By Tyler Wright
Citizens in Cockatoo will be awarded on Australia Day in 2023 at a free event at the Almar Treloar Reserve Ampitheatre held by Connecting Cockatoo Communities with support from Cardinia Shire Council’s Festivals and Events Grants program.
Awards handed out on Thursday 26 January will include Citizen of the Year, Youth Citizen of the Year, Senior Citizen of the Year, Event of the Year and Community Group of the Year.
“It’s something that we were able to maintain even during Covid… we were lucky that we didn’t miss any,” Connecting Cockatoo Communities Secretary Rachelle Mechielsen said.
“What’s so important is we have over 30 volunteer community groups in Cockatoo, so recognising the contribution that our residents make and that the volunteers make to the fabric of our town and what makes Cockatoo such a great place to live and play is really important.”
The awards will be presented from 9am on Thursday 26 January, with a morning tea held afterwards.
“We’ve recognised things like the CFA icy pole run that they do on Christmas Eve, the RSL hosts a free Christmas lunch for those who don’t have anything to do on Christmas Day. The Cockatoo Country Market, which I’m an organiser of, has been recognised a couple of times, and then we recognise community groups as well,” Ms Mechielsen said.
“When we look at our Youth, Senior and Citizen of the Year, it’s people who’ve made a really big contribution to the community throughout their time, so we’ve had young people who volunteered with scouts or the CFA juniors at the Wednesday Bushfire Education Centre…young people who are really getting out there in community and making a difference.
“Likewise, with senior citizens we’ve had people from the Hills Men’s Shed, people from St. Luke’s church, so there’s a really diverse group of residents represented.”
Connecting Cockatoo Communities collects nominations for Australia Day awards from the community in around October or November the previous year.
The Alma Treloar Reserve Ampitheatre is located at 77 Pakenham Road in Cockatoo.
To learn about more Australia Day events across Cardinia Shire, visit https://www.cardinia.vic.gov.au/AustraliaDay
