Front page: Lise Heymer is an experience designer who spent more than two decades creating digital experiences before turning her focus to physical places, with a single mission – helping people gain clarity before making significant decisions about place. Based in Coomoora, she recently founded Heymer Design Studio, a place-based design practice. Read all about Lise on page 11.
Front image:Lise Heymer
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The Local is a fortnightly community publication covering the Central Highlands of Victoria.
The next edition is out on Monday, August 10, 2026 or online on Sunday, August 9 at www.tlnews.com.au
Space bookings: Wednesday, August 5
Copy deadline: Thursday, August 6
Editorial deadline: Thursday, August 6
General manager: Kyle Barnes - 0416 104 283 | kyle@tlnews.com.au
Editor: Donna Kelly - 0418 576 513 | news@tlnews.com.au
Sub-editors: Nick Bunning, Lindsay Smith & Chester the Cat
Writers:
Kevin Childs, Kate Foulds, Natalie Poole, Kyle Barnes & Donna Kelly
Photographers: Kate Foulds, Kyle Barnes & Donna Kelly
Graphic designer: Dianne Caithness
Contributors:
Darren Lowe (music), Jeff Glorfeld (US life), Bill Wootton (poetry), Dr Marita McGuirk (wildlife), Natalie Poole (history) & John Beetham (gardens)
Accounts: Julie Hanson | Delivery: Tony Sawrey
And then there were two...council disarray
Five of Hepburn Shire Council's seven councillors are now stood down after private prosecutions from a Hepburn Shire resident.
Cr Don Henderson was stood down in March followed this month by Mayor Cr Tony Clark, then Cr Lesley Hewitt, Deputy Mayor Cr Shirley Cornish and Cr Pat Hockey. The two remaining councillors are Cr Brian Hood and Cr Tim Drylie.
CEO Bradley Thomas is also facing charges but was not stood down. However he has since resigned.
Janet Dore, pictured, has been appointed acting Chief Executive Officer of the council from August 3 to August 23.
Ms Dore served as CEO of the Transport Accident Commission from 2007 to 2015. She has also held senior local government roles, including general manager at the City of Newcastle and interim CEO at the City of Ballarat, along with several council monitor and administrator appointments.
The appointment follows an external recruitment process led by CEO Employment and Remuneration Committee temporary interim chair Rebecca McKenzie, with councillors Tim Drylie and Brian Hood.
A council media release said Ms Dore's short-term arrangement would enable the council to continue working with the Victorian Government to establish an appropriate decision-making mechanism, including the potential extension of Ms Dore’s appointment as interim CEO beyond August 23.
(The next step could be seeing the state government appointing an administrator or administrators to take over the role of councillors.)
A July 15 council media release said the council had reaffirmed with independent advice that its adopted 2026/27 Budget was compliant with legislative requirements and would like to correct commentary suggesting otherwise.
"Council considered placing the draft 2026/27 Budget on public exhibition for community feedback at its Council Meeting on 26 May 2026. The draft Budget was prepared using the relevant Victorian Government budget template and included the information required under the Local Government Act 2020 and associated regulations.
"Following community engagement, councillors considered a further report at a Special Council Meeting on 30 June 2026. That report requested that council adopt the draft Budget including a number of changes that had occurred since the draft was released. This is a normal and consistent practice across the local government sector, where budgets are refined following public exhibition, updated information and council consideration.
"During the meeting, a concern was raised that the Budget may not be compliant. Clarification was sought and the Chief Executive Officer advised that the Budget was compliant and it was adopted. Since its adoption, council has sought further independent legal advice. That advice confirms council’s position that the adopted 2026/27 Budget is compliant with legislative requirements.
"The 2026/27 Budget was developed in a challenging financial environment and is focused on responsible service delivery, investment in essential community infrastructure and the ongoing management of council’s long-term financial sustainability."
Meanwhile, the July council meeting was cancelled because the council no longer has a quorum. A council media release said: "We'll keep you updated on any developments with the situation and any action by the Victorian Government.
"Remember, operationally it's business as usual for us. We are still delivering services and completing projects."
Words: Donna Kelly | Images: Hepburn Shire Council
Cr Brian Hood
Cr Tim Drylie
Cr Tony Clark
Cr Shirley Cornish
Cr Don Henderson
Cr Pat Hockey
Cr Leslie Hewitt
CEO Bradley Thomas
Just briefly...
Comedy For A Cause will be held at the Lyonville Hall on Saturday, August 1 with doors open from 6.30pm and the show starting at 7pm.
The hall fundraiser features world-class comedians from across Australia in an adults-only event. Tickets are $30. Link: www.comedyforacause.net
A new Youth Prevention and Recovery Care centre is now open in Newington.
The free service offers specialist, around-the-clock care for young people aged 16 to 25 years. The voluntary, referral-based service is designed to feel like a home away from home – enabling young people to access the mental health care they need, while maintaining connection to their community. The Ballarat YPARC includes: 10 private bedrooms; shared kitchen and dining facilities; outdoor gardens; and dedicated spaces for visits from loved ones.
A new alliance of foster carers, community service organisations and the Foster Care Association of Victoria is warning that without urgent action, more vulnerable Victorian children will miss out on the safety, stability and belonging that only family-based care can provide.
With more than 40 foster carers actively involved, the Alliance is co-chaired by a foster carer and an agency representative, ensuring lived experience sits alongside sector expertise to drive practical reforms that improve outcomes for children. Link: www.fostercarealliance.com.au
The 2025 Active Living Census results have revealed Loddon Campaspe residents are moving more and smoking less than Victorian benchmarks, but many are reporting food insecurity, poorer health, lower life satisfaction and risky drinking.
More than 8000 residents took part in the Census which collected data on six local government areas: the City of Greater Bendigo, Campaspe, Central Goldfields, Loddon, Macedon Ranges and Mount Alexander shires. Link: www. healthyloddoncampaspe.au/alc
The Liberal Party has endorsed local farmer, small business owner, volunteer and mother of four Megan Read as its candidate for Ripon at the Victorian election on November 28.
Born in Creswick, raised in Ballarat and now farming near Beaufort with her husband Warwick, Megan has spent her life living, working and volunteering across the communities of Ripon. She has built successful businesses, served local schools and sporting clubs, helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for community causes, and played a leading role in supporting recovery following the devastating Streatham-Skipton fires.
Central Highlands Water is providing surplus water to the Goldfields Reservoir.
The water is being delivered under a Memorandum of Understanding between Central Goldfields Shire Council and Central Highlands Water that enables water to be diverted to this important community asset whenever the Evansford Reservoir exceeds capacity. Water began flowing last week at a rate of 1- 3 megalitres per dayat no cost to the community thanks also to the Goldfields Reservoir Action Group.
Central Highlands Rural Health will host a Women’s Wellbeing Day at the Mechanics Trentham on Saturday, September 5, in celebration of Women’s Health Week.
Organised by the CWA Trentham Night Owls and Trentham Neighbourhood Centre, this event will focus on the health and wellbeing needs of women over 40. The program includes expert guest speakers discussing perimenopause, nutrition for energy, stronger bodies, sleep and better mental health, along with lunchtime information stalls showcasing local health and wellbeing services.
Enquiries: trenthamwomenswellbeing@gmail.com
DEECA is using helicopter-mounted cameras to monitor Victoria's coastline and detect possible H5 bird flu cases in wild birds and wildlife.
Detections of H5 bird flu on Australian shores reinforce the need for continued surveillance, preparedness and prompt reporting of sick or dead wild birds and wildlife.
Good meals begin long before the pan hits the stove.
They begin on the farm. Our family farm. In the way animals are raised. In the care taken by the butcher. In the cuts chosen for the people around your table.
Visit us instore at our shop in Daylesford or order online and have quality meat delivered to your door - to most areas across Victoria - and we will make sure that your meals are not just good - they will be memorable.
From our family farm to your family table.
Around the Town for Words in Winter
Throughout August, the streets of Daylesford and Hepburn Springs will come alive with spontaneous art, literary intervention and interactive moments in the lead up to Words in Winter from August 26 to 30.
Through the festival’s Around the Town program, art is stepping out of traditional venues and directly into public spaces, turning everyday streets into places of unexpected creative discovery.
Leading the charge throughout the month is Radical Curiosity, a public art initiative by local art collective, Radical Fields. The project kicked off by transforming the shopfront windows of That Bargain Place into marker-scribed community canvases. These thoughts, questions and visual marks will then be converted into street-art paste-ups scattered across local business windows, town walls and alleyways.
"We love creating situations where art isn't just something you stand back and look at, but something you stumble into and help build," says Ryan F Kennedy, founder and director of Radical Fields. "Taking those community marks onto the street turns the whole town into an evolving conversation." The original window installation at That Bargain Place will remain on display through to the end of the festival on August 30. Keep an eye out for the paste-ups throughout August.
Beyond the paste-ups, locals and visitors exploring the region throughout August will find interactive surprises waiting around almost every corner. At vintage typewriter stations set up at the Daylesford Library, Paradise Bookshop, the Visitor Information Centre, and the Festival Hub, passersby can contribute to The Unstable Draft. Created by local artist Leonie Leivenzon, this installation invites the public to type, alter or overwrite lines to build a layered, collective manuscript.
Local cafes are also joining the movement, ahead of the inaugural The Society of Silent Readers meeting at Paradise Bookshop during the festival. Curated book stacks have been placed across town, inviting patrons to order their morning brew, slow down and sink into a story.
Elsewhere, artist Paul Mason is bringing current events to life with Agent of News, featuring mock street-side newsstands that display thought-provoking A2 ink drawings addressing contemporary social and political issues.
Link: www.wordsinwinter.com
The Local is a proud media sponsor of Words in Winter.
The program will culminate over the festival weekend at the Town Hall and Senior Citizens Centre, where the Festival Hub will host a massive Community Book Swap featuring dedicated tables for both adults' and children’s titles. Bring a book to leave or find your new favourite read.
Daylesford Dialysis - delivering more than treatment
For Daylesford resident Peter Smith, the dialysis team at Daylesford Health is more than a group of healthcare professionals. They are family.
For the past six years, Peter, a resident at Lumeah Lodge, has attended dialysis treatment at Daylesford Hospital three days a week, spending four hours at a time in the unit. Over the years, the time spent with staff and fellow patients has fostered friendships and a strong sense of belonging.
"We are so lucky to have dialysis treatment available at Daylesford Hospital," Peter said. "We don't have to travel long distances, and the staff and fellow recipients become like close friends and family. The hospital is such a vital community asset. I don't know where we would be without it."
Peter's experience reflects the growing importance of Daylesford's dialysis service, which delivered more than 1100 life-sustaining treatments over the past 12 months, making it the busiest year in the unit's history.
Operating as a satellite dialysis service of Royal Melbourne Hospital, the Daylesford unit has significantly expanded in recent years, increasing from three treatment days each week to six. The growth has enabled more patients across the region to access vital care closer to home.
Local stalwart and long-time hospital volunteer Max Primmer understands this better than most. Before receiving a kidney transplant in 2012, Max underwent dialysis treatment at Daylesford Hospital. Today, he continues to give back through regular volunteer work, visiting patients in the acute ward, aged care residents and those receiving dialysis treatment.
"I was fortunate to receive treatment at Daylesford before receiving my new kidney in 2012," Max said. "Over the years, we have all been incredibly lucky with the staff who spend hours alongside us during treatment, and of course with our fellow recipients. I remember one resident who used to bake amazing cakes and desserts, and everyone looked forward to their treatment days.
"Then there was the time I introduced another recipient to English comedy videos. Let's just say they had never experienced that kind of humour before."
News from Your Local Health Service
Although his treatment days are behind him, Max remains closely connected to the dialysis unit. "I still spend time in dialysis as a volunteer, and I couldn't imagine my life without Daylesford dialysis," he said.
"Being able to receive treatment close to home, surrounded by people I cared about, made an enormous difference. It's a service that means so much to so many people in our community."
As demand continues to grow, Daylesford Hospital's dialysis service remains more than a place of treatment. For many patients, it is a source of connection, companionship and support, delivering a sense of community alongside essential healthcare.
Time to move for Eileen, and loving new life
After she turned 90 last year, Eileen Quinlan decided it was time to move on her own terms – and chose Hepburn House. And she loves it.
Formerly Eileen Egan, it’s not far from her first home of Eganstown, named after John Egan her great-grandfather.
Eileen grew up on a farm there - where two of her five children still live on the 180-year-old family property, and then moved around after marrying.
If not busy enough with her large family, she also worked on her husband’s farming business, their trucking company and in businesses with her daughters. Mind you, despite the hours, she jokes she has never received a pay slip.
Her homes were around Victoria and New South Wales and then about 50 years in Ballarat before the move to Hepburn House in February.
“After my 90th birthday last year, I decided I probably should look at a place to spend the rest of my life. I didn’t want to wait until I was pushed in here by my family. “And I have found it a wonderful place. I really like it - it's just so interesting. The staff are lovely and I have made many friends.
“I'm fortunate because I'm still able to get around and do things. I was also asked to be the advocate for the Village part of the facility so that has been a nice way of getting to know everyone.” Eileen said she had also met a lot of people from her school days and that she had known around the region growing up.
With good health on her side, Eileen still also gets out and about, making a point of heading to the Eganstown Anzac Day morning service. She usually takes along home-made Anzac Biscuits – although this year she gave it a miss. “It’s a great service and when the weather is good they have a fire and get billy tea happening.”
Eileen said she felt like she had completed the full circle.
"I was born and educated in Daylesford, lived on a farm at Eganstown for my first 20 years, then worked with my husband and then with my daughters in businesses in different locations. I have travelled a lot and now I am back to close the cycle - where I feel at home in Hepburn House."
Hepburn House: Fostering independence. Enriching lives. Offering personalised care in a progressive, highly advanced and compassionate country setting – it’s the next best thing to home. New resident enquiries on 5348 8100.
Pictured above, from left, Yvonne Clohesy, Jascent MacDonald, Peter Smith, Max Primmer and Kelly Dart
Showcasing the potential of properties
Lise Heymer is an experience designer who spent more than two decades creating digital experiences before turning her focus to physical places, with a single mission –helping people gain clarity before making significant decisions about place. Based in Coomoora, she recently founded Heymer Design Studio, a place-based design practice.
“One service that I'm creating is offering vendors and property owners the chance to see the potential of their properties, and how it could be applied into different areas,” she said.
“For example if someone wants to renovate or uplift their property, I can help them with discussion and understanding about what they are intending to do and helping them with a visual representation of what the future for that property could be.”
“And that could be either if they want to actually stay with the property and renovate or it could be to prepare the property for sale, to increase their chances for sale, or even a visualisation that they can use in incorporating it into the property marketing.”
"The way I work is first to visit the property and understand what people are trying to achieve. If there are no plans, I create simple architectural drawings to define the space. From there, I develop design concepts that explore how the place could evolve, and threedimensional models where those ideas come to life. Once the project is finalised, AI becomes the final step, giving those concepts a realistic photographic finish."
Lise, who moved to Australia from Brazil in 2016, now lives in Victoria with her husband, a software engineer. Said she had been looking for a place with a beautiful lifestyle and connection to nature, but also a place that was alive.
“I wanted to live with wellness as a priority in my life and beautiful cafes and restaurants and places to visit, wineries and everything this region offers. I love it.”
The schoolhouse
Lise talks about her experience rendering the historic Glenlyon Schoolhouse – which brought her in touch with The Local and Donna and Kyle.
“A home is never just a house. It is an extension of how we live, and the places we inhabit directly shape the lives we lead.
Six years ago, when I left my apartment in Sydney to buy a home in Queensland, I realised I wasn’t just moving house - I was chasing a new life. I wanted to be closer to nature, embrace a slower pace, have a room for my artwork, a backyard to gather with family and friends, and space for my pets to roam. It was a journey of transformation through place that has continued ever since.
Moving has been a constant throughout my life. Since leaving my parents' home, every place I've lived and every place I've visited has taught me something. Last year, that journey brought me to beautiful regional Victoria and inspired another transformation. After more than two decades in experience design, I found myself transitioning my work from the digital world to the real one.
I am fascinated by historic and old houses, lifestyle properties and businesses, the potential of places, and the memories we build within them. Whether that's a quiet afternoon with family, a gathering of friends, or a business welcoming guests, I'm interested in how places quietly shape the experiences we take away from them.
It was this fascination that led me to the historic Glenlyon Primary School after a kind introduction from the wonderful Will Walton and Connie Conlon who immediately thought it was a property I'd fall in love with.
More than a heritage-listed building, the Glenlyon Primary School is a place where generations have gathered, connected and created memories for more than a century.
Today, it continues to thrive through care as a much-loved home inviting family and friends to experience a place that still holds so much of its original character.
Long before I arrived, the schoolhouse already had a story, a story of meaning and memory. The historic building claims its presence quietly. Standing along the main street, it doesn't demand attention, yet it's almost impossible to drive past without noticing it.
There is a solid, grounded poetry to a building that has outlasted generations. It carries the textures of the past while quietly inviting us to imagine what might come next.
My role was to observe, listen and understand what this place was quietly asking to become. When I first visited the Glenlyon Schoolhouse, I wasn't searching for ideas; I was searching for clues.
Like many historic properties, some of its greatest qualities had become so familiar over time that they were almost invisible - the generous deck overlooking the landscape, the treehouse tucked among the trees, the fire pit inviting conversation long after sunset, the creative studios, and the wide windows framing the changing seasons.
None of these elements needed to be invented. They were already there.
What fascinated me wasn't what the property lacked, but everything it already offered. As I walked through the grounds, I found myself asking a different question: How could these experiences become more visible? The answer wasn't to redesign the property, but to gently reveal what already existed.
The design concepts that followed were deliberately restrained. Rather than introducing dramatic new features, they focused simply on strengthening the relationship between people and place.
Simple pathways clarified movement through the garden, while thoughtful lighting extended the experience into the evening. Defined outdoor rooms made everyday moments easier to imagine, and the introduction of productive gardens suggested a slower, more intentional rhythm of living. Small refinements helped each part of the property express its purpose more clearly.
Individually, none of these changes were transformative. Collectively, however, they changed the way the place could be seen.
The visualisations were never intended to predict the future. They were an invitation to notice the possibilities that were already waiting within the Schoolhouse.
When Donna later told me that the work had made them 'fall in love with the schoolhouse again', I realised that was the real outcome of the project. Not because the property had become something different. But because it had become easier to see what had always made it special.”
Words: Kyle Barnes & Lise Heymer | Image: Lise Heymer
Central Highlands Coaches Collective launch
Sports Central and FedUni WestVic Academy of Sport have launched the Central Highlands Coaches Collective.
The launch was held at Federation University’s Mount Helen Campus on July 22 with the collective bringing together 95 current and aspiring coaches and leaders from the Central Highlands region.
Keynote speakers at the event included Hannah Every-Hall OLY, GM High Performance at the Victorian Institute of Sport, former Australian rower, world champion and Olympian, pictured, Brad Dubberley, former Australian Wheelchair Rugby head coach and Paralympic athlete and Mick Malthouse, an Australian Rules player and premiership coach as well as a Ballarat native.
Sports Central is the Regional Sports Assembly for the Central Highlands and delivers a range of programs and services for the community sport and active recreation sector.
It services the Central Highlands region which includes six local government areas – Ararat Rural City, City of Ballarat, Golden Plains, Hepburn, Moorabool and Pyrenees shires.
FedUni WestVic Academy of Sport CEO Scott Allison, a national cycling coach, said it had been a night of education, sharing and networking.
"We really wanted to create opportunities for coaches to network and learn in the regions. A lot of coaching seminars are held in Melbourne but many coaches are volunteers so we want to bring that education to the regions.
"We've got 153 athletes in our programs that we help mentor, coach and support. Without good coaches, you can't have good athletes. If we can upskill the coaches, we can upskill the athletes as well. I think that's why we got such great support for the event, people are crying out for it in the regions."
Sports Central executive manager Michael Flynn said the event captured "the very essence of what Sports Central is all about: supporting all clubs and associations across the Central Highlands to be the best they can be".
“Encouraging participation and leadership through sport by promoting welcoming and inclusive opportunities for all to socially connect, grow, play and compete.” Link: www.sportscentral.org.au
MND Beast Challenge: One Man. One Bike. One Fight.
When Komatsu’s Nigel Howard found out that his friend and mentor, forest industry icon Col McCulloch had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease, it didn’t take him long to realise that being frustrated couldn’t help. The best thing he could do was to get on his bike and do something useful.
Next month, Nigel will set off on his BMW GS 1300 Adventure to undertake a 20,000 km, 38-day motorbike trip around Australia aiming to raise $150,000 for the fight against MND. As well as raising vital funds, Nigel is looking to start conversations and bring the timber and forestry community together.
“Col told me about his diagnosis over a coffee. Like a lot of people I’d heard of MND but the reality didn’t really set in until we talked,” he said. “When I started having conversations with other people in the industry, I discovered Col’s story isn’t unique – far too many people have a mate, a parent, a colleague or a spouse afflicted by the beast.”
Nigel said it was an easy decision to bring together his passions of motorbike riding and the forest and timber community to plan the MND Beast Challenge.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned working in forestry, it’s that people show up when they’re needed. Every kilometre I ride is for people like Col, for families living with MND and for the hope that one day research can provide the answers we’re looking for.”
Nigel knows that one bloke on a motorbike isn’t going to cure the disease. But if the MND Beast Challenge can raise awareness, raise funds and get more people talking about the disease, then it will be worth every kilometre. He sets off from Daylesford on Thursday, August 20.
To learn more about the MND Beast Challenge and to make a donation, head to www.mndbeastchallenge.com.au/
From left, Michael Flynn, Hannah Every-Hall, Brad Dubberley, Michael Malthouse and Scott Allison
Out & About
Phoenix Cinema
No sooner has Hugh Jackman entertained us by reading a book to his sheep, than he pops up as Robin Hood. This is, however, no jolly romp for Robin, Friar Tuck and the Band of Merry Men versus the Sheriff of Nottingham Forest.
In The Death of Robin Hood (Monday, July 27, 2pm), at Daylesford’s communityowned and run Phoenix Cinema, Robin is grappling with his past after a life of crime and murder. Now he is gravely injured after a battle he thought would be his last. Thankfully, a mysterious woman offers him a chance of salvation.
Francis Ford Coppola’s eerie 1974 classic, The Conversation (Monday, July 27, 4.30pm) captures Watergate-era paranoia and disillusion. As the Catholic eavesdropper, Caul, Gene Hackman: at the nadir of his despair ends up smashing a figure of the Blessed Virgin in his apartment because he suspects it contains a listening device.
In his glasses and moustache, drab suit, white shirt and tie with clear plastic Macintosh worn indoors, Caul is unforgettable. A classic and poignant American everyman comparable to Ernest Borgnine’s Marty from 1955 or Paul Walter Hauser in Clint Eastwood’s Richard Jewell from 2019.
Some critics even believe he probably inspired the East German Stasi agent in Florian von Donnersmarck’s 2006 film The Lives of Others, listening in on lives happier and more fulfilling than his. The global phenomenon, The Odyssey, screens at Monday.July 27, 7pm.
Thursday sees the first showing of the groundbreaking Serpico (Thursday, July 30, 4.30pm). Fresh from The Godfather, Al Pacino is superb as the New York cop fighting corruption. Corruption at a greater, government-shaking level is seen in All the President’s Men (Thursday, July 30, 7pm). At this distance Nixon and his attempt to bug the Democratic Party HQ seems childlike when compared with today’s White House antics, to use a mild term.
We have seen in our time the desperate scramble for ratings by commercial TV (and radio). In Network (Friday, July 31, 2pm) Peter Finch is messianic with his paranoid rant: "I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” A damning portrayal of those who churn out TV stuff and those who devour it. Words: Kevin Childs | Link: www.daylesfordcinema.org.au
New wellness festival
The inaugural Golden Wellness Festival is an immersive day, exploring ancient and modern wellbeing practices woven with today’s understanding of mind, body and spirit.
The community gathering will take place at The Sunken Oval in Castlemaine on Saturday, October 31, a green space on Djaara Country next to Victoria’s oldest regional botanic gardens, and flora and fauna reserve.
The day will bring together community, creatives and wellness professionals to take part in workshops, rituals, movement, creativity, conversations and community spaces. There will be free entry, with a small number of ticketed events going on sale in September.
Festival founder and director Ciel Lindley, pictured, is a Castlemaine resident with more than 20 years' experience working across festival direction, community development and health promotion. Ciel designs events and place-based initiatives that bring people together in meaningful ways.
“I’m thrilled to kick off Golden Wellness Festival in 2026. It’s been a long-time passion of mine to host a community event where ancient wisdom meets modern wellbeing. This is a region where people live rurally, work independently, and seek support to stay grounded, connected and resourced.
“We’re looking for pavilion exhibitors, presenters and facilitators, marketplace stall holders, and food vendors from across our region.
“This is a rare opportunity to join an event at the ground level – one destined to grow into a major regional wellbeing gathering. Each expression of interest helps shape the core of our guests’ experience, influencing the workshops offered, the rituals we craft and the community we foster.”
Link: www.goldenwellnessfestival.com
Writer Richard Flanagan
One of Australia's most respected and internationally acclaimed writers, Richard Flanagan will talk about his latest collection, Heresies, and his writing career with Astrid Edwards in Castlemaine next month.
From Manus to MONA to birds and the Black Summer, from the destruction of our natural world to the hope offered by Indigenous Australia to the growing corrosion of democracy, from Salman Rushdie to the Segal Report, family and love, Flanagan’s non-fiction writings carry the author’s trademark elegance, subversive wit, and humanity.
This showcase of Richard Flanagan’s heretical brilliance over 20 years speaks to the heart of our troubled times now.
The event will be held on Thursday, August 6 from 7pm to 8.30pm.
Bookings essential at www.northernbooks.com.au/richardflanagan
Month of Sundays
The heritage-listed Media Arts Studio (Old Courthouse) at Federation University’s Arts Academy Ballarat is the setting for a Month of Sundays Season 2.
In 2026, the program highlights the beauty and diversity of the human voice, from the sublime solo soprano of Kate MacFarlane to the emotive, soaring singing of Gelareh Pour (ZÖJ) and The Resonant Heart, led by Dr Nela Trifković. The Flinders Quartet, pictured, will open the series on Sunday, August 23 from 2.30pm.
Celebrating 26 years on the world stage, this internationally acclaimed ensemble brings electrifying artistry to three masterworks of the string quartet repertoire.
From the dark drama of Mozart’s Adagio and Fugue to the fiery drive of Beethoven’s Op.18 No.4 and the sweeping brilliance of Op.127, this is chamber music at its most compelling.
Image: Pia Johnston
After-Light to excite, provoke and entertain
After-Light, a dramatic prog-rock opera by composer/director Zac Vanstone and musical director Tom Foster is the Mount Players' third show for 2026.
Players president Karen Hunt said it was a production to "excite, provoke and entertain".
"A seven-piece rock band will perform live on stage, in full view of the audience, as singers tell the story of Boy as he struggles through his past mistakes, exorcising his demons in a journey of self discovery and ultimately redemption."
Zac said After-Light was penned during Covid and explored some darker themes.
"This is a show about learning how to let go. Following the break-up between Boy and Girl, Boy falls into a life-threatening coma. In order for Boy to wake, he must forgive the past, reconcile with the future and learn to let go of Girl. If Boy fails, his intrusive thoughts: addiction, paranoia and depression will consume his soul."
Zac grew up in Castlemaine and went to Castlemaine Secondary College. He has completed a Diploma of Theatre Arts and a Bachelor of Drama and is currently pursuing a Diploma in Live Production.
He works for the award-winning Macedon Ranges-based children’s entertainment company, Pass-the-Parcel, is a balloon artist, roaming musician and party host.
This show is his ultimate passion project, having spent the last five-plus years crafting it along with Tom Foster (his college guitar teacher) who joined the project as musical director in 2024.
Together, they hope to take the audience on a musical odyssey, as in the tradition of Pink Floyd’s The Wall and Tom Waits' The Black Rider
The Mount Players is proud to present this totally original and contemporary piece for the first time on stage in its complete form.
Players' president Craig Lenaine-Smith and other committee members saw the scaled-down version presented at the Melbourne Fringe Festival in 2024 and after speaking to the creators decided the Mountview Theatre should be the place for them to launch their full production.
The season runs from Friday, August 14 to Sunday, August 30 at the Mountview Theatre, Macedon.
Tickets: www.themountplayers.com or 0419 329 052.
Cast members of After-Light, with musical director Tom Foster (red cap) and composer/ director Zac Vanstone (white cap) Image: Karlana Santamaria
Warnings: Suitable 18+, contains sexual and drug references and staged violence.
To build or not to build, that
Well, good news. Things are starting to happen. I kid you not.
The fences are up. I guess so people don't enter what is now a work site, and the ground has been dug out so it is level. I guess for the slab pour.
Next step is a meeting between us and the building supervisor. That was meant to be Wayne but he has already moved on, so it's someone else.
We don't mind who as long as something starts happening on the block. It's been a long time since we first put our money down in November (hello mortgage) and then chose all the fittings and bits and pieces in March.
But I am sure that Sherridon Homes will want to get the build going as quickly as possible - so lucky for us we are in mild winter situation. But if it does start to pour I can imagine things being popped on hold again.
I wrote last edition about a woman, Lise Heymer, doing some renders for us on how the schoolhouse could look - and I have fallen back in love with that building.
We have a story on her in this edition - I think she might be onto a good thing because everyone I know, once they get into their house, new or old, kind of gets stuck in a rut. We often finish things just as we decide to sell.
Lise's thing is to show you the potential of your home. For renovation or sale. The school has been for sale for some time now but it's a hard one.
Kyle calls it a "unicorn" because it is unique and you only need one person to fall in love with it. OK, a lot unique. Strange perhaps. But fun, and cool. And pictured.
Now and again real estate agents explain to us, like we are learning impaired, that it is not a four-bedroom family home. Duh. We already know that. But someone will come along and love it just like us.
In the meantime, we will build our new four-bedroom, two-bathroom, two-living room home and enjoy the thrills of parking in a garage and walking straight into the house. Small things bring joy.
Our meeting is set for this Wednesday. Hopefully our new building supervisor will not bow out like Wayne. I wonder if we are too much trouble. I really thought this fortnightly article would be fun. Not so much, so far.
Words: Donna Kelly
Music with Darren Lowe
Bendigo will come alive with music, food, dance and culture when the inaugural Bendigo African Festival brings a free community celebration to Hargreaves Mall on Saturday, August 1 from 10am to 8pm.
Presented by the African Music and Cultural Festival, Australia’s largest African festival held at Melbourne’s Federation Square every November, BAF marks AMCF’s first regional Victorian event.
The festival will transform the heart of Bendigo into a vibrant celebration of African food, music, dance, storytelling, fashion and community connection, while helping activate the city centre.
A key local addition to the program is Ras Ato, a Ghanaian-born chef, author, reggae musician and cultural figure based in Bendigo.
Known across the region for promoting West African cuisine, storytelling, music and community connection, Ras Ato has worked closely with local libraries, foodshare programs and community organisations. At BAF he will curate the African Story Village, deliver an African food demonstration and present a traditional African fashion parade involving Bendigo African communities.
His involvement gives the festival a strong local foundation and reflects BAF’s focus on belonging, heritage and wellbeing.
Visitors will be able to experience food traditions from many African countries in one place, with stalls including Tastes of Senegal, AMA’s Delight, Zuya African BBQ, Shisanyama South African Cuisine, Malewa City Bar & Food and more.
Program highlights
The free, family-friendly 10-hour program will feature live African drumming, traditional and contemporary dance, mask dance performances, stilt walkers, acrobatics, juggling, storytelling, fashion showcases, children’s face painting, market stalls and interactive workshops.
A major highlight will be international ensemble Sun of Africa, presenting high-energy African drumming, mask dance, acrobatics and interactive cultural performance.
Audiences can also experience Foday & The Culture Keepers, a traditional West African cultural ensemble led by master griot musician and choreographer Foday Camara.
A bracing wind whips around Sandra and Sue Morris as they introduce me to a few of the much-loved sheep on their family farm just outside Trentham.
After giving Lewis, Hank, Clyde and Clarence a treat we head indoors; it’s good crafting weather.
The industrious mother and daughter sit beside the wood fire, and a spinning wheel begins to turn; knitting needles serving as an accompaniment.
I enjoy the warmth, watching wool shorn from the family’s flock of 90 or so sheep slowly but surely take shape.
Sandra tells me she has been hand spinning wool grown on the family farm, to knit and sell garments, for about 20 years.
With her daughter Sue now onboard, Sandra shifted her attention from farmer’s markets to showcasing bespoke knitwear at the Daylesford Regional Visitor Information Centre and through their Cranneys Lane Corriedale Esty store.
“We stick to little things like hats, neck warmers, fingerless gloves and baby booties, we like accessories.
“Up on our Etsy site I have pictures of the garments and the sheep the wool came from and most of them have names, so people see the particular sheep that the wool for their garment was stitched from which makes it really personal - they love it.”
Sandra said her mother taught her to knit many years ago but enrolling in spinning classes helped develop the handcrafting arm of the family’s farming business.
“We always loved the coloured sheep, but you have to do something with the wool to keep them.
Family affair
“You couldn’t sell the black wool in the market, they’d give you nothing for it, so we decided we’d value add. And we’ve just sort of gone from there really, it’s an outof-control hobby.”
But that hobby helps keep Sandra, Sue, and otherwise abandoned sheep, right where they want to be, on the land, in the area Sandra’s maternal family has called home for five generations.
Sandra said they couldn’t do it without her youngest daughter, Emily, and son-inlaw, Kyle helping with heavy farm-maintenance work, particularly in the shearing and hay seasons.
“At lambing time, we set the shearing shed up as a maternity ward and they all lamb in there,” Sandra said, with Sue describing wintery conditions on their property where predators like foxes wait in the wings as “hardcore”.
Fortunately, Sandra and Sue love their animals as much as their craft and do their best to raise and name every otherwise abandoned lamb.
“Serious Black was born jet black, lovely shiny wool and we called him Serious Black, but over about three years he slowly lightened and he became seriously grey, so now he’s just called Serious,” Sandra says fondly recalling names.
“Lewis was an orphan, his mother didn’t want him or died or something. Little Bubby would just sit in your hand when she was born because she was premmie.
“It’s a lot of work but it’s worth it.”
Words & images: Kate Foulds
Clockwise from top: Sandra Morris, left, and daughter Sue, keep busy with their charges; Daylesford RegionalVisitor Information Centre volunteer Jude Bodiam with woollen accessories handcrafted by Sandra and Sue: keeping everyone fed; and spinning wool
Remember we offer free delivery, T&Cs apply.
Delivery times are Monday to Friday between 10am and 4pm.
We have an on-board EFTPOS.
You will need to be at home for the delivery with proof of age if asked by the driver. Give the Foxxy team a call on 5348 3577.
One of seven children, Ernest Samuel Wall was born on July 27, 1879 to Samuel Wall and Elizabeth Ann Briggs.
The Wall family had resided in Woodend for many years when Ernest purchased the Trentham Newsagency in Market Street in 1907.
The Woodend Star newspaper, dated August 17, 1907 reported: "PURCHASE OF A BUSINESS. Mr Ernest Wall has purchased a newsagency, fancy goods, and stationery business at Trentham, formerly carried on by Mr W. Smith. Mr Wall’s Woodend acquaintances will wish him every success in his venture."
On August 28, 1907 at St Mary’s Church in Woodend Ernest married Maud Mary Richardson. As newlyweds they moved into the rear of 20 Market Street, Trentham and operated the newsagency, fancy goods and stationery business in the building at the front.
At the time, newspapers came by train from Melbourne. Ernest Wall’s daughter Mavis recalled Mr Cann from Blackwood would drop off the newspapers to the front door of the shop with his horse and buggy. The newspapers received were the Leader, The Age, The Weekly Times and the Kyneton Guardian
She also remembers the shop selling books, toys, crockery, stationery including envelopes and pens, tobacco and sweets.
The lollies included snowballs, licorice straps, emu sticks, silver sticks, moonshine puffs and coconut roughs. Mr Cochran was the travelling salesman who came around with his box to show everyone the lollies.
Ernest and Maud had three children - Enid Mary in 1909, Mavis Annie in 1913 and Sydney William in 1917. The children helped in the shop when they were old enough. Mavis remembered delivering the newspapers each morning; the whole town’s newspapers were delivered to the newsagency.
Ernest also had a hire car service in Trentham which he ran from the newsagency. It is possibly the first active hire-car business in Trentham. Mavis recalled that people coming from the train station would see the signage at the newsagency and get the car to take them to Blackwood or elsewhere.
A walk to Blackwood would have been arduous at this time and people had been known to get lost in the bush.
A favourite memory of Mavis’s when she was little and her dad was working away in the shed out the back of the business was that he put a big wooden obstacle across the doorway, which she stayed behind; he was minding her while making his special toys. He made wooden wheelbarrows, push-along toys and hobby horses for children.
Ernest was also actively involved in many community groups in Trentham which included: the Australian Natives Association Trentham - committee and assistant secretary; Trentham Football Club - treasurer; Trentham Mechanics Institutecommittee/treasurer; Trentham Progress Association - treasurer; Guardians St Georges Church of England - board member; and St Georges Tennis Club – treasurer.
In 1936, Ernest and Maud Wall sold the newsagency to Misses Annie and Julia Traulsen and left the district shortly thereafter.
He would have been a great loss to the community due to the number of committees he was actively involved with in town. Ernest died on September 3, 1957 in Mooroopna and is buried in the Trentham Cemetery.
Ancestry photo - The Wall family's Trentham Newsagency in the 1920s with Maud on the footpath and Enid on the horse
Rose postcard series
Council News
Acting CEO appointment
Janet Dore has been appointed Acting Chief Executive Officer of Hepburn Shire Council.
Ms Dore served as Chief Executive Officer of the Transport Accident Commission from 2007 to 2015. She has also held senior local government roles, including General Manager at the City of Newcastle and Interim CEO at the City of Ballarat, along with several council monitor and administrator appointments.
The appointment will run from 3 August to 23 August. This short-term arrangement enables Council to continue working with the Victorian Government to establish an appropriate decisionmaking mechanism, including the potential extension of Ms Dore’s appointment as Interim Chief Executive Officer beyond 23 August.
Read the full statement at www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/news
New Multipatcher joins fleet
Our new Multipatcher has been out repairing rough road edges and potholes as part of Council’s ongoing road maintenance program.
Owning our own Multipatcher means Council crews can respond more efficiently to road defects when conditions are suitable, delivering faster, cost-effective repairs for our community.
The versatile machine can be used to repair potholes, road edge breaks, rutting and pavement wear, and storm-damaged road surfaces.
Affordable Housing Working Group
Be part of a community-led, stakeholder working group.
Council is seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) from community members, organisations and stakeholders to join a community-led Affordable Housing Working Group. The working group will not be a decision-making body of Council. Council’s role will be to act as an enabler and connector where appropriate.
The group will share ideas, identify local housing issues and explore practical ways to improve affordable housing outcomes in Hepburn Shire.
Interested? Submit your EOI by Friday 14 August 2026 and help shape the conversation at https://participate.hepburn.vic.gov.au/ahwg
Positive ageing events
We’re excited to invite everyone over 55 to join us and mecwacare for more than 30 engaging workshops across Hepburn Shire.
The mecwacare Healthy Ageing Workshops offer practical, easy-to-understand tips on everything from nutrition and heart health to sleep, mental wellbeing, and keeping in touch with others. Stay healthy and connected together.
Learn more about these events on our website www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/positive-ageing-events
Your Councillors
Subscribe to Hepburn Life
Have you signed up to our enewsletter, Hepburn Life? It’s a great way to stay in touch with Council news.
Cr Tim Drylie Cr Brian Hood
Evolve Windows: Experience, care,
Evolve Windows supply and install uPVC, aluminium and timber windows and doors - a one-stop shop for whatever windows clients need - for renovations and commercial projects across Woodend, the Macedon Ranges, Daylesford, Castlemaine, metro Melbourne and regional Victoria.
Based at the Old Black Forest Sawmill in Woodend, the team offers straightforward advice, professional installation and genuine support, from initial consultation to after-care.
Focused on Australian-made aluminium windows and doors, Evolve Windows specialises in high-performance, energy-efficient glazing for modern homes, renovations and commercial builds.
Their experience is in specification, supply, and installation, with advice you can actually use, with real experience in regional building requirements, from bushfire ratings and regional allotments to heritage overlays.
Evolve Windows also offers no-pressure, obligation-free advice to help people make informed choices without the sales pitch. If do you choose them, you will work with the same local specialists from the first measure through to installation and aftercare guaranteeing continuity of care.
Evolve Windows works with heritage homes, architect-led builds and regional renovations that require detail, craft and longevity. Every timber system is measured, made to order and installed by the local team.
In the latest news, Evolve Windows now supplies and installs products that qualify for the Victorian Energy Upgrades rebate, giving clients a cash rebate on their replacement windows and doors. The rebate process is handled entirely by the team –fuss free.*
Meet the team
Scott, owner and founder, leading the business with a focus on honest advice, transparent sales and long-term customer support; Andy, who provides customer support and operations across all aspects of the business from product selection to installs and after-care; Mark, who is all about project management and client liaison, and well known for his clear communication and practical solutions; and Evan, who is an experienced installer, spearheading Curly and the on-site team. Evan prides himself on his reliability, professionalism and high standards.
Evolve Windows' award-winning showroom is at 988 Black Forest Drive, Woodend, inside the historic Old Black Forest Sawmill. More than a display room, it’s a working hub shared with the Woodend Men’s Shed, local woodworkers and other specialist trades.
Giving back
Evolve Windows are proud supporters of the Woodend Cricket Club and regularly back community initiatives across the Macedon Ranges.
Links: @evolvewindows | www.evolvewindows.com.au
Contact: info@evolvewindows.com.au | 03 8746 9777
*VEU terms, conditions and eligibility criteria apply.
Advertorial
Kyle's Rant
There are people who can fall down a shithole and come up with a gold brick, folks who can never get out of the shit and some of the community who simply drift along through life not giving a shit.
Things seem to happen to certain people, whether it is good luck or bad luck it just is and my particular schtick is medical emergencies. I am the sort of bloke people seem to have accidents around - I have lost count of all the people I have come across over the years and rendered assistance to.
Since the tender age of 17, I have been attending first aid courses - these are mandatory for any member of a commercial boating crew. I’ve witnessed CPR when it was known as ABC or Airway, Breathing, Compressions. Now it's CAB and compressions come first. The thinking is simple, get the blood moving before you worry about anything else. And if you're an untrained bystander, even better news is that hands-only CPR is now actively encouraged, which removes the hesitation most people feel about putting their mouth on a stranger.
Defibrillators have also gone mainstream, popping up in shopping centres, gyms and boat ramps worldwide, with voice prompts that walk anyone through the process. You don't need to be a paramedic. You just need to act.
Choking has had a rethink too. The old rigid rulebooks have given way to something more practical with five sharp back blows, then five abdominal thrusts, alternating until whatever's lodged either shifts or the person loses consciousness, at which point you go straight into chest compressions. No more hind lick jokes.
Bleeding management has changed the most. Tourniquets were once treated as a last resort because they would cut off circulation to damaged limbs. That thinking has gone. And dousing wounds in chemicals has stopped with clean running tap water the current recommendation.
My worst patient was a guy who decided to fill up his petrol-powered generator. Normally not a problem, however it was running at the time in a small fume-filled shed on an island. I had to swim out to get a phone signal, and it didn’t look good for him. But we got him onto the police boat and did the best we could. I have helped people with broken ankles (in fact two on Donna), dislocated shoulders, lacerations and concussions.
Now I hate being in the spotlight or the centre of attention, and the most embarrassing time I rendered first aid was at a hotel while checking in. A guy came running over asking for assistance. Apparently an elderly lady had tripped down some stairs, so I followed him into what I thought was a stairwell and burst through a set of double doors onto the stage of a packed auditorium. The guy shouted: “it’s okay, the medico is here”, and I wished the floorboards would open up and swallow me whole. It turns out she had plenty of assistance and didn’t need me. Just Triple 0.
Last week I spotted a guy lying on the ground next to his bike. A few people were with him but I decided to stop anyway. And I am glad I did because no one at the site knew how to help. Donna called the ambulance while I rinsed off the wound, gave him a couple of field dressings and checked for head injuries. He ended up OK.
Now I'm not writing this column to blow my own trumpet. I'm writing it because I reckon everyone should be prepared, full stop. Go buy yourself a small first aid kit. Cheap $20-$50, chuck it in the car and forget about it until the day you need it. Do the proper training if you can. Can't afford it? Fair enough, YouTube will get you the basics for free, and something is infinitely better than nothing. (No one has been sued for trying to render assistance. Not yet, anyway.)
One day, someone's going to need help, and you're going to be the one standing there. Wouldn't you rather be ready than sorry? First aid rant over…
Local Lines
A circle, complete
A man -
Like all men -
Of clay; and his world
The slow, slow kiln
From which
Now
He has emerged, complete,
His perfected, shining, final face
The one true ideogram,
The whole story
Of a life
Lived now, now, in this great
Only-ever
We all share, with all its freightage
Of before and after; that face
A poiema, a thing-made, designed
With faultless patience
By Time itself - to be
Read, witnessed, loved
By those of Time’s children
With eyes to see
A heart to feel
A spirit to comprehend the way
That such a life,
Rounded, rightly formed, ringing
Like the bell
Of endless dawns
Is, in truth,
The bowl
Of endless doing; a circle,
Completed now,
Shaped
By the masterful, knowing, giving cup
Of two aged, ageless
Loving Hands.
For Petrus.
- Toby Sime
To the extent that he grew up at all, Toby Sime grew up in Daylesford. Neither psychology nor neuroscience can cast any further light on the shocking fact of his existence; and so we must consider it the act of a perverse and wilful God.
Local Lines features poetry by locals about local and any other matters. Please submit poems to Bill Wootton at cottlesbreedge@gmail.com
Pick me, pick me!
I
I
Pick me, pick me is run in memory of Rosie the Kelpie & Curly the Cocker Spaniel - we picked them from the Peninsula RSPCA. Go Curls...
Pick me, pick me is also proudly supported by Daylesford's petstock - where pets are family.
Just sayin’...
By Donna Kelly
I was going to write about Hepburn Shire Council - but it appears there is not much council to write about just yet. Sure as eggs, something will happen on Monday, just after we go to press. I am guessing an administrator or two but what would I know? Watch this space.
In the meantime, a tale that will curl your toes...nah, not really, but it's a tale of caution, redemption and vitriol. Not in that order. Redemption came last.
So, Kyle ordered me a bottle of perfume for my birthday on May 29. Anyway, the perfume, Samsara, never came. I won't name the company except to say it is The Perfume Shop, apparently based in Australia. Damn my honesty.
So Kyle wrote back, asking when the perfume would arrive and they wrote back saying the Iran war was an issue and the perfume delivery was stuck in the Strait of Hormuz. Damn that pesky war.
So Kyle waited a bit longer, can't help a war, and then wrote back asking if the ship had made it through. Yes, they said, but not with Samsara. Another perfume was an option if he would like to make a choice.
Being a good Australian bloke with no idea (formerly NZ) this was difficultand he was still trying to keep it a secret from me. So he asked if Samsara might eventually make it through. They said "yes" and would give him a 1ml vial of something else as well to make up for it. Now Kyle is nothing if not accommodating and unwilling to make more trouble for anyone. Read his rants. Jokes. So he said "no", just the Samsara would be fine when it made it through, alongside fuel for the world. Like Industry Super Funds: "We are all in this together."
And then he waited, and waited, and then he realised the perfume was not coming and that was that. $169 down the drain - and he told me about it and he was sorry. I am not sure if he was sorry because I didn't get my present or perhaps I really needed that perfume - although I do pride myself on showering most days...
So, as I do, I got a tad annoyed. And asked if I could help. And he said "yes" and unleashed "the pitbull" as he calls me now and again.
Now, I really wish pitbull behaviour was not needed. It is actually my pet peeve that the average person probably does not know how, or cannot, fight for their rights. It should be so easy. Anyway, I thought, let's play. So this was my first email:
"To Whom It May Concern, My husband ordered me this perfume in April and it has not arrived. He has asked many times for a refund. Despite being an overseas company you cannot contravene the Australian Consumer legislation. I demand that you refund this money immediately or send the order. If you do not, I will use every contact I have in the media industry and social media to close you down – I am now 61 and started in the industry when I was 20. So I have many, many contacts. Your business is disgraceful and I will not stop if you do not either send the perfume or return his money. Do not send any more rubbish about a different order or a discount. The first place I will head is Trust Pilot and then every Google review I can find. I work from home so can spend many hours undoing your business. This is beyond a joke."
Next email from me: "First bad review is up on Trust Pilot…One star only because I cannot leave less. Better hurry up with the refund."
And back from the company's Chief Happiness Officer: "Thanks for your very nice approach to dealing with us. You have already left a bad review, but we have not received the order number or the email address he used, so we cannot check what happened to the order. Starting with providing basic information would be a good way to go while wanting assistance." (This was rubbish.)
Then from me: "Order no. 207361 Email - kyle@tlnews.com.au Kyle has written about 10 times re this and just keeps getting fobbed off. Refund now thank you. Second bad review goes up this afternoon. Donna Kelly. Unhappiness customer."
Boom - return from them: "Sure, you can keep writing bad reviews and sitting there in resentment. Or you can just use your energy in a better way. It's up to you. Life is too precious to hold grudges. The order was now cancelled and refunded. It will take a few working days to reflect. I hope you can now move on."
Me: "Where is the refund? Stop the rubbish. Next review is on its way."
And finally from them: "I have clearly mentioned IN MY EMAIL: MAYBE START READING WHAT I AM SAYING: The order was now cancelled and refunded. It will take a few working days to reflect. REFUNDS ARE NOT INSTANT. I AM NOT A MAGICIAN. I CANNOT MAKE IT APPEAR INSTANTLY. BANKS TAKE TIME TO PROCESS. WRITE ALL THE REVIEWS YOU WANT TO. IT'S NOT GONNA CHANGE THAT. I CANNOT CHANGE THAT. NOBODY CAN CHANGE THAT. I DON'T KNOW HOW ELSE TO TELL YOU. A $169.00 AUD refund is pending."
Refund came through last Friday. Maybe don't be dicks. Just sayin'...
