Hawkesbury Independent IND 164 January 2024 | Page 4

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LOCAL LIFE

Hawkesbury City 2023 - Year in Review

Over the past year we have reported on outstanding awards , interesting news , wonderful achievements and of course memorable events within the pages of the Independent .

We celebrated our finest citizens and organisations which made a difference to our lives or were just very interesting reading . Here are some of the highlights which featured in our editions . JANUARY

We celebrated Australia Day on the Hawkesbury River , with a huge community celebration at Governor Phillip Park , Windsor .

Macquarie Towns Arts Society lead a search party looking for yet another new home to base themselves in the district .

Lynda Dries was crowned our Finest for the month , for making a difference in the lives of those less fortunate through the Living Room .

Windsor Court House celebrated its 200th year of operation .

We bid a fond farewell to Rod Payne , high school teacher , bookmaker and rugby league great with Penrith and Parramatta District Junior Rugby League clubs . FEBRUARY

NSW Seniors Festival was our cover story , we celebrated Valentine ’ s Day and named our local heroes .

The Australia Day awardees included Citizen of the Year Diane Russell , Young Citizen Emily Lowe , Volunteer Phillip Giles , Local Hero Mitchell Brennan , Special Achievement Michael Payne , Junior Sportsperson Noah Kemp , Community Arts Award Hawkesbury City Eisteddfod Society and Community Organisation the Hawkesbury District Agricultural Association . Our ambassador was Greg Donovan – founder of the Born to Run Foundation , Big Red Run and fundraiser for Type 1 diabetes .

Our Finest for the month was Noelene Hitchcock , a volunteer with the Ebenezer Church , the oldest place of worship in Australia .

The government announced $ 100m of funding

to start the Pitt Town bypass as well as a $ 100million overhaul of Bells Line of Road .

My Favourite Place subject was artist Sienna Woolcock , who was working on an entire wall mural in her home studio at Richmond .

We delved into the history of the Windsor Bowling and Sports Club , established in 1931 and hear about basketballer Darcy Rollins , of the Western Sydney Eagles , in the Hawkesbury Basketball Association ’ s goal to reach the NBA . MARCH

Upgrades to Richmond Road and the Hawkesbury Active Transport Plan were listed .

Graham Colless , well respected in the turf industry and for charitable fundraising was featured as our Finest for the month .

The Hope4u walk showed us how it was making a difference to the lives of people and families touched by suicide .

Gordon Pendlebury , and his treasure trove of a vintage store , Gumpy ’ s in Kurmond , was featured as one of our interest stories .

Sport lovers peeked inside the ParraCave – Troy Warner ’ s haven of everything imaginable in Eels memorabilia , while Bee Ball was introduced to Australia at none other than Bensons Lane Baseball Complex in Richmond . APRIL

We honoured Anzac Day at clubs and subbranches across the district . The 136th Hawkesbury Show was held . Virginia Wheatley , former teacher , avid hiker and a multi-talented artist from Kurrajong , shared her life ’ s story so far in our Finest feature .

The history of Pitt Town Post Office , in particular that of Kevin and Marilyn Delarue ’ s 15 year occupancy , was a local life story .

Londonderry Pony Club trotted out to show us why they regularly have 40-50 participants at every meet .

Kurrajong-Comleroy Historical Society held another

of its Pansy Line tours of the Kurrajong Railway 1926-1952 .

The annual Country Music Showcase , featuring the Maureen Wagner Awards , was held at Panthers North Richmond .

The squads at Windsor Swim Club , based at Oasis Swim Centre , boasted many medal winners and champions with their eyes to competing in the 2032 Olympics . MAY

We wished all mums a Happy Mother ’ s Day on our cover , while a new exhibition Starry Night , about local astronomer John Tebbutt was held at the gallery .

The State Government decided to officially not raise the Warragamba Dam wall , instead it set about looking at mitigation measures .

Windsor Wolves Rugby League Club officially named its stadium ’ s southern hill The Walker Family Hill . The Walker family history and contribution to the game was the subject of one of our local life stories .

Kurrajong CWA turned 95 and we reported on the CWA ’ s inception more than 100 years ago and its continual work within the community .

This month ’ s Finest citizen was Barry Smith , who received an OAM for service to local government and the community , as well as Rotary ’ s Paul Harris Fellow award . He loved cricket and worked to establish the Hawkesbury Cricket Club in Bensons Lane , Richmond .

Liberal incumbent Robyn Preston won a second term as the Member for Hawkesbury at the State Government elections .

Hawkesbury ’ s 18th standalone Hawkesbury Cup race meeting was held and Hawkesbury Regional Museum marked its 15th anniversary .

The Duck Man reported on the Hawkesbury Jets AFL Club proving its resilience after its home ground in the Bensons Lane Sporting Complex was decimated by the flooding .

We welcomed a new MP for Riverstone , Warren Kirby , and heard the CWA of NSW made approximately 40,000 scones at the Royal Easter Show .

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4 ISSUE 164 // JANUARY 2024 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT