Orange's Australia Day ambassador, Paralympic gold medalist David Hall OAM says our national day is about community spirit and giving all Australians a chance to come together.
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"Even though we may have different opinions, maybe reflect on the past, think about the future, be thankful we do live in this country," Mr Hall said.
"If our community spirit is strong then as a nation it can only be beneficial, also it's about helping one another in times of need, such as now with the drought and the bushfires."
Mr Hall will attend the Orange Australia Day ceremony at Cook Park on Sunday and said he had been to Orange briefly before several years ago.
"I am really looking forward to coming back, meeting the locals, having some great food and wine," he said.
The former professional athlete retired from wheelchair tennis in 2005 and said his proudest sporting achievement was winning the gold medal in 2000 at the Sydney Paralympics.
"Winning the Australian Open or the US Open was great but I knew I'd only get one chance to win gold at home, so the fact that I was able to perform well enough for those two weeks and come away with the biggest dream I had was very satisfying," Mr Hall said.
His love of Australia also led him to becoming an Australia Day ambassador.
"When I won the gold in 2000, the Australia Day Council asked me if I wanted to be an ambassador, but I couldn't do it because it was always in the middle of the summer tennis season, after I retired it freed up Australia Day so I've been doing it for over 10 years now," he said.
"I was fortunate enough through tennis to travel the world many times over, experiencing different countries and cultures, of course they are all unique in their own way, but so many people were fascinated about Australia, they wanted to come here, they wanted to talk about it, when you're overseas for long periods it makes you appreciate home more."
As an ambassador he said he also gets to travel to different parts of Australia, to "experience the different towns and meet the locals, which is great because I enjoy meeting people".
"At Liverpool [one Australia Day] a guy came up to me who just got citizenship, he was from Iraq and couldn't stop talking about how much he loved Australia, he talked about his journey to get here, how crazy it was and how thankful he was to live here."
Among his standout Australia Day memories was a messy watermelon eating contest at Narromine.
It has been Australia's lost summer. Drought, hail, floods and, worst of all, bushfires have ravaged communities all over the nation. But the selfless actions of friends, family, neighbours, strangers, local groups and volunteer organisations have inspired us and strengthened the bonds of community. Please join us in saying thanks to the heroes of the home front by sharing your stories of gratitude. To salute a person or a group, please use the form below.
Tanya Marschke
I am based at Orange and cover a wide range of subjects as well as the weekly business column. I've worked consistently in the the media industry since 2006 including the past seven years at the Central Western Daily. Before moving to Orange, I worked as a journalist at weekly newspapers the Beaudesert Times and the Gold Coast Sun in Queensland, as well as the Scone Advocate in the Hunter Valley. I started my career at the Ridge News in Lightning Ridge while I completed my journalism studies remotely at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.
I am based at Orange and cover a wide range of subjects as well as the weekly business column. I've worked consistently in the the media industry since 2006 including the past seven years at the Central Western Daily. Before moving to Orange, I worked as a journalist at weekly newspapers the Beaudesert Times and the Gold Coast Sun in Queensland, as well as the Scone Advocate in the Hunter Valley. I started my career at the Ridge News in Lightning Ridge while I completed my journalism studies remotely at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.
