Latest news with #Kyneton
ABC News
07-07-2025
- ABC News
Nine valuable guitars stolen from music legend Joe Camilleri's Kyneton home
Australian music legend Joe Camilleri has been left heartbroken by the theft of precious guitars from his central Victorian home. The Black Sorrows frontman said nine guitars, including two from the 1950s, were taken from his home at Kyneton on Thursday. "I was away for three days and came back and the house was open," Mr Camilleri said. "As soon as I saw my [1954 Gibson] Switchmaster missing, I realised I'd been burgled." The ARIA Hall of Fame inductee said five Gibson guitars were taken, which had been part of his life for at least 40 years and were used to write many famous songs. "I pull them out and they're my best friends," Mr Camilleri said. As well as the Switchmaster, a 1956 Gibson L5, 1960 Gibson 330, 1967 Gibson Les Paul cherry top and 1975 Fender Stratocaster were taken. The thieves also allegedly took off with the musician's cutlery, bathroom products, yellow wheelie bin and a leaf blower. It's not the first time he's had gear stolen. In 2017 a guitar, saxophone and amplifier were taken from the back of his car. They were recovered ready to be shipped overseas, a fate he believed had probably befallen his beloved guitars too. "I'd say if the people who took them are smart enough they'll be in a container on their way to Dubai now or somewhere like that," Mr Camilleri said. Victoria Police said detectives were investigating the burglary and the unknown offenders forced entry to the home around 10.30pm on July 3. The Black Sorrows used social media to ask the music fraternity to keep an eye out for the gear and alert guitar resellers. "These are distinct instruments and will be difficult to offload," the band's Facebook post said. Anyone with information or security footage is asked to contact Crime Stoppers.
News.com.au
02-07-2025
- News.com.au
‘Failed my family': Family of woman killed by violent partner drops bombshell on special gender-based violence forum
The family of a woman killed by her violent partner in an act of gender-based violence has dropped a bombshell on a special forum hosted by A Current Affair - claiming prosecutors only brought them along to 'appease' them. Lee Little, the father of slain Victorian woman Alicia Little, was one of the headline guests on the special public forum hosted by the Channel 9 program on Wednesday night. The rare and critical gathering allowed victims of gender-based violence to come face-to-face with key figures in policy, law enforcement and the judiciary on a special hour-long edition of the news program. Mr Little was joined by Alicia's son Bronson and daughter-in-law Lauren where the family said nothing was being done about violence in the community. 'It just, it breaks my heart to see this happening every day,' Ms Little said to the forum. Charles McKenzie Ross Evans, Ms Little's former partner, was jailed for four years after violently running her down at a home in Kyneton in December 2017. Evans was initially charged with murder over Ms Little's death, which occurred after she attempted to leave the violent relationship. He eventually pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and failing to render assistance after his charges were downgraded. Evans was jailed for four years for Ms Little's death but was released on parole in 2020, moving to NSW. Bronson Little voiced his anger at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and how they could not help defend his sister, claiming the family had a shocking encounter with the body. 'They sat my family in a room for 45 minutes and listened to our questions, and at the end of it they said to us, we only brought you here to appease you,' he said. 'To be perfectly honest, the system failed us. 'The system failed my family.' David Heilpern, a former magistrate who sat on the panel, said he has bailed men who have gone on to kill. Mr Heilpern said the system 'needs to change'. 'We actually need a holistic change to ensure that victims of violence take pride of place in the criminal justice system, rather than just being a another case.' At least 36 Australian women have been killed in 2025 so far, according to Australian Femicide Watch. Sue and Lloyd Clarke, the parents of Hannah Clarke - who was murdered by alongside her three children by her estranged husband Rowan Baxter - said that it continue to get harder grieving their family's loss. 'I think you miss them more for a while. 'You're in shock and you can explain away that you know they're away or something. 'But it gets harder,' Ms Clarke said.
The Age
29-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Middle Park finally gets its moment as a new bar and bistro opens in the suburb
Eating out Just open From the owner of Tartine and Ned's Bake, Middle Park European is a long-awaited diner for pasta and steak frites. For months, Middle Park residents have been peering through the venetian blinds of the building on the corner of Armstrong and Erskine streets, eagerly awaiting its transition into a wine bar and bistro they can call their own. After much anticipation, 110-seat Middle Park European will officially open on June 3. The latest venture by restaurateur Matteo Bruno's Valarc Group (Richmond's Tartine, Windsor's Ines Wine Bar and Sistine, and more) will feed the local hunger for an elevated dining option in the suburb, says Bruno, who lives nearby in Albert Park. 'I was really familiar with this strip and I knew that there was really nothing of this nature.' He tested the concept when he acquired Ned's Bake after it went into administration, adding nights at the Middle Park location, which he says 'locals couldn't get enough of'. Bruno hopes the same will be true for Middle Park European, open for lunch through dinner six days a week for residents to use as casually or ceremoniously as they like. There's an immediate warmth to the front bar – all salmon-coloured tiles, lime-washed walls and original stained-glass windows – where you can perch at a standing table with a beer, or champagne and a half-dozen oysters, while you wait for a seat. The 'spine of the venue', Bruno says, is a curvy walnut-timber bar, inset with stone, that the team needed a local boat builder to make. It stretches up the building's right-hand side into a cork-lined dining area with booth and banquette seating. Vintage cabinetry sourced from Kyneton homewares store Kabinett adds to the lived-in feel. Leading the (open) kitchen is British-born head chef Aaron Wrafter, who cut his teeth at the Michelin-starred, now-closed Turners, and Harborne Kitchen in Birmingham. His menu is Italian-leaning, with French flourishes and a substantial selection of seafood. To start, caviar 'dip' saves you having to splash out on a tin. A bed of creme fraiche is topped with Black River caviar, chives (and chive oil), and pickled shallot. There will always be two kinds of house-made pasta – so generously 'sharing-sized' that Bruno had to order bigger tables. For the opening menu expect fresh tagliatelle with Shark Bay crab and bisque, and ridged shell-like cavatelli with pork-and-fennel sausage. Mainstays include fish'n'chips and steak frites (porterhouse, say, with tarragon butter), while a specials board will introduce new dishes every couple of weeks. As with the food, the wine list favours Italy and France, with a few big-ticket bottles from Barolo and Burgundy. More affordable local alternatives also punch above their weight: Heathcote winery Vinea Marson's barbera is 'just as bold as ones from Piedmont that are 20 times the price', says Bruno. Cocktails are largely driven by citrus and amari, including an Aperol-tinged spicy marg and salted-caramel espresso martini with Averna. Open lunch and dinner Tue-Sat.
Sydney Morning Herald
29-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Middle Park finally gets its moment as a new bar and bistro opens in the suburb
Eating out Just open From the owner of Tartine and Ned's Bake, Middle Park European is a long-awaited diner for pasta and steak frites. For months, Middle Park residents have been peering through the venetian blinds of the building on the corner of Armstrong and Erskine streets, eagerly awaiting its transition into a wine bar and bistro they can call their own. After much anticipation, 110-seat Middle Park European will officially open on June 3. The latest venture by restaurateur Matteo Bruno's Valarc Group (Richmond's Tartine, Windsor's Ines Wine Bar and Sistine, and more) will feed the local hunger for an elevated dining option in the suburb, says Bruno, who lives nearby in Albert Park. 'I was really familiar with this strip and I knew that there was really nothing of this nature.' He tested the concept when he acquired Ned's Bake after it went into administration, adding nights at the Middle Park location, which he says 'locals couldn't get enough of'. Bruno hopes the same will be true for Middle Park European, open for lunch through dinner six days a week for residents to use as casually or ceremoniously as they like. There's an immediate warmth to the front bar – all salmon-coloured tiles, lime-washed walls and original stained-glass windows – where you can perch at a standing table with a beer, or champagne and a half-dozen oysters, while you wait for a seat. The 'spine of the venue', Bruno says, is a curvy walnut-timber bar, inset with stone, that the team needed a local boat builder to make. It stretches up the building's right-hand side into a cork-lined dining area with booth and banquette seating. Vintage cabinetry sourced from Kyneton homewares store Kabinett adds to the lived-in feel. Leading the (open) kitchen is British-born head chef Aaron Wrafter, who cut his teeth at the Michelin-starred, now-closed Turners, and Harborne Kitchen in Birmingham. His menu is Italian-leaning, with French flourishes and a substantial selection of seafood. To start, caviar 'dip' saves you having to splash out on a tin. A bed of creme fraiche is topped with Black River caviar, chives (and chive oil), and pickled shallot. There will always be two kinds of house-made pasta – so generously 'sharing-sized' that Bruno had to order bigger tables. For the opening menu expect fresh tagliatelle with Shark Bay crab and bisque, and ridged shell-like cavatelli with pork-and-fennel sausage. Mainstays include fish'n'chips and steak frites (porterhouse, say, with tarragon butter), while a specials board will introduce new dishes every couple of weeks. As with the food, the wine list favours Italy and France, with a few big-ticket bottles from Barolo and Burgundy. More affordable local alternatives also punch above their weight: Heathcote winery Vinea Marson's barbera is 'just as bold as ones from Piedmont that are 20 times the price', says Bruno. Cocktails are largely driven by citrus and amari, including an Aperol-tinged spicy marg and salted-caramel espresso martini with Averna. Open lunch and dinner Tue-Sat.
ABC News
21-05-2025
- ABC News
Coroner finds police could not have stopped man's poison death during Kyneton arrest
A coroner has found police could not have stopped a man from consuming a lethal substance while they were arresting him at his Kyneton home, north-west of Melbourne. Phillip Reidy, 27, who was known to police and suffered from mental health issues, died at the property in July 2024. An inquest has heard that at about 2:30pm on July 2, two police officers attended Mr Reidy's Windridge Way home to arrest him for criminal damage in relation to an alleged domestic violence incident earlier that day. Within nine seconds of removing the handcuffs, and with the officers closely following him, Mr Reidy walked to a desk, picked up a white bottle and consumed the dangerous substance. Soon after consuming the substance, Mr Reidy started to experience symptoms and collapsed to the kitchen floor. He told the officers, "Tell my mum I love her." When they asked what was happening, he responded "I'm dying". The officers performed CPR until paramedics arrived, but Mr Reidy was pronounced dead a short time later. Coroner Paul Lawrie found Mr Reidy intentionally used the poison to take his own life. He said police acted appropriately when they permitted Mr Reidy's request to use the bathroom as they were putting handcuffs on him after they had placed him under arrest. He said Mr Reidy moved "in a manner that was unthreatening and designed to mask his intent". "He purposely moved his back to obscure what he was doing, and it took only a moment," Mr Lawrie said. The court heard Mr Reidy's partner had told police that he was in possession of the poison, but the information was not passed on the two arresting officers. The briefing officer attributed the mistake to being focused on the family violence issues, which the coroner accepted, adding it was an instance of "human fallibility". "The importance of information is clear, nonetheless it is not possible to conclude [the officers] would have treated Mr Reidy in a materially different manner in their dealings with him between the front door and the moment he ingested the compound," the coroner said. Mr Lawrie has called for a unified national framework for managing the supply of a restricted poison after hearing Mr Reidy had purchased the substance online. He said Mr Reidy used false information to exploit a "scientific use" exemption to purchase the poison from a New South Wales company in mid-2023. In NSW, the exemption allows the supply and use of the poison by a person in charge of an institution or facility for scientific research. The court heard a declaration form completed by Mr Reidy using false details of a company called THX Network should have raised concerns. "A quick internet search reveals THX Network to be a blockchain-based loyalty and rewards program, but the name has nothing to do with a scientific institution or organisation," Mr Lawrie said. The exemption does not apply in Victoria, where the substance was delivered to. "Even if the basis of the exemption he claimed had been true, [the company] was delivering the compound into a jurisdiction where the exemption did not operate," Mr Lawrie said as he called for a unified national approach to the regulation of schedule seven poisons. A victim impact statement from Mr Reidy's mother, Sandra, was read to the court. "Phillip was a caring person who found it difficult to express himself" she wrote. Ms Reidy said her son was diagnosed with ADHD as a child, struggled in school, and suffered from several mental health conditions throughout his adult life. "I wonder if his actions could have been prevented with better communication before his death. "I hope that something can be learned from the experience ensure the wellbeing of others as they struggle to navigate their lives."
