A PASSIONATE Rye community leader who has made a significant difference to her hometown, as well as protecting its natural beauty has been awarded a national honour.
Mechelle Cheers, whose initiatives continue to make Rye a better place for everyone, was named the Dame Phyllis Frost Local Hero Award at the 2025 Keep Australia Beautiful Tidy Town Awards during a ceremony held in Beechworth on 3 May The award recognised her outstanding contributions to environmental stewardship and community leadership to Rye. This included the award-winning Rye coastal wetland project, conserving the vulnerable Moonah Woodland, Rye – A Foreshore for All, highlighting Bunurong cultural heritage, and establishing a Rye beach patrol.
“What has often been the mantra is anything that’s good for tourism is good for locals, but I always thought that was the wrong way around – locals should come first,” Cheers told The News. “If we can make it more livable for the locals, then that’s going to benefit tourism.”
As chair of the Rye Community Group Alliance, her leadership has been instrumental in advocating for the protection and enhancement of Rye’s coastal environment, with Cheers noting she was particularly proud of the alliance creating a “Rye – A Foreshore for All”. “It’s making the Rye foreshore inclusive and accessible, particularly with people with a physical mobility issue,” Cheers, a resident of 16 years, said.
“It’s not only about wheelchair users as important as that cohort is; it’s about everyone whether you’ve got a sprained ankle, whether you’re an arthritic knee, cerebral palsy – it doesn’t matter so long as you’re able to sit, for instance, at a picnic table, not having to try and throw your legs over the cross beams. Very simple things.”
Cheers said the alliance was also heavily involved in the implementation of the Rye Foreshore Plan, which included pushing for the extension of the foreshore boardwalk to the south and making it accessible for all. “We’ve also had anti-graffiti strategies, so we’ve worked with the shire, including getting murals and other things to try and sort of counteract that.”
Speaking of the award, she said she was taken aback but incredibly honoured. “It took me totally by surprise. I mean, I knew I was nominated, but I just didn’t think for a minute that I had any chance of winning,” she said. “Even though this award is to an individual, it’s important to recognise that a lot of people gave tremendous support for the projects I was involved in. This includes of course members of the Rye Community Group Alliance, and shire staff in climate change, energy and water, natural systems and project delivery.”
Cheers, who has always had a passion for the environment, said she was inspired to make a difference when she first arrived in town, which at the time “didn’t have a voice”.
“I think that it was sort of identifying a problem and then working out how to solve it in its simplest form.” As Cheers put it, it’s “just making things nicer”.
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 14 May 2025
