Latest News

$1000s in prizes on offer as 2010 Easter Golden Horseshoes Festival gathers steam

With just weeks to go, preparations are in full swing for Beechworth’s biggest annual event, the Golden Horseshoes Festival, taking place across the Easter long weekend from Good Friday 2 to Easter Sunday 4 April.

Returning this year are Rotary’s huge Easter Craft Market in the Queen Victoria Gardens and the Beechworth Neighborhood Centre’s Paddy’s Market crammed with dozens of stalls of second-hand furniture, collectables and bric-a-brac.

Other program highlights include spectacular roving entertainment from the Festive Factory, buskers, a huge Easter Egg Hunt with the Easter Bunny, live music from acclaimed artists, Nick Barker and Lee Rosser on the Camp St stage, a food court and the sensational Itchy Feet Pep Band from Melbourne.

Run for the third consecutive year by a local community committee, the Golden Horseshoes Festival annually attracts thousands of visitors to the town. Committee President Kathryn Osmond urged local groups and individuals to get into the spirit of the festival and dress up, enter a float, buy a raffle ticket or just pull up a chair in the food court and soak up the unique ambience of Easter in Beechworth.

Stephanie Alexander headlines at Beechworth Harvest Celebration

Distinguished Australian author, chef and restaurateur, Stephanie Alexander OAM, (pictured) will
make a special guest appearance at the opening event of Beechworth’s famous Harvest Celebration in
May.

The founder of the nationally expanding Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation will be guest
speaker at the Harvest Celebration Gala Dinner at Beechworth’s Memorial Hall on Friday 14 May.

The dinner will be hosted by Barb Lowery, noted ABC food broadcaster and writer.
Guest chef, Michel Renoux, well known for dishing up superb fare at Stanley’s Galloping Goat, the Milawa
Cheese Factory restaurant, and more recently, the Ageing Frog gourmet Fish & Chip shop in Beechworth,
will prepare a fabulous feast highlighting the superb food, wine and beer of the North East Victorian
Region.

The event promises to kick off the seventeenth annual Beechworth Harvest Celebration in fine style.
With a packed program across the weekend of 14, 15 & 16 May, this years event will be bigger than ever.
Visitors to Beechworth will have the chance to meet more than 70 local growers and sample their wares
under the big marquee in Ford Street outside the famous Historic & Cultural Precinct.
This year will also see the return of Harvest Celebration favourite, the Demonstration Stage, where a host
of talented local chefs, growers, foodies, brewers and winemakers will share their secrets.

Beechworth Harvest Celebration Gala Dinner
Friday 14 May, 7pm
Memorial Hall, Ford St Beechworth
Tickets on sale from 1 March from Beechworth Visitor Information Centre,
phone 1300 366 321 or www.beechworthonline.com.au

Annapurna Estate Cellar Door & Cafe

Due to unforeseen circumstances Annapurna Estates Cellar Door and Cafe will be closed on Tuesday 26th January (Australia Day)
<br>We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Annapurna will still be open Saturday 23rd, Sunday 24th and Monday 25th January as advertised. If you have any further queries please phone (03) 5754 1356

History of Beechworth still a hit with visitors

Nobblers and Lushingtons - A History of the Hotels of Beechworth and the Ovens District

Endymion (Australia) Pty Ltd is pleased to announce that the Press Launch of
Richard Patterson’s book, Nobblers and Lushingtons - A History of the Hotels of Beechworth and the Ovens District, will  Friday, 4 December 2009.

Nobblers and Lushingtons contains 400 pages, 35 contemporary photographs and information on over 230 hotels in Beechworth and the neighbouring district, as well as the names of over 800 licensees.

Among the many issues it explores are:
- The murder of Robert Murdock, manager of a Beechworth hotel, and the possibility that he was the victim of a serial killer.
- The death of James Coyne Riley, following his accidental stabbing during the performance of a play at the Star Hotel, Beechworth.
- The dark secrets about their pasts that many of Beechworth’s earliest hotel-keepers tried to keep hidden.
- The role of women on the goldfields and the extent of prostitution in Beechworth.
- How the first man to be hanged at Beechworth Gaol had murdered a local hotelkeeper
and the links between this killing and two other appalling murders.

Richard Patterson has lived in Beechworth for 3 years and previously worked in human resource management for 35 years. Nobblers and Lushingtons is his first book.

Note: A nobbler was nineteenth century slang for a shot of spirits, while a lushington
was someone who habitually imbibed too many of them.

Beechworth cleans up at Tidy Towns awards

Beechworth has been named Victoria’s Overall Sustainable Communities - Tidy Towns winner for 2009 in a gala awards ceremony in Horsham at the weekend.

The town was recognised for its work to preserve its rich historic heritage and its environment. Judges commented on a ‘spirit of working together’ and the diversity of the projects undertaken in the town aimed to protect, enhance and promote the town’s history while moving towards sustainability.

Also in the winners’ line-up was Yackandandah, which was awarded the Heritage and Culture Award for rebuilding the town’s museum after it was destroyed by fire. Judges praised the work of the Historical Society in fundraising and in rebuilding the collection.

Indigo Councillor Barb Murdoch was present at the ceremony and was full of praise for all Indigo participants.

“This is a huge tribute to Beechworth in particular, but also Rutherglen and Yackandandah,” she said. “Beechworth now goes to the national finals in Canberra in April next year.”

Cr Murdoch paid tribute to Beechworth resident Iris Mannik, who has been organising Beechworth’s participation in the awards for 14 years.

“This is a feather in her cap for Iris and all the hard work she has done over many years,” Cr Murdoch said.

Indigo Mayor Cr Peter Graham was ecstatic with the shire’s success. He paid tribute to the businesses, community groups and volunteers throughout the shire for their dedication and community spirit.

“This huge success is due to many people, but I particularly applaud the many volunteers and community groups who participate in this event,” Cr Graham said.

As Beechworth is the Victorian winner for 2009, the town will host next year’s state awards ceremony.

KELLY ARMOUR COMES TO Beechworth famous 
Ned Kelly Weekend 
Friday 6th to Sunday 8th August 2010

The original suits of armour worn by all four members of the Kelly Gang at the siege of Glenrowan will feature as a major highlight of the 2010 Beechworth Ned Kelly Weekend from 6 – 8 August, the Beechworth Historical Re-enactment Group (BHRG) announced today.

The exhibition is a coup for Beechworth and marks only the fourth time since 1880 that the complete set of Kelly Gang armour has been shown, and the first time outside a capital city. 

Now in its eighth year and widely regarded as this country’s most important annual celebration of the Kelly legend, the 2010 Ned Kelly Weekend will commemorate the 130th anniversary of the outlaw’s committal hearing held in the historic Beechworth Courthouse from 6 to 11 August 1880, and his execution on 11 November 1880. 

Event organizers, the Beechworth Historical Re-enactment Group, will unveil the full 2010 program at an official launch early next year. 

BHRG President, Adam Wynne-Jenkins, expects the exhibition will be one of regional Victoria’s key tourism drawcards in 2010.

“Visitors to Beechworth next August will be amazed at the quality and workmanship of the armour of Australia’s most recognised artifacts,” he said.

All schools in the Indigo Shire will be invited to a free preview of the armour on Friday 6 August.

Established 2008 the BHRG is a committed living history group which recreates the Beechworth of the period 1852 to 1885. The BHRG is often seen on the streets of Beechworth and other regional centres taking part in street parades, displays and other commemorative activities including the re-enactment of the Kelly Gang robbery of the bank in Euroa in December 1878, and the Siege of Glenrowan in July 1880.

This exhibition would not have been possible without the support of the State Library of Victoria, Victoria Police Museum, Museum Victoria and Rupert Hammond in conjunction with the Indigo Shire Council for Insurance coverage and the Beechworth Bakery (The Home of Ned Kelly Pies) as the major sponsor of the event.

Beechworth Celtic Festival 2009 paints the town red...and tartan, orange and green!

Beechworth Celtic Festival 2009 paints the
town red...and tartan, orange and green!

Music and dancing filled the halls, pubs, streets, nooks and crannies of beautiful Beechworth across the weekend as the crowds turned out for the town’s annual salute to its Celtic heritage.

Highlights included street parades at midday and dusk featuring massed pipe bands, as well as the Celtic Festival favourite, the “Call of the Pipes”. This spine-tingling event saw lone pipers play from the second storey balconies of the historic buildings lining Ford Street and a stirring march of visitors and locals joining en masse in a stirring march led by Pied Pipers down the hill to Camp Street.

People of all ages were able to enjoy a great program of free live entertainment across the weekend at stages in Ford Street and at the Bridge Road Brewery. Street performances by the Beechworth Dance Group and Geraldine Ryan dancers also kept the crowds entertained.

Inside the ticketed venues around the town the quality and variety of music available throughout the weekend ensured most events were overflowing and rocking. Those lucky enough to catch the sensational performance by The Ploughboys are still buzzing about the sensational conga line led by piper, Andy Olgivie.

Visitors, traders and performers alike praised the 2009 festival which remains one of the most important attractions on Beechworth’s busy annual calendar of events.

Celtic Festival Committee President, Roger Humphris, said the success of the weekend would be measured by the long-term benefit to Beechworth in giving visitors another reason to return: “We are already looking to improve the festival next year,” he said. “Feedback from traders visitors and performers alike will be taken into account in presenting an even better festival in 2010.”

He said that this year’s inclusion of contemporary styles of Celtic music with U2 cover band Achtung Baby, alongside other such crowd-pleasers as Rant, The Ploughboys BhanTre, and Braemar.

“We aim to make next year’s event even more successful bringing great Celtic music of all kinds to Beechworth for the local community and visitors to enjoy.

Media enquiries to Roger Humphris:
Phone (03) 57281421 or email contact@caravanparkbeechworth.com.au

Its all happening for the Beechworth Chinese Cultural Centre & Gardens Inc

We are happy to say that yes the items are finally being shipped out this month

• Two Bridges for the Garden
• It's not a Chinese Garden without Buddah
• 5 Lanterns set to go in Bamboo walk in Chinese Gardens Beechworth by the Pavilion

This month the Museum has been opened for 5 yrs (and boy what a road)

With having put on six festivals with the first only one week after the 2003 bush fires with the help of the Lake Sambell Committee.

Awards that we have received awards for:

• Tidy Town 2001 .2002 .2003
• Sustainability award sub surface irrigation system
• Victorian awards for excellence in Multicultural affairs
• Victorian History award Commendation BCCC&G
• Personal award for 10 years service for volunteering in Multi Cultural affairs

The Gardens has seen many Chinese visitors to Beechworth we have also

• sponsored the Chinese Lion team to come to Beechworth for Easter for the past three years
• Sponsored the Beechworth Chinese cemetery book written and translated by Dr Kok
• The BCCC has seen many school groups over the past 5 years who have all enjoy the different aspect of Beechworth and enjoy finding out what animal sign they are.

Beechworth’s Chinese Museum is dedicated to the preservation & display of Chinese History in the Ovens and District Goldfields

Jan Preston at Amulet Vineyard

With a glass of wine in one hand you will be seated amongst future wines from Amulet Vineyard in their beautiful surroundings as Jan Preston entertains you with her humour, stories and most importantly, her wonderful music.

Public demand sees Jan Preston return to Beechworth again this year. Charming, entertaining, honest, skilful and unique, Jan has it all.

Called “the Queen of Boogie Piano”, Jan’s rolling left hand piano boogie gets audiences moving, takes them away from their daily stresses, and from Europe to NZ to Australia leaves them uplifted. Did we mention Jan is a great singer as well?! Don’t miss her show.

New tour to celebrate Beechworths botanical treasures

For those who like a dash of history mixed with their horticulture a new tour launching this weekend will offer a perfect introduction to the botanical treasures of one of Australia’s best preserved heritage towns.

The new Beechworth Town and Country Walks and Tours will take in some of Beechworth’s most significant public and private gardens and reserves, offering visitors fascinating insights into the people who created them, original designs and plantings – including some 14 trees of significance listed on the National Tree Register - and the gardens’ continuing evolution to the present day.

The new tours will complement the Historic & Cultural Precinct’s Ned Kelly and Gold walking tours led by expert guides which have become a must for tourists to the area. Visitors can also take part in Historic Courthouse tours and talks, the wildly popular Ghost Tours of historic Mayday Hills Lunatic Asylum and Historic Beechworth mini-bus tours led by historian, Pat Doyle.

Chris Dormer, a passionate gardener, artist and former Beechworth Burke Museum programs officer is the brains behind the new Town & Country Walks and Tours. Her own piece of paradise, in the hilltop village of Stanley a few kilometres from Beechworth, has featured in the Victorian Open Garden Scheme.

Each Saturday at 2pm, departing from the Beechworth Visitor Information Centre, she will take visitors on an hour-long Public Gardens Walk, including the formal ‘pleasure gardens’ of the Town Hall, part of the Historic & Cultural Precinct, planned and planted in 1874 by Richard Hurlock Jenkyns.

Developed in the Gardenesque style, the gardens quickly became a fashionable place for locals and visitors to use the wide paths for promenading, a band rotunda for concerts, and the fountain to enjoy the sounds of the cool cascading water on hot summer nights. The gardens were planted with trees including the towering Sierra Redwoods (Sequoiadendron Giganteum) seen today which were grown by Baron Ferdinand Von Mueller, Director of the Melbourne Botanical Gardens.

The tour also takes in the cultivated wilderness of the Botanical Reserve, now Victoria Park, gazetted in 1856. A competition to design the park was won by a Hungarian Count, J A Rochlitz, whose romantic vision of groves of acacia, almond and walnut trees, an open belvedere, an archery ground, cricket and boxing grounds, a children’s playground and an ‘Invalid’s’ Corner’ was never implemented. The design does live on, however, in a beautiful watercolour painted by C. Martin, part of the permanent collection of the Burke Museum.

Lake Sambell Reserve, created as a result of Beechworth’s success in the Ideal Town competition in 1928, and now home to the new Chinese Gardens, is also on the itinerary. This exciting new garden remembers the thousands of Chinese people who flocked to the rich goldfields of early Beechworth.

A variety of tours will also be offered by Chris Dormer by arrangement including visits to a selection of magnificent privately owned gardens as well as a ‘Backyard to Farm Gate’ tour of Beechworth and district’s great productive gardens.

FULL DETAILS AND BOOKINGS FOR THIS AND OTHER GREAT
BEECHWORTH TOURS AT:   WWW.BEECHWORTHONLINE.COM.AU
PHONE 1300 366 321

20,000 see ghosts in Beechworth as visitor numbers continue to climb

Monday 21 September 2009

Ghosts are proving big business for an enterprising young couple who will this week welcome visitor number 20,000 to their Beechworth Ghost Tours.

After just 17 months Adam (pictured above) and Sharon Wynne-Jenkins’ business is one of the busiest ghost tours in Australia. The couple now employ three staff and run as many as12 tours a night seven days a week of the historic Mayday Hills Lunatic Asylum in Beechworth.

Only Port Arthur, one of Australia’s pre-eminent tourism sites, attracts bigger numbers to its ghost tours, making Beechworth Ghost Tours the most popular on mainland Australia.

Now leased by La Trobe University, the Mayday Hills Asylum opened in 1863 and operated continuously as a mental health facility until it closed in 1995. Both Adam and Sharon Wynne-Jenkins bring a great depth of knowledge to the tours, with generations of their respective families employed there from its earliest days.

The Ghost Tours reflect the strong overall performance of Indigo Shire as a tourist destination. For the month of August, Shire Visitor Information Centre numbers recorded an increase of just over 20.1 percent, with Beechworth alone jumping 23 percent for the month compared with the same time last year.

Indigo Shire Tourism Manager, Stuart Perry, said the results were pleasing given forecasts of a gloomy industry outlook and in the wake of the February bushfires which had a strongly negative, but nevertheless short-lived impact on tourism to the region.

He said that the diversity and quality of attractions the area offered including a robust calendar of events throughout the year which in August included the Beechworth Ned Kelly Weekend,and the Kelly Country Pick, the Chiltern Antiques Fair, Spring Migration Festival and the Elizabeth Chong dinner at All Saints Wahgunyah, were strong factors in attracting visitors to the Shire. The focus on the area’s gold heritage, links with Ned Kelly, abundance of fine local food and wine, promotion of cycle tourism and outstanding natural beauty all contributed to the area’s growing popularity.

Visit www.beechworthonline.com.au/events, www.rutherglenvic.com, www.uniqueyackandandah.com.au or www.chilternvic.com to find more about where to stay and what to do in this lovely part of the world over the coming months.

Hi res media kits are available on request including information, images and footage of Beechworth, Yackandandah, Rutherglen and Chiltern. Contact Indigo Shire Tourism officer
Sue Couttie for more information. Phone 03 5728 8061 or scouttie@indigoshire.vic.gov.au

Beechworth Ghost Tours will have there 20,000 person on tour. Could it be you?

Age Good Food Guide gong for Provenance

Beechworth’s new kid on the gastronomic block, Provenance, has been named Best New Country Restaurant of the Year by The Age Good Food Guide 2010.

Michael Ryan, the mastermind behind The Age 2008 Country Restaurant of the Year, the two chef hat Range restaurant in Myrtleford, opened Provenance Restaurant & Luxury Suites early this year in one of Beechworth’s finest historic gold era buildings, the 1856 Bank of Australasia next to the Historic and Cultural Precinct. With six metre ceilings and towering arched windows, the bank’s original granite vault now houses the wine cellar. Accommodation at Provenance comprises four newly refurbished luxury suites in what was once the old stables and carriage house.

The prestigious Age Good Food Guide accolade, announced in Melbourne last night, further reinforces Beechworth’s reputation as a gourmet travel destination. The impressive line-up of local dining options also includes the renowned and much awarded Warden’s Food & Wine, Gigi’s, and The Stanley in the picturesque hilltop village of Stanley a few kilometres out of town.

Beechworth Oktoberfest

Beechworth craft-brewery Bridge Road Brewers is hosting its fifth annual Oktoberfest. Located in the heart of town, this small brewery has a swag of awards to its name, and is ready for this years celebration of beer and music to be a craker. The event is loosley based around the original Oktoberfest held in Munich in late September each year.

The Brewery has recently acquired an adjoining building that is the ideal venue for this years event. Beechworth’s 2009 Oktoberfest will be held on Sat 10th and Sun 11th of October, from 11am till 6pm. October is also the breweries official beer month, with other events being planned for October including a beer degustation evening and special brewing events.

Ford St. Beechworth Victoria 3747.

p. 03 57282703 m. 0422929235 e. info@bridgeroadbrewers.com.au

Large crowd expected for Rev Tim Costellos Kerferd Oration

Organisers are expecting a large crowd for this Sunday’s Kerferd Oration in Beechworth by the CEO of World Vision, Rev Tim Costello AO.

Tim Costello has been a leading voice in debates on poverty, gambling, homelessness, reconciliation and drug abuse. And since 2004, when he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of World Vision Australia, he has ensured that global poverty has been placed on the national agenda, particularly through the Make Poverty History campaign.

“Many of Victoria’s community values have been forged in the intensity of fire and concentrated through drought,” Tim says. “Facing terrible hardship can be devastating. Knowing that other people – people around you that you may not even know – are on your side brings relief and an immense sense of common spirit and purpose. It creates resilience and hope.”

Tim speaks of the values of compassion: of good humour, friendship, tolerance and human dignity.  “It is about the practice of going beyond immediate needs and desire for comfort, to the richness of seeing others prosper and grow, and celebrating their worth,” he says.

“And these qualities and gifts of generosity not only build up those around you, but can be part of the solution for the most intractable problems facing the global community, including poverty, and climate change.”

Sunday’s Kerferd Oration is a free community event at the Kerferd Conference Centre at La Trobe Beechworth. It begins at 11am, doors open at 10.15am. A light lunch will be provided after the Oration.

Historic documents to shed new light on police side of Kelly story

Little-known original documents including telegraphs, letters and reports from police involved in the hunt for the Kelly Gang and the recovery of the bodies of their three murdered colleagues have been found at the Victoria Police Museum.

Collections Manager, Liz Marsden, said a box containing the documents had been discovered during the course of an exhaustive registration project of every object, book and piece of paper in the collection as part of a Museums Australia museum accreditation program.

She said the Museum was excited to find the box of ‘extremely fragile documents’ relating directly to events surrounding Australia’s most notorious bushranger. At present this collection is not available for research as it is being painstakingly digitalised with the aim of making it available to the public sometime in the future via the museum’s website.

Meanwhile, they will form the basis of a fascinating talk – The Kelly Hunters: a Police Perspective - by the respected author, historian and retired Superintendent of the Victoria Police, Dr Robert Haldane, at the Historic Courthouse, as part of the 2009 Beechworth Ned Kelly Weekend on Saturday 8 August at 10am. Dr Haldane was granted access to the documents as part of his research for the Ned Kelly Weekend.

“These Police Museum documents are actual primary sources from the police and volunteers on the ground at the time,” Dr Haldane said. “They offer a real insight into the thinking and behavior of the police working on the Kelly case. These are ‘bottom up’ working documents from police and civilians in the field and they give a very different perspective to the police side of the story which has largely been overshadowed by the mythology surrounding the Kelly saga.”

One of the documents, a report from a policeman sent to recover the body of Sgt Kennedy, shot dead by the Kelly Gang, gives a graphic description of the sergeant’s face as so badly mutilated the body should not be viewed by the widow. Dr Haldane said this ran “counter to the dominant view of the Kellys behaving humanely toward their victims. The truth is they brutally murdered three policemen – an unprecedented act then and now in Australia - and then robbed their corpses.”

Another of the letters, written in the aftermath of the Stringybark Creek killings, is from a policeman to a superior begging permission to join the hunt for the Gang and pledging he would ask nothing from the State in the way of support for his family in the event of his untimely death.

Dr Haldane said other archival material also revealed some surprising facts about the make-up of the police force at the time. Contrary to popular belief, more than 80 percent of the force was Irish, as was the Chief Commissioner and the Chief Justice. This challenged the widely-held notion that the bushranger (Australian-born) was a victim of English establishment racism toward the Irish. “Ned Kelly committed crimes against Irishmen, was hunted by Irishmen and ultimately, convicted by an Irishman,” Dr Haldane has concluded.

His talk is one of a number of events in the packed Ned Kelly Weekend program, being directed for the first time by the Beechworth Historical Re-enactment Group and with a special focus on the police role in the Kelly saga.

The program will also include a Victoria Police Museum exhibition, The Police View of the Kelly Gang and Policing the North East at the Sub Treasury Building of the Beechworth Historic & Cultural Precinct, a former gold office and for many years the Beechworth police station.

In addition, authentically re-created events featuring precisely detailed police uniforms of the day from Ned Kelly Weekend organisers, the Beechworth Historical Re-enactment Group (BHRG), will give new prominence to the ‘men in blue’ of the Kelly era.

Dr Haldane will also appear at a Saturday evening Q & A at Beechworth’s Old Priory, Behind the Armour, which will see a panel debate both sides of the argument. Moderated by ABC Radio’s Gaye Pattison, the panel lineup will include Dr Haldane, the noted Kelly historian, Alex McDermott and author, Kelvyn Gill, whose biography Edward Kelly: The Times of his Life, 1820 – 1893 is currently due for release.

Passionate debates aside, the Ned Kelly Weekend program also offers some rollicking good music and fun including the sensational opening night event at the Nicholas Hotel, Food, Featre, Fashion & Fiddle-de-dee, featuring one of Australia’s best Celtic bands, Braemar.

Windows into a world in need

An art exhibition that reflects the theme of this year’s Kerferd Oration in Beechworth is being unveiled this week in shop windows in the town.

Pam said viewing the art work on a self-guided tour, with details of pieces in a catalogue and also in the windows, was a “rich experience” using the streets of Beechworth in a different way. “Historically, Beechworth streets have seen many performances – parades, decorations, and festivals and now this art exhibition,” she said. “And it opens up a lot of conversations about the theme of the Kerferd Oration. Artists have looked at ‘the world in need’ in their pieces and we are asked to look at what our community values are in the light of this.”

The art works are on display in shop windows in Camp and Ford Streets. Artists participating include Border photographer Rob Lacey whose work looks at identity and culture, and developing a sense of belonging and caring. Other artists include Jo Voigt, Ali Rowe, Lily Cunningham, Bronwyn Cossor, Mary Rosengren, Mary Ross, Kathy Whelan and Kerry Weymouth, Inga Hanover, Judy Hawking-Burnett and Vicki Luke.

Lively debate, rollicking good fun on the menu at Ned Kelly Weekend 2009

Beechworth is gearing up for some lively discussion, colourful re-enactments and a good old-fashioned knees-up when the famous Ned Kelly Weekend returns from Friday 7 to Sunday 9 August.

In its sixth year, this major event for regional Victoria, and Australia’s most significant annual celebration of the Kelly legend, looks set to spark plenty of debate with this year’s program taking a close look at the role of the police in the Kelly drama.

One hundred and twenty nine years may have passed since Australia’s most notorious bushranger was committed for trial in Beechworth’s Courthouse and hanged at the Old Melbourne Gaol, but the line remains clearly drawn between those whose sympathies lie with the Kelly clan, and those who believe the police version of events has been hijacked by those on the opposite side of the fence.

A Courthouse talk by the respected author, historian and retired Superintendent of the Victoria Police, Dr Robert Haldane, is sure to be controversial. Dr Haldane is expected to reveal previously unknown material from the Victoria Police Museum which will shed new light on the role of the police in the hunt for the Kelly Gang (More on that soon!).

Dr Haldane’s exhaustive research has also unearthed little known details about the make-up of both the police force and policing methods of the times in which the fates of Ned Kelly and some of the lesser-known characters of the story, in particular, police officers Michael Kennedy, Michael Scanlan and Thomas Lonigan were so tragically sealed.

A Saturday evening Q & A at Beechworth’s Old Priory, Behind the Armour, will offer a great opportunity to hear both sides of the argument. Moderated by ABC Radio’s Gaye Pattison, the panel lineup will include Dr Haldane, the noted Kelly historian, Alex McDermott and author, Kelvyn Gill, whose biography Edward Kelly: The Times of his Life, 1820 – 1893 is currently due for release.

Passionate debates aside, the Ned Kelly Weekend program also offers some rollicking good music and fun including the sensational opening night event at the Nicholas Hotel featuring one of Australia’s best Celtic bands, Braemar.

Change of date for Kerferd Oration In Beechworth

The date for this year’s Kerferd Oration in Beechworth with Rev Tim Costello AO has been changed.

Finding Darwin in Stanley Celebratory Dinner

^{On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection’.}

Local talks a lead in to Tim Costellos Kerferd Oration in Beechworth

The Chief Executive Officer of World Vision, Rev Tim Costello AO, will deliver the George Briscoe Kerferd Oration in Beechworth next month.

The Oration, an annual event, is being held a week earlier this year at 11am on Sunday August 2nd at the Kerferd Conference Centre at La Trobe Beechworth.

Tim Costello is recognised as one of Australia’s leading voices on social justice issues, having spearheaded public debates on gambling, urban poverty, homelessness, reconciliation and substance abuse.

Rev Costello has also been prominent in the Make Poverty History campaign and last year he chaired the Strengthening Communities, Supporting Families and Social Inclusion Committee of the Federal Government’s 2020 Summit in Canberra.

One of the organisers of the Kerferd Oration, Joan Simms, said Rev Costello was expected to draw a crowd equal to last year’s Orator, Prof Tim Flannery, who attracted more than 750 attendees.

Ms Simms said it was timely that Rev Costello was delivering the Oration this year.

“He is known for his strong stance on so many social issues and with the pressures of the tough economic times and climate change on us, it is timely that he is coming and speaking on ‘Community Values for a World in Need’,” she said.

“And as in past years there are associated events for local residents and visitors. As a lead in to the Oration, there will be three ‘Coffee, Cake and Community’ gatherings to talk about the needs of our community and how we respond.

“The gatherings will be at the Beechworth Neighbourhood Centre and discussion will centre on how we can better support our community and each other in these uncertain economic times.

“Understanding our own community better will give greater insight to Tim Costello’s message of the importance of community values.”

The Coffee, Cake and Community discussions at the Neighbourhood Centre in Ford St, Beechworth, are on:

1. Tuesday June 30 - 7.30pm to 9pm,
2. Friday July 3 - 10.30am to 12,
3. Tuesday July 7 – 4.30pm to 6pm.

The gatherings are free but for catering purposes please let Ms Simms know if you will be attending, phone 03-5728 2747 or email joansimms@bigpond.com

The Kerferd Oration is jointly sponsored by Indigo Shire Council, La Trobe at Beechworth and WAW Credit Union.

Friends Of The Robert OHara Burke Memorial Museum Presents Two Local Guest Speakers

Friends Of The Robert O’Hara Burke Memorial Museum Present two local guest speakers, who  will give their personal recollections of working at the Beechworth Gaol & May Day Hills

Date Sunday 14th June 2009
Time: 4pm -6pm
Venue: Burke Museum
RSVP: 03 5728 8067
Free Event
Bring a friend to join up

Stanley Bears Special Limited Edition for 2009 George Francis Morris

When we approached David Morris he was honoured to have his great-grandfather’s name attached to the bear. David is the fifth generation vigneron in the Morris dynasty. Since 1993 he has won more awards than any other Australian winemaker.

In releasing George Francis we are also honouring all the winemakers of Rutherglen who produce some outstanding vintages every year. The area is well known for its fortifieds as well as wide range of other wines. As wine expert James Halliday has said, it is ‘one of the truly great wine tourism destinations.’

Lay-by is available over four months, and we would like all bears to be collected by November 30, 2009. Last’ year’s Special Edition sold out in just nine weeks and we expect a similar response this year.

Profile

Height: 37cm (14 ½ inches)

Material:           Schulte German medium/sparse blonde mohair

Features:          Hand-made wooden wine cask by J Anstis, wood-turner of Maryborough, Qld

Full price AU $260.00 plus p&h and Registered mail (as required)

Another exclusive Stanley Bear from
Eunice A Eiseman
28 Rosengren Lane, Stanley VIC 3747
Telephone (03) 5728 6623
Email: enuice@stanleybears.com.au

Annual Harvest Celebration

This weekend in Beechworth, don’t miss the annual Harvest Celebration, showcasing sensational food, wine and beer of more than 50 producers from across  the north east region.

Ned Kelly Weekend to highlight police role in Kelly sideshow

The role of the police in the saga of Australia’s most famous bushranger will take centre stage at this year’s Beechworth Ned Kelly Weekend, returning Friday 7 to Sunday 9 August.

Established last year and with a membership of 30 and growing fast, the BRG is a committed living history group which recreates the Beechworth of the period 1852 to 1885, with a special focus on the events surrounding Ned Kelly’s links to the town. Wearing the authentic dress of the day, the BHRG is often seen on the streets of Beechworth and other regional centres taking part in street parades, displays and other commemorative activities including the recent re-enactment of the Kelly Gang robbery of the bank in Euroa in December 1878.

Regional temptations showcased at 2009 Beechworth Harvest Celebration

Beechworth’s sensational Harvest Celebration returns on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 May bigger
than ever w ith a packed program showcasing sublime regional food, wine and beer f rom more than 50
producers.

Now in its sixteenth year, organisers have for the f irst time partnered with North East Valleys Food &
Wine resulting in outstanding representation from across this beautiful part of the world, including the
renowned Beechworth, Rutherglen, Milawa and King Valley regions as well as the emerging areas of
the Ovens Valley, Kiewa Valley and Glenrowan.

Visitors to Beechworth can enjoy a weekend of meeting local growers and sampling their wares under
the big marquee in Ford Street outside the famous Historic & Cultural Precinct

A host of producers including Beechworth Honey guru Jodie Goldswothy, Beechworth Brewer Ben
Kraus, Rutherglen Estate winemaker John Gehrig and Beechworth Bakery’s Tom O’Toole, w ill take
centre stage on Saturday and Sunday for an entertaining and educational program of cooking
demonstrations, expert advice, tips, tall tales and true.

In addition, some of Beechworth’s top restaurants will weave their magic across the Harvest
Celebration at:
- The Gala Harvest Dinner @ La Trobe w ith MC Richard Cornish, the author and creative
director for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. The three course food and w ine/beer-matched
dinner on Friday 15 May will mark the off icial opening of the 2009 event.
- Wardens Chrismont La Zona Harvest Lunch. In true North East Victorian Italian style, the
renowned Wardens Food & Wine of Beechworth w ill team with Chrismont Wines of The King Valley to
host a memorable lunch experience featuring a four course menu created by Wardens head chef
Douglas Elder matched with superb w ines f rom Chrismont.
- Brewers, Beer & Breakfast @ Bridge Road Brewers. A fantastic way to learn the arts of brewing
and baking with the crew at Bridge Road Brewers.
- Gigi ’s of Beechworth’s Wild Harvest Lunch, A four course lunch teamed with f ive iconic
Beechworth wines presented by the makers, showcasing regional wild ingredients picked, pickled,
pressed, pinched and trapped by Allan and the Gigi's crew from local forests and farms,.

Drive Back In Time

This Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 May sees the return of one of Beechworth’s best loved events, Drive Back in Time featuring  a fantastic lineup of dozens of cars from days gone by.

Please contact 03 5728 2286 or 0427 282 285 for more information. The Beechworth Old Cranks Motor Club are the event organisers. Their website is at http://www.beechwortholdcranksclub.com

This is a true feast for car enthusiasts and will offer excellent photo opportunities throughout this weekend.

Early film confirms Beechworth is Australia best preserved

"Beechworth is by far the best-preserved 19th Century gold mining town in Australia."
                                                          Australian Traveller magazine, April/May 2009.

Seven minutes of black and white film shot in 1907 and donated this week to the Burke Museum confirms Australian Traveller’s assessment that Beechworth is ‘by far’ Australia’s best preserved 19^th Century gold mining town.

In its April/May issue, the magazine ranked Beechworth at Number Six in its list of 100 Best Towns in Australia.

“Not a single building in the town’s centre feels 20th, let alone 21st, Century”, the magazine said. “The Beechworth streetscape is so instantly charming because the buildings were largely constructed in the same style, at roughly the same time, and with the same material – the local honey-coloured granite. Ned Kelly, the town’s most notorious loiterer, could ride into Beechworth today and, ignoring the cars and oddly dressed people, it would look much the same as when he left in late 1880. In fact, he’d probably be arrested and charged at the local courthouse for stealing the horse he rode in on.”

Officially unveiled this week, the seven minute reel-to-reel film, ‘A day at the School Teachers’ Conference held at beautiful Beechworth’ was donated to the Burke Museum by local resident, Doug Craig who had the footage converted to DVD with the assistance of the Lions Club of Beechworth.

It shows the classic gold era streetscapes of the town in Victoria’s north east to be completely unchanged in more than a century.

Only the horse-drawn vehicles, period clothing and absence of roundabout at the town’s main intersection are different in 2009.

Says Australian Traveller: “A town brimming with secrets of bygone eras, it’s not hard to see why people flock to Beechworth to walk the very same streets down which the Kelly Gang sauntered.”

16 VIC Towns On The 100 Best Towns in Australia

16 VIC Towns On The 100 Best Towns in Australia
Marysville Honoured on the List

Victoria blitzes the top end of the prestigious list of the 100 Best Towns in
Australia, published by Australian Traveller magazine today.

Three of the Top 10 Best Towns in Australia are in Victoria. Great Ocean Road historical fishing village Port Fairy is the top-placed Victorian town at No.5.
Northeast Victorian heritage town Beechworth and Great Ocean Road community Apollo Bay are the other Victorian towns in the Top 10 Best Towns In Australia.

Marysville is also included in the list at No. 56, with the magazine’s editor referring to the devastated township as “Gods own garden.” and “Beloved for its tree shrouded streetscapes and beautiful gardens.”

The magazine’s Sydney-based editor, Greg Barton, says Black Friday’s shocking destruction was made very real by the number of “Best Towns” threatened by the fires.

“The 100 Best Towns list was in fact finalised on BlackFriday. The number of towns on the list that were threatened was heart wrenching and brought home just how devastating this day was in our history. Marysville remains rightfully on our list. It’s a tribute to the place it was and will be again,” says Barton.
Methodology

The 100 best towns were decided by a panel of tourism experts. The panellists were asked to rate towns according to their answer to one question: “Regardless of where this town is located, would you recommend to a friend to add one hour to their trip to visit this town?”  The answers were tabulated and the 100 towns were ranked from 1 to 100.


Victoria’s Best Towns
5. Port Fairy
6. Beechworth
8. Apollo Bay
12. Bright
14. Lorne
15. Mallacoota
19. Daylesford
21. Portsea
29. Queenscliff
35. Echuca
56. Marysville
68. Rutherglen
76. Walhalla
77. Mildura
81. Dunkeld
90. Halls Gap

Australia’s Top 10 Towns
1. Yamba NSW
2. Esperance, WA
3. Port Douglas, QLD
4. Broome, WA
5. Port Fairy, VIC
6. Beechworth, VIC
7. Byron Bay, NSW
8. Apollo Bay, VIC
9. Strahan, TAS
10. Margaret River, WA

Beechworth gets set to saddle up for 2009 Golden Horseshoes Festival

Preparations are in full swing in Beechworth as the town gets set for its biggest annual celebration, the Golden Horseshoes Festival, opening three weeks today on Good Friday 10 April and continuing across the Easter weekend.

The 2009 program will see the return of old favourites including the fabulous Grand Parade which will
see dozens of f loats vie for the Beechworth Bakery Perpetual Trophy as well as new events
including displays, a Monster Raff le, free live performances and spectacular roving entertainment.

The Treasure Hunt for the $2000 Golden Egg from Beechworth Gold also returns this year. Once
again, fortune hunters will have the chance to claim the amazing egg encased in $2000 of gold when
they search for clues on a special treasure map of the streets of Beechworth. The winner will be the
first correct entry drawn at 12:30pm on Easter Sunday. One of the most popular events of the
weekend, 2008 saw thousands of visitors join in the fun, w ith a delighted local family the lucky w inners
of the grand prize.

The Food Court in Camp Street also returns with live entertainment including the Australia Fair Grand
Concert Street Organ, a travelling concert-organ in the great European style, which produces an
amazing sound the equivalent of a 20 piece band.

Museum Victoria’s Discovery Program will be setting up a display of dinosaur bones and fossils, the
Old Cranks Car Club w ill show some classic beauties and the Friends of the Burke Museum w ill lead a
Mystery Tour of Beechworth’s secret and forgotten nooks and crannies. History buffs will also enjoy
the fascinating new documentary about the Buckland Valley Goldf ield, From the Ashes on the big
screen on Saturday night.

Rotary’s huge Easter Craf t Market in the Queen Victoria Gardens and the Beechworth Neighborhood
Centre’s Paddy’s Market will again offer bargain hunters the chance to pick up some treasure f rom the
stalls crammed w ith furniture, collectibles and bric-a-brac.

Run for the second year by a local community committee, the Golden Horseshoes Festival annually
attracts thousands of visitors to the town. Committee President Kathryn Osmond said while sponsorship
support from local businesses had been fantastic this year, organisers were still keen to hear from
anyone interested in volunteering their time during Easter to help with Parade marshalling, public
information assistance, setting up and manning displays.

She urged local groups and individuals to get into the spirit of this great annual event and dress up, join
in the treasure hunt, enter a f loat, buy a raff le ticket or just pull up a chair in the food court and soak up
the unique ambience of Easter in Beechworth.

Local Beers Among Worlds Best

Bridge Road Brewers, have once again backed up their claim as having “some of the best ales in country”, in fact they could well claim some of the best in the world, with big success at this years Melbourne International Beer Awards.

A beautiful battleground

Victoria s High Country is set to host an epic battle on two wheels. From Sunday 29^th March through to Saturday April 4^th, the inaugural Terra Australis Great Southern Land Mountain Bike Epic will roll through North East Victoria.

Fresh Beechworth temptations for lovers of the good life

Beechworth’s reputation as a gourmet travel destination has been further enhanced with the recent arrival of Michael Ryan’s restaurant and luxury suites, Provenance as well as Natasha Davis’ fromagerie, Larder.

The new businesses join some impressive local company including the renowned Warden’s of Beechworth, Gigi’s, The Ox & Hound, Bouchon at Botanicals, The Green Shed and The Stanley in the picturesque hilltop village of Stanley a few kilometres out of town.

Add to that list the award-winning boutique brewery, Bridge Road Brewers whose owner Ben Kraus has announced several new on-tap venues for a number of his delicious beers in Melbourne - at Bar Etiquette in Brunswick, Mrs Parmas in Little Bourke St, the Cherry Tree in Richmond and the Local Taphouse in St Kilda. In Beechworth, visitors to Bridge Road can sample Ben’s excellent range of ales and tuck into the Brewers’ home-made pretzels and sensational gourmet pizzas.

A lifelong passion for great food has led newcomer Natasha Davis to Beechworth where she opened Larder late last year. Her mission is to offer the best international and regional speciality cheeses in impeccable condition and reflecting seasonal influences. Visitors can taste the cheese spectrum at Larder, from French Roquefort, Rouzaire Brie aux truffles, La Mancha Manchego, Piano Hill Ironstone and sweet hand stretched, buffalo Mozzarella from Shaw River. Natasha also offers provisioning for impromptu picnics or special occasions, offering complimentary hire of lovely wicker baskets packed with mouth-watering terrines, pates, locally smoked trout and small goods as well as Lescure French butter to slather on yummy Laurent Bakery baguettes.. 

Michael Ryan,the mastermind behind The Age 2008 Country Restaurant of the Year, the two chef hat Range restaurant in Myrtleford, has opened Provenance in the 1856 Bank of Australasia, one of Beechworth’s finest historic gold era buildings adjacent to the Historic and Cultural Precinct in Ford Street. With six metre ceilings and towering arched windows, the bank’s original granite vault now houses the wine cellar. Accommodation at Provenance comprises four newly refurbished luxury suites in what was once the old stables and carriage house.

The Big Bushfire Benefit at Beechworth

FREE FAMILY EVENT

Saturday 14 March

La Trobe at Beechworth

The Big Bushfire Benefit at Beechworth

Albury’s MEGAS Music Store has joined forces with La Trobe at Beechworth to present a free family

day next Saturday 14 March to benefit victims of the recent Victorian bushfires.

Australian Idol finalist, Ricky Muscat, Peter Denahy, a seven- time Country Music

Awards nominee, Kelly Hope, a local and international singer/songw riter and Australian Idol

f inalist, singer/songw riter, Kane Harrison along w ith local support acts, have donated their

time to the cause, appearing on stage at the May Day Hills Oval at La Trobe from

4:30pm to 9:15pm.

Albury boy and successful stage and screen actor, Malcolm Kennard (Packed to the

Rafters, E Street) is also donating his time, of fering free storytelling workshops

(Community narrative) at La Trobe’s Bijou theatre, from 11am to 3pm. The w orkshops

will aim to help people express their feelings and responses to the f ires through the medium

of storytelling. (NB, places w ill be limited to 20 guests, booking essential on 03 5720 8050.)

And from 9:30pm, the classic Australian movie, The Castle, will be shown on the big

screen.

All proceeds from the day, including a sausage sizzle, jumping

castle and other fun activities for children and families, will be

dontated to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal.Gates open at

La Trobe at 3pm. The Big Bushfire Benefit at Beechworth is strictly

an alcohol-free event.

For more information or to arrange interviews with artists or

with organisers, or to obtain artist image, please contact:

Nick Gleeson (MEGAS Music Store, Albury), 0433 090 881 or

La Trobe Events Manager, Maria Saunders, (03) 5720 8020

Pictured above right: Ricky Muscat, finalist, Australian Idol

New group takes reins of Beechworths famous Ned Kelly Weekend Friday 7 to Sunday 9 August 2009

Tuesday 24 February 2009

The new Beechworth Historical Re-enactment Group (BHRG) will offer a fresh take on an Australian legend when it takes the reins of the 2009 Ned Kelly Weekend, this year being held from  Friday 7 to Sunday 9 August.

Now in its sixth year and widely regarded as this country’s most important annual celebration of the Kelly legend, the weekend event commemorates the anniversary of the outlaw’s committal hearing held in the historic Beechworth Courthouse from 6 to 11 August 1880.

The Beechworth Historical Re-enactment Group is an enthusiastic troupe which already has this year’s Ned Kelly Weekend program well in hand. It will unveil the full 2009 program at an official launch in Beechworth on Thursday 7 May.

BHRG founding president, Adam Wynne-Jenkins, says visitors to Beechworth can once again expect a lively program of re-enactments, art, music, displays, market stalls, competitions and talks by leading authorities on the subject of the life and times of Australia’s most notorious bushranger.

Established last year and with a membership of 30 and growing fast, the BRG is a committed living history group which recreates the Beechworth of the period 1852 to 1885, with a special focus on the events surrounding Ned Kelly’s links to the town.

Wearing the authentic dress of the day, the BHRG is often seen on the streets of Beechworth and other regional centres taking part in street parades, displays and other commemorative activities including the recent re-enactment of the Kelly Gang robbery of the bank in Euroa in December 1878.

Media enquiries:

Beechworth Historical Re-enactment Group President, Adam Wynne-Jenkins and Beechworth Historic & Cultural Precinct co-coordinator, Noelene Allen are available for interview.  

Please contact Indigo Shire Tourism Officer, Sue Couttie, to arrange.

Phone (03) 5728 8061 or email scouttie@indigoshire.vic.gov.au

FULL PROGRAM & BOOKING DETAILS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT WWW.BEECHWORTHONLINE.COM.AU FROM THURSDAY 7 MAY            

Indigo Shire Council

The community of Beechworth wishes to gratefully acknowledge the many messages of concern and support received from people around Australia and overseas and to reassure everyone that thanks to the  wonderful efforts of the volunteer firefighters, SES and other emergency services the impact on the town and our Shire has been minimal.  We also wish to extend our heartfelt condolences to those individuals and communities elsewhere in Victoria who have suffered such tragic loss.

National stamp of approval for Beechworths Burke Museum

National stamp of approval for Beechworth’s Burke Museum

Beechworth’s Burke Museum, one of Australia’s oldest and best-regarded regional museums has won a national stamp of approval.

The Burke was recently reaccredited under the Museums Australia Museum Accreditation Program (MAP) by an independent panel which conducts rigorous assessments every four years to ensure national standards are met across a range of criteria including collections management, conservation and exhibitions planning and development.

Burke Museum Collections Officer, Linda Peacock, said the reaccreditation was “important because we are meeting high industry standards for the collection and reaching the local community and visitors to the town.

“It’s quite an achievement,” she said.

The MAP panel described the Burke as “an important regional museum with a fine collection” including some “stunning exhibits” such as the 19^th Century bird display and rare thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger – pictured above).

“The Burke Museum is also custodian of a significant collection of Fijian artefacts; there are some items in this collection that the national museum of Fiji does not have examples of,” the panel noted.

The report went on to highlight the significance of the R.E.Johns collection of 19^th Century aboriginal artefacts, describing it as “one of the best collections of Victorian Aboriginal material in the country.”

The panel gave special mention to the excellent presentation of displays as well as ‘striking’ improvements in preventive conservation since the last assessment in 2004.

The Robert O’Hara Burke Museum, named in honour of the former Beechworth Police Superintendent and later ill-fated explorer, is a highlight of the Beechworth Historic and Cultural Precinct. It boasts a fascinating and historically significant collection of more than 30,000 individual items, many dating back to its establishment more than 150 years ago and some linked to famous and infamous figures of history such as Ned Kelly, Dame Nellie Melba and of course, the museum’s namesake, Robert O’Hara Burke.

Find out more about the Burke’s amazing collections and current exhibition at www.beechworth.com/burkemus

Open daily 10am to 5pm (closed Christmas Day)

Burke Museum Collections Officer, Linda Peacock, said the reaccreditation was “important because we are meeting high industry standards for the collection and reaching the local community and visitors to the town.

“It’s quite an achievement,” she said.

The MAP panel described the Burke as “an important regional museum with a fine collection” including some “stunning exhibits” such as the 19^th Century bird display and rare thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger – pictured above).

“The Burke Museum is also custodian of a significant collection of Fijian artefacts; there are some items in this collection that the national museum of Fiji does not have examples of,” the panel noted.

The report went on to highlight the significance of the R.E.Johns collection of 19^th Century aboriginal artefacts, describing it as “one of the best collections of Victorian Aboriginal material in the country.”

The panel gave special mention to the excellent presentation of displays as well as ‘striking’ improvements in preventive conservation since the last assessment in 2004.

The Robert O’Hara Burke Museum, named in honour of the former Beechworth Police Superintendent and later ill-fated explorer, is a highlight of the Beechworth Historic and Cultural Precinct. It boasts a fascinating and historically significant collection of more than 30,000 individual items, many dating back to its establishment more than 150 years ago and some linked to famous and infamous figures of history such as Ned Kelly, Dame Nellie Melba and of course, the museum’s namesake, Robert O’Hara Burke.

Find out more about the Burke’s amazing collections and current exhibition at www.beechworth.com/burkemus

Open daily 10am to 5pm (closed Christmas Day)

Golden summer ahead for Indigo visitors as stars come out to play

Tuesday 23 December 2008

The charming and historic towns, villages and wide-open spaces of Indigo Shire are the perfect getaway destination whatever the time of year and this summer is particularly special with a smorgasbord of events for holidaymakers of all ages.

Some of the biggest names in Australian classical and pop music, an Olympic gold medalist and the only surviving relatives of one of our greatest authors are all headed this way over coming weeks to take part in festivals, concerts and local celebrations being staged across Indigo Shire.

Highlights of the coming months include two fantastic events at La Trobe at Beechworth - Opera in the Alps on 17 January featuring Opera Australia star, mezzo soprano Roxanne Hislop and the gifted classical guitarist, Slava Grigoryan, performing a concert under the stars. And on St. Valentines Day the brand new day-long Romance Festival on Saturday 14 February will feature a concert starring pop diva Jade MacRae and Australian Idol finalist, Ricky Muscat.

Chiltern is also putting on its glad rags to celebrate two special events this summer. On 3 and 4 January the annual Henry Handel Richardson birthday celebrations will be held at the author’s one-time childhood home, Lake View House. The HHR Society will welcome the author’s only surviving relatives, the UK-based Neusatter family who will formally present the Chiltern Athenaeum with the author’s original writing desk. Angela Neusatter will also pay tribute to her great aunt, Henry Handel Richardson, when she delivers the 2009 HHR Birthday Oration at the historic National Trust-owned property.

On Australia Day weekend the whole town will turn out to celebrate the 150^th anniversary of the discovery of gold in Chiltern, with a full program of free family events, including a Pool Party with Olympic Gold and Silver Medalist, Brooke Hanson.

And at All Saints Estate at Wahgunyah in a beautiful vineyard setting, a stellar lineup including Jimmy Barnes and Kasey Chambers will take the stage of A Day on the Green on 31 January.

The long lazy days of summer in Indigo Shire are also perfect for a leisurely stroll under the shady old verandahs of the gold era towns of Beechworth, Rutherglen, Chiltern and Yackandandah, sampling delicious local wines at one of the of scores of beautiful vineyards or cycling along the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail.

Visit www.beechworthonline.com.au/events; www.rutherglenvic.com; www.uniqueyackandandah.com.au or www.chilternvic.com to find more about where to stay and what to do in this lovely part of the world over the coming months.

New tour uncovers old Beechworth

Visitors to Beechworth this January have the chance to discover a new side of the historic town with the launch of the Town Walking Tour.

The tour will complement the hugely popular Ned Kelly and Gold walking tours which have become a must for tourists to the area since their launch three years ago.

The new tour will explore the town’s rich Gold Era history, uncovering fascinating and often little-known stories about the characters and events that shaped Beechworth’s early development.

Expert guides from the Visitor Information Centre will lead the tour on a leisurely hour-long stroll through the wide, tree-lined avenues and beautifully preserved streetscapes of Beechworth.

Along the way, visitors will stop at more than two dozen sites, including the Robert O’Hara Burke Memorial Museum, one of Australia’s best regional museums named after the ill-fated explorer and one-time Police Superintendent of Beechworth.

Other notable sites include:

·         The old Temple Bar Hotel in Ford Street, one of more than 60 licensed premises operating in the area in the 1870s. They will learn about the publican who advertised in the Constitution & Ovens Mining Intelligencer for a “kangaroo and an emu for this hotel – wanted dead or alive.”

·         The Old Anglican Schoolhouse whose alumni include noted geologist Edward John Dunn and the first Australian-born Governor General Sir Isaac Isaacs

·         St. Joseph’s Presbytery in Church Street where Kelly Gang associate turned police informer, Aaron Sherritt married Ellen Barry in 1879.

The new Town Walking Tour will leave from the Beechworth VIC every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 1pm from 5 January until 1 February.

Bookings and enquiries at Beechworth Visitor Information Centre,
phone 1300 366 321 or visit www.beechworthonline.com.au

Opera In The Alps 2009

Opera In The Alps 2009 Saturday 17 January 2009 Mayday Hills Oval La Trobe at Beechworth Gates and food/wine stalls open at 5:30pm The concert will commence at 8pm and conclude at 10:30pm with one 40 minute interval Roxane Hislop  Mezzo-Soprano James Egglestone Tenor Slava Grigoryan Guitarist Benjamin Northey Conductor Opera in the Alps Choir and Orchestra

Enjoy a relaxing evening of fine food, wine and classical favourites under the stars, in the picturesque grounds of LaTrobe at Beechworth.

Premium Packages are also available, comprising a three-course dinner accompanied by fine wines from Brown Brothers. The pre-concert dinner and dessert at interval are held on the lawns of the Pines Convention Centre, which commands a breathtaking veiw of the concert setting and is, surely, the ultimate way to experience Opera in the Alps

General ticket sales from Monday 15 September 2008

Beechworth set to deck the halls with late-night shopping

Far from the madding crowds, shopping in Beechworth is a pleasurable and leisurely experience at any time of the year.

Now traders have banded together to offer local residents the chance to view the range of quality products available in their own town at an evening showcase on Friday 12 December when businesses will stay open until 8pm.

Beechworth Chamber of Commerce President, Catherine Smith, called on the community to get behind their local businesses and enjoy the ambience of evening shopping in the town centre.

She said that Beechworth these days was renowned as much for its fantastic shopping opportunities as it was for its famous historical attractions.

“We are absolutely spoiled for choice locally”, she said. “We can take a short stroll down Camp or Ford Street and sample so many different products, from antiques and collectibles, to an amazing range of gifts, fine art, pottery, books, sophisticated fashion, shoes and accessories, beautiful jewellery and quality homewares.

“Beechworth really does offer a perfect alternative for Christmas shopping when you think of the pressure-cooker atmosphere of the City and even the smaller regional centres at this time of the year. And the best thing is, you can always find a park!”

This year, a Giving Tree will be installed at the Post Office with gifts and donations going to the Salvation Army and Beechworth Hospital.

Indigo towns join forces for big weekend event

Historic Burke treasure stars in new circus exhibition

A treasure of Beechworth’s Burke Museum collection, an original woodblock, Ashton’s Circus circa 1857, is featuring in a new touring exhibition - Step Right Up - celebrating the circus in Australian art.

The historic woodblock is one of thousands of objects, artworks and curiosities held in the treasure trove that is Beechworth’s Burke Museum. A nationally significant collection of Aboriginal artefacts from the early to mid-19^th century, an amazing natural history collection, one of the four original Ned Kelly death masks and thousands of documents, journals and photographs from Beechworth’s heady gold rush days to the present are among the permanent collections on display at this fine regional museum, a jewel of Beechworth’s Historic and Cultural Precinct.

As part of its own exhibitions program, the Burke Museum is currently featuring Women Vote: They Picked up the Patter with Amazing Fluency commemorating the contribution of Beechworth women to the Monster Petition presented to the Victorian Parliament in 1891 calling for the right to vote. See full details at: www.beechworth.com/burkemus/exhibits

Bridge Road Brewers Nutty Larger

Bridge Road Brewer's is proud to announce the release of its latest brew, the Chestnut Lager. Brewed with local chestnuts and hops and aged for over 4 months this Beechworth lager is unique in Australia.

Brewer Ben Kraus said the lager was challenging to brew, however the initial test batch has proved a huge success. Demand for the beer has been strong and the brewery is currently brewing two more batches for release prior to Christmas.

Tinkers hill Cellar Door is open for wine tastings and light lunches

Spring is here and Tinkers Hill Cellar Door will be open for wine tastings and light lunches as from this  weekend (Saturday 6th September 2008). Our opening hours are Saturdays and Sundays from 11.00am to 5.00pm. After a short winter break we are feeling refreshed. We have sold out the Tinkers Hill shiraz and the new 2006 shiraz will now be available, as will the Cirko V 2005 shiraz Viognier.

Best Western Motel wins for most upgrades and improvements

The Best Western Beechworth Motor Inn (Beechworth, Victoria) has been announced as the winner of the Best Western Award for Excellence in the category of Most Improvements and Upgrades within a Best Western Property.

The award, announced at the Best Western Annual Convention in Auckland, New Zealand, recognises the Best Western property that has made the most improvements throughout the year.

The Best Western Beechworth Motor Inn spent $140,000 on renovating all 10 suites. Bathrooms were replaced, wall lighting was removed and replaced with elegant lamps and indirect lighting, and all soft furnishings and carpets were replaced with new items in muted autumnal colours. On the strength of these, the Best Western Beechworth Motor Inn was judged to have made the most outstanding improvements.

“This award justifies the time and effort that has been put into this project,” says Robert Ransom of the Best Western Beechworth Motor Inn. “The result has been overwhelming. Using local tradesmen to contribute to the refurbishment has injected more confidence in us to expand the motel to the next level.”

The Best Western Beechworth Motor Inn is a three-and-a-half star property featuring single, queen and large family rooms on one-and-a-half acres of leafy landscaped gardens.

Located only one kilometre from the centre of Beechworth, the property is an ideal base for corporate guests. All suites feature undercover parking and easy access to a large swimming pool, sun deck and private BBQ area.

Women Vote: They Picked Up the Patter with Amazing Fluency - Exhibition

‘Women Vote: They Picked Up the Patter with Amazing Fluency’ Exhibition

The ‘Women Vote: They Picked Up the Patter with Amazing Fluency’ exhibition tells the stories of the women of Beechworth and district especially the 160 women who signed the Monster Petition in 1891 that was presented to the Victorian Parliament to demonstrate women wanted the vote. It explores the considerable achievements of women and their community involvement in organisations such as the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and the Australian League of Women and their work in for the institutions and community of Beechworth.

Tabled in Parliament in September 1891, with the support of then Premier James Munro, the petition sought that ‘Women should Vote on Equal terms with Men'.  

The women who signed the Monster Petition in 1891 have been researched for Beechworth Arts Council by Cath O’Connor who has had considerable assistance from local researchers and family historians who have generously share information from family records that have been received from all over Australia and  from New Zealand. The stories if over 140 women are illustrated with photographs and objects from the Burke Museum’s collection encouraging exploration of these women their aspirations, families, houses, work and living conditions.

Contemporary works by six women artists have been commissioned by the Beechworth Arts Council t for this exhibition to encourage artists to comment on women and their concerns in 2008, this layers the exhibition with contemporary perspectives on women’s issues and their place in the world.

The ‘They Picked Up the Patter with Amazing Fluency: Women Vote’ Exhibition honours the stories of the Beechworth and district and one of the State's archival treasures, the Women's Suffrage Petition (1891) that reflects the dedicated work of the women, who went from door to door across Victoria to collect the 30,000 signatures. Its tremendous length earned it the name of the ‘Monster Petition'.

More information is available at; http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/womenspetition/background.htm

Beechworth Secondary College Proudly Presents: Busy Body - The Inside Story

Cody, the body in whom the play is set, is frustrated with herself for being so indecisive and she feel she is perceived as a bit dawky. We step inside her body to find out why this is so. Her two main departments, the Intelligence Department, based in the Brain, and her Emotion department, based in the heart, don’t get on. They continually argue over every decision that has to be made.

 Presently, Cody is in training so her Intelligence is guiding all her decisions to maintain a healthy and fit outlook. This does not excite the emotion department as there is very little fun, or risk taking in Cody’s life. Her Emotion Department keep on losing any argument. Cody has to toss a coin to stop the battle but intelligence always wins the toss. This also makes the Liver and Kidney department very bored as there is little work to do…cleaning up! Worst of all, the germs cannot achieve their aim of infecting the body and spreading, because the White blood cell army are too strong and everything is too healthy to make the body sick.

Uncle Fector, the head germ tries a couple of plans to break the Intelligence department’s hold over Cody. Firstly, he and his thugs send in the Free Radical to swap the coin for a double header. This allows The Emotion Department to win the debate over what to eat. They send the message for Cody to pig out on Junk food. She naturally overeats and makes herself sick. Uncle fector also bribes the Endorphins, (the Brain Department’s weakness) to distract their thinking by indulging them in massage, music and merriment. This leaves the emotion dept in charge and some different decisions are made. These include going to a party, smoking, drinking alchohol and using dope and finally heroin. Poor Cody becomes seriously ill.

Now the body is working overtime just to survive. The liver and Kidney are exhausted, the red blood cells are jammed and coagulated.

The brain is not functioning properly and the germs are ready to start an all out infection with this special potion that controls all cells.

 Scab, the new recruit to the germ gang, and Red blood Cell 99, meet in a blood canal and fall head over heels in love. They realise that this all out infection could kill Cody and that something must happen to save the day. They set a plan to get the three Pennys to come and help save the day, Penny Dol, Penny Deinefort, and Penny Cillin. These characters are immune to the potion and they set a plot to deceive Uncle Fector’s bad Germs. They convince the Intellligence and Emotion Department to work together and they inspire all parts of the body, Cody included, to work together on operation CHOOC - Co-Operation Health, Order and Optimism Campaign. Cody takes charge gets a new burst of strength and self esteem. All the good buys over power the Bad germs and it turns out that Scab is really a ‘good’ Bacteria and he never really fitted in with bad bacteria gang.

Cody survives and the body makes the realisation that finding a middle path and a balance is the way to go.

Beechworth set to celebrate a legend - Ned Kelly Weekend Fri 1, Sat 2 & Sun 3 August

Ned Kelly enthusiasts from around the country are set to flock to Beechworth in the North East of Victoria for the historic gold-era town’s celebration of its links with Australia’s most notorious bushranger from Friday 1 to Sunday 3 August.

Many Ned Kelly Weekend visitors are regulars at the annual event, and include direct descendents of some of the principal players in the Kelly story. This year they include Nola Love, the great granddaughter of Constable McIntyre who was the sole survivor of the police shooting by the Kelly Gang at Stringybark Creek and Leigh Olver, a direct descendent of Ned’s mother, Ellen Kelly.

Now in its fifth year and regarded as Australia’s most significant annual celebration of the Ned Kelly story, the Ned Kelly Weekend commemorates the anniversary of the outlaw’s committal hearing held in the historic Courthouse from 6 to 11 August 1880. Sentenced to death and hanged later that year, the bushranger’s celebrity shows no sign of fading nearly 130 years on.

This year’s Ned Kelly Weekend offers a lively and entertaining program to suit all tastes and pockets and includes new events as well as old favourites.

New this year is the Ned Kelly Weekend Heritage Market on Saturday 2 August. From 10am until 2pm, the Historic Precinct area of Ford Street will be closed to traffic and transformed into a colourful market square featuring delicious, good old-fashioned food such as soup and damper and tea and scones, as well as traditional crafts including spinning and weaving, knitting, demonstrations of wood crafts, blacksmithing, coopering and whip making, along with live music and buskers.

And back by popular demand is the Ned Kelly Weekend opening event Ned at the Nic – a traditional Music Hall ‘knees up’ at the Nicholas Hotel, featuring a sit-down three course dinner, entertainment from another local legend, Lazy Harry and his sensational band, dancing until late and the hugely popular Ned Kelly trivia quiz.

Also featuring across the weekend are theatre productions, a fabulous Kelly-themed art show, the unveiling of a new display of one of the four original Ned Kelly death masks at the Burke Museum, talks in the Historic Courthouse by Ned Kelly experts, the re-enactment of the Committal Hearing on Saturday and Sunday, the new Best Beard competition, The Great Fight commemoration and Ned On the Big Screen in the historic Town Hall.

Full weekend passes or tickets to individual events are available at www.beechworthonline.com.au
or phone the Beechworth Visitor Information Centre on 1300 366 321     

Seating increased 50 percent for Tim Flannerys talk in Beechworth

The response to this years Kerferd Oration in Beechworth by Professor Tim Flannery has been so strong that organisers have enlarged the seating capacity from 300 to 450 seats.

The oration is being held at the Kerferd Conference Centre at the Beechworth campus of La Trobe University on Sunday, July 27, at 11am.

Kerferd Oration committee member Joan Simms said the response this year had been “quite overwhelming”

“So many people want to hear from someone like Professor Flannery.  His oration on The Climate Change Challenge is more topical than ever.  There’s been the recent draft Garnaut report, various local moves towards forming sustainability groups and a growing awareness of the need for all of us to do our bit for the environment,” Ms Simms said.

“We’ve had to increase the seating in the Kerferd Conference Centre to 450 seats and we have provision to stretch that a bit more to the deck outside,” Ms Simms said.

“We have advertised that doors open at 10.15am and the feedback we are getting is that some people are coming quite early to queue up before that.  One group has told me they are bringing their breakfast to have in the grounds while they keep an eye on the length of the queue.

“And I know of another group from Melbourne who are extending their holiday at the snow, and staying in Beechworth overnight to attend the Oration.”

Ms Simms stressed that no booking was required for this free community event, however only the first 450 people at the door would be certain of getting a seat inside the conference room.

Students from Year 7 at the Beechworth Secondary College will have artworks and installations on the theme of sustainability on display inside the conference centre.

Parking is limited close to the conference centre and Ms Simms advised people to park in nearby streets and walk in to the venue.

Beechworth businesses tread softly as environmental art takes to the streets

Beechworth businesses have offered their shop windows for the month of July to display the work of dozens of regional artists taking part in tread softly, an exhibition focusing on environmental issues relating to climate change, global warming and loss of habitat and biodiversity.

tread softly, which includes works on paper, photography, paintings, objects, jewellery and sculpture, celebrates the environment and draws attention to environmental issues as well as provides a showcase for the ideas and work of regional artists.

A diverse range of subjects tackled by artists featuring in the exhibition include a commentary on the impact of domestic pets on native wildlife, declining river systems, salinity, drought, the massive and mounting global problem of waste disposal and the warming of the planet as a result of human impact.

But while many of the themes are both confronting and alarming, the work Milagros for Beechworth by gold & silversmith, Rose Wedler, on display in the Pots of Thyme window, tells a good news story. The work celebrates the small miracle of the rediscovery near Beechworth a few years ago of a plant previously thought extinct – the Swainsona recta or Purple Pea.

Beechworth Celtic Festival, 7th-9th November 2008

Beechworth’s annual salute to its Celtic heritage, now in its 14th year, is set to be the best yet.

This three day event set in Historic Beechworth celebrates all things Celtic, with a full program of live music, theatre, dancing, comedy, pipe bands and a street parade. The Celtic Festival is a diverse event with something to offer every age group.

For further information or ticket enquiries visit http://beechworthcelticfestival.com.au or phone the Beechworth Visitor Information Centre 1300 366 321 for accommodation and other enquiries.

Tim Flannery to give 2008 Kerferd Oration

Date:  Sunday 27 July

Time: 11am

Venue:  LaTrobe University, Beechworth

Renowned scientist and climate change expert Professor Tim Flannery will deliver the annual Kerferd Oration in Beechworth, in North East Victoria, next month.

Professor Flannery, Australian of the Year in 2007, is well known around the world for his position on global warming and environmental issues. An internationally acclaimed scientist and conservationist, Professor Flannery has published more than 130 peer-reviewed scientific papers, but it is his landmark book The Weather Makers that sets him apart. This book has received widespread praise for its informed and balanced approach to climate change and has been translated into more than 20 languages. In 2006 it won the NSW Premier’s Literary Prizes for Best Critical Writing and Book of the Year.

In 2007 Professor Flannery co-founded and was appointed Chair of The Copenhagen Climate Council, a coalition of community, business and political leaders who have come together to confront climate change.

Professor Flannery will deliver the George Briscoe Kerferd Oration at 11am on Sunday July 27, at the Beechworth campus of LaTrobe University.

Past orators at this free community event were the then Deputy Premier of Victoria the Hon John Thwaites (2007); Cathy McGowan AO (2006); Professor Henry Brodaty AO (2005); Barbara Holborow OAM (2004) and the then Chief Justice of Victoria the Hon John Phillips AC (2003).

This annual oration, now in its sixth year and jointly sponsored by Indigo Shire Council, Latrobe University and corporate sponsor WAW Credit Union, is named after one of the founding fathers of Beechworth. George Kerferd was a very public minded man. In 1857, just five years after gold was discovered at Beechworth, he was a member of the Beechworth Municipal Council and later its president for some years. He helped establish the Ovens District Hospital and was involved with the establishment of the Ovens Benevolent Asylum. In 1864 he entered Victorian Parliament as the Ovens District representative, holding portfolios in six ministries before becoming Premier in 1874.

Beechworth gets set for the 2008 Ned Kelly Weekend

The legend returns as Beechworth gets set for Ned Kelly Weekend 2008 Friday 1 – Sunday 3 August   Monday 16 June 2008

Beechworth’s famous Ned Kelly Weekend returns from 1- 3 August with a lively program of

re-enactments, theatre, art, music, displays, market stalls, competitions and talks by leading authorities on the subject of the life and times of Australia’s most notorious bushranger.

Now in its fifth year and widely regarded as this country’s most important annual celebration of the Kelly legend, the weekend event commemorates the anniversary of the outlaw’s committal hearing held in the historic Beechworth Courthouse from 6 to 11 August 1880.

This year’s Ned Kelly Weekend has the added significance of the 150^th anniversary of the Beechworth Historic & Cultural Precinct, being commemorated throughout 2008. This year for the first time, tours of the Courthouse will be available across the weekend in recognition of the sesquicentenary.

Among the many highlights of the 2008 program are:

·         Introduced by Australia’s foremost Kelly biographer, Ian Jones, a critically acclaimed theatrical staging of The Jerilderie Letter in the historic Courthouse. Devised and performed by Peter Finlay and with music and vocals by Malcolm Hill, this fine production has received rave reviews since its debut performance at the 2007 Melbourne Fringe Festival

·         From Sidney Nolan to Norman Lindsay, Ned Kelly has long provided inspiration for artists. One of the most popular events of the 2007 Ned Kelly Weekend, Framed, returns to Beechworth’s Historic Precinct in 2008. This sensational art exhibition is again expected to attract entries from regional, metropolitan and interstate artists. This year the general public will have the chance to vote for their favourite work with the new Framed People’s Choice Award.

·         Talks by experts in the Courthouse, including Brad Webb, whose authoritative www.ironoutlaw.com is Australia’s most respected Kelly internet resource and one of one of the world’s most visited history-related internet sites with

·         The Ned Kelly Weekend Heritage Market in Ford Street, outside the Historic Precinct, featuring a host of good old-fashioned food stalls, buskers, games for children and demonstrations of traditional crafts such as shingle and whip making, wood working, blacksmithing, spinning, coopering, quilting and weaving

·         The Ned Kelly Trial Re-enactment, including Ned’s arrival at the Beechworth Historic Courthouse and his subsequent committal hearing based on actual court transcripts.

·         A crowd favourite in 2006, The Great Fight returns in 2008, commemorating Ned Kelly’s marathon bare-knuckled 20-Round stoush with Wild Wright. The warm-up bout for this rollicking event will see the Judging of the Great Ned Kelly Weekend Beard Competition which will see a gathering of the finest beards in the north east vying for the inaugural Best Beard Trophy.

Full program and booking details available at www.beechworthonline.com.au or phone 1300 366 321                                                      

Kelly Country Pick

Kelly Country Pick Date: 15th -17th  August 2008

Venue: The Old Priory

Kelly Country Pick is a Bluegrass and Old time Country Music Convention based in the Old Priory for the weekend of 15-17 August 2008.

The event incorporates, concerts, workshops, jam sessions, instrument displays, a Sunday morning gospel singalong and an open stage. The festival is growing each year and we are aiming to attract more people from the local region and visitors.

The event features established bands from Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and regional Victoria. It is open to all public and is not just for musicians. It is based at the Old Priory with a Saturday, evening concert at the Hibernian Hotel.

An exciting new direction at Beechworth Honey

PRESS RELEASE – 5th March  2008

Two out of every three mouthfuls of food you eat is pollinated by bees and we need to protect and promote the value of Australian agriculture.

An exciting new direction at Beechworth Honey

• Beechworth Honey Pty Ltd, Australia’s largest independently owned specialist honey packaging company, will open the “The Beechworth Honey Experience”. The Experience will comprise of an interactive, state of the art virtual tour, live bee display and concept store. It will showcase how honey is produced, the story of Beechworth Honey past and present, and educate people on the diversity of uses for honey. It has been developed in  historic Beechworth, in North East Victoria where the family have produced honey for four generations. Live bees can be viewed and visitors can watch bees at work producing honey and tending to their everyday hive activities.

•  A broadened selection of “Beechworth Honey” branded products and goods related to bees, honey and the unique Australian environments that produce these wonderful natural products will be available. After two years in the planning there is much excitement within this busy company as we now open the Beechworth Honey experience to the public and share the passion for the amazing insects that bring us natures perfect food.

• Grand opening Wednesday 12^th March, 2008 at 11.30am.  To be opened by Ed Halmagyi (Fast Ed) from Better Homes and Gardens.

From strength to strength…

• Beechworth Honey began as a small primary production partnership producing bulk honey. In 1993 Steven and Jodie Goldsworthy undertook the packaging and marketing of Beechworth Honey, including the development of the existing Beechworth Honey label. Beechworth Honey has been marketed through the Australia’s major retailers, food service and industrial markets since this time and has emerged as Australia’s largest independently owned specialist honey packing company.

• Beechworth also has a growing export market with product going into the Middle East, China, Singapore, Indonesia and the US.   It is a rare example of a small family company who has made a big name for itself in the tough Australian retail market, and yet still retains its producer roots and small company values.

• To survive and grow Beechworth Honey has had to be innovative. Renowned for its quality, the operation is supported by a knowledge of Australian honey and the Australian apiculture industry only possible due to the family’s involvement in the industry for over one hundred and twenty years.

Further details are available by contacting:

Jodie Goldsworthy – Ph 02 6033 2322 or 0429 059 242

Karen Mills – Phone 02 6033 2322 or 0419 346 589

or email us at Info@beechworthhoney.com.au

Beechworth Honey Experience

Cnr Ford and Church St

Beechworth Vic

Burke Museum uncovers hidden Beechworth treasure

Burke Museum uncovers hidden Beechworth treasure Cabinets of Wonder:                              Treasure from the Beechworth Community         21 February – 30 June

Thursday 7 February 2008

Oak souvenired from the hull of Nelson’s ship HMS Victory, a prison-made knuckle-duster, perfume bottles and a collection of beer coasters are among the dozens of weird and wonderful artefacts to be shown in the Cabinets of Wonder: Treasure from the Beechworth Community exhibition officially opening at the Burke Museum on Thursday 21 February.

Visitors will be able to peek into the drawers, cupboards, nooks and crannies to view the private collections – from the everyday to the bizarre – of individuals and local organisations who responded enthusiastically to the Burke’s invitation to offer their treasured possessions for public display.

 “The exhibition offers fascinating insights into the nature of collecting as well as the community from which the collections have come to light,” says Burke Museum Collections Officer, Linda Peacock.  “It’s very much about reflecting the interests and passions of local people and gives them the chance to involve themselves directly in the process of curating their own exhibition.”

Highlights of the Cabinets of Wonder: Treasure from the Beechworth Community exhibition include:

• A collection of ingeniously crafted contraband made by inmates of the Beechworth Prison
• From the eminent historian, Ian Jones, a Beechworth local, a collection of HMS Victory memorabilia from his great-grandfather, a naval man who trained on the ship in the 1840s
• Historic trophies from the Beechworth Football Club
• A collection of postmarked letters from Beechworth and Stanley dated between 1855 and 1875
• A collection of porcelain containers and bottles unearthed from the Chinese camp area of Beechworth’s Spring Creek goldfields
• Historic items from Beechworth’s Lodge of St. John

The idea of Cabinets of Wonder is centuries old. The original Wunderkammers – Cabinets of Wonder or wonder-rooms boasted intriguing collections belonging to those aristocrats, monarchs or merchants who could afford to create and maintain them. They were usually made from exotic and expensive materials and often filled with contents and ornamental details intended to reflect the entire cosmos on a miniature scale.

Beechworth’s historic Burke Museum could be described as a Wunderkammer in its own right, with its extraordinary collection of Aboriginal artefacts from the early to mid-19^th century, an amazing natural history collection including an extremely rare stuffed Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) as well as thousands of artefacts, journals and photographs from Beechworth’s heady gold rush days to the present.

The Patron of the Indigo Tourism Board, Hon. Tim Fischer, will officially launch Beechworth’s own Wunderkammers at 6pm on Thursday 21 February. The Cabinets of Wonder exhibition runs until June.

Cabinets of Wonder: Treasure from the Beechworth Community
Where:          Robert O’Hara Burke Memorial Museum

Address:       Loch St, Beechworth
Dates:            21 February – 30 June 2008

Artists bring new life to historic Beechworth schoolhouse

School’s in for a group of talented artists and artisans from the Beechworth area who have joined forces on an exciting new venture launched this month.

The Old Schoolhouse Gallery is a fascinating new showcase of jewellery, paintings, ceramics and textiles as well as second hand books and collectibles housed in the 1863 Common School in Loch Street, one of Beechworth’s many notable historic buildings.

The initiative is the brainchild of Sandra and Robert Godfrey who lovingly restored the building five years ago as an exhibition space for Sandra’s silk painting.

More recently, their idea of using the building to house a retail gallery for a variety of local artists from the Beechworth area was enthusiastically embraced and within a few short weeks The Old Schoolhouse Gallery was open for business.

 “We wanted to have something for everyone to enjoy and at the same time provide encouragement for local artisans to keep creating,” Sandra Godfrey said.

Indigo Shire Mayor, Cr Vic Issell, will officially launch the co-operative venture on 25 January.

Joining forces with Sandra Godfrey are:

• Jan Clements  (felting, leather and metal)
• North East Yarns (natural coloured wool and woollen garments)
• Tania Magennis and Janine Delves (artists specialising in quirkiness and colour)

• Wendy Stephens (visual artist)
• Frances Macdonald (potter)
• Ali Rowe (textile artist)
• Robyn White (glass bead jewellery)
• Claire Shearman and Ken Young (second hand books specialising in arts, crafts and local history)
• Schoolhouse Collectables
• Judy Hawking-Burnett (paintings, jewellery and cards)

Celebrating its 145^th anniversary this year, the Common School No. 36, known as the Beechworth Academy, was the town’s first school. The first Australian-born Governor General, Sir Isaac Isaacs, taught there from 1872 to 1874, and for 100 years of its history the building housed the office and press of the Ovens & Murray Advertiser.

The Old Schoolhouse Gallery, 17 Loch St, Beechworth.
Phone (03) 5725 1342. Email wandanagallery@bigpond.com
Open seven days a week from 10am to 4pm.

Pop sensation Jade MacRae set to star at new at Beechworth Romance Festival

Friday 12 December, 2008

 

 

La Trobe at Beechworth presents:

Pop sensation Jade MacRae 

set to star at new at

Beechworth Romance Festival

Accommodation Available at La Trobe. Phone 03 5720 8050

Full program details and bookings:
Phone 1300 366 321 or go to www.beechworthonline.com.au

Where:                       La Trobe Campus, Beechworth 

International recognition for Beechworth quilter

International recognition for Beechworth quilter

Wednesday 19 December 2007

Beechworth quilter, Yelena Elliott, has become the first international designer to feature in You’re Invited, the prestigious American publication for the quilting sorority produced by Blackbird Design.

Blackbird chiefs, Barb Adams and Alma Allen, whose company also supplies designs for the US fabric giant, Moda, handpicked the exquisite work In Mollie’s Garden, on their visit to Australia last year.

The subject of a major feature in the latest edition of the quarterly journal, the work was also exhibited this year at the world’s biggest annual celebration of quilting, the Houston Quilt Fair.

Mrs Elliott took up quilting 13 years ago after completing a Fashion Technology course at Albury TAFE. She drew inspiration for In Mollie’s Garden from memories of her grandmother, Marie (Mollie) Bloxsom, whose beautiful garden in Albury featured the latticework, red roses, magnolia blooms and blue sage represented in the quilt. Serendipitously, she included an affectionate nod to Mollie’s daily battle with foraging blackbirds, making the work a natural choice for Blackbird Design.

In Mollie’s Garden is now on display alongside other original Mill Lane Designs by Yelena Elliott at the Beechworth Quilters Cottage, the business she co-owns and runs with her aunt, Leonie.

The Beechworth Quilters Cottage was recently relaunched and expanded, reflecting the steady growth in quilting as a leisure pursuit in Australia.

Busloads of enthusiasts from across Victoria and NSW are regular visitors to the Cottage and both Yelena and Leonie are in constant demand as tutors for quilters of all ages. They present regular workshops and quilting retreats, including a weekly group project, which is currently replicating a quilt from 1863.

The Blackbird Design publication featuring the story of and pattern for In Mollie’s Garden has just been released in Australia.

Burke Museum on the hunt for hidden collections as Cabinet of Curiosities comes to town

14 November 2007

Beechworth’s Burke Museum is on a treasure hunt for weird and wonderful local collections to showcase in the Cabinet of Curiosities, on loan from the National Museum of Australia from January to June next year as part of a national tour.

The museum is keen to hear from any individuals or local organisations with a distinctive, bizarre, ornamental, sentimental or just plain ordinary collection of objects small enough to fit into one of the 35 drawers of the Cabinet. 

Burke Museum Collections Officer, Linda Peacock, said the exhibition would provide a fascinating insight into the nature of collecting as well as the community from which the collections will be drawn.

“The items maybe as everyday as a collection of ballet shoes from a local dance company or decks of cards from a local Euchre club. The Cabinet of Curiosities is very much about reflecting the interests and concerns of the community and offering local people the chance to involve themselves directly in the process of curating their own exhibition.”

She said that one of the more unsettling inclusions would be a collection of contraband seized from former inmates of the historic Beechworth Prison. Mostly homemade weapons, these sinister objects are remarkable for their simplicity and sheer ingenuity.

The Cabinet of Curiosities was originally developed for a major exhibition at the National Museum in Canberra. An eccentric pyramid of 35 drawers jutting out at odd angles, it was inspired by the original Wunderkammers - Cabinets of Wonder or wonder-rooms, whose intriguing collections belonged to those aristocrats, monarchs or merchants who could afford to create and maintain them. They were usually made from exotic and expensive materials and often filled with contents and ornamental details intended to reflect the entire cosmos on a miniature scale.

In the 17^th Century a Cabinet of Curiosities could contain specimens collected during exploration and trading voyages such as preserved animals, tusks, skeletons, botanical and cultural artefacts.

The Cabinet of Curiosities arrives in Beechworth in January after a successful season at the Albury Library Museum, and ahead of a tour to the Tasmanian Museum and Gallery in Hobart  (July – December 2008) and the Pioneer Museum in Zeehan, Tasmania (January – July 2009).

Cabinet of Curiosities

Where: Robert O’Hara Burke Memorial Museum

Address: Loch St, Beechworth
Dates: January – June 2008

Book Online

Visitors to this new www.beechworthonline.com.au website can now book their entire stay in our beautiful region. Book accommodation, tours, and events in Beechworth and other nearby holiday destinations.
To make a booking and research your holiday, click on accommodation or tours, define your search criteria (including your dates and number of people) and hit "Check Availability and Rates". You can then compare properties or tours, rates and availability. When you have made your choice you can make a payment through our secure payment gateway. Have a fabulous stay!!!