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A specialist CFA brigade has been called out to two incidents within a week, both involving the rescue of a dog from a mine shaft. Bendigo-based Oscar1 Brigade helped rescue Bruno the Bull-Arab on Sunday 5 December after he’d fallen down a mine shaft at Castlemaine Diggings National Park. Captain Daniel McMahon said it was quite unusual and surprising to receive another call less than six days later, this time to rescue Terry the Kelpie-cross from a mine shaft at Woodend.

Australian farmland returns continued to outperform, coming in at 12.72% in the 12 months to the end of September, boosted by very strong annual crop farmland numbers. According to the latest quarterly Australian Farmland Index compiled by the Asian Association for Investors in Non-Listed Real Estate Vehicles, income contributed 6.06% and appreciation return 6.38% to the result.

It was an exciting day for Moulamein as officials and locals celebrated the opening of the Moulamein Heritage Village. Situated on the corner of Cedar Avenue and Paterson Street, the former vacant land is now home to some of the district’s historical gems. Locals pursued a vision to construct the historical village for visitors and locals to enjoy with the added benefit of doubling as a venue space for events, weddings and music concerts.

With her brother John Bligh and Allan Michael, nine years ago Mary Bligh had her sights set on turning the Commercial into a true local pub with no pokies, “bloody good food” and live music featuring local talent. And she did.

Emma Pritchard. The delicious smell of sizzling sausages, fried eggs and fresh bread attracted a long queue of people to the 2GF and The Independent free breakfast in Grafton’s Market Square last week. One of the most popular events on the Jacaranda Festival program, the free breakfast is traditionally held on Jacaranda Thursday and serves plenty of community spirit, as well as yummy food.

Geoff Helisma. Last week, Clarence Valley Council (CVC) issued a media release stating that the Clarence Valley is amidst a building boom, based on development applications (DA) approved in the 2020/21 financial year. Clarence Valley Council’s director of environment and planning Adam Cameron said the upward trend had continued into the current financial year, with benefits being seen beyond the building industry.

Victorian Minister for Industry Support and Recovery, Martin Pakula congratulated Hanwha Defense Australia on its successful bid to deliver the Commonwealth’s LAND 8116 program in Victoria, strengthening the state’s defence capabilities and creating 300 highly skilled local jobs in design, engineering and manufacturing.

The Morrison Government has announced a $1 billion defence contract for new Self-Propelled Howitzers for the Australian Army has been awarded to Hanwha Defense Australia. The contract signing was witnessed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea. Based in Greater Geelong, the contract will procure Self-Propelled Howitzers and Armoured Ammunition Resupply Vehicles, under the LAND 8116 Phase 1 project.

The Museum of the Riverina is showcasing the link between artists and regenerative farmers in a new exhibition at the Museum’s Historic Council Chambers site. Earth Canvas touring exhibition explores the creative experiences of both regenerative farmers and artists, their respective engagement with the land, and their vision for a healthier world.

Warilla Bowls and Recreation Club have officially opened the Lagoon Street Bar + Dining Piazza, transforming the area into a modern and vibrant outdoor space. Fitted with two alfresco dining outlets, a cocktail bar and a children’s playground, Lagoon Street promises to offer a brand new dining experience for members and guests alike.

Jack Bradshaw. Exposing the hypocrisy of the WA government in banning sustainable timber harvesting in native forest but supporting the strip mining of the same forest.

Carbon Count has announced that its flagship soil carbon project management software has concluded its beta testing phase and is now available to soil carbon project managers across the globe ... the Australian owned and designed SaaS platform streamlines the entire process of running a soil carbon project into a clear and simple workflow; facilitating the trade of soil carbon credits for agricultural consultancies and their landholder clients.

The Limestone Coast Food and Agribusiness was officially launched at Farmer’s Leap ... The Limestone Coast is SA's most diverse food and beverage producing region, the only region in SA that grows and processes meat (beef and lamb), dairy, horticulture and grapes within the region, generating $1,123m of agricultural output, 18% of the State’s agricultural production from 2% of SA’s geographic area.

Founded and forged in the Victorian Goldfields, the Maldon Town Lamp has been perfectly recreated from the Victorian Gold Rush era, a time where most small towns made their own lamps locally and did so with limited resources.

A towering moving sculpture, light shows and late night trading in the heart of Castlemaine, lead Mount Alexander Shire Council’s invitation to residents to step out and celebrate the year’s end ... From Wednesday 8 December until Tuesday 4 January Taradale artist, Alex Sanson’s towering kinetic sculpture Spherophyte, will fold and unfold in hypnotic motion in Victory Park, Castlemaine.

Russell Healy. What a race. What a concept. What a result, the Maher Eustace trained Wil John powered over the top of Budd Fox after the gruelling 4600m contest to claim the fourth running of the Jericho Cup. Here at the farm, we cheered harder than most, having bred and sold both his dam and grand dam.

Yesterday representatives of the local soccer club, Lions Club and the CWA were each presented with $800 cheques from the IGA Community Chest to assist them with their activities, and all recipients were very thankful for the gift.

Sheryl Lowe. “So, you can imagine our dismay upon receiving a letter from Mr. Munivenkata Krishna Sunkappa Reddappa advising us that the rail trail has been funded and contracts let, asking us if we had any concerns. Surely it was a bit late in coming after years of design, funding applications and tenders and contracts finalised. Any concerns the affected ratepayers may have had should have been addressed long before now.”

US-backed agricultural investment firm Laguna Bay is selling the Woorndoo Aggregation broadacre cropping portfolio in Victoria’s Western District for about $70 million to two local farming families. It marks the next step in Laguna Bay’s selldown of its Australian assets, arriving one year after it offloaded Banongill Station, also in the Western District, for $80 million to a consortium of local farming families.