Mid Cantabrians going above and beyond in giving their time and energy to their district were recognised yesterday.

Eight individuals and two groups were celebrated at this year’s Ashburton District Council’s Community Honours Awards.

The mayor’s award for public service “is the highest civic honour bestowed by the council”, Mayor Neil Brown said.

This year that award went to four people who should be seen as “stewards of the district”.

Jack Allan has spent the best part of his 80 years working for his community in a wide range of district activities, Brown said.

These include tennis, golf, Lions, and more recently the Mt Somers Walkway Society.

Allan was unable to attend on the day but wrote a speech for his daughter Lee to read out his “words of gratitude”.

Also recognised was Lindsay Holland who has been a driving force behind Bookarama for 44 years, something the Ashburton Rotary Club just after he joined in 1979, and is an event that raises over $50,000 annually for local community groups.

He has also been a champion of local small businesses.

“I want to thank the Ashburton community for the support it gives to all the different organisations

“That’s what makes the community work.”

Edward Oakley has been a stalwart for the Rakaia community.

He has served the area for most of his life, since being a foundation member of the Rakai Pony Club when he was 9-years-old.

He was a councillor on the Ashburton County Council for two terms and was then one of the first councillors for the newly amalgamated Ashburton District Council in 1989.

He was also involved in Lauriston Young Farmers Club, Federated Farmers, Rakaia Rugby Club, Rakaia Lions, and helped write the Rakaia history book.

Oakley simply said, “It’s all been good fun and one wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t good fun”.

The last of the quartet, Charles Ross, led the Sharplin Falls track redevelopment for the Mt Somers Walkways Society.

The old track closed due to rock fall risk in 2015 and DOC would not rebuild it.

Ross set about finding a new route to the “locally treasured destination”.

After receiving DOC signoff for the proposed route, he became the project manager.

The $560,000 project, raised from grants and donations, required some 5,000 hours of volunteer labour for the new track to open in June.

“I’m only a cog in the wheel really,” Ross said.

“It wouldn’t have happened without hundreds of people.”

The two Ashburton Medals went to Val Clemens (for conservation) and the Hakatere Marae (for community work).

Among her many accolades, Clemens's work with the Ashburton Community Conservation Trust has involved developing the Harris Scientific Reserve and helping save the rare endemic daisy, the Wakanui Craspedia, which had only three plants in 2011.

The marae stepped up to provide meals and activity packs for families during the Covid lockdowns and partnered with Food Bank Canterbury this year to make up food parcels for those in need.

Thelma Bell has been involved in the Multi-Cultural Bite annual food festival since its inception in 2010.

Bell was “humbled” by the recognition, and thanked the volunteers who have given their time to make the event what it is today.

The Phat Bastards mountain bike group raised over $75,000 for the charities in the district riding for a 10km loop track for 48 hours.

Group founder, Dean Harrison, said the group of mountain bikers who “are not really good at it” doesn’t do the work in the community “for the accolades” and appreciated the community support.

Michael Ross was a founding member of the Ashburton Railway and Preservation Society in 1970 and remains an active member.

“When we started over there in 1970 there was only just a bare paddock and a hockey field, and I think all of Ashburton can be proud of what we have done over there,” Ross said.

Also celebrated was Cezarne Rodgers who has been involved in the Ashburton Cadet Unit for 34 years.

By Jonathan Leask