I was thinking about the concept of ‘community’ recently. Don’t panic! I haven’t changed overnight to someone who contemplates the deep and meaningfuls of human existence. I was pricked into thinking about it as I sat in the beautifully restored, art-deco era Warkworth Town Hall, watching a wonderfully crafted film about the Warkworth Primary School’s history.
A film made possible by Nicola Jones, Jon Waters and Warkworth school PTA chair Kate Moore, local folk who spent countless unpaid hours preserving the history of a treasured local school. As I sat there looking around the packed hall, I thought about those who had lavished their energy on the movie knowing that they would be getting little in the way of recognition, certainly nothing in the terms of financial reward, but clearly seeing the value in saving the memories of a place where so many were taught those first life lessons. A few evenings later, as I ambled around the Warkworth midwinter Festival of Lights, the sense of community nudged me again.
I watched those local volunteers as they closed roads, entertained crowds with music and song, gave rides to children, marched in a parade, laughed and ate while greeting old friends and meeting new ones. A couple of days after that, I delivered a food parcel put together by the wonderful folk at our local Hope Church foodbank, and I was struck once more by an overwhelming feeling of community. Of belonging.
I’m not saying that we are problem-free, but the issues we do have are comparatively few and are usually able to be addressed. Often, the issues I encounter with my police work are solved with input from local community resources. Take a bow there, Springboard.
If you don’t know Springboard’s work, jump onto their website and check out what amazing success within our community looks like: How lucky are we, who live in this area. Of course, visually, it’s quite simply a stunning place to live. We are surrounded by green hills and some of those hills even feature vineyards, which is particularly important to me.
We live with access to bush, river and beaches. We enjoy a village lifestyle but, with our amazing new road, we have the easiest possible access to the metropolis south of us. All that is great, but that sense of belonging comes not from the amazing geography.
It comes from the people who live here. People who care enough to provide others with joy and entertainment, who spend hundreds of unpaid hours preserving local history for future generations, and people who feed those in need and who change lives for the better. Local people who understand the true meaning of ‘community’.
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