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A murder mystery, 1906 shipwreck, and the orionids meteor peaks: 15 - 22 October
Published about 2 months ago • 12 min read
Hiiiii and good morning lovely!
Spring has gone full sparkle, with gorgeous fluffy babies everywhere and, yes, I can confirm, the magpies have officially started swooping with gusto. Please deploy your helmets/zip ties (colanders?) as required and keep the kids, dogs, and your dignity safe!
It’s still windy (ugh), but the days have been gorgeous enough to dust off the cobwebs, I have been enjoying and highly recommend a bracing coastal walk, especially if you fancy some bright cheeks like tomatoes, and lungs full of sea air.
On the docket this week we have: MotoGP mayhem, a cheeky Trivia Drag Night, some local legend musicals, family theatre for the small humans, great local food and music, and a splash of live music across the shires. Buckle on up, and let’s plan to have a great week!
Know about an upcoming event, and think we need to know about it? Email us to give us a heads up, or submit an event here
Cue Up: this week's Events
West
The Game’s Afoot Thursday 16 October 2025 – 7:30 pm | West Gippsland Arts Centre, Warragul A murder-mystery comedy with old-school stage sparkle and a wink.
The Flow-goers Saturday 18 October 2025 – 7:00 pm | The Irish Bar, Trafalgar Groove-forward jams in a snug country-pub room.
Ethan Calway Sunday 19 October 2025 – 1:00 pm | Noojee Hotel, Noojee Acoustic Sunday session by the river—easy like a spring arvo.
Andrew McSweeney & Wishing Home Sunday 19 October 2025 – 2:00 pm | Travellers Rest Hotel, Thorpdale Heart-on-sleeve originals in a classic hill-country pub.
John Freyne hosts Sunday Sessions Sunday 19 October 2025 – 4:00 pm | The Irish Bar, Trafalgar Laid-back vocals to land your weekend softly.
Free Screening: Just A Farmer Wednesday 22 October 2025 – 4:00 pm | West Gippsland Arts Centre, Warragul Community screening of the Australian indie drama with a rural heart.
Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix (MotoGP™) Friday 17 – Sunday 19 October 2025 | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit World-class racing on the Island, from practice to podium, goosebumps guaranteed.
Bookrunner Friday 17 October 2025 – 8 pm | Archies Creek Hotel, Archies Creek Local psych-garage upstarts with fuzzed-out riffs and laid-back grooves.
Drag Trivia Night (LGBTQI+ friendly fundraiser) Friday 17 October 2025 – 7:00 pm | Loch Public Hall, Loch Sequins, sass and brain-teasers, 100% good times for a good cause (Beyond Blue).
Eat Drink Play Gippsland (Food • Wine • Music) Saturday 18 October 2025 | Leongatha Railway Precinct, Leongatha Producers, pours and live tunes—Leongatha turns into a roaming regional picnic.
Eric Collier Sunday 19 October 2025 – 2:00 pm | The Gurdies Winery, The Gurdies Acoustic Sunday with vineyard views, live at the cellar door.
David Bridie (with Xani Kolac & Rosie Excess) Sunday 19 October 2025 – 3 pm | Archies Creek Hall, Archies Creek Piano-led set from the My Friend the Chocolate Cake frontman, Sunday well spent.
Dan Lunn Sunday 19 October 2025 – 2:00 pm | The Wooli Tavern, Cape Woolamai Sunday arvo classics on the island.
Irish Goodbye (theatre) Thursday 16 – Saturday 18 October 2025 – multiple shows | The Wedge, Sale Sharp Irish storytelling with laughs and heart: an intimate stage gem.
Dale Gannan Saturday 18 October 2025 – 8:40 pm | Newborough Hotel, Newborough Country-rock storyteller turns Saturday up a notch.
Emily Nock – Sunday Sippers Sunday 19 October 2025 – 2:00 pm | Stratford Courthouse, Stratford Warm vocals and originals in a 100-seat heritage theatre.
Outside the Toy Box (family theatre) Tuesday 21 October 2025 – 1:00 pm | The Wedge, Sale A playful, imaginative school-hols follow-on for little legends.
Side-by-Side Sessions (trio night) Saturday 18 October 2025 – from 7:00 pm | Paynesville Wine Bar, Paynesville Ricki Wood, Anna Scionti and Olivia Lay in intimate back-to-back sets.
Emily Gail Sunday 19 October 2025 – 12:30 pm | Mingling Waters, Nowa Nowa Soulful Sunday by the creek: wholesome and great on a Sunday
Nauti Boys Sunday 19 October 2025 – 2:00 pm | Metung Hotel, Metung Lakeside pub session with sing-along energy.
🔍 Heads up: Event details sometimes change without notice — always double-check with an organiser or official event page before you head on out!
Trivia!
Which wreck’s bones stick out at Kitty Miller Bay?
A neat little brick cutie with big “make-it-yours” energy, featuring: 3 beds, 1 bath on a decent-sized 743 m² block, all within walking distance to schools, shops and the local rec reserve.
Inside you’ve got a sunny lounge, plus a bonus second living zone, a practical kitchen (dishwasher, electric oven, pantry), RC air-con, and external blinds to keep the bright summer glare in check.
Outside, you'll find a single garage (electric roller door), lock-up garden shed, and a ready-to-go veggie patch. This one is in a fab location, with low-fuss bones + everyday convenience, making it a perfect first home, or one to spruce-up and hold onto....
This one is forty acres of lifestyle glory with hilltop views that go on for days, and all the toys. The modern home (3 bed, 2 bath) flows out to an epic all-weather alfresco with outdoor kitchen (bar fridge + sink) and a solar-heated, self-cleaning pool, aka your summer will be sorted!
The acreage is set up for some serious fun and function, with: a tree-lined drive with solar electric gates, 3 dams stocked with Aussie bass, stables + stockyards, a new 16×8 m workshop, a 9×6 m shed, fresh fencing and easy access to the Great Southern Rail Trail. Add in 4.8 kW solar, heat-recovery ventilation and parking for 8, and you’ve got a private resort wearing a work shirt!
Yessss: some of Gippsland’s most available floofs are here, ready for a close-up 🐾
South + Bass
Shadow — cat (male). Quiet observer with soft paws and gentle whisker kisses. Story: Shadow’s currently listed on South Gippsland Animal Aid’s “Adopt a Pet” roster. He’s mature, he's calm, and he seems to be the sort of cat that’ll curl up beside you while you read or sip your tea.
Shadow - adopt via South Gippsland Animal Aid
East
Ben — 3-year-old Greyhound (male). Long legs, short zoomies, elite napping. Story: At Animal Aid Bairnsdale, Ben’s proving the greyhound stereotype true: gentle, graceful, and deeply sofa-qualified. A couple of walks and he’s a happy doona burrito.
Ben - adopt via Animal Aid Bairnsdale
Hidden Tracks
🌱 Secret Freebie: “Borrow” Your Spring Garden (Bairnsdale)
East Gippy folks, this one is a beauty, and also seriously cool: Bairnsdale Library’s Seed Library lets you borrow packets of veg/flower seeds, grow them, then return saved seed at the season’s end to help keep the stash going.
That's perfect help with a low-cost kitchen garden, school holiday projects, or a windowsill herb jungle. Ask staff at the desk to get started.
Good to know: It launched at Bairnsdale Library and is part of the Shire’s library programs. Availability is local, so check with the branch for what’s in stock this week. More info
🔓 Power-Reader Hack: Unlock handy e-Resources (Free, from Home)
If you live anywhere in Victoria, a free State Library Victoria membership gives you at-home access to legit databases: ebooks, enewspapers, ejournals and primary sources (helpful for deep-dive research and rainy-day reads). You can sign up online; it’s free for Vic residents.
Log in and hit eResources → browse what’s available for home access. (Usage is for private study/research.)
🕰️ From the Archives: The Town That Moved (Yallourn, Latrobe Valley)
When the open-cut coal mine needed more room, an entire planned garden town (Yallourn) was dismantled and moved (isn't that wild!?!). From the late 1960s into the early ’80s, houses were jacked onto trucks and relocated to nearby towns like Newborough, Moe, Morwell, Traralgon and Yallourn North.
Clubs and ovals shifted too; the “back-to-Yallourn” of ’76 felt like a farewell party before the last resident left in ’84. Today you can apparently still spot ex-Yallourn homes (often with those a tiled roof) dotted through Newborough. Guess that's proof that in Gippsland, even a whole town can do a tree-change.
Feast On: Seasonal Goodness
I’m in my fritter gremlin era and frankly, I've been there for a while now. Give me anything green and springy and I’ll grate it, herb it within an inch of its life, and fry it till the edges sing.
True story: I’ve been known to subsist on zucchini fritters for weeks (send help, or better yet, lemon wedges), and a fully—ridiculously—herbed fritter is practically my love language at this point. (I hear you - I might actually have a problem...)
SO this week we’re leaning hard into the bright spring zing with crispy pea, mint & feta fritters. I love these because they're fast, joyful, and dangerously snackable.
Crispy Pea, Mint & Feta Fritters (Gippsland Edition)
Yes! Peas are a spring thing in Victoria, with sugar snaps, snow peas and garden peas all rolling in around now, but I absolutely hear you (or maybe I'm projecting?): shelling fresh peas adds time. Sometimes, I don't want to spend that extra time, so:
15–20 min version: use frozen baby peas
25–30 min fresh version: shell away (worth it using just-picked pods from a market or your garden).
Just for the hell of it you can spruce it up a bit with:
Because we like our flavour local: Top with hot-smoked trout from Noojee Trout Farm (Noojee, West Gippy) or Tambo Valley Trout Farm (Upper Tambo/East Gippy).
Crack in farm-fresh eggs from your local market - there's just something extra good about market fresh eggs (sadly, I still haven't got my own chooks.....perhaps one day.....)
Sprinkle on some extra spring magic (because why the hell wouldn't you?): scatter nasturtium and borage flowers on top, or garnish with a tangle of pea shoots + dill + chives.
(Writing this is making me very hungry....)
The recipe (serves 2–3)
2 cups peas (frozen/thawed or freshly shelled)
1 small bunch mint, finely chopped (add a little parsley if you like)
100–120 g feta, crumbled
2 eggs (market-fresh if you can)
½ cup self-raising flour (or plain + ½ tsp baking powder)
Zest of 1 lemon + wedges to serve
Salt, pepper, chilli flakes (optional)
Olive oil for frying
Lemon yogurt: ½ cup unsweetened yogurt + squeeze of lemon + pinch of salt + drizzle of olive oil. (Garlic can be tasty to add here too if that's your speed).
How (but make it quick and easy to follow):
Batter: Lightly mash peas (keep texture). Fold in mint, feta, eggs, flour, lemon zest, salt/pepper. Should be thick and spoonable, you can add a spoon or two more of flour if it's too runny.
Fry: Film a pan with oil (med-high). Drop heaped tablespoons, flatten slightly. Cook ~2–3 min per side or till golden and crisp.
Finish: Stack, dollop with lemon yogurt, shower with edible flowers/dill/chives/pea shoots, chilli if you like, and a squeeze of lemon.
Glow-up: Flake over hot-smoked local trout; or add an egg your way (will I start a fight if I suggest that poached eggs are best??)
Add/change/adjust as you like - seriously fritters are great with how you can add whatever fresh veges or herbs that you have around.
Bone apple teeth!
Have a recipe you reckon is perfectly seasonal, fairly accessible, and utterly delicious you'd like to share with our readers? Hit reply and tell us more!
Check In
🌅 Sunrise / Sunset
Wed 15 Oct:Sunrise ~6:28 am / Sunset ~7:31 pm AEDT.
🌕 Moon & Celestial Events
New Moon on 21 October at 11:25 pm AEDT (0% illumination), jet-black skies FTW
Scorpius & Milky Way core: use Antares and M4 to hop toward the galactic heart; darkest detail pops once the Moon is gone (post-21 Oct).
Orionid meteors are active 2 Oct–7 Nov; peaking this week ~20–21 Oct. Best from ~1 am to pre-dawn, with the radiant climbing in the NE. Since it's New-Moon week that means hopefully premium conditions. Expect up to ~20 meteors/hr under darkskies.
Planets:
Saturn: prime evening target in Pisces.
Jupiter: rising earlier each night; bright in the late evening to pre-dawn east.
One to watch (iffy but possibly cool): forecasts suggest two potentially bright comets — C/2025 R2 (SWAN) and C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) — could be visible around 20–23 Oct, overlapping the Orionids. As I write this though, the brightness of them is uncertain, so file this one under “keep an eye on”.
As always (unless you're after cool looking storms), cross your fingers for clear skies and remember to look up!
Know about an upcoming market, and think we need to share it? Email us to give us a heads up, or submit a market here
Cue Up: this week's Markets
West
Warragul Arts & Makers Market Saturday 18 October 2025 – 8:30 am–1:00 pm | TAFE Gippsland (near WGAC), Queen St, Warragul Local makers, art, craft and good vibes alongside the farmers market.
Warragul Farmers Market Saturday 18 October 2025 – 8:30 am–1:00 pm | Logan Park, Warragul Farm-fresh Gippsland produce, hot food and live tunes, a monthly local staple.
Drouin Craft & Produce Market Saturday 18 October 2025 – 9:00 am–1:00 pm | Civic Park, Young St, Drouin Rotary-run community market: bakes, plants, handmade bits and pieces.
South + Bass
Inverloch Regional Farmers Market Saturday 18 October 2025 – 8:00 am–1:00 pm | The Glade, The Esplanade, Inverloch Coastal farmers market with produce, local wines and chilled music. Rail Trail Community Market – Leongatha Sunday 19 October 2025 – 8:30 am–1:00 pm | Leongatha Railway Precinct, Leongatha Makers, growers and live music by the rail trail.
Kongwak Vintage Market Sunday 19 October 2025 – 10:00 am–2:00 pm | Main St, Kongwak Treasure-hunting heaven: vintage, retro, collectibles, every Sunday.
Central
Sale Producers Market Saturday 18 October 2025 – 8:00 am–1:00 pm | Sale Showgrounds, Maffra–Sale Rd, Sale Local make-bake-grow under the elms, a classic country market.
Bruthen Village Community Market Saturday 18 October 2025 – 9:00 am–1:00 pm | Mechanics Hall/Main St, Bruthen “Make it, bake it, recycle it” — small, friendly, very Bruthen.
Sale Sunday Market Sunday 19 October 2025 – 7:00 am–1:00 pm | Thompson River Canal Reserve, Sale Big variety: plants, bric-a-brac, crafts and BBQ brekkies by the water. Glengarry Market (Makers, Bakers & Growers) Sunday 19 October 2025 – 9:00 am–3:00 pm | Main St, Glengarry Packed third-Sunday market with produce, crafts and food vans.
East
Bairnsdale Uniting Church Car & Boot Market (Lucknow) Saturday 18 October 2025 – 8:30 am–11:00 am | Great Alpine Rd, Lucknow (Bairnsdale) Compact car-boot treasure hunt, for bargains and friendly banter.
Lakes Entrance Lioness Indoor Xmas Market Saturday 18 October 2025 – 9 am–2 pm | Lakes Entrance Mechanics Hall, Mechanics Street, Lakes Entrance Nearly 40 stalls of local handmade gifts, preserves and produce, plus jewellery galore.
Occasionally weather events can cause changes to markets, but Facebook is pretty reliable if you want to check that things are going ahead as planned.
Soo there you have it: plenty to check out, eat and drink, and of course have some fun while you're at it. What will you get up to this week?
Last little bits:
Tell us about events and things you know are happening so we can spread the word (free) - or email us, or message us on socials - whatever works for you.
Email us if you have suggestions, or if you'd love to talk to us about what you do, who you are, or toot someone else's horn so we can feature you (or them) (free)
Share your referral code (at the bottom of this email) with mates/enemies/your favourite local barista below (free, for them, and you).
P.S. Trivia Answer - A. The S.S. Speke is a short (okay, about 3.9km) way down the Kitty Miller Bay walk, and features the remains of a 1906 shipwreck at Phillip Island.
A$5.00
Smashed Avo Fund
We’re hunting down Mrs. T’s secret lamington stash🔎 and eavesdropping on the pub’s latest buzz — so you don’t have to. ... Read more
If you live in Gippsland..... get the good stuff, no static.🦘🚗🌳
🗞️Original Mixtape is your free Gippsland regional newsletter, landing in your inbox every Wednesday at 7 AM.
Dropping every Wednesday morning, just in time to save your weekend plans. Get local events, new eats, weird gigs, small-town heroes, pop-ups, markets, and the odd wombat fact — all in one inbox hit. Subscribe for free⬇️
Read more from If you live in Gippsland..... get the good stuff, no static.🦘🚗🌳
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