ABC Rural Me-Change
Our Osborne community consists of many organisatios who work together for the benefit of our entire area. The Osborne Football Club, which has been functioning for over 100 years, is the heart of our rural community.
Osborne is a strong, resilient, vibrant and youthful rural community made up of farmers and people from small country towns. We are a family orientated community which is centred around our recreation ground, surrounded by paddocks with no shops or pubs. We have an excellent oval used for football, cricket and athletics, resurfaced netball courts, a large pavilion, 3 tennis courts, cricket nets, change rooms and public toilets. These facilities have been mainly funded by Government grants, with local labour and fundraising as required. Our community relies on the work of volunteers for coaching, sports trainers, management, catering and maintenance of facilities. With the installation of air conditioning in the pavilion, we have a venue which can also be used in any weather. During 2008 it was utilised for womenâs and menâs health days, agricultural seminars, sport, training courses, meetings, and community social functions.
The Osborne community has activities for people of all ages. We have a group of mature (though not senior) men who volunteer their time as sports trainers and assist around the club. At training, after they have worked to get the team ready, these men walk laps around the ground. They have been undertaking this exercise for several years now and all report the activity makes them healthier in both mind and body. Not to be outdone, a group of mature women also walk around the oval (at faster pace than the men reportedly) while their children are undertaking netball/football training. Some ladies have also taken up netball again, which keeps them fit as well as assisting the younger players.
Our senior football and netball teams consist mostly of local players, with assistance from others who live further away and travel to bring us a wealth of information and experience. Osborne fields teams in local cricket, tennis, football and netball competitions with many children involved from the age of 4 upwards.
The Osborne Ladies Auxiliary caters for many functions, as well as the canteen during the football/netball season. They offer a great range of sandwiches, salad rolls and other healthy food including hot meals at night.
Continuing to improve the health of our community ensures we can enjoy a balanced lifestyle.
With the recent dry years and increasing cost of living, people become isolated and depressed.
Given physical fitness and mental well-being go hand in hand, we aim to to improve facilities and offer additional activities, thus continuing the good work our community has already begun. We strive for a strong healthy community which will continue to be there for each otherâ¦............. for a least the next 100 years.
