Mount Gambier hosted a vice regal visit on Saturday, with Governor-General Sam Mostyn AC spending time in the Blue Lake city.
Ms Mostyn toured the Mount Gambier Farmers Market and Riddoch Arts and Cultural Centre with Mount Gambier Mayor Lynette Martin OAM, before visiting the Ryder-Cheshire Mount Gambier Home Foundation.
The Governor-General spent about an hour talking to residents, relatives, staff and members of the foundation’s board at the volunteer-run charity which owns and maintains the Ryder and Cheshire homes that accommodate a total of 10 people living with a disability in the community.
The residences are leased to and managed by Estara, formerly known as the Paraplegic and Quadriplegic Association of SA and its service arm HomeCare+.
Ryder-Cheshire Mount Gambier Home Foundation president Matthew Dixon described the visit as fantastic and praised Ms Mostyn’s personable approach.
“She is such an engaging personable individual that is genuinely very interested in people and I think that’s a great thing to have in a Governor-General,” he said.
“She has a sister with an intellectual disability so she has an understanding of the sector and the trials and tribulations and was very impressed with what she saw at our two homes.
“We had some of the residents and relatives and she sat down at the kitchen table with them and had quite a long discussion about various things.
“The residents were eating out of her hand, they thoroughly enjoyed it, they absolutely loved it.
“She was more interested in the people than anything else and it was just a good, all round experience,” Mr Dixon said.
“It was very nice of her to make the effort to visit our organisation.
“It is very nice to be thought of and included in the Governor-General’s trip to Mount Gambier.”
The last time the home was visited by a Governor-General was in 2011 when Quentin Bryce AC visited Mount Gambier.
