In the Community - Spring 2026

Celebrating Regional Artistic Heritage
Now available on amazon.com.au, ‘Creative Trilogy’ is the first publication to document the Mid-Western Region’s visual arts heritage - featuring sculpture, ceramics and painting as central to its cultural identity.

In 2024, seven National Trust members formed the Mid-Western Visual Arts Heritage Association Inc.

With a small Community Projects grant and support from members, Connie Eales researched the evolution of these three art forms across the area.

The publication explores how the region developed its artistic voice and why its creative legacy continues to matter, showing art embedded in local life: in galleries large and small, public buildings, rock faces, parks, riverbanks and private collections.

Painters, sculptors and ceramic artists reflected on their artistic journeys, professional practice and roles as art facilitators. The research demonstrates that art organisations and individual trailblazers have played, and continue to play, a vital role in making the Mid-Western Region a vibrant, dynamic heartland for the visual arts.

Rotary Club’s $15,000 donation
A cancer diagnosis can be an extremely overwhelming and difficult time and continues to have a huge impact on our community.

Understanding this, in 2025 the Rotary Club of Mudgee Sunrise committed to sponsoring Room 55 in Stage 2 of Dubbo’s Macquarie Home Stay. Stage 2 is dedicated to supporting patients and their carers when attending the Western Cancer Centre in Dubbo.

To further support cancer patients in our community, the Rotary Club of Mudgee Sunrise committed to raise funds for Can Assist Mudgee. At the Club’s Changeover in June 2026, $15,000 was donated to Can Assist Mudgee to help with medical and other expenses (e.g., accommodation payments and/or food and fuel vouchers) of those diagnosed.

Can Assist Mudgee assisted 147 people/families in our Mid-Western Regional LGA with $118,000 of support. In addition, Paul Harris Fellowships were awarded to hard-working Can Assist members, pictured from left - Betty Holland, Cheryl Stuart, Louise Schmidt and John Stuart.

PINK UP GULGONG
Pink Up Gulgong has a fantastic line-up of fundraising events coming up, with something for everyone to get involved in. Every dollar raised helps support local families affected by cancer, making a real difference right here in our community.

27 October: gather your mates for the Pink Up Gulgong Twilight Bowls Competition, a three-person team event with entry at $100 per team. All proceeds go to Pink Up Gulgong, with registrations through Gulgong Bowling and Sports Club.

31st October: Pink Up Gulgong Golf Day, a 4-Man Ambrose competition with a $500 prize pool. Registrations are through Gulgong Golf Club.

31st October: Pink Up Gulgong Masquerade Ball, an evening of dancing, music, dinner and fun - truly a night to remember!

Meet Mudgee’s Merry Mamzelles
Red Hatters is an international organization dedicated to empowering women over fifty. Our local group, the Merry Mamzelles, works enthusiastically to highlight both the vibrancy of our region and the unique contributions of our members to their communities. Currently, our membership includes individuals from Rylstone, Kandos, Gulgong, Sydney, Foster, Gympie and Mudgee.

On Saturday, July 25, 2026, we hosted a lively and successful luncheon at Club Mudgee to celebrate twenty-five years of red hatting in Australia. The event brought together sixty-four Red Hatters from various chapters across NSW and ACT. Red Hatters travelled from distant locations such as Tumbarumba, Wollongong, the Central Coast, Canberra, Sydney, Gilgandra, and Dubbo, demonstrating the widespread camaraderie and connection fostered by Red Hatting.

Through gatherings like these, we continue to celebrate and uplift women in our age group, ensuring that their voices and achievements resonate throughout our communities and beyond.

Celebrating Regional Artistic Heritage
What began in 1989 as a local fundraising group for Child Flight later grew into a small shop in Kandos. When Child Flight folded, the volunteers were left with a shop and no cause, so in June 2013, The Community Charity Shop Inc was born.

Today, the shop accepts donated goods and sells them to raise funds for local groups and organisations. After running costs are deducted, all money raised goes back into the community. The shop is run entirely by volunteers, with no paid positions, and overseen by a management committee that meets monthly to distribute funds and manage operations.

In 2021, the Charity Shop purchased its building at 14 Angus Avenue, Kandos. By May 2026, the building was fully paid off and, by June 2026, the shop had donated an incredible $1,023,331 back into the local community.

The Phoenix Pumped Hydro Project
ACEN Australia’s Phoenix Pumped Hydro Project is a proposed renewable energy storage development located near Lake Burrendong in the Central West region of New South Wales. The project has been strategically identified due to the area’s favourable topography, proximity to existing transmission infrastructure, and its location within a region experiencing significant growth in renewable energy generation.

The project is designed to support the increasing integration of renewable energy into the National Electricity Market by providing a reliable way to store and dispatch electricity when it is needed most. As renewable energy sources such as solar and wind are dependent on weather conditions, pumped hydro energy storage plays an important role in balancing electricity supply and demand, helping to improve grid reliability and resilience.

The proposed development will consist of two purpose-built reservoirs located at different elevations near to, but separate from Lake Burrendong. During periods when renewable energy generation exceeds demand, electricity will be used to pump water from the lower reservoir to the upper reservoir. When electricity demand increases, or renewable generation decreases, the stored water will be released back through turbines to generate electricity before returning to the lower reservoir.

This proven technology functions as a large-scale energy storage system, enabling renewable energy generated during the day or periods of high wind to be utilised when it is most valuable to the electricity network.

In addition to supporting Australia’s energy transition, the project has the potential to deliver economic and social benefits to the Central West region. If approved, during construction, it is expected to create employment opportunities, stimulate demand for local businesses and contractors, and contribute to regional economic activity. Throughout the life of the project, ACEN Australia aims to work closely with all stakeholders to minimise environmental impacts, maximise local participation and ensure the project delivers lasting benefits for the region.

The Phoenix Pumped Hydro Project forms part of the broader transformation of Australia’s energy system, providing critical infrastructure that supports the reliable delivery of renewable energy while strengthening the resilience and stability of the electricity network.

To learn more about the project visit www.phoenixpumpedhydro.com.au