Chair
Cathy Whelan
 

Cathy spent the first 10 years of her career as a community development worker in Melbourne. She spent the next decade in a range of senior local government management roles initially in the community services area and later managing parks and gardens, public open space, arts & culture, sport & recreation, tourism, libraries & community facilities. In 2000, Cathy established her own small consulting company that focuses on strategic planning, organisational learning & development, governance capacity building & community engagement. She works with hospitals and health services, non-government organisations, private sector entities, peak bodies, community groups, and all levels of government - local, state & federal. Qualifications: Master of Applied Science - Organisation Dynamics – 2005, Graduate Diploma of Business – 1994, Assoc. Dip. Welfare Studies – 1984.

Cathy’s first holiday on the Bellarine Peninsula was in 1972 when she camped with extended family in the Indented Head Caravan Park. She has holidayed in the area ever since and has had a place in Portarlington for 11 years. She is now based in Portarlington and travels to work in Melbourne and other parts of the State.

‘I joined the Committee for a number of reasons, the main one being an interest in working with local communities, the State Government and the City of Greater Geelong to plan for, manage and protect this wonderful part of the Bay. I think that doing this successfully will rely on us working together to take careful account of environmental, social, economic and cultural values in our planning, our policy-making and our management of the foreshore environment.’
 

Committee Member
John Gillett

John is a civil engineer, business manager and a resident of Clifton Springs for the past 10 years. He has a strong attachment to the Bellarine and is keen to ensure its rural character is maintained and not spoiled by over-development. In this regard he is not anti-development. Rather, he wants to ensure that the best of the region’s natural beauty is preserved for future generations.

Although John does not live quite within the Bellarine Bayside's jurisdiction, he has an interest in the model of a Crown Land coastal strip and the issues that are common to those experienced by other committees of management in the Bellarine-Otway region. Along with a sense of environmental responsibility, he is an advocate for local engagement and input to the area’s affairs.

John brings to the Committee a professional, scientific, engineering and business management approach which has been honed by responsibility for running coastal environment projects and development of port facilities. In addition, he has had a regular association with compliance issues through membership of various industry and government bodies during his career.
 

Committee Member
Colleen Butler

Colleen is a former secondary school teacher and student welfare coordinator from Melbourne who has had a home at Indented Head since 2000. She and her husband spent most of their weekends in the area before they renovated the house and moved in as permanent residents in 2005.

After a decade on the Bellarine Colleen has not lost her love for the region and still feels privileged to live in what she describes as beautiful surroundings. She joined the Committee in 2005 keen to help preserve the natural environment, the relaxed lifestyle of the area and to guard against indiscriminate development.

No stranger to committees during her teaching career, Colleen is a keen participant in Committee meetings and has been a strong advocate for the Bellarine Bayside Strategic Plan. She believes it is important for the Committee to have a mix of skills and experience and a regular turnover of committee members to keep ideas fresh and discussion vibrant.
 

Committee Member
John Turner

John is an environmental scientist with 40 years experience as a natural resources manager, specialising in catchments and waterways management. He and his wife fell in love with Portarlington when attending a wedding in the town in 2005 and resolved to make it their permanent residence upon retirement a year later.

John immediately became involved in community affairs and is keenly supportive of ways to improve the foreshore without compromising the fishing village charm of the townships within Bellarine Bayside’s jurisdiction. He believes the various consultative studies underway will provide a better understanding of the natural processes along the coast and suggest ways to enhance their protection.

John’s input to the committee comes through his environmental credentials and his experience in dealing with similar waterways enhancement and erosion prevention projects elsewhere. He also has a strong community commitment and his liaison/participation in other local associations, including the Portarlington Community Association and the Portarlington Mussel Festival Committee, provides avenues for a wide communication and support of the Committee's aims and initiatives. 
 

Committee Member
Steve Walsh

Steve is a former merchandising manager for a major supermarket chain and now a small businessman and retail consultant who lives in St Leonards. Originally from the Western Australian wheatbelt region southeast of Perth, he made several interstate moves during his supermarket career before deciding on a sea change and arriving in St Leonards in 2004.

Steve says that during his many moves around the country he lost his sense of community. Once settled in St Leonards he was determined to regain it and immediately joined in local activities, including the town’s 150th anniversary festival committee. In the process he became involved with the Bellarine Strategic Plan, made contact with Bellarine Bayside and joined the committee in 2008.

Steve is an enthusiastic and gregarious member of the Committee bringing an entrepreneurial and motivational approach to the programs and to the challenge of communicating them to the local communities. He enjoys playing a role in enhancing the coastal facilities and maintaining the Bellarine as a premier place to live and visit.
 

Committee Member
David Gray

Semi-retired former rural and daily newspaper journalist (NSW and Victoria) and for over 25 years, public relations/advertising practitioner in private business and Federal Government agencies (Albury-Wodonga Development Corporation - growth centre management; Australian Maritime Safety Authority - shipping navigation operations and search and rescue; and Airservices Australia - air traffic control.

“As a recent resident to the Bellarine moving from Canberra to Clifton Springs, I put up my hand to join Bellarine Bayside for two main reasons: because of my extensive communications/promotional experience/ media background and a strong desire to be involved in the mix of management and community use of crown assets and natural environments. In short, I'm for proper management of Bellarine Bayside for all stakeholders - residents, holiday-makers, visitors and Government's shared input into a fine stretch of Victorian coast”. 
 

Committee Member
Peter Kenny

 A qualified electrical engineer, Peter exchanged that career in the 1990s for one of vigneron and businessman in Portarlington with ownership of the Bellarine Estate vineyard and winery close to the town. His association with the area goes back 45 years with strong memories of playing on the beaches during childhood visits to his grandparents in Portarlington. He bought the Bellarine Estate property in 1996 and became a permanent resident in 2002.

Peter joined Bellarine Bayside in 2000 sensing the Committee had reached a cross roads in its programs and effectiveness. He saw an opportunity to give something back to the community by helping to steer the way towards a better understanding of coastal protection and improvement of existing facilities, including an upgrade of the caravan parks and public access.

Peter brings to the Committee a high level of business acumen along with a sound knowledge and contact with the tourism industry. He has also had long experience with government liaison and is forthright in the promotion of local events and venues
  

Amy has 15 years corporate experience, working with all levels of organisation and external bodies, and has gained broad experience with community capacity building. Ten of those years have been in the area of Health, Safety, Security, Environment and Quality as an OHS professional within the Oil Industry. She has a B.Comm and B.Arts from Deakin University, is an OHS Systems Auditor and a Cert IV Workplace Trainer and Assessor. After renovating their home in Indented Head with her husband Paul, she has taken time out in her career to raise her young family.

“I am honoured to offer my skills and experience to the Committee. As a new parent, I am passionate about providing to my children and future generations a strong, protected, sustainable and vibrant stretch of foreshore, that so many previous generations have loved and enjoyed. ”
 

Arthur is a former careers and media teacher whose association with the Bellarine goes back to childhood holidays in the family caravan at Batman Park, Indented Head. He enjoyed the area so much he returned to make Indented Head his home in the late 1960s, commuting to his work place in Geelong on a daily basis until his retirement in the mid-1990s.

He joined the original Indented Head Foreshore Committee soon after taking residence when membership was confined to those living within the town boundary and the Bellarine had its own shire council separate from Geelong. Elected treasurer, Arthur continued to serve in that capacity when the Indented Head Committee amalgamated with St Leonards and again when they both joined with Portarlington to become the Bellarine Bayside Foreshore Committee of Management in 1994.

Arthur brings 40 years experience to the Committee and represents the organisation’s corporate memory. As such he has a strong sense of place and is supportive of the push to maintain the natural attributes of the foreshore region. With Bellarine Bayside now a fully-fledged business operation, his role as treasurer has assumed a greater importance in nurturing funds for the organisation’s programs.