Secrets Magazine - Issue 42 - Summer 2015

ISSUE 42 SUMMER 2015 PRICELESS

TOGETHER WE’LL LIGHT UP THE SKY Imagine a space for people – a place where everyone is welcome, where anyone can be themselves. Our space is defined by our combined potential, by our future together.

We are building an amazing space, it’s true, but with you it will be truly great.

Introducing the Ulumbarra Theatre Dreaming Program – giving you the opportunity to play your part in this exciting theatre development.

We hope you’ll be a part of our story.

For more information on the Ulumbarra Theatre Dreaming Program visit our website: www.ulumbarratheatre.com.au or call our Business Development Manager, David Stretch on 03 4408 6512.

www.ulumbarratheatre.com.au #gathertogether

Cover photo by Adam Brentnall – ‘Journey By Light’ Photography

CONTENTS 5

PEOPLE & PLACES

37

BEST KEPT SECRETS

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9 11 15 16 17 18

Jimmy Possum Artist Spreads Her Wings in Leichardt Retreat to Perricoota Vines Backyard Blogging A Slow Farewell to Moongate The Bread Builder 5 Things I Know For Sure Change For Coffee

39 41 41 42

Central Victoria’s Best Camping Spots Café 321 Learmonth’s Gem A Move to a New Life New Amaz’n Attraction

REGULARS

43 43 44 46

The Breakfast Bowl Quick Peek Summer Astrology Markets & Visitor Information Centres

19 LIFESTYLE 20 23 24 26

27 30 32

Malmsbury on a Plate From Food Stars to Film Stars To Market, To Market Saving Kyneton’s Endangered Woodland In Full Bloom At Home With Anthony Scibelli Trentham Rediscovered

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FROM THE EDITOR It’s been a long year with the expected highs and lows that each year brings, mostly high.

We moved into our office in Daylesford in May, which we love, welcomed new writers who contribute to our pages, introduced a fresh new look in spring and been encouraged by the very positive response to the changes.

The pursuit of good stories and photographics is a continuum, so we are grateful that we live in an area that has an abundance of each. Our cover for this issue is by a photographer we found early in the year on Facebook. Adam Brentnall of Journey by Light Photography started with us shooting our Town on a Plate series and stepped up to produce our cover shot that to us says summer. Who can’t remember long, hot summer days with ice cream faces and dripping, sticky arms?

Our young model Louie was the epitome of patience as Adam worked his magic.

Another photographer profiled in this issue is New York expat, Anthony Scibelli who met with Hilary Finch for a very interesting insight into Anthony’s life and work. Also in this

issue, Lauren Mitchell caught up with Bendigo artist Jessica Spalding, one of the regions most prolific and commercially successful creators, well known for her imaginary works for Jimmy Possum stores. Linley Nash visited a great organic farm and met with Ballarat’s master coffee maker. Stephen Read’s thoughtful piece on conservation may have you rethinking your garden. Blogging is a major creative outlet for many writers who gain enormous audiences in the webosphere and Linley Wilke talks to four bloggers from our region. These are just a few stories in this issue to help round out our year.

Now summer is with us and all predictions are that it is going to be a long, hot one, we dust off the summer gear, don the thongs and look forward to enjoying the outdoors with long, lazy balmy evenings indulging in all the delicious goodies and a vino or two that abounds in these parts. From all of the team at Secrets, we would like to wish you the very best of the season and look forward to sharing a superb 2015.

Editor Norma Morton

ISSUE 42 SUMMER 2015 Published by

Secrets Magazine ABN 35 535 679 949

Mailing Address Phone Email Web

PO Box 356 Creswick VIC 3363 03 5348 1919 info@secretsmagazine.com.au www.secretsmagazine.com.au

Editor Features & Online Editor Artwork & Layout Business Development

Norma Morton Linley Wilkie Nick Morton Jessica Eve, Kerry Mitchell

Contributors Lyndall McQuinn, Stephen Read, Michael Kerr, Lyndel Nash, Hilary Finch All content in this publication is copyright and may not be re-produced in whole or in part in any form without prior permission of the publisher. Secrets will be distributed quarterly throughout Victoria and various tourism outlets.

Secrets is also available from cafes, restaurants, B&B’s, hotels and shops. All care is taken to ensure accuracy of articles and advertising, however the publishers accept no responsibility for errors or omissions and references are a guide only and not intended as a recommendation.

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PEOPLE & PLACES

5

Article and Photograpy by Lauren Mitchell

JIMMY POSSUM ARTIST SPREADS HER WINGS IN LEICHARDT Among the flotsam of Bendigo artist Jessica Spalding’s little fibro studio is a shelf of nests. Downy treasures collected and nurtured. One is palm-sized and soft as a slipper, a swallow’s nest that fell from a Bendigo vintage tram when Jess was measuring it for paintings.

Another was found on this Leichardt property Jess shares with her partner Mark and their collective kids. It’s a hardy swirl of reeds, perfectly crafted inside a metal stirrup and interwoven with a length of pink lace. A beautiful home, made to fit. The same could be said for this place.

Last winter Jess and Mark moved their worlds to a 1915 redbrick homestead 20 minutes north of Bendigo. For the local artist best known for her Jimmy Possum paintings, it was the chance to fulfil a dream.

“It’s amazing,” she says. “It’s what I’ve worked my whole life to have. Space, and a place to work from and a partner who supports my artistic endeavours. He understands the drive to create something.”

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Jess is arguably the region’s most prolific, most commercially successful artist. Her day job, painting for the family business, sees her fill nine Jimmy Possum stores around the country with her trademark bold and colourfuelled pieces. Her work can also be found trundling the Bendigo lines on the Jimmy Possum tram and on the walls of Bendigo Health’s oncology room, the Otis Foundation’s Mandurang retreat and Eaglehawk’s Star Cinema. She’s also working on the weekends, albeit on her private work.

So far Jess has taken over two of the property’s outbuildings. The old grain storage shed is now a space to paint, while the humble shack behind the house is for dry work.

Collage and embroidery, ink and mixed media, as well as Jess’ collections. “Mark is a clean lines person and I’m a more is more person,” she laughs, on her efforts to contain her treasures to her own space.

Jess’ work here is in contrast to her day job. When Secrets visits, she’s amassing a collection of small mixed media works on paper in view of exhibiting in early 2015. A swath of luxe fabric is set to become curtains for her son Louis’ room. It’s a mound of remnants pulled from the Jimmy Possum outcast pile.

“I like all variations of art, no matter how it comes,” she says. “There’s aspects of what I do at Jimmy Possum that I really love, like the creative spurt I get when I’m working on a new series. But I feel like the work I do here involves a story.”

Jess says she feels the story of this place will have a great influence on her art. The homestead hadn’t been loved for many years.

When the couple arrived as caretakers, it was choked with generations of furniture, dust, falling plaster and plenty of birds’ nests. And the outside was even worse.

In six months Jess and Mark have cleared away the debris to find its beautiful bones again. They even found the original linen house plans in the hall cupboard. The traditional settlers block has been in the same family since the district was surveyed in the 1870s. It belongs to friends of Marks, but in a way it belongs to everyone who needs it.

Jess and Mark see it as a place to rebuild and gather. And as such, Jess plans to share it. She will soon host art retreats for others looking for a bit of peace and quiet and the chance to discover their creativity.

“The main thing will be helping people get through the creative block,” she says. “I think it would be great to come to a place like this on the weekend and learn how to move through that. I love seeing other people get creative, I take real joy in that.”

Email Jess on jess@jessicaspalding.com to join her mailing list and for information on future workshops. You can also get a glimpse into Jess’ day job by joining a tour of the Bendigo Jimmy Possum factory. Details at www.bendigotourism.com or visit the Jimmy Possum flagship store in View Street, Bendigo, to see and purchase her original works.

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Daylesford’s stunning new homewares store.

An eclectic mix of the quirky, elegant and unusual where vintage meets the new gathered from around the world.

39 Albert Street, Daylesford (a short walk from the main street) Open Thursday to Monday, 10am - 5pm Phone 0429 192 718

RETREAT TO PERRICOOTA VINES Surrounded by weeping willows and wetlands that attract native birds and wildlife, Perricoota Vines Retreat gives true meaning to the word restful. Guests at Perricoota Vines are encouraged to take advantage of the natural environment and fresh Murray River air and allow themselves to relax with the soft sounds of water lapping and birds singing. Perricoota Vines is a family owned and operated business that prides itself on high-end service, reflected by the number of guests who come back time after time. Developed 14 years ago by Echuca locals Barry and Jan Donchi, the retreat is now expertly managed by Barry’s niece Belinda and her husband Bill Kuluris, who each gave up a nursing career and moved from Geelong three and half years ago to take over the retreat. Not having previously worked in the industry, Belinda says the learning curve has been massive, but they nevertheless love it. This summer, women are set to flock to Moama for the Sacred Fig Wellness Retreat.

Hosted by Perricoota Vines Retreat, the two back-to-back three-day workshops will include yoga, meditation, healthy cuisine and nutrition information, designed specifically for women to invigorate and eliminate emotional baggage – and it couldn’t happen in a more idyllic setting.

Hosting the Sacred Fig Wellness Retreats is a first for Perricoota Vines, a partnership between Perth-based Sacred Fig Retreat and personal coach Dimity Bagley. It is planned to run the weekend yoga retreats four times a year, increasing to eight when mid-week events are introduced. The workshops will be set amongst the 18 acres of lush gardens, with guests staying in one of the 22 self-contained villas, all made from reclaimed timber sourced from the family’s reclaimed timber business.

Perricoota Vines can accommodate up to 70 people and has wedding and conference facilities for up to 80 people, making it a popular destination for those who prefer the privacy afforded by occupying an entire venue.

For those who like to integrate activity into their tranquility, there’s a tennis court, two picturesque garden side pools and a recreation room with table tennis and billiards. Together with the peaceful respite at Perricoota Vines Retreat, are all the attractions that nearby twin cities Echuca and Moama have to offer.

Perricoota Vines is at 400 Perricoota Road, Moama, tel: 1800 826 655. The Sacred Fig Wellness Retreats run from February 16th-19th and 19th-22nd. For more information about the workshops call Dimity on 0419 676805 or email dibagley@bigpond.com 9

BACKYARD BLOGGING Central Victorians are a creative bunch, not only deft at growing, cooking and making stuff, but also writing about and sharing these experiences with the world. Meet three local bloggers who have gathered quite a following.

month we got our last batch of chicks and that crazy dream I had two years ago.

Blogging highlight: Definitely my book, “Vantastic”. To have a publisher contact me about writing, photographing and publishing a book was a dream come true. Writing a blog is one thing, but publishing a book is something else entirely. I still can’t believe I wrote a book.

KATE ULMAN - FOX’S LANE What it’s about: The story of my family’s life on an organic farm in Daylesford. I blog about craft, food, family, books, gardening and farming.

When she’s not blogging: I love my farmer boy and look after our three girls and together we run our farm, Daylesford Organics. The rest of the time I manage our home, cook, knit, crochet, sew, bake, walk 10,000 steps each day, volunteer at school, read, write and take a zillion photos.

Her audience: Mainly they are people who live or dream about a simpler, slower life. My most popular posts are always the ones where I include a recipe or a craft pattern.

Favourite posts: I do love that there is a neatly ordered archive of my family’s life over the past five years. I can check what theme we had for Jazzy’s sixth birthday party, what

DANIELLE WHITE - COUNTRYPHILES What it’s about: A celebration of all the inspired people making lives in regional areas; from those who’ve lived a country life for generations to those who’ve recently made a tree-change. The Countryphiles shares real-life stories, experiences and talents.

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JENNIFER BEACHLEY - FROM SIRENS TO SILENCE What it’s about: I started the blog when we made the move from London to Kyneton. I felt like Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous in a bad dream sequence for the first few weeks. There were so many ‘firsts’ that I wanted to capture and remember them as they were. My blogs are often events that have happened during the week.

When she’s not blogging: I have two little kids and also run a small baking business called Bespoke Biscuits for local cafes and restaurants in the area. The rest of my time is spent with my beautiful kids in the veggie garden, picking fruit, pruning trees, looking after chooks, playing with our dog Ruby and keeping the dream ticking along.

When she’s not blogging: I am a creative director, freelance writer and photographer, and recently wrote and published a local history book, Faithful Always: Celebrating 125 Years Sacred Heart College, Kyneton.

I co-manage my family’s pasture-grazed, beyond-organic beef business, as well as my husband’s chemical-free garlic business.

Her audience: A wonderfully diverse, passionate group of folks, from city-dwellers who admire country life from afar to country folk knee-deep in the muddy charms of farm life.

Popular posts: The most popular stories are about people who take a leap of faith and overcome challenges to follow their dreams and fill their lives with love, passion and originality. Many featured Countryphiles work hard for a long time before people like me stumble upon their wonderfulness.

Blogging highlight: Hands-down the most exciting thing so far has been the opportunity to interview and feature the work of photographer Sharyn Cairns. It’s inspiring to meet authentic, hard-working, original, creative, energetic people. It’s also rewarding to watch The Countryphiles’ readership and followers grow.

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Her audience: I have readers in the US, UK, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. Essentially we all love good food and to feel as though, even in a small way, we had a part in providing what ends up on our plate is hugely satisfying as well as being a common link with everyone on this amazing planet.

Favourite post: I liked ‘We need to talk about Steve’, a lot! Steve was our first steer to be bought for our purposes of self-sufficiency.

This was a post that I had to come to terms with not only buying Steve, but knowing why we bought him and what purpose our animals were going to play on the farm.

Blogging highlight: I have met and connected with so many passionate local people who are incredibly talented at their own thing. Whether it’s making furniture, landscaping, creating sustainable farms, producing amazing food or running restaurants, they are all here following their hearts and passions.

KATIE AND REUBEN - HOUSE OF HUMBLE What’s it about: We started blogging to chronicle our move to the country (Bendigo), keep us accountable to our dream, connect with like-minded people, and provide us with a creative outlet. We blog about the pursuit of a simpler, more mindful, more beautiful life.

Mostly we write about gardening, cooking, keeping chickens, making things, and our home.

When they’re not blogging: Reuben works full time outside of our home and Katie works from home running a handmade jewellery business.

Katie cooks a lot and Reuben spends plenty of time in the garden. We both love op-shopping and visiting our local farmers market.

a $15,00 trip, a brand new Ford Territory for a year and a $6,000 writing contract. It was a huge honour and an amazing experience. We still can’t quite believe we won!

Their audience: Our readers are quite diverse, from all around the world and of all demographics. House of Humble’s readers are mostly people who share our interests and desire for a simpler life.

Popular post: Reuben wrote a post a couple of years ago about being a man who knits and that got a great response. We still get comments from men who can relate. More recently Katie wrote a post called “It’s Okay to be Happy with a Quiet Life” and that seemed to resonate with a lot of people.

Blogging highlight: The biggest highlight for us was winning Voices of 2013. Voices is a national blogging competition and the year we won there were over 600 nominees. We won

CLIFFY’S

AUSTRALIA’S OLDEST WORKING POTTERY

E M P OR I U M

Features Ceramics, Antiques & Collectables, Artists’ studio galleries, Historic Museum & Cafe

9-5 DAILY 3 0 R AG L A N S T R E E T DAY L E S F O R D 3 4 6 0 V I C TO R I A TELEPHONE 5348 3279

w w w. c l i ff y s . c o m . a u

Open 7 days, 9am to 5pm 146 Midland, Hwy Epsom www.bendigopottery.com.au

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Until 26 January An Art Gallery of Ballarat Exhibition For information and tickets go to artgalleryofballarat.com.au image: The Harrowing of Hell (detail) circa 1550, egg tempera & gesso on linen over wood, Private collection, Sydney

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A SLOW FAREWELL TO MOONGATE After almost 20 years, nine of those in Hepburn Springs, Moongate is closing its doors. Owners Peter and Robert have decided to hang up their hats and retire to a life of R&R, further pursuing other interests such as travel.

It has been a memorable two decades for the couple, who founded Moongate in High Street Armadale, before opting for a tree change and moving the oriental gallery and antique store to Hepburn Springs. The true journey however, began nearly 40 years ago, when they backpacked through Asia for nearly a year and developed a yearning to spend time in China.

This desire was fulfilled eight years later, when Peter explored the country for three and a half months, before returning the following year to teach English in Suzhou. Two years were then

spent teaching in Hong Kong and the dream to one day open a Chinese antiques and art shop was born.

“It has been an amazing 40 years,” Peter says.

“We have observed the incredible changes that have taken place in China, a rate of change that has been unprecedented in the history of the world… the lives of millions of people have improved, but at a terrible cost to the environment and the historic fabric of society.”

On a positive note, Peter and Robert will continue to run Moongate Accommodation and the closure of the store won’t happen overnight. It will continue to operate until well into next year.

MOONGATE ORIENTAL ANTIQUES & GALLERY CLOSING DOWN SALE 106 Main Road, Hepburn Springs 5348 4396

Open Thursday to Sunday 10am - 5pm (Moongate Accommodation still operating)

Steiner Education - A Real Alternative Cnr Rilens Rd and Pyrenees Highway Muckleford

03 5479 2000 enquiries@castlemainesteinerschool.com.au www.castlemainesteinerschool.com.au

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THE BREAD BUILDER It’s hard to miss the arrival of Ken Hercott at the Maldon Market. After all, not every stallholder arrives at the monthly market in a donkey drawn cart, carrying an assortment of freshly baked sourdough loaves. “People are quite curious to see the cart and watch the donkey being hitched up to begin the journey home,” says Ken, whose approach to new ventures has always been anything but predictable.

Growing up on a Swan Hill wheat farm, Ken’s family embraced organic baking in 1983 and later that decade the 18-year-old assumed the role as not only the family baker, but also the community’s go-to guy for quality sourdough. “Every Friday I’d bake on the farm, then take it into town to locals who wanted to try sourdough,” he says. “At the time you just couldn’t get sourdough anywhere out of Melbourne.”

After reading an article about esteemed Massachusetts sourdough baker Richard Bourdon, Ken was spellbound and determined to learn more. Richard accepted the request for Ken to visit America and learn his craft.

After five years, Richard had saved enough money to fly to Massachusetts, inadvertently landing the role as Richard’s head baker. “His main baker had been in an accident and from the first week I was thrown into the deep end,” he recalls. “I had never worked in a commercial bakery in my life and was making

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up to 1500 loaves of bread. It was a baptism by fire.”

After returning to Australia in the mid-1990s, Ken worked at various Melbourne bakeries, building wood-fired ovens and regularly baking bread for the likes of CERES and the St Andrews market. In 2008, an overseas working holiday with his partner Amy and their two young children brought Ken back to Massachusetts, before they landed in Europe and woofed through winter at the Tuscan organic farm, Barbialla. They returned home, only for the owners of Barbialla to invite the family to return. This time they lived on the farm for two years, during which time Ken built the farm a wood oven, baked sourdough and ran bread-making classes. “Local Tuscan hippies would sign up, then build their own bread oven and sell bread at local markets,” says Ken. “It’s a really cultural thing for the Italians to have an oven to bake in.”

The family returned to Australia in 2012, settling in Maldon. Ken continues to work as a baker at Castlemaine’s Sprout Bakery, which is also where he bakes the sourdough for the Maldon Market, under the name Bread Builders. “I’m also a carpenter, so the name embraces both trades,” says Ken, who relishes selling his produce at the market. “I’m really able to explain how my bread is made, share my passion with the public and people can put a face to my product.”

5 THINGS I KNOW FOR SURE Josh Murray is the face and purveyor of his family’s business, Josh’s Rainbow Eggs. In the first of a new series, the 14-year-old shares his passions about farmers markets, chickens and their Kerrie home and pastures.

them, they’re docile for about two minutes and then after that, they’re like, “Let go of me” and can be surprisingly strong.

1. Chickens should live in pastures.

Until about a year and a half ago, when we grew to 800 chickens and began selling in supermarkets, I was well and truly running it by myself. Now it’s a full time job, but Mum still takes me on sales trips and I collect eggs on Sundays and attend all the farmers markets and supermarkets. I do sacrifice my weekend mornings, which for a teenager is pretty big.

I wouldn’t have it any other way though, because if I didn’t work in the business I’d probably lose some of my purpose.

The welfare of chickens is what I feel strongest about and I find myself getting a little bit angry when people buy caged eggs. Our hens live outside in the open fields. We give our chickens egg mobiles where they lay their eggs and sleep at night – it protects them from the weather, but is always moving. This way we fertilize our pastures one day at a time as the egg mobile moves across the paddock.

2. My chickens are happy.

My chickens make different sorts of happy noises, which makes me happy, because I feel like I’m doing the right thing. I believe a chicken is happy when they get to express their true “chickeness” – scratch in the field, dust bathe in small holes they dig, sun themselves in the warm sun and chase insects.

3. Chickens have split personalities.

You could say chickens have split personalities, gentle and feisty. They’re normally quite gentle and I probably only see one little scrap between chickens every third of fourth time I collect eggs. When you catch

4. I can’t imagine not working.

5. Farmers markets are a vital part of the business.

A lot of people at the markets have known us for years. They’re not a big part of the business sales-wise, but customer and marketing-wise, they definitely are. They’re a great outlet for extra stock and to actually get some praise for what you’re doing. One lady bought eggs for her six-month old granddaughter, which was to be her first food.

It’s pretty amazing to get such great feedback.

For more information about Josh’s Rainbow Eggs, visit www.sevenhillsorganicfarm.com.au

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Article by Lyndel Nash

CHANGE FOR COFFEE Richard Emery owner, barista and chief coffee roaster at The Bean Barn Ballarat approaches everything in life with great gusto. He and his partner Chris are self confessed “tree changers”, who made the move to Ballarat from Melbourne in 2002 in pursuit of a lifestyle more conducive to their love of nature, gardening and photography.

consultants. Justin trained Richard in the skills required to be a professional barista.

Work circumstances forced a career change, so Richard decided on a vocation that matched his newfound home and lifestyle, together with something he couldn’t find in Ballarat – locally roasted, good quality coffee.

He promptly enrolled in a New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS) course for the over 50-age bracket.

Originally the Bean Barn was a hole in the wallstyle café that could only seat a few people and made about 50 coffees a week. Nearly ten years later, The Bean Barn is a larger living room-style café that every week roasts 150kg of award winning beans and serves in excess of 1000 coffees to customers who Richard describes as being “always loyal, discerning and willing to try something new”.

Change was not an issue for Richard, who was determined to start his own small business roasting and selling specialty coffee in the Ballarat CBD, despite having never roasted a bean in his life!

Serendipity stepped in and in the first NEIS class Richard met someone who knew Edmund Schaerf of Coffee Basics in nearby Castlemaine. Richard contacted Edmund, who agreed to teach him the art and skill of coffee roasting and blending, before introducing him to Justin Metcalf, world barista judge and one of Australia’s most recognised coffee and café

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Tree change dollars squirrelled away for renovations were redistributed into establishing The Bean Barn, a café where Richard personally roasts and serves the coffee.

Richard and Chris have enjoyed their tree change so much that instead of renovating, they sold the old house in Ballarat and moved further out of town. However they have precious little time to enjoy the rural lifestyle because of the demands of small business ownership and the coffee – it’s always, always about the coffee!

Bean Barn is at 217 Sturt Street Ballarat, phone 5334 4449.

LIFESTYLE

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MALMSBURY ON A PLATE Affectionately known as The Two Dans, Daniel Clarkson and Daniel Melbourne (above) opened Small Holdings in Malmsbury last summer. Having worked together for more than a decade and lived in several Central Victorian towns, they have well and truly landed on their feet in the Malmsbury café that is loved by locals and tourists alike. This is chef Dan Melbourne’s summer inspired nod to Malmsbury, as explained by front of house’s Dan Clarkson.

“This dish represents what Small Holdings is about; simple, tasty food, done really well.

That’s what a lot of customers say about Dan’s food and that’s why they get excited about what we do.

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Tuki trout is the main component, followed by garden peas. We have locals who give us their excess produce such as this, or a box of broad beans, or oranges from their garden. We’ve lived in quite a few small local towns that are supportive, but Malmsbury people really follow through with what they offer.

Some of the herbs in this dish are sourced from our home garden, such as the tarragon, while the mint in the pea puree is from the barrel of herbs by the café’s front door. A perfect accompanying wine is the 2010 Gewürztraminer from Birthday Villa, the winery across the road. Its sweetness works well with the peas and the trout.”

TROUT BOUDIN BLANC, PEA PUREE, SMOKED TROUT SALAD (SERVES 4)

Poach the sausages in barely simmering water for about 10 minutes. Remove and refresh in iced water.

SAUSAGE

400g fresh peas 1 potato, peeled and diced Salt 4 mint leaves

400g fresh trout fillets, skinned and pin boned, roughly diced 300ml cream 1 egg and 1 egg white 1 tablespoon chervil, chives, tarragon, and parsley, finely chopped Salt and white pepper Place the trout, egg, egg white, salt and pepper into a chilled food processor bowl and process to a smooth paste. Gradually mix in the cream, adding the herbs at the end.

Lay four large squares of cling wrap onto a bench. Place the mousse into a large piping bag and pipe four equal sized sausages onto each square of cling wrap. Roll each into a sausage shape, twisting and tying at each end.

PEA PUREE

Place the potato in a small saucepan and just cover with water. Bring to the boil, when tender add the peas. Bring back to the boil, add the mint and salt and remove from the heat.

Drain excess liquid and reserve, place pea mix in a blender and blend until smooth and the consistency of cream. Add some of the cooking water if too thick. If there are any chunks, pass the puree through a fine sieve.

SALAD 1 bunch watercress Few sprigs of chervil, tarragon, mint and dill 1 teaspoon finely chopped chives 1 shallot, finely sliced ½ cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely sliced 150g smoked trout, skinned, pin boned and flaked 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons olive oil Fresh horseradish Salt and pepper Mix the lemon juice and olive oil to make a dressing.

Combine salad ingredients in a mixing bowl and season.

Remove the sausages from the cling film and pat dry, gently pan fry until warmed through and golden. Divide the puree between four plates. Dress and season the salad and place on top of the puree. Top each plate with a sausage and grate over horseradish.

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Go

Food & Wine Go Food & Wine

Fossicking...

Fossicking...

Download the new Bendigo Region Food & Wine Fossicking app to find the best wineries, cider makers, growers, producers, restaurants and cafes from Heathcote to Castlemaine, Maryborough to Boort, and everywhere in between.

This interactive app features maps, opening hours, social media and events to whet the appetites of local and visiting foodies.

What are you waiting for?

Get fossicking!

Find out more at: www.bendigoregionfoodandwine.com

FROM FOOD STARS TO FILM STARS When Bendigo Regional Tourism set out to collect the stories of its food and wine heroes, it resulted in a beautiful showreel filmed during the summer of 2014. Captured as part of The Bendigo Regional Food and Wine Fossicking app, it highlights the experiences available to food and wine lovers, from farm gates and cellar doors, to restaurants and market stalls, all within the beautiful shires of the City of Greater Bendigo, Mount Alexander, Loddon and Central Goldfields.

The 10 short films featured on the app are currently gracing the big screen at Federation Square, shown intermittently to whet the appetites of Melburnians.

Three of Castlemaine’s foodie heroes speak of seeing the world then returning home to help forge a cultural shift towards fine food and wine. Hayden Winch took an original goldfields pub and turned it into the Public Inn, a provincial bar and bistro serving wine straight from the barrel.

Sisters Elissa Wilsher and Cas Davey are likewise adding to the local scene. Cas owns Mulberrys Delicatessen, while next door Elissa and her husband run Castlemaine institution Togs.

Loddon apprentice butcher James Essex is being educated in the old ways at Meat on Brooke. “We want people to know that dry aging is the only way to have a steak,” James says on the time-honoured tradition of dry aged beef being carried out at this butchery, wine and produce store.

Bridgewater’s Peter Cumming says great wine and great company go hand-in-hand.

“I’ve never had a good bottle of wine in bad company,” he adds. No chance of that in this pretty township, where Peter’s famous Water Wheel Vineyard enjoys the stunning Loddon River and a host of passionate locals as neighbours.

In the main street, the Bridgewater Bakehouse greets the sunrise each day with fresh breads, sourdoughs, cakes and award-winning pies.

Baker Patrick O’Toole makes magic from local meat and eggs and flour from the Laucke Flour Mill, which has been a staple industry in the township for more than 100 years.

You won’t hear from a more passionate chef than Bryce of Bryce’s Bistrot in Talbot. His dream was to head a rustic French restaurant with a pure paddock to plate ethos, and that’s just what he’s done at this Central Goldfields treasure.

Another film showcases one of Bendigo’s coolest restaurants, Masons. Here Sonia Anthony and her family embrace a rich food bowl of local producers – think micro herbs, free range pork, apple cider and silky goats’ cheese.

Masons shares a precinct with the amazing Bendigo Wholefoods. As this fresh food store’s owner Darren Murphy says, you won’t find anything like it anywhere outside of Bendigo.

Find them on the Bendigo Region Food & Wine Fossicking app, free on Google Play and the App Store.

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Article by Lyndel Nash

TO MARKET, TO MARKET Arriving at David and Lisa Tatman’s farm gate you cannot help but be romanced by the magnificent views of Mount Buninyong to the south and Mount Warrenheip to the north.

Combined with the original old blue stone bridge that leads to the property and the cows meandering along the roadside, it’s hard not to appreciate the true beauty of Spring Creek Organics.

The Tatmans grow and sell more than 40 varieties of certified organic seasonal vegetables, specialising in beautiful heirloom lines, on their expansive organic farm across two landholdings near Ballarat.

Spring Creek Organics is known for its deeply coloured heirloom carrots that are sweet and earthy, perfect for summer salads and paired beautifully with any of the 12 varieties of crisp, fresh lettuce or the traditional root vegetables that suit traditional English-style Christmas dinner menus.

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David is highly skilled and generous with his knowledge, talking about family and the farm with open affection. It is immediately evident however, that the romance of organic food farming is possibly a notion conjured up by marketers and the media. Spring Creek Organics is indeed a labor of love, with its roots now firmly planted in the volcanic soil due to sheer hard work, tenacity and the strong partnership of this farming couple and their three children.

David grew up in Pearcedale and in 1982 his father’s vegetable farm was one of the first in Australia to be certified organic.

Twenty years ago, the couple moved to Ballarat for Lisa’s previous work as an ultrasound stenographer and established their own farm. Many years were spent supplying restaurants, cafes and wholesale markets in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and while demand and the workload grew, the profits did not. Two years ago, the couple took the bold

decision to stop wholesaling their produce and moved to selling exclusively at farmers markets.

This transition has not only saved the family business, it has reconnected them with the people and communities who value their produce, the reduced food miles and the work that goes into farming organic vegetables.

David acknowledges that in the past he would have doubted the sustainability of selling solely at farmers markets, but it is also obvious he is a man who likes a challenge, embraces change and has an eye on the future. Spring Creek Organics recently started wholesaling its pumpkin seeds to a health food company, which will market them as nutrient rich pepitas and Lisa and David have long term plans to farm organic beef that they will have processed locally and sell direct to the public.

This year, the Spring Creek Organics Farm Gate Shop opened at the Navigators property.

The shop is open every day and operates on an honesty system. Shopper’s simply choose

their vegetables, write down their purchased items in the book supplied and put the money required into the honesty box.

A country drive on a hot summer day could easily lead you to the farm gate shop to pick up luscious, organic, lettuce and festive red radish for a seasonal salad. You’re guaranteed to feel that romance which accompanies buying gorgeous organic produce grown in the paddocks that surround you. Spring Creek Organics is at 171 Tierneys Rd, Dunnstown. You can keep in touch with them via Facebook.

Talbot is just 40 minutes from Ballarat or 90 minutes from Melbourne’s Westgate Bridge

Every 4th Saturday of the month.

Enquiries: 0407 860 320 25

Article by Stephen Read

SAVING KYNETON’S ENDANGERED WOODLAND Grassy woodland, rich with wildflowers and orchids once dominated the area north of Kyneton. Sadly, time moves on and much of the woodland is now endangered, with only a few small pockets of this once diverse and beautiful landscape still remaining.

Conservation of natural places is vital; in nature nothing is a “wasteland.” Unfortunately, it has taken us a few hundred years to realise its importance. Kyneton Bushland Resort (KBR) is the latest organisation to champion this dwindling woodland, a vegetation type that is of local interest and national importance.

Along with concerned private landholders and the nearby Bald Hill and Black Hill reserves, KBR forms a valuable link in the landscape.

As luck would have it, the conservation effort won’t need to start from scratch. The lack of grazing over the past three decades has allowed many rare plants to survive in large

numbers and the hard work by the KBR staff in recent years has almost eradicated many of the serious environmental weeds.

I am excited to have been asked to develop the master landscape plan for the Kyneton Bushland Resort (KBR). Balancing the activity of the resort and fire zone guidelines with the conservation of the woodland is not easy.

Well-defined paths and roads will go someway to protecting the bush from wayward traffic.

KBR is fortunate to have existing vegetation and a richly diverse seed bank waiting for the opportunity to grow. All that is needed in most cases is a few minor adjustments to management practices and the bush will return. My plan is to use what already exists and work within the fire regulations to allow informal native meadows to grow around each villa. This area will need to be mown during the fire season, however by encouraging the

Stephen Read Principal Designer 0418 963 885

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W stephenread.com.au E stephen@stephenread.com.au FB facebook.com/stephenreadlandscape

local plants to thrive the landscape should look lush all year. Natural regeneration of trees, shrubs and grasses will be encouraged throughout the rest of the site. In the absence of controlled fire, a mosaic of mown areas will allow the landscape to regenerate with a similar effect to traditional controlled burning.

Some of the species that have been lost to the area, including the Banksia marginata (silver banksia), will be reintroduced to the site. Reintroduced species will be used ornamentally around the buildings of the resort, in this way they can be included in the landscape even though the provenance of the seed may not be known.

With the master plan almost complete and the hard work starting on the roads and paths, in the next few months things may look worse before they get better. However in the coming years, the woodland will once again thrive with a sea of wild flowers lapping at the edges of the resort villas.

So why is the woodland so important? Apart from the obvious aesthetic and habitat values, the answer might not always be clear. Two hundred years ago swamps were regarded as wastelands. We now know that swamps and wetlands are vital in keeping waterways

clean and provide many ecosystem services.

Today, wetlands are considered so important that new developments are now constructing artificial wetlands where once they would have had to fill them in. We are only now beginning to discover the importance of grassy woodlands. As a landscape designer, the research into local plants is useful when designing for difficult sites, including rooftop gardens and balconies or any place where the soil is shallow and the conditions hash.

Gardeners can also learn something from the landscape management at KBR. One of the most common questions I have from my rural clients is how to garden with rocky, shallow soil and windy sites. Regardless of the style, the answer is always to work with what you have. If it is windy, choose plants that bend! If the soil is rocky choose plants that naturally grow in those conditions. If you don’t like natives - that’s fine, there are plenty of exotic plants that naturally grow in similar conditions, soil and climate that we enjoy in Central Victoria. The challenge is to find them and use them well.

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llenis SALON-SPA

39 High Street Kyneton 3444 service@ellenis.com.au 5422 3795 ellenis.com.au

iet-2a

E E

Macedon Ranges’ Boutique Day Spa

~ The Most Beautiful Pub ~ in Castlemaine A Stunning Place to Stay A Perfect Venue to Celebrate 359 Barker Street, Castlemaine Ph: 03 5472 3787

www.newnorthern.com.au

Vanilla Spice

For all things Christmas and more!

Open all year round Wednesday to Sunday and most public holidays. Online shopping and laybys welcome. www.vanillaspice.com.au

Wicked Temptations CafĂŠ / Wine Bar Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Gourmet Coffee & Cakes Open Wednesday to Sunday

Royal Hotel Complex - 18 High Street Maldon

www.wickedtemptations.net.au

Victorian Goldfields railway

Flowers, plants, gifts and all things beautiful 81a Albert Street, Creswick Phone 0468 613 650

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Authentic Steam Era Experience Linking Maldon & Castlemaine Weds & Sundays

www.vgr.com.au PH: 03 5470 6658

Photograph by Erin and Tara

IN FULL BLOOM Decorating your home with flowers is a simple but stylish trick any time of the year, but in summer it’s an opportunity to embrace bright sunny colours and fill your room with a subtle perfume. Botanical stylist at Prunella, Vanessa Partridge loves the fragrance created by summer blooms, together with the cool, lush ambiance that foliage and flowers create in a space. She offers this advice for showstopping summer floral arrangements.

1. Go for impact and create a wow factor with flowers – we like to focus on a large statement floral installation, be it an urn, flowers spilling down a staircase or balustrade or floral chandeliers first, then add in smaller floral touches elsewhere.

2. Choose what’s in season and looking the most beautiful at the time. Some summer blooms we love include big fat fragrant garden roses, peony poppies, hydrangeas and dahlias.

3. Don’t forget foliage simple green will lush up a space and make it feel fresh and beautiful.

4. Keep it simple – if flowers are your focus, let them be the hero! Don’t over do all the other styling elements.

Prunella is at 175-177 Mollison Street, Kyneton.

For more information about its new Churchill venue in Taradale, visit www.prunella.com.au

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Article by Hilary Finch Photograohy by Hilary Finch & Anthony Scibelli

AT HOME WITH ANTHONY SCIBELLI Anthony Scibelli is a photographer who has tasted life’s banquet and delighted in the flavours. Born and raised in Brooklyn, the creative dye was cast at an early age. Anthony’s father, an avid amateur photographer gave his son a camera with an in-built license for investigation. In 1968, the fee of $5 per photo with a New York newspaper seemed like a lucrative business, so Anthony started producing 10-20 topical photographs a week.

By the 1970s, the party had really started. Kids from Kansas, Detroit and Berlin descended

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on New York as the new epicenter of anarchic bohemia. Anthony was there, just left of frame, enjoying the party and capturing the likes of Vali Myers, Klaus Nomi and Cookie Mueller.

A new book entitled ‘Edgewise,’ features amongst other contributors, Anothony’s photographic time capsule of downtown.

Cut to Wheatsheaf 2014 and Anthony is lying in a hammock a million miles from the bustle and hustle of New York City. Honeysuckle is in the air and a stereo strung from the gum trees casts operetta over the bush.

From Brooklyn to Wheatsheaf - how and why?

I came here as a spousal emigrant in 2000.

I love the countryside and the fact that my nearest neighbour can’t hear me. I’m not chasing the commercial or fashion work anymore. It’s been a chance to turn more to my personal work; to my interests and obsessions.

Your photographs have a very painterly aesthetic…

As a young man I was more interested in painting. I studied at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in the painting department. But if we’re talking about inspiration, I was more heavily influenced by cinema. In particular, French film from the 1960s and 70s, Jean Cocteau, Godard and the Russian director, Andrei Tarkovsy.

Tarkovsky explored life as a reflection; as a dream. How has photography allowed you to dream?

Photography has been my passport. I became an insider with a camera. I began using a camera as a child simply to see how things in my world looked and the investigation continues.

You borrow from the European tradition of 16th and 17th century vanitas which examine the material world, life and decay…

With the ‘Deflowered’ series, I was trying to make that imperfect flower photograph. In the genre of the masters of floral art; embracing the decay; the glamour of decay- like any aging artist should consider!

Do you have a favourite image?

My absolute favourite is a project called the Supernatural Honeymoon. If you’re sniffing around like Freud, you would love that, but I can’t tell you any more.

What are you still trying to achieve?

I want to make something better than I did last year. It’s like falling in love, it’s this affair you have with a white canvas and it’s beautiful- I want to be in love again. I don’t know what I want to achieve, I just want to be with it again, all day long.

Anthony Scibelli is represented by Bokeh Gallery. 10 Howe Street Daylesford. www.anthonyscibelli.com

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TRENTHAM REDISCOVERED Once upon a time, there was a small town in the middle of a forest. Trentham was a quiet, unassuming village that valued its cultural heritage born from gold and timber, and relished its strong sense of community. Sitting at the top of the Great Dividing Range, the region is known as Cool Country with cold wet winters and slightly cooler summers ideal for bushwalking and exploring nature with the Trentham Falls being an outstanding feature and photographers delight. Gradually over time, the tale of Trentham has developed a plot twist. In the past few years Trentham has been rediscovered by a new wave of residents and visitors, charmed by the flourishing mix of art galleries, restaurants and retailers that meet the needs of locals and visitors alike. A short stroll along the main street is an experience that has people talking about “the new Trentham”.

Join us for a quick tour of the main street and a glimpse of this invigorated town.

The Cosmopolitan Hotel is probably the best place to start this tour. The Cosmo, as it is affectionately known, has a history that is now moving into the realms of legend. The original hotel was built in 1866 and ravaged by fire in 2005. It lay derelict for several years until new owners, driven by a vision of the pub’s glory days, invested their passion and heart to restore the building. The new Cosmo opened

The Cosmopolitan Hotel

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its doors in late 2009 and was a work in progress until the grand opening of the newly rebuilt Cosmopolitan Hotel in December 2012.

People flock to the Cosmo for its exceptional food, made wherever possible from locally sourced ingredients and outstanding regional produce. The cuisine is complemented by the best of local wines, beers and ciders.

The Cosmopolitan Hotel has also become a highly sought after venue for weddings and functions. It will be open every day for lunch and dinner throughout January. www.thecosmopolitanhotel.com.au

Phillip & Lea

Phillip & Lea is just across the street, an amazing store which encourages the home cook to plant, nurture, grow and create delicious fare from the grass roots up. You’ll find an array of fine implements and tools for not only the aspiring and dedicated cook, but also gardeners, hunter and foragers, bakers and patissiers, charcutiers and salumi makers and preservers. Owners Chris and Michelle Meager select the implements and tools based on their materials, design, craftsmanship, aesthetic and provenance. As a result, they are are built-to-last a lifetime of labour. After moving to nearby Macedon, Chris and Michelle realised Trentham fitted their vision for their concept store. Their 10-year plan will see the establishment of Phillip & Lea stores in country towns in Victoria and Western Australia, with plans to further develop a mercantile outlet.

Call 9011 8433.

Chaplin’s at the Muse

A few doors down, you’ll find Chaplin’s at the Muse, a café named after owner Mel Thomas’ hero Charlie Chaplin. Like Charlie, Mel’s exuberance, passion and bonhomie is all encompassing and a major reason that Chaplin’s is the unofficial ‘go-to place’ for locals. It’s where they catch up on the latest news and where ideas are exchanged, worries shared and successes rejoiced. Its no accident that Mel’s natural ability to put all and sundry at ease means the front door is constantly opening to welcome another to the fold.

Before moving to the region in 2002, Mel was a Charlie Chaplin impersonator in Melbourne, where she could be seen in full Chaplin garb entertaining crowds at The Arts Centre café.

Charlie followed her to Trentham, where his name and persona grace the walls of the café and is periodically reborn when Mel dusts him off for a special event in town. Her next performance will be on 27th February, with a night of fun, film and frivolity. Visit Chaplin’s at the Muse Facebook page for updates.

Kuki is next on our tour, this amazing family business stocking an extensive and diverse range of art, giftware, sculptures, ceramics, lamps, vintage and new clothing and an impressive collection of vintage, recycled and Belgian furniture. Sisters Sharon and Debra are strong supporters of local artists, many of who are profiled in Kuki’s showroom.

Living in nearby Blackwood, the ladies and their mother recognised the need for such a place in Trentham and set about creating Kuki’s retail outlet and gallery. Around every corner, against every wall, hanging from the ceiling, arranged on any surface that will accommodate, there is a treasure to be found that is both beautiful and practical. There is still a sense of space however, that allows the freedom to explore, to ponder and imagine

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Kuki

Follow the laneway off High Street and you find the famous RedBeard Bakery. Open daily for breakfast, lunch, scrumptious morning and afternoon teas and takeaways, the renowned bakery is listed as a “must visit” destination on any tour of the region. It has become known widely for the quality of their products, using local, seasonal and organic ingredients wherever possible. Take, for example, the irresistible mince tarts, filled with organic dried fruit and spices and sozzled in Napoleon brandy. To find out more about what’s on at RedBeard, including markets and workshops, visit the website www.redbeardbakery.com.au

how a particular piece will look in your own home or wardrobe. Kuki is open every day, catering not only to Trentham’s visitors, but also locals who wish to indulge. Call 5424 1164 The Spotted Pony Store is our next stop, an eclectic mix of beautiful clothing made from breathable fabrics for women of all shapes.

The range includes clothing and designer samples from Australia and Europe and is quirky, quaint, and hand chosen with love. Of particular note is the range of accessories by renowned French designer, Sophie Digard and from Melbourne, Gorman clothing and shoes.

Owner Annie Moulding purchased a derelict building and created her dream by completely and carefully refurbishing the premises, resulting in a stunning décor that exemplifies her passion. The Spotted Pony Hair and Beauty is situated next door, staffed by a highly trained team who are passionate about providing the best service for their clients by using quality products and offering a range of beauty and holistic therapies, together with therapeutic massage. Annie describes the team as “worth their weight in gold”.

Call 0419 878 557.

The Spotted Pony Hair and Beauty

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RedBeard Bakery Café

We can’t leave Trentham without mentioning the monthly market, now combining the Trentham Farmers Market and Trentham Makers Market. Held on the third Saturday of each month, the farmers market has always offered a wide selection of fresh produce, plants, cheeses and all you expect to find at a genuine farmers market. Now joined by the Makers Market offering handmade products from talented crafters, including jewellery, metal work or something unique for the home and garden, this combination gives customers plenty of choice. Held in the picturesque town square, the Trentham Farmers and Makers Market is a must-do to highlight on your calendar. For information on the farmers market, call 0427 542 811 and for the makers market, call 0409 746 620.

KUKi hair & beauty

high quality hair and beauty

the

an eclectic mix of

and holistic therapies

spotted pony

beautiful clothing,

store

hand chosen with love

accessories and quirky gifts and cards, each piece

44 -46 high street, trentham 0419 878 557

Interior Decor Fashion Gifts Homewares Vintage/Recycled Furniture Belgian Furniture

Open 7 Days 10am – 4pm

38 High Street, Trentham Phone 5424 1164 kuki@live.com.au

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2013 E YEAR PUB OF THNER UP N

JOINT RU

www.thecosmopolitanhotel.com.au

MAGNIFICENT BEER GARDEN LIVE MUSIC SUNDAYS FROM 1.30PM FUNCTIONS STABLES AVAILABLE FOR WEDDINGS & Cnr High St & Cosmo Rd, Trentham 03 5424 1516

Cool summers at redbeardbakery.com.au TWO MARKETS – ONE LOCATION

THE TOWN SQUARE IN TRENDY TRENTHAM THIRD SATURDAY OF THE MONTH For more information or stall application contact:

& TRENTHAM MAKERS MARKET

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Farmers Market Shirley Corneille 0427 542 811 corneille53@gmail.com

Makers Market Michael Bedewi 0409 746 620 mbedewi@hotmail.com

BEST KEPT SECRETS

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THE

GRANDE

H E P B U R N

HOTEL

S P R I N G S

Shop 2, 52A Vincent St, Daylesford VIC 3460 (located in Coles walkway off Vincent Street)

t: 03 5348 4277 | e: info@threadneedle.com.au www.threadneedle.com.au

Friday & Saturday dinner from 5pm Saturday & Sunday breakfast & lunch Sunday Jazz Club Monday “Local’s night” from 5pm ( N O N - P U B L I C H O L I D AY S )

1 C H U R C H AV E N U E , H E P B U R N S P R I N G S , V I C T O R I A

t. 03 5348 1978 e. manager@thegrandehotel.com.au www.thegrandehotel.com.au HepburnSpringsHotel TheGrandeHotel

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Natural - Beautiful - Organic - Uplifting Shop online at www.lakshmiscircle.com.au

Station House Daylesford

Historic Homestead and Manor House Group accommodation Room for two Conferences & Weddings 15 Raglan St Daylesford Tel 03 5348 1591 www.stationhouse.net.au

RACV

BEST CAMPING SPOTS Summer is the season to dust off the tent or hook the caravan onto the back of the car and head to the great outdoors. We’ve picked some of our favourite camping spots in Central Victoria for a getaway under the stars.

Kooyoora State Park

MELVILLE CAVES CAMPGROUND Together with impressive views, beautiful vegetation and for the bird watchers out there, a range of birdlife, the Melville Caves Campground has toilets, barbecues and tap water available. First in best dressed.

Pyrenees State Forest

WATERFALLS CAMPGROUND Sitting at the base of the Pyrenees Mountains, this quiet camping spot is shaded by towering trees and as the name suggests, a (seasonal) waterfall. First in best dressed.

Mount Alexander Regional Park

LEANGANOOK CAMPGROUND (ALSO KNOWN AS KOALA PARK) This campground sits within stunning native bush land and picnic facilities. If you’re lucky, you may even spot a koala or other wildlife.

First in best dressed.

Hepburn Regional Park

MT FRANKLIN CAMPGROUND

Brisbane National Park

BOAR GULLY CAMPGROUND

Situated well off any main road, this site sits inside a volcano crate and the surrounding conifers provide some wind protection.

There is also washing water and toilets and fireplaces available. First in best dressed.

Best suited for tent camping, this picturesque spot has views overlooking an old dam and walking tracks nearby if you feel like stretching your legs. Must be booked and paid for in advance with Parks Victoria, approximately $38 per night.

* Before you leave, always confirm current conditions, including fire restrictions and water availability. For more information, visit the Parks Victoria website, www.parkstay.vic.gov.au or call the Parks Victoria Information Centre on 13 1963.

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Yummy, yummy, yummy, get some love in your tummy.

Phone: 03 5343 2233 Email: cafe@321learmonth.com.au Address: 321 High St, Learmonth, VIC 3352 Website: www.321learmonth.com.au : Cafe 321 CAFE CATERING CELEBRATIONS FUNCTIONS

Beautiful objects by creative people. Gifts for him, her and child. Apparel, footwear and vintage industrial homewares 22 Raglan Street, Daylesford

(next to Daylesford’s famous Sunday Market)

Dinner Thursday–Tuesday from 6pm Lunch Friday–Tuesday from 11am Menu from $9.50–$22 Breakfast On weekends from 9am Tuesday Night Curry & Hotpot $18 Friday Night Fish Night with wine $26.50 A La Carte also available

Lee Medlyn

Home of Bottles Glass With Class

70 Bailey Street, Clunes 03 5343 5281

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A MOVE TO A NEW LIFE

CAFÉ 321 LEARMONTH’S GEM Only 20 minutes north of Ballarat is Learmonth, a quiet country town that sits at the gateway to the Pyrenees wine region and home to Café 321 a gorgeous eatery offering casual country fare and plenty of it. Owner Tori Cochrane took over the café in September 2013 and has clearly placed her own stamp on this place that has become a destination for those looking for good food, service and a great atmosphere. The fact that Café 321 overlooks Lake Learmonth is an added bonus and a great venue for weddings and functions.

After spending some time in hospitality, Tori moved on to study nutrition and worked in public health for several years before returning to hospitality when she bought the café. Believing that food should be good for the whole body, Tori ensures that her focus on quality, home style, unpretentious food, is nutritionally sound and suitable for a wide range of dietary needs. As Tori says, “there are always options for people with special dietary requirements and we can and do cater for those who may be vegan, gluten intolerant or subject to a variety of allergy considerations”.

Café 321 is also a provedore for houseproduced, local and imported foodstuffs with a cellar door that carries a selection of the best wineries within a 50 kilometre radius.

“Eclectic mix” is a phrase heard often when describing the offerings in retail, but there is a little shop in Daylesford that can lay claim to those words, simply because it is difficult to describe the range of Moss and Burrows any other way. Step inside this quaint building, next to Daylesford’s famous Sunday market and you’ll find anything from limited brand apparel for all the family and footwear, to a rambling array of domestic and industrial homewares and even old manual typewriters.

An old phone or two has also been seen lurking on the shelves. Defined by owner Emma Taylor as ‘beautiful objects by creative people,’ Emma and her family have literally crossed the country to realise the vision that is Moss & Burrows. Leaving the “Fremantle doctor” behind to enjoy the colder climes of Daylesford, Emma and her husband realised when they arrived, that finding jobs in the country may pose a problem or two – Emma’s background was in child protection and her husband worked in aviation. He has now taken up an apprenticeship as an electrician and loving it, whilst Emma created Moss & Burrows and couldn’t be happier. With most of their family still in the West, the inclusivity of the Daylesford community has embraced this enterprising family and made them feel right at home.

Open Thursday to Monday. Keep in touch through www.facebook.com/mossandburrows to check out new arrivals and sale items.

Open Wednesday to Sunday Café 321 is really worth visiting. You can’t miss it on the Sunraysia Highway, opposite the former Learmonth school.

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NEW AMAZ’N ATTRACTION It’s a vexing question, made all the more vexing with summer school holidays coming up – “where can we take the kids to keep them entertained”. For a generation growing up with electronic gizmos and instant gratification, suggestions of fresh air and heart pumping fun times haven’t always hit the mark, however a new “play park” at the Tangled Maze near Creswick is a winner.

The Tangled Maze has been an attraction for families for a couple of decades, but when Judy and Noel Morrison bought the property several years ago, they set about increasing the garden and building a wedding and function reception space, which has been very successful, mostly through the warmer months, which meant that winter could be described as beyond quiet. Judy confided that she and Noel recognized they needed to develop something that would keep them busy all year round. They decided to travel to America and Canada to gain some ideas of what they could adapt for Tangled Maze. A lot of possibilities were considered, with most being discarded as unsuitable, until they came across synthetic ice skating rinks in Canada – and that was the light bulb moment. It has taken more than a year to get through the planning and compliance processes, but at long last, the new Amaz ’n’ Ice and Amaz ‘n’ Play areas are open in perfect time for the summer break.

where parents can relax and still keep an eye on the offspring with the closed circuit TV. Judy and Noel have thought of everything.

There is a toddler gym for the littlies, a play gym for children up to the ages of 12 years and then there is the ‘ice’ skating rink, large enough to accommodate up to fifty children at the same time. Also available are a series of party rooms for children’s parties and a larger room designed to cater for older kids/ teenager’s parties. A great bonus for parents.

The rink itself is a marvel – at first glance it looks like shiny floor tiles and feels like a real ice skating rink, but without the ice. It’s hard to believe that the surface would stand up to the torture of hundreds of sharp skates skimming over it, but it is a system that has worked in Canada for many years.

Amaz ‘n’ Ice and Amaz ‘n’ Play is a fantastic attraction for the region and Judy says that they are already taking bookings for all areas.

This place is certain to become the “go to place”, so it may be an idea to book ahead to avoid disappointment. It’s sure to appeal to all the family, after all, why should the kids have all the fun.

Visit www.tangledmaze.com or call 03 5345 2847

This new attraction is visionary. It caters for all children and also allows for quieter areas

MAZE

MINI GOLF

AMAZ’N’PLAY

The Tangled Maze 2301 Midland Highway Springmount Victoria 3364 (03) 5345 2847

AMAZ’N’ICE

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www.tangledmaze.com

THE BREAKFAST BOWL

QUICK PEEK

ABANDON STRESS Daylesford Abandon Stress with mobile massage to your door! Affordable relaxation massage and facial packages for singles and girls night-in.

Call, text or email to book 0401 369 743 | www.abandonstress.com.au

RUN, RABBIT, RUN With a reputation for being the go-to coffee venue in Castlemaine, the delicious, all-day breakfast offerings “seal the deal.”

23 Hargraves Street, Castlemaine 03 5470 5712 | goo.gl/zmpUwP OLICARTIA Flowers, plants, gifts and all things beautiful 81a Albert Street, Creswick 0468 613 650

RED BEARD BAKERY

THE GARDEN TAP NURSERY

Breakfast from 8am, 7 days: Taranaki eggs and many sides on RedBeard sourdough, toasted muesli, french toast, home-baked beans, Coffee Basics espresso, Tea Craft tea.

This rustic, boutique nursery hosts an array of beautiful plants, many unusual, some rare, that you might not find elsewhere.

38A High St, Trentham 03 5424 1002 | redbeardbakery.com.au

Open Thursday - Monday 10-5 96 Piper Street, Kyneton | 03 5422 3033 www.thegardentap.com.au 43

By Lyndall McQuinn

SUMMER ASTROLOGY AQUARIUS you are the sign of the summer. Two Dark Moons, Mercury turns retrograde retracting over your degrees and Mars pays you a visit.

These nuances niggling at you make you descend from your heady heights into action and communication and intercommunication, maybe a tad repetitive but it gets results. You may be relieved when summer is over but you wont be able to deny the progress you have made.

LEO All rise as the mighty regal lions strut their paraphernalia. Leo is riding on a Jupiter high on their path to royalty. The worlds are opening for you. Indulge: doubly excessive for those born between Aug 7-15th and climaxing for all on a Leo Full Moon in Feb. PISCES Summer is full of motivation and the energy to create positive plans. The force flows with you until Jan 18-22 when you may find you hit the wall. Nothing left in the tank may lead you to revision all projects and allow some time to wander in the imagination to refuel.

VIRGO You may be amazed at how orderly your life has become, not that it wasn’t, but the change is, your orderly ways have brought you time to relax. You may feel as if there is no razzledazzle but there is also no stress.

The earthiness of your sign is for once apparent.

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ARIES Has anyone seen Aries lately? Oh yes, the dust cloud we are all choking on is them jousting and jostling their way into the future. So many energized vibes coming Aries way, yes there is a bump or two from the past to hurdle but you will just jump higher.

LIBRA Directions are the questions in your vast minds at the moment. This way and that through life’s labyrinth, stepping gently so as not to create disturbance but being displaced by those aggressive surges coming across to you from Aries polarity. Tip toe through the minefield of possibilities.

TAURUS You can participate from the sidelines. Enjoy the quiet slow pace of summer that you prefer and deserve after a year of hard slog. Don’t bemoan the tranquility; autumn is always your time, so take a break.

SCORPIO Only a tail end of Saturn energy frustrates the later born Scorpios -Oct 21-23 and then its past. All you Scorpio’s with new restructured lives now have time to be proud of efforts made over the last two and a half years. Its new terrain now, time for new visions based on a secure foundation.

GEMINI December begins with your Full Moon- oh what will we do to celebrate? Lets take the easy options for once and don’t complicate life. There is a lot of air energy flowing through summer; for you that is not always helpful because a busy mind can be exhausting. Perhaps get lost in a book OR maybe write one.

SAGITTARIUS Saturn is moving in for the next couple of years, a bit like the grumpy old housemate, so Sagittarius may welcome the time to get real and put some structures in your life feeling less like constantly moving on. A more disciplined summer especially for birthdays 24 to 28 November – maybe a new disciplined regime, be it a physical based program or a philosophical based one.

Practice perfects.

CANCER Your Full Moon falls on Jan 5th and hopefully all the family has gathered near for Christmas and New Year. You love all the emotional turmoil and banter that goes under the guise of family because you are centre stage as the negotiator, mediator, and general fix it person. You may leave exhausted, vowing on the Full Moon never to see the family again- but really, be honest, you love it.

CAPRICORN You loath Christmas, which won’t be aided by the Dark Moon falling in Capricorn on Dec 22. All your banter about commercialism and waste of money and lets do Kris Kringle or not, arises; however you do love the food. You are the changing group among the zodiac. Pluto plods wearingly through your sign, this year affecting birthdays 2-7 Jan highlighting emotions you never knew existed and moments that make you cringe with tenderness of fear.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year to you all, Lyndall McQuinn.

Lyndall is a popular speaker at National events run by the Astrologers Association of New South Wales and the Festival of Dreams.

For readings with Lyndall, call 0428 425 923

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MARKETS EVERY SATURDAY Wesley Hill Markets Pyrenees Hwy, Castlemaine 7.30am – 1pm P: 0418 117 953 EVERY SUNDAY Daylesford Sunday Market Daylesford Railway Station 8am – 4pm, P: 03 5348 3503 1ST SATURDAY OF THE MONTH Ballan Community Market Lions Club, Main Street P: 03 5368 1203 Beaufort Market Memorial Park, Beaufort 9am – 1pm P: 5349 1184 M: 0448 192 087 Darley Market Bacchus Marsh Darley Football Oval, Fitzroy Street 7am – 1pm P: 0488 345 145 Daylesford Farmers Market Daylesford Primary School Oval, Vincent St. Daylesford P: 0421 458 891 Woodend Farmers Market High Street, Woodend 9am – 1pm P: 0407 860 320 2ND SATURDAY OF THE MONTH Ballan Farmers Market Mill Cottage, Inglis Street P: 0498 361 291 Ballarat Lakeside Farmers Market* (also last Saturday of the month) Lake Wendouree Ballarat 9am – 1pm P: 03 9533 0601 Bendigo Community Farmers Market Rosalind Park end of Williamson St. 9am – 1pm P: 0498 186 491 www.bcfm.org.au Kyneton Community Market Duck Duck Goose and Larder Piper Street, Kyneton P: 03 5422 4653 3

RD

SATURDAY OF THE MONTH

Creswick Market 19-21 Victoria Street, Creswick 9am – 1pm P: 03 5345 2356

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VISITOR INFO CENTRES Heathcote Region Farmers’ Market Barrack Reserve, High Street 9am–1pm www.hrfm.com.au

Avoca 03 5465 1000 pyrenees.org.au

Trentham Farmers Market Trentham Town Square, High Street P: 0427 542 811

Bacchus Marsh 03 5367 7488 discoverbacchusmarch.org

4TH SATURDAY OF THE MONTH

Ballarat 1800 446 633 visitballarat.com.au

Lancefield Farmers Market High Street 9am-1pm P: 0407 860 320 1ST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

Beaufort 03 5349 2604 pyrenees.org.au

Castlemaine Farmers Market Victory Park 9.00am-1pm P: 03 5470 6340

Bendigo 1800 813 153 bendigotourism.com

Gisborne All Seasons Market Gisborne Village Shopping Centre 9am-3pm P: 03 5426 2448

Castlemaine 1800 171 888 maldoncastlemaine.com.au

Gisborne Farmers and Produce Market 9am-1pm P: 03 5428 3043

Clunes 03 5345 3896 visitclunes.com.au

Maryborough Sunday Tourist Market Carisbrook Trotting Complex 8am-1:30pm P: 03 5461 2819

Creswick 03 5345 1114 visitcreswick.com.au

2ND SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

Daylesford 03 5321 6123 visitdaylesford.com.au

Dunolly Market Broadway, Dunolly Lisa Mercer – 03 5468 1948 Maldon Market Fountain St, Maldon www.maldonnc.org.au 3RD SUNDAY OF THE MONTH Talbot Farmers Market Scandinavian Crescent and Camp Street 9am–1pm P: 03 5463 2001 Woodend Market High Street P: 03 5427 2255 4TH SUNDAY OF THE MONTH Avoca Riverside Market 0488 177 647 Trentham Farmers and Makers Market Victoria Street 9am-2pm P: 03 5424 8223

Heathcote 03 5433 3121 heathcote.org.au Kyneton 03 5422 6110 visitmacedonranges.com Loddon 03 5494 3489 www.loddon.vic.gov.au Maldon 03 5475 2569 maldoncastlemaine.com Maryborough 03 5460 4511 visitmaryborough.com.au Trentham 03 5424 1178 visittrentham.com.au Woodend 03 5427 2033 visitmacedonranges.com

There is something for everyone!

The Daylesford Sunday Market operates every Sunday 8am-3pm at Daylesford station.

Enjoy a trip through the forest and local countryside onboard one of our historic railmotors.

Trains depart every Sunday from the historic station.

10am -3pm

Enjoy an evening out with a difference!

Departs the first Saturday of every month 5:30pm Bookings essential

Daylesford railway station | 18 Raglan street Daylesford p: 03 5348 3503 (sundays only) | www.dscr.com.au