Welcome to Your Macedon Ranges for Monday, February 3, to Sunday, February 9.
🪻 Having spent 25 years developing his own “dry” garden in the Macedon Ranges, garden designer, writer, and broadcaster Michael McCoy will talk about creating sustainable, low-water gardens at Kyneton Horticultural Society’s meeting on February 17. Tickets for non-members cost $10.
🏇 The 2025 Woodend Cup took place yesterday, marking 43 years since the race moved to Kyneton from Woodend. Today’s history article explores the Woodend racecourse – its original location and the reason the track stopped being used. Find the article and photos below the event guide.
Here are the events and activities happening in the Macedon Ranges this week:
Click the links for more info 👇
Wednesday, February 5
Game Canasta Club: Join a friendly group to play the card game Canasta. Beginners welcome. Macedon & Mount Macedon Community House, 47 Victoria St, Macedon. 2pm-5pm.
Sport Summer Shorts Orienteering – Kyneton: Beginner-friendly orienteering event. 2.5km and 3.5km courses. All welcome. Kyneton Community Park, Kyneton Botanic Gardens, Clowes St, Kyneton. 6pm-8pm. $5.
Singing Woodend Warblers: Community choir. Norma Richardson Hall, Buckland St, Woodend. 7pm. $12 (first session free).
Quiz Trivia Night: General knowledge quiz. The Victoria Hotel, High St, Woodend. 7pm. Free.
Thursday, February 6
Sustainability Beating the Summer Heat: Learn about adapting your home for greater summer comfort, with a focus on shade, insulation and ventilation. With Sue Barker, from Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group. Kyneton Library, Baynton St, Kyneton. 5.30pm-6.30pm. Free.
Friday, February 7
Games Barefoot Bowls: Play bowls in bare feet or flat-soled shoes. All welcome. Macedon Ranges Bowling Club, Tony Clarke Reserve, Waterfalls Rd, Macedon. From 5.30pm. Adult $20, Child $10.
Quiz Friday Night Pub Trivia: Topical and fun questions plus some games. The Victoria Hotel, High St, Woodend. 7pm. Free.
Music Taylor Sheridan: Singer-songwriter from the Macedon Ranges. His debut album, Troubadour, was No.1 country album in the Aria Charts for five consecutive weeks last year. Major Tom’s, 57 Piper St, Kyneton. 8.30pm-11pm. $30.
Saturday, February 8
Exercise Parkruns: 5km fun runs/walks in Gisborne (Dixon Field), Lancefield (Lancefield Park) and Woodend (Campaspe Dr). All abilities welcome. 8am. Free.
Market Kyneton Farmers’ & Makers’ Market: St Paul’s Park, Piper St, Kyneton. 8.30am-1pm.
Market Kyneton Community Market: Bric-a-brac, art, clothes, plants, food and local produce. Ebden St & Yaldwyn St West, Kyneton. 8.30am-1pm.
Poetry Chamber Poets: Poets young and old, new and experienced share their poetry in a supportive environment. All welcome to participate or listen. Woodend RSL, Anslow St. 1pm-4pm. $10 (cash only).
Beer Brewery Tour: See how beer is brewed. Holgate Brewhouse, High St, Woodend. 3pm-4.30pm. $25.
Films Outdoor Movie Night: Grab a blanket and popcorn for an evening watching Minions: The Rise of Gru (5pm) and/or 10 Things I Hate About You (8pm). Snacks and non-alcoholic drinks available. Nellie’s Shed, 100 High St, Woodend. 5pm-7pm, 8pm-10pm. Adult $15, Senior $13, Child (4-13) $10. $5 deposit, balance payable on the night.
Music Dan Webster and Emily Lawler: British country/folk duo. Supported by the Glenlyon Ukulele Group. Glenlyon Hall, Barkly St, Glenlyon. 6pm-10pm. $30.
Never miss a thing in the Macedon Ranges
Get this newsletter every Sunday
“New to the newsletter and it’s brilliant. So much happening in our region I wouldn’t otherwise know about.”
“So much information … excellent resource for the community. WELL DONE. We’ve forwarded it on!”
Sunday, February 9
Market Daylesford Sunday Market: Daylesford Railway Station, Raglan St, Daylesford. 8am-3pm.
Motoring Picnic at Hanging Rock Classic Car Show: Retro cars, trucks and motorbikes, plus miniature train and exhibitors. Run by Macedon Ranges & District Motor Club. Hanging Rock Reserve, South Rock Rd, Woodend. 8.30am-3pm. Car $30, Motorbike/Pedestrian $15 (public car park in Straws Ln).
Market Romsey Market: Bric-a-brac, woodwork, jewellery, candles, handmade goods, and food vans. Run by Lancefield Romsey Lions Club. Romsey Skate Park, Cnr Main St & White Ave, Romsey. 9am-1pm.
Mystic Lancefield Witches Fair: Tarot readers, psychic mediums, an apothecary, local artisans, a tattooist and more. Lancefield Mechanics Institute Hall, The Crescent, Lancefield. 10am-2pm. Free.
Food & Music Music in the Vines: Live music from Mojo. Glen Erin at Lancefield, 200 Rochford Rd, Lancefield. 12pm-4pm.
Beer Brewery Tour: See how beer is brewed. Holgate Brewhouse, High St, Woodend. 3pm-4.30pm. $25.
Singing Rainbow Voices Community Choir: LGBTQIA+ and allies choir. For anyone aged 13 and over. Kyneton Community House Good Food Hub, 35 High St, Kyneton. 4pm-6pm.
Films Outdoor Movie Night: Grab a blanket and popcorn and settle down to watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Snacks and non-alcoholic drinks available. Nellie’s Shed, 100 High St, Woodend. 7.30pm-9.30pm. Adult $15, Senior $13, Child (4-13) $10. $5 deposit, balance payable on the night.
Exhibitions
Kyneton The Old Auction House: Exhibitions: Views of Elsewhere (group), Framings of Wombat Forest (audio-visual). Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat-Sun 10am-4pm.
Kyneton Art on Piper: Exhibitions: Recycle Repurpose Reart, Donna Crebin. Every day 10am-4pm.
Kyneton Stockroom: Exhibitions: Anthea Kemp, Madeleine Minack, Steph Wallace. Thu-Sat 10.30am-5pm, Sun 11am-4pm.
Kyneton Cusack & Cusack: Fri-Sun 10am-3pm.
Kyneton Kyneton Museum: Exhibition: Nurses, Medicine and Caring. Fri-Sun. 11am-4pm.
Kyneton Kyneton Ridge Artspace: Exhibition: Callan Skimin. Fri-Sun 11am-5pm.
Mount Macedon The Gallery: Exhibition: Summer. Fri-Tues 10am-4pm.
Newham Hanging Rock Winery: Exhibition: Art in the Vines (sculptures). Every day 10am-5pm.
Trentham Trentham District Story: Outdoor display telling the story of Trentham from its earliest Indigenous inhabitants to the present day. Open every day in the grounds of the Old Police Station, 3-5 Camp St, Trentham.
Trentham Little Gallery: Fri-Mon 10am-4pm.
Woodend The Back Shed Gallery: 33 Urquhart St, Woodend. Tues-Sun 10am-5pm.
Coming up
Music Valentine’s Prom ’25: Valentine’s Day rock ’n’ roll dance. Live music from The Bad Cats, featuring Tylden local Jeff Tynan. Bar and food truck. Tylden Hall, Tylden-Woodend Rd, Tylden. 7pm-11pm. Adult $10, Child (5-16 years) $5, Child (under 5) free. February 14.
Theatre The Importance of Being Earnest: Written by Oscar Wilde and regarded as one of the best theatrical comedies ever written. Jack and Algy are friends who live double lives. In the country, they’re respectable gentlemen but in the city, they’re playboys. When love enters the mix, the pair struggle to keep track of who they’re pretending to be. Mountview Theatre, Smith St, Macedon. February 21-23, February 28-March 2, March 7-9.
Food & Drink Paddock to Plate – A Celebration of Deep Creek Valley Produce: Five-course lunch menu created by MasterChef Australia semi-finalist Elise Pulbrook and showcasing Deep Creek Valley producers. With live music and a producer market. DV Cider House, Darraweit Valley Rd, Darraweit Guim. 12.30pm-9.30pm. $120. February 23.
Have a great week!
Richard

P.S. I’ve tried my best to ensure accuracy, but please follow the links above to confirm details before attending events.
How am I doing?
Your Macedon Ranges is researched, written, and edited by me alone. Compiling it takes me 10+ hours each week. I love doing it, and the response has been incredible. I’m very grateful for your kind words.
If you find value in the newsletter, I’d so appreciate you subsidising my coffee habit … it helps with the collating and the writing!
Pipped at the post
Then & NOW
With thanks to Woodend & District Heritage Society. The society meets on Wednesdays at the old courthouse in Forest St, Woodend.



More than 1,000 people attended the opening of the new Woodend racecourse in 1903.
However, Gambill’s victory in the Woodend Cup wasn’t the most impressive feat that day.
During the Trial Stakes, a calf strayed onto the track, and according to the Victorian Racing Calendar, the leading horse cleared it “in the style of a top-class jumper”.
Previously, horse races in Woodend had been held on the hill now occupied by the golf course. The opening of the longer track in Forest Street reflected the sport’s huge popularity. Woodend went on to become one of the first country racing clubs to install photo-finish equipment and to have its own mobile starting stalls.
However, in the mid-1960s, despite having the highest attendance for Saturday meetings of any country track in Victoria, the club found its future under threat. The state government wanted to have only one racecourse in the area and chose Kyneton.
After a long battle to save Woodend, the government ultimately prevailed in 1982. Newry Boy, ridden by Ron Trevor, had the distinction of being the racecourse’s final winner.
✍️ Richard Padgett
📘 Beyond the Black Forest, by Sylvia Boxshall (2017), describes the early settlement of Woodend and the surrounding district. Available from Woodend & District Heritage Society, $27.50.
🎞️ Racing.com has also made a 10-minute film about the track. Click here to view it.

In the news
⛏️ MACEDON RANGES: The Australian Government has officially given the green light for the Victorian Goldfields to seek World Heritage Listing. Denis Napthine, co-patron of the Victorian Goldfields World Heritage Bid, said: “Achieving World Heritage status will bring extensive benefits to local communities with a huge boost in jobs, investment and dollars spent through enhanced tourism.”
👮 GISBORNE: Eight bronze memorial plaques have been stolen from Gisborne Cemetery’s Ironbark Memorial Walk.
Enjoyed this newsletter?
Get it emailed to you every Sunday – and never miss a thing.
“I am so happy to be able to receive your emails and keep up to date with what’s going on in the area as well as learning a bit of local history!”