Town turns out for fry up

By Jade Lawton
KOOWEERUP celebrated Australia Day with one of its biggest ever turn-outs.
The Community Centre was packed for a free bacon-and-egg breakfast from 8.30am.
By the time the formalities begun, all seats were taken and it was standing room only for latecomers.
The Kooweerup Secondary College band began with a performance of Advance Australia Fair as the Kooweerup RSL unfurled the Australian flag.
“Larrikin poet” Mal Function, otherwise known as Malcolm Pugh, was one of the first speakers, and he set the tone with a rendition of his poem, The Ballad of the Billy Tea.”
Cardinia Shire mayor Bill Pearson made one of his four speeches scheduled across the shire for the day.
“Look at the crowd here, it’s marvellous,” he said.
“As we all know, living in the Cardinia Shire is a great pleasure, and it is made more so by our volunteers.”
Ambassador Sally Browne spoke about what it meant to be Australian and the admiration she had for Kooweerup’s original settlers.
“I read about all the floods and things they suffered trying to make this swamp in to farmland.
“I have to say, congratulations to the people who came before you and congratulations to you folk, who have made this town what it is,” she said.
Ms Browne spoke of her origins working in a textile factory, and how she toiled “head, heart and hand” to build her fashion line.
Her business suffered a number of setbacks in its early days, including her father and guarantor dying one week in, her house, containing all her stock, burning down, and one of her first collections being destroyed by wayward ink.
“I think Barack Obama lifted the ‘Yes we can’ motto from the Aussies,” she said. “We are resilient. There will be tough times, hard times, but we can get through everything.”
Kooweerup township committee chairman Ray Brown announced the junior award winners from St Johns Primary School, Bayles Primary School, Kooweerup Primary School and Kooweerup Secondary College.
They were Lauren Harrison, Daniel Bonney, Bronwyn Woff, Ryan Scott, Teisha Miller, Maddison Taylor, Amy Oliver, Daniel Kortholt, Joshua Patullo and Kyle Gosens.
The Kooweerup Australia Day Awards were then presented, with volunteers Don and Gwen Mason taking the first award.
“They are like a good wine; they are getting better with age,” Mr Brown said.
The final community award was then presented to Garry King, a former principal of Kooweerup Secondary College who has been involved in numerous committees and groups over the years.
Ray Brown was then recognised with a poem of his own.
“We recognise his efforts with the township crew,
“Of celebrating Australia, with this egg and bacon do,” Mal Function read.