Castlemaine & Surrounds Women's Shed - CSWS

31/03/2026

Tonight from 7pm come along to the Wesley Hill hall to hear about a new Tiny Homes on Wheels Caretaker model and learn how to get involved ✨

12/01/2026

🤝 West End Resilience: New Volunteer Notice Board

We know many of you want to help those affected by the fires. To connect neighbors informally, WER has launched a Volunteer Notice Board!

View or join here:
https://www.westendresilience.org/offersupport

How it works:
* Offer Help: List the practical, informal support you can provide over the next few weeks (e.g., transport, cleaning, tools, or a spare hand).
* Be Contacted: By signing up, you agree to let neighbors in need reach out to you directly.
* Stay Updated: Please update your post if your availability changes so the board stays accurate.

Other ways to help:
The board also links to existing projects like the Castlemaine Meal Train. If you prefer to help in those areas, please sign up via their direct links.

Thank you for being such a generous and connected community. ❤️'

12/01/2026

Help Mount Alexander communities recover from bushfire. Our register is live.

The Castlemaine Community House, Harcourt Valley Community House , Harcourt Progress Association, Castlemaine Community Investment Co-operative, Castlemaine Lions Club, local Landcare groups, Connecting Country and others are coordinating this volunteer and equipment register to help longer-term bushfire recovery, including in the Harcourt Valley.

People or organisations/groups can register their skills, time and useful equipment. These could be used in activities including clean up, workshops on insurance claims, fencing, repairs, re-vegetation, technology, rebuilding, or fundraising.

We are working with organisations in Harcourt to match resident’s needs to offers. This will co-ordinate help through a trusted local, reducing stress for affected people.

This is a volunteer matching service, not an emergency response. Immediate response needs (food, shelter, clothing, agistment, etc) will be dealt with through Mount Alexander Shire Council's Recovery Centre in the Town Hall from 12th to 19th January.

The form to register is here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=xIs_wy0RqESAEcCUB7kt55ErE3Y5vCRFpk611q4ZlSxUQ1pQR1VSTFdYM1BORFY1OEpPM1c3SlpWUS4u&route=shorturl

The page is here:
https://cch.org.au/volunteer-resource-centre/

19/12/2025

✨ Save the date 📆 Friday 17th of July 2026 ✨
Comedy Victoria will be bringing “Women of Wit” back to Phee Broadway Theatre - stay tuned for the line-up ✨

Comedy is coming back to Castlemaine with the 2026 Women of Wit.

08/11/2025

✨Thanks to everyone who visited us at Pride Picnic yesterday 🌈✨ we loved hearing your ideas and chatting about current and future project ideas 🥽 🛠️

✨Thanks Castlemaine Pride & Castlemaine Community House ✨ we had a ball!! 🙌🏽🌈

07/11/2025

✨🏳️‍🌈Castlemaine Pride Picnic day is here!! 🏳️‍🌈✨ VENUE CHANGE: CASTLEMAINE GOODS SHED, 21 Kennedy Street

18/10/2025

The countdown is on to Castlemaine Pride Picnic 🌈!

We're proud to be one of the stallholders ✨

So save the date - Saturday 8th November - and join us in Botanic Gardens to celebrate all things pride 🏳️‍🌈🌞🌳

22/09/2025

Thanks to everyone who joined us yesterday at the “Constructing Change” screening!

A special thanks to Rachel, Becca, Su and Alex for sharing your stories that sparked rich conversation ✨

We left with full hearts and lots of ideas ✨

For those interested here is the link to the local Tiny House on Wheels survey conducted by the Dhelkaya Health: My Home Network (THOW working group):

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/THOWSurvey?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR6zx3TdxMERpa6kiH7Zczz89gqe4a2f-fRB2ZxYY8Y7vw7tpblcaG9yV9dZQQ_aem_7iIQHytB8KOrnZUJjyp3Pw

Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

19/09/2025

✨Introducing Alex Riches (they/she) an independent filmmaker passionate about elevating LGBTQIA+ voices through film!

🎥 Since earning a Bachelor of Screen Media from Victoria University in 2021, they have written and directed short films, music videos, and promotional content for not-for-profits ✨

🎬 They worked as an Impact Producer for Who I Am’s national tour and co-created the verbatim theatre piece Thrive: Q***r Voices Out Loud. Alex is also a Board Member for WIFT Victoria.

Join us on Sunday to watch Alex’s short film ‘Constructing Change’ ✨they will be chatting afterwards on our Q & A panel, so bring along your questions!

16/09/2025

🎬 our third guest on Sunday will be Becca Higgin (she/her) a qualified carpenter who runs The Chipper Chippy & Co (in Ballarat) with her partner Alex ✨

✨ Cheeky, full of banter, and committed to building trust, Becca has found her niche in working with clients who are older, vulnerable, or a little tradie-shy after their past experiences.

She has plenty of first-hand proof that grit and a good sense of humour go a long way on site, but she’s also here to challenge old-school trade culture - repping diversity and pushing for job sites where everyone feels welcome ✨

Come along on Sunday from 2pm and bring along any questions for Becca!

14/09/2025

✨Introducing Su Hauck (she/they), a passionate advocate for gender diversity in trades and our next Q & A panel member joining us next Sunday 🎬🗓️

Su helps empower individuals locally by providing hands-on training and essential skills to succeed in the construction industry via their work with Bendigo TAFE’s female & gender diverse construction course, that operates locally at The Mill site.

Su has been a carpenter for nearly 15 years. Su was celebrated amongst Australia's most outstanding women in trades in 2024.

Join us Sunday 21st of September from 2pm at Castlemaine Community House and bring along your questions for Su ✨

13/09/2025

🗓️ join us next Sunday from 2pm at CCH for a special screening of “Constructing Change” featuring our very own Rachel Close (she/her)

✨ Rachel is a social worker who was inspired to build a tiny house from scratch! She is also part of the local Dhelkaya Health, My Home Network - Tiny House working group.

Together with her partner Alex they designed their dream home. Over two years chipping away at building a tiny house on wheels. She researched the best practices, attended workshops and took a deep dive into the framing guide!

This experience inspired Rachel to enrol for a pre-apprenticeship in furniture making. She continues to work on the tiny house, improving it and making it a home.

Bring along your own Tiny Home ideas and questions for Rachel!