By Tanya Steele
2024 will be the year for a celebration in Tecoma as residents begin to plan centennial events for the township that got its name when the local train station opened.
Celebrating the little pocket of homes between Upwey and Belgrave, a new community group has formed to celebrate the centenary of European residence in the town.
So far dubbed the “Tecoma Centenary Committee” secretary Kim Cinel said the group has begun work to plan several events throughout the year and is keen for more people to join the team.
“It’s about getting the community together, celebrating the centenary and reviving the suburb of Teoma itself,” she said.
Kim herself moved to the area five years ago with her family and joined the group recently.
Long time Tecoma resident Barbara along with a fellow friend Anne began the group in August of 2023.
“We wanted to focus on the centenary celebration and get the community together,” she said.
The group want to celebrate the centenary milestone on December 4 and has several other events in mind, including participating in the yearly Belgrave Lantern Festival with a Tecoma themed lantern, working with the Sherbrooke Foothills Historical Society and a spring event based around the famous ‘floral carpet’.
Tecoma was thought to originally have been named after a flowering shrub when the railway station opened in December 1924, previously the area was known as Lower Belgrave.
Robert Jungwirth from the Sherbrooke Foothills Historical Society said at the time a local competition was run to name the station.
“The district quickly assumed the name,” he said.
“Tecoma came from the name of a pretty native climbing plant, the Wonga Wonga vine – there was a suggestion that the plant was common in Tecoma but I am not so sure about that.”
The centenary committee group said it would love to extend the invitation to Tecoma residents and the community beyond the township to help with events throughout the year.
“People can come and help with particular events that interest them, then they can opt-in to what they like and the volunteering itself can be more flexible,” Barbara said.
There will be a meeting held at Tecoma Uniting Church at 1566 Burwood Hwy, Tecoma on Friday 9 February at 11.30.
All from Tecoma and beyond are welcome to come along.
The community can also email the committee at tecoma100years@gmail.com
