It was a bumper roll up for the 2020 Upper Hunter Shire’s Mayor for a Day competition, with 675 children from local primary schools submitting their ideas through short essays or postcard pictures.
The annual competition encourages students to think about how to improve their community and share their views with local councillors.
The most popular themes were caring for the environment, town upgrades, providing more recycling bins, improving facilities and creating initiatives to raise funds for local charities to help farmers and homeless people.
The overall Mayor for a Day winner was Macarthur Bettington of Blandford Public School. Macarthur’s outstanding ideas for Murrurundi included a cycleway that enabled visitors and locals to “stop and relax to enjoy the scenery and wildlife” on both sides of town.
Deputy Mayor was awarded to Lucy French from St Mary’s Primary School. Her suggestions for Scone’s Kelly Street Revitilisation included gardens and a meeting space with a café to attract more visitors to town.
The Councillors judged all the entries and selected school winners in the essay and postcard section.
Aberdeen Public School – Gabriella Phillips and Heidi Warden-Berlin
Blandford Public School – Macarthur Bettington and Montana Rando
Ellerston Public School – Riley Mitchell and Lara Robinson
Murrurundi Public School – Srishti Goli and Zachariah Challack
Scone Grammar School – Mollie McCosker and Lucy Ann Giblin
Scone Public School – Charesse Liverton and Clancy Legg
St Joseph’s Primary School Merriwa – Savannah Beeney and Tess Grocott
St Mary’s Primary School Scone – Lucy French and Skye McRae
The children’s hand-drawn postcards portrayed a special place in their community. Some of the top spots to be sketched included the Washpools, Barrington Tops, library, schools and horses.
Mayor Maurice Collison thanked all the children.
“There was an abundance of creative entries,” he said.
