By NARELLE COULTER
GREATER Dandenong Citizen of the Year Bev Douglas admits she feels “hard done by” if her weekly Journal doesn’t arrive in her letterbox.
“I’ve been in the paper three times,” she says, ticking off the milestones on her fingers.
“When I was married in 1968, when Springvale High celebrated 50 years in 2004 and on 26 January this year.
“I do look forward to looking at the Journal to see what is going on.”
And now Bev can count a fourth appearance as she tells her story to help commemorate the Journal’s 150th anniversary.
Bev has lived in Springvale for 60 years and spoke to the Journal about how her beloved suburb had transformed through the decades.
“It has completely changed from what it was in 1954, “she said.
Bev was nine when she and her family moved from South Silvan to Springvale for her father’s work. He was employed to help lay the gas pipeline from Morwell to Melbourne along the Princes Highway.
“It certainly was a culture shock,” remembered Bev.
“We had been on a few acres and we suddenly moved to the suburbs with neighbours on the other side of the fence.
However, Springvale in those days wasn’t without its own rural charms.
“I remember looking out the kitchen window at cows grazing on the Sandown Park estate.
“I also remember when Springvale Road was one lane of traffic in each direction. “
Bev married husband Bob on 16 March, 1968. A report of their nuptials appeared in the Journal on 23 May under the headline ‘They worked for the same bank’.
Bev has a clipping from the paper carefully stored among other personal papers, retrieving it when she read the Journal was looking to interview couples whose weddings had appeared in the paper.
The newlyweds “moved from one side of the railway track to the other” when they bought a house off the plan in Hilton Avenue.
“We bought in Springvale mainly because my family was here and because it was a new estate we could afford to build.
“I like the area. Our children grew up here. At the time there were a lot of young children around the area.”
Bev credits the opening of the Enterprise migrant hostel as changing the face of Springvale, creating the multi-cultural melting pot which exits today.
“The hostel changed the dynamics of the area. When you look back at old school photos you can see the cultural make-up (of the students) in those photos changed completely. Enterprise contributed an enormous amount to that.”
Bev was named Citizen of the Year for her tireless contribution to the Springvale Learning and Activity Centre.
She became involved with the centre, which started as a youth club in 1945, through her children who took gymnastics, dance and music lessons there.
When they graduated to other pursuits, Bev stayed on as a volunteer. That was more than 30 years ago.
She says anyone who walks through the front door is welcomed by a “friendly face and a greeting” and pays tribute to the dedicated staff, who provide a range of courses and community services.
She says she was grateful to be named the city’s top citizen for 2015, especially for the light the award had shone on the work of all those associated with the activity centre.
When asked to reflect on what she loves most about Greater Dandenong she says the “good community spirit”.
It’s a spirit Bev Douglas has done more than most to nurture.
