Precede –
FROM humble beginnings at a dairy farm in country Victoria, Veronica Hill never imagined that at 75 years of age she would be awarded Casey Citizen of theYear. However, after more than 40 years of volunteering, it came as no surprise to those around her. The Doveton resident spoke to reporter BRIDGET SCOTT about her true loves and where they all began.
Break-out
“I will remain as a volunteer for as long as I possibly can, in whatever field I am capable of doing.”
FROM Christmas lights to family history and little athletics, Doveton resident Veronica Hill is so involved that she has little time to spare.
She could be appropriately referred to as a jack of all trades in the volunteer sector, with her hand and her heart dipped into many organisations across the area.
With a childhood spent in Navigators, just outside of Ballarat, it was a big move when the mother-of-three at the time moved to the big smoke and had to familiarise herself with a whole new area.
“I grew up in a small community where everybody helps everybody,” she said.
At 21 years of age, Mrs Hill married the man of her dreams, her late husband Jim, who would become the father to her four children and partner of more than 50 years.
Work commitments brought the Hill family to the City of Casey where their hard work and dedication would go down in history.
“We moved around for the first couple of years, lived in Dandenong, Hampton Park, and Dandenong again and then we have been in Doveton since 1968.”
Nearly 50 years on, and the Doveton woman still lives in the same house and has become a familiar face to many.
In 1971, Mrs Hill entered into the world of volunteering when it became obvious there was not enough for her children to do.
“In 1971 we enrolled the kids in ‘little aths’ at Lindale in Dandenong North,” she said.
“We spent the first season there, and back in those days you took all the kids in the station wagon without any belts.”
However, the Hills decided there should be something for the children to do without having to travel out of their own town.
With that, Mrs Hill and husband Jim began the Doveton Little Athletics Club which saw more than 200 children come through in its first season.
“My husband was the driving force in getting the club up and running, with councillors at the time Jen Bateman and Syd Pargetor,” Mrs Hill said.
“Over the next 43 years, there have been thousands come through.”
Currently the secretary of the Doveton Little Athletics Club, Mrs Hill said it was much easier to attract volunteers in those days with the absence of technology.
With only a year and a half off since its inception, the Life Member described the club as her family.
“Little athletics is my life,” she said.
“You feel like you’re part of people’s families, it’s just one big unit.”
Despite this, the volunteer said her own family was number one, including extended members who she still remained in touch with.
Quiet nights in Ballarat by the fire with her grandmother led Mrs Hill to begin family history research after the stories her grandmother told intrigued her.
“I spent a year with my grandmother during the week, and we would sit around the fire of a night and she would tell me stories,” the researcher said.
“She would tell me about her life and it always fascinated me.”
As a result, Mrs Hill discovered that her husband was a direct descendant from royalty and has landed 100 year-old photos on her lap.
Nowadays, The Doveton Show consumes much of her time, but this isn’t the only reason for becoming a household name.
During the month leading up to Christmas, passers-by would find Mrs Hill and her husband outside every night from 8.30pm until midnight as they hosted one of the most impressive, local Christmas light displays.
“We were very well known for our lights,” she said.
Nothing says Christmas like the light display down the Doveton Road, with the Hills neighbours also involved.
The pair managed to raise $8500 for the Very Special Kids through their display that was entirely hand-made.
“The place lit up, we used to get thousands of people pass through,” Mrs Hill said.
In 2011 when the Hills decided not to go ahead with the light display, Jim passed away the night before the switch was due to be turned on.
“We weren’t doing them that year, and my neighbour was terribly upset because he had his on,” Mrs Hill said.
The following night, when the neighbour was in debate about whether to turn his on, the choice was made to let the tradition live on.
“They put a light out the front with a garden fork and a sign saying, ‘Gone fishing, RIP Jim’,” Mrs Hill said.
“People realised that’s why they were no lights and that got us through that patch.”
With the local show at the forefront of her mind these days, Mrs Hill said she had found the recent attention quite daunting after she was awarded the City of Casey Citizen of the Year on Australia Day.
“I was an absolute nervous wreck,” she said.
“You love doing things, but you’re not looking for anything.”
“I will remain a volunteer as long as I possibly can, in whatever field I am capable of doing.”
