There will be civic ceremonies marking Australia Day on Saturday, January 26 in Taree, Forster and Gloucester.

In Taree, a 7.30am free barbecue breakfast will be followed by a 9am ceremony at Club Taree. In Forster, get along for an 11am morning tea before the ceremony kicks off at 11.30am at Club Forster. In Gloucester, an 8am barbecue breakfast will take place before the 9am ceremony in Billabong Park.

Related reading: Celebrating Australia Day in Wingham

All ceremonies include entertainment (Manning Valley Concert Band, PCYC Acrobatics, Great Lakes Band or Gloucester High School), free flags and tattoo giveaways, free morning teas, colouring in competition entries on display, and giveaway family passes to Manning or the Great Lakes Aquatic and Leisure Centre, or free entry to the Gloucester pool from 2pm – 7pm.

Wherever you are, you’ll be able to join in the fun with community-organised ceremonies taking place at Coomba Park, Hallidays Point, Harrington, Old Bar, Tea Gardens/Hawks Nest, and Wingham.

There are also activities throughout the day in Bulahdelah, Forster, Tuncurry, Gloucester and North Arm Cove.

Related reading: Australia Day Convoy of classic cars from Wingham to Old Bar

Manning and Great Lakes

The Australia Day Ambassador for the Manning and the Great Lakes is Kylie Hilder, a passionate sportswoman who has played national level touch football, with 57 appearances for Australia between 2001 and 2015. She has also just been named in the Touch Football Australia Golden Jubilee Mixed Open Team as one of the 14 best mixed players from the last 50 years.

Kylie began playing touch football in 1994 in Wingham and went on to be chosen in State under 20, then Opens, Australian mixed and Open Women’s touch football sides. She was inducted into the Greater Taree City Sporting Hall of fame in 2008.

Now 42, Kylie is in fine form playing NRL Women’s with the Sydney Roosters who came second in the inaugural NRL Women’s premiership. Kylie’s love for the sport extends to her career, currently working as a women’s participation officer for Country Rugby League.

Kylie is a wonderful representative of the MidCoast region and a fantastic role model for our young sport stars.

Gloucester

Gloucester will celebrate with Ambassador Brett Stibners OAM, or “Sticky” as his friends call him, a former member of the Australian men’s wheelchair basketball team who has won a gold and a silver medal at consecutive Paralympic games. 

As a very talented sportsman, Brett played indoor hockey for Australia at both under 21 and senior level. At age 21, Brett was driving home when he fell asleep at the wheel and suffered a severe accident. 

In 2003, Brett began competing in wheelchair basketball. He made his first Australian wheelchair basketball team in 2006 and competed at the Gold Cup in Amsterdam. Brett describes his first Paralympic Games in Beijing as a dream come true. He was a key contributor in the spectacular Games performance that earned the Rollers their first Paralympic gold medal in 12 years. 

In 2009 Brett received an Order of Australia Medal for Service to Sport. Brett volunteers his time to help others. He is the current ambassador for the 'Stay Awake Campaign' , which highlights the early signs of fatigue and regularly speaks to school and corporate groups about safety and living with a disability.

Brett currently plays for the Wollongong Roller Hawks and was a key figure in Wollongong winning the 2011 and 2012 NWBL titles.

Further information is available at www.midcoast.nsw.gov.au/australiaday.