Mathoura and Moama community members gathered on Sunday for a shared breakfast and an Australia Day ceremony.
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The morning kicked off at 9am at Mathoura Memorial Park with a barbecue breakfast and egg-and-bacon rolls.
The ceremony then followed at 9.45am, led by councillors Kylie Berryman and Bianca Hurn.
After the flags were raised, Mathoura local Lily Gulliver shared her migration story, moving from Ethiopia to Dubai, where she met her Australian husband, eventually following him to Australia.
Mrs Gulliver said after purchasing the Mathoura Post Office in 2015, they had become part of the community.
“We bought the post office 10 years ago... I didn’t know anybody here in Mathoura,” she said.
“Now all my family is in Mathoura, I know everybody and it makes me happy every time they come into the post office.”
After Mrs Gulliver’s speech, Australia Day Awards were presented.
Cr Berryman and Cr Hurn recognised two individuals and two groups from Mathoura and Moama for their work and contributions to the community, including:
- Young Citizen of the Year - Katelyn Eddy
- Young Sportsperson of the Year - Connor Wilson
- Community Event of the Year - Run Echuca Moama
- Arts and Culture Award - Echuca Moama Theatre Group
Although Connor Wilson could not attend the ceremony, his aunty Dottie Wilson accepted the award on his behalf and shared a message from Connor, thanking those who contributed to his success.
CLRS Chief Executive Leah Taaffe gave thanks to the community on behalf of the Run Echuca Moama committee.
“We want to say thank you to the community for the nomination,” she said.
“We love where we live and we’re so blessed to have so many people help us out on the day — we have 70 volunteers and around 600 people participate... we hope to make that 1000 in 2025.”
Darcy Elliot, president of the Echuca Moama Theatre Group, also extended his heartfelt appreciation for the award on the group’s behalf.
“We are very grateful to be nominated and very thankful to receive this award,” he said.
“We are heading into our 50th year this year as an organisation, which is a massive achievement.
“It’s wonderful to be able to celebrate that and have members from the ages of five years old all the way up to their 80s and 90s.”
The ceremony concluded with a lucky raffle draw and messages of thanks from the councillors.