Vic

Last Saturday’s Castlemaine Emergency Expo at Castlemaine’s Camp Reserve was a runaway success, with over 30 organisations on the ground giving information and advice on how best to prepare for an emergency. It was a family day out, with many children enjoying the chance to enjoy a range of activities on offer - as well as the opportunity to get up close and personal with big trucks and men and women in interesting uniforms.

When you’re at the Maldon & Baringhup Agricultural Show this Sunday, you’ll see local farmer Bill McKnight quietly going about his business as ringmaster: he’s in charge of the horse events. It’s not an easy job, with 100 to 140 horses competing in a range of events. At the age of 87, is Bill the oldest ringmaster in Australia?

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Community members have been left flabbergasted and frustrated at government agencies who threatened prosecution over repairing flood banks which have protected local properties throughout previous high rivers. Community members were told “expect to be flooded if you live on a floodplain” by the same authority that wants to build a flood bank to deliver environmental water to artificially flood the bush.

Kirstin Nicholson. Ros Dwyer likes to think of herself as a social historian. She has been collecting clothes, accessories, memorabilia and ephemera for longer than she realises – and it’s all on display for you to soak in the memories alongside Ros. The Cohuna Art and Craft Gallery has opened its latest exhibition, ‘One Woman’s Collection’ featuring a portion of Ros’s collection.

Murray-Darling Basin Water Ministers met on Ngunnawal Country (Canberra) to discuss the next steps to deliver the Basin Plan, delivery of water market reforms, the impacts of climate change on water resources, and opportunities to strengthen First Nations' role in water management and ownership. Most of the Murray–Darling Basin is the wettest it’s been in a long time.

The Moulamein Bowling Club hosted a Gourmet Fare on Saturday, October 8. This was the second event, the first was held during a short reprieve in the Covid-19 clamp down. The government rules of being allowed to stand but not sit, as apparently Covid-19 knew the difference, was a distant memory.

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The Murray River Group of Councils has welcomed an updated report from Frontier Economics and Tim Cummins and Associates which clearly shows the impact of Basin Plan water recovery on communities across Northern Victoria. As water Ministers prepare to meet to discuss the Basin Plan, this timely report puts the focus where it needs to be: on the people who live and work in the Basin.

The GMA is conducting the annual helicopter survey across Victoria to monitor the abundance of game duck populations, to help improve our knowledge of waterfowl ecology. The aerial survey will be conducted by experienced wildlife biologists recording the presence, species and number of game ducks on waterbodies across Victoria.

Time traveller  provides a glimpse into Murray Walker’s vast output of collage and assemblage sculpture over the past 40 years. Born in Ballarat in 1937, Walker has worked in diverse media including painting, printmaking, ceramics and tapestry design. ...with limited access to a studio, he began creating collages to diarise his travels.

The Victorian Farmers Federation’s United Dairy Farmers of Victoria (VFF UDV) says Northern Victoria’s dairy industry would be further damaged by water buybacks and the recovery of the 450GL up-water target ahead of this week’s meeting of State and Federal Water Ministers to discuss the Murray Darling Basin Plan. VFF UDV President Mark Billing said the group strongly opposed the recovery of the 450GL saying it would lead to losses in dairy production and local jobs.

Forty years ago, south eastern Australia was in the middle of a prolonged drought and facing a perilous bushfire season. A new e-book by retired Victorian forester, Peter McHugh, provides a detailed account of the 1982-83 bushfire season from a new perspective ... It was a long and hectic fire season for the Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) which attended 878 fires on State forests and National Parks totalling 486,030 ha, which was well above the 11-year average of 141,000 ha.

Kim Woods. Retired station cook and fruit picker Di Looker has battled her way through flood water to make a two and a half month trip from Bendigo to Barellan in a horse drawn drover’s cart. Di, of Lockwood, Victoria, with her Blue Heeler Rhonda and Jack Russell cross, China, has made the trip in an old drover’s cart pulled by her nine-year-old Clydesdale Harry.

Chris Oldfield. A Koppamurra Landholder Reference Group (KLRG) has been formed by Australian Rare Earths as it takes another step towards developing a mining lease application ... The aim of the landholder reference group is to share information and seek feedback on the Koppamurra project.

A former scientist with the State Electricity Commission, the Latrobe Valley’s Ray Burgess, has scathingly attacked AGL’s plan to close Loy Yang A station by 2035, calling it “fairyland thinking” ... Mr Burgess said if a low carbon society was mandated by the voting public, “then we need to seriously be considering a nuclear future, and quickly”.

…where was the wind when you need it most? The sailing season got off to a good start out at Cairn Curran last weekend, with sunny weather and a lake brimming with water. As one Cairn Curran Yacht Club member commented, “A beautiful day for everything except sailing.

Year 7 student Francis Walls was thrilled when his photograph of the family dog (known simply as ‘Pup’) won second prize at last week’s Royal Melbourne Show. The action shot - of Pup springing into action to fetch a stick - is a ripper. Believe it or not, it was taken on his Mum’s phone, not on an expensive camera. Now that’s talent!    

You may have seen a bunch of military-style vehicles tooling around Maldon on the weekend. The cars in question are Austin Champs, a British army jeep-like vehicle that was manufactured in the 1950s.

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