Cr Day is the fourth Lockhart councillor to step down from the position: Cr Donna Jones earlier in the year, Cr Colin Wiese and Cr Peter Campbell in the past month.

At 67, Cr Day has been a councillor for 17 years, and mayor for the past four and a half years. He will quit local government for a more leisurely lifestyle and more free time to farm and travel.

“I think it’s good to have a blend of youth and experience - it’s time for fresh blood, people with new ideas to come into council and keep it running well,” he said.

When Mr Day entered local government aged 50, his children were reaching adulthood and he had the time to devote to being on council.

Coming from a long line of farmers, Cr Day followed in the footsteps of his grandfather Walter Day who was one of the original local government councillors in 1906 and a shire president for one year. In the following generation, Cr Day’s uncle Walter Kennedy Day was on council for 40 years from 1914-1917 and 1931-1965.

Today, Lockhart Shire has similar boundaries to when it was proclaimed 102 years ago and Cr Day is proud of that achievement.

“Big is not always beautiful and I think our management of council has been such that we have avoided amalgamation,” he said.

He points out - the last few years have been difficult in the farming community and it does place a strain on Council. “We have endeavoured to keep rate rises to a minimum to support our country ratepayers.”

Cr Day believes he is leaving the shire in ship shape order. Projects recently achieved or underway in the shire include a major main street upgrade, new age care facilities and medical centre underway at The Rock. Preliminary discussions are underway for Council’s new administration building at Lockhart and residents at Yerong Creek are about to build a community hall in conjunction with the Bowling Club and support of Council.

The shire covers 3000 square kilometres stretching from Galore Hill to beyond Pleasant Hills and from Boree Creek east to The Rock and Yerong Creek.

Cr Day said Council has been a big interest away from the farm and being a councillor makes you more aware of what is happening in the whole of Lockhart Shire.