The Little Local Winter 2023

Castlemaine Documentary Festival

The 2023 Castlemaine Documentary Festival is back in its ninth year with Real Stories, Real Issues, Real Characters & Real Conversations.

With eight feature documentaries, a youth and family focussed micro cinema program, live music events and celebrations, head to www.cdocff.com.au for the full program.

Scene from Watandar, My Countryman

Katrina Penning

Welcome to The Local visitors guide

Welcome to the Winter 2023 edition of The Local visitors guide to the Central Highlands.

We really hope you enjoy this edition. It’s packed with features on locals, places to head, markets to wander around and live music to enjoy. You can read the full stories, and this Visitors Guide, at www.tlnews.com.au

Front cover image: Contributed

This Visitors Guide is produced by The Local Publishing Group Pty Ltd.

Editor: Donna Kelly | General Manager: Kyle Barnes

Advertising: Kyle Barnes on 0416 104 283 or kyle@tlnews.com.au

Writers: Eve Lamb, Kevin Childs, Tony Sawrey & Donna Kelly

Photographers: Eve Lamb & Kyle Barnes

Accounts: Julie Hanson Delivery: Tony Sawrey

The Big Rainbow has been erected at Victoria Park in Daylesford. Sponsored by Tinder, the rainbow is made of marine grade plywood and is in the colours of the Philadelphia Pride Flag.

Daylesford won the Rainbow in a competition last year when it was up against three other regional towns - Broome in WA, Katherine in the NT and Hay in NSW. The Big Rainbow is 12 metres wide and six metres tall. It was placed in Victoria Park after the Hepburn Shire Council asked for community input on a number of sites including the Lost Children’s Reserve, the Community Skate Park and Lake Daylesford. It was officially launched in March and had ChillOut committee members Debbie Greig and Tom Shaw jumping for joy. The Big Rainbow is now ready and waiting for people to come and have their photo taken under the new icon for the Central Highlands. Snap!

Read the full story at www.tlnews.com.au - Edition 275

The Calembeen Polar Bears swimming group has quickly caught on as Creswick’s inland answer to the coastal Icebergers.

The Bears roll up for early morning dips in Creswick’s Lake Calembeen at 9am Wednesdays and 7am Sundays – regardless of weather – and all, going to plan, will continue doing so right through the year. As with the Iceberger groups well established in coastal parts, the Polar Bears note the accepted science that a brisk encounter with chilled water – aka cold water immersion therapy – is really good for one’s general wellbeing. You can look it up, but effectively it means that being exposed to a chilly dip in nowhere-near-warm H2O really makes you know you’re alive, slows the heart rate and improves mood. Those who regularly practice it like the Bears and the ‘bergers swear by the glowing mood boost and enduring positivity that follows such brisk encounters. The group now has its own Facebook page and all are welcome. Read the full story at www.tlnews.com.au - Edition 275

Working in her Springmount studio, just out of Creswick, ceramicist Kim Haughie draws much of her inspiration from the region and its diversity of beautiful natural shapes and textures.

This talented ceramicist creates functional pieces that are as much purposeful, practical items to be used and appreciated every day as they are unique works of art. Kim says she has always been creative. “My parents are creative too so it’s always been fostered. I spent endless dreamy hours mucking around in the sandpit as a kid and making mud pies. Clay is my medium. I find its earthy smell and cool, pliable feel is dreamy and calming. When I find my centre at the pottery wheel everything else drops away. I love the elemental nature of making pottery. I like the idea of art in motion, making things that have a use is for me rewarding; platters, bowls and vases.”

Read the full story at www.tlnews.com.au - Edition 275

Daylesford artist and musician Vanessa Craven recently published a children’s colour picture song book, Birds in My Tree: The Magic of Birds and the Joy of Singing.

“The Covid-19 lockdowns created a ‘stay-at home’ world in which I began to interact with the birds in my garden and in the bush around me. Several photographs of these wonderful feathered friends and a new song that I was moved to write, combined together to provide material for my children’s book, Birds in my Tree: The Magic of Birds and the Joy of Singing. It is a colourful picture songbook on birds. Their antics and their individual characteristics play an important part in the lyrics of the song. Each birdcall is a live recording at the end of each verse pertaining to the bird. This book is an interactive tool for teaching kids about the different bird varieties and their birdcalls, and inviting kids to recognise and have fun with mimicking. A QR code and a YouTube link give free access to the live performance of the song, Birds in My Tree.”

Read the full story at www.tlnews.com.au - Edition 276

Photography in the 21st Century is a remarkably easy medium to engage with. Every phone has a camera and digital technology which can generate results that satisfy most people.

With such conveniences available, it is easy to ignore the fact there is actually much, much more than meets the eye if you truly want to understand the craft. Margund Sallowsky is a master of the medium including the use of equipment and chemicals that defined the practice of photography before digital cameras took over around 25 years ago. Her passion started when she took her first shots with her father’s Agfa camera at the age of 11. That was in Germany and today, the Hepburn resident continues to develop her knowledge. “I strive to take my skills to the next level. My professional development as a photographer commenced as an apprentice. After receiving my trade degrees, I enrolled in a diploma in visual communication course at university in Dortmund.”

Read the full story at www.tlnews.com.au - Edition 276

Dianne Longley’s considerable artist oeuvre depicts dreams and fantasies, weaving real and imagined figures and landscapes to create works that intrigue and beguile the viewer.

At her Agave Print Studio in Trentham, Dianne uses both traditional and digital methods in her prolific creative practice. “I think I have an idiosyncratic approach. I explore diverse techniques for making art and representing my ideas visually. I have always made things. Like fairy floss from cotton wool, cochineal and sugar. Cork platforms for my shoes when they came into fashion and my sisters had them - I made them out of wine bottle corks placed in my mother’s electric mincer to grind them up. The mincer smoked with the strain and then blew up! I now work across a range of media including printmaking, pokerwork on wooden panels, artist books, mixed media encaustic works and small-scale bronzes. It’s about the theatre of life, chance and random interactions.”

Read the full story at www.tlnews.com.au - Edition 276

From supporting Pink Floyd and featuring on Countdown to doing guitar for The Wiggles, the combined experience of local musos Gillian Eastoe and Terry Murray is the stuff of legend.

Now, after 14 good years living at Strangways near Daylesford, these consummate muso entertainers are about to bid this region farewell to begin living a new melody in coastal NSW. Woolgoolga, about 25 minutes from Coffs Harbour. Anyone who’s ever enjoyed some ripping live music at a local pub in recent years has likely caught this talented duo doing what they do best. Since moving to the region they’ve become firm favourites on the local live music scene. As hinted at above, the background tales that these two have to tell are impressive. To give you just a little taster, Terry’s include playing and organising gigs for the Royal Family at Windsor Castle in England and performing with stars like Tom Jones, Randy Crawford, Tommy Emmanuel and Jimmy Barnes. Read the full story at www.tlnews.com.au - Edition 277

stonycreekgallery & sculpture garden

10 Stony Creek Road, Daylesford VIC 3460

P: (03) 5348 1884

E: info@stonycreekgallery.com.au

Trading Hours:

Open Thursday to Monday, 11am-4pm

Michael Parker welcomes his Galleries and Sculpture Daylesford. Featuring original paintings

sculptures, including mediums by regional .Paintings .Sculptures

.Jewellery .Ceramics

Free places!

Creswick’s parkrun

Jubilee Lake

Mt Franklin Reserve

Thomas’ Lookout/Cornish Hill

Glenlyon Reserve

Daylesford Mill Market

Lake Daylesford

Wombat Hill Botanic Garden

Trentham Rail Trail

Trentham Falls

Myriad mineral springs

Bush walks

Lerderderg Gorge

Glenlyon Falls (above)

Sailors Falls waterfall/lookout

Markets...

Daylesford Railway Market

Castlemaine Artists Market

Kyneton Farmers Market

Ballan Farmers Market

Maldon Market

Clunes Farmers Market

Trentham Farmers & Makers Markets

Glenlyon Farmers Market

Creswick Market

Leonards Hill Market

Talbot Farmers Market

Woodend Lions Market

Malmsbury Farmers Market

Daylesford Market

Trentham Station Market

Just Google for more info!

Jubilee Lake Holiday Park

Jubilee Lake Holiday Park is just 2.5km from Daylesford’s busy Vincent Street and is situated within the Jubilee Lake Reserve – classified by the National Trust as a unique, historical reserve. The Park provides affordable, safe and clean accommodation so you can enjoy a time of joy and wonder for families and visitors that will be long remembered and cherished. Around the lake you can enjoy fishing, canoeing, bushwalking and bird watching. There is a huge oval and a modern playground. Your pets are always welcome and our peacocks will keep you amused. There’s a wide variety of accommodation including self-contained cabins, powered and unpowered sites, and bush camping sites. You can keep yourself warm with individual fire pits for each site or take a stroll to our own mineral spring within the reserve. Come and enjoy all year-round fun and entertainment.

The sky rolls wide and blue above Pig and Earth, a sustainable free-range organic pig farm on the volcanic plains near Kingston.

For owners Will Bennett and Emma Horsburgh, raising and selling fresh pork that’s been lovingly grown here allows them to lead a way of life that meshes with their ethos. A walking tour of the 16-hectare farm quickly illustrates that the Old English Large Black breed pigs that forage here - and their cute-as-pie piglets - clearly enjoy their days. There’s plenty of wallowing in troughs, snuffling for ground treasures, piggy pranks and luxuriating in that rich volcanic earth. “Each pig has plenty of room to roam, and spends their entire lives outdoors, with access to shelter from bad weather. Because they’re social animals, our pigs are generally kept in pairs or small groups, and young pigs are kept in sibling groups.” Emma is Sydney-born and also works for Environment Victoria. Will, a Victorian, has a degree in agricultural science, studied fine art at Ballarat’s Federation University, and tries to read 52 books every year. Read the full story at www.tlnews.com.au - Edition 277

Flowers are good for the soul. So says Lyonville’s Janae Paquin-Bowden. And she should know.

Together with her husband Chris, Janae owns and runs organic family flower farm, Fleurs de Lyonville, where the couple live with their two young children and their yin and yang, black and white, little terrier dogs. It’s the sort of job description that makes the word “idyllic” spring to mind. “It’s physically hard, and a bit taxing on the body, and the weather is challenging. But there’s so many rewarding stages.” The couple’s organic flower farm journey started back in 2014 after they experienced some issues in finding flowers for their wedding. “Thankfully we came across Matt and Lentil from Grown and Gathered who were growing flowers for trade at the time. When Lentil pulled up in her van and opened the back door, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The van was full of flowers and foliage from foxgloves to Queen Anne’s lace...we knew this was what we wanted to do on our farm. Grow flowers.”

Read the full story at www.tlnews.com.au - Edition 278

VICTORIA'S BEST COUNTRY PUB.

Since 1887, the Pig & Whistle Hotel has nestled on a quiet corner in Trentham East, a living remain of the town’s early history. Truly a hidden gem, you’ll be transported back in time, with our newly-opened beer garden boasting uninterrupted views of Mount Macedon.

The Pig serves up a modern-Australian menu with honest hearty pub classics (we do a bloody good parma), along with seasonal global dishes. We take great care in delivering food of the highest quality, sourced from sustainable local produce, coupled with our praised friendly service.

The hotel is truly a local pub but a destination for all.

@pigandwhistlehotel

pigandwhistlehotel.com.au

705 James Lane, Trentham East, Victoria

Daylesford’s Beth Whiting is heading to Hungary this winter to take part in the World Kettlebell Sport Federation championships.

Looking at the woman many people call “a pocket rocket”, there are plenty of toned muscles and a very healthy glow. But it wasn’t always that way. Eleven years ago, Beth was working with the Melbourne Festival and on tour for six months of every year. She soon found herself losing control of any food or fitness regime. But Beth used that moment to change her life around and rather than just find a diet, she did a personal training course and started to eat well and work out. It was the start of a new career - and kettlebells. Beth moved to Daylesford, found work at a gym, started a boot camp and then opened her own business, Integrate Fitness. She also did a kettlebell coaching course and the rest, is history. “And it was about finding me – kettlebell is my meditation, my flow, my time. And I had found not only something I was good at, and enjoyed, I also found the strength it brought into my life.”

Read the full story at www.tlnews.com.au - Edition 279

Let’s support our community and shop local!

“Locals supporting Locals”

Restaurants, Bakers, Butchers, Cafe’s, Local vineyards, Distillers, Brewers and of course each other.

Remember we offer free delivery, T&Cs apply. Delivery times are Monday to Saturday between 10am and 4pm.

We accept credit cards over the phone or we have an on-board eftpos machine. 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. Keep safe, everyone.

Numbers you might need

Emergency – Fire, Police, Ambulance - 000

Daylesford Taxis – 5348 1111

Springs Medical Centre, Daylesford – 5348 2227

Daylesford Hospital – 5321 6500

Daylesford Police – 5348 2342

SES – 132 500

Daylesford Regional Visitor Information Centre – 5321 6123

Places you might need

Daylesford Post Office – 86 Vincent Street

ATMs in Daylesford:

Bendigo – 97 Vincent Street

Westpac – 45 Vincent Street

Commonwealth – 36-40 Vincent Street

ANZ - 52 Vincent Street

A secret you might like!

Do you love peacocks? They are obviously not native to our region but they can be found quite close to the main street of Daylesford. Just head to a nearby lake and have a wander around. You’ll find them. A hint? They never lived with our beloved, and now removed, geese. Yep, the other lake - which has so much to discover.

Creswick Theatre Company has been having a wickedly good time preparing to stage the dark comedy Arsenic and Old Lace.

The script by American playwright Joseph Kesselring was written in 1939 and sweeps its audience into the world of two (seemingly) dear older ladies, the Brewster sisters, who live with their nephew in Brooklyn. The gals are sweet and welcoming women who just happen to have a personal practice of murdering single men - to save them from being lonely. “It’s a farce,” says director, Jenni Sewell. “It’s a very funny script, subtle but clever, and there’s bits in it where we just crack up in rehearsals.” The original Arsenic and Old Lace made its Broadway debut in 1941, enjoyed a successful three-year run, and went on to be made famous by the 1944 film adaptation directed by Frank Capra and starring Cary Grant as Mortimer Brewster. The Creswick Theatre Company production features a cast of 13 and is being staged over June 16 to 25. Read the full story at www.tlnews.com.au - Edition 280

to

A300 to Mt Franklin 4km to Castlemaine 30km to Bendigo 68km C138 to Shepherds

C316 to Glenlyon 9km

to Malmsbury 27km

to Malmsbury 27km

to Kyneton 31km

to Kyneton 31km C138 to Flat km

Rosella Ln

C317 to Trentham 25km to Woodend 45km to Melbourne 113km via Calder Fwy

Barkas

Parker

Trewhella

Victoria

Frazer

Grenville

Stanhope

Stanley

Queensberry

Orford Daly

Camp

Duke

Vincent

Bridport

Grenville

Jubilee Lake Road

Harts Ln

Langdon Crt

C141 C317 A300

Millar

West

Perrins

Fulcher

Tierneys Ln

Duke Duke Duke

C141 to Sailors Falls 3km to Ballan 30km to Melbourne 109km via Western Fwy

MIDLAND HWY A300