MAYOR Martyn Evans issued the following media release today.
"Mayor Martyn Evans and Ian Lacey from the Tidy Towns Committee represented the Derwent Valley at the National Awards over the weekend and was thrilled that New Norfolk has won the Young Legends and Heritage & Culture category awards at the Keep Australia Beautiful, Australian Tidy Towns Awards.
"It was a great honour to be representing New Norfolk at these awards, and I was very proud to be able to deliver the good news to those involved on Saturday night. This just shows how our community when it works together can achieve great things. The judges commented on the partnerships developed between community organisations, the Tidy Towns Committee and Council. These partnerships were the key to our achievements,” Mayor Evans said.
"The judges were impressed with the work that has been done on the Back River Cemetery, an historical icon of the area which houses the grave of Betty King, said to be the first white woman to set foot in Australia. This project was bought together through a partnership between Council, the church community, Lions Club and the Chamber of Commerce.
The category of Young Legends celebrates youth participation in the community. D’FAT the Council’s youth advisory group has reason to be particularly proud of their achievements in this area. In 2009, D’FAT members recognised that there were ongoing issues with the Ellis Dean Reserve, and after community and Council consultations took responsibility for the area. D’FAT now works with Council to keep the area well maintained and clean, including members of D’FAT removing graffiti. One of D’FAT’s initiatives was to include a legal graffiti wall, which has proved very popular with local youth. In 2010 a graffiti art workshop was held in partnership with New Norfolk High School and D’FAT.
Matt Hill, Council’s Youth Participation Officer, said he was very proud of what has been achieved. “From being a founding member of D’FAT, and now working with Council as the Youth Development Officer, I can see the changes that have happened over the years. I’d like to congratulate everyone involved, from each of the members of D’FAT to Council and the Councillors who have put their faith in us. Everyone should be very proud of what has been achieved,” Matt Hill said.
Council’s entry in Tidy Towns was spearheaded by Cr Narelle Hill, the Council Representative on the Tidy Towns Committee. “It’s just fantastic to see what we can achieved when we work together, this has been a real team effort, with members of the community, local service organisations and businesses all pulling together. I’d like to thank everyone who has taken part in some way”, Cr Hill said.
Tidy Towns awards take into consideration many things when judging the awards and the community spirit of an area and initiatives being undertaken are taken into account, as well as the tidiness of the town. There’s a lot going on under the surface that we sometimes forget, from the work of the Historical Information Centre to promote our important history, to initiatives in food waste management at Molesworth Primary and Glenora District school, are just a couple of examples, many people are involved in some way. These awards are recognition of the hard work done by many people, and give us something to build on into the future,” Martyn Evans said.
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