For this year’s Australia Day Awards, Ballina Shire Council has received forty nominations across the seven categories of Young Citizen, Senior Citizen, Volunteer, Sporting Achievement, Environmental, Arts and Culture, and Community Event of 2023.
Col Lee is one of the nominations for Senior Citizen of the Year, and is being recognised particularly for his work since the floods with the Rotary Club of Ballina on Richmond, which has played a crucial role in housing many people who have lost everything across the region, amongst other initiatives.
Mr Lee told The Echo, ‘Being nominated for a Ballina Shire Australia Day Award surrounded by amazing dedicated community service volunteers is a feeling of immense satisfaction and recognition, showing what I do in the community is appreciated.’
Having now completed 32 temporary houses, Col Lee says he and his team have now been asked to help at Nimbin, ‘where people are really living rough after landslides.’ He never stops!
Nominated for an Environmental Award are The Wildlife Twins, who told The Echo, ‘We are thrilled to be nominated, just WILD!’
Bridget Thomson said they would like to extend the recognition to the amazing wildlife they work with, their ‘fauna family’.
‘Without them we are just a pair of crazy twins from the North Coast,’ she said. ‘The animals we work with do just as much work as us, making our audience fall in love with wildlife or even just pique an interest. They are the true heroes.’
We want people to become heroes for wildlife
Ms Thompson hopes that recognition can be turned into inspiration, ‘to help our wildlife where you can. Plant a native tree, pick up one piece of rubbish, keep your cat indoors. If everyone does one thing, we can help our native neighbours.’
The Wildlife Twins are still grieving their beloved wombat Mr Barty, who appears to have had a heart attack, brought on by Encephalomyocaditis virus, probably from rat contamination of something he came into contact with.
In the Arts and Culture category, one of the nominees is Ballina Shire Concert Band, who had a very big 2023.
President Dick McCoy told The Echo they were thrilled to be nominated, having recently celebrated their 140th anniversary.
‘This nomination represents the recognition due to talented musicians who rehearse weekly with skilled musical directors to produce high quality music enjoyed by the public in locations around the shire,’ he said.
‘We hope this nomination will make residents more aware of what we do, encourage participation at our performances and be an invitation for anyone to join us, as we’re always looking for new recruits,’ said Dick McCoy. ‘We have a lot planned for 2024!’
You can find out more about the band on their website and Facebook page.
Young citizen ‘incredibly honoured’
Alstonville’s Lucy Trease is one of the nominees in the Young Citizen category.
She told The Echo she was incredibly honoured. ‘I believe I have been nominated for my work in the community during the Lismore floods (my younger brothers and I have a bakery business and I baked bread for the evacuation centres) or for volunteering as a soccer coach for the last seven years with Alstonville Football Club.
‘I’m not sure who nominated me for the award, but I am humbled to be able to be a part of such a wonderful community that support each other.’
Complete list of nominees in the Ballina Shire Australia Day Awards
Young Citizen: Imani Hannaford, Lucy Trease, and Tayla Kennedy.
Senior Citizen: Brenda Zakaras, Colin Lee, Dianne Thompson, Dr Colin Macdonald, Dr Meng Yew Yeo, Jeffrey Gibbs, John Gordon, Veda Dorrough, Warwick Manning, and Yvonne Scarrabelotti.
Volunteer: Daryl Holmes, David and Robyn Harmon, Ivan Leahy, Ken Delany, Mark Ross, Nikki Powell, Robyne McGlashan, and Wardell Core.
Sporting Achievement: John Hair (Water Polo), Ray Chapman (Croquet), Rondah Stevenson (Football/Soccer), Scott Jenkins (Rugby Union), Bailey Wilson (Basketball and Athletics), David Scott (Croquet), Joel Taylor (Surfing), Lennox Beach Line Dancing, and Naomi Doncaster (Pickleball).
Environmental: WardellCORE, The Wildlife Twins, and the Annual Lennox Community Tree Planting Day.
Arts and Culture Award: Ballina Contemporary Art Market, Ballina Players, and Ballina Shire Concert Band.
Community Event of 2023: A Night of Elegance James Bond (Tracey Everingham Armstrong), DV Walk (Rotary Club of Ballina-on-Richmond), Flood Recovery Temporary Housing (Rotary Club of Ballina-on-Richmond), Future Fit Our Dementia Community (Dementia Inclusive Ballina Alliance Inc), One Year On (Wardell Core), and Purple Friday (Rotary Club of Ballina-on-Richmond and Cherry Street Sports).
Ballina Council says the Australia Day ceremony on Friday 26 January at Lennox Head Cultural Centre will start at 9am and conclude with the announcement of the 2024 Ballina Shire Citizen of the Year.
After a Welcome to Country by Bundjalung elder Aunty Julia Paden, the event will include an official welcome to 18 new Australian citizens to Ballina from the USA, Bolivia, UK, Italy, Thailand, Denmark, Brazil, Philippines, and Vietnam.
The Lennox Head Lions Club will also be hosting a BBQ and music in Ross Park, Lennox Head. More event details are available here.
More stories about Ballina Shire Council:
At its last meeting, as part of a long discussion about amendments to Ballina Council's delivery program and operational plan, there was a debate about whether Ballina Richmond Rotary Club should still be paid $8,000 to set up chairs for the RSL Lighthouse Day Club. Twelve Northern Rivers residents are celebrating the completion of a groundbreaking program designed to build essential skills and unlock employment pathways for women in civil construction. With local government meeting practice across the state returning to confusion following the NSW Legislative Council's recent decision, Ballina Shire Council's last meeting included a lot of unanimous decisions and an argument about the remnants of the Big Scrub, in which Mayor Cadwallader used her casting vote to squash Cr Simon Chate's motion. Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has approved Ballina Shire Council's application to increase its general income through a permanent special variation (SV) of 26.25% [in rates] over four years, from 2026-27 to 2029-30. Byron Greens members could expect to be asked to take the future of the Richmond River further south into account when choosing a candidate for next year’s state election.
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