and it would taste this good. Make sure you load up your toast with that pesto and peppers as well. (Oh, the lamb ribs and this dish could easily do as a meal - they are generous serves.)

I tend to break with tradition and rather than tackling one mussel at a time, empty all the shells into the broth and just enjoy the contents. Once again a big serve and we only had the half kilo. I have no idea what a full kilo would even look like but I guess it's for sharing.

We are running out of steam but Chris says we absolutely must try the Farmers Arms house-smoked beef short rib, with spicy coleslaw and potato chips ($37). This is a massive dish, in fact a group of other diners commented you'd want to make sure you had taken your cholesterol tablets before you took a bite! Kyle was all good in that regard and sliced into the meat using the proffered steak knife, which was really not needed. The beef was fall apart tender and juicy, perfectly cooked and oozing with flavour. A really nice pubby dish.

Desserts There was no way dessert was happening but there are plenty to tempt you. They are all just $16 and include Parfait of chocolate torte, pistachio ice cream, raspberry sorbet & scorched meringue, Traditional trifle with mixed berry jelly, white chocolate & Cointreau mousse & chocolate almond sponge, Frangipane crepe roulade with strawberry coulis, fresh strawberries & vanilla ice cream or the scarily named Death by chocolate - a chocolate & macadamia nut brownie, chocolate & whisky mousse, dark and white chocolate shards, chocolate sauce, scattered with fresh berries & berry coulis. If you prefer something savoury, try the Cheese Plate with muscatel grapes, quince paste, apple, pear and toasties with a choice of cheese from St Agur Blue and/ or D'Affinois. One cheese is $16 and two are $20.

The kids If you can't get someone to mind the rug rats, or maybe you like dining with them, the Kids Menu has four dishes all at $15 - the Chicken schnitzel with chips & salad, Fish 'n' chips, Pasta with Bolognese & cheese and Pasta with Napoli & cheese.

Mains On to mains and we can't go past the XO steamed mussels with crusty bread Where and when ($19 for a half kilo and $37 for a kilo). This is an all hands on deck meal, with cutlery The Farmers Arms is at 1 East Street, Daylesford and is open from 11.30amand hands at the ready. The XO sauce is just delicious and perfect for dipping your 11pm, seven days a week with lunch from noon-3pm and dinner orders from mussels and bread into.

5.30pm-9pm. Phone: 5348 2091 Email: belocal@farmersarmsdaylesford.com.au

24 Gig guide

the

Gig Guide

SPA § BAR

DAYLESFORD

The Spa Bar, Daylesford Live Piano Improv – Wednesday, January 10, 7pm-10pm Live Jazz – Thursday, January 11, 7pm-10pm.

DJ Beats – Friday, January 12, 9pm-11pm The Rhythm Connection – Saturday, January 13, 7.30pm-10.30pm Live Piano Improv – Wednesday, January 17, 7pm-10pm Whiskey Room – Thursday, January 18, 7pm-10pm.

DJ Beats - Friday, January 19, 9pm-11pm Slim Fit Low Wasters – Saturday, January 20, 7.30pm-10.30pm Live Piano Improv – Wednesday, January 24, 7pm-10pm Live Jazz – Thursday, January 25, 7pm-10pm.

BAR , DINING & DAYLESFORD’S ONLY LIVE MUSIC VENUE

LIVE MUSIC

Every Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday nights & DJ beats every Friday night

Locals’ $10 pizza

Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn

Every Wednesday & Thursday nights

Croaky Karaoke - Friday, January 5, 8.30pm Matty Chaps – Saturday, January 6, 8.30pm Daisy Kilbourne – Sunday, January 7, 5pm Croaky Karaoke – Friday, January 12, 8.30pm Retro Revival – Saturday, January 13, 8.30pm Cam Kettle – Sunday, January 14, 5pm Croaky Karaoke – Friday, January 19, 8.30pm Gabe Atkinson – Saturday, January 20, 8.30pm Marty Luke – Sunday, January 21, 5pm

OPEN Tuesday-Saturday 5pm till late Functions welcome

RACV Goldfields Resort, Creswick Dave Clark & DeborahN – Friday, January 5 Sweet Biscuits Sunday, January 7, 2pm-4pm Geoff and Marjella – Friday, January 12

22 Howe Street, DAYLESFORD Phone: 0429

Blue Bean Love Cafe, Hepburn Springs Cat & Clint – Friday, January 5 Nathan Power – Saturday, January 6 Not Empathetic – Sunday, January 7 Charley Phyphers – Friday, January 12 James Hickey – Saturday, January 13 Open Mic – Sunday, January 14

Got a gig coming up? Email news@tlnews.com.au It's free!

Teaching an Old Hep new tricks

F

OR 105 years, The Old Hepburn Hotel has served up cold ales, great pub food and the best music to locals and visitors alike.

In most recent times, the Dooley family has worked hard to make The Old Hep what it is today, an authentic country pub, loved by locals and visitors alike with live music and great pub food.

From January 4 the pub will be open Thursday to Monday (closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays).

"We love live music and we ramp this up with Saturday and Sunday gigs," owner Amber Dooley says.

"We launch into summer with our Sunday Funday, live music and bevvies in the beer garden from 5pm to late with $6 Great Northern Schooners and $5 house wines.

"The Old Hep knows that no-one wants to be the designated driver - forget the car and book the Old Hep courtesy bus to pick you up from home or your accommodation, and we'll take you home later."

The Old Hepburn Hotel is open Monday and Thursday from 4pm to 11pm, Friday from 4pm until late and Saturday and Sunday from 9am until late. Head to 236 Main Road, Hepburn.

For more information call 5348 2207 or connect with the pub via its website at www.oldhepburnhotel.com.au or on social media at www.facebook.com/TheHepburnHotel and www.instagram.com/theoldhepburn

Advertorial

585 129 for bookings & enquiries

www.tlnews.com.au

Meal Deals 25

Meal deals for locals...and visitors too!

E

VERYONE loves a good meal deal. So here are the dining establishments offering great food and great prices!

Monday:

Daylesford Hotel, Daylesford - Monday Meatball Madness - $20 (Vegetarian too) Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn - Frugal Foodies - $20 Grande Hotel, Hepburn Springs - Locals' Night - 2-courses $35, 3-courses - $45

Tuesday:

Saturday:

The Surly Goat - lunch special - two courses and a glass of wine - $40 Tastings at Bellinzona, Hepburn - free wine tasting of up to six choices of regional wines when you order a pizza, platter or purchase a bottle of wine.

Sunday:

The Surly Goat - lunch special - two courses and a glass of wine - $40 Grange Bellinzona, Hepburn - two courses and a glass of wine - $45 Old Hepburn Hotel - Sunday roast - two choices of meat with all the trimmings $15 from noon until sold out.

Daylesford Hotel, Daylesford - Burger Night with chips - $20 Five Flags Hotel, Campbells Creek - parma night - $16

Wednesday:

Daylesford Hotel, Daylesford – Pot (or glass of house wine) and Parma - $20 Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn - Frugal Foodies - $20 The Spa Bar, Daylesford - $10 pizza

Thursday:

Daylesford Hotel, Daylesford – Steak Night - $20 Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn - Schnitzel Night - 5pm-7pm- $15 The Spa Bar, Daylesford - $10 pizza The Plough, Trentham - Locals' All Day Dining - 2 courses $27/3 courses $32

Friday:

The Surly Goat, Hepburn - lunch special - two courses and a glass of wine - $40 Grange Bellinzona, Hepburn - two courses and a glass of wine - $45 Tastings at Bellinzona, Hepburn - free wine tasting of up to six choices of regional wines when you order a pizza, platter or purchase a bottle of wine.

Criterion Hotel, Castlemaine - Express Jalapeno Poppers $12, Fried Chicken Wings $12, Refried Bean Rolls $12, Fried Baby Calamari Tostada $16, 12-2.30pm

18 wines by the glass.

14 beers & cider on tap.

That’s a real pub.

We are getting into the Christmas spirit.

Mention “The Local Christmas Ad” and we will shout you your first drink!*

Eat. Drink. Be Local.

* Glass of house wine or pot of tap beer. One drink per person during course of promotion. Valid until 31 January 2018.

1 EAST ST DAYLESFORD

•

03 5348 2091 • OPEN 7 DAYS LUNCH & DINNER

•

THEFARMERSARMS.COM.AU

CELEBRATE 2018

WITH AN ‘ALL LOCAL MEAT FEAST’ FROM THE DAYLESFORD MEAT Co GENUINE LOCALLY GROWN BEEF, LAMB & PORK Our prime lamb & aged beef is produced on the family farm ‘Green Hills Natural’ near Malmsbury & the beef aged in our Daylesford shop.

Our ethically raised pork is from the ‘Beyond Free Range’ McIvor Farm in Tooborac and the free range poultry from local suppliers also in Central Victoria.

Where possible everything else is sourced locally.

DMC is a well known Daylesford icon supplying the locals and visitors with genuine local produce for over 50 years. Our expert butchers make a select range of specialist sausages including our famous ‘Bull Boar’, another Daylesford icon.

OUR GOURMET RANGE OF HOUSE-MADE SMALLGOODS Bacons, Chorizo, Terrines, Ham Hocks, Strasburg, Pastrami & more.

From everyone at The Daylesford Meat Co. We wish you all a happy and healthy 2018 Seniors Card Holders 10% Off

37 Vincent Street. Daylesford.Phone 5348 2094.

Find us on Facebook

Mon - Thurs: 7am - 5.30 pm Friday: 7am - 6pm Saturday: 7am - 1pm

WHAT’S ON 2018 JANUARY

FEBRUARY

DOLLY’S DISCO BINGO Wednesday 10th - 6.30-8.30pm Bingo with music & trivia.

Lots of fun and prizes to be won.

MARCH

LIVE MUSIC - FAMILY FARM Saturday 20 January - 7pm

Camp St, Daylesford | 03 5348 2130 | www.daylesfordbowlingclub.com.au Stay updated on the latest events by visiting our website or Facebook page.

DOLLY’S DISCO BINGO Wednesday 14th - 6.30-8.30pm Bingo with music & trivia.

Lots of fun and prizes to be won.

CHILL OUT TRIVIA NIGHT Saturday 10th - 6pm With Gabriella Labucci and Sarina Belle.

Entry includes: Trivia, show & 2 course dinner DOLLY’S DISCO BINGO Wednesday 28th - 6.30-8.30pm Bingo with music & trivia.

Lots of fun and prizes to be won.

www.tlnews.com.au

Markets 27

To market, to market, to buy summer fruit

Y

OU can find everything you need at weekend markets, from fresh fruit and veg to handmade jewellery and wares, throughout the Central Highlands and surrounds. Here are just a few.

Daylesford Railway Market – every Sunday Wesley Hill Market - every Saturday Daylesford Farmers’ Market – first Saturday Trentham Neighbourhood Centre Makers’ Market - first Saturday Golden Plains Farmers' Market - first Saturday Castlemaine Artists’ Market – first Sunday Kyneton Farmers’ Market - second Saturday Ballan Farmers' Market - second Saturday Kyneton Rotary Community Market – second Saturday Maldon Market – second Sunday Clunes Farmers’ Market - second Sunday Trentham Farmers’ Market and Makers’ Market - third Saturday Glenlyon Farmers’ Market – third Saturday Leonards Hill Market - third Saturday Creswick Market - third Saturday Talbot Farmers’ Market – third Sunday Woodend Lions Market - third Sunday Trentham Station Sunday Market - fourth Sunday Buninyong Village Market - fourth Sunday

Want to advertise your market? It's free. Just email news@tlnews.com.au

The Trentham Farmers Market has joined with Trentham Makers Market

Third Saturday, 9am - 1pm

TRENTHAM PETROL & STUFF

1 Market St PH 5424 1611 Mon - Sat 8am - 6pm Sun 9am - 6pm

We now have up to 120 stalls to choose from and our local farmers' selection of produce is increasing weekly!

Here’s the solution for last edition’s crossword for Issue 113. Solve it?

Petrol, oils, swap & go gas, firewood permits, farm produce / produce store, ice, milk, soft drinks, take-away pies, coffee, confectionery, local honey etc. rusty junk, secondhand books, old wares

28 Trades

www.tlnews.com.au

A unique heater manufactured in Daylesford from Australian products Servicing Daylesford and Districts.

Supply Design & Installation Services Domestic & Agricultural Bore, Dam & Tank Pumps Sprinkler & Drip Systems 0427 508 840

Roel Hofland 0408 805 447 roelhofland1@gmail.com

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POOL AND SPA MAINTENANCE SERVICES DAYLESFORD AND SPA COUNTRY Over 25 years’ experience in the Pool and Spa industry.

Cleaning and servicing of pools, hot tubs and jacuzzis.

Water chemistry and water balance Commercial properties Domestic applications Reasonable rates All enquiries welcome Noel 0419 554 319 Declan 0438 212 107

Consulting in Administration & Management Book-keeping Administration Payroll Temp service Supplier monthly reconciliation Qualified to manage a small team of office workers Christ Jules Services Julie Hanson 0459 619 701 julphil.hanson@gmail.com www.christjulesservices.com.au

EarthmovingPty Ltd

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All types of excavation work Driveways & access roads Pipe laying & drainage Site clearing and leveling Dam construction Tree & vegetation removal Call Rob 0427 483 238 Or Kerry 0409 707 146 ABN 83622329500 torranceearthmoving@bigpond.com

Railway Crescent, Daylesford P: 03

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F: 03 5348 1200 E: nedkelly@woodheaters.com.au

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PLASTERER DAYLESFORD FIBROUS PLASTER WORKS (MACKLEY’S) • NEW HOMES • RENOVATIONS • CEILING ROSES • ORNAMENTAL CORNICE Daylesford

Peter Mackley 5348 3085 or 0418 571 331 Gary Mackley 5348 1108

Daylesford Newsagency & Tattslotto Newspapers, magazines, Tattslotto, dry-cleaning, stationery, photocopying and lots more...

We stock The Local!

55 Vincent Street, Daylesford 5348 2061

www.tlnews.com.au

DAYLESFORD APPLIANCE SERVICE

Trades 29

das3460@bigpond.com

Clement F Mooney

Email: c.mooney@bigpond.net.au

electrical appliance repair service washer, dryer, fridge, dishwasher, oven, cook top etc.

Available to assist with all general accounting services and preparation/electronic lodgment of Tax Returns and BAS for Individuals, Sole Traders, Partnerships, Trusts and Companies.

A.B.N. 37 961 487 978

Certified Practising Accountant Registered Tax Agent B.Com, C.P.A., M.B.A.

Call Kiyo on

0419 267 685

das3460@bigpond.com

PH: 0400 059 613 - 5348 6634 ADMIN@JESSEDAWKINSGARDENS.COM.AU WWW.JESSEDAWKINSGARDENS.COM.AU

Office: 19 Albert Street, Trentham 3458

www.hepburnfencing.com.au

Servicing all Daylesford and Districts wastewateraus.com.au MOB: 0427 508 840

Are you a tradie? Want people to be able to find you? Why not advertise in The Local's Trade Pages? They are really well read and it costs just over $20 per week. And unlike other newspapers, we don't cram your advert into the smallest possible space! And let's face it, you are reading this!

Malone Tree Services Liam Malone . Limited Access . Fully Insured .Specialists Qualified . Mulching Available

0423 945 436

30 Our people

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All aboard for Barrie’s bonzer world of trains

T

WO little boys dash across a footy oval in response to a toot from a train.

Fast forward 70 years and one of the pair shows his enormous model railway in Daylesford.

The journey of Barrie O’Donohue from a publican’s son in Bacchus Marsh to a spruiker, in the best sense, of this marvellous railway is in many ways a typical country story.

From the Railway Hotel – its name enshrined in the railway layout - young Barrie went off to be educated by the nuns then at St Pat’s in Ballarat, until he was 17. Already trains were in his DNA, with one uncle, Andy, a driver and another a guard.

“My uncle would come up to Bacchus Marsh with 80 trucks to fill with coal and take to Melbourne. He would blow his whistle and my mate Pat O’Leary and I would run across to go with the first ride.”

First, Uncle Andy would wet his whistle at the pub, before again blowing it. Because of a slope outside Bacchus Marsh only 40 trucks would be taken at a time. So the boys would ride the steam engine up to the turntable, where they would turn the delicately balanced engine for its trip back. “We were bloomin’ strong as oxes,” he says, flexing his muscles. Barrie had a shed out the back of the pub, with a three-metre by three-metre model railway.

The Bacchus Marsh coal mine awaited many young men, including Barrie who drove trucks there for several years before taking a job on the assembly line at Ford in Broadmeadows.

First it was tractors. “I was the only one who could build a Dexter (tractor),” those blue jobs made between 1957 and 1964.

Then he moved to quality control of cars. Every seventh Prefect, Fairlane or Falcon that rolled off the line was his to check, even rolling it into a water compartment to see there were no leaks.

Barrie bought a two-door Prefect, as then used by the police and used to love driving a police-style Prefect down Sydney Road to the docks for shipping. “No one passed us.”

What he describes as seven years of continuous writing, checking of cars and making notes, was followed by making semi-trailers in Ballarat and similar jobs. But always there were trains, including running little locomotives under the house and into the garden in one of five layouts made from scrap. Moving on, he picked spuds in Bullarto in the snow (“the coldest part of Australia”), ran a service station and general store here before moving to his home in Vincent Street North.

It’s there that the flowers on sale at the roadside year-round catch the eye of passers-by. When he moved in it was a nine-bedroom guesthouse, and although those days have passed a few regulars have been returning for 30 years. A visitor’s eye is caught by a comical sign, “I am sober. Hic Hi,” beside a wooden koala.

Follow the sign to Barrie’s trains, housed in a specially-built 12-metre by six-metre room where he switches on a heater and the trains start clicking along in all directions as lights on tracks flash.

Soon four are whizzing around the tracks which reach the equivalent of 10 cricket pitches. They go through a tunnel beneath a snow-capped mountain capped with “trees” made from an old Christmas tree. Mountaineers are roped together on a slope, while skiers whizz around above, having been deposited by a helicopter.

A double-decker bus, cranes, coal mine, a timber mill and even a replica of Daylesford Home Timber and Hardware are nearby.

Barrie had pigs and horses in a paddock until a visiting farmer said that would never work. The horses now crowd into their own space.

The only McDonald’s and KFC in Daylesford are not far from Baldy’s Barbershop, the butcher shop and a church wedding. An electric trolleybus runs, fitfully, while on the other side the Loch Ness Monster lurks.

Visitors from Austria sent the tiny figures who mountaineer. He shows a little metal engine and coal truck yet to be used. They were found when a house was reblocked.

Over 16 years he built up this model railway with its 30 or so locomotives and metres of electric wiring below.

Barrie shows a folder of pictures of train journeys. Wherever a rail goes across the nation, it seems he’s been there.

He runs the railway for visitors from 10am to 5pm during the weekend, charging kids $2, seniors $3, adults $5 and families $12.

And the flowers, by Barrie and his partner Val Ragatz, whose begonias won every Ballarat contest they entered, are still sold out the front.

Words: Kevin Childs | Images: David White (First published in Issue 101 - www.tlnews.com.au)

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OZ - TRANS

DAYLESFORD The ‘Local’ Blokes

FURNITURE REMOVALS

GENERAL FREIGHT

Melbourne & Country Victoria daily 0407 697 877

News 31

The Local loves promoting local services sports - whether that's SEPTIC SYSTEM INSPECTION & MAINTENANCE LAND CAPABILITY ASSESSMENT results, a club profile SEPTIC SYSTEM INSPECTION services or just someone doing & MAINTENANCE something amazing at PERIODIC INSPECTION AND REPORTING your club.

OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS

SEPTIC SYSTEM INSPECTION & MAINTENANCE

TROUBLESHOOTING AND MAINTENANCE SUPERVISION OF SLUDGE PUMP-OUT LATEST SLUDGE-JUDGE TECHNOLOGY AUTHORISED TAYLEX SERVICE AGENT

www.sanae-svcs.com.au

PO Box 1040, Daylesford, VIC 3460 koos.hulst@sanae-svcs.com.au (03) 5348 4852 or 0437 747 619

Email us with all your sporting news at news@tlnews.com.au and we'll make sure you get your 15 minutes of fame - at least!

2017 - Through the rear view mirror!

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