City's Cultural Highs On A Roll

Newcastle Herald

Friday November 24, 2006

By PAUL MAGUIRE

STEWART Pike took up swimming as a 16-year-old to help vent his frustrations with life.

Three years later he was standing on the podium at Sydney's 2000 Paralympic Games with a gold medal around his neck.

And in 12 days Mr Pike, who has an intellectual disability, will be among 10 individuals and two families to be named on Cessnock's inaugural hall of fame list.

When told yesterday of the recognition, Mr Pike said he was humbled and never in his wildest dreams considered himself in line for such an honour.

Mr Pike, 25, from Weston, retired from competitive swimming after a masterstroke performance at the 2000 Paralympics.

He was a finalist in the 50 metres butterfly, 200 metres freestyle, 4x50 metres medley relay, 100 metres freestyle and 100 metres backstroke. He won silver in the 200 metres individual medley and topped it all off as a member of the 4x100 metres freestyle relay team which set a Paralympic record to claim gold.

Cessnock City Council allocated $10,000 to launch its hall of fame.

It will be posted on the council's internet website and plaques, outlining the achievements of those named, will be erected throughout the local government area, mainly in parks.

The council will accept public nominations to continue adding to the list at annual ceremonies.

Cr Graham Smith said a council committee that selected the inaugural 12 had a large number of nominees to choose from.

"The committee wanted the inaugural list to be a wide selection of people with a spread of ages and a range of abilities and disabilities, as fame is not about how many times someone is on the back page of The Newcastle Herald," Mr Smith said.

"The committee chose a number of people who are living and a number who are dead and decided to go beyond individuals and include a position for meritorious families."

Mr Pike said it was a great honour to be named in such select company. "I remember my first races when I was 16 at Kurri Kurri High School," he said.

CESSNOCK HALL OF FAME

Arts: John Hughes, author, born Cessnock 1961.

Ernest Llewellyn, musician and administrator, born Kurri Kurri 1915, died 1982.

Business: Douglas Daft, chairman and chief executive of Coca-Cola, born Cessnock 1943.

Meg McDonald, former Australian embassy deputy chief in Washington and business leader, born Bellbird 1956.

Public service: Harry Cockerill, miner, unionist and politician, born Greta 1899, died 1987.

Phillip Wilson, eighth archbishop of Adelaide, born Cessnock 1950.

Science: Robert Endean, marine scientist, born Lithgow 1925, grew up in Cessnock, died 1997.

Robert Hunter, Scientists Against Nuclear Arms national president, born Abermain 1933.

Sport: Percy Lennard, soccer player, born Inverell 1900, grew up in Kurri Kurri.

Stewart Pike, swimmer and Paralympic medallist, born Taree 1981, grew up at Weston.

Meritorious families: Drayton and Tyrrell families, both winemaking families with five generations in the Hunter industry since the 1850s. Both still run family wine businesses.

© 2006 Newcastle Herald

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