I’d always said to friends in Melbourne that if Goonellabah flooded it was time to build an ark! Well, we had water throughout our living area when the drains failed to cope with the 400mm that fell in 24 hours. But that was trivial compared to the mess that Debbie left when she finally departed. The Wilsons River reached 11.6m – close to the 1974 big flood and the 10.6m levee was overtopped, as we always knew it would be when the inevitable big flood came.

Post flood debris – the remains of Scott’s Newsagency, Molesworth Street – now reopened.

When the flood waters receded and all of us got down to work, cleaning, laundry and door knocking to check on people’s welfare, I heard my fair share of distressing stories but even when people had lost most of their possessions, there was a general response “I’m OK, there are people much worse off than me”.
Through the tears there were often smiles and hugs as people connected like never before. The Lismore Come to the Heart symbol has always been more than a marketing logo. Many of us have worn the little heart badge as a sign of pride that we live in Lismore but after this flood event, the Heart has become a symbol of rebuilding and connection to each other. When the Black Sombrero in the CBD hung a Heart flag on its door to indicate it was reopening, requests came for more, so sewing bees were arranged at the Black Sombrero for these flags to be produced for other businesses as they reopened.

Lifeline NR set up in the Pavilion at Lismore Showgrounds to help people affected by the flood by distributing donated goods.

The heart badge became a sign of determination and resilience and council has noted a steady stream of residents buying the badges to wear and give to others to lift their spirits.
The stories of loss and grief will continue for many weeks and months and even longer for some but this community is strong and connected with someone always at hand to bear the load when things get too hard.
Thousands of people evacuated and while much of the contents of homes and businesses was secured and lifted, the height of the flood and the force of the water was greater than most people expected. As readers will have seen, the damage to homes and businesses in the CBD, North and South Lismore and parts of East Lismore was immense with thousands of tonnes of damaged goods piled up on footpaths as the recovery commenced.
The good thing – from every disaster, the strength of the community is demonstrated in the very difficult and long recovery stage after the emergency has passed.
An army of volunteers mobilised through Lismore Helping Hands Facebook page to attend thousands of homes and businesses. These volunteers helped clean premises and provide essential material aid and food to the people affected. Hundreds of RFS and SES volunteers from around the state provided much of the heavy lifting and high pressure hoses to help clean out buildings as people tried to salvage important items.

Jon English’s wife sent a box of his socks to the appeal!

As the emergency passed, the disused Lismore Railway station was a hub for the volunteers to form teams and for people to get food, bedding and clothing. Lifeline’s regional warehouse received tonnes of financed items and just as quickly was distributing goods to affected people. It wasn’t long before it became obvious that the warehouse was simply too small to cope with the supply or demand so a league Pavilion at the Showgrounds became the central collection and distribution centre not just for Lifeline but for many other charity groups.
The official NSW Government sponsored Flood Recovery Centre was also established in East Lismore to provide people with a one-stop-shop for advice on insurance, grants, fair trading, small business, primary industry assistance and more.
People who were unaffected by the disaster flocked to help and shopping in the supermarket in mud spattered clothing and rubber boots didn’t even cause a raised eyebrow, but the emotional toll of the flood was obvious despite the generally positive spirits. In the days after the water had gone, every heavy rain shower brought back feelings of dread.  The need for material aid for affected residents was also obvious and the community responded.
Lifeline Northern Rivers warehouse in South Lismore was soon overwhelmed by the sheer volume of donated clothing, furniture and household items so the opening of the Pavilion at the Showgrounds provided not only a much needed large space for donations and distribution but the opportunity for all charities to work together.

Flood rescue in Uralba Street, Lismore.

The Helping Hands hub remained the centre for donations of non perishable food, willing hands for heavy lifting and cleaning and teams of skilled people to undertake welfare checks in the most vulnerable people until it closed on April 23.
Our council, including Mayor Isaac Smith, has been magnificent as were the emergency services volunteers who came from far and near to help. Among the volunteers who put their own lives on hold to help others, new leaders merged with the temperament and skills to mobilise teams of people who had never worked together before. In my opinion, those leaders – many of them in their early 20s – will be names to note as community leaders of the future.
Three weeks after the flood, there is still much to be done. Hundreds of residents are not back in their homes and some may never be able to return.  Many people will continue to need material help, many more will require emotional support and fundraising will continue to be required on top of the welcome financial assistance from government.
It is hoped that the Lismore Helping Hands Facebook page will continue with people linking up to help each other not just in relation to this flood event but for the future.
Volunteers can only do so much and it would be ideal to see an existing larger organisation take on the coordinating role of overseeing the wellbeing of flood-affected people into the longer term. Volunteers will still be needed to contribute a few hours or a day when they can but I think that the overarching coordination requires a paid project officer with the structure of a larger organisation to provide the framework. We cannot let the aftermath of the flood result in a loss of community cohesiveness or wellbeing. That would be an indictment on all of us and a tragedy that we must avoid.

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If I had a dollar for every person who asked me ‘How’s retirement?’ I’d be a wealthy woman. I’m not wealthy of course but life is full of new-found riches so I respond ‘I’m loving it and I can recommend it highly’.

It’s now just a little more than six months since I relinquished my role as Lismore Mayor in September 2016 and many people also ask me what I’m doing with all my free time.

As a firm believer in lifelong learning and challenging oneself, I knew that retirement was not going to be boring or sedentary but I didn’t really have more than a few simple ideas about what I’d do with my time. As you might imagine, I had quite a few invitations to join various community organisations but I took the advice of another politician who retired not so long ago, Don Page, and decided to take a ‘gap year’ or at least a gap six months. I wanted to keep my mind open to opportunities and they have unfolded in many wonderful ways.

My husband Ron and I had planned a three-week road trip to Victoria last October to visit family and for me to attend a high school reunion and a gathering of the Bungalow Girls, eight female student teachers who roomed together in a bungalow attached to a Geelong Teachers College hostel. I also announced that I was suspending my very active Facebook account for several months to make it clear that I was no longer a representative of Council or a conduit to it. I admit that I missed the contact with community during that time but it was also a way of giving necessary clear space for the new Mayor Isaac Smith without the ‘old grey mare’ in the background.

Jenny and Ron celebrating retirement before their road trip.

There is something sad and unfair about a retired politician staying on the sidelines and making comments about political decisions so I also resolved never to comment publicly on the voting outcomes of the new Council or to be used to pressure current Councillors on their decisions. I do admit to reading the Council business paper but will not attend meetings and I’ll keep my views on Council decisions to myself.

So apart from that road trip, what have I been up to since September 14?

I was well aware as I approached retirement that I was overweight and too sedentary, had a few aches and pains and wasn’t eating as well as I should. Two years earlier I’d participated in the Cancer Council’s Dance for Cancer and in my efforts to tap dance, I’d joined a gym and become quite fit but in the six months before retirement, I’d lapsed into poorer habits.

Fortunately through being an Ambassador for Heart Health for Women and attending a community heart check morning, I’d been encouraged by Jillian Adams, from Health Promotions here in Lismore to sign up for the NSW Health GetHealthy free phone coaching program. My first phone call from Pierre, my coach, came through on September 16 and from then on, until my graduation last month, I benefitted from the support to set my goals to get healthy.

Having met with the local coordinator of Parkrun in the lead up to its launch in April last year, I supported and walked in the first few Saturday events in Lismore but then dropped away as my motivation waned. But through the GetHealthy program, I set a goal to do something active every day. Mostly that involved walking but soon, to my great surprise, I found myself jogging short sessions. I hadn’t run since I was 11 years old in my first year of high school when I was the only girl Under 12 in October that year and had to run in the interschool athletics at Olympic Park in Melbourne. The embarrassment was immense as I was not at all sporty. So you might imagine my surprise to now find that I can run 5km without stopping and can do it in 33 minutes!

I now run every day for 4-6 kms and have cut out sugar, upped my intake of vegetables, snack less and have lost 14k. I feel fantastic and my back, knee and ankle pains have reduced or disappeared.

Jenny teaching residents at Caroona seated tap-dancing.

Volunteering was also on my ‘to do’ list and as I’d always liked Uniting’s model of Inspired Care, I became a volunteer at Kalina at Caroona in Goonellabah in February. Initially I spent a couple of hours with 6-8 ladies over a cup of tea chatting, reminiscing and laughing at often outrageous stories from their youth. Kay Cleverly, activities coordinator, lived up to her name when she came up with the bright idea that I could teach a group of residents to tap dance while seated. The challenge (apart from my very limited tap skills) was to devise something that would fit on residents’ feet to make a tap sound. The best ideas often come in the middle of the night and so I experimented with the base of drink cans that I collected from the local park, Velcro-ed onto shoes. They work a treat! We’re doing a simple tap dance to Que Sera Sera and having so much fun.

I have also accepted a role as Patron of Jodie’s Inspiration and the Lismore Art Club and continuing roles as Ambassador for the Cancer Council and as Patron of The Rivers College, Kadina campus P&C. Several other Patron roles will come to an end at the AGM of various organisations because my Patron role was linked with the Mayoral position.

My big secret desire during my years on Council was to see if I could act on stage. Although some would say being Mayor was a great preparation, I really had no idea if I could learn lines or take on a character but just before Christmas I fronted up to the Lismore Theatre Company’s Christmas Party, paid my membership and literally put my name in the hat for the evening’s Theatre Sports. I must have played a convincing monkey in a dental surgery and before I knew it I had an email from David Addenbrooke to offer me a supporting role as Aunt Julie in Hedda Gabler. I was stunned and excited! We began rehearsals in late January and opened on March 31 for six performances. ( lismoretheatrecompany.org.au/)

Taking to the boards in the supporting role of Aunt Julie in Hedda Gabler.

My husband Ron retired more than three years ago and went travelling without me several times while I was fulfilling my Mayoral duties but now I can join him so we are off to France and Italy for a long holiday in late April. I learned French at school but knew no Italian except for a few basic words so I enrolled in Beginners Italian with U3A and have been attending weekly lessons this term. U3A has so many wonderful courses but so far, I’m only enrolled in Italian and the weekly discussion group, Friday Forum.

Of course in the midst of all this activity, gardening and reading remain personal passions that I’ve always enjoyed and to which I can now devote more time. I read 2-3 books a week and have recently written a book review for the Richmond Tweed Regional Library newsletter.

A couple of other surprises have also come my way since I retired. Both directly relate to my role as Mayor and both fill me with that odd mixture of humility and pride.

The first was an invitation to become a Mayors’ Mentors for Local Government NSW, the peak state organisation for Councils. When I was Mayor I was very grateful to have the ex-Mayor of North Sydney, Genia McCaffery as my mentor and I’m now so pleased to be able to support other mayors in their often-challenging role by providing a confidential sounding board and guide.

Accepting an Honorary Doctorate at Southern Cross University.

The second great honour is one that was bestowed as recently as Saturday March 25 when I was awarded an Honorary Doctorate at Southern Cross University in recognition of my services to the Lismore community. As part of the award, given at a graduation ceremony, I was invited to give the Occasional Address for the third time. I owe SCU a great deal – in fact I can honestly say I would not have been Mayor if it were not for SCU. My family moved to Lismore in 1991 so that Ron could take up a Lecturing position here in the fledgling Tourism school. As someone who values education and understands the role that regional universities play, I am absolutely thrilled to be given this very special award.

So as readers can see, I’m embracing my retirement with enthusiasm. I love my life and being a cancer survivor, I understand that every day is a blessing. So, as far as the future is concerned…bring it on!

Hedda Gabler opens tonight, Friday April 7 at the Rochdale Theatre in Goonellabah.  Tickets are available for tonight, Saturday, & Wednesday evening. Sunday at 2.00pm is sold out, and Thursday April 13 at 8.00 pm is sold out. You can book tickets here:  lismoretheatrecompany.org.au/

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The Gallery has been heaving the last few weeks, as we fall under spell of local celebrity Geoff Hannah. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, Hannah is a Lismore-based woodworker – though ‘woodworker’ seems to underplay his extraordinary ability.

Geoff creates amazing cabinets from a multitude of timbers, stone and inlays. They are full of complexity, with hidden draws and secret compartments. The Chinoiserie Cabinet, (currently on display) took three years to complete, while his previous Hannah Cabinet took six years to finish. The latter is hoped to be brought home to Lismore permanently in the new Lismore Regional Gallery. Some of Geoff’s other major cabinets are located in the Governor General’s residence in Yarralumla and in private collections internationally.

Geoff started his trade at Lismore-based woodworking company, Brown & Jolly in 1963 before going out on his own. A tremendous shift in his career came in the mid-80s, when Hannah ceased working from commission. He chose to work instead on his own highly detailed and complex works that inspire nothing less than awe.

Geoff Hannah (centre) with the students, in front of his Chinoiserie Cabinet in LIsmore. Photo: Tree Faerie

In 1980 he was awarded a Churchill Fellowship which enabled him to research fine furniture from the period 1635-1850, while travelling throughout England and France.  A condition of the Fellowship was that the recipient had to ensure their learnings were shared with people back in Australia. Geoff has taken this up with relish, teaching students across the country and from his home workshop in Lismore for the past 30 years.

The exhibition at the Gallery includes a range of works by his Lismore students, some of whom have been with him for the past 20 years.  The exhibition also includes a 45 minute documentary commissioned by the Gallery, Secrets and Sawdust: a master and his students prepare, produced by David Lowe & Eve Jeffery from Cloudcatcher Media. This film takes us into Geoff’s classes to give us a sense of the trials and triumphs of working in wood. We also meet a number of his talented and devoted students as they prepare for a major exhibition.

Ex Mayor Jenny Dowell, turning the sod for the new Lismore Regional Gallery.

Additionally, a biography, Geoffrey Hannah: Never a Less Likely Bloke, has been published by Meg Heggen, and tells the wider story of Hannah, and what has led him to this point. The popularity of this exhibition has highlighted the constraints of the current Gallery, with attendees at artist talks being unable to be accommodated by the building. But this won’t be for much longer.

On Wednesday 7^th September the first sod was turned on construction of the new Lismore Regional Gallery and Lismore Quadrangle. It was particularly wonderful to share this with Member for Page, Kevin Hogan MP; Member Lismore, Thomas George MP; Mayor of Lismore Jenny Dowell; Gallery staff and Senior Council staff; project architect Dominic Finlay-Jones; Director of Bennet Constructions Darryl Piper and a big group of financial donors from the community along who have all been staunch advocates for this project. This was also one of Jenny Dowell’s final official engagements – so it was particularly fitting to share this moment with her.

Geoff  Hannah & Students: In Glue and Dust we Trust – showing until Saturday September 24.

Students include: Colin Fardon, Barbara Riordan, Jan Page, Sue Egan, Ted Slattery, Jade Hughes, Lucille Stace, Rick Stewart, Sally Bates, Brian Emery, Darren Shaw, Rob Hurford, Brian Henry, John Whittaker, Greg Foster, Paul Armour, Francesco Stassi, Daniel Prentice, Gary Shallala-Hudson, Paul Laird, Wendy Laird, Paul Frangos and David Gilmore.

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Lismore City Council won a Local Government Excellence Award for Environmental Leadership and Sustainability as well as a highly commended award for its Frontline Leaders Program at the Local Government Professionals Australia in Sydney the week before last on April.

The NSW Local Government Excellence Awards recognise councils that are achieving important milestones in their community and within their organisation and Council won the Environmental Leadership and Sustainability award for its organic certification of kerbside food and garden waste. Lismore was the first council in Australia to achieve this certification.

“We’re just so thrilled – organic certification was a long-held dream of ours and we can now proudly say that all our composting products are 100% organic certified,” Waste Operations Coordinator Kevin Trustum says.”We achieved organic certification for our green waste in 2012 but the kerbside certification was much more challenging and it took us another two years of development and testing.”

Trustum says  that during the Imagine Lismore community consultation in 2012, residents said they wanted Lismore to become a model of sustainability. He said Lismore City Council was working working hard to fulfil that vision.

“This award shows that we are getting there, step by step, project by project. We’re always looking to innovate, to try new things, to be progressive and employ new technologies to help us become more sustainable,” says Trustum. “We have now totally closed the loop on our green waste services – all our green waste is made into new products and sold to farmers and gardeners to go back into the ground. It means local organic producers can buy local, and the money we generate goes into investigating and implementing further sustainability and recycling initiatives.”

Lismore also received a highly commended award in the Operational and Management Effectiveness category for its Frontline Leaders Program. All supervisors at Lismore City Council were required to undertake the training program, which empowers workers to be good leaders in order to improve internal culture and enhance productivity.

A modified version of the training will be rolled out for all Council staff in 2016.

Frontline Leaders Coordinator Kath Parry receiving the highly commended award in Sydney on April 7.

For more information on Lismore City Council go to: lismore.nsw.gov.au

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The news this week that the Margaret Olley Arts Trust will be contributing $500,000 towards the redevelopment of Lismore Regional Gallery not only highlights the late artist’s ongoing commitment to Lismore, but also her commitment to regional galleries generally.

Philip Bacon, Executor of Margaret’s Estate, presented a cheque of $500,000 to Lismore Mayor Jenny Dowell on Friday, 18^th March, at Lismore Regional Gallery. In recognition of the support of the Margret Olley Arts Trust, we will name the main gallery space in the new Lismore Regional Gallery ‘The Margaret Olley Gallery’.

Bacon said, that “This was a project very close to Margaret’s heart, going as it did to her love of, and belief in, the value of regional galleries to their communities, with of course the added attraction that Lismore was her birthplace.”

‘Spare Bedroom’, one of Margaret Olley’s paintings at the Lismore Regional Gallery.

The Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Arts Centre artgallery has been a boon for the area, and while we are not replicating what Tweed has so successfully achieved, we see that being part of this network of spaces supported by Olley (which includes the New England Regional Art Museum)  neram.com.au will have fantastic benefits in the cultural tourism space. The contribution also cements this artist as one of the most philanthropic in the Australian art world.

Notwithstanding the fact that she was born here, Olley had a longstanding relationship with Lismore. She won the acquisitive Lismore Art Prize in 1958, and then, under the Directorship of Steven Alderton, supported the establishment of the Margaret Olley Arts Centre in Lismore from 2006.

While obviously disappointing at the time, the establishment of the Margaret Olley Arts Centre in Tweed was a chance for me to reconsider the Lismore project, and seek alternatives for a facility for Lismore.

Margaret Olley in the full glory of her Sydney studio.

The result is the Lismore Quadrangle development, a $5.8 million redevelopment in Keen Street, which includes a relocated Lismore Regional Gallery, café and bookshop, public piazza, and new car parking. The project gained certainty in December 2015 when $2.85m from the National Stronger Regions Fund was announced. This is due to open late 2017.

Mayor of Lismore, Jenny Dowell said of the gift: “Our community, like many artists and galleries that have been beneficiaries of Margaret’s generosity, is so grateful for her commitment to nurturing cultural life particularly in regional Australia. Margaret Olley will always hold a special place in Lismore’s heart and through this gift from her estate; she will have a presence in the heart of our city forever.”

For more information on the gallery go to: lismoregallery

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Lismore Mayor Jenny Dowell will be popping the champagne corks.

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Recently I spoke about Lismore’s quest to redevelop C-Block into a new art gallery at a conference at the beautiful and newly built Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA) [https://www.mamalbury.com.au/]. As I was introduced, I was asked how long Lismore had been working on this project. ‘Since 1902’, was my (only half-jokingly) answer.

Indeed, one of the first images I showed was a font page article from The Northern Star, dated 19 July 1902, in which artist H. Stuart Wilson suggested Lismore work towards establishing a gallery. Subsequently, architect J.A.V. Nisbitt was commissioned in 1939 to draw up plans for a proposed public library and cultural centre. This work is housed in our permanent collection.  And then, once Lismore Regional Gallery was housed (temporarily) in our current premises in 1954, the push continued. Newspaper articles from 1970, 1976, 1989, 2001, 2007 all point towards the desperate need to relocate Lismore Regional Gallery.

Countless people have been involved in this process over the year. The late John Stretch was active in not only setting up the Gallery and the Trust, but continued to lobby for better space. Directors Richard Maude, Irena Hatfield and particularly Steven Alderton worked hard to get this project off the ground. And then there were other people within the community who have worked tirelessly for this: Ros Derrett, Jyllie Jackson, Andrew Binns, Jan Davis, John & Myeka Page are just some of the many, many people involved in moving out of our current premises.

Lismore Regional Gallery has been in the same building since 1954. This photograph was taken in 1987

So when on Monday December 7, when it was announced that Lismore City Council would receive $2.85million to construct the Lismore Quadrangle lismore.nsw.gov.au it didn’t seem real. After all the past work, and many disappointments, it didn’t seem that this project would ever get off the ground. But now it will.

This funding, representing 50% of the full cost, means that we now have a 100% fully funded project (factoring in the expected fundraising campaign) and we have started discussions in earnest with Bangalow based architect, Dominic Finlay Jones dominicfinlayjones

While it’s early days to give firm dates, expectations are that building may commence around September 2016, with opening in mid-2017.

I will be working closely with the Friends of the Gallery to bring in dollars that were pledged to this project in 2013. To support this project, you can make a tax deductible donation by following the details on our website lismoregallery.org

And finally, without the support of Lismore Mayor Jenny Dowell, and Member for Page, Kevin Hogan MP, this project may very well have been realised many years into the future, so it is testament to the vision of these individuals.

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