Don Leggett retires

Don Leggett has retired from the board of Peninsula Village at the age of 79, after having served for 32 years.

Mr Leggett was a founding board member, and was chairman for most of the time he was on the board.

His most recent role was as director of special projects.

A former mayor, Mr Leggett has now retired from several other boards, and now enjoys playing golf five days a week.

Mr Leggett was originally inspired to work for the community by his father and his uncle who was a shire president.

Mr Leggett was founding golf captain and the founding champion at Everglades Country Club and used to play off a handicap of two.

"I feel some regret at my recent decision to remove myself from various committees that I have been involved with for some time, but at the same time I feel the relief at having the weight and responsibility lifted from my shoulders," Mr Leggett said.

Mr Leggett was the last shire president of Gosford and the first mayor.

He has also been a president of the Rotary Club of Woy Woy.

Mr Leggett was a driving force in the formation of the Peninsula Village Retirement Centre.

The village came about in 1975 when the Peninsula had in excess of 8000 residents aged over 60, with no nursing home and nothing planned for the future.

A committee of the Umina branch of the Combined Pensioners Association was formed to investigate the establishment of an aged care centre and nursing home.

The committee included voluntary community workers chaired by the Mr Stan Roy who co-opted Mr Leggett and Mr Jack Aldous, Mr Jim Maher, Mrs Ailsa Aldous and Mr Len Stokes.

After a substantial fund raising effort, Council-owned land in Arras Ave, Umina, was acquired and the first building opened in 1980.

Don Leggett House was opened at the village last year, named in recognition of Mr Leggett's efforts to ensure the new centre's completion and for his contribution to the retirement centre over the past 30 years.

Mr Leggett is attributed with giving the Peninsula its name.

"Even though the area is not a peninsula, Don thought it seemed like a good way to link three different communities," according to Woy Woy Rotary Club's history, written by Annona Pearse and Walter Pearson.

"Despite early rejection in some quarters, the name stuck," the authors wrote.

Cec Bucello, July 7