IT WAS a heartening sight walking up to the Oberon RSL on a hot and blue Australia Day, seeing Oberon residents draped in fluttering Australian flags and green and gold painted on happy faces.
Inside the club, enjoying a very Australian morning tea with Anzac biscuits and scones, there was a crush of happy and proud Australians among red, blue and white balloons.
The Official Ceremony captured the spirit of Australia Day and would have forced a twinge of national pride out of even the most unpatriotic.
Guests were treated to slides of the decades of the past, enjoying memories of the music, fashions and events of the world in the 20th century.
The St Johns Ambulance Cadets unveiled the Australian flag and the National Anthem was sung with pride and gusto, led by Kurt Booth.
The official party was then welcomed on stage. It included General Manager of Oberon Council Bruce Fitzpatrick, Mayor Keith Sullivan, Matthew Radbury of Woolworths (Australia), Member for Bathurst Gerard Martin and Australia Day Ambassador Don Hazelwood and his wife Helen.
Mr Sullivan and Member for Bathurst Gerard Martin welcomed everyone and spoke about celebrating what makes Australia great.
The Australia Day awards presentation was a highlight, and an opportunity to celebrate those in our community that are giving and achieving Australians.
Leanne Barlow took out the Citizen of the Year award recognising her caring attitude to all community members and her willingness to help those in need.
Leanne was recognised for her involvement as a committee member in the Relay for Life, organisation of the Survivors and Carers afternoon tea, active involvement with the Oberon Hockey Committee, the Oberon Business Association and Oberon Junior League, and for her assistance in the Police Liaison Committee (PACT) plus her devotion of time and energy to making Oberon a safe and happy community.
Young Citizen of the Year Jimmy Long was acknowledged as a strong leader, respected by his peers. Jimmy is one of the Boy’s School Captain at Oberon High School.
His nomination came from the Oberon Tigers Supporters Club. Despite Jimmy’s outstanding ability as a junior league player he has been unable to play for the past two seasons and has devoted his time to the Junior League teams to assist with training.
Mikaela Sherlock and Jack Robinson were awarded Sportsperson of the Year awards.
Mikaela has represented Oberon as an equestrian rider and has twice won the Evelyn Wilcox trophy for all-round outstanding sportsmanship and other achievements.
She has won numerous ribbons and trophies at local, zone and State levels for various horse events over the years, such as being the NSW State Sporting Champion for 15-17 years in 2007. Mikaela was also a member of the Under 18 Goldminers Bathurst Womens representative team, which won the Junior Western League title in 2008. She received the Goldminers award for all-rounder, sportsmanship and improvement.
Jack Robinson has been a member of the Oberon Golf Club for many years, having played in over 20 championships in a row. He has won the B grade and C grade championships. He has been a long term volunteer at the Oberon Golf Club, and has always conducted himself in a sportsmanlike manner and is an inspiration to all members of the club.
There were also joint winners of the Junior Sportsperson of the Year award, with Kurt Lewis and Kylie Lynch being worthy recipients.
Kurt has competed throughout 2008 in various AWD (Athletes With Disabilities) competitions. The first was held in Lithgow where Kurt was successful and moved on to Sydney at the CHH Athletics Carnival. He was subsequently asked to attend the AWD All Schools Carnival at Homebush in September. Having been successful at this carnival he was selected in the 2008 NSW Pacific School Games Track and Field Team. Kurt completed in the Pacific School Games in Canberra from November 30 to December 6, 2008 in l00m, 200m, 400m, discus, shot-put and long jump.
Kylie Lynch was recognised as an all- round sportsperson who displays outstanding sportsmanship both on and off the field. Kylie has achieved outstanding results in several sports including polocrosse, swimming, athletics, cross country, soccer and touch football.
The award for the Sports Team of the Year was presented to the Under 11's Hockey team, all wearing their matching uniforms, who were coached by Veronica Fisher, and won the Bathurst District Under 11 Premiership in 2008.
The Relay for Life held in Oberon in 2008 received the award for Community Event of the Year for an outstanding effort in raising money for the Cancer Council.
There was cheering and a few tears as Sharon Foley announced on behalf of the Relay for Life committee that thanks to the efforts of the 41 teams and 575 participants the grand total raised by the event was $65, 561.15.
Jock Schrader was presented with the Local Legend award, and was recognised for his contribution to rugby league in Oberon during its glory days in the 1960s and 70s, his coaching, and also his achievement as a an A grade cricketer.
Jock is a widely known local, through farming and grazing, and also for being in partnership of the Royal Hotel for 15 years and being the publican there for five years.
More importantly, Jock was recognised as an individual that epitomises the spirit of the community, and whose humour and character resemble the typical nature of our country town.
The address by our Australia Day Ambassador, Don Hazelwood, reflected how lucky we all are in living in Australia. Don spoke of his life, from being born during the Depression and living on a farm in the Riverina, to his amazing career as a musician and 46 years in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
Mr Hazelwood reiterated how Australia Day is a day to pause and reflect on the good fortune we all have in living in Australia.
The Official Ceremony concluded with slide show presentations made by primary school students Aimee McLachlin, Jaidyn Levanic, Caitlin Roach, Abbey Hawkins, Dakoda Evans and Alex Sikima. It featured many aspects of Australia, including our history, personalities, buildings and wildlife.
The ceremony was followed by an influx of excited flag-decorated locals onto the new bowling green for an afternoon of bowling, face painting and fun on the jumping castle.
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