Margaret Colville Attley OAM on the joys and challenges of community work

Marg Attley OAM served on the Mansfield Shire Council for 15 years, including three years as mayor, and sat on the Victorian Local Governance Association Board (President for four years), strengthening her passion and support for councils and communities in regional and rural Victoria. But that’s not all. Over the years, she’s been involved with Radio Mansfield, Mansfield Readers & Writers Festival, Australian Local Government Women’s Association, Tolmie Sports Association Committee (awarded life member), Mansfield Historical Society and more. She founded the Tolmie Farmers Market and Antiques Fair. Sounds exhausting, right? Yet Marg is tireless in her support of others, particularly women. Let’s find out what drives her.

Thanks so much for spending this time with me. Community is clearly important to you, and your involvement in the Mansfield community is long and varied. What prepared you for this community life?

I grew up in a family where community, people and social justice mattered.

When I was eight years old, my father was elected to state parliament. We didn’t have mobile phones back then, just one landline in the dining room, so while eating our meals, we heard any calls he received from constituents. I listened to him and noted how he encouraged people, how he let them know he was supportive of their plight or whatever they needed. This engendered in me the need to be considerate of others and to support them however was necessary.

It’s dawned on me that nowadays, with mobile phones and computers, families wouldn’t be involved in those interactions, so they might not have the benefit of that role modelling.

My mother was also involved on committees and supporting my father, which set a great example for our family. My brother followed the family tradition and became a councillor and mayor on the City of Heidelberg Council.

How has your background or training led you to community life in Mansfield?

I lived my first five years in Kerang, country Victoria, then we moved to East Ivanhoe, where I completed my schooling and attended teachers’ college.

My teaching life began at West Heidelberg Primary School with large classes of over 40 children. This gave me the opportunity to develop skills for working with large groups of people in an area where many came from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. The young people impressed me with how they managed their difficulties.

I married, and we moved to Dookie, country Victoria, where my two girls were born, then to Queensland for twelve years. There, I worked in community development with local council helping disadvantaged people. This marked a turning point for me because I found I could adapt my teaching skills to any project.

We returned to Melbourne in the early 90s, when I worked in a secondary school to help homeless students and later, supporting disadvantaged young people and their pathway to study or work.

We bought a place in Tolmie in 1995, and commuted back and forth from Melbourne until 2004, when we moved permanently to Mansfield.

When did you decide to run for council?

While we were building at Tolmie and coming up on weekends, I got to know the people and community issues. When we moved here permanently, the ward councillor didn’t re-stand, so I decided to give it ago.

I had a beneficial first few years learning to be the best I could be from the current councillors, who were really supportive. I also drew from the knowledge and interest I gained from my father’s and brother’s influence.

I stayed on council until 2020. Interestingly, only once was there another woman.

In 2019, you were awarded an OAM (Medal of the Order of Australia). Congratulations! What was this for?

The citation was: For service to local government, and to the community of Mansfield.

What was one key takeaway from this time on council?

I recognise the importance of the Westminster system. That is the backbone of how things are run: process in council and meeting procedure.

Your father has obviously had a huge influence on your life. You have a special gift from him that has become a talisman for you. Can you tell us about that?

When my father was in state parliament, public transport was government owned, so parliamentarians received a gold pass for free travel on buses, trains and trams. I now wear his gold pass, and when I face challenges, it helps me to know it’s there, like a support to me and my decisions.

What drives you to spend so much time on community projects? What do you hope to achieve?

It has been important to me to help others succeed. I want to empower people to make decisions that are right for them and to support people regardless of who they are or what their issue is. For example to encourage a homeless student to come to school. To build people up. To say the right thing without being dogmatic.

Has there been a particular moment, big or small, that stands out as making it all worthwhile?

Some of my most beneficial work has been listening to people who are struggling and need someone to talk to. It could even go back to teaching in a disadvantaged school.

In my role as local councillor, it was important to me to support the community through the 2006/7 fires.

I was also mayor in 2020, during Covid, when council meetings and everything had to be done from home. People said you must have nothing to do, but it was far from that. Children couldn’t even go in go to our library, so they came and filmed me reading a few stories in my garden at home to go on the internet. One was The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which was one of my daughter’s favourite books, so I found that really moving. I hope I gave the community a bit of strength.

Can you tell me a bit about your show on Radio Mansfield Quiet Please There is a Lady Onstage?

I’ve been on radio for nearly four years now. It’s my show, but it’s not about me. As the name suggests, the highlight of my program are female guests.

It came about because I observed local women doing amazing things. One woman had been in retail since she was 23. Her shop had its 30^th birthday, and she was studying to be a nurse. I thought the community needed to hear about women like this doing extraordinary things. I’ve continued to interview female residents to share their stories.

I absolutely love doing it each week. Sometimes my guests are anxious when they arrive, but by the time they leave, they have a big smile and want to come again.

Do you have any advice for people wanting to get involved on a committee or perhaps run for council? How should they get started?

Find community organisations they are passionate about and put themselves forward for that.

It’s important to have a support group around you – male, female, old, young, your go-to people. If you need to talk something through, you can share with this core group, and they will keep it confidential and give you the strength to go on and do what’s right – or not do something if that is the better path. I have a core group of friends and family I still meet with to talk through different things, and they are fantastic.

What’s next for you?

My current aim is to work closely with older residents. When I’ve read through grant applications, not once have they mentioned senior residents. I know it’s important to have money for young people, but I’m passionate now to make sure those last years are happy and fulfilling. To that end, I’ve just become the President of the Beolite Residents Committee.

You can listen to Quiet Please There is a Lady Onstage with Marg Attley on Radio Mansfield 99.7, or click the live listen button on radiomansfield.org, every Wednesday from 9am-12pm.

Next time: an interview with Sarah Hawthorn on Love. Camera. Action., her latest release.