2012-Hidden-Treasures-Honour-Roll

gillian james [Wollombi]
Gillian moved from Sydney to Wollombi in
2000 and has worked tirelessly to preserve
the heritage assets and ambience of the village
and its surroundings. As President of Wollombi
Tidy Valleys Committee since 1999, she has
obtained support and financial assistance from
Council, State and Federal sources to keep her
patch beautiful through building footpaths,
planting trees, establishing gardens, installing
picnic tables and even helping to renew convict
stone culverts on the Great North Road. Gillian
is proud of the Anzac Reserve, including the
rehabilitation of its pond. With the help of
Cessnock Council and money from the National
Envirofund, Tidy Valleys transformed the reserve
planted gardens with native shrubs, the pond was
deepened and cleared of choking reeds and an
island was formed to provide shelter for nesting
waterbirds. To provide money for her projects
and their ongoing maintenance, Gillian enlisted
the aid of the two historic churches and the
local tennis club to run Wollombi’s Australia Day
Market, the profits of which go to participating
organisations. Whenever a heritage item in
the valley is endangered, Gillian leaps to its
defence. When the historic Wollombi School was
threatened with closure her representations to
the Education Department helped keep it open.
From its inception in the 1990s, she has been an
active Member of the Convict Trail Project which
recently achieved World Heritage listing for a
section of the convict-built Great North Road. This
amazing lady gives so much of her time freely to
her community.
denise jelbart [Forbes]
Denise was born in Peak Hill before moving to
Gunning as a young child. The family later moved
to Forbes where she has lived ever since. She has
been in business with her husband for 42 years,
as well as raising four children. In 1994 Denise
was diagnosed with breast cancer. This was a
difficult period for her and the family. She found
the biggest challenge was being away from her
children for extended periods, while receiving
treatment in Sydney. During her recovery Denise
became a member of the Forbes Breast Cancer
Support Group and continues to be heavily
involved in assisting women going through breast
cancer treatment and recovery. Some of the key
activities that she is actively involved with are
Christmas in July and Christmas in December,
monthly support group luncheons, and the
Cancer Council Relay for Life. Denise believes her
most important purpose in the support group
is to provide light hearted relief for the women,
and see them happy and enjoying life again.
To achieve this, she is always looking for new
opportunities and activities for the group. Denise
is also a member of Rotary and has participated
in the Kidney Health Australia Kidney Kar Rally
for seven years. She considers her greatest
achievement is surviving breast cancer with the
support of her husband Michael, and their family.
NSW HIDDEN TREASURES HONOUR ROLL 2012 | 19