Mayor’s Column: Ross Ebbels from the Borough of Queenscliffe, March 12

THE Queenscliffe Literary Festival has fast established itself as one of the hottest tickets in town for anyone with a love for the written word.

The Borough of Queenscliffe is the core sponsor of the festival and we have enjoyed watching it grow from its infancy in 2015 to where it is today, attracting big names and drawing huge sold-out crowds to many of its events. Launching the program last week was author, journalist and television presenter Tony Jones, who many of you will know as the former long-time host of ABC panel show Q&A. Tony was in conversation with Melbourne novelist JP Pomare, discussing his pair of crime thrillers, and it was a joy to be in the audience alongside many other keen observers to hear him speak. This year’s festival takes place over three weeks from May 8-24 and I know of many people and families who travel down to the Borough over a weekend to take in the events. I suggest everyone do the same – it’s a great time to be had.

I was honoured to be a part of the Mullagh Wills Foundation Trophy pre-match celebration at the cricket match last Saturday week between Queenscliff and Anglesea’s B-Grade sides. The 154-year-old story of the Australian Aboriginal cricket team working through immense hardship and travel restrictions to show their skills on the international stage is quite remarkable. Being part of the smoking ceremony alongside Wotjobaluk Elder Richard Kennedy was an experience that filled me with pride. Thank you to Richard for presenting us with a message stick, which now takes pride of place in council offices. Thank you also to the Mullagh Wills Foundation for their passing on of the leather-bound message book, which has now journeyed overseas and throughout the numerous different towns that were instrumental in the history of the Indigenous cricket team.

A big well done to the group of hardy volunteers from the Rotary Club of Queenscliffe who took to our beaches on Clean Up Australia Day. I was more than happy to venture out to lend a hand to the dozen or so people who gave up their own time to put the beauty of our Borough ahead of a Sunday sleep-in. It’s well established that the rate of volunteering in Queenscliffe is greater than anywhere else in the state (and probably the country!) and this event was testament to that.

Tickets are selling fast to the SacredEdge Festival run by Uniting Queenscliff which returns bigger and better than ever for 2020. At the time of writing, the first two ticket releases had already sold-out more than two months in advance of the first show, which demonstrates how popular this wonderfully inclusive and diverse event has become. Council is proud to be a sponsor of the SacredEdge Festival, whose presenters are made up of “voices from the edge who are vulnerable and not normally heard” – I encourage everyone to open their mind and take in as many of these presentations as possible.

Join myself and fellow councillors for our next Listening Post, to be held at Point Lonsdale Bowls Club on April 27 at 10am. The next Ordinary Meeting of Council is at 7pm on March 26 at the Queenscliff Town Hall.

Please feel free to say hi when you see me around the Borough.

Cr Ross Ebbels

Mayor, Borough of Queenscliffe