“He had a dream” — How Brian Parsons did it
In 1966 Brian Parsons was living with his wife Merle in Harcourt. He’d come from Kooringal in Wagga Wagga filled with a desire to return to the Maldon, Bendigo and Castlemaine region where he had spent much of his childhood. He was an accountant and he started out working with the orchardists of Harcourt who […]
Creative bushlanders
There is much in the realm of creativity, performance and artistic talent that has emerged in the Bushlands during the four decades since subdivision. A quick reflection reveals many who, either as professionals or amateurs, have a career or maybe just dabbled as a: patchwork quilter, spinner, weaver, painter, sculptor, musician, singer, builder, mason, photographer, […]
Creative: Antoinette Birkenbeil
My bushland idyll in the lovely mud brick home built by Charles and his family and friends, has given me an opportunity to return to photography as my first love, after finishing my manuscript for “From Bourbon Street to Bennetts Lane: A jazz journey”, which is now with Scholarly Publishing in Melbourne. One of the […]
Rita and Peter van Benthem and family
Lot 29 Chewton Bushlands (2 Mount View Road) Right: Rita and Peter in their courtyard at Essendon 2013 In 1977, not long after the subdivision of the Bushlands estate into its 42 lots, there were not many occupants, legal ones anyway, in the area. On offer were still four of six lots with stone cottages available […]
Controlled burn: Emails to DEPI
Dear Planned Burning at DEPI and Damien Drum, Re: Fire operations plan for the Murray Goldfields Fire District Proposed planned burning site: MGFCASO28 Chewton, Bushmans Road (12Ha) We live in Miners Hut Road at just under a kilometre due south of the proposed burn site. We acknowledge that controlled burns can play an important part in contributing to […]
Controlled burn: FOBIF email
Dear Friend of the Box Ironbark Forests, As we reported on www.fobif.org.au on July 19 and August 13, DEPI has released the latest modification on the fire operations plan for our region. Consultations are invited, preferably before August 31.We strongly urge you to show that the public is closely interested in this program by putting a submission […]
Lot 13, 119 Miners Hut Road: Ray’s Retreat
These days most of us would have a hard time living without the benefit of electricity but it doesn’t seem to bother Ray. He has solar panels on the roof of his house but he hasn’t had them connected up for years. He does have a landline phone, and gas for cooking, hot water and […]
Creative: Jan Palethorpe
Jan was born in Melbourne in 1956 and studied sculpture and printmaking at CIT from 1986-88 and the Victorian College of the Arts from 1983-84. Since 1978 she has exhibited in solo exhibitions at various venues including Powell Street Graphics, Leon Massoni at Tolarno Galleries, Art Space Footscray, Qdos Gallery Lorne, Gasworks Theatre, University of […]
Jenny and David: How we learned to love the Bushlands
David says… We have to thank Annie O’Shannessy. If she hadn’t invited us up to the Bushlands for afternoon tea — all right then, wine — we would never have been anywhere near Chewton. And if she hadn’t said “Let’s go for a bit of a walk” we would never have met Kath Clark in […]
My Bushlands story: Ann Quinton
My bushlands site has had various identifications since I bought it in 1985. I thought that no one had ever lived on it before. Now I have come to realise that the original people lived here for many generations, the Dja Dja Wurrung Peoples, when it was a gentle forested area with small creeks wandering […]
Welcome…
The Department of Environment and Primary Industry has included the 12 hectare parcel of public land “Chewton Bushmans Road MGF CAS028”, otherwise known as the Chewton Bushlands Reserve (starting at the corner of Commisioners Gully Road and Rankins Road) as one of it’s Proposed Planned Burning Sites for 2013/2014 (see map). While the formal submissions […]
Welcome to the Chewton Bushlands Association website
We hope this website can become a useful resource for bushlands residents… for conversations about life in the bush ( > Bushlanders, > The bush), as a record of the history of the subdivision ( > Bushlands history), as a point of exchange for offers to share, requests for help and other resident-only content ( […]
Blue Bell Creeper (Sollya heterophylla) weed
This spreading weed has been found in many places in the Bushlands and must be dealt with. Please see the picture below to help with identification and when you have identified this plant please remove it. The “cut and paint” method appears to be the most positive way to stop its spread. We have the […]
The Chewton Bushlands — from Crown Land to Subdivision
During the early settlement of Chewton and the surrounding countryside, it was soon realized that the land we now know of, as the Chewton Bushlands was not a very productive region. The prospectors, who came to the Forrest Creek area in the 1850’s to look for gold, quickly saw that there was none to be […]
Gary and Michael: 104 Miners Hut Road
In 1984 my then partner David Williams and I bought this unimproved block (then known as Lot 11 Wallaby Crescent) from its original owner Tim Crichton. Tim had recently become engaged, and his bride-to-be was not enthused about living so far from Melbourne; bear in mind that the Calder Freeway did not exist and the […]
The Cook’s Story: Tony and Laurie Cook
BUSHLANDS PIONEERS! It all had to do with the desire for a ‘Bush Block’, something a bit rugged, natural and unspoilt. Tony had always loved the bush and knew he’d know that block when he saw it and sure enough there it was Lot 16, 81 Miners Hut Road. It had the view, it had […]
18 Wattle road: The big clean up
Francesca and Jill. Well here is our little bit of history, looked around for land for 3 months or so after deciding the coast was too expensive and there were no train stations nearby. I loathe driving so a train was a must. My sister has lived in Bendigo for 30 plus years and Jill […]
Builder: Denis George
Denis George Phone 5470 5166 (Recommended by Cate Freeman) For any building work I recommend Denis George. He is a great all rounder. A worker of small or large miracles and is very conversant with the Bushlands. To see what he can do, drop by to my place 234 Goldspeck Gully Road anytime! He can […]
Thanks Jan!
On the weekend we were saved from a potential fire by the swift action of neighbour Jan Palethorpe. When passing the Chewton Cemetery she saw smoke. On checking she found it to be a smouldering log. One which could have very easily caused a fire. She phoned 000 and they were on to it immediately […]
Water Carrier: Warrick Harwood, Harcourt
Warrick Harwood Water Mobile: 0417 036 059 (Recommended by Michael Gillies Smith) Great guy. Great service. He rang me back the same day and offered to bring the water the next day. $160 for 13,000 litres. Warrick’s is a 13,000 litre water truck, perfect for the Bushlands gravel roads and driveways. Most of […]
The wild life around here is not so wild
So Jeremy and I were sitting there at the end of a warm day having a quiet ale when one of the locals drooped in for a drink. The level in the bowl was low so I thought – I’ll just top it up. Never did I think the echidna would lap the water as I […]