Friends of the Bendigo-Kilmore Rail Trail

The Bendigo Cycling Without Age team is advancing their proposed service while boosting the experiences of individuals.

A Kerang based trishaw was brought to Bendigo’s Lake Weeroona, enabling the team to take passengers who are residential care based.

Jenneth, 63, of Bendigo was one who participated as a passenger with Bendigo Cycling without Age. “I am a stroke and brain tumour survivor who is semi paralysed. The volunteers were friendly, enthusiastic, and engendered trust,” recounted Jenneth. “As we rode along, I loved the feeling of freedom and being safe enough to tip my head back and look up through the trees to the blue sunny sky.”

To support the Cycling Without Age Bendigo team’s effort to achieve their own trishaw service, contact Pam at bendigotrishaw@gmail.com.

With high rainfall events occurring in 2023, one consequence of the Campaspe River’s high flows and flooding was damage to the O’Keefe Rail Trail at Axedale.

While temporary works enabled the trail to reopen to the public after river levels lowered, elsewhere within the City of Greater Bendigo area, there were higher priorities.

Now, the Council Works unit’s contractor Monigatti Cartage has just completed reinstating the rail trail’s surface and drainage for the approaches to the Campaspe River bridge.

The quality of these works will provide a much safer experience for trail users, as well as improving stormwater drainage for the coming winter season.

With the winter season approaching, members of the Friends of the Bendigo-Kilmore Rail Trail enjoyed mild conditions to ride through the Wellsford Forest.

With the Forest Gallery being the destination for the group’s regular “Last Wednesday of the month” group ride for April, a coffee break was on the minds of the riders. The forest was very picturesque, with the lush green forest floor and sun streaming through the trees.

Coffee and cake was greatly appreciated at the Forest Gallery, with artist Terry Jarvis and writer Michelle being the hosts.

The route along forest tracks was navigated by member Lindsay Clay, who knows the area very well, and this was really appreciated by the group. The autumn colours through the forest and in the beautiful garden at the gallery were stunning.

The thought of having an off-road recreational trail, linking Wallan with Kilmore, has local community groups joining forces to promote the proposal.

Representatives of the Wallan Environment Group (WEG), Mitchell Bicycle User Group(MBUG), and the Friends of the Bendigo-Kilmore Rail Trail (FBKRT) met with Hon. Ros Spence MP, the State Member for Kalkallo, to seek support for the proposal.

These community groups are all genuinely excited about the opportunities presented by this trail, not only for the residents of Wallan and Kilmore, but for all Mitchell Shire residents as well as others from further afield. The visitor economy, community health, and safe neighbourhood connections are just some of the benefits that this proposal will support.

From the meeting, Ms. Spence understood the trail’s benefits and was very supportive of the trail concept in her electorate, which includes a part of Wallan.

This understanding also acknowledged that this Wallan Kilmore Recreation Trail would be the first step in the longer, even more important development of the Wallan to Heathcote Rail Trail. A longer-term goal, this rail trail will bring even more gains for central Victoria.

With the O’Keefe Rail Trail being a longitudinal connector for identified areas of significant biodiversity, care for this important link is being assisted by the Friends of the Bendigo-Kilmore Rail Trail members.

In conjunction with the City of Greater Bendigo council’s Parks & Natural Reserves staff, the working bee effort was focussed on providing additional mulch around a previous plantation that had been affected by the major 2023 floods.

This plantation is adjacent to the O’Keefe Rail Trail and the trail’s Campaspe River bridge at Axedale.

A great couple of hours in the morning sunshine provided an ideal environment for the collaborative effort by the ten volunteers. Of course, once the task was completed, it was followed by coffee and chats at Rise and Grind cafe in Axedale!

The community supported O’Keefe Challenge 2024 successfully held its annual running events on Sunday, 21st April, with a total field of 932 participants.

In near perfect weather conditions, the Starter’s gun saw the marathon runners burst out of the Barrick Reserve Heathcote to head along the O’Keefe Rail Trail for the turn-around point within the Knowsley Forest. The marathon runners returned along the rail trail for the 42km finish at Heathcote, with the first across the finish line being Fraser Walsh in a time of 2hrs 32mins 37 secs.

The Half Marathon entrants began their run at Knowsley, utilising the rail trail to finish at the Barrick Reserve Heathcote. The first finisher was Jayden Nicholson in 1:17:28. Other events on the day included a 10km, 5km, Ekiden Relay, Mini-Eky Relay, 1Km Kids Dash, and 500m Superhero Kids Dash. The ‘Light the Trail’ social bike ride was held on Friday evening, with 70 riders participating.

Underpinning the weekend’s events were community groups and volunteers, who carried out various roles such as Aid Station attendees and road marshalls. Providing support and encouragement to the runners, as well as assistance where required, such was definitely appreciated by all who were involved.

Riders were keen to get right into the lighting mood and also in colourful costumes for the annual Light the Trail night ride on the O’Keefe Rail Trail.

Riding from Axedale to Heathcote after sunset, it was not only the necessary front and rear bike lights that were shining, as some riders added light decorations to their bikes, towed trailers and the like!

The rider enthusiasm was infectious, including an attached mobile music machine! This event attracted 70 riders, showing off the benefits of the rail trail at night under perfect weather conditions.

Being part of the O’Keefe Challenge Marathon weekend’s events, this ride ended at Palling Bros Brewery, Heathcote. The ride event’s success is attributed to the planning and staffing by volunteers, assisted by an enthusiastic ‘Commissaire’ Judy McLaren. Well done to everyone who participated!

While out riding, running, or walking along the O’Keefe Rail Trail, do people wonder how this trail has been supported by volunteers?

Community group Friends of the Bendigo-Kilmore Rail Trail members continue to have a close association with the O’Keefe Rail Trail, investing significant volunteer hours, as well as raising money to fund trail projects.

A number of projects have been jointly funded by various community grants from private companies, community organisations, and the City of Greater Bendigo, with the Friends group. 

Over the past 16 years, the group has been involved with providing 21 table-seat units, 6 station name boards, various identification- road crossing signs, 2 bike maintenance stations, 2 water stations, 3 replica railway station platforms, 2 railway road gates, numerous concrete railway ‘mile posts’, and a restored heritage railway wagon with its own railway line, to name just a few.

Would you like to be involved with the Friends group’s community activities and the O’Keefe Rail Trail? Becoming a member is really easy. Just contact https://bendigokilmorerailtrail.com/contact-us/