They are politicans, businesspeople, innovators and entertainers.

Here’s our list of movers and shakers in Warrnambool.

ARCHIE ROACH

The south-west has produced some great Australia musicians - Airbourne, Goanna (Shane and Marcia Howard) and Neil Murray to name a few - and Archie Roach sits comfortably among the finest singer-songwriters this country has produced.

The Gunditjmara and Bundjalung man has won seven ARIA awards and was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame among a string of accolades and awards he has amassed over his 30-year career.

He received a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours of 2015 and was named the 2020 Victorian Australian of the Year,

Roach has had a remarkable life. A member of the Stolen Generations aged four, he would go on to battle years of homelessness and alcohol addiction before meeting his future wife, the late Ruby Hunter.

After releasing his first song - the haunting Took The Children Away - Roach’s debut album Charcoal Lane was released in 1990 to huge critical acclaim and from there he has forged a brilliant much career as well as playing an active role in Indigenous affairs.

In 2021, Roach will complete his Tell Me Why tour which will be the final tour of his career and is celebrating - albeit a year late because of COVID-19 - the 30th anniversary of Charcoal Lane.

He lives in Killarney.

DAN TEHAN

The Member for Wannon was elevated to Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment in December 2020 after holding the Education portfolio from late 2018.

He was formerly Minister for Social Services, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Minister for Defence Personnel, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Cyber Security and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of Anzac.

In April, Mr Tehan embarked on his first overseas mission to meet with EU counterparts about securing more COVID-19 vaccines as well as furthering Free Trade Agreements talks.

Trade tensions have escalated between Australia and China - our biggest trading partner - in 2020 and 2021, making Mr Tehan’s role a particularly important one in Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s cabinet.

Mr Tehan was elected to Federal Parliament in 2010.

VICKI JELLIE

Elected Warrnambool Mayor to lead a new-look council in 2020, Cr Jellie was a fierce campaigner and the driving force behind the city getting a cancer centre.

Cr Jellie’s husband Peter died from cancer in 2008, and she took over his plans to hold a local cancer fundraiser for radiotherapy services in the south-west.

“Peter’s Project” was established in 2009 with a community group lobbying for investment in improved cancer services.

By 2014, through relentless lobbying, the Federal and Victorian governments had allocated $30 million and in 2016 the South West Regional Cancer Centre was opened.

Her dedication and hard work were rewarded in 2017 when she was named Australia’s Local Hero in the Australia Day awards.

She was unanimously elected Warrnambool Mayor for 12 months.

PHILIP GAN

Dr Gan can add inventor to his list of credentials which includes director of general surgery at Southwest Healthcare and chief medical officer and founder director of Livac Pty Ltd.

Dr Gan has been a surgeon in Warrnambool since 2002, focusing on laparoscopic “key-hole” techniques.

He has also invented a number of medical devices including the laparoscopic liver retractor which is used to safely and gently lift the liver while performing liver and gall bladder surgery, allowing for less evasive procedures.

Dr Gan’s medical devices have been patented in the United States, Europe, China, Japan and Korea as well as Australian and New Zealand and he has other inventions in the pipeline.

The LiVac Retractor was commercialised in 2010 and LiVac Pty Ltd won the Australian Technologies Company of the Year in 2017.

PAUL JENNINGS

The acclaimed children’s author has sold more than 10 million books since the launch of Unreal! in 1985.

The popular television series Round The Twist was based on his short story and he has won a litany of awards including being made a Member of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 1995 and he received a lifetime achievement award from the Children’s Book Council of Australia in 2019.

Jennings penned his autobiography Untwisted (The Story of My Life) in 2020.

In 2019, he and wife - actor and comedian Mary Anne Fahey - sold their 21.4ha property just outside Warrnambool for an undisclosed amount (it had an initial $1.35 million price tag) and they moved into the city.

JIMMI BUSCOMBE

The story of Jimmi Buscombe’s drawing of a wombat on a railway bridge in Warrnambool thrust a national spotlight on the Warrnambool artist in 2018.

What was supposed to be a temporary piece of street art in chalk that would wash off in the rain, the piece became a permanent fixture when local larrikin and graffiti removalist Phil Hoy saw and admired it - so much so he added automotive clear coat to “save” the piece.

“Gutsy” the wombat remains and Buscombe has gone on to forge a successful career that has included a 3D mural at MacKillop Family Services which depicts a girl walking through a hole in the building’s wall to discover the beauty of Warrnambool bay.

In 2020, he painted two dancing brolgas on the Lismore Water Towers which are now part of the Australia Silo Art trail.

He has painted several other public wildlife artwork pieces in Warrnambool including the Emu Dad and Chicks which is on the same railway bridge (but other side of Flaxman Street) as the Gutsy the wombat.

COLIN MCKENNA

Colin McKenna bought the Warrnambool abattoir in 1988 and established the Midfield Group which today employs more than 1500 people.

The Midfield Group has become a powerhouse in the industry with multiple divisions in the domestic and export markets for beef, lamb, veal, mutton and their byproducts.

The group’s divisions include Union Dairy Company, a plant in Penola, South Australia, which has the capacity to process 300 million litres of raw milk a year.

Mr McKenna, 71, remains hands-on as managing director of the Midfield Group.

In 2021, he received a Member of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday honours for his service to the community.

DENIS NAPTHINE

The former vet would go on to rise through the Victorian political ranks after being elected Member for Portland in 1988.

Mr Napthine took over as Minister for Youth and Community Services in Premier Jeff Kennett’s cabinet in 1996 and became Opposition Leader after the Liberals lost the 1999 election and Kennett stood down.

Robert Doyle challenged Mr Napthine for the Liberal Party leadership just before the 2002 election, and won. Mr Napthine would go on to be Minister for Ports, Racing, Regional Cities and Major Projects in Premier Ted Baillieu’s government in 2010.

Mr Napthine became Premier when Mr Baillieu resigned in 2013, a position he held until losing the 2014 election to Daniel Andrews.

Mr Napthine continues to play an active role in the south-west community and can be heard each week on a radio show.

ROMA BRITNELL

The Member for South West Coast was first elected at a by-election in 2015 and re-elected for a second term in 2018.

Ms Britnell is the both the Shadow Minister for Rural Roads and Ports and Freight.

Prior to her election, the Liberal member managed a dairy farm and she has a background in healthcare including 15 years managing the Kirrae Health Service in Framlingham.

Ms Britnell has become an important member of Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien’s team and is also on Parliament’s Family and Community Development Committee.

GRAEME RODGER

One of the most successful property developers in the south-west for more than 50 years, Mr Rodger is managing director of civil construction company Rodger Constructions.

The company has completed civil works and services throughout Victoria and parts of South Australia and south-east Queensland.

A former Warrnambool City Councillor, Mr Rodger was the inaugural chairman of the South West Water Authority which is today known as Wannon Water.

He was the developer behind Warrnambool venues including the Flying Horse Bar and Brewery, Hopkins River Caravan Park and Gillin Park Retirement Village.

Rodger Constructions employs more than 150 people.