Australia Day 2019 Awards & Kiama Citizenship Ceremony - 8.30am Saturday 26 January, 2019 Gerringong Town Hall, Gerringong

Australia Day 2019 Awards
& Kiama Citizenship Ceremony

    8.30am Saturday 26 January, 2019
    Gerringong Town Hall, Gerringong

Australia Day 2019 Awards
           & Kiama Citizenship Ceremony
                      Digeridoo Player
                        Dale Wright

                        Introduction
                  Councillor Mark Westhoff
            Chair Kiama Australia Day Committee

                    Welcome to Country
                      Gwenda Jarrett

                    Welcome Address
                   Councillor Mark Honey
                 Mayor of Kiama Municipality

             Australia Day Ambassador Address
                        Darren Coggan
                       Singer and Actor

                   Australia Day Awards
                Community Group of the Year
                  Senior Citizen of the Year
                  Young Citizen of the Year
                     Citizen of the Year

                   Citizenship Ceremony

          National Anthem ‘Advance Australia Fair’
                  Sung by Darren Coggan

                     Light refreshments
            Children’s Medical Research Institute
                     Gerringong Branch

Please note: Filming, recording and photography will be taking
 place at this event. These images may be used in any future
         Kiama Council publications and social media.

Australia Day Awards
                  Community Group of the Year
     Children’s Medical Research Institute-Gerringong Branch
In 2018, the Gerringong Committee of the Children’s Medical Research
Institute marked 60 years of fundraising to help find cures for those
children with genetic diseases and birth defects.
The Committee was started by a young pregnant mother, Dorothy
Bailey from Gerringong, who contracted rubella. Her child was born
with a congenital heart problem and they spent a lot of time in Sydney
being treated by the founder of Children’s Medical Research Institute,
Sir Lorimer Dods. He asked Mrs Bailey to set up the first fundraising
committee, which was a core part of CMRI’s establishment.
Since that time the group has raised more than $2,000,000 to help
fund research to protect future generations of Australian children.

                         Senior Citizen of the Year
                               Tony Mitchell
Tony’s community involvement started from a young age with the Kiama
Scout Troop. He has gone on to volunteer with a range of clubs and
organisations in Kiama and Wollongong, including:
Minnamurra Car Club, Kiama Sailing Club, Kiama Dog Club, Kiama Silver
Band, Wollongong Dog Sports Club, Illawarra Dog Training Club, South
Coast Dog Training Club, Kiama Ski Club and Illawarra Light Railway
Museum.
Tony’s passion for responsible dog ownership lead him to found the
Kiama Dog Training Club. He was a founding member on Kiama Council’s
Companion Animals Committee, and is a life member and one of the
founders of the Wollongong Dog Sports Club. He actively assists Kiama
Council with events such as ‘Dog’s Day Out’ and the ‘Sustainability Expo’
and still regularly competes in agility competitions around the state with
his dogs.
Tony Mitchell is also a dedicated volunteer for the Delta Society – a
national not-for-profit organisation which provides animal-assisted
therapies for the sick and elderly. He is also a driver with the Kiama
Community Volunteers.
Tony is a member of the Illawarra Light Railway Museum where he helps
with their diesel engines and of the South Coast Vintage Car Club.

Young Citizen of the Year
                                Troy Bartrim
Troy joined the 1st Kiama Scouts in 2007. In 2016 he received his Queen’s
Scout Award in 2016 from the Governor General Sir Peter Cosgrove.
Troy’s work with the Scouts saw him become involved with the Kiama
Community Garden and the Hillside Native Food Forest Landcare Group,
restoring native landscapes and working with plants. He then began
volunteering with both groups.
During his HSC year at Kiama High School he also completed an intensive
two-week Permaculture Design Course. This enabled him to help run
workshops on Hot Composting and No-Dig Garden Bed Building. He
has also been managing a project to upgrade the irrigation system in the
nursery area at the community garden.
Troy’s work with Hillside Landcare includes building, installing, maintain
and monitoring habitat boxes and structures for native microbats,
rosellas, native bees and other insects. He has also worked on other
Landcare sites such as Bombo Headland.
Troy’s efforts and interests have led him to a Council traineeship, which
includes his continued studies at TAFE Yallah.

                             Citizen of the Year
                               Graeme Packer
As the face of the Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal in Kiama, Graeme
has seen his town recognised as the most supported Red Shield
Appeal zone nationally. Graeme ensures that 95 per cent of homes are
doorknocked in March, and the many thousands of dollars generously
given by the people of Kiama remain in the Illawarra supporting the more
marginalised of our community. Graeme works tirelessly for six months
each year on the Appeal, recruiting collectors, speaking with business
and community groups, speaking at school assemblies and generally
ensuring that people are aware that the Appeal takes place.
Graeme is also a bandmaster of the Salvation Army Senior Band who
regularly give their time freely to provide concerts at church groups,
seniors groups and nursing homes in Kiama. Graeme remains an active
member of the Kiama RSL and commits strongly to their fundraising
activities and to their ANZAC Day commemorations. He was the
foundation president of the Seaside Mixed Probus Club and is still a very
committed member some 11 years later.
Graeme continues to drive school buses for Kiama Coaches and takes
a great deal of pride in the fact that he now drives kids to school and
remembers the days when he drove their mothers and fathers to school.

2019 Highly Commended recipients
Congratulations to all of Kiama’s 2019 Australia Day Award
             Highly Commended recipients.
                        Ray Cox
                 Michael Hindmarsh 3rd
            Blue Haven Community Transport
                    Kiama Red Cross.

Citizenship Ceremony
        Australian citizenship represents commitment
     to Australia and its people, the values we share and
   our common future. Since the first Australian citizenship
 ceremony was hosted in 1949, more than five million people
         have chosen to become Australian citizens.
      Becoming an Australian citizen is a major decision
 involving commitment, responsibility and public recognition.
      We congratulate today’s citizenship candidates on
     making their decision to become Australian citizens.

                    Our new citizens
                Sameera Rangana Athapattu
                       Meera Cornish
                     Pauline Alma Eales
                         Peter Eales
                 Kareen Rosemary Edwards
                      Deirdre Hughes
                         Alfa Joseph
                  Jamie Savannah Nowlan
                    Jodie Nicole Turnbull
                 Thomas Richard O’Gorman
                    Elaine Marie Skehan

         Australian Citizenship Affirmation
  Based on the Australian Citizenship Pledge made by new
  citizens, the Australian Citizenship Affirmation gives us an
opportunity to come together with our community to celebrate
              the common bonds that unite us all.
             Making the affirmation is voluntary
             and everyone is welcome to join in.

The National Anthem
     Advance Australia Fair

     Australians all let us rejoice,
      For we are young and free;
 We’ve golden soil and wealth for toil;
        Our home is girt by sea;
  Our land abounds in nature’s gifts
        Of beauty rich and rare;
  In history’s page, let every stage
        Advance Australia Fair.
   In joyful strains then let us sing,
        Advance Australia Fair.

 Beneath our radiant Southern Cross
    We’ll toil with hearts and hands;
 To make this Commonwealth of ours
       Renowned of all the lands;
For those who’ve come across the seas
   We’ve boundless plains to share;
    With courage let us all combine
        To Advance Australia Fair.
    In joyful strains then let us sing,
         Advance Australia Fair.