ROBINVALE’S “light and warm” atmosphere drew the most recent Swan Hill Rural City Council Citizen of the Year to the diverse community.
Since moving to Robinvale 35 years ago, Siua ‘Joshua’ Taumoefolau has well and truly made his mark in the seasonally itinerant community.
Born in 1959, he arrived in Australia from Tonga in 1989 with his wife and two children, first living in Sydney before a trip to Robinvale to visit family would discover the town they would later call home.
Mr Taumoefolau said the quiet, culturally-diverse community was an appealing prospect.
It turned out to be a positive move for the family, who later became permanent residents through the support of people from the Robinvale community.
Now a father of five — ranging in age from 10 years old to 35 years old — he is involved in the local college and a myriad of community organisations.
Chief among these is the Robinvale P-12 College and Community Brass Band, formed in 2002, which has grown under Mr Taumoefolau’s diligent leadership to become what was referred to in a speech on Australia Day as “the pride of Robinvale and the envy of other towns”.
For more on this story, pick up a copy of Wednesday’s Guardian (January 28).
