BRIAN Thornton is a baby boomer born in Melbourne.
The middle child of seven children, he was raised in Melbourne’s southern suburb of Highett.
Work took Brian to a number of states and country towns and when he retired from the workforce in 2013, he moved to Beechworth having been attracted by the laid-back lifestyle.
What did you do workwise?
I spent the majority of my working life as a logistics officer with the RAAF.
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After ending my RAAF career I followed career paths that took my interest.
Among other positions I have been manager of a harness racing club, operations officer of a major cricket association, a Commonwealth car driver and operated a courier franchise.
What brought you to your career?
My eldest brother was a RAAF Warrant Officer at the time I joined.
I was attracted by the lifestyle that the Defence Forces offered.
What did you love about your work?
The initial attraction was the opportunity to travel and to reside in different cities.
The duties were interesting and varied, ranging from implementation of IT systems to the entire logistics of a training base.
What do you do in the community?
I am the treasurer of both the Beechworth Men’s Shed and the residents committee of Hillsborough Village.
I also volunteer with the Beechworth Health Service as a driver, taking residents to medical appointments, both locally and within the surrounding Wangaratta, Albury and Wodonga areas.
I volunteer because I like making a positive contribution to the community and it keeps me occupied mentally and physically.
Is there an important community issue that you think needs addressing?
The lack of affordable housing, both to buy and rent needs to be addressed.
To have families residing in tents is a sad indictment on our society.
What would you do to solve change, improve that situation?
Regulate AirBnB more stringently and allocate more Federal and State Government spending to community housing.
What do you see as one of the most important current world issues?
The rise of extreme factional groups, and a propensity to solve issues with violence.
The scenes of the rioting from England could easily be repeated on the streets of Melbourne or Sydney.
There needs to be lessons learned as to what are the root causes of the rioting.
If the person you would most like to meet or knew, came to Indigo Shire (past or present), or was already here, who would that be, what would you show them, and why?
If he was alive today, I would invite John F. Kennedy – the 35th president of the United States (1961-1963) – to visit Indigo Shire.
I would show him the natural beauty of the area and thank him for his handling of the Cuban Missile crisis.
As an impressionable 14-year-old, that fortnight in 1962 was super scary.
What book are you reading?
After viewing the dramatisation of the book on a streaming service I am now reading “Lessons in Chemistry” by American author Bonnie Garmus.
