Keeping in Contact Made Easy in Hackett

How well do you know your neighbour? Truth-be-told, probably not very well. But in the leafy North Canberra suburb of Hackett, the Hackett Community Association (HCA) aims to change that.

Founded over 20 years ago in 1992, the HCA runs two annual events at the local shops, a party at the shops held in October and the Hackett Community Contact Day held on April 30 this year.

The event featured stalls from various community groups such as the Holy Cross Church, Friends of Mt Majura, Hackett Pre-School, the SES, Neighbourhood Watch, the Guides/Scouts as well as representatives from the major political parties.

HCA founder and Chairman James Walker says the association plays an important role in establishing connections throughout Hackett.

“[The HCA] is tasked to be an overall contact group so that people can connect with other members of their community.”

The contact day aims to raise money for the party later in the year, which although previously part-funded by the ACT Government, will not receive support for 2016.

After a quiet start, more than 100 people attended the event over the course of the morning, including local members Shane Rattenbury and Andrew Barr, sampling the work of the community groups.

Hackett resident Simon Rowell says such events provide a unique opportunity for members of his community to meet and facilitate discussion.

“It’s a lovely community event. It’s good to see locals getting together to support each other. There are a lot of great causes here and it’s important we are all involved.”

The cohesiveness of the Hackett community is a shining light in the modern world of increasingly individualistic pursuits and harks back to a simpler era where families socialised regularly with neighbours.

So if there’s that one neighbour who even after all these years you still haven’t said more than ‘hello’ to, why not take a leaf out of Hackett’s book and organise a community day, you won’t regret it.

You can find more information on the HCA by clicking here.

Photos by Nicholas Crawford