The community turned out in droves at the Girgarre Memorial Hall for the 2022 Australia Day ceremony this week.
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The event featured a flag-raising ceremony and barbecue breakfast, and recognition of the service of a member of the community.
Event organiser Kezia Talbot put together a special day with the help of volunteers from the RSL, who cooked everyone a delicious breakfast on the barbecue.
It was beautiful to see the spirit of the Girgarre community undiminished after two hard years of being kept apart, Cr Adrian Weston said.
“Girgarre is a really strong and resilient community and they come together for many reasons, including Australia Day — and well done, it’s great to see 60 to 70 people here,” Cr Weston said.
“It’s a day for communities right across Australia to come together.”
Brendan Nicholson started proceedings with a welcome to country, and welcomed special guests Cr Leanne Pentreath, Cr Weston and Stefan Romaniw.
Mr Romaniw received a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to education and language learning through the co-ordination and provision of services for people from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds.
He is also one of Victoria’s Australia Day Ambassadors, who attended community events across Victoria to spread the message of national pride and inclusion.
Mr Romaniw spoke about the strength of community, and the significance of Australia Day to community development.
Mr Romaniw described how his father was part of the Tullamarine progress society back in the 1940s when he came to Australia from Ukraine and how he and the others from that community sowed the seeds of the town to come by building a community centre and town oval from the ground up.
Reflecting on this, Mr Romaniw told the crowd how he had taken his grandchildren to a playground that his father had built more than 70 years earlier. He could never have imagined his great-grandchildren would be playing where his children played.
Then it was time to recognise the selfless service of Laurence Young.
Mr Young was nominated by Girgarre RSL and Girgarre CFA, who described him as “truly a dedicated community member and a well deserving recipient of the Girgarre Community Award”.
Mr Young has been a valued member of the Girgarre CFA brigade for more than 28 years. During this time he has mastered many skills and competencies, including: communication officer; 1st, 2nd and 3rd Lieutenant; crew leadership; fire equipment maintenance; and many others.
Mr Young volunteers his time to service fire extinguishers to generate income to purchase valuable equipment needed for firefighting.
In 2009 he was the recipient of the National Emergency Medal due to his dedication during the devastating bushfires that year.
Mr Young and his wife, Helen, can always be counted on to volunteer their time to help out at the CFA barbecue stall at the Girgarre Market.
Mr Young is a modest man, and during his acceptance speech thanked his wife for her support, giving him the strength to do what he does for the community.
Mr Young has been a member of the Girgarre RSL for more than 25 years and president for 23 of those years.
“His leadership has inspired everyone to believe in themselves and the RSL,” Mr Nicholson said during the ceremony.
“Nothing is too much trouble and his personal commitment extended to always checking in on members during the pandemic to ensure everyone was okay and had everything that they needed.
“During Laurie’s reign the RSL has accomplished so much, from the Cenotaph being built and installation of the Gabon wall with the Closer Settlement information panels to developing a strong relationship with the local school to have the students involved in ceremonies and educational activities.
“Another lasting legacy we can attribute to Laurie is the Anzac-themed stage area in the Town Hall and the refurbishment of the clubrooms.”
Mr Young through the Girgarre RSL has encouraged and supported Girgarre Australia Day celebrations, Somers Camp for children at Portsea, junior football, tennis and cricket as well as the local kindergarten.
“There are a great many more things Laurie does for the community both up front and behind the scenes, though you can agree he is a very worthy recipient of this award and an extremely valuable member of our community. Well done Laurie, and thank you,” Mr Nicholson said.
The short and sweet ceremony finished about 9am, just as the weather was starting to get hot.
It was an intergenerational crowd, with kids running around and their parents and grandparents chatting with people in the community they hadn’t seen in a while.
Gradually people filtered over to the barbecue and grabbed an egg and bacon roll, or a snag in bread, listened to some music provided by Ms Talbot, and enjoyed the community spirit of the day.