The Walgett Shire Australia Day awards were held at the Collarenebri Bowling Club on Tuesday with a positive crowd attending the event to show their support for their local nominees and congratulate the recipients of 2010.
Australia Day Ambassador Jeffrey Sayle opened the ceremony speaking to the nominees and guests about how passionate he is, and everyone should be, about Australia.
“Country people are the real Australians,” said Mr Sayles.
“This is where the real hardships are and you’re a part of the folklore.”
The crowd was pleased with the address, especially with the added humour and reading of the Rupert McCall poem Green and Gold Malaria.
Walgett Shire Council general manager Ray Kent proceeded to list the nominees for each category before announcing the respective winners.
The Young Sportsperson of the Year (under-18) award was won by Arabella McKenzie, who has represented her school at regional swimming and athletics and at State girls cricket.
She also receieved the Barwon Champion Junior Girl award in 2009.
While there was only one nomination for Sports Team of the Year, they were nonetheless worthy of the award. The Rowena Public School PP5 Relay Team, consisting of Sarah Wheeler, Jack Radford and Logan and Dylan Chown, took the honour for their dedication to the sport, which even saw them compete in the NSW State Athletics Carnival at Homebush.
It was a tough decision to pick one winner of the Consistent Community Service Award as there was 12 nominees to choose from but after much deliberation the judging panel picked Anne Dennis as this year’s recipient.
Anne is considered a great asset to Walgett where she has co-ordinated many Aboriginal Cultural Awareness training classes for a long list of organisations and community groups.
The Community Event of the Year award receieved two nominations that could not be separated and as a result both were selected.
The Annual Carinda Races, which showcases what Carinda has to show as a small town, and the Rowena Centenary Beach Party and Annual Christmas Tree, that enabled locals to bond together, were announced as worthy recipients to share the notoriety of the award.
The 2010 Senior Citizen (60+) award was won by Helen Allerton for her hard work in preserving the history of Come-By-Chance and Walgett.
Jodie Davidson was awarded the Young Citizen of the Year award for her efforts in raising
the profile of gymnastics in Lightning Ridge through her coaching, training and fundraising efforts.
Coming to the pinnacle of the Australia Day ceremony for 2010 only the Citizen of the Year award remained.
The judges had to consider the persons extent and quality of service and regard their individual acts of compassion, generosity and bravery, of which Jane O’Brien, for her dedication to the Walgett community, stood out among the rest.
The event was formally brought to a close as everyone gathered together or headed home to celebrate Australia Day.
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