Elysha is our Ambassador

19 January 2021

WITH Australia Day just one week away, the Australia Day Ambassador for Inverell Shire has been announced as former Olympian and water polo player, Elysha O’Neill.

Inverell Shire Council mayor Paul Harmon welcomed the news and says Elsyha will be providing the Ambassador’s address at the Inverell celebrations, which commence at 7.30am in Victoria Park on Tuesday 26 January.

Elysha has been an elite level water polo player since her mid teens, and from 2004 – 2006, O’Neill was a member of the U20’s Australian team that toured Europe winning gold 3 years in a row. In 2006 she was also named Goalkeeper of the tournament.

Elysha was a member of the Australia Women’s junior National team from the young age of 15 and played her first game with the team in San Francisco. In 2003, she was part of the side that won a Gold medal at the Youth Olympics in Sydney Australia. That year, she was also part of the team that won gold in Los Angeles USA.

As a member of the Australian Senior Water Polo squad for more than 10 years, Elysha has competed across the globe and has also been a national coach for South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Away from the pool, Elysha is highly involved in volunteering as an athlete role model with at-risk Indigenous children. She has also been the driving force of fundraising campaigns for homelessness and has hosted a 24 hour swimathon, which raised $35,000.

Elysha has worked in several roles that have enabled her to help people, from being a teacher’s aide to working with elderly patients with dementia she now works at Macquarie University, helping students and community members get involved with sporting clubs and teams to help improve their health.

The Australia Day celebrations in Victoria Park are a free event and include a barbecue breakfast courtesy of the Inverell Macintyre Lions Club (gold coin donation), presentation of Australia Day awards, as well as free entertainment and a citizenship ceremony.

Cr Harmon also reminds attendees that for COVID reasons, anyone coming along to the event will need to check in via the Service NSW app or staff will be available to assist anyone without the app or without a mobile phone.

Image: Elysha O’Neill

For further information contact:
Fiona Adams | Inverell Shire Council, PO Box 138 | Inverell NSW 2360 | 02 67288288 | Fiona.Adams@inverell.nsw.gov.au