Alex Miller, the master storyteller

                                                         Alex and Stephanie Miller
It was a bit daunting meeting one of Australia's best-loved authors right here in Castlemaine.
I double check everything before I go - two pens, an extra notebook and oh yes, make sure the card is in the camera. All good.
I take a deep breath and knock on the front door. A minute later, Alex Miller's face suddenly appears through the window of a side door to the right, beckoning me to come in.
A calm and humble man, he greets me with a ready smile and welcomes me inside.
Mind you, he has not long been back home from a hectic trip to Sydney, where he scored the prestigious Christina Stead Prize for Fiction in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, for the second time.
He previously won the prize for his fifth novel, Conditions of Faith, in 2001. But this time round it was for Lovesong, a deeply moving story about a chance meeting between two characters - John Patterner and the exotic Sabiha - in a Parisian cafe novel. It tells of their lives together, and of how each came undone by desire.
The judges said of Lovesong: `Miller has crafted a magnificent portrait of desire. With wisdom and searing clarity Miller viscerally creates longing on the page: sexual longing, the desperation of parental longing, the hunger for art and for story. A sense of place - Melbourne, Tunisia and especially Paris - is evoked as powerfully as is each of the thoroughly realised characters. Poignant insights merge with gripping storytelling in this luminous work by a master storyteller'.
I sit in the kitchen opposite the master storyteller - I have read his books, I know he has also won the Miles Franklin Literary Award twice, The Age Book of the Year (Lovesong again) and countless other international gongs, but I can't help but wonder what makes him tick? Why is he living in Castlemaine? Why does he write? And now I am wondering, why is he so .... `normal'?
"This is our eleventh year in Castlemaine - we bought just before the boom," he said. "I like the hard, dry country around here and yet it still sits in the middle of a forest.
"We've got three major industries here - it's not just tourists. Castlemaine has got an army of blue collar workers and an interesting population of old and new. They have always made us feel welcome and it is good living here. It is a bustling town, Castlemaine, there is a lot happening and you can be part of it without standing out."
In his heyday, Alex worked in the Queensland bush and later owned a farm in NSW before moving to Victoria. He has been married to Stephanie - "a Mansfield girl" - for 35 years and you can still feel the strong bond and love they share for each other.
"It's a test run but it is going ok so far," he laughs.
"We have had a couple of kids and survived that ... in all seriousness, Steph has made sense of my life."
It's not hard to see that Stephanie is Alex's rock and that is why he is so grounded with his life and his work.
When it comes to writing, there are only two secrets, he says: hard work and `be genuine' about what you write about.
"I work six days a week. My week starts on Sundays at 7am or 7.30am and I usually work for a few hours and then Steph and I go for a walk through the (Castlemaine Botanical) gardens and then it's back to work. I have Friday afternoons and Saturday off. I have been doing that for 30 years. I love it. It's the only way to get it done - there is a huge amount of work to get through."
Alex says he writes about people and places who mean a lot to him.
"If you are genuine in your approach, the energy will feed into it but if it's contrived then the energy is simply not there."
He said his next novel Autumn Laing, originally based on artist Sidney Nolan's life, will be released in October this year.

Castlemaine auditions for madcap musical

Capping off the inaugural 2011 Phee Broadway Theatre Season will be Three's a Crowd's production of the musical farce Lucky Stiff.
Over the past two years this local not-for-profit company has entertained Castlemaine audiences with its productions of Little Shop of Horrors and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The company aspires to unite local performers, professional and non-professional, to create entertainment of a high calibre.
Lucky Stiff was first produced Off-Broadway in 1988, bringing together composer Stephen Flaherty and lyricist Lynn Ahrens, the authors of My Favorite Year, Ragtime and the animated film Anastasia. Michael Butterworth's book The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo was the inspiration for this zany, offbeat, exceedingly humorous, musical murder mystery farce.
In order to inherit $6 million Harry Witherspoon, an unassuming English shoe salesman, is forced to take the embalmed corpse of his recently murdered Altantic City croupier uncle on a whirlwind vacation to Monte Carlo.
Should Harry fail to carry out his uncle's last wishes the money will automatically go to the Universal Dog Home of Brooklyn. Hysterical farce ensues when Harry is pursued by his uncle's chain smoking, legally blind mistress and her optometrist brother who is allergic to tobacco smoke, and Annabel Glick, a zealous representative from the Universal Dog Home determined to see the $6 million "go to the dogs".
Auditions will take place on July 22 and 24 - expect "stiff" competition. Bookings are essential - call Val on 54722813. For an information pack email: infothreesacrowd@gmail.com
Tickets for Lucky Stiff are on sale now and can be booked by calling the Box Office at Bendigo's Capitol Theatre on 5434 6100 or book online at www.pheebroadwaytheatre.com.au

Maldon icon rises from the ashes

       Vic Restoration builders Dugald, Oliver and Matt at Maldon Railway Station

The $590,000 reconstruction works to the Maldon Railway Station are now complete, Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder announced on Wednesday.
Mr Mulder said the 1888 heritage-listed station building, gutted by fire in late 2009, has been rebuilt and restored.
"With the completion of these heritage works the home of the Victorian Goldfields Railway has been restored to its former glory," Mr Mulder said.
"These major reconstruction works have restored the much-loved state-listed Maldon Station for present and future generations to enjoy.
"Victoria has a rich rail history, and the Coalition Government strongly supported these works and the ongoing operation of the Victorian Goldfields Railway.
"The Victorian Goldfields Railway will continue as a major tourism link between Castlemaine and Maldon, bringing large numbers of visitors into the townships."
Mr Mulder said the Maldon station required substantial repairs to most of the station building, including its roof, ceilings, kitchen and station master's office.
"The Maldon station works included structural works, installation of new slate roofing and repairs to windows and doors, interior works, plumbing and electrical works," Mr Mulder said.
Mr Mulder said VicTrack had worked closely with heritage partners to deliver further works to refurbish the station building verandah, completing a full restoration of the building.
"These works were also able to include additional refurbishment of the station verandah, making the entire building as good as new," Mr Mulder said.
Paul McDonald, President of the Victorian Goldfields Railway, welcomed the completion of works.
"On behalf of the Maldon and Castlemaine townships we welcome the completion of works to restore the Maldon Station building," Mr McDonald said.
"Our beloved Maldon station, the home of the Victorian Goldfields Railway, has been brought back to life by the dedicated work and support of the State Government and expert staff."
"Victorian Goldfields Railway volunteers and tourist railway passengers alike will be thrilled by the completion of these works.
"Maldon residents will also be thrilled to have `their' station back, even better than it was before the fire.
"We are grateful for the assistance of the Mount Alexander Shire Council, Heritage Victoria, the State Government and VicTrack to bring our railway history back to life," Mr McDonald said.
Nationals MP for Northern Victoria Region, Damian Drum said: "Like many others, I was saddened by the devastation and recognised that Maldon felt a genuine sense of loss."
"Maldon treasures its built heritage, but the station was more than just a museum piece. It wasn't just a facade in a heritage streetscape - it is a working piece of history, bringing economic activity and people to the town."
The works were carried out by Castlemaine-based Vic Restorations Building.
A community celebration to officially re-open the restored station building is planned for the end of August 2011.

A lush oasis in the heart of Newstead

                   Karly, Lewis, Mary and Joan enjoying the Newstead Community Garden

Newstead 2021 Inc. has scored nearly $5000 to create a unique project called The heART Garden project in the Newstead Community Garden, one of the only permaculture-designed, biodynamic community gardens in Australia.
The community garden had its genesis in 2008 and this project will bring contemporary art into the very centre of this beautiful and productive community space.
The funding will allow the community to work alongside artists in the design, creation and installation of a variety of practical and aesthetic pieces including tables and seating, arbours, notice boards, a sundial, a pizza oven and a sculptural central garden feature.
The funding was recently announced by the Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development, Local Government and the Arts, Simon Crean as part of $104,855 in funding through the Regional Arts Fund.
Newstead Community Garden spokeswoman Mary Park welcomed the $4960 funding for The heART Garden project.
"The aim is to involve local artists and to get them to join the community garden people and come up with ideas to introduce beautiful, functional artworks in the garden," Ms Park said. "We are hoping artists will come up with all sorts of crazy ideas!"
Ms Park said the focus would be on using recycled and local materials as much as possible for the artworks, which need to be finished by January 2012.
"Hopefully, at the end of it we will have at least one central focus project implemented and other projects costed and ready to go for the next round of funding."
Interested artists can send expressions of interest via email to ecologica@bigpond.com or phone Mary Park on 5476 2593.
In a separate grant, Newstead Community Garden also scored a $3000 community grant from Mount Alexander Shire Council to design and construct outdoor furniture (hopefully a pizza oven) for the garden.
Ms Park said the garden, which is located behind Newstead's All Saints Anglican Church, was officially launched in May, 2010.
"We lease the land off the church and they have been absolutely brilliant and so supportive of the garden - they waived the lease fee for the first two years to allow us to get established."
She said the garden celebrated its first birthday recently with a cake and a shared lunch, created from produce in the garden.
A stroll around the garden reveals it is divided into four quadrants, each with two keyhole shapes, and when you step back you can see the whole garden has been designed in a classic mandala shape. It has 15 large plots, some shared, and about 45 keen green thumbs, including children, involved in digging, planting and harvesting a variety of crops each season.
"We have people of all ages and occupations involved in the garden - there are couples with young families, older, single people, blokes, farmers and a lot of newcomers to town find it's a great way to meet people."
They grow everything from strawberries, artichokes and garlic to potatoes, asparagus, beans, pumpkins, salad vegetables and sunflowers.
"We also have a lot of fruit trees - apples, pears, quinces, nectarines to name a few. And a lot of the fruit and vegetables are heritage varieties so we collect our own seed for future planting."
The garden has been blessed with a huge amount of rainfall in the past year and the crops have been booming.
"In summer, it was a lush oasis - full of colourful fruit and vegetables - it was just beautiful."
So what happens to all the produce? Well most of the gardeners use it themselves or give any excess to family and friends.
There is also the monthly Produce Exchange table held under the verandah of the Red Store in the main street of Newstead on the first Saturday of the month at 10.30am. People just bring along whatever they have grown, collected or made at home - everything from vegies to eggs, flowers, preserves and so on.
"The idea is they just put it on the table and some people throw in a donation towards the garden. It's great for people who have an abundance of fruit or vegies they can't use ... at least they know it will be put to good use. It's also quite a social exchange and there is a quite a buzz when the exchange is in full swing."
For further details about the Newstead Community Garden visit http://newsteadgarden.wordpress.com/

Chewton to celebrate Christmas in July

The Chewton community is planning a fun-filled `Christmas in July' lunch at the Red Hill Hotel to raise funds for the Chewton Pool.
As reported in the Mail last week, Environment Minister Ryan Smith has signed off on an agreement to hand control of the pool to the Chewton community.
Save the Chewton Pool committee member Gloria Meltzer said the community was rapt with the Minister's decision.
"We now have a goal to works towards and we have to fundraise more than ever to repair the pool, train lifeguards and do whatever is necessary to get the pool back on track and open in time for summer," Ms Meltzer said.
She said the Christmas in July event would be held on Sunday, July 24 at 12.30pm and it will be a great opportunity for the community to celebrate a new era for the Chewton Swimming Pool.
"It is just going to be total fun and a real celebration. We will have Santa, entertainment, singing, raffles and much more.
The two-course dinner includes a traditional Christmas dinner with all the trimmings plus plum pudding or trifle for dessert. Tickets are $50 per person and can be booked by calling the hotel on 5472 2317.
Meanwhile raffle tickets are selling fast for a huge hamper, (choc-o-bloc full of wonderful goodies worth more than $250), which will be drawn during the Christmas in July event on July 24. Tickets are available at the Chewton Post Office.