As this will be my last column before Christmas, I thought I'd do a bit of a reflection on the 'Year that Was'.
My absolute highlight this year, as your Flynn Ward Councillor, was seeing the return of the much-anticipated Dunolly Gold Rush Festival in October. So much work went into this by the DDI, the traders and the local community. I was humbled to be the festival's official Ambassador, which to me was the cheery on top. I was super proud to see the event roll out and be so successful, it was a real boon to Dunolly and surrounds.
Bealiba residents didn't sit on their haunches either and a small but enthusiastic group organised a community day at the Bealiba Hall in April. This was well attended by locals both long term and newly arrived. It gave people an opportunity to meet other locals as well as hear from the various community groups who are active in the town.
Australia Day in Dunolly was a well organised morning and it was a pleasure to be the MC once again. Local identities were honoured on the day with medals and certificates.
It was also wonderful to see the newly formed Dunolly Traders Assn Inc go from a fledging group, to one that went all out during the Dunolly Gold Rush Festival with fabulous goldrush themed hessian flags and a 'Trader's Chase'.
The proposed new Deledio Rec Reserve Pavilion received both Federal and State election promises, but due to the coalitions not being elected the funding was not allocated. However, the push for funding for Deledio continues, watch this space. It wasn't all doom and gloom though, as the DFNC received $728,000 worth of State funding to rebuild the netball courts! A magnificent achievement due to a lot of hard work by Central Goldfields Shire Council and the committee.
This is just a snippet of some highlights, but there were many more. It has been wonderful to be your ward Councillor for another year and I would like to thank each and every one of you for your continued support.
Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a safe New Year.
