HERVÉ Moreau was born in France in the small village of St Clément-de-la-Place close to the city of Angers on the Loire River. His parents were traditional mix-farmers. He first came to Australia on an agricultural sciences student exchange program and ended up returning in 1984 having met a young lady in Sydney on his first visit. Hervé lived in Sydney for more than 25 years, Melbourne for nine years and with his partner Robynne moved to Yackandandah in December 2021.

What do you do workwise?

I work for the Indigo Shire as a casual Yackandandah Visitor Information Centre officer as well as a museum assistant and tour guide.

What brought you to your latest role/career?

We wanted to move to the country to eventually retire. However, my career was not compatible with living outside of a capital city as I worked in sales and product management for global companies supplying ingredients to food, beverage and nutraceuticals manufacturers. I thought that some of my skills were transferable to the tourism industry.

What do you love about your work?

North East Victoria is a very attractive region with beautiful landscapes, lots of outdoor activities, vibrant agrotourism and a fascinating colonial history. It is so rewarding to help people make the most of their visit to the area and share some of the history of the region such as how the early squatters settled in the area, who they were and the tragic frontier war that took place at the time. Then the gold rush, the bushrangers and the conflict between the 'squattocracy', selectors, and fortune seekers.

What do you do in the community?

So far I have only helped in a few events such as the Beechworth Golden Horseshoes Festival and a couple of community events in 'Yack'.

Is there an important community issue that you think needs addressing?

Health care, aged care and housing appear to be the most pressing issues in the area.

What do you see as one of the most important current world issues?

World order and the environment. We all share the same planet Earth and we need peace to work together to overcome the massive environmental challenges. I am optimistic that it can be done – there are great leaders such as Tony Rinaudo, who spoke at the Wooragee Landcare meeting on September 15. He has paved the way and proved that degraded land can be healed with simple inexpensive management practices.

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?

Nelson Mandella. I would like to show him the Beechworth Historic Precinct and discuss Australian colonial history, in particular from a First Nations perspective. I would love to ask Nelson Mandela to speak to all Australians and share his wisdom on how to best reconcile all Australians.

What book are you reading?

I typically have a few on the go, sometimes too many. At the moment the main ones are ‘Ned Kelly’ by Australian author, journalist, and radio and television presenter Peter FitzSimons, ‘Beechworth: A titan’s field’ by Melbourne-based historian and author, Carole Woods, and just started ‘The Forest Underground’ by world-renowned agronomist Tony Rinaudo.