The community of Albany is in mourning after the shock death of one of its icons and long-serving mayor Dennis Wellington.
Mr Wellington, who served 23 years on the City of Albany council including 12 as mayor, died in Perth on Thursday.
The 77-year-old was first elected to council in 2001 and was a tireless advocate for the place in which he was born, known for asking his simple motto: Is it good for Albany?
When the answer was yes, he would put all his energy and resources towards getting it done, his contemporaries say.
Only hours after his passing, current mayor Greg Stocks toasted his old friend with an emotional tribute at the inaugural Albany Sporting Walk of Fame at Retravision Stadium.
“You are sitting in a room today in a precinct that Dennis had the vision and courage to go forward with,” he said.
“Retravision Stadium doesn’t exist without Dennis Wellington. He was a champion.
“Now he might not have been a champion in the sense of what we’re talking about tonight.
“He was politically incorrect, and when I was his deputy mayor, I spent eight years running around cleaning up the mess behind him.
But I loved him, and I loved him because he used to say, If it’s good for Albany, let’s have a go at it, and he did.
“He mentored me and many other councillors, and he set a template for celebrating Albany, when I think in the early 2000s, a lot of people were apologetic about being in Albany.
“But that ends that story as the Centennial precinct is Dennis’, and incredibly, when we acknowledge our champions of the past tonight, Dennis played a hand in that.
“He was on the judging panel, so, what happens tonight was his last civic duty in Albany. So thank you, Dennis.
“This was very sudden. It’s been a very tough day.”
Mr Wellington was extremely passionate about Albany and had unwavering commitment to the role as the city’s figurehead for more than a decade.
He played a leading hand in bringing the likes of the Centennial Park sporting precinct, National Anzac Centre, Ring Road project and Middleton Beach redevelopment to life.
The Anzac centenary commemorations, Avenue of Honour, the Albany Town Hall redevelopment, Aboriginal dual naming and the Albany 2026 project were a few of the bigger items on the former mayor’s resume.
Tributes are already flowing from hundreds of Albany community members, with an outpouring of emotion on social media after the news of his tragic passing, remembering the enduring passion Mr Wellington had for his city.
Following his induction as an Honorary Freeman of the City in May — the highest honour a local government can bestow on its residents — Mr Wellington said while other local governments of regional WA appeared to be in trouble, he was “personally very confident” Albany was not one of them.
“Why is that? Our future is very bright and if working for our constituents remains our focus, everything should be OK because we have such a great place to work on,” he said.
“Where else would you want to live?”
He leaves partner Fran, and children Erin and Tim.
