Defence Expo Gallery: Townsville welcomes new defence families
Defence families new to the city were given a rousing welcome at the Townsville Stadium on Saturday.
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Defence families new to the city were given a rousing welcome at the Townsville Stadium on Saturday.
The Welcome Expo from Defence Families featured a showcase of what’s on offer in Townsville with a multitude of exhibitors, sporting and leisure groups and displays.
Area Manager for Defence Member and Family Support Townsville Rachel Baker said the welcoming expo helped new defence personnel and their families make connections with the Townsville community.
“It helps them to make the most of their posting time here, and just to enjoy and understand what this great city has to offer.
“Our defence members can often move around every two to three years as part of their military requirements, and it can be really difficult sometimes to actually integrate quickly into the community.
“So it’s good for them to understand, how do they connect quickly what’s on offer in this area,” she said.
Commanding Officer 3rd Brigade Ben McLennan said it could be daunting for new families moving Townsville for the first time.
“If you’ve never been here, and if you don’t know a lot of people here, it’s really quite difficult for you as an individual and as a family to really know everything that this amazing community has to offer,” the Brigadier said.
“So putting on a day like this allows people to come in having very little idea of what Townsville has to offer, and to see it in one place for one morning at the start of the year.”
The Brigadier said Townsville was the best garrison city in the world.
“I’m convinced that there is no place like Townsville in the world, let alone Australia, that has such a close connection between the community and the military - the Army and the Royal Australian Air Force here - and the veteran community as well. It is steeped in (military) history going back to the 1880s and certainly during World War Two.”
He said there was a strong bond between defence and the Townsville community, especially in times need such as the recent February flooding and the floods in 2019.
“We are very, very fortunate that we have young men and women who work with us and for us that are hard wired to want to help and want to contribute.
“You see that in when they go overseas and help others, whether they’re in Papua New Guinea, or whether they’re elsewhere in the region or elsewhere in the globe.
“You certainly see it in the community here, day to day, with volunteering, with participation in things like community sports and community events, and in times of crisis.
“We saw this in 2019 and going back over the years, and most recently, in early February when we had that record breaking rainfall, doing our bit to help out.
“We’re very lucky that our young men and women, most of the time we are trying to contain their enthusiasm, want to help this community, whether it’s in the good times and in the time tough times as well,” he said.
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Originally published as Defence Expo Gallery: Townsville welcomes new defence families
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