John Hillier - Finalist in Parks Victoria Kookaburra Awards

On Monday 3 October, Parks Victoria announced the winners of the Kookaburra Awards 2005, presented by the Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment, Hon. Elaine Carbines MP at a ceremony at Brimbank Park .

Long-time parklands volunteers, John Hillier was a finalist in the "Lifetime Achievement" Award category.  John was nominated by parklands for his long standing work on the High Country Rail Trail and Bonegilla  Block 19.

John has been working away behind the scenes since the late 1990's to lobby for the preservation of the disused Wodonga-Cudgewa railway line for future generations to access this public reserve as a rail trail.  John has lobbied all levels of government to ensure this Crown land was not sold off.  He has liaised with landholders from Kiewa River through to Sandy Creek, founded the Wodonga-Cudgewa Rail Trail Advisory Group Inc and supported the establishment of the Tallangatta Rail Trail Advisory Group to develop the Sandy Creek to Old Tallangatta section of the trail.

To summarize John Hillier's substantial contribution towards developing, managing and marketing the High Country Rail Trail in such a short space would be impossible.  More than $392,925, now considerably more with the Tallangatta Advisory Group, worth of volunteer time and donated materials has been invested over the past two years in the establishment of the High Country Rail Trail.  Much of this has been negotiated by John Hillier.  Bower bird, map maker, planner, recruiter, chaser of sponsors & grants, designer of signs, history & heritage adviser, working bee coordinator, risk management assessor and implementer & much much more. 

It is due to John's unwavering enthusiasm and commitment to making the vision a reality, that the High Country Rail Trail has jumped numerous hurdles, political minefields and challenges.  John is a champion of the saying:  "Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has". (Margaret Mead)

Developed for the 1998 Centenary Celebrations of National Parks, the awards recognise the contribution made by individuals and groups in the community to the contributions towards the preservation, enhancement and expansion of Victoria's system of parks and reserves. The objectives of the Parks Victoria Kookaburra Awards are:

• To recognise and honour individuals and groups who have made an outstanding contribution to the development of the Victorian park system, above and beyond what may have been expected of them through their employment
• To raise awareness of the extent and importance of the community's involvement in the development of the Victorian park system,
• To encourage community involvement in the future development and conservation and use of the park system.

To find out more about the worthy winners of these awards head to Parks Victoria's website: http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/