Noel Mattei was so oblivious to the esteem with which he is held in the Girgarre community that his announcement as the Citizen of the Year for Campaspe Shire’s Waranga Ward was received with absolute disbelief.
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While he was sitting in the front row at the Girgarre ceremony, in the park right behind the town’s historic town hall, it was more to ensure he could hear everything that was happening rather than any status symbol.
Fittingly, within sight of the park was the entrance to the rail trail that stretches from Girgarre to Stanhope, a project that he contributed wholeheartedly to in one of his many volunteer capacities.
Mr Mattei was sitting alongside his wife Cheryl when Girgarre Community Cottage co-ordinator Kezia Talbot announced it was his name that had been written on the certificate and embedded in the frame she was holding.
His first words were to his wife.
“Did you know about this,” he asked.
A smile immediately came to her face and it was matched by her daughter and the two grandchildren who were there to witness Mr Mattei’s acknowledgement by the community.
Mr Mattei grew up in Melbourne, but moved to the tiny Gippsland township of Dollar, population 111, before re-locating to work on the Varcoe family farm at Tongala in his early 20s.
“I worked on a farm at Timmering, owned by George and then Neville Varcoe, for 20 years,” he said.
“And we have been in Girgarre for the last 15 years.”
With step-daughter Kim and grandchildren Jenna and Seth alongside him and obviously still in shock after the announcement, he said working with the Girgarre community was something he just loved doing.
“The trail has been the big project. I owned a front-end loader, which made life easier.
“And we later secured a tipping trailer. I now spend a bit of time driving up and down the trail on the motorbike clearing the bindi eyes.”
Apart from his tireless work on the 5km trail between Girgarre and Stanhope, Mr Mattei has been a regular tree planter and is renowned for throwing his hand in the air to help in various situations.
Whether that be helping out a farmer, fixing a tractor or mowing lawns, everyone at the ceremony agreed the recognition was timely and well deserved.
And there is no sign of Mr Mattei slowing down any time soon. He was quick to point out in his acceptance speech that this was by no means the end.
“I will keep going as long as I can,” he said.
Event co-ordinator Kezia Talbot echoed those sentiments with an example of a recent contribution from Mr Mattei to his community.
“During our recent music muster it was Noel who was responsible for laying down gravel to allow access to the van and vehicle parking areas, due to the amount of rain we had received,” Ms Talbot said.
• Four Rushworth women dressed appropriately in Australian colours were on hand to be recognised as Waranga Ward’s Community Group of the Year.
While a significant part of the Rushworth Op Shop and Foodbank organisation, they were all quick to say there were several other faces absent from the event that also deserved acknowledgement.
Gail Corner said the three days a week service had grown beyond the wildest imagination of those that generated its inauguration.
“We are very honoured to receive the award. We have a tremendous response to what we were doing when we announced our plans,” she said.
“What started out as five of us meeting after the government funding was taken away has turned into a service vital to a lot of people.”
The group has been operating for two years, borne out of necessity when the funding was withdrawn and the Salvation Army also decided to close its op shop in the town.
“This project has attracted some great volunteers and we are very proud of the service we offer to the area,” Ms Corner said.
Marg Bailey said the group had started out as an acorn and grown into an oak tree.
“We are there to support people who are going through a tough time. We have been blown away by the support,” she said.
“We helped Murchison and Rochester through the floods and it was wonderful to be able to support those that were devastated.”
The two women were joined by Heather Wellington, Michele Bailey and Claire Campbell and the group was at pains to point out the contribution of Tina Hanigan to the Foodbank and op shop facility.
“She was the driving force behind this. She came to us having started a Foodbank at Frankston when she retired up here two years ago,” Ms Bailey said.
“It’s just a pity she is not here today.”
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