Indigo Interview: Giving back

Bruce Hunt was born in the UK city of Coventry and came to Australia with his family when he was four-years-old as a ’10-pound pom’ settling in Sydney. He lived there for 50 years before moving to Melbourne in 2014 to be with his now wife. “In 2022 we made the ‘tree change’ to this region. Having camped in the area for many years, we got married in Corowa before settling in Chiltern and have been here for three years,” he said. What did you do workwise? I worked in the information technology (IT) industry for many years working for BOC Gases, spent 17 years at Hewlett Packard (HP), then at Telstra and NBN. When we moved here, I worked with Country Care setting up the new Wangaratta store before retiring in June this year. What led you to your role/career? When I was at school, my mother said to me “you should get into computers, it will be the next big thing.” That was back in the early 1970s - she always was wise beyond her years. What did you love about your work? I really enjoyed working with technology because it always involved something new and every day was different. I loved working with Country Care providing a service to the community, meeting lots of different people and helping them with their care needs. What do you do in the community? I’m a member of Chiltern SES, have been involved in the annual Chiltern play and often support the monthly open mike sessions at the Telegraph Hotel. Now I’m active with the Chiltern community fundraise calendar raising funds for prostate cancer. I do this to give back to the local community. Is there an important community issue that you think needs addressing? Sustainability to ensure our community continues to be viable now and into the future. What would you do to solve change or improve that situation? Continue to support the community through local businesses, tourism and development. The Chiltern community fundraiser calendar 2027 initiative will be promoting community members, groups and locations, as well as raising funds for prostate cancer. We are supporting those who had, have or may have prostate cancer and their supporters, raising awareness and we’re having some fun with the ‘nude not rude’ calendar to profile our Chiltern community. What do you see as one of the most important current world issues? AI technology and immigration. These strategies need to be well planned and implemented to ensure we’re enabling positive outcomes and providing a better future for next generations. If the person you would most like to meet came to Indigo Shire (past or present), or was already here, who would that be, what would you show them, and why? I’d love to invite Jimmy Barnes to join us at the Telegraph Hotel. The local pub is the hub of the community where we meet up with the locals and joined by the travellers to share a beer and have a meal. Jimmy can share his story, talk about men’s health and we would even ask him to sing a few songs. I’m sure we would all be entertained. What book are you reading? I’ll be reading Jimmy Barnes ‘Highways and Byways’ next. I read his ‘working class’ books and enjoy his life story telling, coming to Australia as a young immigrant and then being a successful front man and solo artist.

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