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October 1, 2025 |
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Newsletter for the
Offshore Residents of Pittwater, Australia - Volume 26,
Issue 1230
We acknowledge and pay our
respects to the Traditional Custodians of
Pittwater, as well as our Indigenous readers
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Contents:
The Offshore Gala Community Awards NightGlamour, gratitude & good timesPeter Shelley  On Saturday 13 September the Pittwater Offshore Men's Shed (POSMS) held its black tie gala and offshore community awards ceremony at the Waterfrond Café, Church Point. How good was the feeling in the room as we came together to celebrate the ‘unsung heroes’ of our community! It was an absolute privilege for POSMS to facilitate this sold-out gathering on behalf of our offshore community, and a heartfelt thank you goes to everyone who joined us for this special event.
OFFSHORE COMMUNITY BUSINESS AWARD: Matt Lakeman Services (Matt Lakeman) COMMUNITY DRIVER OF THE YEAR AWARD: Billy Dwyer (community vehicle driver) COMMUNITY COMMUNICATOR OF THE YEAR: Roy Baker NATURE NURTURER AWARD: Sharon Kinnison & Nick Ives CREATIVE SPARK AWARD: Nettie Lodge HELPING HAND AWARD: Carol Beth Floyd OFFSHORE SOS AWARD: Ian White & Andrew Cutler SPIRIT OF OFFSHORE LIFE AWARD: Cass Gye Silent auction winners: Louise Mahady (Sophie Lamb beauty hamper), Wayne Baxter (Gwyn Perkins original artwork), Sharon Johnson (Waterfront Cafe voucher), Julie Paterson (Creative Hampers hamper), Cathy Shelley (Mike Hall original pottery), Chris Canty (Scotland Island Lodge accommodation), Julie Patterson (Allsail Sailing voucher); Wayne Baxter (Ana Fellay design consult), Chris Canty (Nettie Lodge original artwork), James Wish (Ocean Boats guided fishing experience), Marie Minslow (Landcruising Australia motor home hire), Rachel Philpotts (whale watching experience on Stardust). Thanks go to all who donated an auction prize. Thanks also to all our helpers, sponsors, and supporters. Of course, any event is only as successful as the collective efforts of the many people who get behind it. On behalf of the POSMS committee, a huge thank you to the following for helping to make this celebration possible: Venue set-up (red carpet, lighting & band): Josephine Carter-May, Meredith Rasdall, Cathy Shelley, Mike Bookey, Richard Rasdall
Rash Media (Richard Rasdall), Landcruising Australia (Harriet Witchell and Simon Tucker), Church Point Ferries (Penny Glen), Waterfront Cafe (Mary Romeo), Ocean Boats (Shane May), Scotland Island Lodge (Colin and Rosemary Haskell), Eastern Wharf Pottery (Mike Hall), Meredith Rasdall Visual Art (Meredith Rasdall), Sophie Lamb Beauty Therapy (Sophie Blackband), Creative Hampers (Rachelle Philpotts), Ana Fellay Designs (Ana Fellay), Oneill Photographics (Natalie Page and Shane O’Neill), Jane and Adrian Mathews, Gwyn Perkins, John Marshall and RMYC Broken Bay. POSMS supporters throughout the year Johnson Bros Marine Services (Ben Johnson), Mick Miller Enhancement Coach (Mick Miller), Dad & Dave Brewery, SIRA (committee). Thanks to Oneill Photographics, photos of the night can be downloaded from here. We’d love your feedback! Let us know your views - what went well, what we could do better (or differently) if we ran a similar event in the future - all feedback welcome! And the Prize Goes To ...Some reflections on winning ... and losingRoy Baker  The community awards ceremony, organised by the Pittwater Offshore Men’s Shed, went off like a banger, by all accounts. I was in Europe at the time, but I hear it was a tremendous success. Congratulations to all involved, many of whom you’ll find named in the article above. Also above you’ll find a list of the award winners. Spot something? Yes, I am among them. I don’t think I’m particularly noted for discouraging accolades, so let’s get the self-celebration out of the way first. Did I feel humbled and honoured to win an award? No. I was bloody delighted. For the first time since Class 4A, Dudley Grammar School, I’d won a prize. But, for once, this article isn’t just about me, nor is it about my fellow award recipients, nor those whose hard work made the night a success. Yes, they are to be congratulated and thanked. But here I write for all those who didn’t win, more so for those who weren’t even nominated. Can I pull this off without detracting from the achievements of the organisers, or the very real contributions of the winners and nominees? Well, I’m Community Communicator of the Year, so let’s give it a shot. The benefits of awards are obvious. It’s essential that community contributions are acknowledged, most of all my own. No one should sacrifice without reward, and awards can motivate and inspire. But whatever euphemisms we choose, we are left dancing around some uncomfortable words: competition, comparison, success, winner, and, I’m afraid, failure and loser. The very real danger is that the pleasure given to an award recipient might come at the cost of disappointment to others. Some who don't receive recognition might feel inspired to give more; others might feel discouraged. Why bother giving to our community when you don’t even get nominated? The real question is how we let some soar without taking the wind from another’s wings. Or, to put it in the more prosaic language of economics, how do we avoid this being a zero-sum game? No one has contacted me expressing hurt. But it's not impossible that someone somewhere feels at least a pang of disappointment or envy, particularly if they feel they've given to our community and not been adequately acknowledged. If that's you, don’t worry — I’d have felt the same. Where there’s hurt, let it be acknowledged. It’s a very human response. Much as community awards serve a purpose, and I'm sure they do, it's worth remembering that none of us signed up for this particular competition. It’s not like the island running race—which I organise, incidentally. (That’s something you might like to note for next year’s awards.) With a running race, no one is obliged to enter, and if you participate then you do so knowing that someone is going to come first. If that isn't you, it's a bit precious to get upset. But with these awards, you might feel as though you were in a race you didn't ask to run. Something else needs to be acknowledged. These awards celebrated more than speed. Being able to run fast doesn't make you a better person. But with some of these awards we came closer to our core values, such as kindness and generosity. Speaking of feeling superior to others, I may have let slip that I attended grammar school. In order to decide who would attend that school, every child in town had to sit an exam, which we were told would measure our intelligence. No doubt the process was intended to nurture talent, and sometimes it did. But I know some children felt branded as losers. I 'passed' that exam and at the time I felt proud to do so. But my father was a teacher and he coached me for the test. Few had that advantage. Dear reader, let me say it clearly: these offshore awards did not measure your value as a human being, regardless of whether you won, and regardless of whether you were nominated. No one should feel reduced, in themselves or in their unique contribution to our community. There are all kinds of reasons why some people and acts are celebrated more than others. Some people are better known, perhaps because they are louder, have lived here longer, or are better at reminding us of that fact. Some service is, by nature, less visible, and some calls for discretion — not everything can or should be announced on Facebook. Every day in this community, someone is invited for coffee, someone’s shopping is carried, litter is picked up, a neighbour’s boat is checked on. The list is endless. Some acts are noticed, others aren't. Some attract thanks and others don’t. In life’s tombola, never underestimate the element of luck. As for my award, communication isn’t just about newsletters. It’s in the smiles to neighbours, the praise we offer a child, the social missteps forgiven, the warmth of simple words and gestures. These everyday communications bind us together more than anything I publish. All in all, we aren’t too bad a community. And we all play our part in making it that way. After all, when it comes to awards ceremonies, it’s like raffle tickets: some names get drawn, others don’t. But that doesn’t make the cake stall any less delicious.  International Folk DancingScotland Island Community HallSaturday 25 October, 7 - 9 pm To help defray
expenses, the Recreation Club ask for $5 per person
per attendance.
Island CaféCommunity Hall, Scotland IslandSunday 26 October, 10 to 12
noon
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| A scene from Wedding Island by Bogue Anthill, performed in the Community Hall, May 2025 |
Following the success
of Wedding Island, performed on Scotland
Island in May 2025, a group of enthusiasts in
community theatre are now turning their minds to the
next offshore play. Written by Jasper
Marlow, A Devine Mystery is provisionally
scheduled for performances in May 2026.
We plan to meet
immediately after the island café in order to gauge
interest in the production and perhaps hold a script
reading. If you are interested in taking part,
either on or off stage, please let me know, with
your phone number, and I'll add you to the relevant
WhatsApp group.
Roy Baker
Email: editor@scotlandisland.org.au
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The
views expressed in this newsletter are not
necessarily those of the Scotland Island Residents
Association (SIRA),
or the Western Pittwater Community
Association (WPCA)
