Published on Friday, 15 October 2021 at 2:30:00 PM
I recall our parents saying how hopeless we were, with our long hair, poor manners and lack of discipline. How many times did we hear the mantra of how hard their childhood was compared to the life of leisure we lived and that we didn’t appreciate what they did for us?
They must have despaired; yet, in the end, we turned out ok and now a generation later I find myself worrying about the next generation: where will the leaders come from, especially with the worldwide trend away from clubs and community institutions.
Then, from time-to-time, I come across a young person and my belief in the future is restored. Such an occasion occurred last weekend when a relative came to town along with another 120 square dancers from all over the state.
Big events such as these are usually planned and run by Baby Boomers such as myself but I was pleasantly surprised to see that the driving force behind the event was a young local woman Klasey Hirst.
Admittedly, she had the help of her father and a small committee, but it was Klasey who was clearly in charge and leading the way to ensure the mundane tasks were completed.
And when it was all over and she realised the weeks of stress and hard work had come to fruition, she broke down but not before expressing her love and passion for Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
It made me think that our future is in good hands and that the younger generation – like our parents eventually found out – are just as good as those who have come before.
Many of the dancers and their partners came early and stayed on for a couple of days – injecting a lot of money into the local economy. Some even visited Lake Ballard and towns in the North Eastern Goldfields like Kookynie and Leonora.
They had a great time with not only doing four dance sessions in the Kalgoorlie Town Hall but partaking in organised tours of our city and the feedback I got from them made me feel proud to be Mayor. They were impressed with how clean and colourful the Kalgoorlie and Boulder CBDs.
It is the dedicated work of our gardeners and clean-up crews, many of whom are out-and-about before sunrise that keep our streets clean and flower-beds a blaze of colour.
Footnote: While writing this column former local MP Tony Crook rang to suggest I go down to Burt Street because of how beautiful and clean the street looked.
Maybe Klasey is the next generation of young champions like Tony who could go on and represent us in parliament.
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