Latest news with #Castlemaine
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
All I wanted was to visit my friends in the US... but I was detained for 12 hours and sent back to Australia
An Australian writer has claimed he was turned away from the US border after being grilled on his views on the Gaza conflict and articles he wrote about pro-Palestinian protests. Alistair Kitchen, 33, boarded a flight from Melbourne to New York to visit friends on June 12 when he was pulled to one side by a Customs and Border Protection officer during a layover in Los Angeles. He was detained for 12 hours at Los Angeles International Airport before being put on a flight back to Melbourne. Mr Kitchen said he was refused entry to the US because of his political beliefs, but the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has since said this is 'unequivocally false'. The writer lived in the US for six years before moving back home to Castlemaine, in regional Victoria, last year, and between 2022 and 2024 he studied at Columbia University. Mr Kitchen claimed a customs officer told him he was being detained because of his views on the pro-Palestinian rallies that took place on campus at the New York university last year. 'I was interrogated about my beliefs on the crisis in Gaza. I told him what I believe: that the war is a tragedy in which all parties have blood on their hands, but which can and must come to an immediate end,' he wrote in The Sydney Morning Herald. 'One party is dominant, and that party can end the death and destruction today.' Mr Kitchen recalled being asked to provide the officer with his phone passcode, which he did, and later admitted he regrets. The content of his phone is said to have been downloaded by border agents, who subsequently found evidence of prior drug use. He was told he had not declared drug use on his Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) form, was taken to immigration detention and put on a flight home. Mr Kitchen said he told the agents he had consumed drugs before in New York, where marijuana is legal, and that he had bought weed at dispensaries in the US. His phone was not returned to him until he landed back on Australian soil. 'The individual in question was denied entry because he gave false information on his [Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) application] regarding drug use,' a DHS spokesperson told ABC News. DHS did not specifically deny Mr Kitchen was asked about the Israel-Gaza conflict, but said the US, under President Donald Trump, had the 'most secure border' in American history. The spokesperson said lawful travellers 'have nothing to fear' from measures intended to protect the US's security. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) warned Australian travellers that entry requirements into the US were 'strict'. 'US authorities have broad powers to decide if you're eligible to enter and may determine that you are inadmissible for any reason under US law,' DFAT's Smarttraveller website reads. 'Officials may ask to inspect your electronic devices, emails, text messages or social media accounts. If you refuse, they can deny your entry. 'You can be refused entry if you provide false information or can't satisfy the officials you're visiting for a valid reason.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Gold prospector's incredible find in 'remote' Aussie bush
An Aussie prospector has pulled gold nuggets out of the ground, and found old relics like a silver-plated bobby pin, and even old coins. But the most remarkable thing he's ever stumbled across is an ancient ruin in the bush. 'Locals have always kept quiet about it, and it's pretty remote,' prospector Bart van Uyen told Yahoo News after an expedition to photograph the site. The structure's symmetrical brick walls tower over three metres from the ground, almost resembling an Aztec temple. However, it's never had a mythological use — its purpose was purely industrial. Back in 1887 when the walls were built, a large wheel was placed between them, and when it spun, it powered the Bendigo and Fryers Goldmining Company's large stamp battery — a device used for crushing ore to extract gold. Related: ⚱️ Aussie prospector reveals secret maps to find fortune You won't find the Mopoke Gully water wheel in tourist brochures. But locals living close by, in a tiny town south of Castlemaine in Victoria, know where to find it. And in recent years, a few online posts have popped up about its history. Yahoo has chosen not to publicise its exact location. Bart has been visiting the ruin for a few years, and it has a special place in his heart. When he first saw it, much of the state had been locked down due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and stumbling upon something so unexpected while he was searching for gold left him 'amazed'. 'I was travelling around doing some prospecting. I tend to go down every dirt track possible, and it was just sitting there,' he said. The structure is similar to the better-known Garfield water wheel, which attracts history buffs from around the country. That one is in a state park, while the Mopoke Gully water wheel is on private land which Bart has permission to enter. Both structures were built in 1887, but the wheels themselves were disassembled in the early 1900s. It's seen better days, and it's covered in moss, but that's all part of its charm. 'Standing inside it is awesome, it's such an impressive thing. There's gorgeous bushland around it. 'It's great to see something like that still intact,' he said. 📸 Rare find inside ancient cave after tourists banned for years 🏊 'Shocking' find after 200-year-old bluebottle jellyfish theory investigated 🥶 Tradies unable to work and pipes freeze in icy Aussie town Bart likes to imagine what life was like back in the gold rush, and their work ethic and sense of adventure leave him in awe. 'It's quiet there now. But I just imagine the hustle and bustle around that place when it was going,' he said. 'People risked life and limb to come to Victoria to dig for gold. People died, others made money, some went broke.' Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
Herald Sun
6 days ago
- Sport
- Herald Sun
Country Footy: Talking points from footy on June 14.
Winter was in full force on Saturday as some leagues returned after a week off for the King's Birthday. Some struggled returning while other players and teams shined. Here are the talking points from last weekend. Prime Train impresses for Seagulls Prime Train kicked two goals and starred as Warragul smashed Drouin by 115 points in the Gippsland league. Warragul was the next stop for Prime Train on his tour of playing for clubs in the first part of the season. He's expected to play for Phillip Island after June 30 for the rest of the season. The Seagulls were the fifth club Prime Train has played for and he played a part in a pivotal win. Warragul moved to 6th and 4-5 with the win but importantly got a percentage boost got them past 100 per cent. The team is now percentage behind 5th. Bad weekend for unbeaten teams For Dunnstown and Cavendish, in the Central Highlands and South West District league respectively, their unbeaten runs came to an end in the worse way on Saturday. Dunnstown lost its first match of the season by 64 points to Skipton, with woeful goalkicking costing them dearly. The Towners kicked 4.17 for the afternoon. For Skipton it was a great debut from former AFL player Jesse Palmer who kicked two goals for the Emus. Palmer, who played three games for Port Adelaide, joined the club during the week before the June 30 deadline for club movements. Meanwhile, Cavendish lost by 88 points to fellow premiership contender Dartmoor. The contest was over by half time as the junior club of AFL star Jeremy Cameron kicked nine goals to one to open up a 50-point lead. The carnage didn't stop as Dartmoor added eight more goals to send a premiership statement to the rest of the league. Christian Howlett kicked five goals for the Giants. Is the top-five sealed? The Bendigo league finals picture could be sorted in the next few weeks after Strathfieldsaye's mid-season resurgence. The Storm defeated South Bendigo by six points for its third win in four games. Strathfieldsaye has gone from being outside of the top-five to holding fifth by two games over the chasing pack in the past month. It also became the first team from the bottom-four to beat a top-four team this season. While the top-four, including Sandhurst, Gisborne, Eaglehawk and South Bendigo, looks set, the battle for fifth is on between three teams. Castlemaine, in sixth, has the chance to close the gap with three winnable matches coming up. The two teams, Castlemaine and Strathfieldsaye, then face each other in round 14, which could shape as the match which decides the final spot. Golden Square, in seventh, face Strathfieldsaye twice before the end of the year putting themselves in position to make it if the Bulldogs can go on a run. If Castlemaine and Golden Square fail to bounce back, the Storm could wrap up fifth in a couple of weeks. Special moment for ex-AFL player Andrew Hooper will remember Saturday for a while after playing in the same team as his nephew for the Ballarat Swans on Saturday. The former Western Bulldogs small forward played with Emerton Hooper who made his debut for Ballarat against Melton. Hooper, 16, is part of the Greater Western Victoria Rebels and played in the V-Line Cup last year. Despite the 20-point loss to Melton, Andrew impressed, kicking three goals on a special day for the family. Bombers still the team to beat Kyabram continues to set the benchmark in the Goulburn Valley league and survived another test on Saturday. The Bombers moved to 10-0 for the season with a 13-point win over the Shepparton Swans. Kyabram won the contest with a decisive third term, kicking six goals to two to set up the win. Aidan Robinson kicking seven goals was also a highlight for the Bombers. The Swans will rue poor accuracy, kicking 10.18 for the day, to let the game slip away. Kyabram now faces Rochester in another test to its premiership credentials. In a league of its own Only one league in country Victoria has two teams with unbeaten starts to the year. Waaia and Katandra in the Picola league are both 9-0 and could continue the run until the later stages, if both remain unbeaten. The Bombers, who have won the past three premierships, had a bye last weekend with Katandra smashing Blighty by 136 points. The two sides are due to face each other in round 16, which means both sides could be 13-0 when they face each other. What a contest it could be if both teams make it. Ex-Cat helps to stun defending champions Port Fairy and AFL premiership player Gary Rohan has helped the Seagulls to stun last year's premiers South Warrnambool in the Hampden league. The forward kicked a goal as Port Fairy won by 38 points in one of the club's best wins in years. Hampden league legend Jason Rowan kicked two goals for Port Fairy as they came back from a first quarter deficit to stun the Roosters. Port Fairy is seventh on the ladder, one game away from the finals. The next four weeks will test whether the Seagulls can make it with top-five teams North Warrnambool, Warrnambool and Portland to come. Bunyip's historic win Bunyip secured its first win since rejoining the Ellinbank District league, beating Poowong by 21 points. The Bulldogs led from start to finish and kicked away in the third term, kicking five goals to one, to open up a 28-point lead at the final change. Bunyip held on in the final term to prevail for the first time since moving from the West Gippsland league last year. Lachlan Petch, Tahj Murphy and William Grummisch each kicked two goals in the win. The victory ended the second longest losing streak in local footy. Bunyip had not won a match in its past 45 with the last win coming at the end of the 2022 season. Is Bambill's era over? It's going to take a massive second-half of the season for Bambill to remain the best team in the Millewa league. The Saints, who have won the past four premierships, lost to Werrimull on the weekend to languish at 3-5 and remain in fourth, the last finals spot. But it's only on percentage ahead of Gol Gol. This season has not been like the past. An opening day loss to Cardross was followed by three in a row and the Saints looked to be back. But Bambill has now lost the past four to put its premiership hopes under threat. It had no answers for the Magpies on the weekend as Werrimull led from start to finish. After a turbulent week off the field for Werrimull the team is now on track to make finals, which could come at the expense of Bambill. For Bambill the form needs to get better otherwise there will be change at the top this year. Demons the team to beat It's been a lean time as a Mildura Demons supporter with only three premierships in the past 65 years. This year could be the year it changes after the Demons smashed last year's premiers, Imperials. 11 goals after half time blew the game open as Mildura flexed its premiership credentials. The Demons won 16.12. (108) to 8.8. (56) Led by ex-AFL player and coach Sam Kerridge, who kicked three goals, the Demons moved to 8-1 and on track for a first premiership since 2007. Noah Pegoraro, who is leading the goalkicking in the competition, kicked five goals in the win. Ex-AFL livewire forward Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti kicked three goals for last year's premiers.
ABC News
29-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
Police investigate theft of $12k worth of merino sheep from Strathlea farm
Police are investigating the alleged theft of $12,000 worth of merino sheep from a central Victorian farm last week. Authorities said the sheep were taken from a property in Strathlea, south-west of Castlemaine, at about 8:30am on Wednesday, May 21. Four men were allegedly seen herding the sheep into a light blue, enclosed trailer attached to a white van at Browns Track. Goldfields Crime Investigation Unit has released digitally generated images based on witness descriptions of three of the men. Police say stock theft is a serious offence that causes significant grief and costs farmers thousands of dollars. Detectives are investigating whether stolen stock is being taken to Melbourne or outer suburbs. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
The Guardian
26-04-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Happy meals: is eating together the secret to happiness?
Think back to your school days. At lunchtime, where did you sit? Did you take advantage of the smorgasbord of kids to find someone new and expand your horizons? Probably not. But that's what Kate Freston advises you do when eating with other people. She's a veteran of dining at Castlemaine's Community Lunch – which attracts up to 150 people every Tuesday during school term time. 'I used to do a quick scan around the tables and think, 'Oh God, I hope I don't sit next to a dud',' she says sheepishly. 'And then, you're like … maybe I'm the dud! Now, I really like how this crosses over into general life. You may have had a chat with 80-year-old Margaret, then you see her down the street and you may give a little wave and have a little chat.' Freston, a community access worker who lives with her teenage son, had been missing the communal eating she'd experienced when travelling overseas, such as in Ghana where she stayed with local families. 'It was beautiful, this simple act of fostering closeness with people,' she says. 'I thought, why don't I do that here? But I guess lifestyles and schedules get in the way.' Sharing meals is the one of the best things we can do for our wellbeing, according to a report released last month. The World Happiness report 2025, based on a Gallup poll of more than 150,000 people from 142 countries and territories, found that people who dine alone have the lowest life evaluation rating globally compared with those who regularly share a meal, who are happier. The benefits don't just come from breaking bread with the townsfolk: the World Happiness report focuses on eating with people we know, which may mean friends, family or housemates. According to the report, sharing meals 'has a strong impact on subjective wellbeing – on par with the influence of income and unemployment. Those who share more meals with others report significantly higher levels of life satisfaction and positive affect, and lower levels of negative affect. This is true across ages, genders, countries, cultures and regions.' Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Growing up, my family only ate together once a week and we all brought a book to the table, thinking that more interesting than conversation. By contrast, my boyfriend is the youngest of seven, and all nine family members were expected to take turns telling a story while squabbling over the potatoes. Freston's background is more like mine. 'Growing up, we were pretty much forced to eat at the table, but it wasn't like in movies. It was more 'You're not getting down until you finish.' So when we got older and could rebel, we'd just eat dinner on our lap watching TV,' she says. 'Now, unfortunately, my son and I don't eat much together because we've got different schedules. I think not having grown up with eating at the table being a happy occasion, I've never tried to instil it.' Parents risk getting burnout if they worry too much about getting bums on dinner table seats every day, says Dr Georgia Middleton. A research fellow at Flinders University's Caring Futures Institute, Middleton focusses on the social and cultural aspects of food. She thinks it's fine to have a few meals a week that are a means to an end: getting everyone fed and back to their nightly routines. What she's interested in is how to encourage families to share a few meals more intentionally. 'A kinder and more beneficial way to go may be having one or two meals a week where you sit down together, with the intention of connecting with each other, connecting over the food you're eating, communicating, sharing and bonding,' she says. 'The meal may be messy, it may not be perfect, but you will have spent some dedicated time together as a family.' According to the World Happiness report, Australians share, on average, 8.5 meals per week with people they know (about 50% of our lunches and 70% of our dinners), ranking well above people in the UK and US. While the connection is strong, the report says 'there remain vast gaps in our understanding of the causal dynamics' – that is, it is not yet clear whether eating together improves subjective wellbeing and social connectedness or vice versa. Nevertheless, when it comes to the strength of the association between sharing meals and wellbeing, Australia is one place where this association is the strongest – although more research needs to be done to ascertain why. 'My conjecture is that in countries where individualistic culture is strong, social rituals that bring people together might be particularly important for people's wellbeing,' says Alberto Prati, one of the authors of the report and an assistant professor in economics at University College London. Middleton says other research has indicated that prioritising personal dining preferences is more prevalent in more individualistic countries such as the US and the UK, compared with European countries such as France, Italy or Switzerland where tradition and eating together are more important. 'I would say that [Australia is] a bit of a hybrid between the two, perhaps heading in the direction of more individualisation, but not quite to the same extent as the US and UK,' she says. But we are living more individualised lives. Single-person households are on the rise in Australia, with the 2021 census showing an increase from 18% in 1981 to 26% in 2021. Castlemaine Community Lunch is not the only initiative designed to bring together people – living alone or not – at a social meal. An hour down the Calder Freeway in Melbourne there are regular Free to Mingle events with conversational prompts and craft activities. The Chatty Cafe scheme is an initiative where venues across the country can offer 'have a chat' tables for anyone wanting to drop in and connect with other people. Club Sup holds big dinner parties for strangers in Sydney and Melbourne, expanding the 'orphan's Christmas' idea into something all-year round. Sign up to Five Great Reads Each week our editors select five of the most interesting, entertaining and thoughtful reads published by Guardian Australia and our international colleagues. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Saturday morning after newsletter promotion So what am I waiting for? Like Freston, I live in Castlemaine, and despite it being a culturally buzzing small town, I've resisted diving headfirst into the community. It's that avoidant gene: what if you commit and then can't escape? Retired school principal Vic Say, who says he is shy and an introvert, reckons it's fine to just dip a toe in the water. 'Community Lunch is valuable in being with people without necessarily having to be madly social,' he says. 'As somebody who's lived on my own for the past nine years, it creates a punctuation mark in the week.' 'The food is always fabulous and very healthy and contains a lovely range of ingredients that I wouldn't have at home,' he says. Using donated ingredients, chef Duang Tengtrirat creates a vegetarian main, two salads and a dessert each week. That makes sense – it's likely that by sharing meals we will benefit from better nutrition. If I'm on my own I'm liable to crack an egg over instant rice to save time and money. Reviewing the literature about shared meals, the World Happiness report researchers found that adolescents who ate more meals with family members had 'better diet and nutritional habits, lower levels of obesity, fewer eating disorders, and greater academic achievement'. Having settled at a trestle table with my bean bake, I suss out the room. The lunch is attended by a broad demographic, most of whom are chatting, but there's no pressure. Freston had even advised me I could bring a book if I wanted – better than scrolling a phone, in her view. 'Anyone sitting here?' a woman asks, hovering next to me. 'You are,' the woman opposite says with a smile. I was about to say that. As is human nature, I impose an entire backstory on to the woman sitting opposite, but all my preconceptions explode five minutes into our conversation. By the end of the lunch I have to admit to myself that one advantage of being a journalist is the privilege of having intense conversations with strangers but it turns out you can do that even when you're not on the job. That night, I take a leaf from the book of my boyfriend's family. When we sit down for dinner, he and I see who can tell the best tale from the day.
