No more Di

By Kath Gannaway
RESPECTED Healesvillians, Dot and Les Harsant and Beth and Allan Honeycombe, were among the huge crowd of people who attended a “community thank you” for former Healesville and Yarra Ranges councillor, Di Moore on Friday, 2 December.
It says a lot about a job well done that, some 17 years after they put their names to an electoral nomination form vouching for the aspiring candidate’s suitability for the role, they were there to wish her well in retirement.
Throughout the night Mrs Moore was besieged by members of local community groups and schools, business people from around Ryrie Ward and constituents with no particular affiliations – all wishing her well.
Mr Harsant recalled Mrs Moore’s early activism as a fellow commuter when she walked the train collecting signatures for a petition.
“I thought, gosh, that woman’s got some spunk,” he recalled to loud applause.
He spoke also about her unwavering integrity.
“She has been able to implement some of the principles for which she stood and has remained true to herself in doing that,” he said.
He said even on issues which at times had put her at odds with her ward constituents she had stood by her principles and her oath to represent the best interests of the shire – Healesville and Yarra Ranges – as a whole.
The sentiment was echoed by her friend and Yarra Ranges colleague, Councillor Len Cox, who described her as a caring and hard-working councillor with a genuine interest in the people she represented.
“She is a very bright woman who made very good decisions about so many things over the years,” he said.
“I don’t think I have met anybody before with as much integrity.”
Thanking her family, friends and members of the community who she said had helped her over the years and made it possible for her to commit herself to the role, Mrs Moore said she also wanted to thank the voters who returned her to office at each council poll.
She said despite initial reservations about forced amalgamation of the shires she believed Yarra Ranges Shire had delivered many benefits for all residents.
“As a whole I believe we have been able to move things forward in a way that would not have been able to happen if we had not been a larger shire,” Mrs Moore said.
“We have been able to look after so many diverse areas we could not have done as a small rural shire.”
Mrs Moore became known for her “give anything a go” attitude in council and, among a number of funny stories from her councillor days, one, if it had been common knowledge before her retirement, would have given a hint of what was to come.
Among friends, Mrs Moore felt comfortable enough to share a little known secret about her unorthodox entry to local government.
She was waiting, she said, upstairs in the council chambers at the Memorial Hall for results of the poll with a small group of family members.
“I didn’t expect to get in and the big council table was right there in front of us,” Mrs Moore said.
“I said to my sister, I might not get to sit behind that table, but I can certainly dance on it.
“So, I suppose you could say I was one of the first table top dancers.”