STEVE Gilliver was born in Lidcombe, a suburb west of central Sydney. Having spent the first 34 years of his married life in Camden, NSW, working as the financial controller of a business he was involved with, Steve and wife Jennie shifted to Bright in 2006 to enjoy the quieter pace of country Victoria. The couple purchased holiday accommodation in Bright and then moved on to establish holiday accommodation in Eurobin. They retired to Beechworth about six years ago and love living in the town.
What did you do workwise?
In my past life, I was an accountant and one of the directors of a small company supplying game shows and prizes to registered clubs in Sydney before being in hospitality with the accommodation businesses in North East Victoria.
I retired when we moved to Beechworth, but I am kept busy working on our small acreage and assisting with community events from time to time.
What did you love about your work?
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I have always had an aptitude for maths and enjoy anything to do with numbers. But I actually don’t miss anything about my past career in particular, except of course for the salary received at the time!
What do you do in the community?
Along with my wife Jennie, my recent community involvement has been on the Beechworth Golden Horseshoes Festival committee for the past three years. We work alongside a small group of dedicated community members to stage a great event held annually on Easter Saturday.
For most of my adult life, I have been an active member of Lions whilst living in Sydney and then Bright Rotary after moving to Victoria. I retired from Rotary about six months ago as the distance to travel was getting a bit much.
Is there an important community issue that you think needs addressing, and why?
As our town has amazing and unique buildings engulfed in history, it is imperative that the shire places great importance on the preservation of all things heritage in our town and the surrounding towns within our shire. They have great economic value to our community through tourism, and it would be great to see all of these buildings opened for viewing. But we do need volunteers to come forward to enable this to happen.
What do you see as one of the most important current world issues?
Climate change is my number one issue. I presume that I will be long gone before this really affects me, but I think about the world that my grandchildren will be forced to survive in unless governments around the world get serious about the looming ecological disaster. It also concerns me deeply that people are having so much trouble trying to purchase or rent a home. Housing is in my opinion, a right, not a privilege - everyone deserves to be safe and warm.
If the person you would most like to meet came to the Indigo Shire (past or present) or was already here, who would that be and what would you show them?
I would have loved to meet the late Gough Whitlam - a prime minister who not only had a great intellect but had some fresh ideas. I would have shown him Mount Buffalo from the air as I think he would have appreciated the magnificent view.
What book are you reading?
'The Terminal List' by American author of thriller novels Jack Carr. It’s not finished yet but a good read so far.
