Diane Grant has been a part of the district’s local news scene for nearly 40 years.
She arrived in the region in 1968 as Diane Laverie with her then-husband, Ian.
Ian’s job meant they lived in various locations, but after 15 years, the couple settled in Avenel with their three kids.
“We became part of the community there and felt we finally belonged somewhere,” she said.
That’s when she began her adventure in journalism, with stories about community groups such as churches, scouts and schools.
As a military wife, she replied to articles about army wives in The Sun and Par Oneri Australian Army Transport Journal.
Then, she worked for Olga Harrison of the Seymour Shire Home Helper, who handed her the ‘Activities in Avenel’ column when Olga was sick.
What started as a small-scale news and photography role led to her first byline a year later — ‘By Diane Laverie’ becoming a familiar sight for readers.
“I learned to use my Canon camera and improve my writing skills,” she said.
Diane began writing and photographing local events in Avenel during the 1980s.
She became integral to the town’s community groups and events scene.
Armed with her small Olivetti typewriter and paper, she wrote about Avenel until early 1991.
“It (the articles) were collected each Friday by a lady called Fay,” she said.
“It was taken to the office and re-done by the editor for the next Wednesday’s edition.”
Besides photography and writing, Diane has a great passion for art.
“I painted a mural on the Jubilee Park toilet block in Avenel in 1984 with my son, Matthew, and Kim Hayes,” she said.
“It lasted for over two decades there as a town attraction.”
She also painted the 150-year mural at Goulburn Park Sound Shell in Seymour with the help of some locals.
When Diane left Avenel, the Seymour Telegraph’s Alan Brock was advertising for a social writer and a photographer.
Lo and behold, she got both jobs rolled into one. From 1991, she wrote a good-sized column about the many social events in town.
While writing for the Telegraph, she also secured jobs at the Puckapunyal Army Base, with roles ranging from the switchboards to various public service positions.
She contributed to the Boomerang magazine and was its editor for nine years until 2013.
She is still known as the ‘Boomerang Lady’ around the district.
Diane finally got her first computer in 1993, and she said she thanked God for emails.
“I no longer had to go to the Telegraph office to type my stories on the Cybergraphic machine or send the photos to Shepparton for inclusion in the paper,” she said.
Professional photographer Karl Mikainis took her under his wing and taught her more photographic skills suitable for the newspaper.
“It was amazing how good the photos looked when colour printing came in,” she said.
At the time, the Telegraph featured new babies each week.
Diane went along and took photos, which the community loved.
“For many years, I took new arrivals at the Seymour Hospital for the paper.”
“That was a very special time when babies were welcomed into our world.”
In 2000, Diane married truckie John Grant, moved to Nagambie a year later, and has since written for local papers.
She kept her job at the Telegraph until 2008 but has occasionally contributed to keeping Seymour folks abreast of what was happening in Nagambie.
For 40 years, many organisations, clubs, schools, churches, individuals, theatrical and dance groups, families and towns have benefited from Diane’s articles and photos of their activities.
After a long and fruitful career, Diane plans to put down her pen in June 2024.
“My brain is willing to carry on, but my body is saying otherwise,” she said.
“I enjoyed writing about the ‘hatches, matches and despatches’ as they say in the paper business.”