🥧 I can’t stop eating pies

🎊 WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK 🎟️

• SUNDAY, 10/05/26 | Teeny Tiny Stevies

• SUNDAY, 10/05/26 | Drag Bingo at Quirky Bar

• SUNDAY, 10/05/26 | Ruthie Foster at Meeniyan Town Hall

• SUNDAY, 10/05/26 | Kier Stevens at Paynesville Wine Bar

• FRI. 01/05 - SAT. 06/06 | Exhibitions at East Gippsland Art Gallery

🧺 FARMERS MARKETS 🥧

• SATURDAY, 09/05/26 | Rokeby Market

• SATURDAY, 09/05/26 | Coal Creek Farmers Market

• SATURDAY, 09/05/26 | Metung Market

• SUNDAY, 10/05/26 | Longford Community Market

• SUNDAY, 10/05/26 | Kongwak Market

🔍 HEARD THIS WEEK👂

🚢 The steel hull of a 1906 shipwreck remains embedded in a Phillip Island beach after 120 years

Launched in 1891 in Wales, the SS Speke was a three-masted steel-hulled sailing ship, which measured over 90 metres in length, with the towering main yards (the cross sections on the masts) stretching nearly 32 metres.

The Speke was designed for transporting bulk cargo, such as coal and grain, across global trade routes.

Its final voyage was in 1906, after loading a cargo of coal in Newcastle north of Sydney, the Speke - with a crew of 27 including its captain - set sail for Peru, only to receive new orders en route to divert to Geelong and take on a consignment of wheat.

In the early afternoon of February 22, as the ship was approaching Victoria’s coast, the captain of the ship made a grave navigational error.

Watch a video explaining the full story below.

⚡️ Wind turbines to be shipped from Port of Hastings, as state tips $124.5 million into new terminal

The state government has allocated $124.5 million to move forward with developing the Port of Hastings on the Mornington Peninsula into the primary hub for Gippsland’s offshore wind farm development.

The government says it will become “the first heavy-duty port of its kind in Australia”.

While Gippsland’s Barry Beach Marine Terminal and Port Anthony won’t be shipping out large wind turbine bases and blades, they have been identified as potential long-term operational and maintenance hubs for the offshore wind industry.

What happened: The government announced the funding for the Port of Hastings Renewable Energy Terminal in Monday’s state budget.

The wheels in such a large infrastructure project move slowly, and before construction can start various approvals are required. They include an Environmental Effects Statement (EES), which is a necessary step in greenlighting major projects with potentially significant environmental impacts.

• A previous EES was undertaken in 2024, with the federal government rejecting the proposal to expand the Port of Hastings, determining that it would harm surrounding wetlands and marine wildlife.

The EES will include community consultation, which the government is aiming to start this year.

The Port of Hastings Renewable Energy Terminal would house energy companies wanting to assemble turbines to be shipped and installed offshore.

The EES is expected to be completed later this year or in 2027. 

Construction of Gippsland’s offshore wind farm is expected to begin in 2027.

At its peak, the offshore industry is expected to create over 2,370 jobs, according to the state government.

The government says the development will “make sure Gippsland remains the powerhouse of Victoria’s energy production for decades to come”.

LOOKING NATIONALLY 👀

Victoria has quietly become one of the more affordable housing markets in the country, much to the delight of first home buyers trying to get their foot in the door of the property market.

Last week, my colleague Archie Milligan from the National Account spoke to Emeritus Professor, Hal Pawson, from the University of New South Wales about how state-level policy levers like taxes and tenants' rights reforms have started to shift the market in Victoria, and what other states could learn from them.

Take a look at the full interview below, and subscribe to the National Account here.