Articles by Craig Wilson
Council welcomes three new citizens
NATIVES of Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China took the pledge and became Australian citizens at a ceremony on Monday.
Mayor Jo Armstrong officiated over the citizenship ceremony, saying welcoming new citizens was a celebration of Ararat’s growing community.
“Congratulations to some of Australia’s newest citizens, Yingchen Chiu, Sze Long Arnold Kwok, and Nai-yun Otte.”
Auxiliary hosts sparkling event
AN entertaining presentation on the Queen’s private diamond collection by Melbourne jeweller Adrian Dickens will be the highlight of the East Grampians Health Service Auxiliary’s first event for 2022. Raising funds to help furnish the new Palliative Care Area at EGHS, the event, ‘Diamonds are the Queen’s Best Friend’, will feature a luncheon, presentation by […]
Community rallies to get Noel a new bike
TWO weeks ago, Noel Hurstfield’s bike was stolen from Ararat’s main street.
It was a huge shock to Noel, who first alerted Deb at Deb’s Diner, who in turn contacted police.
Afterwards, a post was put up on the Ararat Residents Facebook page, asking for help in getting Noel a new set of wheels.
Pilot to attract new workers to Ararat
ARARAT has been selected to participate in a pilot program aimed at bringing a number of refugee families to the region to help fill job vacancies.
Regional Development Minister Mary-Anne Thomas visited the new Green Hill Lake housing estate on Friday to announce a $650,000 partnership between Ararat Rural City Council and the Wyndham Community and Education Centre to support Burmese migrants in Ararat by connecting them with community services, housing, and local employers.
Ararat is one of four sites across the state to benefit from the pilots, designed to test solutions to workforce shortages that threaten economic recovery and growth.
Coalition stance costs local jobs
WESTERN Victorians are being denied employment opportunities because of the Morrison Government’s blasé stance on renewable energy suggests Gilbert Wilson, ALP candidate for Wannon.
Mr Wilson said the renewable energy sector has so much unrealised employment opportunities, yet it is an industry shunned by the Liberals and Nationals.
“I’m not talking about hundreds of jobs potentially, I’m talking thousands of good secure Australian jobs going by the way side because of our Federal Government’s lack of support or interest in clean energy,” Mr Wilson said.
Last Freedom of Entry for HMAS Ararat
WITH the imminent decommissioning of navy ship HMAS Ararat II, Ararat Rural City will host a historic Departing Freedom of Entry parade through Ararat CBD for the HMAS crew on Saturday, 7 May 2022.
Based in Darwin, HMAS Ararat II was commissioned on 10 November 2006 and has been involved in border protection duties along Australia’s northern coastline.
There are no plans at this stage for a future ship to carry the Ararat name.
The ship has a crew of 22 who will all be in Ararat for the occasion.
Memorial unveiled
CLOSE to a hundred people attended the official unveiling of a new memorial at Dobie on Sunday to honour soldiers from the First World War.
The memorial is the work of a small committee of volunteers, who’ve worked tirelessly over recent months transforming the Dobie Highway Park.
The volunteers secured $6,000 funding from Ararat RSL and Pacific Hydro to erect a memorial stone containing the names of 24 soldiers who served in the First World War, as well as landscaping, seating and an impressive entrance sign.
The memorial park replaces Dobie’s Avenue of Honour, which has been impacted by the duplication of the Western Highway.
ANZAC Day in Willaura
A large crowd attended ANZAC Day commemorations in Willaura, which began with a 9am Stand To at the Cenotaph.
Children from the Willaura Kindergarten and Willaura Primary School took part, and then the Hamilton Pipe Band led a march to the Memorial Hall for the service there.
Guest Speaker, Pam Cupper OAM, spoke movingly of the loss of young men on the World War 1 battlefields.
She noted specifically the experiences of several from Willaura who enlisted, only to lose their lives in Gallipoli and France, and remain forever buried in unmarked graves.