February 6, 2025 • 16 mins
From helping to heal the heartbreak of the Greta bus tragedy, to being in the thick of a rugby scrum, Gerard MacMillan is one of Singleton's finest, with an Order of Australia medal to prove it.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
My heart Upper Hunter.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I suggested the board give ten percent of the Helfhily
profits to local charities, and that's what he did.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Hello, I'm Darren Katruviy. In this episode, I get the
privilege of sitting down with a bloke who can only
be described as one of the region's really good eggs.
Newcastle born and bred Jared McMillan turned up in the
Upper Hunter in the seventies. Since then he's been an
integral part of the fabric of Singleton in his four
(00:30):
decades at the helm of the Diggers Club to Roatree,
his local church, and also refereeing local rugby union. And
that dedication to making our community a better place to
live has been rewarded half a century on with an
Order of Australia Medal. In true Jared's style, he says
he was surprised when he found out he was awarded
(00:51):
the im.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
That's an understatement, Yes, I was terribly surprised.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Jared grew up in Newcastle but had long had a
connection to Seeking, with his mum and sister both attending
boarding schools and catherinees that qualified account and then decided
to move up here himself in the mid seventies when
he was offered a job as the secretary manager of
the Diggers Club.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
The first thing we did was to purchase the sub
branch property in York Street from the sub branch, the
RSSOL sub branch, one of the first in the state
by the RSL property that was back in nineteen eighty two,
and then we renovated it. And by about nineteen eighty
eight we didn't have any competition in town, and so
(01:33):
I convinced the Ball to split the license and to
build a club up at Elroy which is now Club Doorsman,
and so we were successful there. So then we had
managed two clubs. And so when Club Doorsmen, originally Olroy
Park complex was built, it went very well. So then
I'd come back and I'd renovate downtown and at York
(01:57):
Street and it would pick up. Then I'd go back
and renovate at the Heights. Now, as far as the
members were concerned, it's all one club, but I had
that personal competition towards myself making one improve against the other.
So unless you're going forward, you going backwards. And it's
quite important in business that I believe that if you
(02:18):
derive an income in a business, you should put something
back into the business. And I was fortunate to have
quite a lot of positions within the club industry, both
at state level and at national level. So I've had
a blessed life. To put it moldily, it hasn't always
made you popular. Tell us about the time that some
(02:40):
members of the Diggers club donned T shirts with your
face on it and maybe some not so favorable statements.
Oh yeah, well if it doesn't, could you makes you stronger?
At one stage there I was talking about all the
clubs in Singleton and malcam mating. That was just one
of the things when I wanted to build over extend
(03:01):
the club over the bowling green. Yeah, three hundred people
turned up the end of general meeting to keep the
came of bowls and at that particular time, the bowling
club was struggling and I thought it would have been
a lot better if our bowlers bowl at the bowling
club and we could have done other things at the Diggers,
but it didn't eventuate.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
To still get a bit nervous when you see the
bowling Green. I mean I was a Diggers recently in
town and seem to be a well utilized bowling green.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Yes, well, when I can. We did have a Jack
Boren was the greenkeeper when we first started there, and
Jack was a long time employee at the Singleton Diggers,
and then after him we had another greenkeeper in Robert Riddell.
But the club just with one green with a small
number of bowlers, couldn't afford a full time greenkeeper and
(03:52):
Robert left and one of the bowlers from the bowling
club we'd come around and work part time on the
green at the Diggers. So Wayne Grady was the chairman
at the time, and together with Wayne, we traveled down
to Newcastle and we looked at a few clubs who
had the synthetic bowling greens, and so we put a
(04:13):
synthetic bowling green in and it's amazing. People were saying,
oh it was scratch your bowls and all the rest
of There are a lot of negativity against synthetic bowling greens,
but I think the proof is in the pudding the
surfaces at the Diggers. Now that's the third surface that
they've had put on that green and the bowlers love it.
(04:33):
There was a former sergeant a police in Singleton who
was a very good bowler. He used to bowl at
the Bowling Club and Kevin crossing Him was his name,
and Kevin used to say, once you put the synthetic
green and just have a look, how the standard of
bowls will improve within your club. And certainly, even though
in the past the Singleton RSOL Bowling Club had won
(04:54):
a few titles, they've won a lot more now having
the synthetic bowling green, and of course that's attracted bowlers
to come and join us. Where they were struggling at
one stage to field the Pennant team. Now they've got
more teams than that. There's more bowlers there than what
there were when I used to be at the club.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Your focus, obviously is to run the clubs to be
financially viable. And you know you talked about the million
dollars and all that stuff earlier, how much of what
you do at the clubs was about putting back into
the community through the money you actually make at the club.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Well, when we first brought the property back in nine
in eighty two and we wanted to extend it, we
knew that we didn't have enough car spaces at the
time and to get it through Counsel, Singleton Counsel and
sing On council have been very very supportive over many years.
I said, well, I said to the board, we're a
community club. We need to show not any counsel but
(05:55):
the community. But we're there for them. So in nineteen
eighty two I suggested the board give ten percent of
the heartily profits to local charities and that's what he did.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Despite running the Diggers clubs, Gerard found himself spending a
lot of time at the rugby Union club and before
long he was on the whistle as a referee.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
I took up referee when people my age were giving
it away and I've also managed representative for rugby union
teams and that that was really good.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
It's a perfect segue to mention the Singleton Bulls and
the fact that they're the current premiers and they wanted
against the odds last year.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
They're a very strong team and when I first came
to Selton, I think they won about eleven Grand finals
in a row before they went to Newcastle, and I
think the last game before they went to Newcastle scan
and beat them. But then when they were in Newcastle
they won three Grand finals in a row and that
was actually a record in Newcastle to win three Grand
(06:58):
Finals in a row. In my old club Hamilton, they
beat that record by winning five in a row. But
now I have a very soft spot for Singleton. And
when I first came to Singleton, John Halter was the
president of the rugby club. I'd drive up from Newcastle
for five months up and back before I could find accommodation,
(07:19):
so I wouldn't drink alcohol in the Diggers for my
first year, and I'd call into the rugby Club and
i'd have a drink or two with John Halter, and
he used to give me the information about various Singleton
identities and John a wonderful man. And then they did
ask me if i'd sponsor a trophy, and I of
(07:40):
course I would. Back in seventy nine and I sponsored
the best back in first grade and I've had the
honor of being able to sponsor that trophy down at
the Rugby Club ever since. And I want to keep
doing that. And my son Benjamin, even though he's tied
up with Hamilton, he did play for second when he
was still at school, who played reserve grade when he's
(08:01):
still at school, he wants to maintain that sponsorship of
that best back in first grade when I'm not able
to do.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
It still to come. Jered McMillan's role with Roadtrie, how
we help guide the community through one of its most
heartbreaking chapters and answering a call to help out refugees
settle into the Singleton Army Barracks in the late nineties.
I heart Upper Hunter, I heart Apper Hunter. Welcome back.
(08:32):
I'm Darren Katruvia and my guest today is one of
Singleton's newest OAM recipients, Jered McMillan, and a big part
of that acknowledgment is his lifelong involvement with Roatree.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
In about nineteen eighty six, I was asked to join
the club by mister Dennis Allen and Dennis is still
alive and so I ended up joining in nineteen eighty
seven and my journey over the years has been fantastick.
My three children were able to go to New Zealand
(09:03):
on short term exchange, which was a match to exchange,
so then we had three children from New Zealand their
mixed match was stopping with us, which was a delight.
When I was married. We were also able to host
another ten overseas exchange students and that was a blessing
in itself, these young young people being in the house
(09:26):
and learning about their customs and experiences, and that was
really really good. And then I had the opportunity then
have been Club President of the Rotary Club of Singleton
in ninety nine two thousand and I also used to
go to the District Foundation a committee and a Rotrie
(09:47):
Foundation as Rotary's charity, and I was on that committee
for quite a number of years. And then a past
district governor, Greg Bevan, asked me would i'd be the
chair of the Rotary Foundation for the district And I
said to him, doesn't that position go to the past
district governor? He said no, he goes to the person
(10:07):
who he thinks can do a good job. And I
was fortunate, so I did it. And then the three
years I was there, I had a very energetic committee.
We set goals like you do in business. Be very
first meeting we sent down and said okay, no, what
do we want to achieve? And we put our KPIs
down And after about five or six months we weren't
(10:29):
hitting the targets and I offered my resignation. But then
Dennis Trigg, who had been a long member of that
committee said no, jured you know, you're the best guy
we've had yet. But anyway, they knew things that I
didn't know because we had three very successful years, record
years for the district and funds that we raise for
the Rotary Foundation. And then I was asked to stand
(10:52):
for district governor and I was up against a very
capable man and I thought, oh, yeah, well, going to
give the job to this other gentleman. And so I
was very relaxed at the interview, and extremely relaxed anyway
that later that afternoon mad a phone call from a
past district having to Don Stevens to say that I
(11:15):
was selected. I was shocked, to say the least, but
I was blessed to have the support of not only
the people of Singleton but people around the district and
we had a I think a wonderful year.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
Jared McMillan has also found himself taking on the role
of helping communities heal in the face of tremendous trauma
like the Great a bus crash. Jared was a guest
at the wedding that day and he was in the
car traveling behind the bus. Jared found himself front and
center of a fundraising campaign for victims and their families.
(11:48):
It wasn't easy given the intense media spotlight on the
horrific events.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
I know, the media have got to do a job.
And there was a member of our roatory club, Alex Tinga,
who used to work firstly at the Arcus and then
at the Hunter River Times. Well. Alex was a member
of our rotary club, the Roatary Club of Singleton Sunrise,
and he actually was on that coach. It was the
best mean at the wedding. So when the accident occurred,
(12:15):
now our rotary club were very quick to get in
with the help of the past district governor, Brian Coffee.
Actually Brian was a driving force behind it. I was
just the face of Singleton. Brian lives in East Maitland
and Brian the would be best if I front the
cameras because people in Singleton would know me. And that
was an experience. But then people were wanting to talk
(12:38):
to Alex, they wanted to talk to other people and
my job was just safeguard them from the media. It
was just and I know even when the media talk
about it, even just recently, that must bring up a
lot of hurt and a lot of bad memories, and
unfortunately the victims and the friends of the victims, they well,
they'll never never get over it.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
All.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
We hope and pray that they can live with it
and just try and try and get on. But there's
this guard for life, and we all are and it's
just a horrific thing.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
His generosity and selflessness is also reflected in welcoming those
who find themselves on the other side of the world
seeking a safe future. In the late nineties, Jared macmillan
didn't think twice about being asked to help a family
of temporary refugees. Displays by the war in Kosovo.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Were back in the late nineteen nineties when the Kosovos
were out of the Singleton Army camp. The community of
Singleton were asked to befriend the Kossovs. And I befriended
the Mirana Riffi and his family, Murvetti his wife, Frisnik
and Dfena his daughter, and we made very good friends
(13:50):
of Moran. Actually Mouran worked at the arkis for shot. Lovely,
lovely gentleman. I've taken for trips. They come here for
home and I go on have coffee, because all you
could do out at the army camp. They could give
me coffee and they are just wonderful people. And we
went to Newcastle one time and some of you may
recall the Kiwi ice cream shop in Zara Street. Well,
(14:13):
I bought Frisnik and Defina and ice cream and we're
down at Newcastle Beach and we got a photo of
the five of us and that Fata had been sitting
on my desk ever since, which I showed you earlier
on Darren and so I thought that was it, and
I just had fond memories of the Kosovo's. But then
some eighteen years later I received an invitation to go
(14:35):
to Kosovo to go to Friznik's wedding, a wedding consisting
of five hundred people. There's only one other Australian lady
that went over. And I recall going down to the
travel agency in Singleton and asking for tickets to go
to Kosovo, and the lady down there said, no one
wants to go to Kosovo, and I said, well I do,
(14:55):
and what an experience it was.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
So after all that that's not even half of it.
How does Jared feel about being the recipient of such
an honor as an Order of Australia.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
I'm humbled by it, but I can understand when I
supposely read what I've done or some of the things
I've done, I was considered worthy of it. But it's
not me. It's for those who have assisted me on
my journey, those who have believed in what I've believed
in and worked towards a common goal. So no one
(15:27):
is an island, and I think we just need the
support of others and I've been blessed to have that
support of so many people over the years.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Congratulations again, thanks for talking to us.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Thanks Darren, it's a pleasure. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Jared McMillan, Oh I am. I hope you know the
Upper Hunter is proud and thankful to have you in
our ranks. And congratulations on such a deserving acknowledgment of
all you have achieved. That's all for now on iHeart
Upper Hunter, proudly supported by the new South Wales government.
I'm Darren Katrub catch you next time. I heard Albahanta
My heart Upper Hunter.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I suggested the board give ten percent of the Helfhily
profits to local charities, and that's what he did.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Hello, I'm Darren Katruviy. In this episode, I get the
privilege of sitting down with a bloke who can only
be described as one of the region's really good eggs.
Newcastle born and bred Jared McMillan turned up in the
Upper Hunter in the seventies. Since then he's been an
integral part of the fabric of Singleton in his four
(00:30):
decades at the helm of the Diggers Club to Roatree,
his local church, and also refereeing local rugby union. And
that dedication to making our community a better place to
live has been rewarded half a century on with an
Order of Australia Medal. In true Jared's style, he says
he was surprised when he found out he was awarded
(00:51):
the im.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
That's an understatement, Yes, I was terribly surprised.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Jared grew up in Newcastle but had long had a
connection to Seeking, with his mum and sister both attending
boarding schools and catherinees that qualified account and then decided
to move up here himself in the mid seventies when
he was offered a job as the secretary manager of
the Diggers Club.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
The first thing we did was to purchase the sub
branch property in York Street from the sub branch, the
RSSOL sub branch, one of the first in the state
by the RSL property that was back in nineteen eighty two,
and then we renovated it. And by about nineteen eighty
eight we didn't have any competition in town, and so
(01:33):
I convinced the Ball to split the license and to
build a club up at Elroy which is now Club Doorsman,
and so we were successful there. So then we had
managed two clubs. And so when Club Doorsmen, originally Olroy
Park complex was built, it went very well. So then
I'd come back and I'd renovate downtown and at York
(01:57):
Street and it would pick up. Then I'd go back
and renovate at the Heights. Now, as far as the
members were concerned, it's all one club, but I had
that personal competition towards myself making one improve against the other.
So unless you're going forward, you going backwards. And it's
quite important in business that I believe that if you
(02:18):
derive an income in a business, you should put something
back into the business. And I was fortunate to have
quite a lot of positions within the club industry, both
at state level and at national level. So I've had
a blessed life. To put it moldily, it hasn't always
made you popular. Tell us about the time that some
(02:40):
members of the Diggers club donned T shirts with your
face on it and maybe some not so favorable statements.
Oh yeah, well if it doesn't, could you makes you stronger?
At one stage there I was talking about all the
clubs in Singleton and malcam mating. That was just one
of the things when I wanted to build over extend
(03:01):
the club over the bowling green. Yeah, three hundred people
turned up the end of general meeting to keep the
came of bowls and at that particular time, the bowling
club was struggling and I thought it would have been
a lot better if our bowlers bowl at the bowling
club and we could have done other things at the Diggers,
but it didn't eventuate.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
To still get a bit nervous when you see the
bowling Green. I mean I was a Diggers recently in
town and seem to be a well utilized bowling green.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Yes, well, when I can. We did have a Jack
Boren was the greenkeeper when we first started there, and
Jack was a long time employee at the Singleton Diggers,
and then after him we had another greenkeeper in Robert Riddell.
But the club just with one green with a small
number of bowlers, couldn't afford a full time greenkeeper and
(03:52):
Robert left and one of the bowlers from the bowling
club we'd come around and work part time on the
green at the Diggers. So Wayne Grady was the chairman
at the time, and together with Wayne, we traveled down
to Newcastle and we looked at a few clubs who
had the synthetic bowling greens, and so we put a
(04:13):
synthetic bowling green in and it's amazing. People were saying,
oh it was scratch your bowls and all the rest
of There are a lot of negativity against synthetic bowling greens,
but I think the proof is in the pudding the
surfaces at the Diggers. Now that's the third surface that
they've had put on that green and the bowlers love it.
(04:33):
There was a former sergeant a police in Singleton who
was a very good bowler. He used to bowl at
the Bowling Club and Kevin crossing Him was his name,
and Kevin used to say, once you put the synthetic
green and just have a look, how the standard of
bowls will improve within your club. And certainly, even though
in the past the Singleton RSOL Bowling Club had won
(04:54):
a few titles, they've won a lot more now having
the synthetic bowling green, and of course that's attracted bowlers
to come and join us. Where they were struggling at
one stage to field the Pennant team. Now they've got
more teams than that. There's more bowlers there than what
there were when I used to be at the club.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Your focus, obviously is to run the clubs to be
financially viable. And you know you talked about the million
dollars and all that stuff earlier, how much of what
you do at the clubs was about putting back into
the community through the money you actually make at the club.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Well, when we first brought the property back in nine
in eighty two and we wanted to extend it, we
knew that we didn't have enough car spaces at the
time and to get it through Counsel, Singleton Counsel and
sing On council have been very very supportive over many years.
I said, well, I said to the board, we're a
community club. We need to show not any counsel but
(05:55):
the community. But we're there for them. So in nineteen
eighty two I suggested the board give ten percent of
the heartily profits to local charities and that's what he did.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Despite running the Diggers clubs, Gerard found himself spending a
lot of time at the rugby Union club and before
long he was on the whistle as a referee.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
I took up referee when people my age were giving
it away and I've also managed representative for rugby union
teams and that that was really good.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
It's a perfect segue to mention the Singleton Bulls and
the fact that they're the current premiers and they wanted
against the odds last year.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
They're a very strong team and when I first came
to Selton, I think they won about eleven Grand finals
in a row before they went to Newcastle, and I
think the last game before they went to Newcastle scan
and beat them. But then when they were in Newcastle
they won three Grand finals in a row and that
was actually a record in Newcastle to win three Grand
(06:58):
Finals in a row. In my old club Hamilton, they
beat that record by winning five in a row. But
now I have a very soft spot for Singleton. And
when I first came to Singleton, John Halter was the
president of the rugby club. I'd drive up from Newcastle
for five months up and back before I could find accommodation,
(07:19):
so I wouldn't drink alcohol in the Diggers for my
first year, and I'd call into the rugby Club and
i'd have a drink or two with John Halter, and
he used to give me the information about various Singleton
identities and John a wonderful man. And then they did
ask me if i'd sponsor a trophy, and I of
(07:40):
course I would. Back in seventy nine and I sponsored
the best back in first grade and I've had the
honor of being able to sponsor that trophy down at
the Rugby Club ever since. And I want to keep
doing that. And my son Benjamin, even though he's tied
up with Hamilton, he did play for second when he
was still at school, who played reserve grade when he's
(08:01):
still at school, he wants to maintain that sponsorship of
that best back in first grade when I'm not able
to do.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
It still to come. Jered McMillan's role with Roadtrie, how
we help guide the community through one of its most
heartbreaking chapters and answering a call to help out refugees
settle into the Singleton Army Barracks in the late nineties.
I heart Upper Hunter, I heart Apper Hunter. Welcome back.
(08:32):
I'm Darren Katruvia and my guest today is one of
Singleton's newest OAM recipients, Jered McMillan, and a big part
of that acknowledgment is his lifelong involvement with Roatree.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
In about nineteen eighty six, I was asked to join
the club by mister Dennis Allen and Dennis is still
alive and so I ended up joining in nineteen eighty
seven and my journey over the years has been fantastick.
My three children were able to go to New Zealand
(09:03):
on short term exchange, which was a match to exchange,
so then we had three children from New Zealand their
mixed match was stopping with us, which was a delight.
When I was married. We were also able to host
another ten overseas exchange students and that was a blessing
in itself, these young young people being in the house
(09:26):
and learning about their customs and experiences, and that was
really really good. And then I had the opportunity then
have been Club President of the Rotary Club of Singleton
in ninety nine two thousand and I also used to
go to the District Foundation a committee and a Rotrie
(09:47):
Foundation as Rotary's charity, and I was on that committee
for quite a number of years. And then a past
district governor, Greg Bevan, asked me would i'd be the
chair of the Rotary Foundation for the district And I
said to him, doesn't that position go to the past
district governor? He said no, he goes to the person
(10:07):
who he thinks can do a good job. And I
was fortunate, so I did it. And then the three
years I was there, I had a very energetic committee.
We set goals like you do in business. Be very
first meeting we sent down and said okay, no, what
do we want to achieve? And we put our KPIs
down And after about five or six months we weren't
(10:29):
hitting the targets and I offered my resignation. But then
Dennis Trigg, who had been a long member of that
committee said no, jured you know, you're the best guy
we've had yet. But anyway, they knew things that I
didn't know because we had three very successful years, record
years for the district and funds that we raise for
the Rotary Foundation. And then I was asked to stand
(10:52):
for district governor and I was up against a very
capable man and I thought, oh, yeah, well, going to
give the job to this other gentleman. And so I
was very relaxed at the interview, and extremely relaxed anyway
that later that afternoon mad a phone call from a
past district having to Don Stevens to say that I
(11:15):
was selected. I was shocked, to say the least, but
I was blessed to have the support of not only
the people of Singleton but people around the district and
we had a I think a wonderful year.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
Jared McMillan has also found himself taking on the role
of helping communities heal in the face of tremendous trauma
like the Great a bus crash. Jared was a guest
at the wedding that day and he was in the
car traveling behind the bus. Jared found himself front and
center of a fundraising campaign for victims and their families.
(11:48):
It wasn't easy given the intense media spotlight on the
horrific events.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
I know, the media have got to do a job.
And there was a member of our roatory club, Alex Tinga,
who used to work firstly at the Arcus and then
at the Hunter River Times. Well. Alex was a member
of our rotary club, the Roatary Club of Singleton Sunrise,
and he actually was on that coach. It was the
best mean at the wedding. So when the accident occurred,
(12:15):
now our rotary club were very quick to get in
with the help of the past district governor, Brian Coffee.
Actually Brian was a driving force behind it. I was
just the face of Singleton. Brian lives in East Maitland
and Brian the would be best if I front the
cameras because people in Singleton would know me. And that
was an experience. But then people were wanting to talk
(12:38):
to Alex, they wanted to talk to other people and
my job was just safeguard them from the media. It
was just and I know even when the media talk
about it, even just recently, that must bring up a
lot of hurt and a lot of bad memories, and
unfortunately the victims and the friends of the victims, they well,
they'll never never get over it.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
All.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
We hope and pray that they can live with it
and just try and try and get on. But there's
this guard for life, and we all are and it's
just a horrific thing.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
His generosity and selflessness is also reflected in welcoming those
who find themselves on the other side of the world
seeking a safe future. In the late nineties, Jared macmillan
didn't think twice about being asked to help a family
of temporary refugees. Displays by the war in Kosovo.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Were back in the late nineteen nineties when the Kosovos
were out of the Singleton Army camp. The community of
Singleton were asked to befriend the Kossovs. And I befriended
the Mirana Riffi and his family, Murvetti his wife, Frisnik
and Dfena his daughter, and we made very good friends
(13:50):
of Moran. Actually Mouran worked at the arkis for shot. Lovely,
lovely gentleman. I've taken for trips. They come here for
home and I go on have coffee, because all you
could do out at the army camp. They could give
me coffee and they are just wonderful people. And we
went to Newcastle one time and some of you may
recall the Kiwi ice cream shop in Zara Street. Well,
(14:13):
I bought Frisnik and Defina and ice cream and we're
down at Newcastle Beach and we got a photo of
the five of us and that Fata had been sitting
on my desk ever since, which I showed you earlier
on Darren and so I thought that was it, and
I just had fond memories of the Kosovo's. But then
some eighteen years later I received an invitation to go
(14:35):
to Kosovo to go to Friznik's wedding, a wedding consisting
of five hundred people. There's only one other Australian lady
that went over. And I recall going down to the
travel agency in Singleton and asking for tickets to go
to Kosovo, and the lady down there said, no one
wants to go to Kosovo, and I said, well I do,
(14:55):
and what an experience it was.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
So after all that that's not even half of it.
How does Jared feel about being the recipient of such
an honor as an Order of Australia.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
I'm humbled by it, but I can understand when I
supposely read what I've done or some of the things
I've done, I was considered worthy of it. But it's
not me. It's for those who have assisted me on
my journey, those who have believed in what I've believed
in and worked towards a common goal. So no one
(15:27):
is an island, and I think we just need the
support of others and I've been blessed to have that
support of so many people over the years.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Congratulations again, thanks for talking to us.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Thanks Darren, it's a pleasure. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Jared McMillan, Oh I am. I hope you know the
Upper Hunter is proud and thankful to have you in
our ranks. And congratulations on such a deserving acknowledgment of
all you have achieved. That's all for now on iHeart
Upper Hunter, proudly supported by the new South Wales government.
I'm Darren Katrub catch you next time. I heard Albahanta
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