10 COLLIE RIVER VALLEY BULLETIN, FEBRUARY 2, 2023
Award surprise for Wendy WHEN the name of this year’s Citizen of the Year was read out at last week’s Australia Day breakfast, there was a loud gasp of surprise – from none other than the winner, Wendy Hoskins. She was almost speechless when called up to accept the award, and was still in a state of shock when the proceedings were over. “I was listening to all the other nominations, and they were all so good I thought I had no chance of winning,” she said. “They were all so worthy.” Her husband, Mick, thought her win was a good thing, but apart from that he didn’t have much to say; Wendy said he is a pretty laid back person. While Wendy was surprised at winning, most people thought it was long overdue for her to get recognition – not that that is her motivation for all she does. She believes in getting involved in the community, and she has certainly done that. She is a long-serving member of Collie CWA, having filled all executive positions at one time or another at the local level, and has also held office at divisional level. She represented CWA on the Collie Welfare Council, was manager of the Collie Senior Citizens’ Centre for 21 years, on the Hospital Comforts Fund for more than 40 years, a member of Red Cross, tutors for Read Write Now, is a serving Justice of the Peace, cleans the radio station, drives a bus, and organises trips for people to enable them to see
theatrical productions out of town. Born in England, Wendy came to Collie when she was around two years of age. She started school at St Brigids, but the family moved away when she was seven, and lived in a number of places. They returned to Collie for holidays fairly frequently, but it was not until Mick got a position at Muja Power Station that she returned to live here. “When we settled down in Collie, I joined the CWA and it opened the doors
to lots of things,” Wendy said. “It is lots of fun.” One of the doors it opened up was to Red Cross, another the Hospital Comforts Fund. Both these organisations work to improve the lot of others - the Red Cross through its welfare activities in the local community, and supporting recovery in times of trouble and disaster, and the Hospital Comforts Fund in providing the extra items which make hospital stays
COLLIE born and bred Leanne Potter, nee Palmer, received a Public Service Medal in the Australia Day Honours list last Thursday, for her work for the deaf and hard of hearing community. She worked with the Department of Education and key stakeholders to ensure deaf children and young people could attend mainstream education with the assistance of an AUSLAN interpreter. Her choice of career was inspired by her late father, John Palmer, who was deaf. Leanne attended Wilson Park Primary
School, and had spent two years at Collie Senior High School when her father died. She went to Loreta Convent to complete her high school education, and undertook primary school teaching after her high school graduation. “We used to ‘finger-talk’ to Dad,” Leanne said. “He told me once that he had been in the Collie Club, having a beer at the bar. “A group of young men stood behind him, calling out to him offering to buy him a beer. “They knew he could not hear them, and thought it was a great joke.
“He became aware something was happening, but did not respond. Instead, he came home and told me about it, saying it was no way to behave. “He was teaching me a lesson in life, about how to behave towards others. “He was a very intelligent, wise man.” Leanne took the lesson to heart, and dedicated her life to improving the lot of deaf children in the WA education system. After gaining a Diploma of Education, she added a Bachelor degree in sociology from Curtin, a Diploma of Interpreting AUSLAN, and B.Ed in Deaf Education from Edith Cowan University, followed by a Master of Education from Melbourne University. She became principal of the Shenton College Deaf Education Centre, was an AUSLAN interpreter for 29 years and a Board member of the WA Deaf Society. One of those to benefit from time in the Shenton College Deaf Education Centre was Collie Senior High School student Mahalia Payze who spent time there late last year. Along the way, Leanne also served five and a half years as a councillor on the City of Subiaco. Awarded a Public Service Medal in this year’s Australia Day Honours List for outstanding public service through commitment to social justice and advocacy for the inclusion of AUSLAN in mainstream education, her citation reads: “Ms Leanne Potter is a cherished edu-
Wendy Hoskins is congratulated by 2022 Citizen of the Year Mark Paget.
less stressful and more comfortable for patients. Wendy still works for both organisations, although the Comforts Fund’s kiosk has been on hold while the hospital has been on Code Red during COVID-19. In 1978, she was asked to take a position at the Collie Welfare Council representing CWA. “It was a terrible time for Collie, as there were lots of empty houses following the closure of Amalgamated Collieries, and single mothers were relocated here,” Wendy said. “They had nothing, and were without any support, so Hilda Turnbull formed the Collie Welfare Council to fill the gap. “It started as an emergency housekeeper service. I ended up on the steering committee.” An activity which Wendy finds very satisfying is Read Write Now, which was started by Lions. “It is very satisfying dealing with adults who are unable to read and write, people don’t really understand what a handicap that is,” she said. “It can actually be dangerous if you can’t read signs, or read prescriptions – and of course, it impacts on finding work. It is very gratifying when you see people make progress and begin to read.” Wendy is also a Justice of the Peace, and ran the weekly bingo at the Collie Football Club for many years until she stood down as organiser early last year – but she still goes and plays. She intends to continue volunteering for her various concerns.
Early lessons from dad led to career choice and award
Leanne Potter, awarded a Public Service Medal for her work as an advocate for the deaf and hard of hearing.
cator and social justice advocate giving a voice to those that are underrepresented, whether it be women in the workplace, children with low socio- economic backgrounds and notably those who are deaf and hard of hearing. “As an advocate for the deaf and hard of hearing community, one of her greatest achievements was integrating AUSLAN into mainstream education. She worked collaboratively with the Department of Education and key stakeholders to ensure deaf children and young people could attend mainstream education with the assistance of an AUSLAN interpreter. She also advocated for the inclusion of the AUSLAN Australian Tertiary Admission Rank course into the Western Australian Curriculum. As Principal for Shenton College Deaf Education Centre until 2021 she worked with Shenton College’s principal to be the first school in Western Australia to offer this course. “During her time in deaf education, she developed teachers’ expertise to educate deaf and hard of hearing students, significantly increasing the number of AUSLAN interpreters with qualifications working in schools across the state. She managed the oversight of educational interpreters across Western Australia and established the Access and Equity division at the School of Special Educational Needs (formerly Western Australian Institute for Deaf Education).” Leanne is now a Growth Coach, and lives in Subiaco.
