To begin the next series of Benalla Treasures, the Ensign sat down with a man who has called the north-east home his whole life — Angus Howell.
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With a good Scottish name, it will come as no surprise that Angus Howell’s family migrated to Australia from Scotland, back in the late 19th century.
His great-great-grandmother arrived on her own, with nine children. Five more of her older children opted to stay in Scotland.
She would settle in Warrenbayne and many of her descendants still live there, as well as Boho, Benalla, Baddaginnie and no doubt across Australia.
A couple of generations later, Angus was born in Rossmore Hospital in Carrier St, Benalla.
Coincidentally, now in his retirement, one of Angus’ volunteer roles is based in Rossmore House, the recently opened wing at Cooinda Aged care named after the hospital — but we’ll get back to that.
When Angus was young, he was home-schooled by his mother.
“She taught us by correspondence until we were in third grade, and then we were big enough to ride the five miles to the Baddaginnie School on gravel roads,” Angus said.
“Then I’d catch the bus to Benalla High School on Barkly St, I was there for three years.
“Then I finished my matriculation at Geelong College.”
After graduation Angus came back to work on the family farm at Baddaginnie.
“I worked on the farm for a couple of years,” Angus said.
“Then me and a mate went away for eight or nine months in our trusty Volkswagen Beetle.
“We worked in the sheering sheds and picking strawberries.”
Their travels took them to different locations in the eastern states.
The pair had modified the car, removing the back seats to allow the front seats to lay flat so they could sleep in it.
“We slept in the shearing sheds as well, so we weren’t sleeping in the car the whole time,” Angus said.
“It was a huge experience for us.”
Angus would then return to the area, where he raised a family.
He said the most significant change he had seen in Benalla during his time was how people made a living.
“If I look at the farming community in particular, when I was involved in early Landcare movement days, the particular Landcare group, the Warren Bay and Boho Land Protection Group, we had probably 40 or more farms in that group,” he said.
“And there would only have been two or three people in that group who had to work off farm for extra income.
“Now I’d say there are very few farmers who depend solely on the farm for their income.
“And Benalla was a very big service centre, or government town with things like VicRoads and the SEC. But that’s all changed.”
Throughout his life Angus has taken on a number of volunteer roles, and in retirement he continues to give up his time for the good of the community.
“I’ve been a member of the Boho Fire Brigade for 64 years,” he said.
“I'm no longer a firefighter. I’ve hung my helmet up. But I still am actively involved in support.
“In the early ’60s, I was a part of a group of people in Benalla who set up the Citizens Advice Bureau.
“And that’s still running in Benalla.”
And, as mentioned previously, for the past decade Angus has been heavily involved in volunteering at Cooinda Aged Care.
“My wife (Diana Chomley) was admitted to Cooinda about 10 years ago,” he said.
“She passed away about seven years ago now.”
Angus said he wanted to do something useful when he got out of bed in the morning.
So, he started volunteering at Cooinda.
“I probably put in about 20 to 25 hours a week,” he said.
“They’ve become like my second family.”
After having such a close relationship with staff and residents at Cooinda, Angus established the Diana Chomley Memorial Fund.
“That is designed for the advancement of nurses at Cooinda,” he said.
“We’ve allocated seven scholarships so far.”
Those have helped fund educational courses and career development for its recipients.
“It’s been very rewarding to be able to do that sort of thing,” Angus said.
“And the local community have already contributed close to $35,000 towards that fund.
“I would love to see that continue and also to have some access to long-going funding for that project.”
If you, or your organisation, is in a position to donate to and support the Diana Chomley Memorial Fund, you can do that via cooinda.org.au by scrolling to the bottom of the site and clicking the ‘Donate’ link under the ‘Our Services’ section.
When he’s not volunteering, Angus is often found overseas enjoying his hobby — snorkelling.
“In the last probably four years, I’ve been snorkelling overseas, Indonesia mainly,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to continuing to do that while I’m able.
“And when you get to my age, one of the things about being in a small group of people, they offer to help you, and I say, well, thank you.”
It’s good that Angus enjoys travelling, as he also gets the opportunity to visit family in South Australia and Canberra when he has spare time.
When in Benalla he also enjoys catching up with his three grandchildren, who still live in the area.
Angus said he’s proud to have been described as a Benalla Treasure.
“I wasn't quite sure what being a treasure meant, but I had a call from the shire, asking if I’d like to be one,” he said.
“It’s very humbling because I know from experience that there’s a huge number of people in Benalla who are treasures.”