Event

Honor Auchinleck. Timing and circumstances ensure some wartime tragedies are more defining than others and so it was with Malcolm Chisholm. He was the first Australian to die and the first of some 60,000 Australians who lost their lives on the First World War battlefields. His death has resonated through more than a century and well beyond the Upper Murray.

Orienteering in Dorrigo, 2 April 2023

Local residents are encouraged to come along to Echuca Library this Saturday for the annual Echuca Moama Discovery Day. The event will showcase over 50 groups from Echuca Moama and surrounds, ranging from local service and sporting clubs, to singing, art, craft, history groups and many other community organisations.

Wet weather may have forced a last-minute venue change, but it was raining talent at the Maclean Bowling Club on March 25 as singers and songwriters from across the region stepped onto the stage and let their vocals and instrumental skills shine during local music festival Clarence Tunes ... A star-studded line up including Isla and Bella, Waiting For Alex, Olivia Hinde, and Kirra Hallam, earned repeated rounds of applause from an appreciative audience, who described the performers as “outstanding”, “awesome”, and “amazing.”

From Saturday 25th March Horsham Regional Art Gallery invites the community to celebrate up and coming Spanish born, Ararat-based artist Juana Beltran in her transformative reflection of her time in the Australian desert. Formed from the desert plains, the human-like figures which form the body of work in the exhibition project shadows that represent a reflection of our other selves.

Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) has confirmed an impeccable line up of 15 Indigenous fashion designers and wearable art makers from across Queensland whose collective response to the 2023 theme ‘Woven’ will tell a powerful story marking 10 years of fashion performances.

Last week, Harmony celebrations all over Australia reminded us that everyone is different, everyone belongs and we all bring something unique to our communities.

Imagine this: One cricket match was played, each team faced just 20 overs, 36 sixes and 41 fours were scored, the game finished in a draw at 259 runs apiece, and the royal Children’s Hospital will benefit by almost $50,000.

A new exhibition showcasing works by artists with disability will open in Alice Springs on Saturday, 25 March. Strong Feelings, which will take place at Red Hot Arts, includes a mixture of portraiture and storytelling, using costume, digital art, song, soundscapes, video and photography.

The supreme led Welsh exhibit overall for the second year in a row at the NSW All Welsh Show was the Welsh Mountain Pony stallion Waxwing Passport ... Passport also completed the hat trick by winning supreme ridden Welsh exhibit of the show, following on from the same win at both the Victorian and South Australian All Welsh shows this season.

Professional dog breeder Kay Humphry has started 2023 on a high. Kay headed to Rochester with her precious cargo of three Golden Retrievers, Bonnie, Adel and Regina, to the first Rochester Show in three years – held off from two years of Covid-19 and the recent flood event.

“I just like to depict life,” said artist Brian Williams as we discussed his upcoming Cohuna art exhibition ... From landscapes to seascapes, Brian’s work captures the beauty of the Australian environment, the animals and people.

The heat was on at the Ardlethan Picnic Races on Saturday and trainer, Connie Greig, was on fire with a trifecta in the Cup. The brilliant team of Greig and jockey Leandro Ribeiro saw Valadyum cross the line of the 1600m Nutrien Ag Solutions Ardlethan Picnic Race Cup, half a length in front of Inzagh ridden by Breanna Bourke, and Merdeka, ridden by Sally Faulks, both also trained by Connie Greig.

Last weekend the weather was hot but perfect for the tough breed of Heavy Horses at the Allora Showground. This being the second year of running the Darling Downs Heavy Horse Festival over two full days. Organisers were thrilled with the crowd of around 5,000 through the gates with Saturday being a huge day.

Wimmera grain growers have an opportunity to directly contribute ideas and raise local issues to help the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) invest in locally relevant research, development and extension (RD&E) at upcoming forums. As part of GRDC’s National Grower Network (NGN), grower forums will be held at Goroke, Wallup, Rupanyup, Toolondo and Kaniva from 27 to 30 March, 2023.

Bunyip and District Agricultural Society Inc. Bunyip Show

The Labour Day long weekend saw the Birchip community celebrating its many talents and services at the Mali Heart Festival, as the most recent Mali Heart Art piece nears completion on the Historical Society wall.

The 2023 Bundarra Show with Ute Muster, She'll Be Right Demolition Derby and Arena Sorting was a great success!

Tomingley Picnic Races, 1 April 2023

To be more precise, the two young ladies, both nineteen, are from Furstenfeldbruck, within the Munich (now Munchen) area of Germany. In their Travellers Autobarn camper van, they have motored down Australia’s east coast, arriving at the Donald caravan park in time for the out-of-town Esoteric Festival.

The jingle of chains, the sparkle of big, turning wheels and the steady clop of hooves made the Victorian Tradesmen and Delivery Horse Group show a real pleasure. The group is dedicated to preserving the history and authenticity of the heritage of traditional commercial horse drawn vehicles in Australia by continuing to hold shows at regional agriculture shows throughout Victoria.

Treasured Australian singer-songwriter and Maldon local Mandy Connell is the face behind a monthly mini-festival at the Kangaroo Hotel in Maldon. The event, called Goldfields Folk & Roots: Roo Fest, offers a curated afternoon of folk and roots music celebrating local and invited musicians.