Honouring the tree that keeps giving

★ Honouring the tree that keeps giving ★

In Guildford, an ancient BIYAL or red gum has been watching people come and go for centuries.

The Guildford Big Tree has stood through changing seasons and generations of life moving beneath its 34-metre canopy.

This Sunday, 31 May, we are all invited to the Guildford Biyal Honouring Day to celebrate the return of something the tree helped create.

In February 2024, the Biyal dropped several huge limbs weighing 25 tonnes. It was sad, but also an opportunity to honour the tree.

Over the past two years, community members, Elders and craftspeople have gathered around the Biyal, caring for it and reflecting on what it means, not only as one of Victoria’s largest river red gums, but as a place of deep cultural significance for Dja Dja Wurrung people.

On Sunday, part of the Biyal will be returned.

Using timber salvaged from the fallen limb, DJAARA Timbers and local makers have created a Reconciliation Seat, a giant coolamon-shaped gathering place that will be installed beneath the tree during Sunday's Honouring Day.

The Guildford Biyal is believed to be between 500 and 1,000 years old and is listed on the National Trust’s Register of Significant Trees. Sacred to Dja Dja Wurrung people, it is recognised as a living connection between Country, culture and community.

For Djaara timber craftsman Arron Nicholls, working with the fallen limb was about continuing that relationship.

“To give back to that tree is to recreate things out of it,” he says. “Everything’s got a spirit… we’ve got to give back respect to that spirit of the tree and continue its journey.”

The Reconciliation Seat was crafted by local artisan Pete McCurley under the guidance of local Elder Uncle Rick Nelson and is intended as a place for gathering, healing and conversation.

Uncle Rick hopes people will experience something of the tree’s long memory when they sit there.

“The age, the things this tree has seen, might bring some sort of calmness or togetherness while you sit here and contemplate,” he says.

Sunday’s Honouring Day will mark the return of the seat to the Biyal through an ‘Honouring Avenue’ procession and smoking ceremony led by Uncle Rick, alongside Djaara women dancers, music, stalls and a community barbecue.

• Guildford Biyal Honouring Day takes place Sunday 31 May, 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM, at the Guildford Big Tree, 13 Fryers Street, Guildford.

• The Smoking Ceremony begins at 11:30 AM. Make sure to allow time for parking. Everyone is welcome.

❀ Fries with that? ❀

Maxi IGA owner Brendan Blake has had an illuminating chat with radio queen, Suzanne Donisthorpe, about selling his block of land on Forest St to McDonald's.

Why did he do it?

“I'm accused of being a bad guy... I needed to sell the site to get some cash to compete against Woolworths,” Brendan told Suzanne on MainFM’s The Retronauts.

• Listen to the full interview

• Support our community radio station! Get your tickets to the MainFM’s mighty fundraiser, the Main Game, happening Sun, 7 June, 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM 

♡˖ Events ˖♡

• 🏀 Vic Wonders vs Sydney Blues, Bendigo Red Energy Centre, Fri, 29 May, 7:00 PM *Wheelchair basketball, feat. Barkers’ Ck’s Shelley Matheson!

• 🎵 Cass McCombs with Carla dal Forno, Theatre Royal, Fri, 29 May, 7:00 PM *American singer songwriter, indie folk/rock

• 🎵 Jan Wositzky’s Long Service Leave, Northern Arts Hotel, Fri, 29 May, 7:30 PM

• 🍰 Floursmith Pop-Up Bakeshop, Former Tearooms, Castlemaine Botanical Gardens, Sat, 30 May, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM (or sold out)

• 📕 Great Book Sale, Castlemaine Library, Sat, 30 May, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM *Gold coin per book, all proceeds to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation

• 🎵 Colm Broderick and Niamh Dalton, Ray Bradfield Rooms, Sat, 30 May, 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM *Traditional Irish music in an intimate setting

• 🎵 Vika & Linda, Theatre Royal, Sat, 30 May, 7:00 PM

• 🎵 Montress, Shedshaker, Sat, 30 May, 8:00 PM *Jazz grooves, lush harmonies

• Somatic Movement Labs: Making Space, Castlemaine Circus, Sun, 31 May, 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM *Movement workshop, body-mind centering

• 🌳 Guildford Biyal (Red Gum) Honouring Day, Guildford Big Tree, 13 Fryers St, Guildford, 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM *Smoking ceremony starts at 11:30 AM followed by installation of Reconciliation Seat, BBQ, live music

• 📽️ Such a Resounding Silence, Northern Arts Hotel, Sun, 31 May, 2:00 PM *Documentary screening

• 🎵 Feel Flows, Table Records, Sun, 31 May, 4:00 PM *Live show

• 🎵 Double Trouble, Tom Cushing, Dear Dolly, Shedshaker, Sun, 31 May, 5:00 PM

• 💥 B-Boy BeeZee Master Class, Movement Zone, Monday, 1 June, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM *Open break class, ages 13+

• 🖤 Reconciliation Walk, CFA Chewton, Weds, 3 June, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM *Walk Leanganook Track to Me Mandook Galk

• 🖼️ Rotary Art Show Gala Opening, Castlemaine Town Hall, Thurs, 4 June, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM *$25 tickets at the door, entertainment + refreshments

• 🖼️ Castlemaine Rotary Art Show, Castlemaine Town Hall, Fri, 5 June - Mon, 8 June, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

• Show and Tell for Grownups, Sac’o’Suds Launderette, Fri, 5 June, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

• 🎵 Castlemaine Jazz Festival, various locations, Fri, 5 June - Sun, 7 June

• 🎵 Jungle Giants, Theatre Royal, Fri, 5 June, 7:00 PM *Bouncy, joyful four-piece

• 🎵 Afrospace Interchange, Mad Vantage, Mount Kujo, Goods Shed, Sat, 6 June, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM *Castlemaine Jazz Festival

• Uncle Rick’s On Country Tour, Market Building, Sat, 6 June, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM *Visit significant trees and sites selected by Uncle Rick

• 🎵 Phoebe Go, Love Shack, Sat, 6 June, 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM *Intimate indie-pop solo show

• 🎵 Jazz Jam, Maurocco Bar, Sat, 6 June, 8:00 PM - 11:00 PM

• 🏉 The Main Game, Camp Reserve, Sun, 7 June, 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM *Iconic day of footy benefitting the best lil station in the nation: MainFM

• 💡 Building Better Business, Goods Shed, Wednesdays, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM *Six-week workshop series for Mount Alex businesses

• 🎭 The Seagull, Phee Broadway Theatre, Fri, 12 June, 7:00 PM *Opening night, first of nine performances by The Ravens Theatre Co

• 🎵 The Bats, Theatre Royal, Fri, 12 June, 7:00 PM *Aotearoa indie legends

• 🎵 Castlemaine Chorale Eisteddfod, Castlemaine Town Hall, Sat, 20 June, 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM

• 😂 Dave Hughes, Theatre Royal, Sat, 20 June, 7:00 PM *Brutally honest stand-up comedy, seated show

• 📕 Book Talk: Darcy Green, Wesley Hill Hall, Sun, 21 June, 3:00 PM *Love Heated Rivalry? Green’s book After the Siren is for you!

• Winter Solstice Dinner, Gornelly’s, Sun, 21 June, 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM *Five sharing plates, winter tipples, multiple sittings

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