Discussion and engagement with one another are the life blood of connected, compassionate and resilient communities.   Timely, reliable and relevant local news and information are central to constructive community discussion and engagement.

But reliable local news and information has become harder to find. Social media has filled some of the gap, but has also created opportunities for misinformation. It is important for communities to have a way of organising, checking and publishing news and information that matters to them.

At the moment we are only too aware that local conversation in the supermarket, the shops, the Main Street and all the other places where we usually socialise are missing. As necessary as physical distancing is, we, as a community, are the poorer for it.

A new approach

In December 2019,  a group of local residents decided it would be worth establishing a community news service so that local people organisations, and businesses can engage with one another through local news, information on events, and a range of creative activities including writing and photos.

Following community consultation, the Daylesford District Community News Association was established and incorporated to publish a news service – The Wombat Post. A community board was elected with responsibility for establishing and running The Wombat Post on behalf of the Association members and the community.

The purpose of The Wombat Post is to

  • inform the community of news and events that contribute to community building community and community well-being,
  • promote a positive image of the local community,
  • contribute to the historical record, and
  • provide a medium for advertising services and trades offered to the community.

The Daylesford District Community Bank Branch generously provided funding to establish The Wombat Post and a number of volunteers have worked hard to encourage submissions, edit and post them and set up the website and the necessary administrative arrangements to make it all run. We are particularly grateful to Meta4 creative for their support in putting this website together.

The Wombat Post will publish through this website and, when the COVID-19 storm has passed, we intend to publish a monthly print edition.

We welcome local news stories, feature articles, poetry and creative writing as well as entries for our calendar of events and listings for our Community and Business Directories.