Tim Bach

This issue rounds out another big year for The Wombat Post. We are taking a well-earned break over the festive season and through January. We will return with our next issue on February 2, 2024.

We are very grateful to our readers for their support. TWP readership continues to grow.  Over the past year, we have published 580 articles about local news, local people and local events. We continue to strive to be a “Village Square” for the communities of Daylesford, Hepburn, Hepburn Springs and surrounds. According to our website statistics, readers have read 175,000 pages of The Wombat Post over the past year, an increase of 60,000 page reads compared to 2022.

Our regular columnists continue to be the backbone of The Wombat Post. Petrus Spronk (arts and philosophy), Victor Szwed (weather), Tanya Loos (nature diary), Raquel Stevens (Burrow Banter), Lesley Hewitt (book reviews and Councillor columns), Diane Beddison (gardening) and Margaret Hodge (nature stories) have built up scores of avid readers. This year we have welcomed a handful of new contributors including Clive Hartley (local wines and wineries), Indre Kisonas (colour and design), Morgan Williams (art, artists and galleries). Local councillors Jen Bray, Lesley Hewitt and Brian Hood have kept us up to date on decisions and directions in local government.

As the Editor of TWP, I have been fortunate to have the support of an excellent editorial committee including Hal Swerissen, Mark Rak, Dudley McArdle, Raquel Stevens, Celia Waldron, Robyn Rogers and Trevor Shard. We meet each Thursday evening to consider stories for the week, share ideas about stories to pursue and share the workload of producing The Wombat Post. We also thank Sandy Jennings and Melissa Scott for their administrative support this year.

We are very grateful to our major sponsor, the Community Bank Daylesford District, for their ongoing support. We are also grateful to our advertisers for their support, financial contributions and encouragement. We are a volunteer organisation but we have expenses for our website, insurance, administration and sundry costs. Without a modicum of financial support, The Wombat Post could not exist.

I join members of our Editorial Committee in wishing all of our readers and all of our contributors a safe and joyful festive season and a happy and successful New Year.

Tim Bach is the Editor of The Wombat Post.