For George Town, Australia Day stood for more than a public holiday or a day to consider what "Australia" is.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
From an intimate pool party held by George Town council and featuring local businesses and musicians to a man who had serviced the region in multiple ways, Australia Day represented what it meant to be a member of the Northern Tasmanian community.
To start the day, at the George Town council awards, lifelong Ambulance Tasmania devotee and active community contributor 64-year-old Michael Barrenger was bestowed as the municipality's Citizen of the Year.
Though Mr Barrenger was the winner for 2021, he could well have been considered to be the citizen of the last three decades with his contributions dating back to 1984 when he first moved to George Town.
Sine then, he has worked his day job as a paramedic while contributing locally to Rotary, APEX, TasFire, SES and George Town RSL - a place his nominator Gary Byard said he brought back from the brink.
In what is apparently true Michael Barrenger form he almost missed the ceremony due to a combination of work and humility.
"I nearly missed the ceremony this morning not knowing that I was going to be presented with anything but I came into work at 7:30 and 10 minutes later I got sent out on an urgent job thenI got back just in time," he said.
"And I was even in the middle fo the ceremony and got a work related phone call so I had to sneak out and take it."
AUSTRALIA DAY 2021 IN NORTHERN TASMANIA:
For Mr Barrenger to be recognised by George Town council, the community he said he had grown to love, was the most special part of being the recipient of the award.
"It's for my own benefit that I contribute, it was a good place to bring up my kids and I feel vindicated that I'm almost a local now that I'm Citizen of the Year," he said.
"I'm proud of the community, I really am."
Nominator Mr Byard said nominating Mr Barrenger was a no-brainer and that he embodied every positive thing George Town stood for.
Later in the day, at the ceremony "after-party", everyone was welcomed along to the second-ever George Town Pool Party at the local swimming centre.
George Town council general manager Shane Power, who attended the event himself with his family, said it was a successful day.
He said there were 350 tickets for the free event, which were all exhausted.
Local brother/sister duo Maggie and Jack Taylor filled the airwaves with dulcet tunes and a measured amount of Aussie crawl and said the opportunity to perform was one they could not pass up.
"I think the day is just a good event for George Town. We haven't really had the opportunity to have many and I think it's a good today to celebrate everyone," Ms Taylor said.
"For us it's more about the community spirit and coming together," Mr Taylor said.
The value of the community event was reiterated by George Town grandparents Tony and Shirley Janssens. The Janssens moved to the area from Queensland 10 years ago and were soon joined by their daughter after she visited and fell in love with the place as well.
Having an Australia Day event so close to home gave the Janssens another opportunity to engage with the community they so appreciated.
"It's our local community and you've got to support the local community," Mrs Janssens said.
"It's really relaxing here, the atmosphere here is really beautiful."
What do you think? Send us a letter to the editor:
