2020 Year in Review: April-June

APRIL 2: A COLLECTIVE effort between the Torquay SLSC, a Bellarine community food project and one of the region’s federal Parliamentarians established a new Surf Coast-based program for the most vulnerable in a matter of days. Feed Me Surf Coast was broadly similar to Feed Me Bellarine, set up by Lana Purcell in Ocean Grove last year and now feeding needy families across the Bellarine Peninsula each week.

APRIL 9: The Jack Harris Memorial Trust presented a $32,673.64 cheque to Torquay SLSC, bringing the total it had donated to the club since its establishment in 1995 to more than $190,000. The donation was used to reimburse the club for its recent purchase of two IRB motors and an All-Terrain Vehicle.

APRIL 16: THE Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) bowed to “significant opposition” to its proposed new ward boundaries of the Surf Coast Shire council and instead put forward more modest changes. The VEC released its final report into the local council subdivision review for the shire earlier in April.

APRIL 23: PEOPLE in the Surf Coast Shire and surrounds were urged to #STANDTO and Light Up the Dawn to commemorate Anzac Day (April 25) after services were cancelled for the first time in more than 100 years. The Returned and Service Leagues (RSL) encouraged people to take part in alternate Anzac Day services and stay home due to the coronavirus pandemic.

APRIL 30: THE Surf Coast Shire pressed ahead with its budget for the coming financial year, saying its proposed spending measures are not only in response to the coronavirus pandemic but also for the years ahead. The budget proposed a 2 per cent rate increase and $30 million to be spent on capital works.

MAY 7: A JAN Juc local’s aptitude for cooking saw him generously prepare, cook and deliver free meals to the Surf Coast’s vulnerable during the coronavirus pandemic. Mitch Knapton whipped up a sizeable pot of spaghetti bolognese for his wife Louise and their three-year-old daughter before the family realised the meal could feed more than three mouths.

MAY 14: THERE was a slight easing of restrictions on people’s movement in the Surf Coast Shire and across Victoria, as the state government continued to try to limit the spread of thev coronavirus. As of 11.59pm on May 12, a fifth reason for leaving home was been added – it was now okay to visit family and friends, with up to five visitors allowed at a home and groups of no more than 10 if meeting outdoors.

MAY 21: GOOD weather combined with loosened coronavirus restrictions in Victoria saw a spike in people out and about on the Surf Coast at the weekend, but local and state governments are urging people to keep following the social distancing rules. Cafes, pubs and restaurants were to re-open their doors from the start of June to serve meals to up to 20 customers in each enclosed space.

MAY 28: Schools gradually welcomed students back into their classrooms after weeks of separation because of the coronavirus pandemic. Torquay P-6 College principal Jessica Kelly said her staff were on site the day before the college’s Prep to Grade 2 pupils wandered through the school’s gates for the first time since late March.

JUNE 4: ACCOMMODATION providers across the Surf Coast welcomed new guests on June 3 for the first time in several weeks. Overnight stays were now permitted, albeit with some restrictions. Surf Coast Holiday Rentals owner David Muir said the sudden change in restrictions was a pleasant surprise.

JUNE 11: THE siren sounded on senior footy and netball for this year across the Geelong region, with the Bellarine Football Netball League, Colac and District Football and Netball League, Geelong Football Netball League and Geelong and District Football League competitions officially cancelled on June 9.

JUNE 18: SUPPORTERS of a pool in Torquay welcomed the findings of a feasibility study into building an aquatic centre in the town, and said the proposal for the $38 million facility was the closest they’ve come to their wishes coming true. The council commissioned the study in response to the $30 million in election commitments for the aquatic centre.

JUNE 25: THE Surf Coast Shire council’s chief executive officer Keith Baillie resigned from the role after more than five years. Mr Baillie, who became the new chief executive officer of Geelong not-for-profit Gforce Employment Solutions in September, said the council had made “strong progress in being a great organisation”, in areas such as financial, project and asset management, governance and the
customer experience.