Rumbolds awarded for years of community service

Mr Rumbold was president of Faulkner Park for over a decade and has been secretary of the All Saints Anglican Parish in Cloverdale.

“Eric’s the president, the busy one; I’m the personality,” Mrs Rumbold said.

Through their church, the husband and wife duo have helped with activities from creating mosaics to assisting with fundraisers for people with disabilities and support for refugees.

Mr Rumbold has gone into schools and taught the children about Belmont’s history, as part of the City of Belmont’s Tales of Past program, passing on its legacy and his own experiences.

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The City of Belmont recognised their contribution with a 2016 Community Service Award presented on December 3.

“It was an unreal situation, we certainly never expected anything like that,” Mrs Rumbold said.

Mrs Rumbold said she had never been as happy in her life as in Belmont.

“I believe old people shouldn’t hibernate,” she said.

Her only criticism of the suburb was the divide she saw existing between Aboriginal residents and other members of the community.

“I can’t understand how people can be racist,” she said.

“How can you not feel what they feel?”

Singing a modified version of Advance Australia Fair in a clear, sweet voice, she removed references to ‘young’ and added in a Dreamtime lyric.

“I find it very silly singing ‘young and free’; heaven forbid, we aren’t any longer,” she said.

“One hundred thousand years of occupation makes us old,” Mr Rumbold added.