Dan Andrews made one of his final major decisions as Victorian premier when he cancelled the 2026 Commonwealth Games, resigning from the job only months after winning the 2022 election. Harley Reid thrilled West Australian football fans in a preview of what he may bring to West Coast as an Eagle in 2024. A second former Kyabram student was appointed to a senior role with a major Australian company, and the local First Nations community honoured the memory of one of its most active Elders. A Kyabram woman was the envy of thousands of Australians when she secured tickets to two Taylor Swift concerts, and long-serving hospital board member Dale Denham and retiring doctor Robert Brun were honoured.
Harley gives WA fans a taste
Tongala teenage football star Harley Reid gave West Australian fans a taste of things to come in the second round of the Australian under-18 football championships.
He had a 26-disposal, 10-mark game against WA’s finest underage players, along with two goals and five clearances.
He was also at the centre of an all-in push and shove at half-time of the match, which Vic Country won by two points after Reid had five scoring shots, which could easily have been converted to four majors.
In the style of Dustin Martin, the player with whom he has been most compared, Reid was again sent one-out to the goal square to use his strength and leap to advantage.
He kicked the first three goals of the opening match of the championships, which the Vic Country team lost narrowly to South Australia.
Reid had a line of adoring fans waiting at the players’ race after the game, keen to secure an early signature amid expectation he would be wearing West Coast colours in 2024.
There was growing speculation that the Eagles intended to take Reid with the first pick of the November draft (if they finished on the bottom of the AFL ladder) and that became reality only four months later.
• In other football news, Stanhope full forward Tom Rennie became the third Kyabram District League player to kick 17 goals in a match, dominating the Lions’ 159-point win against Violet Town.
Jack Exell, the son of a former Stanhope premiership coach, kicked 17 goals against Longwood on June 23 last year on his way to a 110-goal season and the 2022 McNamara Medal.
The previous week, Exell kicked 13 goals against Tallygaroopna. In round one last year, Josh Mellington kicked 17 majors in the opening round of the season and then booted another bag of 14 later in the year.
Girgarre’s Damien Cupido kicked bags of 16 and 14 last year, both against Longwood, in his 100-goal season. Rennie has 42 goals from his nine games this season.
Aunty Faye Lynam honoured
Kyabram’s First Nations community was celebrating the life of Indigenous leader Aunty Faye Lynam at the opening of the headquarters for Kyabram-based Aboriginal corporation Aldara Yenara.
‘Lead the way’ is a fitting English translation of the title of the centre, with the words standing as a testament to the widely respected Elder, after whom the new Kyabram community hub is named.
She was considered a pioneer in developing strategies for justice, community services and tackling family violence.
The Aldara Yanara Aboriginal Corporation Aunty Faye Community Hub was officially opened in a ceremony delayed as a sign of respect for the community leader, who died on May 12.
Aunty Faye (née Cooper) died at 72 years of age, and the Elder was honoured when her family was recognised at the opening ceremony of the Warramunda Drive hub, which was a former administration building for Kyabram District Health Service.
Recognition for Denham
Long-serving Kyabram District Health Service director Dale Denham ended a decade-long tenure on the board.
He and Kyabram Regional Clinic medico Robert Brun were honoured by the organisation for long-standing contributions. Later in the year, Mr Denham was also honoured with life governorship of the KDHS.
Dr Brun stood down from full-time responsibilities with Kyabram Regional Clinic and its outreach service at KDHS’s Stanhope Health site after almost four decades in the role.
There were three new additions to the board — two with strong Kyabram connections.
Samantha Rodriguez, a lawyer originally from the Mornington Peninsula who is now contracts and procurement manager at Campaspe Shire Council, has been added to the board.
Greater Bendigo City Council senior business services officer Jacqueline Murphy was the second addition.
Award-winning Elmore occupational therapist Harley Hayes was the third addition.
As for Dr Brun, KDHS chief executive Anne McEvoy said he would not be totally lost to the health service.
“He remains a doctor of Kyabram Regional Clinic, which is separate from the KDHS, and will continue to do some locum work for the clinic and us,” she said.
‘Swift’ action from Stephanie
Kyabram’s Steph and Scott McLennan will be among hundreds of thousands of Australians at Taylor Swift concerts in Melbourne and Sydney in February after securing their tickets in the July pre-sale.
Kyabram mother Steph was celebrating after she used a friend’s Amex card as a “trump card’’ in her ticket purchase.
Not only did she secure two tickets to a Sydney concert, but after deciding to try her luck in the Melbourne lottery that was the T-Swift concert sale, she managed to buy a third.
“I got a couple of the VIP tickets for Sydney as part of her Karma is My Boyfriend package,” she said.
At 37, she admitted to being an “old Swifty’’, but she felt like an emotionally unbalanced teenager when she managed to secure tickets to the Melbourne and Sydney concerts.
Four million Australians signed up for the pre-sale, but only 630,000 will attend the seven concerts.
But it was the Saunders St mother, with the backing of her supportive husband, who became the toast of the area by securing three tickets.
Premier cancels Commonwealth Games
Regional Victoria was left reeling after Victorian Premier Dan Andrews cancelled the 2026 Commonwealth Games, which was due to take place in several regional cities, including Shepparton.
“The Games will not proceed in Victoria in 2026,” Mr Andrews said.
The rights to host the 2026 event were awarded to regional Victoria after Birmingham replaced South Africa’s Durban as the host of the 2022 games.
The Victorian Government set aside $2.6 billion for the event, with Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and Gippsland slated to host their own athletes’ village and sport programs.
In a joint statement, Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto and Victorian Nationals leader Peter Walsh slammed the decision.
“The Andrews Government’s decision to scrap the 2026 Commonwealth Games is a massive humiliation for Victoria,” the Coalition leaders said.
“This decision is a betrayal of regional Victoria and confirms that Victoria is broke and Labor simply cannot manage major projects without huge cost blowouts,” Mr Walsh said.
It was one of Mr Andrews’ final major acts as premier, as he resigned in September 2023 after winning another term in office in November 2022.
Kyabram boys in top jobs
Nick Stone’s appointment as Bupa Asia Pacific chief executive was the latest in a series of high achievements by former Kyabram students.
He and Stuart Crow had come a long way from the neighbouring four-hectare (10-acre) blocks on Howards Lane in Kyabram, where they grew up.
Mr Stone, 49, was appointed to the leading role with the health insurance giant Bupa, and Mr Crow was among the first to post a message of congratulations on social media.
For the past 20 years, Mr Crow, 51, has been based in Singapore, where he now holds the position of capital markets chief executive with global real estate company Jones Lang LaSalle.
The friends spent their formative years in Kyabram. Mr Stone and his siblings initially attended Ky Valley Primary School and later were among the first students to attend Goulburn Valley Grammar School.
Mr Stone is the son of former Kyabram pharmacist Ron and Jenni Stone, who now live in Melbourne.
Mr Crow was a Dawes Rd student and is the son of former Kyabram local government leader and realtor Doug Crow and his wife, Glenys.
The two global businessmen played tennis together in Kyabram and, along with neighbour Matt Tisdall, son of former Kyabram doctor Peter, were almost inseparable as children.
Mr Tisdall has made waves of his own on the international scene, and last week was in Mongolia riding motorbikes. He has previously competed in the Dakar Rally and owns a Melbourne construction company.