Hepburn Springs' only historic bathhouse, has been providing traditional social bathing since 1895. “It makes us a pivotal part of this community,” explains Robbie, our guide to the Bathhouse. “We have our Spring Creek running next to the facility. And in Summer, this means it’s slightly greener. We get lovely wildlife; kookaburras raising their young next to our creekside deck.”

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ChillOut Festival is more than a fabulous celebration of expression, dance and drink - it has become the the bedrock of Daylesford’s LGBTIQ+ community. ChillOut is recognised as a culturally important LGBTIQ+ pride event, supporting and representing queer pride for all regional people.

Early organisers wanted to emphasise the country feel of Daylesford. The event was also an important way of profile-raising for the gay and lesbian community in Daylesford as well as the wider Hepburn Shire region. From humble beginnings at a picnic in the mid 90s, ChillOut has flowered into Australia’s largest queer country pride festival.

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On the subject of photography, Henri Cartier-Bresson writes, “To take photographs is to hold one's breath when all faculties converge in the face of fleeing reality.” The current climate is testament to a different kind of fleeing reality; the decay of our natural environment. Marnie Hawson’s photography converges storytelling with social responsibility.

“As a former environmental scientist, I'm hardwired to tread lightly in everything I do,” says Marnie. She was raised on acreage and was quickly absorbed by the romance of the Australian bush. “I was rarely allowed to watch TV and instead spent hours outdoors making cubbies out of branches, exploring gorges down the back of our property and hunting for yabbies in the dams.”

As Marnie explored the natural landscape, she developed a curious eye for detail while fine tuning a purpose-driven philosophy. At the beginning of her photography career, Marnie captured “an honest trade,” a series of portraits highlighting twenty trades. “They are all what I considered honest trades.” She explains, “Honest trades involve manual labour and hard work. To me, there is far more value in something that has had love and sweat poured into the production of it.” In a striking set of portraits titled Farrier, the blacksmith’s face disappears in a cloud of smoke as heats the horseshoe.

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Synergy. If there is one word to describe the partnership between Tony De Marco and Theresa Albiloi it is synergy. Business and life partners, this dynamic couple met later in life, yet together they have already accomplished more than many would in a long lifetime. We meet them at The Oxford, a large former guest house they recently refurbished and added to their portfolio of luxury accommodation properties, The Houses Daylesford. The Oxford is massive and sleeps 24. The walls are lined with over 90 original charcoal drawings by artist Derek Erskine. The main room is dominated by an impressive non-sectional double-sided upholstered banquette. "It was made for a house in Caulfield," says Theresa. "It cost them tens of thousands of dollars." Tony jumps in, "we paid a lot less than that," he says with a laugh. "It took a lot of work to reassemble when it arrived."

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