General News
17 October, 2025
Award nominations open
Locals are invited to show their appreciation of those who have given back to the community by nominating them for the local 2026 Australia Day Awards.
From now until the end of next week, the community are invited to look inwards to highlight those who bring value to their community.
Residents can nominate a person or community initiative to put them in the running for three award categories: Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year and Community Event or Project of the Year.
Central Goldfields Shire mayor Grace La Vella said the awards are an opportunity to celebrate and recognise the achievements and contributions made by so many in the community.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have so many community-minded volunteers in our shire who go above and beyond to make our community a wonderful place to live,” she said.
“Now we need your help to recognise our next group of inspiring community members.”
This year’s Young Citizen of the Year, Ella Govan, encourages locals not to overthink it and put in a nomination.
“You never know what will turn out from it and it’s a nomination so you never know what it could bring to a person,” she said.
Despite her award, she said the nomination alone was a meaningful recognition of her volunteering and advocacy for mental health awareness.
“It just means that many people have recognised my efforts and sacrifices I’ve put in to the community,” she said.
It’s that dynamic Ms Govan wants the community to realise. A nomination alone, even without an award, can mean a lot to someone.
It’s a sentiment this year’s Citizen of the Year Janet Watts echoed.
“Look at the wonderful people in our community who contribute so much but who don’t look for recognition,” she said.
“There are so many people out there who are very deserving of it.”
Ms Watts said she has nominated someone in the past, and although he didn’t win the award, the nomination alone meant a lot to him.
“The mere fact somebody nominated him gave this person great pride in himself,” she said.
Cr La Vella encourages the community to get their nominations in between now and midnight on Sunday, October 26.
“If you know someone who has made a valuable contribution to our community, I urge you to nominate them so that they can be celebrated and recognised for their tireless efforts,” she said.
Nominations can be submitted online, on council’s website, or through hard copies available at the council office.