Well done, Don

Don arrived in Kyabram, a place he was familiar with as he was born here 82 years ago, in 1983 when he took up the position as the Kyabram Town Council’s town clerk and secretary for the Waterworks Trust and Sewerage Authority.

The position was upgraded to chief executive two years later, before council amalgamations in Victoria in 1994.

As Don was a go-getter by nature, the town quickly benefited from his local council knowledge, foresight, drive and his thinking outside the square.

He had the ability and contacts to get things done, and done quickly, and some of the projects he was involved in will be lasting legacies of his time and input to the town.

After council amalgamations, Don was appointed director of economic development for Greater Shepparton City Council. Among his many achievements in that role was being a key figure in the development of International Dairy Week facilities and the establishment of the state-of-the-art equine centre at Tatura Park.

Don rates one of his most pleasing achievements in his time in Kyabram as being the negotiations to purchase the land and commence the development of the Kyabram industrial estate at the corner of McEwen and McCormick Rds.

Other projects and developments from which he gained much satisfaction were obtaining funding for and constructing the Wilf Cox Complex, the building of the Northern Oval clubrooms, the development of off-street parking and McAnulty Lane and pedestrian walkways to better manage the Allan St business precinct.

More recently the upgrade and redevelopment of the Kyabram Parkland Golf Clubhouse has been one project that has given him extreme satisfaction.

Not frightened to stand on toes if he felt it was warranted, Don’s main regrets in leaving Kyabram are the controversy regarding alterations to the Wilf Cox Complex, which he describes as a ‘‘complete fiasco’’, and the vulnerability of the town in times of excessive rainfall, as the town is developing exponentially and the drainage outfall is at its lowest capacity in modern history since the South Boundary Rd channel was decommissioned.

Don said this channel carried a significant amount of drainage water in times of major rainfall/flood events and nothing had been done to replace this significant loss.

Saying this, Don also said he had loved his time in Kyabram, which has enjoyed continued growth, and thanked the people who had supported him and his ideas to make it a better place to live.

“I will always have an interest in Kyabram and will continue to be around town every now and then,” he said.