International flavor to Dumbalk party
PEOPLE from as far as Austria celebrated Australia Day at Dumbalk Memorial Park.
Guest speaker Agnes van Tiggelen of Dumbalk gave a moving speech about what it meant for her to be an Australian, after emigrating to Australia with her late husband Dr Cees van Tiggelen and their three children.
Agnes has embraced life in Australia and at Dumbalk after a steep learning curve into Australian etiquette. She gave humorous anecdotes that showed the difficulties of mastering the intricacies of a new language.
The celebrated featured an evening barbecue and the launch of the redevelopment of the Dumbalk Community Centre by Walter Aich.
He was involved in applying for a grant on behalf of the Dumbalk and District Progress Association. That successful application resulted in a grant of $61,431 from the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal.
The association plans to refurbish the centre to accommodate a variety of community groups and create professional suites for use by health professionals, including tele-medicine, and non-health professionals to offer more services to the Dumbalk community and beyond.
Many people have offered to provide services in-kind to help meet the overall estimated costs of about $80,000.
Seventeen people attended a working bee that signalled the start of the project.
“There will also be further fundraising, so stay tuned,” association president Toine Bovill said.
“The community centre is for use by all community members, of all ages.”
The event was attended by South Gippsland Shire councillors Don Hill and Mohya Davies, and director of community services Jan Martin.
Patriotic party: Karl and Barbara Kappes immersed themselves in the festivities of Dumbalk’s Australia Day celebration.
Humorous touch: Dumbalk and District Progress Association president Toine Bovill shows off her wig of Dutch carrots, with a quirky sign “My Dutch roots”.
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