LOCAL PROFILE
Deb Elliot By Jenna Crawford
Deb Elliot’s commitment to volunteer work and providing opportunities for others to create and learn ranges from sewing to photography, to the annual Roo Run and mural painting. Deb Elliot moved from Melbourne to Anglesea about seven years ago. During her 42-year career she worked in many different places throughout Australia in many different industries. She studied Information Technology at university and this put her in a good position to work in project management and take on leadership roles. One of her greatest feats was working on the construction of the new Parliament House in Canberra. Deb thought the best way to get to know people was to volunteer to do various things for the Anglesea community. Before too long her organisational skills and leadership accomplishments saw her take on many different roles with different groups. Her mother had always been a volunteer so she followed in her footsteps. Deb’s first volunteer role was being a scorer for Blind Cricket.
Snappers Photography Club Deb started the Snappers Photography Club 12 months ago. It has 12 regular members who meet at the Community House on the first and third Tuesday of the month. The first meeting is a ‘show and tell’, where photographers show the others what they have photographed. The second session provides an opportunity for participants to share their skills and knowledge. They also venture out on a regular basis to photograph Anglesea and its surrounding natural beauty. A neighbour of mine showed me some of Deb’s photographs accessed through Facebook and they were stunningly beautiful. There has been a recent photograph expo at Anglesea’s Art Space devoted to the natural environment. Three hundred and twenty-five people visited during seven days and nine photographs were sold.
made for patients to take home after their experience at the hospital. The group also make possum and kangaroo pouches to hand onto animal rescuer, Jason Cichocki. The largest volunteer project Deb has led was Helping Our Hospital Heroes Australia (HOHHA) that commenced during the first weeks of COVID and was initiated by the Rotary Club of Sunbury. Many individuals made 17,000 scrub hats for hospitals all around Australia. Deb worked closely with other groups in Queensland and Western Australia. Three groups contributed 40,000 caps. HOHHA is still active and recently sent out a request for three hundred scrub hats for Monash Dandenong. Deb was awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship Award from the Rotary Club of Sunbury for her leadership of the project. It is most unusual for a non-Rotarian to receive this award.
Stabb’s mural Deb has filled many roles in the Anglesea community, but is probably best known for her mural on the side of Stabb’s butcher shop. This was a result of the Surf Coast Shire’s Creative Coalition project, which encouraged local businesses and artists to work together. Deb, being a photographer and artist, worked cooperatively with Katrina Stabb. The mural depicts an early morning sunrise. It was painted over a six-week period taking approximately 45 hours. It is 6.5 metres by 2.5 metres and brightens up a dull brick wall for the visual enjoyment of residents and visitors. A lot of the work was done using a sponge application rather than a paintbrush. The paint used was Dulux Weathershield, which was purchased through the $1000 grant. It also has an anti-graffiti coating. Deb is also the new event coordinator for the Roo Run, which is a four- or eight- kilometre run held on the 27 December every year. Last year it had 550 participants and operates under the auspices of the Anglesea Motor
‘Sewing with a purpose’ On the third Monday of the month from 1–3pm anyone can participate in a community group known as ‘Sewing with a purpose’. The group was established to provide opportunities for those interested in sewing, knitting and crocheting to meet and create. Its aim is to provide articles for charities, such as the Royal Children’s Hospital Paediatric Intensive Care Unit. The bags are 12
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