East Gippsland Shire Council mayor, Cr John White, took time away from the bushfire recovery process to congratulate winners of the East Gippsland Australia Day Awards at a civic ceremony in Lakes Entrance yesterday.

The awards recognise community service and achievement with recipients chosen based on nominations put forward by residents from across the shire.

The 2020 Citizen of the Year is Blake Hollonds, of Swifts Creek, and Young Citizen of the Year, Annie Rogers, of Bairnsdale. Joint winners of Community Event of the Year were 100th Orbost Uniting Church Flower Show, and Paynesville Music Festival.

Cr White said the awards recognise people who selflessly give back to their communities.

“Congratulations to our Australia Day Award winners. East Gippsland has so many people giving back to their communities and making a difference, it is a difficult job for the judges to select award recipients,” Cr White said.

CITIZEN OF THE YEAR

Mr Hollonds has been deeply involved in his community throughout his life. A member of the St John’s Anglican Church at Swifts Creek, he also played football for Swifts Creek and governed on its tribunal.

As a member of the National Party, he attended local meetings and state conferences with other community members. His association with the farming and livestock industry was instrumental in fundraising efforts for Legacy.

Mr Hollonds is a foundation member of Legacy’s East Gippsland Group established in 1949; he also served as president in 1960.

In 2011, Mr Hollonds compiled the history of the East Gippsland Group of Legacy covering more than 60 years. It was a difficult task considering most of the information was obtained from old minute books, newspaper cuttings and the odd story. The result is a valuable book on Legacy at work in East Gippsland.

Mr Hollonds is a humble man, and even among his fellow Legatee members, few know that in the past he was awarded an Order of Australia Medal.

To this day he rarely misses a Legacy meeting. He travels to Bairnsdale in summer and winter regardless of the weather.

Mr Hollands still has six Legacy widows under his care and is in regular contact with them and takes great care of them and their needs. At over 95 years of age, Mr Hollonds still farms on his property, which has been in the family for four generations.

With his Swifts Creek farm impacted by the recent fires, Mr Hollands was unable to attend yesterday’s award presentation, East Gippsland Legacy president, John Patterson, accepted his award on his behalf.

“A number of us tried to get Blake down here from the farm for this, but at 95 years these things (fires) can really hit you hard,” Mr Patterson said.

“I did spill the beans yesterday in trying to get him here. He is greatly honoured and chuffed.

“I’m proud to accept this award on his behalf.”

YOUNG CITIZEN OF THE YEAR

Annie’s achievements are numerous and outstanding. However, she is modest with a genuine desire to always do her best with a focus on how she can help others.

She is a well-rounded young person, a very mature individual, a caring individual and is always friendly.

Annie has competed in state and national taekwondo competitions across Australia. In 2019, she took the gold medal in her division at the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic in Melbourne. Annie is a third level black belt.

Annie is also an accomplished saxophone and piano player. While studying VCE Annie gave up many lunchtimes helping mentor younger players attending junior and intermediate band rehearsals sitting alongside them helping them play their parts.

In 2019 Annie was a Bairnsdale Secondary College School Captain and Dux of the school.

In accepting her award, Annie said she “I’m don't really know if I should be receiving this award”.

“I do what I do because I enjoy it and I really like to give back,” she said.

“It’s through the support of my friends and family who push me to do things and encourage me to do things, and I’m really, really grateful for that. I wouldn’t be where I am or making the achievements that I have without the support of them. So I’d say it’s not just an award for my but for my family and friends as well.”

COMMUNITY EVENT OF THE YEAR

Orbost Flow Show

Last year, the Orbost Uniting Church celebrated the centenary of its annual flower show, which began in 1919.

The annual flower show is a highlight of Orbost’s events calendar and allows residents to display their artistic flair by making the floral displays and growing amazing flowers. In 2019, the show received approximately 200 adult entries and more than 400 children entries. This demonstrates the level of support that the event receives from the local community.

The show enables local school students to perform in front of an audience to gain confidence, and it also gave the secondary school’s hospitality students industry experience as they waited tables at afternoon tea and lunches.

Community members who are not part of the church also volunteered at the show in various capacities.

President of the show’s organising committee, Heather Richardson, accepted the award on behalf of the flowers show’s organisers.

“We’re delighted to receive this award from the shire and thank the shire for its support,” Ms Richardson said.

“It’s been hard work by our committee and we had a wonderful centenary flower show last year.

“I’d also like to thank the music teacher at the secondary college, Sue Taylor. She did a wonderful job. We had over 280 students singing and performing at the opening of the show. She also had to adapt the music for them as well; a lot of work.

“I thank the community. Without them there would be no show. They were just wonderful, and the teachers’ effort was also wonderful.

“I thank our committee for their hard work. Without it this event would not have happened. Over 100 years we’ve had a lot of fun,” she said.

Paynesville Music Festival

The 2019 Paynesville Music Festival was held February on the towns foreshore. This free event benefitted the community by improving social connectedness, fostering community spirit and showcasing the beauty of the Gippsland Lakes and East Gippsland.

The music festival attracted around 3000 people, which gave an economic boost to local businesses and was a popular event for music and artistic culture in the area.

It gave local musicians and bands the opportunity to perform in a festival/concert atmosphere. A number of school bands, community bands and the local theatre group also performed, as the festival promotes local talent and music ability. Many children form part of these groups and they enjoyed the opportunity to perform.

Festival committee member, Martin Richardson, said the Paynesville Business and Tourism Association had conducted the festival for more than 20 years and the team is “in the thick of finalising” this year’s festival next month.

“Like all of these events it is run by a very small group of volunteers and we do try to focus on young musicians,” he said.

“We thank the East Gippsland Shire for its support throughout the festival’s life, and again this year, and also major sponsor again this year, which is the Paynesville and District Community Bank Branch.

“We have a lot of fun and the festival is great for the community to come together to have fun.”

IMAGE: Joint winners of East Gippsland Shires Council’s Community Event of the Year for 202 were the St Andrew’s Uniting Church Annual Orbost Flower Show and the Paynesville Music Festival. PICTURED: Members of the St Andrew’s Uniting Church Annual Orbost Flower Show committee, Janette Osborne, Heather Richardson, Rita Cavanagh, Gwen Hatcher, Val Thorpe and Judy Adams. K66-252