As Frank Huglin rolls into town from his property five kilometres out of Hawkesdale, his surroundings give him a lift.
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“You see all these facilities that weren’t there 20 years ago,” he said.
“It’s something you take pride in and keeps you going.”
He said the Apex Park barbecue shelter and the development of a walking track at Hawkesdale Common were projects he had enjoyed being part of with the Hawkesdale and District Development Action Committee (HADDAC).
Frank and his wife Anne-Maree are this year’s Moyne Shire Australia Day Citizens of the Year.
Mrs Huglin said it was an honour to receive the award with her husband.
“To receive it with Frank is pretty special,” she said.
She met Frank while she was working as a volunteer aide at the then Hawkesdale Primary School and they married in 1992.
They have three children Emily, Timothy and Georgia who are in their 20s.
She said her highlights while living in the community included receiving life memberships at netball clubs.
For nearly 50 years, she has been an integral part of the local netball scene, representing the Mininera and District Netball Association as a junior, senior player, coach and administrator.
At local club level, Mrs Huglin has been secretary and vice-president of Hawkesdale Netball Club, as well as multiple stints on the committee of its successor, the Hawkesdale Macarthur Football Netball Club.
She is also passionate about preserving Hawkesdale’s history and has written a couple of books about the town including one called ‘Haunts and Happenings.’
At the creation of the HADDAC in 1998, Mr Huglin took on the presidency and then became secretary, a position he still holds.
These roles have placed him at the centre of community market days, Australia Day breakfasts, ANZAC Day dawn services, street-scaping, and other local events and issues.
One of Frank’s highlights was in 2006 when he ran the Port Fairy leg of the Melbourne Commonwealth Games Baton Relay.
Mr Huglin said it was a privilege and an honour to receive the citizen of the year award.
He said it was “a bit embarrassing” to receive the award as there were many other people in the Moyne Shire who did a lot of work for the community. Hawkesdale will host Moyne Shire’s official Australia Day ceremony on Saturday. It begins at 8am with a free community breakfast followed by the official proceedings starting at 9.30am.
Purnim 150-ish is Community Event of the Year
Purnim is the little town that could, and after celebrating 150-ish years, it has now received another accolade – the Moyne Shire Australia Day Community Event of the Year.
The March 2018 event recognised the founding moment of the town’s post office in 1868 with the award celebrating the huge effort that went into the organisation of the day.
It is presented to the person or group who has staged the most outstanding local community event during the year.
Purnim recognised its founding moment as the opening of a post office in 1868 but it was never gazetted as a township, meaning that the precise date of its birth is a matter for conjecture. The Purnim Community Group was formed to help celebrate this history and to build a sense of community. As the 150th anniversary of the post office date neared, the ‘Purnim 150-ish years’ event was created.
On the day 400 people came celebrated with music, food and stories. After a welcome to country by Aboriginal elder Rob Lowe, Archie Roach led fellow musicians Cooper Lower, Nancie Schipper, Gabby Steel, Brett Clarke, Blake Rudland, Bruce Campbell Collective and Flynn Gurry in a musical tribute to Purnim.
More than $800 was raised in raffles and donations through the CFA. Purnim was home to World War One flying ace Paul McGinness DFC, DCM (1896-1952), who after the war co-founded QANTAS; and to Aboriginal war hero Captain Reg Saunders (1920-1990), who became Australia’s first Aboriginal commissioned officer, and whose medals have been purchased by the Purnim community for permanent display.
The chair of the Purnim Community Group Geoff Rollinson said the group was delighted to learn that it won the event of the year.
“Like many small towns we have a unique story to tell and in this case being the birthplace of QANTAS co-founder Paul McGinness and Australia’s first indigenous Army Officer Reg Saunders are just two examples,” he said.
“Our 150 years event held one week after the St Patrick fires in March 2018 was an excellent example of how rural communities are closely connected. In this case we celebrated our shared history as a rural town servicing a predominantly agricultural area.
“The Purnim Community Group would like to thank Moyne Shire for the award and for the tremendous support provided by Craig Midgley and Geraldine Edar in the planning of the event. Thanks also to the hundreds of people who came from near and far to enjoy the festivities.”