Contributor, The Buloke Times

Quill and Alyssa. In the lead-up to the Easter long weekend, social media pages lit up with notices from tractor pulling teams starting out their journeys towards the 46th annual Australian Tractor Pull Championships, held at Quambatook on Easter Saturday.

Brian Lea and David Dore ... The call of the Plains-wanderer is like the moo of a cow. The song metres are programmed to record in the evening and the early mornings ... over a period of time the song metre on George Cullinan’s property picked up a number of calls over a matter of a few weeks ...

Bruce Stewart. The "Wonderland Walk" is short but steep in places and for many of us the best way to recover and relax after walking to the Pinnacle is to visit the nearby Halls Gap ice creamery next to Stony Creek ... Thinking of "ice cream" and "grateful thanks" reminds me of an old story told by a dad who said, "Last week, I took my children to a restaurant.

Even though the Donald and District Race Club has not raced since its Cup meeting in November, over the last two weeks, the grounds have been very busy with race trials. A total of thirty-three trials have been held with horses coming from all parts of the state.

Quill and Alyssa. Esoteric Festival shook the ground at Gil Gil to Donald’s north over the Labour Day weekend, attracting an incredible number of like-minded patrons to the popular dance corroboree. The ground trembled under those assembled; thousands of feet dancing to the heavy beat of music, provided by globally renowned DJs, with arms collectively raised to the open sky, intent on ascension into the Esoverse. 

Jenny Pollard. After four days of full-on activity, Charlton has surely earned a place in the spotlight for community endeavour as both a host and in partnership with the burgeoning OK Motels Contemporary Music and Arts Small Town Festival, which played out last weekend ... with the fun and innovative  activities like “Marry Your Friends – A Celebration of Holy Mate-rimony”...

Blake Lee. In just 15 days’ time, Birchip’s main street will become a vibrant, action packed site for locals and tourists alike as the community comes together to host the Mali Heart Street Art Festival. The March long weekend is set to be an eventful one for Birchip, with travellers from all across the state choosing to spend their weekend in the area to enjoy the hospitality and activities on offer with the locals.

Jenny Pollard. Two days after last Tuesday’s storm which created so much havoc across Victoria, it was hard not to be shocked by the damage Charlton sustained from just a few minutes of mother nature’s fury. On Thursday last week, the majority of visible wreckage from what appeared to have been a mini tornado, was the countless trees and massive tree limbs fallen on roadsides...

Jenny Pollard. While last Tuesday’s wild weather wrought havoc across much of Victoria, Charlton and neighbouring towns also felt the brunt of nature’s fury when a band of storms swept across the region. 

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank is calling on the Federal Government to quarantine regional Australia’s fair share of the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF). We would like to see 40 per cent of the HAFF directed to regional Australia to support population growth, address the regional housing crisis, and unlock the economic potential of Australia’s regional communities.