“I will take a long break indulging my passions of rock-climbing and surfing but am very keen to continue my work with Craig Taunton on the RESPECT programs, tackling domestic violence at a school level before it starts, since I feel it is the best thing I have ever done,” Tim said.
“The program has been so effective in our local schools and I keep expecting government or a philanthropist to say, ‘wow, this is what we have to do in every school’, and then give us a million dollars to roll it out across Australia.”
One of his first projects was an oral history where he trained history students in the skills of interviewing and audio recording.
The premise was simple, but powerful – over 100 recordings were made by the students of parents, uncles, aunts and neighbours.
The subsequent publication, ‘Recollections, The Bankstown Oral History Project’, was seen as a milestone, bringing together the young and the older and ushering in a new way for the council to work with its community.
Later followed the Bankstown Community Festival, which became Bankstown Bites, and then Tim initiated the Urban Theatre Project in 2002, the catalyst for significant state and federal grant funding used for the renovation of the Bankstown Arts Centre.
“It is Tim’s enthusiasm and ability to foster relationships that sets him apart,” Mayor Khal Asfour said.
“Tim has been responsible for over 800 projects involving thousands of people and generating millions of dollars in funding – all of which has been spent in the LGA – in the pursuit of high quality artistic and cultural endeavours.
“I wish Tim all the best on his retirement and thank him for all he has done, the joy he has brought to audiences and the youth he has supported over nearly three decades.”
