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The Heathdale Barbeque Festival takes place once a year on a sports ground in the Heathdale estate, in the suburb of Werribee, 35 km west of Melbourne’s CBD. The Festival is a symbol of pride for the residents of Heathdale and one of only a handful of BBQ festivals Australia-wide. We speak to resident volunteers Anne Walters, Janet Murphy, Maggie McInnes as well as volunteer Walter Villa-Gonzalo.
A group of committed local residents and volunteers from the Heathdale Neighbourhood Association have been actively involved in running the BBQ Festival. The event has become the centrepiece of their efforts to increase community pride and participation in the area. Since Heathdale became part of the Neighbourhood Renewal strategy three years ago, the volunteers came up with the idea for a BBQ festival and now play a key role in running it.
Building on a successful event last year, the 2005 BBQ Festival featured a BBQ competition, music performances, a walk through Heathdale’s wetlands and a variety of stalls, rides and events for kids. With excellent weather and tantalising food, the event attracted large numbers of people from within the estate, the wider Wyndam community and even across Melbourne. “I think, all in all the festival day is a great day,” said Janet Murphy, a Heathdale resident who became involved in Neighbourhood Renewal to get to know people on the estate and to help improve the area. “There’s so much for people to do, there’s so much participation. It fulfils a need that’s been in the community for a long time…And you see a lot more people taking pride in the area.” Residents and volunteers felt that holding events would build community pride and also increase community usage of Heathdale’s unique wetlands area. Volunteer and chair of the Pride and Participation Committee, Walter Villa-Gonzalo conceived the idea of a BBQ competition after seeing the success of similar competitions in the US. “We claim that Australia is the BBQ capital of the world,” Walter stated, “but there was nothing happening in Australia at all. In fact there were people or teams from Australia going to America to participate.” For the second year running, the competition attracted teams from Heathdale and beyond. The offerings of the ten teams who entered the comp this year impressed judge, TV Chef, and restaurateur, Iain Hewitson. “Huey” commented on some imaginative treats such as the baby pumpkin stuffed with a coconut custard and cooked on the barbie. But there was no shortage of traditional BBQ fare: snags, steaks, salad and sauce. Local team, Taste of Tonga, took out the Grand Champion along with other awards and went home with a BBQ valued at $1000. Many people who attended the festival undertook a walk winding through Heathdale’s tranquil wetlands that are adjacent to the sports oval where the BBQ festival was held. In order to educate visitors about the area’s precious environment, Wyndam council and volunteers organized signboards discussing the area’s rare and unique plants and animals. Maggie McInnes, a Heathdale resident and the secretary of the Friends of Heathdale-Glen Orden wetlands helped to organise the walk. Maggie was a little sceptical at first that the walk would attract many people. But she was pleasantly surprised that it became one of the drawcards of the day, enticing over 500 people.
Heathdale’s BBQ festival has been a success in its own right. But it has also been important in changing some of the negative images that have been associated with Heathdale in the past. Anne Walters, chairperson of the Heathdale Neighbourhood Association and a driving force in the area’s Neighbourhood Renewal. states, “When I first moved in here people called it birdsville, the birdcage. That wasn’t a good name, that wasn’t said in support of the area. It was to bring it down. People don’t do that anymore.” According to Janet Murphy the BBQ festival is “opening people’s eyes in the rest of Wyndam to say well really there’s nothing wrong with Heathdale.” Drawing on growing interest in the festival from local organisations and businesses, Anne, Janet, Walter and Maggie eventually hope to “put Heathdale on the map” by making the BBQ festival a state and national event. Next year’s festival is touted to be bigger and better. Maggie and Anne have already enlisted themselves to the task of finding sponsors. For Anne, the festival is as much about creating participation for local residents as “bringing together partnerships with the police, the council, other organisations that are in Wyndam.” In fact, Anne and other volunteers were in the process of drawing up a very long list of people from local organizations who made invaluable contributions to the festival. Running the festival requires a lot of dedication from residents and
volunteers. Anne speaks fondly of the Heathdale Neighbourhood Association
whose members donate as much time they can. “I’m very proud
as a matter of fact to be the chairperson of this group,” she
says, “because it’s one of the best groups ever.”
With talk of becoming the BBQ capital of Australia, holding regular
music performances and the revitalisation of the wetlands, it seems
nothing could dampen the Heathdale community’s growing sense of
pride and optimism. The Heathdale Barbeque Festival will take place in late 2006. LINKS: |
