What better way to spend a Saturday evening in June than joining The Choir — 120 harmonious voices under the direction of the inimitable Jonathon Welch; the award-winning Footscray Yarraville City Band along with a company of special guests to honour Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee with British music at its best?

Even better, one of the guests will be Her Maj herself (courtesy of Gerry Connolly!) to ensure a suitable moment or two of gravitas and a wealth of humour.

Other guests in this program of musical delights and surprises include international opera sensation Liane Keegan, just home in Australia after several years singing at Berlin Opera and Glyndebourne; and David Johnston, who will entertain on the magnificent town hall organ.

The Best of British music means everything from the Beatles, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Queen, Dusty to the Hallelujah Chorus, Land of Hope and Glory, Rule Britannia and more, with plenty of opportunities to sing along, wave a flag in the best British spirit.

Hosted by Jonathon Welch AM, the Best of British Diamond Jubilee Celebration Concert will be at Melbourne Town Hall on Saturday 16 June at 7.30pm.  Tickets $25-$35, 0402 973 244, www.thechoir.com.au

• Proceeds from the concert will go the School of Hard Knocks Foundation, Melbourne’s new collaborative arts and culture institution for the homeless and disadvantaged.

North-eastern Victoria is a delightful place to visit in autumn — historic buildings are given a superb backdrop of autumn hues to flatter their mellow stone facades and crisp mornings are usually followed by sunny, invigorating days.  And every year the region adds new, entertaining reasons for visiting high country towns. 

Beechworth’s Golden Horseshoes Festival brings a huge celebratory atmosphere to Easter weekend with a fabulous Grand Parade, a night market in the Historic and Cultural Precinct on Easter Saturday, children’s events in the Police Paddocks, a production of Wind in the Willows in the Chinese Gardens and on Easter Sunday, a Mountain Bike Eliminator event to suit all ages and levels as well as a family bike ride on the famous Murray to Mountains Rail Trail.  There’s also plenty of fun on the live music stage, roving entertainment, and a giant Rotary Craft Market.

The Golden Horseshoes Festival is followed in May by the new regional food and wine festival, High Country Harvest, which involves all the area’s towns and their very special produce presented in creative events.  Mansfield’s Farmers’ Market, Myrtleford’s La Fiera, Bright’s Brewery, all contribute, along with a host of wineries that have organised special food and wine events.

Beechworth is fully involved in High Country Harvest with events like Beechworth Bakery’s ‘Inside Scoop on Breadmaking’ a chance for an ‘insider’s only’ look at one of Australia’s great retail success stories, and a hands-on workshop learning the age-old secrets of master bakers.  There’s also the Producers’ Picnic in Beechworth’s Police Paddocks with more than 60 high country producers showcasing their earthly delights.

Rutherglen is another centre of mouth-watering attractions at High Country Harvest:  the winemakers of Rutherglen will all have their welcome mats out for those who love the region’s sweeter tipples, while The Sweet Cycle is an invitation to experience a weekend of cycling revelry.  Put on your best vintage cycling gear and cycle the picturesque Rutherglen countryside with strategic stops along the way to enjoy unforgettable epicurean experiences including a charcuterie master class, high tea featuring artisan sweet treats and a Muscat and Topaque tasting with perfectly matched regional fare.

High Country Harvest runs from 18 to 27 May and all the details are at www.highcountryharvest.com.au

Cecil Beaton: Princess Elizabeth and Prince Charles at Clarence House, 1950.

Among royalists and republicans alike there is widespread and genuine admiration for the dignity and diligence of Queen Elizabeth II.  The warmth of her reception by Australians during her tour late last year was clear, providing an ambience in which her Diamond Jubilee Year 2012 can be a true celebration.

An exhibition of portraits by famous royal photographer Cecil Beaton, touring from London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, is both a documentation of society’s understanding of the role of the monarch and an insight into the Queen’s personality in a variety of roles: as youthful princess, young and regal monarch and mother.

Nearly 100 portraits taken by Sir Cecil Beaton over a period of 30 years are included, accompanied by extracts from Beaton’s personal diaries and letters, revealing insights into the working practice of a royal sitting — from the intense planning beforehand to conversations with the Queen and the pressure he felt to produce the perfect portrait.

The Art Gallery of Ballarat is the only venue in Australia to host this exhibition and director Gordon Morrison says that its portraits reveal the changing way the monarchy has been seen by the world over time.

“These portraits are high end glamour, meticulously crafted by Britain’s leading portrait photographer.  They are interesting, not just as portraits of Elizabeth, but because each in its own way reveals the ways the monarchy was constructed and presented to the world.  It’s a fascinating journey to see the evolution from the fairytale princess, through the crowned head of the empire to the informal mother of a young family,” Mr Morrison said.

Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton: A Diamond Jubilee Celebration is at Art Gallery of Ballarat, 40 Lydiard Street North, Ballarat until 15 April 2012.  Open 9am to 5pm daily.  Entry $12/$8.  Enquiries 5320 5858, www.artgalleryofballarat.com.au

The Senior Australian of the Year 2012, Laurie Baymarrwangga (pictured above), is an extraordinary elder from the island of Murrungga, the largest of the outer Crocodile Islands off the Arnhem Land coast.

According to Joe Morrison, CEO of the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA), Laurie Baymarrwangga is a “true crusader for the environment, Indigenous culture and the nation itself.  Mr Morrison says that her recognition is a timely reminder to Australians of the enormous contribution made by the nation’s first people.

Now aged 95, Laurie has shown extraordinary commitment to maintaining her culture, the environment of her beloved Crocodile Islands and ensuring younger generations continue to keep their heritage alive.  Since the 1960s when she first created a homeland bilingual school on Murrungga, she has worked tirelessly to pass on the language, songs and customs of her culture, as well as knowledge of countless generations of intimate coexistence with the sea.

The Yan-nhangu dictionary project to document her language, a housing project that has benefitted generations of kin and a junior rangers group established with her own money, in which volunteer rangers pass on the skills of cultural and natural resource management are just some of her achievements.  Mr Morrison says that the Indigenous rangers play a profoundly important role in managing the intact coastal ecosystem of northern Australia.

In 2010, after a struggle stretching back to 1945, Laurie finally received back payments of around $400,000 for rents owed to her as the land and sea owner of her father’s estate.  The great-great-grandmother donated it all to improve education and employment opportunities on the island and to establish a 1000 square kilometre turtle sanctuary on her marine estate.

“She is a living reminder of the critical importance of cultural, linguistic and biological diversity to our future, and to social and ecological sustainability of Australia,” says Joe Morrison.