Tarrangower Times

Thanks go to Maldon resident Barry Murfett, who read last week’s article in the [Tarrangower] Times about a postcard (c. 1907) which pictures an early motorbike. Barry put the [Tarrangower] Times in touch with Greg Smith, the owner of an antique motorbike which is almost certainly the machine pictured on the old postcard.

Mark Blythe. Tomorrow (Saturday 2 March) at the Maldon Progress Hall you can attend the third biannual Maldon Classic Bike Show ... You will be privileged to see possibly the biggest and best display of classic pre-2000 road racing bikes anywhere in Australia.

Out now! Buy here!

An independent review appointed by the Minister for Local Government has released its final report on the electoral structure of the Shire of Mount Alexander Council. The electoral representation advisory panel recommends that Mount Alexander Shire adopt a single-councillor ward structure, with a total of eight councillors, eight wards and one councillor per ward.

Around a year ago Donna Murphy and Dave Rowe bought their house on the corner of Templeton and Adair Streets in Maldon. It’s an old-time shop-plus-residence building with bay windows either side of the front door – which they use regularly for displays commemorating significant days in the calendar year.

Fine art lovers rejoice - the Cascade Art Gallery re-opens next week ... The fine art gallery’s opening will be a boost for the town of Maldon, which has been feeling the pinch with the temporary closure of the Kangaroo hotel, the loss of a restaurant and the impending closure of Le Sel.

Out now! Buy here!

If you’re interested in the history of the goldfields, here’s an event not to be missed: the launch of historian Marjorie Theobald’s latest book The Goldfields Re-Imagined: Militant Miners, Miscreants and Poor Mary Anne ... Speaking to the [Tarrangower] Times about her book, Marjorie said that the most interesting period of Castlemaine’s history was the early goldfields days.

The Maldon footy ground is looking good and green, all 125 stallholder sites are booked out, good weather for the weekend was booked in advance, and around 3,500 visitors are eager to experience a warm Maldon welcome. Gates open to the public from 8am tomorrow (Saturday) to around 2pm Sunday for this weekend’s mighty Maldon Antique Fair.

Here’s a great story that ends in Maldon: Newstead resident Chris Simmins rescued a grotty-looking object from a skip in Campbells Creek, took it home, cleaned it up and discovered that he’d found a treasure. It was a wooden christening bowl with a hallmarked sterling silver rim and shield, dated 28 July 1908 and engraved with the name John Boys Ponder.  Who, Chris wondered, was John Boys Ponder?