Reflecting on the year that was at the City of Rockingham
What an amazing year it has been in Rockingham!
As the end of another busy year approaches, the Christmas and New Year period provides an opportunity to relax, reflect and celebrate.
In 2021 the City of Rockingham made progress on a number of exciting projects. In March the Rockingham Youth Centre officially opened, upgrades to Koorana Reserve began in April, while the Baldivis District Sporting Complex has made significant progress with the buildings on site well on the way to completion. We launched our new Reconciliation Action Plan in mid-2021, in September we were delighted to finish the Shoalwater Reserve Activity Node, and we recently released the draft concept designs for stage two of the Aqua Jetty.
It has been especially pleasing to see the City’s efforts in a number of areas receive recognition in 2021. Recently, the City won gold for the Contribution by a Public Organisation category at the WA Heritage Awards, and in November the City won silver in the Excellence in Local Government Award for Tourism category at the WA Tourism Awards. On four occasions this year the City’s Road Safety Action Plan also received recognition at major State and national awards.
While COVID-19 has continued to cause problems globally, WA enjoyed a near COVID-free year. As a result, we’ve been delighted to host our major events such as Castaways, the annual Christmas Festival, and soon the foreshore will be bouncing to the beat of Eskimo Joe for our New Year celebrations. Thousands of people lining the beach for the Channel 7 Rockingham Beach Cup was also a sight to behold, and one we hope to see again in 2022.
In October it was a privilege to become the first community-elected Mayor in the City’s history, and Cr Hayley Edwards was chosen by Council to become Deputy Mayor soon after. At the elections we welcomed four new councillors in Cr Caroline Hume, Cr Dawn Jecks, Cr Robert Schmidt and Cr Brett Wormall, while Cr Mark Jones and Cr Leigh Liley were both re-elected. Councillors Lorna Buchan, Rae Cottam, Craig Buchanan and Sally Davies also continue to serve the community, and together we look forward to working hard in the years to come.
As we welcomed several new faces, we also said farewell to former Mayor Barry Sammels and former Cr Joy Stewart. Both Barry and Joy served the community passionately for many years and their contribution to our City will be remembered fondly.
When many of us are relaxing over the holiday break, there will be some people in the community continuing to work. Please take a moment over the festive season to think of the police, emergency services and Defence Force personnel who will be busy and possibly away from their families. I would also like to acknowledge the City employees who will continue to provide essential services over this period. Residents are reminded that bin collection days remain the same over the holiday break and that the Millar Road Landfill and Recycling Facility is open every day except on Christmas Day.
Christmas can also be a challenging time for people who may be disadvantaged, isolated or experiencing hardship, so please take a moment to consider those who may be less fortunate.
If you are driving this festive season, please take care on the roads. On behalf of my fellow councillors and all staff at the City of Rockingham, I would like to wish everyone in the community a merry Christmas and a happy, safe and healthy New Year.
Deb Hamblin City of Rockingham Mayor
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