By Brendan Rees
The Aussie spirit was in full swing in Berwick for the annual Australia Day celebrations.
Carrying Australia flags, families flooded Pioneers Park to celebrate with true Aussie pride.
Run by the Rotary Club of Berwick and supported by the City of Casey, crowds enjoyed a barbecue, live entertainment, face painting, emergency service vehicle displays, vintage machinery displays, food stalls, wood chopping, whip-cracking and more.
Wearing a ceremonial garb, City of Casey’s town crier led a parade featuring members of the Australian Air Force Cadets – 403 Squadron of Beaconsfield, the Berwick Pipers, Casey mayor Susan Serey and Berwick Australia Day ambassador Andrew Asten.
Following a flag raising ceremony and a rendition of the Australian anthem sung by 17-year-old Dhee Wickramasinghe of Berwick, the mayor welcomed the crowds during a presentation at the rotunda.
“It’s great to see so many people gathered for what is always a fantastic family and community event,” Cr Serey said.
“Australia Day is a time to reflect on what it means to be Australian, the journey taken to this point and the aspirations we share for our future.
“As the daughter of migrants I take great pride in what Australia has become and the aspirations we all share for an even better future. The popular song ‘I am Australian’ opened with the line ‘we are one but we are many’ and characterises the sentiment of many of us who have indeed have come from all the layers on Earth.
“So today is about you enjoying each other’s company and sharing the sense of pride and the longing we have as a community and as a nation … local events such as this foster community bond between neighbours, friends, family community organisations.”
Cr Serey added: “I would like to make a special mention to our volunteers whose work, goodwill, and sacrifice make our community our state and nation better and stronger. Let us also thank those who have helped in various ways for our bushfire affected communities.”
Australia Day ambassador Andrew Asten was special guest for the day, who has coordinated the Face up to Poverty campaign and also founded Oaktree’s Schools 4 Schools program to provide life-changing educational opportunities to students across the developing world. He thanked the Berwick Rotary Club of Berwick for their “valuable” event” before describing Australia Day as “a great celebration of our nation, of our character and all that we’ve accomplished together.”
Isabelle Caulfield, president of the Rotary Club of Berwick, said its volunteers had been fundraising hard to support BlazeAid – a volunteer-based organisation helping rebuild the lives of bushfire affected communities.
“A week ago we set up a Facebook fundraising page with the aim of raising $24,000 for one (combat ready) trailer … and this morning we have raised $34,000,” Ms Caulfield said.
