Finley High School student Mikayla McDonnell was thrilled to receive notification she received a 2023 Premier’s Anzac Memorial Scholarship to be one of 20 students from NSW to travel to Singapore and Darwin.
Mikayla is the daughter of Kaylene and Peter McDonnell and has a very special reason for applying for the scholarship.
“Because of family history, I wanted to learn more as my great uncle was a prisoner of war in Singapore,” she said.
Mikayla said her mum pointed out the opportunity on Berrigan Shire Council’s website.
The tour will run from September 22 to October 4, 2023, and will be accompanied by a military historian to teach students about our nation’s military past and help them understand the importance of commemoration.
The 20 students will further develop their knowledge and understanding of the history of Australians at war as they visit important places associated with Australia’s military history.
Finley High School Principal, Jeff Ward, said he is extremely proud of Mikayla’s achievement and for Finley, which was mentioned in the opening sentence of the official media release.
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Finley High School Captains Meg Marshall and Matthew Whelan were delighted to accept a donation of $2000 from the Second Hand Shop volunteers recently.
The generous donation was very much appreciated by teachers and students and will assist with school projects.
The Finley Second Hand Shop is run entirely by volunteers and new members are always most welcome.
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Last Thursday morning the Finley Lions Club held the club final of the Junior Public Speaking project at Saint Joseph’s Primary School.
Students from Blighty Public School, Finley Public School and Saint Joseph’s Primary School competed for the honour of progressing to the next round of this prestigious project.
Students from years 3 to 4 prepared a three minute talk on the topic “Oh no, you’ve turned into a giant. Tell us your story of being a giant”.
After much deliberation the judges announced Meg Loughridge from Finley Public School the winner of this section.
In the year 5 to 6 section students spoke for four minutes on the topic “Strange world records set in history.”
These students were then given ten minutes to prepare a one minute talk about “What does it mean to be a friend”.
The judges finally declared Kaydence Sibraa from Saint Joseph’s School the winner of this section.
The Lions Club thanked the teachers and parents for encouraging the children to participate in the project, and Saint Joseph’s School for hosting the final at their school.
The regional final will be held at the Tocumwal Lions function rooms on August 6.
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Local farmer Jack Doyle has just returned from a gruelling outback car trek to raise money for The Royal Flying Doctors Service.
Jack joined Team Cobber in Geraldton WA to drive 6000 kms to Darwin.
The six man team drove a 1971 Holden HG Ute and a 1981 VN Commodore plus a support vehicle over some challenging roads on their 12 day trek visiting remote communities, schools and mine sites along the way.
Some of the roads took their toll on the vehicles but all 43 trek cars and their teams managed to get to Darwin after a variety of roadside repairs, usually to front suspensions.
Team Cobber raised approximately $120,000 for the RFDS and were the top team fundraisers.
Jack thanked the local businesses for their support in helping raise this amount.
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Nan Smith was delighted to have her family gather at her home last Saturday evening to help her celebrate her special birthday, having turned 70 years of age on Thursday.
Nan is a very keen bowler and can often be seen organizing tournaments and attending to catering for events at the Finley Bowling Club.
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For those who may not be aware, there is a wonderful group of volunteers who gather at the building adjacent to the Finley Soccer field each Thursday morning to prepare and distribute food packages for those in need.
Originally started by Moira Health Alliance in Cobram, it soon became obvious there was so much need for the service it was necessary to have local participation.
Through the Berrigan Shire Council, Finley Rotary Club put up its hand to take over the operation.
Under the guidance of Ken and Davina Vidler, this community provider has continued to grow to the stage where over 120 families have received assistance when needed.
Davina said, “Please let people know that they are most welcome to come along any Thursday morning between 10.30am and noon and we will do our best to cater to their needs. Please do not hesitate to come along, we all need support and assistance of some kind in our lives.
“I would particularly like to thank the Show Society for allowing us the use of this building, together with Tuppal Dairy, K & A Foods, IGA Finley and Berrigan Bakeries and to members of the community who donate produce from their own gardens.
“If anyone has extra vegetables in their gardens or fruit on their trees, it would be most welcome. The only food we are unable to accept for health regulation reasons are backyard eggs”, she continued.
Further information can be obtained by contacting Davina on 0418 623 115.
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Matt Hannan advised he was thrilled to be nominated by Bruce Ferry and to attend the recent judging of the Australia wide Rotary recognition program, Shine On Awards, held in Templestowe in Victoria recently.
This program, also supported by Bendigo Bank, acknowledges exceptional service to others by people with disabilities. There are two categories: Young Nominees aged 15 years to 25 years and Adult Nominees aged 25 years and over.
“There were so many deserving people at the judging I felt honored to be among them” Matt said.
“It just proves that no matter what age or disability you might have, anything is attainable if you put your mind to it.”
Matt is a classic example of what can be achieved having attained a teaching position, a member of several local organisations and Mayor of the Berrigan Shire Council.
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The winner of last Saturday’s wood raffle was Graham Bradford. No doubt it will come in handy with the cold weather we are currently experiencing.
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A small gathering was held at the Finley Catholic Presbytery’s Marian room recently to acknowledge the service given by three residents to the local branch of St. Vincent de Paul Society.
Due to ill health, Mary Stevens has had to withdraw her services after thirty years of assisting with the sorting of clothing donated by generous members of the community.
She was accompanied by her very proud son, Kevin, at the function.
Also having to call it a day after approximately twenty six years of clearing the bins are Ros and Jim Gaston.
Their service began with Greg McNamara originally asking Jim to assist with this job when the bins were located in the main street. Ros and their children were eventually coaxed to join the team and it became a family activity.
The bins were finally moved to the location of the new building which was erected in November 1990 in memory of Father Henry Josko, next to St. Mary’s Church in Denison Street.
The Gaston family are thrilled that Michael James will be taking over this important job.
All three are saddened at having to withdraw their services as the St. Vincent de Paul group gives assistance to those in need and is always happy to welcome new members.
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Bonds formed in our schools and local community can be very lasting and this was evident when Shane Crawford and Suanne McCumstie caught up in Perth, Western Australia, recently.
They had a great time catching up on all the Finley news and attended the Collingwood/West Coast football match together.
Apparently, Suanne was delighted to chauffeur Shane around during his stay in Perth.
Both these young people have attained a great deal since growing up and attending school in Finley.
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The Finley, Tocumwal and Jerilderie Anglican Parish will have only one service for this coming Sunday July 1 and that will be held at St. Stephen’s Church, Jerilderie commencing at noon.
This will be a special Centenary service with Bishop Donald Kirk in attendance and it is hoped that as many parishioners as possible will attend. A warm welcome will be extended to everyone.
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The Rotary Club of Finley held its Annual Changeover Dinner at the Finley Country Club recently with the District Governor, David McPherson (RC Deniliquin) in attendance.
Outgoing President, Peter Dundon, was unable to attend due to ill health; however, his report was read to the meeting by Vice President Peter Rourke.
The President mentioned many of the activities which took place during the year and expressed his appreciation of the support of the members.
The largest donation for the year was that to Finley High School for $5677.00 for expenses, such as travel and accommodation for the Ag team to visit and compete at the Melbourne Show.
Special thanks were included in the report for the volunteers at the Shabby to Chic Op shop and the Food Share project.
Another memorable occasion was to see the valued member Dr. Alam Yoosuff awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship by the Rotary Club of Kandy Hill, Sri Lanka in appreciation for his efforts securing medical equipment and support over several years.
Club leadership for the 2023/24 year is – President Debbie Jewell, Vic President Peter Dundon, President Elect Lois Manser, Secretary Bruce Ferry and Treasurer Keith Haidle. Several other positions were allocated.
Induction of 2023/24 President Debbie Jewell took place followed by her expressing her thanks and appreciation of being elected to the position.
Apparently Debbie holds the honor of being the first female to hold this position, having been President before.
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Finley Lions Club held its Annual Changeover Dinner at the Tuppal Hotel recently with outgoing President Chris Horne reporting on the success of activities carried out by members over the twelve month period.
Of particular interest was the amount of $6,000 raised between April and September with the very popular wood raffle held each Saturday.
Acknowledgement of the support of the community for this project and the time given by members to conduct the raffle was expressed.
There were approximately fifty Lions members, partners and guests in attendance including special guests Nomi Pryse, Helen Wastle, Connie Close, Mayor Matt Hannan and Anne Freestone.
Also in attendance were guests from Berrigan and Tocumwal Lions Clubs and Finley Rotary Club.
The induction of the new Board members was performed by Lion Inara Fox, former Zone Chairperson, from Berrigan Lions Club.
Incoming President is Ian Taig, 1st Vice President Steve McRae, 2nd Vice President Greg Brunt, Secretary Garry Blackney, Treasurer Warwick Douglas.
Public Relations Officer Gavin Butcher, Tailtwising crew Gary Brooksby and Laurie Cosser, Safety Officer John O’Rourke, Membership Chairman Peter Martin.
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