Rural City of Wangaratta

A fabulous Australia Day Celebration was held in the King George V Gardens on the morning of Thursday 26 January 2012. The celebration included the announcement of the Australia Day Awards, citizenship ceremonies and music by the Northern Rivers Academy of Music and Sing Australia.

Wangaratta welcomed back Australia Day Ambassador, Peter ‘Crackers’ Keenan, whose connections to the North East and humorous stories made him a crowd favourite.

The Rural City of Wangaratta honored three very worthy recipients of local Australia Day Awards.

Lauris Schubert was the winner of the 2012 Citizen of the Year Award.  Lauris shows that being part of your community is more than just living there and she is a worthy recipient of this award. She has, and continues to make a tangible contribution towards a rich and interwoven cross section of groups and causes within our community, her efforts have truly made a difference.

In addition to her local work, Lauris has made a mark internationally. At her own expense and for no personal gain she has sought to develop relationships with Wangaratta's Chinese sister city. Her work bridging cultures is within the spirit of Australia Day and compliments her ongoing community work, the bulk of which has been behind-the-scenes as she humbly seeks little public recognition for her efforts.

Nicola Teasdale was the recipient of the Young Citizen of the Year Award for 2012. Nicola is a shining star who has already made a mark on her community at the tender age of seventeen and one to keep an eye on in the future. 

Nicola has a broad community involvement and impressively has been able to balance those commitments with her school work and part-time employment. She's very much a doer, taking a hands-on approach in assisting her classmates and contemporaries. Nicola is a very worthy recipient and a valued young member of the Rural City of Wangaratta.

The 2012 Community Event of the Year was awarded to an event that is youth focused, planned and developed by our youth and one which was an overwhelming success in its inaugural year - the Youth Festival held on Jazz Festival Weekend, run by the Creative Youth Committee. This community event proved a great way to involve younger people in the Wangaratta Jazz Festival and successfully broadened its appeal.

Being a free event run by young people for young people was key to its success, as too was the Victorian Government’s and Council's support.  It is hoped that this will become an annual event that will no doubt grow and improve each year.

A range of Australia Day celebrations were held throughout the Rural City of Wangaratta and local awards presented.  Recipients who received a 2012 Local Achievement Award in rural towns were:

	Send Us Your Feedback Was this information useful?
	Not Useful   Very Useful 1 2 3 4 5
	What would make this information better?
	Please enter your comments.
	Please enter your email address.