Tweed community to reflect, respect and celebrate on Australia Day

20 January 2021

Annual awards to recognise community achievement

The Tweed community will reflect, respect and celebrate what it means to be part of the unfolding national story on Australia Day next week.

In compliance with COVID-Safe requirements, this year’s official Tweed Shire Australia Day Awards will be scaled down in size and take place at Twin Towns Clubs and Resorts, Tweed Heads on Tuesday 26 January 2021. As in previous years, this is an invitation-only event for recipients and their families.

The awards ceremony will be hosted by 2021 Tweed Shire Australia Day Ambassador Rebecca Hogan – awarded Citizen of the Year at last year’s event – and will recognise outstanding achievement by members of the community over the past year.

This will be followed by a special ceremony which will see more than 30 residents from 12 countries as far afield as Colombia, Thailand and The Netherlands, become new Australian citizens.

Four Council-sponsored events will be hosted by local community organisations on the day: Tumbulgum Community Association, Tyalgum Hall Community Association, Crabbes Creek Hall Committee and Murwillumbah Community Garden.

Activities will kick off from 8am at Tumbulgum, with their annual ‘Big Traditional BBQ’, followed by judging of the wildest, wackiest Aussie-themed bicycles, before their annual cricket challenge.

At Tyalgum, a decorated bike muster will get underway from 9am, with all entrants to be awarded with delicious gelato, followed by the official presentation, morning tea and raffles. Similarly, activities will take place at Crabbes Creek Hall from 8am, while tree planting is planned at Murwillumbah Community Garden.

The community activities will complement this year’s official Tweed Shire Australia Day Awards.

Mayor of Tweed Shire Chris Cherry said Australia Day 2021 would provide an important opportunity for the Tweed community to reflect on the challenges of the past year, respect the sacrifices and contributions of those who responded in a time of need, and celebrate being together as Australians.

“Over the past year Australia has faced immense challenges – drought, bushfire, floods and the coronavirus pandemic,” Cr Cherry said.

“In the Tweed, we rose to the challenge of COVID-19 with our frontline workers keeping us safe, while the associated complexities of physical distancing, home-schooling and border closures were met with grace and resilience by our community.

“All this on top of a year that began with water restrictions and ended with flooding in December.

“Australia Day offers us an opportunity to come together to celebrate all that is good about being Australian, working together when times are hard and reflecting on and respecting our past.

“By doing this, we make the Tweed an even better place to live, work and visit.”

Cr Cherry said Australia Day provided an opportunity to pause and reflect on our nation’s past – a history which began more than 65,000 years ago with the First Australians – the world’s oldest living culture.

“It is also a day on which we respect and share the stories, histories and contributions of everyday Australians, because we’re all part of the story of Australia,” she said.

Winners of this year’s Tweed Shire Australia Day Awards will be announced at the ceremony, in categories including:

• Citizen of the Year
• Volunteer of the Year (Individual and Group)
• Sporting Achievement (Individual)
• Community Event of the Year
• Young Achiever in Community Service

Downloads

Photo 1(JPG, 158KB)

Caption: The awards ceremony will be hosted by 2021 Tweed Shire Australia Day Ambassador Rebecca Hogan. Ms Hogan was awarded Citizen of the Year at last year’s event.