By Romy Stephens
Warburton legend Dick Leith was recognised for a lifetime of service to his community at the Yarra Ranges 2020 Australia Day Awards ceremony on 26 January.
The 94-year-old received the Mayor’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his dedication and passion towards the community of Warburton for over 70 years.
Mr Leith said he was proud yet surprised to have received the award.
“I don’t think I’m worthy of it for a start but I’m honoured to be recognised,” he said.
“Anything and everything I’ve done here is because of my great love for the Valley.”
The Leith family name has been embedded in the region’s history since the early 1900s, but it wasn’t until Mr Leith returned from World War II that he began to make his mark in the area.
Upon returning home, Mr Leith started work in the timber industry and continued that for about 30 years.
He was also one of three community members that purchased the privately-owned local golf club and transformed it into the Warburton Golf Club.
Mr Leith has volunteered at the club for over 70 years and still, at age 95, heads down every Tuesday to help out with the Garden Club.
He is a life member at the Warburton Football Club, has volunteered on local primary school committees and the local Scouts group and excavated the original hole for the Warburton
swimming pool with his logging machinery.
One of his proudest achievements, however, was his role in establishing the Warburton Community Bank.
“I honestly feel the Community Bank stopped Warburton from stagnating completely,” Mr Leith said.
“The Community Bank, with the Yarra Junction offshoot, has meant more to the district than people realise because they’ve handed out so much monetary support throughout the district.
“You’d be amazed with how much they’ve put into the town.
“We lost all of our banks which would have just about finished Warburton. We had to keep that community bank on.”
As much as Mr Leith has been involved in shaping Warburton, he has also seen the region naturally change throughout the years.
“It’s a different town now to what it was because it’s a tourist town now,” he said.
“It definitely wasn’t, we had mills and logging contractors and trucks rolling through the town.”
Despite all the changes Mr Leith said he still holds the country feel of Warburton dear to his heart.
“I just love the atmosphere in the country and I’m a country man,” he said.
“I am very proud and I’ve only done it because of my great love for the Valley and Warburton in particular.”
