The General Manager Gunnedah Shire Council Elgin Street, Gunnedah. NSW 2380 Dear Mr Groth, It has come to the attention of the DMMS Executive that both the Lease Agreement with Council for our use of the Mackellar Centre and the Financial Contribution Agreement between Gunnedah Shire Council and the Society are both due for renewal by June 30, 2020. Consequently, I write in order to apply for the renewal of both agreements, preferably on similar terms to those previously agreed and outlined in the previous documents. We note that an extension may be sought for the Financial Agreement should time be needed to further negotiate a new agreement. We believe that it is timely that these agreements need renewal at this point as we have just successfully concluded negotiations with the Federal Department of Education via Minister Tehan and have been granted a new, five year agreement with them assuring us Commonwealth Government funding until 2026. The Department have also, generously, increased funding by a further $5000 to $60000 per year for the final three years of that agreement. Consequently, we believe that any further agreements with Council should be for a similar, five year period, thereby being in concert with the Federal funding arrangements, in order to guarantee continuity of resourcing for our hard-working Society in order to ensure the continuation of the Dorothea Mackellar National Poetry Competition , the largest such competition in Australia. As you are no doubt well aware, the Competition is of National significance and highly reputed in Literary circles and, consequently, brings great credit to our community. The Society also continues discussions with Whitehaven Coal and the state governments’ Department of Environment and Heritage over the listing of “Kurrumbede” as a property of State Heritage significance and we are optimistic that a decision on this matter will be made later this year. We are working towards a successful outcome on this matter which will ensure another significant attraction for visitors to our Shire recognizing the significant connection of the Mackellar family to our community during the early 1900’s. We look forward to your continuing support in these matters. Yours sincerely, Pip Murray Chairperson Community Benefit Study Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Society Submitted by Secretary Owen Hasler June 2021 Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Society Community Benefit Study 2021 Introduction The purpose of this report is to outline another successful year of operation by the Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Society (DMMS) including the conduct of the National Poetry Competition and the promotion of Gunnedah as a Destination for Australian travellers, especially in these COVID times. 1 | P a g e Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Society Community Benefit Study 2021 Section 1: National Poetry Competition The National Poetry Competition provided a major challenge for the DMMS Executive and Project Officer for a number of reasons. Firstly, as Australia, like the rest of the world, spiralled into a COVID crisis during early 2020 and many states resorted to border lock-downs and school closures to combat the potential spread of the virus, it was problematic as to whether the National competition would be able to be conducted. However, by relying on the communication by email and the web as well as social media, our Project Officer, Brittany Riley, was able maintain contact with schools and students and encourage their participation , particularly as a means of continuing life as “normal” while the students may still have been relatively isolated in their homes. These tactics proved to be very successful for a resultant outcome of over 8,000 entries, surpassing the previous years’ entry number, despite the limitations and obstacles caused by COVID. Once again the quality of the entries was of a high standard and challenged our two judges-both primary and secondary- to separate the finalists. Having achieved this difficult task it was then necessary to determine how best to undertake a Presentation Day event under the limitations caused by COVID restrictions including the inability of winners to travel interstate. After lengthy consideration and investigation the concept of a so-called “virtual” presentation event was the preferred option. Confirmation that this option was acceptable by our major sponsor of the Awards, the Federal Department of Education, was sought and approval received allowing us to proceed as planned. Such an “event” would require pre-recorded interviews with teachers and students at their school site, filming of Dorothea Mackellar related in Gunnedah (eg. “Kurrumbede”, the Mackellar Centre and Dorothea Mackellar Memorial statue) together with interviews with local DMMS representatives in order to “set the scene” for the” presentations”. President, Pip Murray, was filmed in the Civic at the lectern “conducting “ the ceremony and this very professional hour long presentation footage was livestreamed to over 10,000 people, who had connected to the broadcast, nationwide. This was considered an outstanding outcome giving the Awards, and Gunnedah, a high profile across the nation. 2 | P a g e Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Society Community Benefit Study 2021 Winners in the various sections included: Category Winner School Lower Primary Nina Cordaro All Hallows Catholic Primary School, Five Dock NSW Upper Primary Iris Jiang Cherrybrook Public School, Cherrybrook NSW Assisted Learning Curtis Giang Redeemer Baptist School, Primary North Parramatta NSW David Maher Award Max Shearer Rowena Public School, Rowena NSW Junior Secondary Ivy Downes Individual Entry, Katoomba NSW Senior Secondary Theo Harkin Hobart College, Mount Nelson TAS Assisted Learning Lola Wang Redeemer Baptist School, Secondary North Parramatta NSW Kurrumbede Award Evie Watt Sacred Heart School, Boggabri NSW SCHOOLS’ AWARD, PRIMARY SCHOOLS Redeemer Baptist School, NSW SCHOOLS' AWARD, SECONDARY SCHOOLS Darwin Middle School, NT Some comments from previous winners are outlined below: “Winning the upper primary category in the Dorothea Mackellar poetry competition really means the world to me. throughout 2020, the year where everything that could have possibly gone wrong has gone wrong, winning this competition for me is like a rainbow in the dark sky after the rain. thank you to everyone who has given me this incredible opportunity and shown me that no matter how hard things may get, there is always something good waiting on the other side and that dreams really do come true." -Iris Jiang, Upper Primary Winner 2020 “Students and teachers at Darwin Middle School should be very proud of winning this prestigious national accolade which underscores the excellent engagement, talent, and commitment of the large number of those who were involved. It’s pleasing to see students’ high levels of enthusiasm and enjoyment in creating and sharing their original poems. They are developing a lifelong 3 | P a g e Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Society Community Benefit Study 2021 appreciation for literature and this award will inspire students to continue to achieve and express themselves in creative ways." -Nickolaos Miaris – Senior Teacher English and Humanities at Darwin Middle School (Secondary Schools' Winner 2020) "Winning the Dorothea Mackellar poetry award for my age division has been one of the best events of my life. It's a cliché, but to win this award truly means the world to me, as a writer, student and human being. writing is an incredible joy in itself but it feels amazing to be recognised for something I'm passionate about, something I hope to share with the world, and this competition has made me feel like that's possible. Thank you so much, to everyone involved in this competition, for giving me the opportunity." -Ivy Downes, Junior Secondary Winner 2020 "I so enjoyed my few days in Gunnedah, everyone was so welcoming and interesting. meeting committee members and judges was very special, especially Anne Bell and Kat Apel, and hearing the young poets present their works was inspiring. I am extremely glad I was able to be at the presentation ceremony and associated events and thank all those who contributed to the organisation." - K. Neasey, 2019 Primary Schools' Winner "It was a wonderful experience for our whole family to come to presentation ceremony in Gunnedah. We totally enjoyed the whole event. a highlight was the dinner the night before in the lovely gallery, it was special for the parents and kids to get to know each other and their backgrounds. Lachlan has gained great confidence by having to read his poem out on stage. It also gave us a better understanding about the background of the award and how important and big it is. All the organised and committee members were very welcoming and our only regret is not being able to stay on for the weekend to have a look around the area. Thanks to all involved." - M. Spence, parent of 2019 winner 4 | P a g e Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Society Community Benefit Study 2021 "We loved all of the events and it was very clear how much attention to detail had gone into each one. It was also wonderful to be around people who are so passionate about encouraging young people to express themselves. I was very moved to see tears in James Knight’s eyes at one point when he talked about the power of words and the importance of letting young people’s voices be heard - and I think his message resonated with everyone there. We will never forget the experience and are so grateful to you all for your generosity and hospitality." - J. Scully, parent of 2018 winner "I had a great time in all the schedules and I was so grateful to see the beautiful town. It was an amazing new experience for myself and Amy." - K. Kwak, parent of 2018 winner Comments from the Federal Department of Education regarding the 2020 Presentation Ceremony were outlined in the email below dated 7 September 2020: OFFICIAL Brittany and Owen, Melissa and I wanted to pass on our congratulations for a wonderful awards presentation ceremony last Friday.