A delightful new addition to Kaniva's streets is soon to capture the hearts of residents and visitors alike. Meet Gummy, a charming children's sheep brought to life by the artistic talents of Heather Wallis, Sally Hicks and Jeanette Feder.
The Notaras family is honoured that the Saraton Theatre and its pioneers Jack and Tony Notaras have been recognised. It is an incredible recognition of the living history of the Saraton Theatre and celebrates the contribution of Greek migration to the regions more broadly.
In Spanish, Reposado means ‘calm or peaceful rest’, but being shipwrecked could hardly be described as a ‘peaceful’ event ... It was an inglorious end to a top-end boat that had begun life as the Taconite, a luxury motor cruiser commissioned by Bill Boeing, the founder of the Boeing Aircraft Company.
Until the crowds gathered for the unveiling of the memorial to explorer, Sir Paul Edmund Strzelecki, nobody could have guessed the treat that was in store ... His Excellency Ambassador of Poland, Professor Maciej Chmielinkski, along with Towong Mayor, Cr Andrew Whitehead, unveiled the memorial on Towong Hill Road
Fond memories were rekindled recently at a reunion of Denmark’s John Clark Memorial Band, which officially marked the band’s 60th anniversary ... WA’s longest running public school band has undergone a resurgence in recent years and now has 70 students from the Denmark Primary and Senior High Schools.
John Williams. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the growing of wheat and its conversion to flour had become major industries in the colony of Victoria. Steam-driven mills were set up in major cereal-growing areas and Nhill’s future prosperity was built upon the growing of wheat and the establishment of a steam grinding mill.
Well-known local artists Kerry and Malcolm Nicholson have taken out the top award at Sheffield’s International Mural Fest 2023 held this month in Tasmania. Kerry and Malcolm won the Inder Prize People’s Choice Award with their mural "The Spirit of Adventure".
Kerry Cain. Local Judy Streeter has waited 12 years for her Gymea Lily to bloom. When Judy purchased the lily, she was told it would never grow in Maldon.
Chris Johnston. Announcing the launch of our new membership program, everyone is invited to come along to the Newstead Arts Hub ... Newstead Arts Hub Inc is a vibrant creative space run by our community for you – locals, artists and visitors – and located in our historic train station.
Back in July, David Walsh of Stringline Retaining Walls in Ferntree Gully was visiting the Maldon Vintage Machinery & Museum. After seeing the vintage cars on display there, he started to talk about a 1926 Essex Tourer...
Once again “Big Red”, Birchip’s famous Mallee Bull, adorns the cover of the annual calendar, prepared for his yearly trip to places and countries around the world, while showing off the many aspects of life in Birchip and district.
The Boyeo hall celebrated its 100 Year celebration Sunday with a fantastic crowd coming together to reminisce about the heydays at Boyeo ... The guests of honour for the day were Joyce Borgelt, Val Maynard and Geoff Eastick.
Last week the Warwick Vintage Veteran Vehicle Club journeyed to Allora to the delight of the locals. Gathering beside the Allora Golf Course the dozen or so cars made quite a picture.
October 6th marked the 150th anniversary of the death of a remarkable man in Paul Edmund de Strzelecki - scientist, explorer, geographer, writer, humanist and an all-round ‘universal man’ of his time ... He is recognised as the first known European to ascend Mount Kosciuszko and his feat will be celebrated in Corryong this weekend.
GrainGrowers has announced the winners of its annual Calendar Competition which provides Australian grain growers the opportunity to showcase the beauty of farm life through photography. This year, a significant number of high-quality entries were submitted from across the country.
Picture this: a solitary heron foraging in the muted, autumnal half-light of dawn. Or an ethereal gull hovering motionless in mid air. Or a lonely stone-curlew gazing wistfully into the artificial lights of a forbidden destination. These and more are the winning entries of the sixth annual BirdLife Australia Bird Photography Awards, which have just been announced.
Riverlinks and Melbourne Chamber Orchestra (MCO) present Of People and Song featuring Lior. The ARIA award-winner is set to make his debut with the MCO and his performance will feature a major new song cycle celebrating centuries-old sung traditions and folk melodies.
This December, RADIANCE illuminates the Rockhampton Botanic Gardens ... Rockhampton Regional Council Mayor Tony Williams said RADIANCE is an event the whole family can enjoy as the Botanic Gardens awaken nightly with a spectacular Christmas-themed sound and light experience.
Patrick Goldsmith. Warooka's art will come alive when augmented reality takes a hold of a new art project called Moving Murals, next year. Through the project, augmented reality enabled murals will be painted on easily accessible walls and structures in Warooka and further south, in a bid to extend the growth of regional art tourism trails on southern Yorke Peninsula and attract people to the town.
As he prepares to share Flow, a contemporary and ancient First Nations story about rediscovering culture and identity while utilising the beauty of the Clarence River with his friends and family in the audience for the first time on Yaegl Country, writer and performer Mitch King, a proud Yaegl and Bundjalung man, said he feels incredibly privileged.
Through the lens of the Allora Photography Club. Now showing at the Warwick Art Gallery, the exhibition will run until 2 December. This exhibition is a reflection of the group’s work to showcase the individuality, perspective and interpretation in various topics of photography.
Nancy Whittaker. Have you seen Tracey Koolen’s amazing ceramics? If not, you need to do so when she opens her Koolclay Art Studio for the Australian Ceramics Open Studios 2023 ... the Central Victorian Potters Clay Trail is a chance to visit 17 regional studios and peek behind the scenes into the working lives of the artists.
Honor Auchinleck. The Man From Snowy River Bush Festival Elyne Mitchell Photo Story Awards hopes that you will find great pleasure in creating your entries for the 2024 Awards ... Elyne was a great admirer of A B (‘Banjo’) Paterson. As she was the inaugural Patron of the Bush Festival, it seems fitting that we use a theme that complements both Elyne’s and Banjo’s legacies.
Spaghetti Circus have been on a very special tour. As part of the company’s outreach program their Junior Performance Troupe performed in five pre-schools and four aged care facilities across the Byron Shire last week to foster connection and joy across generations.
The Allora mural designs have been completed and are ready for the Allora community to vote on the winning design. Artists Jordan and Steve have supplied an explanation on each of the designs and have taken on board the ideas so generously shared by the Allora community.
The stunning beauty of Grafton’s famous jacaranda trees is being captured forever on canvas by internationally acclaimed South Korean artist Kim Chang Han, who is visiting the Clarence Valley for the 2023 Grafton Jacaranda Festival … Mr Han said painting is one of his greatest enjoyments in life…
After the wintery "wash-out" of the 2022 Garden Walk, the Nhill Lions Club members were ever hopeful for a fine sunny day this year for their Annual Garden Walk. Their wishes were certainly granted as the sunshine and magnificent blue skies greeted everyone from early morning, last Sunday, right throughout the day.
In the 2023 Warwick Garden Competition Lynn Close at Roseneath Cottage at Allora was awarded 2nd place for her Large Home Garden and 2nd place for her magnificent roses.
Adair Dunsford. A French oil painting which is part of the Naracoorte Regional Art Gallery’s permanent collection has been cleaned and restored. The picture, entitled Marche aux Fleurs or Flower Market by Edouard Cortes has been brought back to life through a grant from mining company, Australian Rare Earths.
The Maldon Folk Festival returns this weekend, with a sensational program that features performers from across Australia, the US and England ... Where to start?! Let’s begin with Gina Jefferey, who must surely be one of the queens of country music.
The 100-year celebrations for the PS Alexander Arbuthnot (AA) delighted the masses on Friday night … PS Alexander Arbuthnot was named after the former owner of the Arbuthnot Sawmills at Koondrook – Alexander ‘Squire’ James Cooke Arbuthnot. His father, Alexander ‘Sandy’ Arbuthnot was the founder of the sawmill.
Wayne Krause. The family would like to thank Chappie and Sharon for being here and for Chappie taking the service. Les specifically asked if Chappie could do this a couple of years ago because of his personal friendship with Chappie and the impact Chappie had on the Island Les loved ... Leslie Allen King was born in Petersham, NSW, on 30 August 1921, the only son of Norm and Maggie King.
At the AGM of the Lord Howe Island Historical Society and Museum on October 18th, President, Robyn Warner, stepped down after twenty years in the role. Robyn has been an enthusiastic and effective leader at the Museum and, during her time, has overseen many improvements to the building and displays. Robyn’s report from the AGM is reproduced here.
The Festival of Small Halls stopped in at Pilton Soldiers Memorial Hall, performing in front of a big crowd. Lee ann Weekes from down the road at West Haldon opened the show. She was followed by Brisbane-based cellist Monique Clare and Canadian musician Shane Pendergast.
Travelling singer-songwriter Josh Arnold visited Nobby State School last week to help finalise the new school song with the assistance of the students, who helped encapsulate what the school is all about ... Josh said it was important for the students to incorporate the village of Nobby into the lyrics.
Serena Kirby. Photographer Nic Duncan recently collected the best portrait print award and the Izzy Orloff award for overall best portrait in WA’s 2023 Pro Photography competition. The winning image for both awards was of Denmark man Andre Steyl who Nic said had been one of her all time favourite faces to photograph.
If you’re interested in Celtic music, here’s an event not to be missed: the Celtic Piping Club is hosting an event at the Ray Bradfield Room in Castlemaine on Saturday 4 November, starting at 8pm. Internationally acclaimed duo Colm Broderick on uilleannn pipes and Francis Cunningham on concertina will be performing.
Adrian Callinan and Kathleen Purcell met each other at a football game in Melbourne in 1946. Kathleen had several suitors lining up to woo her, but she fell for Adrian, a dashing flyboy just back from the war.
The therapeutic value of a wander in the garden can hardly be overestimated. The exploration, the changes, the delights and other minutiae which are observed in our cultivated spaces triggers a sense of well-being which promotes feelings of satisfaction and enjoyment.
The QCWA State Exhibition of Creative & Practical Arts (Expo) is taking place on Saturday and Sunday, 28 and 29 October at St Saviour’s Hall in Toowoomba ... A QCWA spokesperson said the Expo will showcase the talents and versatility of QCWA members and friends and will also present to the public a diverse range of local artisans.
Organisers of the all-new Bundanoon Folk Festival this November 24-26 say it’s heart-warming to see the village community rally to lend their time and skills to bring the Festival to life ... The vision is to build an annual Folk Festival unique to Bundanoon, that connects and showcases the village, supports local businesses, and creates gigs for regional artists along with crowd-pleasing national talent. Among fun live performances will be music, song and spoken word.
The exhibition is of Orthodox icons and includes pieces from eleven Australian collections, including six public institutions: Mona, Art Gallery of Ballarat, Art Gallery of South Australia, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, the University of Sydney, and the Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology, Caboolture. Contributions from private collectors come from Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney, and London ... This exhibition is the most significant collection of Orthodox icons presented in Australia that can be recalled ... The overall effect is surely one of surprise for the uninitiated and awe inspiring for the person who understands the genre.
The Corryong Historic Machinery Club is welcoming returning participants, visitors and locals to its 2023 Rally this weekend; the first event since 2019 following the ‘Black Summer’ bushfires, the pandemic and a ‘big wet’.
Karin Donaldson asked well-known artist and teacher Uncle Eddy Harris how his life as an artist developed ... " In 1988, I started painting lizards and turtles on sandshoes. People who were interested in Aboriginal people and our practices were interested in what I was doing and they started buying them."
In the realm of artistic expression, Linda Gallus stands as a luminary whose work transcends conventional boundaries, inviting audiences to perceive the world through her unique lens ... In a style reminiscent of the iconic Sydney Nolan, Gallus seeks to weave elements of mystique and unpredictability into her art.
The planned Gardens of the Downs tour for Greenmount and Vale View has been altered due to the lack of rain. The three gardens at Greenmount will no longer be open for viewing, although the garden of Tonia and Paul Grundy at Vale View will still be open ... Ponder life next to the raked dry garden bed or delight in the small waterfall and stream that flows to a scenic pond with water lilies in bloom.
The delightful country garden at St Mary’s Vineyard with its hundreds of roses and many dry-stone walls is a fitting location for the annual Limestone Coast Plant and Trade Fair ... Over the years plants and bulbs suitable for the soil and climate have been planted and now hundreds of roses, bulbs, iris, hardy perennials, trees and shrubs surround the classic homestead and outbuildings, adding colour and texture throughout the year.
Kim & Peter Gibson. Nhill Lions Club's annual garden walk is fast approaching, with gardens open in Nhill and District ... Several gardens this year are country gardens as well, but a fantastic add-on offered this year includes a free courtesy bus to visit the country gardens open ... Werona -What was once a paddock became the Muller’s home and garden in 2015.
Corryong College teacher, Stephen Learmonth ... has undertaken his own project to record the biographies of other servicemen from the region and the Corryong Courier will be printing a selection of these stories in the lead up to Remembrance Day this year on November 11 ... Frank Leslie Butler was born on the 13th of April, 1919 at Tallangatta, Victoria.
Gale force winds, icebergs and sheer mind-numbing monotony ... for a few thousand of Australia’s WWI servicemen, this was their war. An endless round of escort and blockading with the ever-present threat of a torpedo from underneath. I am of course referring to those clean-cut young men from the Royal Australian Navy.
Talented local singer and songwriter Lee ann Weekes has released her first single and it has already brought her some success. Lee ann lives at West Haldon and her first single, Don’t Talk to Strangers is a song she wrote paying tribute to the beauty of her aunt’s unconditional love for her husband (Lee ann’s uncle), who courageously battled the effects of dementia before his passing in 2022.
Castlemaine Theatre Company is bringing Under Milk Wood to the stage, and the production features a significant Maldon contingent. Set in a seaside town and written by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, it features glimpses into the dreams and lives of various eccentric townsfolk.
Horsham Arts Council’s upcoming production of American Idiot is sure to be a crowd-pleaser with a look back into the angst of the early 2000s in America. This rock opera is based on band Green Day’s popular album, American Idiot.
We have just confirmed that acclaimed Sydney-based wildlife photographer Leila Jeffreys will be visiting Ballarat later this month for the launch of her work on the new Art Screen in Alfred Deakin Place. Join her as she discusses her career and experiences working with birds with Gallery Curator Julie McLaren.
Excitement is building for this year’s Dunolly Gold Rush Festival to be held on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 October. The weekend will kick off on Saturday 21 October with the Dunolly Gold Rush Music Festival ... There will be a variety of stalls, prizes, great music in the Rotunda, the favourite “Hold the Gold” competition, Festival merchandise sales, displays of classic cars ...
The red dust at Barellan is a long way from the sparkling water of a pool but former Olympic swimming champion Shane Gould was taking a keen interest in the sound of a single furrow plough slicing through the clay at the Barellan Good Old Days Festival at the weekend ... She was a keen spectator at the single furrow ploughing completion on Sunday at Barellan, drawing heavy horse and bullock teams.
Known as the biggest gathering of teamsters in the nation, the 2023 Good Old Days Festival drew 6000 visitors for the unique working heritage display of blade shearing, chaff cutting, harvesting, ploughing, log snigging, log obstacle course, shoeing, blacksmithing, butter churning, Furphy rebarrelling, working yard dogs, whip cracking, dog jumping, billy boiling and the Australia Light Horse display.
Spotlight on Byron – a long-standing highlight of the Byron Bay Film Festival – hails the work of Northern Rivers filmmakers in a showcase of nine films to be screened at the iconic Brunswick Picture House. The diverse talent on display never fails to amaze BBFF’s audiences, and Spotlight on Byron provides an opportunity for filmmakers to have their work shown on the big screen for friends, family, and the whole community.
The Wallaby Creek Festival 2023, held from September 22 to 24 at Shipton’s Flat Road in Rossville, Tropical North Queensland, proved to be an overwhelming success, marking its 21st anniversary in grand style. Festival Director Jen Midgely expressed her delight, saying, “This year’s Wallaby Creek Festival has been a phenomenal celebration of music, art, and community.
Charlton Arts is in the final stages of preparations for its inaugural Art and Photography Exhibition on the weekend of October 13 to 16.Formally run by the Charlton Rotary Club, the members of Charlton Arts are excited to continue this popular annual event.
Australian Geographic has announced the release of ‘Silo Art, Australia's Outdoor Art Revolution’, a visually stunning book that pays tribute to Australia’s silo art phenomenon and chronicles the transformation of Australia into an expansive outdoor art gallery. It features a comprehensive map detailing each silo, silo owner, and silo artist across Australia and locations of the street art, festivals, murals, and water tower art featured in the book.
The cover of the newly released Maldon Museum 2024 calendar is a photograph of a beautiful watercolour of the Beehive Mine by David Relph Drape ... The Maldon Museum has a unique photograph collection and the calendar has a distinctive photograph of Maldon for each month.
Narrandera hosted the Annual Big Country Hoedown Line Dance Competitions recently at the Narrandera Ex-servicemen’s Club, which is one of the event’s major sponsors since it transferred to Narrandera in 2017. These annual events started off with a fabulous Welcome Social at the Exies.
Ted Cavanagh. Following the Church Service at St Pat’s the Cavanagh families moved into the grounds of the School for photos and lunch. St Patrick’s brought back many memories for the Cavanagh children who attended the School over the years.
With three captivating seasons firmly under its belt, full of candid stories from farmers and rural locals across the Wimmera and Southern Mallee, a new season of podcast series ‘Farmer Wants a Healthy Life’ is here.
