Brian came to Benalla in 1955 for a three-month locum dentist position, and has stayed ever since. During those 67 years he has been involved in several community organisations, many in a senior role.
With respect to the water industry, Brian saw changes from many small towns with their own water distribution systems, to firstly a State Government initiated amalgamation of Water Boards to form the Ovens Region Water Authority. He was Chairman of this Ovens Region Water Authority for several years. Then there was a locally initiated further amalgamation of Water Boards to form the current North East Water which covers 39 localities across North East Victoria.
Brian, who in the past has been Mayor of Benalla for three terms, also gave us an interesting history of local government amalgamations in the Benalla area. To finish Brian spoke about the history of the Benalla Art Gallery and how a substantial local donation had been instrumental in its construction.
Before Brian spoke, we had a short talk from Adrian Daw, Volunteer Coordinator at Cooinda in Benalla about the need for more volunteers at Cooinda. Anyone interested should contact Adrian at Cooinda on 5761 3300.
The guest speaker at Meet and Mingle on Wednesday 19th October will be Mr Eric Nash, Director of the Benalla Art Gallery. Eric is going to speak on forthcoming events and displays over summer and into 2023 at the Benalla Art Gallery. All welcome.
Margaret Jenkins