Inaugural members of Cobram’s Neighbourhood Watch were celebrated last week at the organisation’s 35th birthday.
The ceremony celebrated its seven remaining founding members, Peter Brookes, Jim Cahill, Noel Gould, Janice Hickey, Ian Johnston, Rosa Neuwirth and Margaret Wallace, for their 35 years of service to the group.
The group was started in Cobram in 1987 with an aim to encourage neighbourhoods to look after each other, as well as police and community co-operation to combat crime.
Its aim is to also educate community members on how to protect themselves.
“It’s incredibly important to recognise those who have given their time to Cobram’s Neighbourhood Watch,” Cobram’s Neighbourhood Watch communication organiser Ron Renfrew said.
“These volunteers have helped out at community events, they’ve delivered newsletters, attended meetings and they’ve also kept the community safe, so we felt we needed to show our appreciation to them.
“I expect that when we reach our 40th birthday, we will be having a similar celebration to recognise those who have given 40 years to the Neighbourhood Watch.”
The celebration took place on Thursday, July 14, with Cobram Mayor Libro Mustica handing out the certificates of recognition, along with two Victoria Police officers.
“It was great to have Mayor Mustica and the two police officers in attendance as it showed their appreciation of our work and our efforts to keep the community safe,” Mr Renfrew said.
When the group was initiated in Cobram in 1987, 130 volunteers signed up to the watch, marking the first time a whole town was to become a Neighbourhood Watch area in Victoria
“We have 86 volunteers who still hand out newsletters, with 2880 newsletters printed and distributed each month.”
“Thirty-five years on, we still cover over 95 per cent of the town which is pretty remarkable,” Mr Renfrew said.
Cobram’s Neighbourhood Watch meets on the first Thursday of each month at the Community Centre on Punt Rd at 2pm, except for January and July when no meetings are held.