Anakie achievement

LOCAL government always provides unexpected pleasures and last week was no different when Cr Sarah Hathway and I attended and officially opened the new Anakie Football and Netball Club social rooms.

Why was this an unexpected pleasure?

Well, nearly 200 members of the community turned up to this event, which is the largest I have seen from any opening I have been a part of since being re-elected in 2017.

The size of the gathering and the smiles on the faces reflected the importance of this investment for the Anakie township and this down-to-earth local sports club.

This event was the culmination of a long and rewarding process, both for myself, members of the club and especially their tireless advocate and legendary president Heath Menhennet.

Former councillor Kylie Grzybek and I held numerous strategic meetings with the Roos to discuss tactics and processes to achieve budget funding success in the Council for these upgrades and we arranged the first ever full Geelong Council meeting in Anakie in 2019 in the old club rooms.

This also generated a full house of locals, as well as officers and residents from across the region.

For many it was the first time they had visited Anakie.

It was quite amazing to see the completed rooms last week, because for so long Anakie has been left behind in comparison to other clubs across the region.

The Anakie Football and Netball Club is a living organisation which brings new faces and attention to Anakie every time a game of footy is played there, every time a netball match is held there, every time a cricket game is held there and every time a social event is conducted at the club.

The weekly meals are a very important social gathering for what is a small but very tight-knit rural community, but unfortunately the old clubhouse, although well-loved, had reached the end of its life many years ago.

That is part of the reason I am so proud of this new facility, because Council has funded the entirety of this project, to the tune of $2.85 million.

Despite the budgetary pressures we are facing, this highlights our commitment to supporting local sports clubs and the infrastructure projects that matter to them.

The investment at Anakie includes a large club and social room, a kitchen, gym, cool room, unisex accessible amenities, a timekeepers’ space, and administration office.

The first stage of this project was new change rooms, opened in 2018, the second stage was the oval’s lighting upgrades, the third stage was the social club rooms opened last week and the fourth stage includes plans for a second netball court.

I want to thank the Anakie Football and Netball Club for the work they did in advocating for all these projects – they really do know how to put on the country charm and hospitality – and acknowledge Rendine Constructions and AVOR Architecture for the work they did in completing the building.

The City of Greater Geelong and AFL Barwon strategic infrastructure plan ranked priorities of clubs and told us Anakie had the worst change rooms in the competition – infamously, sheep used to roam the old change rooms regularly.

But owing to some good old fashioned community lobbying, the Anakie Roos now have a facility the entire community can be extremely proud of.

And it is important to note that the entire community will benefit from this facility.

There is a multipurpose room that community groups can use, and I know the local school will be looking to use the internal pavilion for concerts and events.

So congratulations to Anakie, and let’s hope the off-field momentum goes a small way to helping the club transform itself on the field in the years ahead.

Cr Anthony Aitken

Windermere Ward, City of Greater Geelong