President and founder of the Friends of Lower Kororoit Creek (FLKC) and local lobbyist, Geoffrey Mitchelmore OAM, is hanging up the boots for a well-earned retirement.
When asked how he feels about retiring, the 84-year old said he’s “not sure yet.”
Mr Mitchelmore said his passion for the environment came on “by accident” in 2000, instigated by dangerous truck traffic in Altona North.
“I realised the only way to fix it was to get the government to build a bridge across the Kororoit Creek,” he said.
Mr Mitchelmore became involved in the $8 million Barnes Bridge project and quickly developed an appreciation for the Kororoit Creek, which he noticed was highly-polluted and in a poor condition.
When a government-issued media release referred to the creek as a ‘drain’ Mr Mitchelmore decided he wanted to do more to protect the vital waterway.
“I took exception to [the wording] and told them they needed to change it because it may be a drain to most people but it’s actually a proper waterway,” said Mr Mitchelmore.
He then worked with community members Craig and Debbie Woods to form an action group, which was then established as the FLKC in 2001.
“We set ourselves two goals. One was to green the Kororoit Creek corridor because there was hardly a tree there and the other one was to try and get a path from Cherry Lake right through to Geelong road,” said Mr Mitchelmore.
The group is now on track to fulfil those goals.
Stages four and five of the Kororoit Creek Trail are set to be finished by the end of the year after the project received a $5 million funding boost from the federal government in February.
“It’s been a fantastic achievement for the group to get that all done,” he said.
Mr Mitchelmore, a former industrial chemist, local theatre actor, ship builder and sailor, said he’s not entirely sure what he’ll do with all the extra time in his retirement.
“It’s been like four careers in my life. And they were all really great. I was just really lucky,” he said.
“Now I’ve got a fifth one to find.”
