Australiana Pioneer Volunteers Prove Their Worth

The volunteers at Australiana Pioneer Village are worth their weight in gold, according to Village president Kevin Weeks.

“Our volunteers have been doing a mighty job right now,” Mr Weeks said.

“They put in a full day yesterday.

“I got a call at 8 o’clock last night to say they were leaving and would be back again this morning.

“We’ve got volunteers still moving things to higher ground.”

The Village is always looking for more volunteers, and they could certainly do with a few extra right now.

“The Village is on the north side of the river,” Mr Weeks said.

“Most of our volunteers are on the south side of the river.

“I’m stuck over here, myself.

“Words really aren’t enough to express how thankful we are at The Village to have such dedicated volunteers.

“The Village is half underwater.”

Like many businesses and residents in the Hawkesbury region, The Village has weathered floods in March last year and this year, the pandemic and now this current flood event.

Volunteers are asked to give a minimum of once a month on The Village’s open days - Sunday to the public and Tuesday and Wednesday for school groups only.

The school groups are taken around The Village with a volunteer talking about lifestyle with the students.

“They’re very popular with the schools,” Mr Weeks said.

Upcoming school events have to be cancelled due to the current flood event.

Mr Weeks thanked the volunteers who, for the third time in such a short time, moved animals, packed up and moved furniture, crockery, fridges, etc, from inside most cottages, moved our tractors, machinery and pews from the Church and so much more.

Repairs to The Village have been costly, but they have managed to successfully apply for government grants to help.

“We got a grant last year and we have one coming for March this year,” Mr Weeks said.

“We will probably be eligible for another grant for this event. “The grants are usually around $50,000.

“We have to pay for everything and then hand in the receipts to be reimbursed.

“We’ve had a lot of work done through the Hawkesbury Council and through our business partners in the Hawkesbury.”

Fortunately, the only expenditure when The Village is closed is for electricity and water used.

If you have a spare day once a month and are looking for something interesting to do, consider volunteering at The Village.

Call 4575 1777 for more information.

• Topics:

• Volunteering