Jackie and Carolyn Harding have put in years of work and hopefully will be the first in line when the new pool opens in a couple of years. Carolyn is pictured above (centre) at one of the many events the pair organised to lobby for a year-round pool.

Activists such as Jeanne Brewer also pushed for years for an arts centre.

Pushing for a different project in the south of the shire is Kathryn Maxwell and the team at SHASA.

They believe the village of Central Tilba could shine the light for community-owned solar power and storage systems throughout the shire - and some expensive bureaucratic hurdles can be removed.

No-one who lost power for weeks during the bushfires would argue with the need for a little more self-reliance.