Media Release

Friday, 23 October 2009

Murray River Challenge Cup

Sunday, October 11 saw the inaugural Murray River Challenge Cup take place at the Swan Hill Recreation Oval – an absolutely fantastic concept that brought communities together for a great day out.

The event, which took the form of a round robin Twenty20 cricket competition, saw Indigenous and non-Indigenous players and police from along the Murray come together in the spirit of sport and harmony, with teams represented from Mildura, Robinvale, Swan Hill, Kerang, Echuca and Shepparton.

This was a whole-of-community event and it was great to see the number of people down at the Recreation Oval supporting the competition.

The event was also greatly supported by Cricket Victoria, who has now taken up the challenge to expand it through other regions in Victoria.

A big congratulations to the Murray River Challenge Cup Committee on the organisation of the competition, including Alan “Boondie” Walsh from Sunraysia Institute of TAFE, Council's Rob Connelly, Inspector Gary Bennett and Nicola Perry from Victoria Police, Cricket Victoria's Andrew Farlie, the Department of Education and Childhood Development's Sue Connelly, and Paul Murray and Wayne Walsh from the Department of Justice.

In discussing the organising committee, I would also just like to make special mention of Boondie Walsh who came up with the original concept of this competition, which was a great success and we all look forward to this important event being a permanent fixture on Victoria's sporting calendar.

Irrigation Australia conference

It was very pleasing to officially welcome the 350-plus delegates from Irrigation Australia to Swan Hill for their conference last Sunday. The delegates were really impressed with the way everything was organised and set up for them and had a great time visiting and getting to know our town.

The official welcome reception for the delegation was held at Spoons Riverside and included a tour of the Pioneer Settlement, with the Sound and Light tour, a cruise on the Pyap and entertainment around the Settlement in full swing – leaving a great impression on the conference delegates.

The weather was great and it was also fantastic to have our motels full, and what's more, show that as a town how well we can host big events such as these and we hope to be able to host similar events in the future.

Community Planning sessions

On a final note, don't forget to attend one of the community planning sessions for Swan Hill taking place in November.

Residents have the choice to attend one of three meetings at the Town Hall on Tuesday, November 10 at 10.30 am, Wednesday, November 11 at 2.00 pm or Thursday, November 12 from 7.00 pm.

These meetings will help to shape the way forward for the city of Swan Hill and is the chance for you to let your voice be heard as to what you would like to see for the future of our city.