It has taken a tad over two years, but finally the legendary Shirley Connolly will be recognised for her massive contribution to local netball.
Two years ago, in June 2024, we published a story about local MP Anoulack Chanthivong and Councillor Darcy Lound, pictured below, calling on Campbelltown Council to honour the late Shirley Connolly by naming the amenities building at Coronation Park, Minto after her.
Ms Connolly, who had for 30 years been the driving force of Campbelltown District Netball Association, had passed away at the age of 87 in June 2024.
Last Tuesday, council finally gave the green light for the permanent tribute to the netball legend.
Council endorsed the proposal to recognise Shirley Connolly OAM through the naming of the building at the sporting complex within Coronation Park, Minto and support the installation of commemorative building signage and interpretive information about her.
“Throughout her life, Mrs Connolly was involved in numerous community initiatives and organisations. Her contributions, particularly to netball, created a lasting legacy of inclusion, wellbeing and civic participation and demonstrated a commitment to serving others,’’ said a report to council.
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Campbelltown man David Cruickshand is one of South West Voice’s most loyal readers.
He regularly comments on local events and even sends us news tip.
David, who has a strong interest in politics, recently shared a story about how “Wales looks set to become the first country in the world to make it a crime for politicians to lie during election campaigns’’.
The bill, approved at its first legislative stage last month, would ban candidates and elected lawmakers from making false or misleading statements in the run-up to elections.
He didn’t say so, but we think David agrees with this move.
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Readers will already know about plans to rezone open space in Macquarie Links for housing have upset plenty of residents in the strata management estate.
Less well known is the fact that unused land north to the Crossroads has just been sold to Landcom.
Funds from the purchase will go in part to the strata community capital fund and remainder to be shared among current owners of properties in Macquarie Links.
This is the same approach being looked at for the proceeds from sale of the land opposite Governor’s Way, the highest point of the estate.
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Power outages have become a regular occurrence in parts of east Campbelltown, especially in Kentlyn and Ruse and parts of Leumeah.
During the last outage a few weeks ago, more than 2000 homes were affected.
The owner of the poles and wires, Endeavour Energy, hasn’t been forthcoming with an explanation of what’s causing these outages.
Which has allowed some to come up with their own theories, including that the infrastructure is breaking down regularly because it’s so old and needs replacing.
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Primary schools across Campbelltown are being encouraged to join a community-wide effort to reduce single-use plastics as part of this year’s Plastic Free July.
Students, teachers and school communities can become Lunchbox Heroes by taking part in a Plastic-Free lunch challenge next Thursday, July 30.
The initiative allows students to take a closer look at the single-use plastics commonly found in lunchboxes and explore simple, practical swaps that can help reduce waste.
From reusable drink bottles and lunch containers to unpackaged fruit and reusable snack tubs, the campaign focuses on small changes that can make a big difference over time.
Mayor Darcy Lound has backed the initiative.
“When schools across Campbelltown come together for a shared action like this, it demonstrates the powerful impact communities can have when working towards a common goal,” he says.
