Australia Day Citizen of the Year – Adam Smith
Senior Citizen of the Year – Lorraine Musgrove
Senior Citizen of the Year – Joan Osmond
Young Citizen of the Year – Julia Dangerfield
Community Event of the Year – Blue Lake Carols

For the past five years members of the Mount Gambier Men’s Shed known as the ‘Toy Boys’ have handcrafted toys for the Mount Gambier Community Mayor’s Christmas Appeal.

The Toy Boys will receive the Award for Active Citizenship on Australia Day for their efforts to bring some Christmas cheer to little faces within the local community.

“It all started after a conversation with Peter Heness back in 2017, he approached me to ask what I used to do in Adelaide and I told him that I was involved with toy making group the Woodville Toy Boys,” member Ian Bond said.

“The next day he told me that we had been approached to make toys for the Mayor’s Christmas Appeal and if I had any designs that would be suitable.”

The toys are made using donated timber and paint.

In the first year the men crafted 80 toys which increased to 200 toys by 2020 when they worked from their own personal sheds during the COVID shut down period to ensure that disadvantaged local children received a gift on Christmas day.

“Peter and I have machines at home, so we raided the timber stocks, put together pots of paint, sandpaper and anything else they guys would need and they came around and picked up the packs from me to continue working,” Mr Bond said.

“We were working eight-hour days, 40 hours a week from April to August.

“It gives me and the guys something to do, it’s nice to hear that we’re helping by doing something for someone else.”