THE demolition of one of the retail buildings on High Street will open the way for the next step in the ambitious plans for a faith museum in front of the Sacred Heart Cathedral. Bendigo Yamaha owner Kurt Nevinson said the business will shift to new premises in Bridge Street at the end of July..

GREATER Bendigo council is facing a backlog of almost 30 years on its roads-related infrastructure. Council has identified about 2500 “civil infrastructure” projects that need fixing, worth about $450 million. It spends about $16 million on such projects each year, which includ..

IF you think the Great Stupa has grown a bit, you’d be right. A 25 metre light tower has been placed on the top of the structure in Myers Flat to represent the finished height of the construction. The lights will be turned on by a guest of honour at the Festival of Light on May 25. The ..

BENDIGO students and academics rallied against planned Federal Government cuts to university funding at La Trobe’s Flora Hill campus this week. The Bendigo Student Association and National Tertiary Education Union organised the rally the day the federal budget was handed down to drive home t..

The bats are back, in increased numbers, but there’s no need to run for cover. The colony of grey-headed flying foxes in Rosalind Park, which have populated the fernery for several years in fluctuating numbers, has increased again, densely packing the treetops. Concerns that the numbers w..

SHARON Smith is not afraid to try new things, because for her, life is precious. The Runnymede local was diagnosed with breast cancer almost six months ago, on her 62nd birthday. She credits her family, including husband of 35 years, Kevin, her three adult children, and her pet dogs and the chic..

The State Government has delivered on its election promises in the state budget. The government announced funding for the Golden Square Primary School and the Epsom railway station. However, there was no money in the budget for planning for the Calder and Calder Alternate intersection at..

Greater Bendigo council’s reputation is under fire, as controversial actions by councillors and surprise proposals for budget cuts take their toll. Cr Elise Chapman’s Fortuna hunger strike and disability controversy, Cr Helen Leach’s published complaint about celebrations for g..

Bendigo licensees are calling on the State Government to reverse a decision to send the local Liquor Inspector back to Melbourne. "Once they go into Melbourne, they will have to argue the case to come out to Bendigo," licensee of the Cambrian Hotel Julie Gardiner said. "With a local comp..

By JOEL PETERSON About 200 of Australia’s best lawn bowlers will descend on Bendigo this weekend, to contest the time-honoured Australian Sides Championship and Super Six tournaments. Held from April 29 to May 2 at the Bendigo Bowls Club, the Sides Championship includes 12 of each state an..

THE Bendigo Weekly has joined a group of independent regional Victorian-based newspapers to create its own powerful network with a combined readership of more than 350,000 people. Known as VicFree, the network represents the largest circulating and most-read newspaper in each paper’s respect..

Bendigo's house prices have continued to skyrocket, despite a slowdown in the rest of the state. The latest Victorian Valuer General’s report shows a median house price increase of between 25 and 30 per cent in some Bendigo suburbs for the year to the end of September, 2012. Quarry..

Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey visited Bendigo this week, spruiking the Liberal Party’s anti-carbon tax message. Mr Hockey said Bendigo businesses would be helped by the scrapping of the carbon tax and mining tax, if the Opposition was elected on September 14. Mr Hockey and Bendigo L..

By ANTHONY RADFORD BENDIGO looks set to become a marginal seat at September’s federal election, despite a swing back to Labor in the latest polls. An analysis of recent national polls has given the Liberal Party a chance of wresting the seat of Bendigo from Labor. Facing a 9.4 per cen..

BENDIGO will celebrate National Youth Week from today, with a range of events planned for across the city for people aged from 12 to 25. Youth Week is an official celebration marking the achievements and talents of young people, and the important contribution they make to society. Greater Bendi..

Shadow Communications and Broadband Minister Malcolm Turnbull sold the Opposition’s cheaper and slower NBN plan in Bendigo this week. Speaking to Bendigo IPTv, Mr Turnbull acknowledged the Liberal Party’s fibre-to-the-node plan, instead of to the home, was technologically inferio..

By MARK KERR The 2013 Australian International Airshow, held at Avalon from March 27 to April 3 can be summed up in one word – AWESOME Perhaps it was the excellent weather, or the ground displays, or the flight program, or the commentary. Somehow everything seemed to fall pe..

The Liberal Party has defended a flyer delivered to Bendigo homes this week which uses the colours of the Aboriginal flag to attack “illegal boat arrivals”. The flyer is headed “Labor’s illegal boat arrivals. The cost.” and was revealed on twitter by the Bendigo..

Lee Kernaghan is one of Australia’s most prolific music artists with two million records sold. Add to that 28 Golden Guitars, 33 number one singles and you see the calibre of the man. Twenty years after the release of his first album, The Outback Club, Lee is back with his new release Be..

IT is not often you hear a voice with the clarity and style of Thelma Plum. This Brisbane singer has a distinctive Australian sound which stands out from the rest. At 18, Thelma has made the big step in to the music scene and it’s now her career. Brave perhaps, but something tells me..

Some of the biggest names in Australia have got behind an industry led campaign to have an Aussie icon’s legacy celebrated on June 13 by officially recognising the day as National Slim Dusty Day. Music historian Glenn A Baker said “Slim Dusty Day is a day to celebrate our musical he..

TAKE one peek at Laura Imbruglia’s promotional material and you can see she can laugh at herself. It’s a trait she likes to see in other performers too. Dressed up and quirky, Laura insists this all stops when it comes to songwriting. “I take it seriously,” she said..

AS a child, Deborah Conway was a reluctant public performer. That’s changed, and the all-grown-up singer now has 30-plus years of stage work behind her and is still enjoying it, even tasting a touch of nerves at the start of a tour. This tour includes Castlemaine on March 30. The new..

Spiegelworld’s notorious fun house, EMPIRE has brought Melbourne to its feet with its unique theatrobatic blend of burlesque, circus and sexual comedy on opening night. The EMPIRE VIP opening night on March 20 saw Australian A-Listers and Spiegel enthusiasts celebrate its arrival follow..

Bendigo Spirit all-star centre Gabrielle Richards has re-signed with the club for the 2013/14 WNBL season. Richards, who is currently playing in the SEABL with Knox, put pen to paper last week on a contract that wil see her return to the club after a career-best year in the Spirit's run to t..

By JOEL PETERSON Four finals aspirants will be in action this Saturday at the Queen Elizabeth Oval in the Bendigo Football Netball League’s first ever senior double-header. Ladder leaders Golden Square will face the undefeated South Bendigo from 3pm in the afternoon, while in the twili..

Sporting organisations and clubs all across Bendigo are turning pink this Mother’s Day weekend to raise funds and awareness for Breast Cancer Network Australia. Pink Sports Day will see sporting clubs right across Australia show their support for, and pay tribute to, women and families from ..

Bendigo Braves coach Ben Harvey will attempt to pull off a double celebration this Saturday night, when the Bendigo Braves take on Kilsyth in Harvey’s 100th game at the helm. Having been head coach of the club since 2010, Harvey has amassed a 68-31 winning record since taking on the job..

Bendigo cyclist Jack Haig’s star is rapidly rising, after he won the biggest professional road event of his fledgling career, the Battle on the Border, last weekend. The 19-year old Huon Salmon Genesys Wealth Advisers rider won the first stage of the event after a solo breakaway on a cl..

Bendigo Spirit has secured talented young player Sara Blicavs for the 2013-14 WNBL season. Spirit Head Coach Bernie Harrower said the 188cm Blicavs would add further size, speed, scoring and versatility to the Spirit roster which won its first WNBL championship this year. “Sara is ..

By VICKI HARRINGTON About 2200 people gathered at Strathdale Park on Mother’s Day to help raise funds for breast cancer research. The event was part of the Women in Super Mother’s Day Classic, a national event held across 74 locations around Australia. The amount of money rais..

Organisers are thrilled with the turnout for yesterday's 2013 Bendigo Mother's Day Classic. A record 2,000 people took part, many of them dressed in their best pink outfits. Committee member and major sponsor, Fernwood franchisee, Ben Cook said, "It is pleasing to see so many people tak..

By Vicki Harrington Fun runs and walks are renowned for raising incredible amounts of funds for various charities, but the benefits can reach much further. At the beginning of this year, Courtney Jones made a conscious decision to change her life. “I set a goal in January to do anything ..

By VICKI HARRINGTON Most of us have enjoyed our mother’s love directly but do we ever know how far-reaching that love can be? Norma and Ivan Barrett are retirees living a gentle, self-suffucient life on their little farm at Majorca, near Maryborough. They raised four daughters who hav..

Imagine an Australia with zero deaths from breast cancer by 2030. Sounds remarkable and perhaps hard to realise, but this is the main aim of the National Breast Cancer Foundation. The NBCF is the leading community-funded organisation in Australia raising money for research into the prev..

By VICKI HARRINGTON Every week a new headline appears attacking the increasing size and inactivity of many of our school-aged children. It is encouraging to find someone has taken the next step and done something about it. The Bluearth Foundation was founded by Australian businessman ..

By Rosemary Sorensen Bendigo Business Council is stepping out, taking its message to the wider community. “Our membership and our sponsorship is growing,” executive officer Patrick Falconer said. “What our membership is telling us is they want us to be strong in advocacy. &..

From top-end technology to food and wine businesses, trade and its export potential was on the agenda when Kelvin Thomson came to Bendigo today. The Parliamentary Secretary for Trade and Federal Member for Wills is in town to talk to local industry as part of a Trade Outreach Program. Wi..

The closure of the childcare centre is the first step towards re-establishing a functioning terminal at Bendigo Airport. “As the airport has continued to gather momentum and in the context of the redevelopment plans it was clear we needed to reclaim the building,” Greater Bendigo..

Greater Bendigo council has admitted this year’s Christmas tree light-up event was cancelled to save money. On November 30, council announced the event would not go ahead because of “an unfortunate lack of sponsorship and fundraising support”. The event went ahead afte..

A GROUP of Bendigo businesses are again doing their bit for an African charity. The Athlete’s Foot, VMG Accounting, For Feet Sake Podiatry and Bendigo Wholefoods are all donating a percentage of takings today to the School of St Jude in Tanzania. The school began in 2002 when Australian Ge..

Bendigo's grandest property has gone on the market as "marvellous opportunity … with exciting potential". Fortuna Villa has been in limbo since discussions for a potential "priority sale" involving the state government and Greater Bendigo council failed last year. The..

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Transforming chocolate into edible art is Sue Schrieber’s passion. A passion she has taken to another level with the opening of her own small business, Choclartiste. When she’s not tempering chocolate in her compact studio, Sue is a lab technician at La Trobe Bendigo’s School ..

Excitement is building in Trentham in the lead up to the annual Great Trentham Spudfest to be held on Saturday, May 18. Once again the spudlight will shine on Trentham with a festival full of fun, food and music. Quarry Street Reserve will be transformed into “Spud Hub” with hot potato..

Today’s mums probably don’t consider fluffy slippers and flannelette PJs appropriate or “cool” gifts on their special day anymore. So why not consider some less traditional ways to warm her heart, and feet. Start with an early morning walk (or run, if she’s up for it)..

The expanding foodie precinct in Bath Lane is about to welcome another newcomer, – a bakery with a difference. The New Freedom Gluten-Free Bakery is on track to open later this month after a major facelift to the former tile shop on the corner of Short Street and Bath Lane. It wil..

Late last month, Bendigo’s growing reputation as a foodie haven was given a boost with the opening of Cakewalk, a specialist cake shop offering custom designed and decorated cakes or cupcakes and hot and cold drinks. Excited owner Julie-Anne Valentine gave us an insight into the sweet life. ..

OUR first Bendigo Writers Festival surprised everyone, with the generosity of the writers and the enthusiasm of our audiences. An initiative of the Greater Bendigo council, in partnership with La Trobe University Bendigo, it was a busy three days of discussions and events, that made it very ..

In the Miles Franklin Literary Award has not only announced an all-woman shortlist, they are also running a “Miles of Reading Challenge” for tweet-reviews of those novels. To be announced on June 19, the $60,000 prize was set up from the estate of Stella Ma..

Newstead starts the winter, and Bendigo brings it to an end. While the announcement is imminent of who is coming to The Capital in August for Bendigo Writers Festival, this weekend Newstead Short Story Tattoo has a packed program on offer. Director Neil Boyack explains this three-day event as..

One of Michael Leunig’s favourite quotes is by the influential child psychologist Donald Winnicott, who said artists are torn by an “inherent dilemma”. They have, Winnicott said, an “urgent need to communicate and the still more urgent need not to be found”. Despite..

By Rosemary Sorensen Stacey Logan returned briefly to Bendigo earlier this month, to let people know about her books. Now in her 30s, the former Camp Hill Primary and Catholic College student has been beavering away at writing since leaving school. She admits her first efforts were “of v..

The Childhood of Jesus JM Coetzee Text, $34.95 Fables can work, if they have humanity within them, not just signposts to morality. Whether or not JM Coetzee’s latest novel, The Childhood of Jesus, works for you will depend on your willingness to go along with the absurdity ..