Welcome to Your Macedon Ranges for the week of Monday, May 31, to Sunday, June 6.
This week’s events and activities clearly come with a Covid-sized asterisk. Hopefully, the restrictions can be lifted in a few more days and everything listed below can proceed as planned. Please check, though, with the organisers before attending.
With schools back in remote learning, it seems apt that this week’s Then & Now photo features an empty classroom. Scroll down to see what’s changed, and what hasn’t, in the past century.
Monday-Wednesday:
No events.
Thursday, June 3
[Sustainability] Battery Storage Information Meeting: Find out about solar and battery storage for your home or business. Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group, online event (Zoom). 6pm-7.30pm.
Friday, June 4
[Books] Shared Reading Circle: Listen to a short story and talk about it with others. Victoria Hotel, High St, Woodend. Every Friday during term time. 4pm. Free.
[Entertainment] Youth Night: A safe space for teenagers to hang out. Music, games, Xbox, free Wi-Fi and snacks. Riddells Creek Neighbourhood House, 59 Main Rd, Riddells Creek. Every Friday. 5.30pm-8pm. $2.
[Quiz] Pub Trivia Night: Hosted by Col Cameron. Winning team receives $50 pub voucher. Victoria Hotel, High St, Woodend. 6.30pm-10.30pm. Free.
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Saturday, June 5
[Exercise] Campaspe Parkrun: 5km fun run along the Five-Mile Creek path. Every Saturday. Campaspe Park, Campaspe Dr, Woodend. 8am. Free (registration required).
[Exercise] Lancefield Parkrun: 5km fun run around Lancefield Park. Every Saturday. Lancefield Park, Chauncey St, Lancefield. 8am. Free (registration required).
[Market] Woodend Farmers’ Market: High St & Forest St. 9am-1pm.
[Gardening] Backyard Orchards – Design, Implement, Maintain: This workshop is for anyone looking to grow fruit in courtyards or backyards, or on acreage. You’ll come away with an overview of what’s important (and what’s not) when planting and maintaining a backyard orchard. Leaf, Root & Fruit, 21 Dettmanns Lane, Kyneton. 9am-4pm. $150.
[Walk] Black Hill Reserve – an Ecosystem Restoration: Join Martin Roberts and Simon Purves, from the shire council’s environment team, on a guided walk through Black Hill Reserve. See how the vegetation has recovered from the bushfires of 2015. Black Hill Reserve, Ennis Rd & Black Hill School Rd, Kyneton. 10am-12pm. Free.
[Wellbeing] Winter Forest Walk with Horses: Join Rachael Gibson, from Heart of the Horse, for a 5km small-group walk with four horses and two dogs to Belltopper Hill, part of the Fryers Ridge State Forest. Drummond North. 11am-2pm. $65.
[Workshop] Blacksmith Class: Join Rob Nansen under the gum trees for a three-hour blacksmith class. Make your own fire poker. All materials provided. Dromkeen, 1012 Kilmore Rd, Riddells Creek. 10am-1pm. $140.
[Storytime] Iceberg: Children’s author Claire Saxby will read her new book, Iceberg. Discover fascinating facts about animals that live in the Antarctic. Plus craft activity. Dromkeen, 1012 Kilmore Rd, Riddells Creek. 2pm-3.30pm. Free (booking required).
[Beer] Brewery Tour: Learn how the beer is brewed at Holgate Brewhouse. Every Saturday and Sunday. Holgate Brewhouse, 79 High St, Woodend. 3pm-4pm. $25.
[Music] Thee Marshmallow Overcoat: Music from the late 1960s. Macedon Railway Hotel, 33 Smith St, Macedon. 7pm. $35.
[Music] Kim Salmon: Haunted Grooves is Kim’s telling of some of the stories left to him by people he’s collaborated with. Major Tom’s, 57 Piper St, Kyneton. 8.30pm-11pm.
Sunday, June 6
[Horses] Eales Racing Open Day: All 2021 yearlings on display. Trainers include David Eustace, Mark Kavanagh, Jason Warren, Matt Laurie and Paul Preusker. Simon O’Donnell the MC. Kids’ activities: pony rides, face-painting, balloon art. Widden Stud, 56 Mount Eliza Rd, Riddells Creek. 10am-12pm.
[Food & Drink] Boujee Brunch: Delicious food and bottomless wine and beer. Espresso martini or G&T on arrival. Live music. Social Foundry, 86 Mollison St, Kyneton. 12pm-2pm. $85.
[Paranormal] Psychic Medium “Crossing Over” Lunch: Join host Dolly, from Kyneton Paranormal, and psychic medium Bec for a group show and Q&A. Victoria Hotel, High St, Woodend. 12pm-2pm. $77.
[Books] School of Monsters Reading and Drawing Workshop: With author Sally Rippin and illustrator Chris Kennett. Squishy Minnie Bookstore, 6 High St, Kyneton. 1.30pm-3pm. $10.
[Community] Sing Park Sing: A pop-up singing event for people of all ages and abilities. Kyneton Mechanics Institute reserve, Mollison St, Kyneton. 2pm-3.30pm.
[Music] Lucy Wise: Malmsbury folk singer-songwriter Lucy Wise launches her new single, Broadbeans, at this house concert. Malmsbury. 2pm-5pm (sold out).
[Beer] Brewery Tour: Learn how the beer is brewed at Holgate Brewhouse. Every Saturday and Sunday. Holgate Brewhouse, 79 High St, Woodend. 3pm-4pm. $25.
Rearranged
[Jazz] Georgia Martin: Woodend’s Georgia Martin performs jazz, blues and soul classics. With Tom Martin (guitar) and Jorge Rodriguez (bass). Hedge Farm, 124 Three Chain Rd, Carlsruhe. June 11. 5pm. $16.
Coming up
[Arts] Woodend Winter Arts Festival: Events every day over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend. Venues across Woodend. June 11-14.
[History] Museum Undone: The rooms of Kyneton Museum will be turned into vibrant performance spaces. Kyneton Museum, 67 Piper St, Kyneton. June 11-13, 18, 20, 25.
[Exhibition] Crescendo: Macedon Ranges Art Trail’s 10th exhibition. Woodend Winter Arts Festival event. Woodend Tennis Club, Earnshaw St, Woodend. June 12-14.
[Exhibition] Woodend Winter Art Show: Exhibition by members of Woodend Art Group. Woodend Railway Station, Urquhart St, Woodend. June 12-14.
[Dance] A Taste of Ireland: Starring dancers from the West End’s Lord of the Dance, Riverdance, and Gaelforce Dance alongside Irish Dancing world champions. Kyneton Town Hall, Mollison St, Kyneton. Sunday, June 13.
[Comedy] Jude Perl – I have A Face: An honest and hilarious show that uses humour and song to discuss mental health, with a theatrical twist. Kyneton Town Hall, Mollison St, Kyneton. Friday, June 18.
[Community] The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party: Kyneton Community Lunch’s major fundraiser. Food, drinks, auction. Entertainment from Cassidy La Crème. Prize for best costume. Kyneton Mechanics Institute, Mollison St, Kyneton. Saturday, June 19.
[Theatre] Harmony Hospital: Medical musical comedy. Bluestone Theatre, 28 Hutton St, Kyneton. June 26-27.
[Music] 1927: Icons of the Australian music scene. Kyneton Town Hall, Mollison St, Kyneton. Saturday, July 10.
Warm wishes,
~ Richard
P.S. I’ve tried my best to ensure accuracy, but please follow the links above to confirm details before attending events.
B4 it was a classroom
Then & Now
With thanks to Braemar College.
To the students and staff of Braemar College, it is classroom B4. But when Braemar House opened in December 1890, the room immediately to the right of the entrance hall was the drawing room, a place where visitors went to relax.
Braemar House was built as a guest house by a syndicate of men who had made their money from the silver deposits at Broken Hill. Despite its apparent popularity during summer and Easter holidays, the guest house was put up for sale in 1895, but there were no bidders. William Knox, the last of the syndicate, died in 1912 and ownership passed to his family.
Isabel Henderson bought Braemar House in 1918 and moved Clyde School there. Clyde was based on Mt Macedon from 1919 to 1975, when it merged with Geelong Grammar. Braemar College opened the following year.
Sources: Braemar College: The First Decade, by Don Garden (Braemar College, 1986); A History of Braemar House 1890-1990, by Marion Hutton, John Hitch, Glenda Fisher (Braemar College, 1992).
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