The mercury peaked at 45 degrees before the thunder rumbled, rain fell and Keith Potger performed The Seekers’ hits in an iconic Australia Day celebration down by Lake Forbes on Saturday night.
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The evening’s official program saw Australia Day Ambassador Keith Potger AO and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack welcomed to the local stage by Mayor Phyllis Miller.
Mayor Miller began the evening by acknowledging the Wiradjuri people, their past, present and emerging leaders.
She thanked the many organisations who had contributed to the day’s events including Forbes Rotary and the Forbes Diggers Swimming Club.
“Today we come together to celebrate Australia, and the wonderful variety of people that make our wonderful land,” Mayor Miller said.
Deputy Prime Minister Mr McCormack said local people made Forbes a great community.
“Yes its warm, yes it’s summer, but the fact is we have turned up and we are going to celebrate,” he said.
“To celebrate community, to celebrate the great things about being local, the things which make Forbes great.”
Mr Potger AO, thanked Forbes for the wonderful welcome he and partner Elizabeth had received.
READ ALSO: Amy Shine is Forbes’ Citizen of the Year
Mr Potger shared his story of arriving in Australia, from Ceylon, shortly before his seventh birthday.
“One of the major things I recall was the welcome that was given to my family and me by Australians, people we’d never met before but who soon became great friends,” he said.
Describing himself as a huge lover of this country, the self-taught musician said he felt fortunate to live in such a welcoming country.
It has been 56 years since Mr Potger, Judith Durham, Athol Guy and Bruce Woodley first sang together and the band The Seekers was born.
The band was honoured as Australians of the Year in 1967, and although they pursued individual careers in the decades since, they still keep in touch today.
Mr Potger gave three words for consideration in his Australia Day address: persistence, compassion and inclusion.
“Whether we talk about Australia Day being on the 26th of January or another day, the conversation should be conducted with compassion and with inclusion so that the first nations of this country can be included in the best possible way in whatever way Australia Day is celebrated,” he said.
Mr Potger treated the crowd to performances of The Seekers’ hits I’ll Never Find Another You – launching into the distinctive riff he composed to the delight of the crowd - and Morningtown Ride as a shower of rain fell and cooled conditions down.
