"A part of the crew": Railway stalwart pushes others to begin new challenge

VOLUNTEERS play a vital role in the day-to-day life of local community organisations, and the same can be said for long-time team member of The Bellarine Railway, Leo Kelly.

Mr Kelly has been at The Bellarine Railway for 15 years and is an integral part of the team of 40 volunteers, which he says is like a second family.

“I’m a part of the crew, nothing more than that,” Mr Kelly said.

“We all see ourselves as team members, and we all love what we do here.

“Personally, the railway provides the perfect challenge for me, no matter what the day is, it’s so rewarding to offer the community the services that we provide.”

Mr Kelly has been a volunteer at The Bellarine Railway since 2008.

A former airplane engineer from Moonee Ponds, having worked in the United Kingdom, Australia and India, the 87-year-old initially arrived in Portarlington in 2008 looking to buy a holiday house but came across a stranger painting a fence along the coastal railway in Drysdale.

Once he told the stranger his occupation, he was then directed toward the office of The Bellarine Railway in Queenscliff and has provided his services free of charge ever since.

“‘Volunteering is a wonderful way to spend your spare time’- it’s what I say to people, whether it be as a crossing guard, working in the railway kiosk, a driver, there’s so many ways to contribute at the station and at organisations in general,” Mr Kelly added.

“For me though, it was the whole bloody lot of it that appealed to myself.”

Leo Kelly said his favourite part about volunteering is taking on a new challenge. He is one of 40 volunteers at The Bellarine Railway.

The Bellarine Railway Station president Steve Dalton said Mr Kelly’s contributions have been imperative to the railway’s operations since 2008.

“We try to reinforce the mindset among our volunteers that we are a team, and very few people embody that spirit more than Leo,” Mr Dalton said.

“Every time I come down to the station, there is Leo, tinkering away at something, fixing something, and he does a heap of running around for the office as well.

“We’re extremely lucky to have someone like him selflessly contributing his time the way that he does.”

The Borough of Queenscliff recently held its Community Service Awards night on Wednesday.

National Volunteer Week is on from May 15 to 21.