Australia Day will be celebrated across the Hindmarsh Shire with events hosted in Dimboola, Jeparit, Rainbow, and Nhill on January 26.

A flag-raising ceremony will take place in each town, along with addresses from the Australia Day Ambassador, Deputy Mayor, Cr Brett Ireland, and different community members.

Awards for Citizen of the Year and Young Citizen of the Year will also be presented on the day.

The formal Australia Day program on January 26 begins with a meet and greet in each town hosted by the Lions Club of Rainbow, Jeparit Town Committee, Dimboola CWA, Dimboola Town Committee and the Nhill Lions Club.
  • Rainbow - Breakfast BBQ from 7:30 am at the Rainbow Oasis
  • Jeparit - Breakfast BBQ in Jeparit from 9:00 am at Menzies Square
  • Dimboola - Morning tea from 10:30 am in Dimboola at the rear of the Dimboola Library
  • Nhill - Lunchtime BBQ from 12:00 pm in Nhill at Goldsworthy Park.
All attendees will be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination upon entry to these events.

Hindmarsh’s Australia Day Ambassador for 2022 is Wesa Chau, who is an experienced manager, board director, speaker, trainer and specialist consultant on cultural diversity. Her first foray into heading initiatives was founding the Australian Federation of International Students in 2002 while a student herself. Since then, she has served on many boards, including Carers Victoria, Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria and the Multicultural Business Ministerial Council.

Wesa is a passionate advocate for the benefits of cultural diversity and understanding in businesses and organisations. She is the CEO of Cultural Intelligence, a specialist consulting firm that helps organisations navigate cultural diversity and its impacts on design, decision-making, customer service, messaging, and policy setting. Wesa’s commitment to gender equality, cultural diversity and social cohesion has been recognised through the Australian Leadership Award and an induction to the Victorian Honour Roll of Women.

Wesa is currently undertaking her PhD at Swinburne University to research political skills and how people develop them. She is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is a qualified teacher.