Community event
Council held a community event to welcome new Australian citizens and announce winners of the Mount Alexander Shire Australia Day Awards.
Congratulations to year’s winners of the Mount Alexander Shire Australia Day Awards:
• Citizen of the Year – Ian Gallagher
• Senior Citizen of the Year – Lorraine le Plastrier
• Young Citizen of the Year – Jade Bujeya
• Community Event of the Year – The Castlemaine Rotary Truck Show. Award accepted by President Christine Barkla.
Entertainment was provided by the Castlemaine Highland Pipe Band and the Rotary Club of Castlemaine provided a free BBQ lunch.
Dja Dja Wurrung Elder Uncle Rick Nelson performed a Welcome to Country at the community event.
Read our media release announcing the award winners.
Dawn smoking ceremony - Survival Day
Council worked in partnership with our First Nations community to hold a virtual Survival Day dawn smoking ceremony at Leanganook (Mount Alexander), which was livestreamed via YouTube. The ceremony was planned to provide a more inclusive and holistic approach to the day, with the hope it provided an opportunity for unity within the community.
Online videos
Broadcasts of both events are available on Council's YouTube channel.
Community event: bit.ly/AusDaySurvivalDayEvent
Dawn Survival Day smoking ceremony: bit.ly/AusDaySurvivalDayDawn