Home About Articles Blog Gallery Contact Video

My Recent Work

Bendigo Advertiser •

Rainbow calendar of events for Bendigo Pride kicks off with a boogie

An official opening of the Bendigo Pride Festival was held on Friday, March 15. Pictures by Enzo Tomasiello

Members of the Bendigo rainbow community came together this weekend to help wake iconic drag queen Deborah Triangle from her slumber.


The Bendigo Pride Festival officially opened on Friday, March 15, at the Babylon Lounge and Garden Bar.

The festival which is set to run from March 13 to 24 will feature a huge amount of events - from the fun to the profound.

There will be a Bendigo Q
Bendigo Advertiser •

GALLERY: Dahlia festival was a blooming success with underwater theme

Thousands lined the streets of Eaglehawk for the 51st year of the Dahlia and Arts Festival, with spectators including those who've spent a lifetime in the Borough, with others who have arrived in the past week.

She said it had become a "family tradition since I was a little tacker" and she had told the younger members of her family - including son Jaylin - that they sit where Sherie's late nan always used to sit.


Twin sisters Ellen Grose and June Storti, who look far younger than their 80+
Bendigo Advertiser •

SES unit controller thanks Bendigo for coming together for fundraiser

The RSL hosted a well-deserved night out for SES volunteers - as well as their supporters.

They may be the first ones anyone would want at the scene of an emergency, but it turns out they're also the ones you want when organising a party.

Emma "Pocket Rocket" Ebery was the key organiser of the night and it's safe to say it was one of Bendigo's 2024 highlights - even if it's only March.

Eight rounds of trivia spanned all the popular themes of sport, film and music - also spanning into more pra
Bendigo Advertiser •

Shearer guilty of ice-fuelled theft of guns keen to turn life around

Lucas Robert Walters, 38, was a law-abiding shearer for many years but the County Court sitting in Bendigo heard a series of tragic deaths and undiagnosed mental health concerns had led to him using methylamphetamine daily as well as drugs like GHB.

The court heard the matter of gun thefts was the most serious of the charges - particularly as two of the weapons are yet to be recovered.


In an interview he said he had found the air rifle on the bank of the Loddon River two days earlier while
Bendigo Advertiser •

Child was present while mother was attacked by central Victorian man

The Bendigo Magistrates' Court heard the child - who is not yet of school age - had told others that Hayden Griffiths, 23, had "punched my mummy and really hurt my mummy".

Griffiths has pleaded guilty to charges including two counts of assault, two counts of recklessly causing injury, two counts of unlawfully assaulting a female, unlawfully assaulting by kicking and recklessly engaging in conduct - specifically choking a female - that placed them in danger of serious injury.


The mother then
Bendigo Advertiser •

'They won't believe you if you tell anyone', abuser told child

In sentencing Hopkins, Magistrate Sarah Leighfield told the victim's family members, who were in the court, that she hoped this would help the now adult woman move on,


He told her to hop into bed and when she did he "put his arms around her and hugged her" before committing an indecent act over her clothes.


The court heard he told her, "Don't tell anyone" and "They won't believe you if you tell anyone", before he drove her to another property.


She said while Hopkins' plea was not at t
Bendigo Advertiser •

From no computers to sending fungi into space: 1974 engineers reunite

Subject areas such as sustainability and renewable energy design and enterprise were unheard of and you could fill your car with petrol for 12 cents a litre at the bowser.


Members of Bendigo's 1974 civil engineering cohort toured the university campus recently and while graduates have worked locally as well as all across Australia and the world, they were still keen to see the latest research in the field.

Chris Stoltz - who started at the university in 1969 - told the 1974 cohort that he wa
Bendigo Advertiser •

Former nurse turned up at stranger's house with a machete and knife

The 29-year-old former nurse is also facing charges including drug trafficking, criminal damage and stalking, after the court heard he followed a CBD worker home from a store and threatened them at their house, before attending the home at a later date when the victim was away.

The court heard the man was dealing with significant mental health issues at the time - exacerbated by his drug use - and had been trying to seek help.

That same day he followed his victim home, although his lawyer Kari
Bendigo Advertiser •

'Goliath beat David': climate protestors fined $200 for bank trespass

Ms Metcalf told the Bendigo Magistrates' Court the trio had been "cooperative and polite, but resolute in their refusal" to leave the premises, and that she had found them "genuine" and "sincere".


The magistrate said there was "no objective evidence" of NAB making threats or of the specific financial discussions within the bank which the trio said they were protesting.


Having been found guilty, retired carbon economics lecturer and senior corporate strategy advisor Ms Levetan told the co
Bendigo Advertiser •

Murderer returns to Bendigo court on further violence charges against women

Copland, who has now returned to court facing further violence charges, is alleged to have referenced Ms Gray's murder in his latest offending.


He appeared by videolink - occassionally becoming agitated and appearing to yell, despite being muted, and gesture towards those in the courtroom.

Copland has also been charged with making two threats to kill, and a count of reckless conduct placing a person in danger of serious injury - namely by pushing a woman's face into a pillow.


While a pr
Bendigo Advertiser •

Popcorn protestors fight trespass charges with climate duress defence

Magistrate Jo Metcalf will announce her findings on March 8 following a two-day hearing for the trio who were arrested and escorted out of the National Australia Bank office in Mitchell Street on March 31, 2023.


Mr Tonkin, Ms Levetan and Mr Bridgfoot were seen eating popcorn and standing peacefully within the NAB premises as they refused to leave despite being asked to do so by the Bendigo management, security and police.

While the prosecution suggested that one element of the duress defenc
Bendigo Advertiser •

GALLERY: Fashion parades, music and flash cars help cancer cause

Organiser Lorraine Taylor is now in remission after her own fight with blood cancer myeloma.

They've all come together this weekend in Bendigo to help raise much-needed funds for the Myeloma Australia Foundation - thanks to local lady Lorraine Taylor.


Ms Taylor was the brains behind a weekend of retro-fashion shows, a car and bike show and shine, a night of dancing and a walk in Kennington on Sunday to raise awareness of the rare blood cancer she fought herself.


In 2019, the beloved mot
Bendigo Advertiser •

Hundreds put best foot (and wheel) forward for Bendigo Ford Fun Run

More than 1940 incredible participants made the 2024 Bendigo Ford Fun Run a year to remember - with tourists and locals alike competing in the biggest event yet.


Running, walking and wheelchair competitors came through the heart of the city - past iconic locations such as the Queen Elizabeth Oval, Rosalind Park and Lake Weeroona in a massive effort for a very special cause.

Funds raised from the day will add to more than $65,000 already contributed over the past two years towards the Bendig
Bendigo Advertiser •

Black excellence and Aboriginal Art centre stage at new hub

An Aboriginal leader has said a new artistic hub in Bendigo's centre is one way local leaders are bringing traditional Indigenous culture to town again.


"It is wonderful for the Dja Dja Wurrung artists and creatives, and those of us working in cultural tourism, to have a home base here," the chair of the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation (Djaara), Ms Phillips said.


The space will assist artists to hold workshops and exhibitions, linking creatives in with the visitor economy an
Bendigo Advertiser •

Teen attacked on Bendigo bus, before video of the bashing found online

A Bendigo teenager is resting at home in fear after being attacked on a bus, in an alleged assault which was captured on video.

The footage, now circulating on social media, was allegedly recorded by one of the teenagers at the scene on the afternoon of February 7.

Police said they understood a group of girls were seen fighting in the rear of the bus around 3.30pm the day of the incident.


The victim's father said his daughter "was set upon" by the group of girls who had a male recording th
Bendigo Advertiser •

Good Friday Appeal to spread funds into Bendigo region for the first time

"The fundraising will help us start building an all abilities rehab playground this year, which will improve the rehabilitation and wellbeing of young patients in the Loddon Mallee region by providing them with a supportive environment to play and recover," she said.

Parents are also keen for the space with Jennifer Pinchbeck having advocated for the outlet for years, for the benefit of children like her daughter Amelia who lives with hemiplegic cerebral palsy.

Ms Pinchbeck is once again parti
Bendigo Advertiser •

Alcohol thief allegedly attacked shoppers with wooden stake, had fake gun

In a bail application for Mr Wise, the Bendigo Magistrates' Court heard the man had been charged with seven shop thefts where he stole alcohol - two in July prior to a period of imprisonment from August until September; three in October; and two in early November.


During a July theft, he had a coat-hanger he had altered to look like a gun, while one of the November thefts involved the assault on members of the public.

"First I went in there to get some batteries, then I asked some woman and
Bendigo Advertiser •

Bendigo husband to plead not guilty to raping wife who felt 'trapped'

The 37-year-old man has pleaded not guilty after being accused of two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault - not linked to the shower incident - allegedly committed against his wife while when they were trying to rebuild their relationship.


The court heard she told him she was not in the mood and wanted to fix things in their relationship before she would be ready for physical intimacy.

The court heard, on December 28, the man was at his wife's house, with her consent, and they ha
Bendigo Advertiser •

Man who previously killed, faces more jail time for giving child drugs

He was only 17 at the time and the court heard Robinson spent the first two years of his sentence at Parkville before being transferred to an adult facility.

Mr Huynh characterised the charged crimes as "serious" and "exploitative", aggravated by the victim's age, Robinson's involvement for financial gain and the fact he had only recently been released on parole.

Mr Huynh said he did not believe Robinson had shown remorse but acknowledged there had been an early plea, calling drugs a "scourge
Bendigo Advertiser •

Man impersonated police in string of domestic violence, stalking crimes

A man has been convicted and jailed after a "serious" and "protracted" string of family violence crimes and stalking offences, during which he impersonated a police officer to tell his former partner's work colleagues that he was dead.


The Bendigo Magistrates' Court heard this was the third time the man's violence against this woman had been before the court. There had been two appearances in 2022 with one leading to jail time.


In February 2024, the man pleaded guilty to his most recent
Bendigo Advertiser •

Man allegedly attacked 'wife' then sent her 527 texts, breaking order

Despite this, he sent her 527 texts in a little more than a month and was found hiding at the protected person's address in Bendigo.


The couple had previously had a verbal argument at the victim's Bendigo address, in which the man was accused of punching her in the head, putting his fingers in her mouth to try to open her mouth, biting her on the nose causing her to bleed and pushing her. The last led to her hitting her head.

In July 2023 the accused was also charged with reckless conduct e
Bendigo Advertiser •

Cheers to that - MacKenzie Quarters hosts rosé-tinted celebrations

Bendigo wine lovers have been left seeing pink after local business MacKenzie Quarters organised a series of events to celebrate National Rosé Day.


MacKenzie Quarters general manager Rhianwen Seiter and her team were on hand to guide aficionados and newbies alike through the world of the famous beverage, just in time for the national day on February 5.


MacKenzie Quarters, which incorporates Ms Batterhams, MacKenzie Hall, The Residence and MQ Gelato Bar, hosted a weekend of culinary and wi
Bendigo Advertiser •

Man, 25, faces court accused of arson at tobacco store in Hargreaves Mall

Wayle Mana, 25, refused to come into court for the hearing because of what his defence lawyer described as "quite a severe injury" to his leg.

The Melbourne Magistrates' Court heard Mr Mana was arrested on January 31 before being charged on February 1, and was taken to the hospital in the interim by police.

"As it's straight remand, it would be painful to come up," Mr Mana's defence told the court.

Mr Mana will be remanded in custody to appear by videolink for a committal mention on May 30, 2
Load More