Noble Park RSL members John Chisholm (left) and Jeff ‘Pony’ Moore wear their true colours on their faces during Australia Day celebrations last week.By Shaun Inguanzo
THE noble volunteer shone like a beacon during Greater Dandenong’s Australia Day celebrations.
Everywhere across the city, celebrations to mark 218 years of settlement in Australia were supported largely by volunteer efforts.
A parade through Langhorne Street to Dandenong Park included a large emergency services cast, as paradegoers applauded and cheered loudly.
Australia Day ambassador for Greater Dandenong, entertainer Mark Mitchell, cast aside his funnyman persona and gave a deep and meaningful speech on what it meant to be Australian, at the city’s main celebration at Dandenong Park.
Winners of the city’s Australia Day honours, including Citizen of the Year Helen Heath and Young Citizen of the Year Rachel Monty, were presented with framed certificates to note their significant contributions to the community.
A plethora of stalls hosted by community groups and operated by volunteers fuelled the park’s festive atmosphere, while rides and an animal nursery kept children busy.
Earlier that morning, Springers Leisure Centre hosted the annual Australia Day breakfast, and Greater Dandenong Australia Day Committee chairman Alan Collier said despite the promise of a post40 degree day, an estimated record crowd of 2000 attended for a free bacon and eggs breakfast.
Members of the Springvale Lions Club, with help from the Springvale Scorpions Football Club, cooked the breakfast.
In Noble Park, the Returned and Services League subbranch hosted a day of family fun, with an animal nursery, entertainers and barbecue.
At 3.30pm, RSL members, City of Greater Dandenong councillors and members of the Victorian Reenactment Society held a flag raising, similar to the earlier one at Dandenong Park.
Face painting and coloured hair spraying were supplied for free by members of the Rotary youth group, Rotaract, aligned with the Rotary Club of Noble Park.
Across the road at Noble Park’s Ross Reserve, the Urban Neighbours of Hope (UNOH) in conjunction with the Clayton Church of Christ youth group, Surge, organised a barbecue and day of entertainment for Greater Dandenong’s Sudanese community.
Cars lined parking spots along the entirety of the road as many residents flocked to the Noble Park Heated Swim Centre to cool off from the intense heat.
Acts such as South Sudan Musica, and the Bring It On dance group entertained an impressive turnout of several hundred Sudanese migrants and their families, with the crowd predominantly Sudanese youths.
Later that evening, Hemmings Park was host to the Muso Network’s Oz Day Rocks festival, a musical concert involving local bands and organised by young people, again volunteers, from across Greater Dandenong.
