Denise Hooke is Colac Otway Shire's Australia Day Citizen of the Year
January 26, 2016
Teacher, mentor and 'inspirational career guide' Denise Hooke is Colac Otway Shire's 2016 Australia Day Citizen of the Year.
Ms Hooke, who has pioneered an education program to help disengaged teenagers reconnect with their studies, has been described as an 'extraordinary' woman who has 'helped local young people achieve in the face of adversity'.
Ms Hooke was one of five people who received Australia Day honours at a ceremony in Birregurra.
The other recipients were Tess O'Brien, Young Citizen of the Year; Eric Hay, Community Service Award; and Geoff Coghill, Sporting Service Award. Birregurra's Christine West received the Arts Service Award, adding a local flavour to the celebrations at Birregurra.
Mayor Frank Buchanan congratulated the people who received Australia Day honours and thanked them for their dedication to the community.
Cr Buchanan said Australia Day was a great opportunity to tell the stories of people who made a mark on our community.
"The people receiving awards today give their time selflessly without seeking recognition, and our community is richer for their contributions.
"To receive an award on Australia Day is something all recipients should be proud of, as it acknowledges their generous spirit and community mindedness," he said.
This year's Australia Day celebrations at Birregurra featured an address from Port Fairy's Robert Handby. Mr Handby has coordinated water and sanitation in international emergencies for the Australian Red Cross, and came out of retirement to coordinate infection control in an Ebola treatment centre in Sierra Leone.
Australian singer James Blundell performed the national anthem and this year's celebrations had a multicultural theme with Sudanese and Aboriginal dancing demonstrations.
Cr Buchanan congratulated this year's award winners and thanked them for their service to the community.
"In sport, Australians love to talk about the one percenters – the actions that aren't seen on the score board but cumulatively make a huge difference to the outcome of a game," he said.
"Today's award winners are the one percenters of our community. They're out there giving their time with no expectation of recognition or reward, simply because they have a passion to make our community great."
Cr Buchanan thanked the Birregurra community for working with Council to stage this year's Australia Day awards.
Denise Hooke, Citizen of the Year
Colac Otway Shire's Australia Day Citizen of the Year Denise Hooke has demonstrated an 'unwavering passion to help young people achieve success in the face of adversity'.
Those are the words of Kaye Potter, one of three individuals who nominated Ms Hook for the award.
Ms Hooke is the driving force behind Turning Point, an education program to help disengaged teenagers reconnect with their studies.
After identifying that there were a large number of young people in the area who had become disconnected from education, she lobbied the government and obtained funding for a program that in its first year helped three students complete Year 12 and another eight achieve their VCAL certificate.
Turning Point supports young people to re-engage in education within a small, tailored and supported learning environment.
Enrolments are growing and students come to Turning Point with a wide range of disabilities, risk factors and health concerns.
Lavers Hill P-12 College Principal Anthony Kohane said Ms Hooke had brought together a high-calibre and deeply committed team of teachers, social workers, community and business volunteers to support the students.
"It has been Denise's leadership, vision and inspiration that has made Turning Point become a reality," Mr Kohane said.
"Denise has believed in these young people and continued to trust and have faith in them when they themselves were without hope or purpose. Gradually, step by step, they have begun to believe again in themselves."
Ms Hooke has lived in Apollo Bay all her life and has taught locally for about 30 years. In addition to her teaching commitments, she has been a member of the Otway Health board for 20 years, a member of the Southern Otway Landcare Network for more than a decade, and also volunteers with the Apollo Bay Pony Club and show committee.
Tess O'Brien – Young Citizen of the Year
Such is Tess O'Brien's dedication to her Indonesian studies, she has been acknowledged by the Indonesian Consulate in Melbourne for her continued dedication to being an ambassador and strengthening relationships between Australia and Indonesia.
Tess, who completed Year 12 at Trinity College in 2015 as a prefect, has been studying Bahasa Indonesian since Year 7 and has consistently excelled in her studies.
Her achievements in the language include winning Indonesian Student of the Year at a ceremony held at Deakin Burwood in 2013, achieving bronze status in the 2012 and 2013 Language Perfect World Championships and being a finalist last year in the Indonesian Independence Day Awards.
Tess's Indonesian studies have opened doors to amazing adventures including a cultural and language tour of Asia, releasing Olivacea Sea Turtles in Bali and fundraising for the plight of Borneo orangutans.
In addition to her busy VCE schedule, Tess has mentored junior students in Indonesian, and attended additional Indonesian classes on Friday afternoons and during school holidays, and helped Trinity staff prepare for Indonesian Independence Day.
She is also an active member of the Birregurra Football Netball Club, not only as a player, but also finds the time to umpire and coach, and recently earned her C grade badge.
Now she has finished Year 12, Tess plans to complete her English as a Second Language Certificate in Bali and continue working in the education field in Indonesia. She then wants to return to Australia and go to university in Melbourne to study physiotherapy.
Eric Hay, Community Service Award
Eric Hay, recipient of the Community Service Award, is a medical marvel and a community champion.
At the age of 77-and-a-half, the Warrion cricket and football club stalwart is still the primary caretaker of the Panthers' premium-standard turf wicket, which is considered one of the best grounds in country Victoria.
Mr Hay's association with Warrion began when he was 14 and living on the family dairy farm at Ondit. He played cricket for Warrion until he was 49, and also notched up 17 years and 230 games of footy in the green and red colours.
He took charge of Warrion's ground in the late 1970s when turf was introduced and used his own tractor and farm equipment to mow the wicket and keep the facilities in pristine condition.
Upon retiring from the farm, the tractor he used at Warrion was not sold with the other machinery, but instead donated to the cricket club where it remains today.
In 2011 tragedy struck when pipes hanging over the side of a moving utility out at the ground hit Eric at the base of his skull, on his brain stem.
He was critically injured and neurosurgeons gave him little chance of surviving...but they didn't know Eric.
Eric became one of the only people in the world to survive this kind of injury and when he awoke from a coma unable to speak, he gestured for a pad and pen and the first thing he wrote was instructions for the ongoing maintenance of the Warrion ground.
His remarkable recovery amazed doctors, who thought he would never walk, speak or eat again. Three days after leaving hospital he returned to check the condition of the ground, soon after he was re-learning how to drive out on Warrion's hallowed turf.
Eric soon resumed his role as chief curator of the Warrion cricket ground and in the peak season, can be found out there six to seven days of the week.
Geoff Coghill, Sporting Service Award
Across a span of 50 years, Geoff Coghill has umpired almost 1200 local football matches.
He took up umpiring in Geelong in 1965 and continued when he moved to Colac in 1968 to work as an optometrist.
In total, Geoff has officiated more than 600 matches as a central umpire, and four senior grand finals in the former Hampden league.
In a world where umpires often cop the thin end of the wedge, Mick Melville from the Colac Sportsman's Club said Geoff was an exception to the rule.
"He's a highly respected umpire and he's well liked in everything he does, because he's a decent and nice bloke," Mr Melville said.
"He's quiet and unassuming, and gets on with the job without seeking accolades."
Geoff has occupied many positions with the Colac Umpires' Association, including president, selection committee member, executive member and training supervisor.
For the past 10 years he has served as the association's record keeper, and is also president of the group's social committee.
Geoff is also handy with the badminton racquet and cricket bat.
In badminton, he has represented Colac teams on the veteran circuit for 15 years playing across regional Victoria. On at least five of those occasions Geoff's team has brought home silverware. He has served as president, secretary or treasurer (sometimes holding two of the positions at the same time) for the Colac Badminton Association for the past 20 years.
Geoff's cricketing years are also filled with achievements, which include having captained the former Australia Postal Institute side, known locally as API, to a premiership in 1970. Two years later, Geoff won the league A Grade batting average.
Geoff's support of local sport continues off the field as an active member of the Colac Sportsman's Club.
Christine West, Arts Service Award
Birregurra's Christine West is a passionate advocate for the arts and has spent thousands of hours enriching the local arts community.
In addition to her personal arts practice, Christine has conceived and delivered many local arts events, and also shares her knowledge by nurturing and inspiring others.
Christine was a key organiser of the annual Birregurra Celtic Festival, helping create a rich, diverse and moving program which is much loved in Birregurra and beyond.
She was also the driving force behind the bi-annual Teddy Bear Drop at the Anglican Christ Church, where hundreds of teddies in an amazing array fascinating costumes are parachuted from the bluestone church spire. Adding an extra sense of fun to the event, Christine ensures the local CFA volunteers are on hand to perform delicate rescue missions for adventurous teddies caught in trees.
Christine is known in the Birregurra community for her energy, joy and sense of fun. She is currently leading a team of volunteers on an embroidery restoration project for an antique religious work housed at the Christ Church in preparation for the church's 150th anniversary in 2017.
She was also a founding member of the annual and much-loved Birregurra Open Art Studios weekend.
Christine has a legion of fans for her intelligent, humorous and highly-skilled embroidery and textile art, and users the skills forged during her years as a teacher to lead textile workshops for the young, and young-at-heart.
Inquiries
Tamzin McLennan (03) 5232 9493
Nikki Karpeles (03) 5232 9559