Plus DIY recruiting and seeking water clarity. Welcome to Galah Weekly, our award-winning newsletter keeping you up to date with regional headlines that matter, plus other delightful things from life beyond the city. By Dean Southwell, who can barely remember his own mullet.
Take 92 magnificent manes and a woman determined to bring smiles and tourists to her Hunter Valley community and you have Mulletfest, an event with a heart of gold.
Last weekend, as the town of Kurri Kurri sweltered, the 2024 Mulletfest grand final celebrated the iconic hairstyle at an event sold as the nation’s biggest “party out the back”.
It was the culmination of more than a dozen heats around NSW as well as in Rockhampton, Darwin, Perth and Canberra.
What makes a winner? Competitors are judged on the cut and condition of their hair, their photos and how they fit the various event categories.
But you need that certain something to impress the judges, so competitors faced interviews that rated charity or volunteer work highly.
A mullet also needs to work a crowd. So Bayley Martin-Pyke, who travelled from the Port Stephens area, was right on the money when he strutted up to the stage with an entourage, banner and Bailey Zimmerman’s New to Country blaring to win the rookie category. Sydneysider Anton Medvidovic gave his wife a lot of the credit for his overall win because she applied argan oil to his hair.
The heart of gold Event founder Laura Johnson said she was proud of an event that could easily be dismissed as a celebration of bogan culture.
Johnson’s family had run the Chelmsford Hotel in Kurri Kurri since 1993. As publican in 2017, she saw how hard the closure of the local aluminium smelter and collieries had hit her community.
She wanted to do something to make her community smile, so the pub hosted the first Mulletfest in 2018. She has since sold the pub, although it still hosts a Mulletfest heat.
She also wanted to support brain cancer research after the death of a friend. Mulletfest has raised about $35,000 for the Mark Hughes Foundation.
The 2025 event, which starts in a few weeks with heats at Canberra’s Summernats, will also support the Black Dog Institute.
Dirty Janes has a free personal shopping service for any budget and it doesn’t matter if you’re not close to one of its three locations in Bowral, Canberra and Orange. Just call or text 0413 507 537, describe who the gift is for and the budget, and they’ll sort and ship it for you for Christmas. For example, maybe it’s your vintage fabric-loving sister-in-law and your budget is $40. They do the rest.
And if you can shop in person, don’t miss the handmade Galah stands stocked with current and back issues. Learn more
It’s a nation where the government intends to spend billions on renewable energy and where there is broad community support for that shift.
That shift also faces considerable community opposition over the impact of renewable energy infrastructure.
If you think that sounds like Australia, you’re right, but it’s actually the situation in the UK.
British PM Keir Starmer has named renewable energy transition as one of his key goals in his first term and his government says it won’t let NIMBY opposition stop it. (NIMBY is a term Australia knows, but it tends not to be used so aggressively here.)
There’s one UK idea that might catch on. Starmer’s ministers are considering packages of household and community benefits that include a $2000 discount on energy bills for those affected by renewable energy infrastructure.
Energy is again shaping as a central issue for next year’s Australian federal election, with a potential nuclear future a hot topic.
A water scientist has raised transparency and equity concerns over testing for “forever chemicals” in regional water supplies.
Last week the NSW government acted to remove PFAS chemicals from drinking water in the Blue Mountains.
This week Ian Wright, a water scientist at the University of Western Sydney, said that if Sydney Water struggled to detect contamination it could happen anywhere, and he was particularly concerned about water utilities in smaller regional centres.
He and Nicholas Chartres, a senior research fellow at the University of Sydney's Faculty of Medicine and Health, pushed for more transparency on testing results. An ABC investigation raised concerns that councils weren’t making testing results public.
Dangerous levels of the chemicals have also been found in bore water that supplies the New England town of Warialda.
Qld Premier David Crisafulli has moved to block any parliamentary debate on changes to the state’s abortion laws for the next four years.
In a move described as unprecedented, Crisafulli used the LNP’s majority in parliament to pass legislation that effectively bans debate on the laws and blocks efforts to change them during the term of the government.
Crisafulli said he wanted to shut down what he described as a scare campaign, sparked during the election campaign when MP Rob Katter said he wanted to roll back laws protecting access to abortions. Critics say the gag on debate would also stop parliament expanding legislative protection for abortion.
A western Victorian principal struggling to recruit a science teacher has used his phone to create a viral social media recruiting video.
Victoria has more than 1000 teacher vacancies, and Lake Bolac College had unsuccessfully advertised the position six times, despite the financial and accommodation incentives that came with the job.
So principal Shane Hoffman turned to social media, posting a video showcase of the school that was watched 37,000 times and brought applications rolling in. The school has hired their teacher.
Parkes-born carriage maker Jim Frecklington might be among the last plying his craft, and he’s working on a gift for King Charles with plenty of regional input.
Frecklington, who is battling cancer, has finished two carriages for the royal family in a career of more than 50 years.
After building a diamond jubilee carriage for Queen Elizabeth, Frecklington set out to build another to honour the king. It was supposed to be finished for the coronation but Frecklington’s treatment caused delays. The almost-complete three-tonne carriage will be a testament to artisan skills.
Moss Vale car-body painter Owen Webb has been responsible for painting the carriage, Sydney fine art painter Paula Church has handled details such as the coats of arms and gold leaf, and Wollongong metal spinner Tony Edwards has made the exterior light fittings.
Galahs on the ground appeared unanimous in their support for small meat producers and the ability to source food grown close to home.
Last week we told how some abattoirs are effectively shutting out small meat producers in a move that could be devastating for restaurants and local butchers.
Here’s a selection of your comments:
“It seems counterintuitive for abattoirs to not support local-but-small meat producers taking their livestock to markets. Victoria must make it mandatory for abattoirs to provide their services to all producers if governments are serious about healthy and locally produced food.” Elizabeth Gair Palmer, Noosaville, Qld
“It’s absolutely outrageous that a country abattoir will not accept a small number of animals to be slaughtered locally. This flies in the face of developing regional communities and local businesses and the reduction of food miles.” Margaret Cash, Albert Park, Vic
“Meat and Livestock Australia should be supporting small abattoirs! They need to balance the red tape against the practical, humane and hygienic considerations.” Former small pork producer, South Gippsland
“I find it fascinating that all the things we should be doing to be more sustainable are being ignored. They know it's wrong to be mass producing anything and they know we need a connection to our food. A Chinese-owned abattoir is not going to be thinking of the small pig farmer down the road.” Jane Chalker, Wollongong, NSW
“We are lucky to have a passionate local cattle farmer and beef producer in Ros Denney, the woman behind Saint Aire Farm. Not only does she offer amazing quality meat, but cares deeply about her land and her animals. Ros is a producer who usually sends a single animal to slaughter at a time, and would be incredibly affected by any minimum number required by an abattoir.
“We love to support Ros for our connection to a local farmer, for her passion and knowledge and her contribution to the local economy. This can only be achieved with the support of the infrastructure and services they depend on.” Jo Dunsmuir, Apollo Bay, Vic
“Our local butcher is an absolute gem. Paul Carmody is a local, raising pigs and cattle for his butchery. I have friends who raise some animals on their land and have their animals butchered by Paul. My understanding is that he takes their animals with his to the Goulburn abattoir in small batches. If Goulburn abattoir banned small batches from local producers, I can’t see this butchery surviving.” Lena Stewart, Bungendore, NSW
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The NSW Hunter Valley brings a touch of Formula One to the gravel this month. The inaugural Wollombi Gravel Fest includes two days of cycling on gravel roads in the area. Finn Valtteri Bottas, twice a world drivers’ championship runner-up, and cycling partner Tiffany Cromwell are also taking part. If you’re not into riding, turn up for the festival of local music, food and drink. 20-22 December, Wollombi, NSW. Read more
The National Art School has announced the 56 finalists for the Dobell Drawing Prize, whose works will be exhibited in Sydney next year. They include western NSW artist Genevieve Carroll, who featured in Galah Issue 11, telling how she and fellow artist Bill Moseley took on the 20-year challenge of reviving a derelict Hill End property. 11 April-21 June, NAS Gallery, Sydney. Read more
Three regional NSW galleries will host this exhibition of historic and new work by First Nations artists to celebrate traditional women’s weaving works. It features nine ancestral pieces normally held in the Australian Museum collection and 10 new works. It opens in Grafton before shifting to Tweed and Lismore regional galleries next year. 21 December-9 February, Grafton Regional Gallery, NSW. Read more
Interview: Emma Hearnes
Victorian artist Martine Zajacek makes use of her graphic design background to transform vintage printed materials into striking collages. Often working on up to a dozen pieces at once, the Bass Coast artist explores renewal and restraint through balanced colour and composition. Since her debut exhibition at Loch artist collective On Clarence in 2023, the artist has exhibited widely and been shortlisted for several prizes.
What do you gain from the process of making art?
When I'm in the process of making a collage I’m in the zone – hyper-focused. Time stands still while also flying by. I feel energised working intuitively and when I look at what I've created, I see its beauty but also how joyful and therapeutic the process was.
Where do you source the paper for your collages?
It’s all vintage printed paper, a direct link back to my training and career as a graphic designer. I mainly use the pages of old books that I have sourced over the past 15 years from op shops or second-hand book shops. I have also used ephemera such as postage stamps, letters, tickets and pianola rolls—anything old and printed in which the colour or texture catches my eye.
What has shifted in your work?
Around March this year I had a major shift from botanicals and birds into landscapes. It was rather a nice surprise. This came from wanting to be included in a group show at Tyger Gallery in Yass and taking the exhibition theme of “landscapes” like a brief. The work was accepted and it sold, but even better than that was the discovery of this new natural fit. Being open to play and experimentation and trusting the process is so important. I don't know how long I'll be creating landscapes but I trust another shift will come when it's needed.
The Mulletfest website estimates there are almost 1.6 billion mullets grown worldwide. It’s among many interesting facts about the haircut, although it doesn’t say how it came up with the figure.
It also doesn’t specify what it takes to win the “grubby” category. Organiser Laura Johnson said there are only guidelines, usually involving dreadlocks or a lack of washing. “One year we had a guy with a spoon in his hair,” she said.
She said 2024 winner Josh Hogg, of Kurri Kurri, upped the ante each year.
“Our grubby winner … was grubby,” she said. “He wasn’t bald, but had grown a comb-over anyway then cut the top section out of his hair to create a velcro-like surface for the comb-over to stick to and attach.
“Nailed the brief – grubby. Hilarious. And all-round good human.”
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