The day started early, commencing with a BBQ breakfast in Rainbow at 7.30am, followed by ceremonies in Jeparit, Dimboola, and finally Nhill.

Hindmarsh Shire Council's Australia Day Ambassador, Wesa Chau, joined the Deputy Mayor, Cr Brett Ireland, in attending all four events on the day and provided an informative and interactive address to the audience at each of the ceremonies.

The mercury swelled to 34 degrees in Dimboola, before the beginnings of a storm brought rain to Nhill's ceremony.

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Presentations of Hindmarsh Shire Council's Australia Day Awards for Citizen of the Year and Young Citizen of the Year were announced at the Nhill ceremony by the Deputy Mayor, Cr Brett Ireland, and presented by Wesa Chau.

Veteran and community figure Mervyn Schneider was named Hindmarsh Shire's Citizen of the Year for 2022 at the ceremony.

Mr Schneider is well known by locals for his astonishing accomplishments in life and for the ample amount of volunteer work and involvement he has had in the Hindmarsh community for years.

Some of his many achievements include being a Warrant Officer in the Royal Australian Air Force from 1943-1945, serving at Mawson Research Station in Antarctica and being inducted into Wimmera Legacy in 1991 where he was on the Board of Management from 2000-2002 and 2008-2017.

Other significant achievements include being a charter member of the Rotary Club of Nhill since 1961 where he has provided 50 years of outstanding service to the Nhill community.

His responsibilities as a member involved establishing Meals on Wheels in Nhill and helping on many projects including planting trees in our streets and plantations. Mervyn was involved in starting up the Senior Citizens Club and more recently, the Probus Club.

Mr Schneider said throughout his life he always felt like giving back to the community as a gesture of gratitude for its generosity to him on his return from the war.

"To get the award is really great, and at my age it is better still. It is great recognition, whether I earned it or not, they must think I did," he said.

"The charity that was shown to me when I came home from the war through financial assistance and assistance from the local council. I was only a young guy but I'll always remember that.

"Most young people today have their head down and they are trying hard. Success doesn't have to come at the highest level, whatever they can do, help people however they can help people. There is a great future for them in Australia."

Nhill College student Caleb Zanker was awarded Hindmarsh Shire's Young Citizen of the Year award.

In 2021, he was Year 10 Dux and awarded the Years 7-10 Crouch Family All Rounder Award, among other scholarships. He was also Year 10 form captain and Vice House captain.

Also in 2021, Financial Basics Foundation held a competition called the Suncorp ESSI Money Challenge.

The competition consisted of students from all over Australia competing against each other for a two-week period.

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There were two age categories, 12-15-year old and 16-18-year old, and 183 schools across Australia were involved. Caleb, competing against 5382 students, was the top of the 16-18-year-old category in the state of Victoria.

Caleb said he was lost for words when he found out he had be awarded the honour.

"It is always funny with things like this. My teen self is not 100 per cent understanding what is going on, but I am honoured," he said.

"It was actually my parents. I woke up one morning and my dad said 'you have been nominated for the young citizen of the year'. I thought it was amazing, I didn't know what to say."

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