Forty-two years after deciding to 'join up and start listening to the people', Gwenda Allgood is set to retire as the longest serving female councillor in Victorian history — and times have changed significantly.
The night Gwenda Allgood told her husband Morrie she was running for council, he told her he didn't think she should."I took my pillow into my son's room and I said, 'I'll come back when you support me,'" Ms Allgood said.
"I started sitting in the gallery and started being a little bit disruptive," Ms Allgood said.Ms Allgood was surprised by the level of support she received when she first ran for council."I really thought being young and a mum … people might say, 'You won't have the time … and you won't do what we want you to do', and basically make it hard for me," she said.
Ms Allgood travelled to China several times as mayor, including one trip to collect the tiles for the roof of the centre.Ms Allgood said that as her time on the council drew to a close, she felt anxious about what to do next, but "wouldn't survive coming home and telling my family that I had put my name down again".
Rural City Council Councillor Gwenda Mayor History Gwenda Allgood Local Government Longest Serving
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