DAVID HICKMAN, founder of Eltham Basketball ClubBasketball coach David Hickman has seen Eltham Basketball Club grow from a rag-tag bunch of 16 teenage boys to a local sporting institution with more than 2000 members of all ages.
‘‘I was a teacher at Eltham High School, that’s how the club started – I was asked to look after basketball,’’ says Hickman, who has been involved in the club for 45 years.
Now the club has more than 2000 players, including two men’s and two women’s teams that compete at an elite level. And Hickman is still instrumental to the club as a coach and an organiser.
He spends about 30 to 35 hours a week working for the club, including coaching the Friday night boys’ teams and some of the high-school aged boys’ teams, who train on Saturdays. But he’s not alone in his dedication; the players pay him back by helping out with the running of the much-loved club.
‘‘I guess one of the specialities of the club is the fact that we involve lots of young people in administration, coaching and refereeing,’’ Hickman says.
‘‘It provides them with skills and gives them a sense of belonging.’’
ROHAN THORNTON, North Warrandyte CFA captain
Being involved in the CFA is not just about fighting fires. Rohan Thornton says it’s about being part of the community. The North Warrandyte resident joined the CFA 15 years ago, saying it is the ‘‘definitive community organisation’’.
‘‘We recently had an internal competition to come up with a motto, and one of the guys came up with: ‘From the community, for the community’. It best describes what we do.’’
ALLAN LACEY, longtime market stallholder
Since its inception more than 30 years ago, St Andrews Market has undergone many changes, but one thing has remained constant – Allan ‘‘the toolman’’ Lacey. What started as a way to get rid of some unwanted gardening tools quickly evolved into a regular stall at the popular market. ‘‘We sold everything [so] we had to go and buy more stuff,’’ he says. ‘‘It was quite good. I met everyone, I thought it was really nice. It’s a nice interest for me.’’
The Montmorency resident buys his tools from auctions and other markets, and brings them back to his stall. ‘‘We sell garden tools, axes, shovels, chisels, anything we can get, we take a range of stuff,’’ he says.
Lacey doesn’t sell at any other market and that’s the way he likes it. ‘‘[St Andrews] has got a nice atmosphere and I like it. You get to know all the customers and they keep coming back.”
KEN SAVAGE, Happy Times newspaper publisher
‘‘Pongophobia: The uncomfortable thought that you forgot to use deodorant before having tea with the Queen.’’ This, and other tidbits, are the quirky thoughts and humorous lines you will find within the pages of Happy Times, published by 87-year-old Eltham resident Ken Savage.
Happy Times is a six-page pamphlet produced bi-monthly and distributed to members of Greensborough RSL. Savage types up the articles, jokes and quizzes before photocopying and stapling the pages together. He does it because he says RSL members need a little happiness in their lives.
When he’s not at the club or working on the newsletter, he paints. ‘‘I’m pushing 90 and that is enough exercise for me.’’
Savage moved to Australia from England 60 years ago. ‘‘I don’t know if I’m English, Australian or just a bloody nuisance,’’ he says.
GEOFF MATHEWS, Briar Hill Primary School crossing guard
‘‘Everyone knows me name,’’ Geoff Mathews says, laughing. The 63-year-old Briar Hill crossing guard doesn’t just provide a necessary service – helping school children cross the notoriously busy Sherbourne Road – he has also become a much-loved community figure.
‘‘My favourite part of the job is making a lot of friends in the community, with the schools and with the people that drive past me, and I’ve made a lot of friends from all parts of the community,’’ Mathews says.
The community rallied behind Mathews in late 2008 when his job was threatened after a local businessman complained about cars honking their horns at the popular lollipop man. A petition was organised and supporters posted signs and balloons on the crossing, until Mathews’ job was assured.
‘‘That was wonderful because the community got right behind me,’’ he says, as he waves to a woman walking her dog next to his crossing.
IAN FLACK, St Andrews Bushfire Recovery Association chairman
Ian Flack doesn’t think he does anything particularly special. But for many St Andrews and Christmas Hills residents, Flack has often been the first person they discuss rebuilding their bushfire- devastated townships with. ‘‘I think everyone involved in the recovery committee should be proud of the roles we’ve played,’’ Flack says. ‘‘I just like to think I played my role.’’
The St Andrews resident didn’t lose his house during Black Saturday, but many in the small township did, and 12 people died.
The rebuilding process has been tough both mentally and physically for residents, but there has been one silver lining, Flack says.
‘‘It’s obviously been challenging but I’ve found it fairly rewarding as well, just the opportunity to help your neighbours you didn’t know that well prior to the fire.
‘‘Certainly, I think it’s built a general feeling of community. To a certain extent, we were individuals living near each other, whereas now we’re relying on each other a lot more, so it’s probably built a stronger sense of community than prior to the fires.’’
SIGMUND JORGENSEN, Montsalvat
board member
When asked what he thinks about being called a local treasure, Sigmund Jörgensen laughs: ‘‘I prefer to be considered local trash!’’
Jörgensen is almost as well-known in Eltham as at Montsalvat, arguably the area’s most iconic institution. Founded by his father, Justus, in 1935, Jörgensen grew up at Montsalvat and has always helped run the artists colony.
‘‘I’ve lived here since 1940. Back in the ’40s and ’50s, the arts were regarded as very odd by the general community,’’ the former Nillumbik councillor says.
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