Stories

Through the generosity of the community, $13,651 has been raised by AFS & Associates Chartered Accountants and donated to Rotary Castlemaine for distribution to those affected by the Harcourt January fires.
 
AFS’ support of the Harcourt community was deeply personal. Several team members have strong ties to Harcourt — having been born and raised there, having family in the area, or working closely with local clients, some of whom were directly impacted.
 
The firm created the raffle as a simple way for the wider community to contribute, while also supporting local businesses through voucher prizes to help keep funds circulating within the region.

BBQ Meister John Clue and his crack BBQ team kept the free sausages flowing at the Mount Alexander Shire Australia Day/Survival Day community event on 26 January.

Once again, Rotary Castlemaine is proud to present Carols in the Park. Victory Park, Castlemaine, is the location. 6.30pm, Friday 19 December 2025.

This is a free community event with the support of the Lions Club of Castlemaine, State Emergency Services, Belle Property Castlemaine, Greg Ginger, Calum McClure and Amalie O’Hara, Thompson's Foundry Band, Mount Alexander Shire, MainFM, Castlemaine Mail.

The Shamick's Castlemaine Rotary Truck Show is complete for 2025. Thanks to the truckies, our thousands of patrons, our small army of volunteers and our hardworking Rotary members and friends.

The full results list is now available on our Truck Show web page. Further updates will be added over coming days.

We are also seeking feedback about the show, which can be lodged online at https://forms.gle/AxxjMMofe5FsvvKk7

Rotary Castlemaine celebrated 90 years of serving our community at a gala dinner at BoomTown Winery & Bistro on Saturday 21 June.

Along with the anniversary, we recognised four community members and inducted them as Paul Harris Fellows. The evening concluded with our annual Changeover ceremony where outgoing President Terry Murphy passed on the leadership baton to incoming President Trevor Bray, assisted by District Governor-Elect Peter Shepheard.

Chewton artist Greg Wood will be the Featured Artist and Judge for the upcoming Rotary Castlemaine Art Show.
Graduating in fine arts at Hobart School of Art, Greg's psychologically- and visually-alluring landscapes are painted from memory, conveying a profound sense of space, purposely obscured, and often further abstracted by mist suspended somewhere between imagination and location, ranging in size from large to miniature.

Entries for the 36th Annual Rotary Castlemaine Art Show close on 21 May.
The show will run across the King's Birthday long weekend at Castlemaine Town Hall, commencing with a Gala Opening on Thursday 5 June.

https://gregwood-art.com/

The Castlemaine Rotary Art Show is returning for 2025!

This will be our 36th Annual Art Show. Pop it into your diary: 6–9 June 2025, King's Birthday long weekend at Castlemaine Town Hall.

The Awards Dinner for the Rotary Castlemaine Apprentice Trainee Awards 2025 was held at the Cumberland Hotel on 2 April 2025.

The main award — $1,000 cash from Rotary Castlemaine and a framed certificate — was made to Angus Freeman, Cert 3 Light Vehicle, nominated by Parsons Motor Body. See all the results here...

Our Rotary Castlemaine Truck Show for 2024 is done and dusted.

Results are now posted on our Truck Show page.

2024 Truck of the Show was Cornwill Transport's Kenworth SAR driven by Troy and Wayne. Congratulations!

And if you're thinking that sounds familiar, it is. It's the same truck that was Truck of the Show in 2023! The judges were unanimous that no other truck at the show was equal to the standard of this truck.

Full results available on the Truck Show page.

At each Truck Show we make an award on Saturday afternoon for Best on Ground. This is an incentive for truckers to arrive early on Saturday.

This year, Best on Ground was awarded to Tony Whelan’s 1986 Kenworth W924.

Tony, from Carisbrook, purchased the rig from a retiring trucker 12 years ago. Restoration began in 2021 and the truck as we saw it today was delivered 4 months ago. The rebuild included new chassis rails, and Tony's vision was for the truck to look essentially as it would have in 1986.

These days Tony is mostly driving iron ore trains in WA, but still does some casual truck driving when rostered home. He has been attending the Rotary Castlemaine Truck Show for many years.

Congratulations Tony!

Rotary Castlemaine members are walking in October to raise funds to help eradicate Polio. Polio is a crippling and potentially fatal infectious disease. There is no cure, but there are safe and effective vaccines. The strategy to eradicate polio relies on preventing infection by immunising every child until transmission stops and the world is polio-free.

Rotary joined the campaign to eradicate Polio in 1979. And we've nearly achieved the goal, but world trouble spots provide vectors for the disease to reappear. Recently, new Polio cases have occurred in Afghanistan and Gaza.

Our walkers are looking for sponsors to donate to support them. Each dollar donated to Rotary's End Polio Now campaign is matched 2 for 1 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. So your $10 donation becomes $30!

For more information, and to sponsor our walkers, go to https://www.rotarywalkwithus.org/fundraisers/castlemainestrollers/rotary-walk-with-us

We are delighted to announce that HHA & Larsen’s will again be our naming rights sponsor for the 2024 Castlemaine Rotary Truck Show, completing their 3 year commitment.

Applications are now open for sponsors and trade exhibitors to join us on the main oval. Please download and complete the application form.

Word format     PDF format

Visit the Truck Show page

TRUCK REGISTRATIONS will open in October.

At our recent Changeover Dinner, outgoing President Kerry Anderson provided an overview on the Club's achievements for the past year before Incoming President Terry Murphy was inducted into the role for our 90th year by District Rotary District 9800 Governor Michael Lapina.

Pictured, L–R: District Governor Michael Lapina, President Terry Murphy, Immediate Past President Kerry Anderson, District Governor-Elect Peter Shepheard

Santa made his traditional appearance at Carols in the Park, but he wasn't the only giver of gifts on the evening. It's also traditional for Castlemaine Rotary to announce grants to community organisations during Carols, and 2023 was no exception.

We've had a bumper year, so there was plenty to share around. Read on for the list of community grants.

That's a wrap for our Rotary year with Carols in the Park for 2023 successfully completed on 15 December.

A bumper crowd — thanks yet again Castlemaine! — and perfect weather made for a wonderful evening. See the picture gallery on our Facebook page.

Huge thanks to Director Scott Buchanan, compere Derek Guille, sound tech Calum McClure, the Pride Choir, Thompson's Foundry Band, Santa and all of our artists. Thanks also to Maine FM who broadcast the event live, The Lions BBQ, The SES and Mount Alexander Shire Council for their support.

Winner of the 2023 Truck of the Show award was Cornwill Transport's Kenworth Legend SAR, driven by Troy

   
Castlemaine Rotary President and Truck Show Director Kerry Anderson was on hand to congratulate Troy and the rest of the Cornwill's transport team on their win.

Short video of the 2023 Truck Show convoy — with more of a focus on the spectators!

What a delightful card we received from students at Campbells Creek Primary School including Guildford Campus read out by our Youth Director, Lyndal McClure at a recent Rotary meeting. The students wanted to thank us for our sponsorship of a bus that took them to the Goldfields LLEN Passions and Pathways Program activities with education providers and local businesses.

So nice to know our support was appreciated!