Celebration planned for Warragul relay leg

Ten runners will carry the baton in a journey from the Warragul Leisure Centre in Burke St to Warragul’s Civic Park.

The baton will travel via Burke St, Howitt St and parts of Alfred, Queen, Smith and Albert Sts.

The run is estimated to take about 30 minutes from its start at the leisure centre at 1.17pm.

Four of the runners are Baw Baw Shire residents – Gwenneth Gilbert of Ellinbank, Tracey Jilbert and Harvey Scott both of Warragul and Noah Lafrantz from Drouin.

Former Warragul resident and a winner of four Commonwealth Games gold medals and two Olympic medals, Kathy Watt, also will run.

The other runners at Warragul will be David Green (Leongatha), Neville Hurford (Maryknoll), Peter Ketelaar (Korumburra), Lee-Anne McLean (Arawata) and Stephen Plumb (Wonthaggi).

Another Baw Baw shire resident, Russell Wright of Walhalla, will run in the Morwell baton relay earlier in the day.

Baw Baw Shire is co-ordinating the Warragul event and is hoping for a big turn-out to watch the relay and take part in a family friendly celebration from 11.30am to 2.30pm in Civic Park.

The public will be given the chance to share some time with the baton as well as take in children’s entertainment, music and activities from district groups and sporting clubs and a free barbecue.

The Queen’s Baton, containing a message from Her Majesty to be read at the Games’ opening ceremony on April 4, left Buckingham Palace in London on March 13 last year.

By the time it arrives on the Gold Coast it will have travelled some 230,000 kilometres through many countries and in Australia, since arriving on December 24, will have covered about 40,000 kilometres across all States.

Baw Baw shire said the run through Warragul would mean some temporary disruptions in the town including some brief road closures as the runners pass through and changes near and in the central business area to intratown bus routes and stops and car parking availability.

Full details of plans for the day are available on the shire’s website in the “Our Community/Civic Events” section.