Hi everyone,
The year continues to fly by, and the last couple of months seem to have been particularly busy!
My kids and I enjoyed a full and fun school holidays, and spent a lot of time out and about, enjoying the shire.
Special shout out to Aurora and Odessa for the patience and bravery they’ve shown during the many events they’ve attended with me lately – they’re support and flexibility makes everything just a bit easier. Second shout out to our incredible community and all that people do to organise and run events in our shire.
The last few months have been a real testament to the diversity, energy, passion, compassion and generosity that exists in our community, and truly makes our shire a special place to live.
I’ve been part of so many wonderful events, workshops and projects over the past two months that it’s hard for me to pick just a few to share, but I’ll do my best.
Way back at the beginning of March, Council invited student representatives from each primary school in the shire to a workshop to inform our new Middle Years Plan. Students from nine schools attended, as well as kids from our home-schooling community, and we spent a lovely few hours in the Council Chamber, looking at themes that had emerged from our community consultation, and brainstorming ideas on practical ways to address them. As always, I was blown away by the creativity, compassion, and wisdom demonstrated by our young people.
I attended the Taradale Mineral Spring Festival and was impressed by the amount of people, stalls and things to do!
On the same day, I attended Autopia, an annual event run by Autoplex, and was thrilled to judge the Mayor’s Choice category in the model auto show.
Councillor Driscoll, Councillor Henderson, and I visited Gem Pier in Williamstown to take a tour of the historic ship, HMAS Castlemaine. The corvette has been managed by volunteers from the Maritime Trust of Australia since 1976, and they have done an incredible job of restoring the ship and turning it into a maritime museum. The volunteers were very generous with their time and knowledge – I learnt a lot and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. The HMAS Castlemaine is open every weekend and on public holidays – it’s well worth a visit!
I was lucky enough to attend both the launch of the Castlemaine Fringe Festival and the launch of the Castlemaine State Festival. Both were wonderful celebrations of community, culture, and connection – it’s always great to see people dancing in the street and gathering together to share the festival-spirit.
One weekend in late March, I had the pleasure of attending two vastly different events: one, an exhibition of embroidery and textile art from members of the Castlemaine branch of the Embroiderers Guild, Victoria, and the other, a gathering of historic and vintage vehicles, thrown by the Guildford Grumpies car club. Though strikingly different, both events comprised people who have great enthusiasm for their passion and get a lot of joy from being able to share it.
Another fantastic event I was invited to was the launch of Castlemaine Cycle Safe and Cycling Without Age’s new trishaw (three-wheeled rickshaw). The trishaw is driven by a trained pilot, and can carry two people at a time. The aim is to help those with mobility issues, particularly older people, get out and about in a fun and social way. I was taken on a lovely ride around Victory Park and definitely felt like I was travelling in style.
The weekend before last, I attended the opening celebration of the Bromley Collection Museum, housed within the historic Old Castlemaine Gaol. I don’t want to ruin the surprise for people keen to experience it themselves, so I’ll just say…WOW! I worked my first job at the Old Gaol in my teens, and have spent an awful lot of time there. I have never seen it looking the way it does now – it is a pretty incredible experience.
Later that day, I attended a housing forum, held by local community group, My Home Network. I was honoured to sit on the panel with Lisa Chesters MP and Maree Edwards MP, as well as council officers, Clare Richards (Housing Solutions Broker) and Lauren Watt (Coordinator of Strategic Planning). The forum was well-attended by many people who are passionate about doing what we can to address the housing crisis, locally. I thank all those who submitted questions, particularly those who shared their lived experience of homelessness and housing insecurity. It was wonderful to be a part of the conversation.
I was invited to speak at the Castlemaine RSL’s ANZAC day ceremony. It was an honour to be part of the march, to speak and to lay a wreath. I was particularly impressed by the speeches of the two school captains from Castlemaine Secondary College, as well as how many young people attended to represent their schools and clubs. The ceremony was very moving. I was also able to attend the service in Campbells Creek, which was lovely and well-attended.
Last Wednesday, I attended the program launch for Castlemaine Documentary Festival. The CDOC Festival itself is on from 16 to 18 June, and has an incredible line up of documentaries, including one about our shire’s very own Mount Alexander Falcons footy team. I encourage you to check out the full program and challenge yourself to watch something new!
Finally, I was thrilled to be asked to speak at the launch of Castlemaine Pride’s flagship event, Picnic in the Park. It was a joyous day, full of colour, fun, family, community, diversity, and celebration. I stayed all afternoon, having great chats with old and new friends, eating and drinking, getting my face painted, working on my circus skills, and being entertained by various performances. My heart was very full when I left. It is particularly rewarding to be able to genuinely say that I am part of a Council that promotes diversity, inclusion, and safety for all, and will not tolerate bigotry. Castlemaine Pride has events running all this week – including an art exhibition, a drag night, singing, dancing, and the launch of the second season of the Pride Across the Ages podcast. Check out the full program on their website!
So, that’s been a look at a few of the highlights of my March and April.
Of course, getting out and about is only one facet of my Mayoral role. Internally, Council is still in the midst of developing a plethora of plans and strategies.
Make sure you check out our Shape Mount Alexander Page to see what community consultation opportunities are currently active. Of particular note, at our April Meeting of Council, we approved the 2023/2024 Proposed Budget to go out to the community. Please take a look and let us know what you think by making a submission before Wednesday 10 May.
I hope you’re enjoying the beautiful sunny days we’ve been having and the autumnal colours scattered everywhere!
That’s it from me (for now).
Rosie