Australia Day Awards 2022
Published on 26 January 2022
Australia Day started early in Hindmarsh Shire, commencing with a BBQ breakfast in Rainbow at 7.30am, followed by ceremonies in Jeparit, Dimboola, and finally Nhill.
Hindmarsh Shire Council’s Australia Day Ambassador, Wesa Chau, joined the Deputy Mayor, Cr Brett Ireland, in attending all four events on the day and provided an informative and interactive address to the audience at each of the ceremonies.
Presentations of Hindmarsh Shire Council’s Australia Day Awards for Citizen of the Year and Young Citizen of the Year were announced at the Nhill ceremony by the Deputy Mayor, Cr Brett Ireland, and presented by Wesa Chau.
CITIZEN OF THE YEAR – MERVYN SCHNEIDER OAM, NHILL
Mervyn Schneider OAM of Nhill has been announced as Hindmarsh Shire Citizen of the Year.
Mervyn is well known by locals for his astonishing accomplishments in life and for the ample amount of volunteer work and involvement he has had in the Hindmarsh community for years. Some of his many achievements include being a Warrant Officer in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) from 1943-1945, serving at Mawson Research Station in Antarctica and being inducted into Wimmera Legacy in 1991 where he was on the Board of Management from 2000-2002 and 2008-2017.
He was Chairman of Welfare Services from 2010-2017, Corporal at Arms 1998-2000, has been an active and dedicated member of Avonlea Incorporated Board of Management for 44 years, serving 5 terms as the President and was awarded Life Governorship of Avonlea.
Other significant achievements include being a charter member of the Rotary Club of Nhill since Page 2 of 5 1961 where he has provided 50 years of outstanding service to the Nhill community. His responsibilities as a member involved establishing Meals on Wheels in Nhill and helping on many projects including planting trees in our streets and plantations. Mervyn was involved in starting up the Senior Citizens Club and more recently, the Probus Club.
Mervyn has received many awards in his time including being awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship, Centenary Modal for his service to the veterans’ community in Victoria and in 2014, he received an Order of Australian Medal for his service to the community of Nhill.
Cr Brett Ireland, Deputy Mayor said, “On behalf of Council, I thank Merv for his outstanding contribution to his community over the years.” Cr Ireland continued, “I am very honoured to be presenting this award, and congratulate Merv as a very deserving recipient of the Hindmarsh Shire Citizen of the Year Award”.
YOUNG CITIZEN OF THE YEAR – CALEB ZANKER, NHILL
Caleb Zanker of Nhill has been announced as Hindmarsh Shire Young Citizen of the Year.
Caleb is an exceptional and inspirational leader at Nhill College who is admired by his fellow students and teachers. He is always ready and willing to contribute to activities around the school and his community.
In 2021, he was Year 10 Dux and awarded the Years 7-10 Crouch Family All Rounder Award, among other scholarships. He was also Year 10 form captain (SCR) and Vice House captain.
Also in 2021, Financial Basics Foundation held a competition called the Suncorp ESSI Money Challenge. This competition consisted of students from all over Australia competing against each other for a two-week period. There were two age categories, 12-15-year old and 16-18-year old, and 183 schools across Australia were involved. Caleb, competing against 5382 students, was the top of the 16-18-year-old category in the state of Victoria, which is an outstanding achievement.
Outside of school in his spare time, Caleb enjoys playing hockey and has been a member of the Yanac Warriors Hockey Club for several years. He played his first year of football for the Nhill Tigers Under 17’s team in 2021 and was awarded the Wimmera Football Netball League Under 17 Spirit of Football Award for round 2. Caleb is looking forward to continuing being involved in both of these clubs.
Another of Caleb’s strong interest’s includes playing and listening to music. His instrument of choice is piano and euphonium. Caleb has been a part of Nhill College’s senior band since Year 7 where he has performed at school and community events, including the end of year Carols event.
Cr Ireland said “On behalf of Council, I am honoured to be presenting the Hindmarsh Shire Young Citizen of the Year Award to Caleb Zanker.” Cr Ireland continued, “Caleb is everything you hope for in a young citizen in our rural communities, and I wish him all of the best for his studies in year 11 this year and his future endeavours”.
“Hindmarsh Shire Council sincerely thanks everyone who took the time to submit nominations for Page 3 of 5 the 2022 Australia Day Awards and congratulates everyone on their nominations across all categories” added Cr Brett Ireland. “I was very pleased with the attendances in all towns and it is encouraging to see our national day becoming a diverse event with strong acknowledgment and representation of our indigenous and multicultural communities alike.”
Cr Ireland concluded “Council would like to sincerely thank and extend our gratitude to the volunteers who ran the Australia Day events – Lions Club of Rainbow, Jeparit Town Committee, Dimboola CWA and Lions Club of Nhill.”
Greg Wood
Chief Executive Officer