Arts

The last of four largescale artwork pieces was installed at Towong ... as part of Stage 2 of the Great River Road touring route project. The newest sculpture depicts two brolgas in a Brolgas return to Towong courtship dance on the Towong Walking Trail.

In the opening sequence we’re told by the central character, played by Anna Torv: “Everything up here is trying to kill you.” Not long after we see an already injured man getting mauled to death by a pack of feral dogs … That’s the start of the Netflix series Territory into which the NT Government has sunk $1.3m of taxpayers’ money and on the back of which our tourism promoters want to boost the industry, currently running at half its normal speed.

Cameras flashed and joyful chatter emerged as stall holders and visitors at the Chelmsford Night Markets turned their eyes towards the brand new water tower projection art illuminating the town square for the first time ... The virtual artwork, which is brought to life through state-of-the-art projection technology, pays tribute to Walter Burley Griffin’s design...

Over 400 people enjoyed local theatre at its best on the weekend as they watched The Emperor’s New Clothes performed by the Piggery Lane Players. A big shout out goes to director, Will Lynch, and assistant director, Karen Shurdington, along with the talented cast and skilled crew as they brought this classic folktale to life.

Local farmer Jim “Spud” Hepworth, a Litchfield, Watchem and Donald stalwart and fourth generation cereal and sheep, farmer has starred in a short film that has gone viral overnight. The video, released ... by a local group called Farms For Food, has had over 69,000 views in 24 hours. Mr Hepworth spoke about the community impact that changes such as mineral sand mining and new transmission lines have had in his region.

Gingin volunteer firefighter and councillor Nikki Wood’s photo "We Work Together as One" is a state winner in the Resilient Australia awards. Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said the stirring image visually captured the joint response from firefighters, police, paramedics and the RAC rescue helicopter at a crash in Gingin.

What do a pair of rugged hands inspecting barley, the symmetry of harvesting and the uncomplicated mateship of farmers and their dogs all have in common? The three subjects were covered by the winners in the GrainGrowers annual Calendar Competition announced today.   

It’s a time of major events: Donald Trump has again been elected President of the USA and its biggest foreign spy base Pine Gap features in the movie Twilight Time to be screened in Alice Springs ... For decades “the base” has been described as a prime nuclear target. Does that worry the town? Apparently not.

Over the Melbourne Cup Weekend the Birchip Community Leisure Centre was transformed into a vibrant gallery space, featuring an impressive range of two hundred and twenty pieces of artwork and sculptures from almost sixty artists from around Australia. The biennial event brought together the Birchip P-12 school community, residents, ex-residents, families, artists and visitors…

Tania Cheung. Ten-year old Jack Warburton’s love of nature and mountain biking inspired an award-winning short story about two brothers who ride from Albany Skate Park to the Olympics. The year four Denmark Primary School student was placed third in the middle primary division of the Craig Silvey Award for Young Writers.

At the 2024 annual general meeting of the Man from Snowy River Tourism Association (MFSRTA), president Ros McKenzie presented her report of its activities over the past 12 months ... "Our projects are funded from profits from the sale of souvenir items at the Corryong Visitor Information Centre and in the last few years we have also been successful with funding from a number of grants. Ongoing projects of the association are..."

...Windmill Stitchers of Kaniva held their 11th Biennial Exhibition in the Kaniva Shire Hall ... The Stitchers first held an exhibition 20 years ago in 2004. Over the two days of the exhibition, people came from all over the district, surrounding towns and further afield, along with several travellers, to admire the beautiful quilts on display...

The History Society has received a copy of a book "Mining Towns and Schools in Outback NSW’, "dedicated to the men, women and children who endured tremendous social and physical hardships in outback NSW during the 1800’s and first half of the 1900’s". Author John Selwood compiled the book after a 40 year teaching career, which started at a one teacher school at Afterlee…

White Cliffs artist Jenny Hayes is getting close to the finish of the mural on the long side wall of the White Cliffs Hotel. Jenny said it took a long while to gather the material for the design, relying on family and local residents memories, old papers and historical documents along with research into the variety of dinosaurs that once inhabited this region.

They put their right feet, left feet, right arms, left arms, heads, knees, shoulders, elbows, and bottoms in, and they shook them all about, they did the Hokey Pokey and they turned around, and that’s what it was all about as hundreds of participants attempted to set a new record for the biggest Hokey Pokey in Australian history during the 2024 Grafton Jacaranda Festival.

Shades of Gray is a magical, metal garden wonderland that is only open for a few weeks each year ... at the intersection of Farnsworth and Brown Streets in Castlemaine … a detailed and quirky ‘Chook House’ filled to the rafters (literally) with metal chickens. “This will break the internet!” he laughed, posing beside Romeo the rooster.

In some exciting news for live music fans, Boort singing sensation Elias Lanyon will be a special guest at the 2024 Elders Mt. Wycheproof Cup Day this weekend to perform the National Anthem prior to the staging of the Elders Mt. Wycheproof Cup.

Nancy Whittaker. Liadaan has created a magical garden just down the road from the Maldon CBD ... Within the garden there is an outdoor gallery full of trailing plants in hanging baskets, ceramics and mixed media sculptures, together with oil on linen paintings of flowers and fruit. Just in time to complement the Festival of Gardens.

The story of an American father and his two sons who swam Australia’s longest river, the Murray, is now available for streaming in Australia ... ‘Take Your Dream’ was made by the Helmick family ... The film features their 120-day swim down the Murray from Corryong, through Lake Hume and Lake Alexandrina, eventually ending at the mouth of the river in Goolwa, South Australia.

Students at Leitchville Preschool have a new art installation to admire, and it’s one they can be proud to say they have been a part of ... Tobie Cameron, a Kalkatungu man, was commissioned to paint the artwork, and visited the preschool to discuss the concept, design and process with students and staff, and to guide them through their involvement.

The Kaniva and District Progress Association’s Wiregrass Heritage Trail project is progressing well, combining art, history, and community input to bring Australian social history to life. The project launched in July 2023 with an initial community meeting to gather local input, followed by the start of video storytelling, capturing the community’s connection to the trail’s history.

Daniel Puentes. We may all march to the beat of our own drums, but this day showed just how well those drums fit together, and how community comes from the harmony of us all. From the moment I arrived at the festival held at Donald’s Memorial Park to the minute I left, this event left me filled with community spirit.