13 minute read
Profile: Darcy Bennett
LOCAL PROFILE: DARCY BENNETT I Still Call Anglesea Home
By Libby Stapleton When Darcy Bennett’s parents made the move to Anglesea 23 years ago, little did they know they were laying the foundation for Darcy’s future career as a real estate agent in town.
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As a four-year-old, Darcy’s parents Helen and Dale Bennett, moved from Peterborough to create a new restaurant in Anglesea called The Olive Tree Café, on the site that is now Morgans. At the time, it was student accommodation, so the Bennetts made the original transformation of it into a venue for hospitality.
Like most kids in town, Darcy loved growing up in Anglesea; surfing, bike riding, playing footy and hanging out with mates. It was the good life. But he didn’t take any of it for granted and worked hard at school, becoming school captain in Grade 6 at Anglesea Primary School, then again in Year 12 as he studied for his VCE in Lorne.
Breaking free from the shackles of childhood, Darcy made the move to Melbourne to start a university degree but soon discovered it wasn’t for him. However, he wasn’t ready to leave the big smoke and, for a number of years, he enjoyed working in hospitality (it was in his blood) while living in the city.
Darcy’s direction began to change around the age of 21, when he landed a role with a building company called ‘Boutique Homes’, where he started to help people design and develop their dream homes. Working with them and sister company ‘Home Buyers Centre’,
Darcy Bennett (right) with partner Sophie and their new baby son Woody.
he soon discovered a passion for the building industry, and took great delight in helping people “solve a problem”. However, Darcy still felt a strong connection to the coast, and the lifestyle it afforded. His knowledge of working with developers and in the building industry paved the way for a new role at Hayden’s Real Estate in Torquay in 2019, where he took charge of land development projects.
At the end of last year, he made his final move back ‘home’. Hayden’s had an opening in their Anglesea office, and Darcy soon found himself located directly opposite the place his parents had started. He had gone full circle.
Now, as a 27-year-old and recent new father, Darcy sees Anglesea through adult eyes.
“Anglesea and Aireys have both managed to retain that coastal village feel, which is really important and I hope we don’t lose that,” he said.
“I still love being able to surf and to get out in the bush on my bike. That hasn’t changed. And I’ve recently joined the Anglesea Golf Club but, with a new baby and lockdown restrictions, that probably wasn’t the best timing!” Darcy and his partner Sophie had their first baby, Woody, in May and, for Darcy, coming home to his smile is the highlight of his day.
“I have this special way of making him laugh, and it just melts me,” said Darcy. “We have our own little routine at night, when I bath him and give him a bottle. You can’t understand what it’s like until you have kids of your own.” Darcy and Sophie have recently built an investment property in Winchelsea, where Darcy says many young families are starting to move.
“It’s a growth area for sure, and a great way for young families to get into the property market without a massive mortgage. We’re seeing lots of young families moving in around us, which is great for kids and community.
“It’s been a bit tough on Sophie, having a new baby during lockdown. We both have big loving families who live nearby in Winch, Anglesea and Geelong, so we’re really looking forward to when they can come and visit, to see more of us and Woody.” So what’s next for Darcy Bennett?
“Honestly, I’m so happy where I’m at right now. Living back on the Surf Coast, with an amazing partner and beautiful baby, working for Hayden’s. “They are a great family to work for and they run a great business.
“It’s also great being around people I grew up with, walking down the street or into the bakery and seeing familiar faces. I enjoy talking to people, which is part of the reason I love my job so much. I like being able to help people and to get a good outcome for them.” With Darcy well and truly committed to setting up his future life in and around Anglesea and the Surf Coast, who knows … maybe one day we’ll be writing about Woody Bennett and why he still calls Anglesea home.
LOCAL PROFILE: DANI HULYER, EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGIST Peak Pursuit
By Penny Edmanson For a community like ours, nestled in a beautiful outdoor setting with beach, bush and multiple community sporting facilities at our fingertips, we are drawn to an active lifestyle.
How fortunate that we have such a diverse range of professionals to support us when our exercise regimes don’t run smoothly –GPs, physiotherapists, osteopaths, myotherapists, masseurs –all on our doorstep. Now we can add a new one –an exercise physiologist. Dani Hulyer moved to Anglesea in April. With COVID-19 really starting to take hold, it was not an ideal time to relocate her business ‘Peak Pursuit’ from the Mornington Peninsula. However, with Exercise Physiology deemed an ‘essential service’, her home visits with clients for exercise could still occur, albeit with socially distant methods in place where possible. It was inevitable that Dani would have to take some time off from seeing clients to supervise remote learning for her son, including the eagerly anticipated home-based PE lessons! Although Dani was born in Melbourne, she grew up in Perth, where she finished school and went on to complete a Bachelor of Physical Education (Human Movement) and Diploma in Education at the University of Western Australia. As part of a beach-loving and surfing family, most of her weekends and holidays were spent “down south” around Yallingup and Margaret River, and weekdays in and near the beach in
Dani works with clients at their homes to assist with a range of health goals.
metro Perth. Little did she know that several decades later she’d be enjoying the same lifestyle on the other side of the continent.
From an early age, sport was a priority for Dani: playing netball at school, university and state level; and joining North Cottesloe Surf Life Saving Club, where she was part of some of the early female surfboat rowing crews, and competed at ‘the Aussies’ in Kurrawa, Queensland. Rite of passage involved the inevitable backpacking trip overseas. This extended to be a 12 or 13-year experience, during which she lived and worked in Whistler, British Colombia for 18 months and then based in London for nearly 12 years, developing her career whilst travelling to compete in various sports (adventure, race, outrigger canoe paddling). When Dani and her 10-month-old son returned to Australia in 2008, she chose to settle on the Mornington Peninsula, as her parents had relocated there. For the next 12 years, she steadily built up her business, Peak Pursuit: visiting private clients, Medicare referrals, DVA, TAC and Worker’s Compensation clients in their homes, as an Accredited Exercise Physiologist (AEP), whilst continuing with her ongoing education into rehabilitation and movement in general as a Human Biomechanics specialist (Level 2) through Functional Patterns. Another move was inevitable, however, when Dani met her partner, a long-term Geelong/Surf Coast local ... and so they established on another piece of coastline (arguably the best of all the moves!). Having bought a block of land in Anglesea, Dani, her partner and two boys look forward to building in the near future.
Meanwhile, they are settling into the
Barry BEFORE (left) and AFTER working with Dani, taken one week apart, showing how his posture has improved.
community, pinching themselves every time they walk the beaches, paddle at Roadknight or bike around Coogoorah Park and the coalmine, so excited to call Anglesea ‘home’. An Accredited Exercise Physiologist “specialises in exercise interventions for persons at high-risk of developing, or with existing, chronic and complex medical conditions and injuries. The aim is to assist in restoring optimal physical function, health and wellness through behavioural change”. Lose the jargon and you have an expert who, regardless of your age or standard of fitness, can assess your body’s needs and capabilities and guide you to appropriate exercise and behaviour to get the most out of life. Dani stresses that not only people suffering from chronic disease or injury benefit from working with her as an AEP. Many private health funds also recognise exercise physiology. Dani has had experience with a broad range of sports interests at many levels. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find a sport or age group she hasn’t worked with. Her youngest client was a nine-year-old devoted netballer, many were golfing couples ranging in age from 60 to 80 years, her oldest client to date was a spritely 97-year-old WW2 veteran and a new local client is a young aspiring UFC (Mixed Martial Arts) competitor. Professional sport, amateur sport, surgery preparation or rehabilitation, lowering your golf handicap, keeping fit or just keeping up with the grandkids –Dani’s consulting can assist. As she says, “Essentially it all comes down to being able to do the ‘Big 4’ movements well and with integrity –standing, walking, running and throwing –the blueprint for our foundation movements that evolved many, many thousands of years ago. “Combine this with some positive, holistic changes to a person's health (thinking, eating, drinking, dealing with stress, sleep, getting into nature and sunshine) and almost everyone comes out the other end of a session feeling better and knowing just a little bit more about how to look after themselves.” Dani is a team player and feels it is imperative to form respectful, supportive and reciprocal relationships with Allied Health Professionals.
She says the Anglesea Medical Centre doctors have been extremely supportive of her business, knowing they now had an experienced exercise physiologist capable of doing home visits and attending to a wide variety of patient exercise and healthy lifestyle needs. This encouraging reception on a professional level has been reflected on a personal level by the welcome they have received as they transition to life as Anglesea locals. Dani will soon be an integral part of our community with her transfer into the local CFA, impending transfer from Point Leo SLSC and Ocean Grove SLSC to the Anglesea SLSC, and her son's involvement with local cricket and tennis clubs.
Like others who’ve moved to our town, she loves the fact that someone she has met through the CFA might be her local plumber or postman, her auto mechanic reappears as one of the local sports team coaches, and many of her lovely new clients have all sorts of other roles within the community. An updated Peak Pursuit website is in development at the time of print, but you can find out more information about Functional Patterns at www.functionalpatterns.com, YouTube or follow fpdanihulyer on Instagram. In the meantime, Dani can be contacted on 0405289355 and is happy to provide a FREE first consultation.
By Marcelle Renkin, Program Coordinator
The global Pandemic has had an impact on all of us, albeit in different ways. For us here at the Community House, it has meant we are missing the ‘heart’ of the House, the people who participate in courses, regular meet-up groups, yoga, pilates and the many other activities that see people coming and going from the Community House.
We have been working hard to develop a flexible approach to learning and engagement with community as we navigate the challenges that COVID-19 brings, to enable us to continue to connect community and build community spirit.
We feel that our core business as a Neighbourhood House is strongly aligned with the thinking around how we as a community can come together to reconnect under a ‘new normal’ by creating COVID-safe spaces and activities in our community.
Due to the current uncertainty, our ability to implement courses and events in the near future has been hindered. However, the Committee of Management and the House Coordinators continue to work behind the scenes to develop strategies that will allow us to safely connect in the near future.
We are also working to strengthen and promote the many wonderful activities, groups, social activities (COVID-safe), exercise and wellbeing activities that happen in our local community.
For details of some of these activities, please see our ‘Activities and Events’ guide in the centre pages of NewsAngle. If you run a group or activity that is open to new members, please get in touch with us so we can let people know how to connect with you.
We continue to offer one-on-one support for access to technology through our ‘Staying Connected’ program.
If you need help with programs or apps like Zoom or Facetime to stay in touch with friends and family, or to join in a local activity, please get in touch with us to set up a time to meet.
Call us at the House on 5263 2116 or email courses@anglesea.org.au The Resale Shed
ACH continues to work to strengthen our current projects. The Resale Shed at the Anglesea Transfer Station has been a passionate project for the volunteer committee that runs it.
We have noticed a lot of interest from people wanting to know when we will re-open the Shed. This project involves participation by many local organisations, as it provides a great way for smaller groups to raise funds by volunteering at the shop on scheduled dates. So not only are we saving recyclable goods from landfill, but we are also helping small community groups fund their activities. We will re-open The Resale Shed when we are advised it is safe to do so, in line with government policy.
Foodlink Anglesea and Aireys Inlet / Fairhaven
Foodlink is another project that is run by the ACH. Volunteers have worked for more than 20 years to keep our food security program running for residents of Anglesea, Aireys and surrounds, who may at times find themselves in need of some support.
Foodlink is grateful for the generosity of individuals and local clubs/ organisations that donate towards this cause. Through this generosity, we are able to supply emergency food parcels as well as offering an ongoing service to community members in need.
If you or anyone you know is in need, please reach out to access our fully confidential service. You can call us on 5263 2116 or email admin@anglesea.org.au.
Get Involved!
If you would like to volunteer with the Community House and/or with any of the projects we manage and support, please get in touch with us to find out more information and discuss how you can get involved.
