Michelle Dorian, Tarrangower Times

MANet Gallery is making its mark – in more ways than one – at its new location in 37 Main Street Maldon with a series of summer workshops. On Friday 6 February MANet hosted renowned portrait artist Daniel Butterworth for a demonstration over wine and cheese: it sounds awfully refined but in fact it was a lively and engaging chat …with bonus paint splatters.

In Maldon, it was a friendly gathering in the Shire Gardens with flags flying and snags frying, all thanks to volunteers and the Maldon RSL ... In Castlemaine, Dja Dja Wurrung Elder Uncle Rick Nelson welcomed a packed Town Hall with a traditional ceremony on ... 26 January before Council CEO Darren Fuzzard spoke about the day’s theme of ‘Reflect, Respect, Celebrate’.

On Friday 9 January, during a day with a Catastrophic Fire Rating, a grassfire started between 2 and 3pm at Fogartys Gap Road in Ravenswood and by 5pm it had crossed Calder Freeway. Emergency warnings to ‘Leave Immediately’ were issued at 7pm for Harcourt and areas to the east towards Sutton Grange. The fire burned through the Harcourt township and travelled up Mount Alexander/Leanganook.

Liberal member of Victoria's Legislative Council, the Hon Wendy Lovell, announced on Monday 5 January her decision to not contest the seat of Northern Victoria Region in the November State Election. The Northern Victoria Region is one of eight electoral regions in Victoria.

An intense and devastating storm hit Central Victoria on Saturday 13 December and cast a weird yellow light ... In Tarrengower, Anne-Maree McComb described the destruction: “It took out trees in a straight line over around 800 metres as well as the roof of our house, spreading debris over about 250 metres. We were watching two storm fronts colliding and a mini tornado circling in our back yard when our back verandah was ripped off, taking the whole roof of the house with it.”

Last week marked the International Day of People with Disability ... so it was fitting to consider how the design of a humble pedestrian crossing can make a difference to safety and accessibility.

The owner-operator of the Union Hill Gold Mine and nearby gold processing plant, Kaiser Reef Ltd, held an information session for Maldon residents ... to advise of current and future works planned for its Maldon sites. ... Kaiser Reef Ltd, which is listed on the ASX, has operated in Maldon since 2021 after an acquisition agreement with Golden River Resources Pty Ltd.

You’ve no doubt heard the phrase: ‘Shop Local’ but have you really thought about why it matters? As we head into the summer months and the festive time of year, there’s a lot of pressure to spend money on gifts, entertaining and looking our best; let’s be thoughtful about where and how we part with our hard-earned bucks. You don’t need to go very far to make a difference.

Joy Leneaux-Gale has the best rose garden in Maldon* and has been enjoying the full flush of colour over the past few weeks. She’s very humble when talking about it but she created it from scratch.

Gardeners are an optimistic bunch, aren’t they, dealing with unpredictable weather, temperamental plants and invaders of all sorts (weeds, insects, nosy photographers from the local newspaper). They know that with a bit of patience and perseverance, they will be rewarded with pleasant aromas and delightful displays of colour.