Weekly Update 16 October

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CLOSING SOON

The Central Goldfields Shire Australia Day Awards are the highest honour Council can bestow to publicly acknowledge someone, whose dedication and contribution to our communities would otherwise go unnoticed.

We're asking you to consider who is deserving of this recognition on Australia Day, 26 January 2026. Candidates can be nominated on our website for Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year or Community Project/Event of the year.

Here are some examples of past winners:

• 2025 Citizen of the Year: Janet Watts

  A dedicated community volunteer her whole life – CFA for 29 years, SES, Dunolly Hospital Auxiliary, brought back Neighbourhood Watch and a bricks-and-mortar bank to Dunolly

• 2024 Citizen of the Year: Aileen Marshall

  40 years volunteering and leading the Riding for Disabled Association of Victoria, a tireless advocate for adults and children with disabilities.

  

• 2023 Citizen of the Year: Tony Macer

  A teacher for 30 years, a driver behind our very successful Volunteer Resource Centre and advocate for sustainable energy solutions.

  

• 2025 Young Citizen: Ella Govan

  An excellent public speaker and leader, active several in sporting clubs and youth suicide prevention through her training in the Live4Life program.

  

• 2024 Young Citizen: Khoa Do

  Active participant in Youth Council, organised Clean Up Australia Day, our Youth Festival and was an advocate for students after the pandemic.

  

• 2023 Young Citizen: Hannah Lanfranchi

  High achieving student, volunteer at St Vincents and at the St Augustine's Primary breakfast program, also receiving several awards for leadership.

  

  Community Projects or Events of the Year:

  • 2025: Youth Live4Life - a group actively involved in the prevention of youth suicide.
  • 2024: Goldfields parkrun - for keeping our community active rain, hail or shine every Saturday morning.
  • 2023: Dunolly Gold Rush Festival - resurgence after a 16 year absence thanks to a dedicated group of volunteers.

Visit: www.centralgoldfields.vic.gov.au/nominate or phone Alisha Chadwick on 0408 326 157. Nominations close Sunday 26 October at midnight.

EMERGING ARTISTS

The creativity of our young local artists has taken over the Central Goldfields Art Gallery! Our popular annual Emergent exhibition starts today, showcasing the work of VCE Art students from Highview College and Maryborough Education Centre.

Everyone's invited to attend the opening event next Friday 24 October at 5pm. Refreshments will be served and no booking is required. Entry is free.

Emergent is on display in the Gallery's Engine Room until 23 November.

FACILITIES UPGRADE

New locking systems are being fitted to toilet facilities across our Shire to curb vandalism and reduce spiralling maintenance costs.

This follows a trial at the Community Hub facility last year which proved successful at reducing damage. Since 2023, ratepayers have funded $173,708 of repairs.

Once rolled out, public toilets across our Shire will open at 7am and close at 9pm every day.

We'll keep you updated on our progress.

MORNING LIGHTS

Thanks to the Victorian Government's Healthy Loddon Campaspe initiative, the Princes Park precinct will be lit up to encourage early morning exercise before work or school.

Starting next Monday (20 October), the Princes Park oval and netball court lights will be turned on every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning from 5:30am to 6:30am. The trial will run for six weeks.

This follows our successful Friday night lighting program prior to daylight savings. The lighting helps people feel safer, making the spaces more inviting for walking, jogging or group fitness.

COUNCIL MEETING

The October Council Meeting will be held on Wednesday, 22 October at 6pm.

The meeting will be held in the upstairs Council Chamber at the Maryborough Town Hall on the corner of Clarendon and Neill streets.

The meeting is open to the community to attend and will also be livestreamed to our website at: www.centralgoldfields.vic.gov.au/councilmeetings

POSITIONS VACANT

For career opportunities, please see our advertisement in today's paper or visit:

www.centralgoldfields.vic.gov.au/currentvacancies

TENDERS

Tender documents can be downloaded from Vendor Panel, accessible at www.centralgoldfields.vic.gov.au/tenders